The number of people who call themselves Christians is slipping dramatically. Ken Blackwell of the Family Research Council attempted to to justify the "ebb and flow" of this phenomena by citing past statistics; however, there is something more serious than this in the statistics. I refer to it as the "common sense" factor.
That is, many who are losing faith see religion being used as a tool to oppress groups of people. This oppression is at odds with the tenets of religious dogma and too often finds its interpretation in the hands of those who use religious scripture to hold on to outdated modes of thinking, prejudice against certain lifestyles, and a general willingness to pass moral judgment in terms of their parochial views.
Take the catholic church which vehemently objects to condoms; their exist an epidemic of aids in Africa, and condom use would go a long way in ameliorating this scourge.It's certainly not the only answer, but it certainly could help. I believe its irresponsible for the Pope and prelates of the Catholic church to be in denial about this problem.
I don''t care what your opinions are regarding birth control, this is a no brainer and once again the Catholic church is stuck in the middle ages, inflexible and struggling with diminishing ranks. They don't get it.They don't want to get it and so they hold on to these antiquated concepts. It's about birth control and the Catholic Church rejects birth control. This is plain out stupid!
Then there is the issue of rejecting Priests and the aspect of inclusivenesss within the Episcopal church, when it comes to gays. Splinter groups seek to disrupt an inclusive message by once again using religious doctrine against certain groups, choosing to narrowly define and interpret such doctrine to the exclusion of some.
Point being, religion is slipping further from mainstream America because of its treatment.If we see a higher power, Creator, God or whatever you conceive it to be, it derives from energy and energy is never stagnant; therefore, The Creator, a higher power or God is ever unfolding.
To use ancient biblical scripture or implication through prophetic writings as to the true nature of God's intention, in a way that minimizes the value of each person, be they different from you, is wrong. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see this at face value, but it does take a willingness to accept others of differing views and lifestyles, to put religion in its proper perspective and to stop using it as a weapon against dissent. This is really about common sense and Religion needs a big dose of it.
As for me, I'll keep believing and try to transform my words into actions. Nobody likes an ignorant Christian!
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