Why are You a Christian?
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A very good question, indeed and one with a very simple answer, but Christians will rattle off any number of reasons, from wanting to follow in Jesus Christ's footsteps, to wanting to spend an eternity with their god. The truth is, you are a Christian because you were born in the Americas, which is predominately Christian, and because you were most likely indoctrinated into Christianity at a very young age. I know I will get all kinds of comments and arguments against this claim, but I intend to show just how solid my claim is.
I propose, first of all, a suggestion. I suggest that a Christian is almost as much of an atheist as myself. You just believe in one more god than I do, but you agree with me on the rest of the world's religions and their gods. You agree with me that they are utter nonsense, and that any mythological claims of gods are not founded on facts or the truth. Well, this will be easier than I thought.
Religious Demographics of the World
Location, Location, Location
That's right. The main reason why you are a Christian is that, as you can see from the map, you were born in a country where Christianity is king. That's not too hard to do, by the way. Look at the map. If you were born anywhere in the Americas, Europe, Australia, Greenland, a huge chunk of Africa and even the Pacific Islands, chances are you are Christian. Now, Christians argue with me all of the time and say, Well, that should prove that Christianity is true! Hmm...not so, my friends. All that proves is that there is something wrong with you for not having any doubt in your mind because it isn't the only religion in the world. The fact that there are countries that have nearly zero percent Christians, and have never even heard of your Christian god should raise some serious questions about your god's supposed power. Apparently, he hasn't been able to reach Madagascar, and he's had more than two thousand years to do it.
You Were Born an Atheist!
No human is born knowing anything at all about any religion. We are all born atheists. That is a fact. If you know anything at all about the Christian god it is because at some point someone told you about him. How can this be possible if Christianity is the perfect religion? Isn't your god strong enough to implant all the knowledge of his awesomeness within us upon conception? Shouldn't we all be born knowing about his mighty and powerful awesome might? What kind of god relies on mere mortals to pass on his story, and hopefully get it right? That just doesn't make any sense. The very fact that as a Christian you had to be taught how to think about this particular topic, and you had to be scared into accepting it as reality, should be a red flag. Why would anyone have to tell you anything? If you as a Christian can feel god's love right now because you know of him and his story, why couldn't someone who has never heard of him feel his love, too? Why aren't there ancient Chinese texts with references to this Christian god? That would indeed be persuasive evidence to support your claim that your god is truly "the one." But there isn't. The god of the bible is exclusive to the area and people that the bible came from. Two thousand years later those stories made it to your ears and for whatever reasons, you bought into them. You had to be told about them, though.
What if You Were Born in China?
What if you were born in China? Could you still be as smug as you are right now in your confidence about your faith? If you were born in China, chances are high that you would either be Buddhist or atheist. With only a 1% Christian population, how likely is it that you would even know about your Christian god? You would certainly know about the Buddha, though, and if you ever did hear about the god of the bible, you would most likely be disgusted because, having the Buddha as your model of ultimate morality, the Christian god fails miserably. He fails anyway, even without a superior moral god to compare him to, simply because we have a thing called empathy that can guide our feelings and actions towards other humans. But if you were born in China, you most likely wouldn't even know about that biblical monster, and you might be better off in the morality department.
Your Ancestors Probably Weren't Christian
If you were born in America, depending on what ethnicity, race, or nationality you are, Christianity was probably forced onto your ancestors. If you are black, for instance, your ancestors came from Africa, and it is almost certain that they were not Christian. There's a wonderful chance that they were your rival religion, Islam, or a number of other polytheistic religions. Even after being caught--because that's what good European Christians did back then, they "caught" people with darker skin than them to sell as slaves, just like the bible sanctions--and introduced to Christianity, your ancestors kept their previous gods, they just added the Christian gods to their pantheon. There was no enlightening moment where your ancestors realized they had been fools for having "false" gods all those centuries. You understand that they were forced to accept Christianity, or in many cases, it was beneficial to them to do it for better treatment. So why are you, their descendants, Christian?
If your ancestors were natives here--Native Americans--which can imply a multitude of things--they, too, were forced to accept Christianity. They had never even heard of your Christian god. With what pride, then, can you happily profess your faith when history shows how brutal and degrading it was for Natives and Africans. Even if you are sure you come from European stock, chances are somewhere on your family tree there is either an African or Native ancestor that had Christianity forced upon them, and their culture stripped away from them. How proud are you of that?
The Brutal Truth
You can claim faith or a personal relationship with Jesus is why you are Christian, but that just puts a big bow on the truth. The truth is you are a Christian because you were born in a predominately Christian country, your family is perhaps Christian and force fed it to you as a child, or you are just a mindless sheep that will believe whatever you are told. The truth is not pretty. In fact, you should be highly ashamed. The fact that you can claim this abomination of a religion with such certainty, claim that you can know the mind of your god so well as to assure me or anyone of his true intentions, is beyond immoral. It is down right hypocritical. That you can with such smugness guarantee that you are saved from some imaginary hell because of the love your god has for you, but that same god can let the other two thirds of the world perish in eternal flames because they do not even know of him, is utterly and impossibly immoral. The madness this implies cannot even begin to be understood. And the fact that you know this! You know this yet, still, you will deny it and argue that this is all wrong. That I can't possibly know what I am talking about because I must not know god's love, and therefore I am the evil one, is utterly irredeemable. If you are honest, moral people at all, you will raise serious inquiry into your god and your religion. It goes against even your own supposed morals to perpetuate this lie.
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Some Food for Thought
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More Food for Thought
- http://emmaspeaks.hubpages.com/_3kjgjy673mbcc/hub/ChristianPagan-Syncretism-in-Post-Conquest-Latin-A
Many Christian gods and deities in the Latin American world today carry a dual identity because of the Christian/Pagan syncretism that took place post conquest. - The Brutal Honesty Christians are Deathly Afraid of
Christians often cite their faith as the biggest reason for believing in god, but how honest is that? And how respectable is it to tout faith in something that defies all reason and logic? - Slavery in the Bible: No, it's not Voluntary and it Certainly is not Indentured Servitude
There is no end to justifications for slavery in the bible from Christians and Apologists. This article will put an end to that silly notion once and for all. - Genocide in the Bible: When has it Ever Been Okay?
Like slavery, genocide is another hot topic in the bible that Christians rush to defend. This article will take a closer look at genocide and the Apologists' excuses for it. - The Bible: A Solid Foundation for Atheistic Belief
The bible is far from a moral guide. If anything, it is a guide on how not to live your life. - The (Im)Moral Christian
Modern Christianity is a modern invention. Although Christians tend to cling to an ancient book, quite possibly the most immoral book ever conceived,they don't practice what it dictates, but they do defend it. This is a paradox.
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Thank you! It's so nice to hear positive comments. I'm sure the negative ones are on their way, though.
Actually... Truthfully...
I think that you are trying to convince yourself of something.
What would that be?
You are trying to convince yourself that logic, reason and evidence some how carry weight with the religious crowd...how silly of you... (I like the article by the way, all sarcasm aside)
Well, I'll give it the ole college try. I am a writer, so I may as well try to enlighten the ignorant.
I found it funny also that you admitted that you were born an atheist...
Every human is. If you are honest with yourself, you will admit that you were, too. You weren't born a christian.
I just find it funny that you picked christianity to talk about out of all the religions out there.
emmaspeaks,
You are representing your internal struggles with yourself. You are self-convinced by trusting the emotional processes that are going on within your mind with anger and hostility.
("We are all born atheists. That is a fact.")
Really, are you saying that atheism requires no more intellect than that which an infant can muster?
We are all born with the ability to be learn and be taught. As life progresses, we learn, anything and everything that we will ever know or believe.
("The fact that you can claim this abomination of a religion with such certainty, claim that you can know the mind of your god so well as to assure me or anyone of his true intentions, is beyond immoral. It is down right hypocritical.")
Can you logically formulate an argument for your problem of immorality without first providing an absolute standard to base your subjective interpretation.
An atheist looks around the world and notices that immorality exists. If God does not exist, then you can't blame Him for it.
No Emma... I was not born an Atheist who Discredits and Rejects the very concept of a god or God... I was Born like you were... Ignorant and Naive.
I chose to test.. I chose to trust.
I looked for, and I found what I was looking for.
Any you dear emma...
Are you really being Honest with yourself? Or anyone here for that matter?
Smile emma.. God still Loves you too. He just wishes you would look up now and then... or maybe talk to him without being so sarcastic and judgmental all the time...
After all... he is the Judge you know.. the real one.
But he is also like a father.. or grandfather that cares about you.
Good Day ma'am
Well, Plansandnails and Mr.maranatha, you are both showing how ignorant you are since you do not even know what an atheist is. An atheist is someone who does not believe in any god. Are you saying you were born believing in god? What an ignorant suggestion. And planks, I think I've already established that you are mentally incapacitated, so move on my friend. You don't have to agree with what I write but the fact that you choose to keep commenting on my hubs shows that I must be touching a nerve. Yay for me!
Mr. M, the same goes for you. I've obviously touched on a nerve so I feel accomplished. You'll spend days and possibly weeks turning this over in your head. In time, you will realize how ignorant you really are. There is nothing more arrogant than a christian that criticizes an atheist for sharing what she KNOWS, but then turns right around and affirms that he knows what he can't possible know, and that is the mind of god. Yeah, you are so humble yet you claim to KNOW the mind of god. Give me a freaking break! Stop trying to convert me and pick up a science book or something. Educate yourself! I'll keep writing.
Go Emma. The most annoying thing about religions is their denial of proven fact, i can tolerate it otherwise. I know that's not touched in this article but it's really annoying when people try to deny obvious scientific principles.
And in regards to theists in atheists forums.
"Religion is like a penis, it's fine to have one, and it's fine to be proud of it, but please don't whip it out in public and try to shove it down my throat."
I understand there are many atheists that do the same thing to you as you do to us I'm just asking, please be the bigger (wo)man and leave us in peace and ignore the atheists on your forums.
Love the penis quote! And I think you mean to ignore the theists, right?
Another great Hub Emma!
The basic problem with types like plans+nails and mr.maranatha, they just have reality backwards and now set themselves the goal to try and convince the rest of the world their god created nature so they will never see themselves as a product of natural evolution or even try to grasp reality fully to understand nature as the foundation of life's existence.
Their religious ideas do not strike them as a perversion of rationality even though it should be quite clear to them by now, that this god of theirs is simply a man made myth - their irrationality must be in their genes!
Maybe they were born with their god delusion ... :(
Tristan: which "Proven Fact are we denying?" Where is your Empirical Evidence?
Emma... You just Straw Man'ed Me. You did not reply to me or my post but to something else that you credited to it.
Typical.
Mr. M, I gave you the only reply a person in denial deserves. Your comment told me to smile because god loves me, what response could you possibly expect from that nonsense? Now THAT is typical of a christian who clings to fantasy.
Obviously location has something to do with the religion a person is exposed to and as you say most likely indoctrinated into from an early age. What exactly is the significance of that in relationship to Christianity? The fact is that you really have no idea, but thought it must in some way be significant. If you actually understood Christianity you would know that being indoctrinated into the religion is a detriment in actually coming to a knowledge of the truth.
It’s too bad people are unable run a fact check on your assumptions. While religion is a learned experience, we are not born atheists; which is also a learned experience. The gospel proclaims a message from God, but there is a lot we can know about God apart from anyone telling us anything.
Christianity became an imperfect and often times powerful weapon to deceive people almost from its origin. No one in their right mind would consider the “Christian religion” a perfect religion or for that matter accurate to the teachings of the Christ by whom their religion is named after.
All people are born with certain attributes that reflect in part the attributes of God. All people are born with some knowledge concerning the God and creator of all things. It is ridiculous to assume that God relies on mortals to accurately “pass on his story”, that doesn’t make sense and it isn’t true either.
I agree that anyone who is taught how to think about anything or scared into accepting a particular point of view as fact; red flags ought to be flying everywhere.
God’s love isn’t confined to those who “know of him and his story” as you say. People who experience love experience God to some degree.
If I was born in China I am confident that I would have serious doubts concerning Buddhism as well as atheism. I don’t know if I would be morally superior, but I suspect my lack of freedom would impact many of my decisions.
If you understand that the Christian religion has since its origin been used to deceive people, conquer the world and manipulate the truth; you wouldn’t be asking questions these questions. Human nature is opposed to having anything forced on them, but that is what you think God should have done with all of us.
Mindless sheep become followers of men who accept lies as truth and are easily manipulated. Mindless sheep assume facts that are not in evidence. Most people behave as mindless sheep.
I would be no more ashamed of the Christian religion than I would of any other religion that I would never become a mindless follower of, or allow it to be forced upon me or manipulated by. That would be hypocritical!
No human will perish or spend eternity in hell because they do not know of Him. Those who perish will perish because they refuse a love for the Truth. Those who perish will probably be those mindless sheep.
Carles, first of all, I was a Christian for nearly 30 years, so I think that gives me some insight into it. Second of all, yes, we are all born atheists. An atheist is someone who does not believe in any gods. Can you prove that you were born already believing in your god? I think not. And scientific studies can easily prove that a child who has not been indoctrinated, will have no knowledge of any god or religion unless taught. The rest of your comment is just nonsense. Doubts about Buddhism and atheism? Really? If you were born in China, sir, you may have doubts, but that does not mean you would turn to Christianity. Christians are so arrogant to even think that. With thousands of religions to choose from, you would be hard pressed to find the "right" one. And how do you even know what the right one is? You are ignorant, sir, and you have my pitty.
Hi Emma, one time when I was young, I was listening to a man talk deridingly about blacks. I decided to say something to him. I asked him if he chose his mother? The question seemed to stun him for a few seconds. He finally said No. I asked him if he had no choice in who his mother was, why did he feel himself superior to speak negative words against a person of a different skin color who also had no choice of who his mother was. The man could not answer me. He was convicted of something which is what I think you are trying to do in this hub writing. If you are convicting me that I was born an atheist, I will say yes! Perhaps I was even born a Maternist, (a mother who's child does not believe in her. (Ok, maybe I made the word up. Do you see my point? A Child doesnt know who its mother is until the bond is forged over a period of time. You might point out that the child goes right to the breast of its mother, but we know from actual examples that babies will nurse from any breast, that gives some semblance of food. You told us you were a Christian for nearly 30 years and I suppose you said that to eliminate any argument that you know what you are talking about. I think you know what you are talking about however if I was to believe you, then what would you tell me next? Where will I go when this body I live in has no more life? Who will I talk to when no one else is around and I need help? Perhaps you will say these are crutches that I dont need to rely on? Perhaps you will say that if I get more cocksuredness about my own abilities then I wont need some made up God. That would be fine for someone who spent nearly 30 years in a Christian Religion and feels like most of that time was wasted. It wasnt wasted though Emma because you brought up some points that you would never have been able to talk about if you had not experienced it. So I would say Praise God for giving you experiental wisdom. Or I could just say praise time for giving you wisdom. The insight of my 38 years being raised in a so-called Christian religion is this: God made man;man made religion. Now do I throw out all knowledge of God because religion was trying to teach me about him? That would be like deciding to quit writing or reading Hubpages because I didnt like something somebody wrote. How about a tiny step forward? Ask God if He is truly there to reveal himself to you?
Sincerely, Stephen Hope alias PastorReachOut.
emma, You are in my opinion a prime example of someone who had been indoctrinated into the Christian religion and why I stated it was actually a detriment for actually coming to knowledge of the Truth.
You obviously came to question your Christian religion to some extent; yet you state it is non-sense that a person would question being raised a Buddhist or an atheist in China. I love your sound reasoning.
Your arguments are seriously flawed with false assumptions:
I never stated questioning my Buddhist or Atheist upbringing would cause me to turn to Christianity; now did I? So I guess your comment is as you say non-sense.
“Scientific studies” prove nothing even close to what you stated; who told you that?
You are an enjoyable easy read!
Pastor, a child does know who it's mother is, even when it's in the womb. Pick up a science book sometime, okay. And learn the difference between the words "convict" and "convince". You, too, have my sympathy.
Charles, do not put words in my mouth, sir. I never stated that I doubted you would raise questions if you were a Buddhist. I said if you did, Christianity would surely not be where you turn. Most likely it WOULD be atheism, or Islam, or Hinduism, or a number of other religions. Your arrogance and your dishonesty offends me sir.
February 15, 2012
Hello, emma,
May I? Voted up, useful, funny and (mostly) interesting. You have a high-caliber of intelligence. I stand in awe of how much knowledge you possess and that is the truth. I leave you with more honest comments . . .
2/15/2012
I give you this note: a fantastic hub here. Well-written with noted points. Laugh or condemn me if you like, but I am an anti-religion-only crusader. In my hometown I make people who attend church just so their friends and business assocites will see them there very edgy. I admit that DO have a relationship with my GOD. For that, I do not apologize. And I literally love to discuss, with people, the grammatical errors in the KJV Bible. Some religionists will fight to the death for the KJV, but neglect the Hebrew Manuscripts. These, I love.
Im glad to meet you on hubs, and look forward to more of your hubs. I invite you to check out my hubs--if you need a good laugh. And I would love for you to be a follower too so I can keep close to a true talent and learn from you. Very Sincerely, Kenneth Avery, from Hamilton, a small northwest Alabama town that Norman Rockwell would have loved to painted on a magazine cover.
I will be looking for you and do keep great hubs LIKE THIS ONE coming.
Your friend,
Kenneth
Nice to meet you Kenneth. I will most certainly check your hubs out. Thank you for the comment.
emma, you are welcome. Very welcome indeed. I look forward to not only having you read, but follow my adventures in HubVille and correspond with you. I envy your IQ.
Kenneth
I am not a Christian because I was force fed it. Yes, I went to church and my parents always tried to give me "Christian" answers to my problems, but that made me resent it, not believe it. I recently red educated my life to Christ, because I realized that he DIED for what I have done. And then He came back! He is alive and some day he will come back. I know now how much he loves me, and I believe that God is real, and He sent his son to save me from my sins.
You just contradicted yourself. Point proven. Thanks for playing.
Marcy Goodfleisch Level 7 Commenter 4 months ago
Interesting stuff! I like your added graphics. Great hub! Up & Interesting!