Reasonable Dissent

My biggest issues with Christianity (vol 1)

I’ve had an idea rolling around in my head for a while now, and I’ve decided to make it happen. A while ago, I realized that I was getting tired of the same old arguments, from both sides. The problem is that atheists and theists (to somewhat over simplify the two sides) go back and forth with the same old reasoning and never get anywhere. And the problem, I think, is that out here on the internet, there’s no authority. So when some anonymous theist says something like, “Christians believe that Jesus rode dinosaurs to get around,” and I point out the stupidity there, another may just come up and say “No we don’t. Here’s what we really believe.” And the cycle continues.

We all know the basics of Christianity, but there are so many controversial points with a countless number of arguments that we just get lost in semantics most of the time. This is literal, that is not. This is part of my core belief, that is not. This part of the bible is dubious, that part is the word of god. It’s enough to make your head spin. With the accessability of the internet growing every day, the number of Christian “denominations” is growing to meet the number of people who have an opinion.

So I got tired of it. In the interest of information gathering and sharing, I am setting out on a project. I’ve done my research, compiled a list of the most hotly debated topics that we deal with, and I’m going to find out what the authorities think. I’m requesting that local church leaders find an hour or so to sit down with me and discuss these things, not because I want to try to argue them into submission, but because it’s important to know what they actually teach. I don’t care what the crackpot on the street says about the rapture coming in 17 days. Christian denominations have assemblies of large numbers of theologians that determine exactly what their church teaches. I want to know what that really is. What are these people hearing in the sermons every week?

Let me stress again that this is not a confrontational “interview”. I’m a sucker for a good debate, so I will probably bring up some of my personal questions regarding some of these issues, but in no way do I intend to make it combatative. It is simply that I know very well what kinds of questions a lot of people already have, and I want to discuss them with someone who is well versed in the official teachings of his/her church.

In this light, I’d like anyone who would like to leave a comment regarding any issue you want me to bring up. I have already hit the big obvious ones, so you don’t need to worry about those. But if there is something that you’ve never gotten an adequate answer on, let me know. I will do the research as much as I can, and then raise it to the church leaders.

Stay posted for updates. I think this will be a very interesting and enlightening project.

Tags: atheism, bible, Christianity