The Church is Losing Members. Read On to Find Out Why.

[ThoughtCriminal]

16. Religious Right Fundamentalists have abandoned Christ

One thing I noticed many years ago at any service at a conservative, fundamentalist protestant church is that while Jesus is frequently mentioned, he is hardly ever quoted. Entire sermons about "Jesus" and "Salvation" without even one "Red Letter" read or mentioned. Mostly, it's a bit of Old Testament and lots and lots of Paul. (This is my own experience, not a study).

Paul was not one the Disciples, and never met Jesus. How did he get to define what Christianity would become and stand for? He was a genius at marketing I suppose, but it seems to me that he seriously undermined the teachings of Jesus. I sometimes wonder if that was his actual intent (Can't beat them, join them and subvert the message).

Where does the Sermon on the Mount fit in with Religious Right theology? Supply Side Jesus? Prospertity Gospel? Smart-Bomb your enemy? Worship Walmart? Pray in public so nobody suspects you're cheating on your spouse? Worry about witches? Elect leaders that you beleive will help make Armageddon happen so we can all go to a super vacation resort for eternity while everybody else burns in an eternal concentration camp?

If Satan existed and wanted to create a church to undermine the teachings of Christ and really make humanity suffer, I don't think it could do any better than what the religious right has become.