Has christianity lost its touch?

There's already a thread on the pope dying here

Quoth FilmoreHolmes:
I think Christianity and most pop-religions have lost their relevance in today's world. It's become a business and the spirituality of them has faded under the pressure of cash (the Catholic Church being one of the largest landowners in the world...100% tax free too).

It wouldn't surprise me if well over 90% of that land were graveyards, churches and chapels..

i find it strange that all this happened right now cause i just happened to start reading about the other popes death and this ones succession in jon snows autobiography. in his death we traded a libertarian pope for an ultra conservative one. lets hope the next succession will reverse that

Quoth FilmoreHolmes:
I just find it funny people are praying for the Pope. That was front page of the Province yesterday. I'm not Christian but I'd think that over the last 100 years, this Pope might've done something to cover himself. Praying for him seems like kind've overkill. That'd be like praying for Jesus. If they ain't in the good books by now, no amount of praying will put them there. Now, wouldn't praying for the tsunami victims or the 2,000 killed in that massive earthquake a few days back be a little more useful?

i think the prayin relates to havin him pull through and if not that, then for him to die in peace and as painfree as possible....you arse

Props to the topic title, anyway. ;)

christianity hasn't, the vast majority of christians have. not that i'm one.

Christianity as a political figure has definatly fallen out of touch, but all religions aren't defined by the governing body but the people who worship that religion and make the community that it is. I think some of you put christians all in the same light. Only a portion of the people who worship christianity are crazed bible thumpers who throw rocks at girls entering abortion clinics and picket outside Terri Shaivo's hospice. Most of the christians i know are extremelly moderate, they disagree with the churches stance on issues like abortion and homosexuality, but are still members of the church as thats how they find fulfillment.

Before we even get started, I am a devout ELCA Lutheran. The reasons for this are personal and don't really pertain to this thread, but I figured I would add the disclaimer so people can scream "ZEALOT!" at me if they want.

The biggest problem Christianity faces in the wider world is that of perception, and Christianity repeatedly shoots itself in the foot in this regard by using people as representatives for the religion that shouldn't be a representative of anything.

Here's an example: many of you get an evangelical channel on your cable systems. If you watch evangelists, 95% of it is complete garbage surrounding the 5% or so that isn't. Any evangelist not named Billy Graham or (maybe) T.D. Jakes is wasting your time if you're not already a Christian and thus already agreeing with the gist of what is being said. Why on Earth would ANYONE who didn't already wholeheartedly believe in Christianity listen to a word that comes out of the mouth of Oral Roberts or Jimmy Swaggart? These people are not only snake oil salesman, but they don't even present the message in a rational sense.

Here's another example: "Christian" music. A VAST portion of this is complete dreck and only gets distributed because of the message that appeals ONLY to the already-rabid Christian base, yet is mysteriously promoted to secular audiences. Very few acts actually have significant musical talent; most of them should be relegated to the local church choir rather than having a recording contract. If you want to listen to music with Christian themes that can reach out to a mainstream audience, pick up ANY U2 album. Want something a little more direct? Try the Blind Boys of Alabama; "Spirit of the Century" is one of the best albums I've ever heard.

Here's a third example: for a person new to Christianity, the Bible is extremely dry, seems deeply self-contradictory, and promotes ideas that run in deep contradiction to modern Western society. Yet, rather than handing out something that could be fulfilling to a secular audience, groups like the Gideons distribute the New Testament. If I wasn't a Christian and got handed a New Testament out of the blue, I'd toss it in the trash can, too. Why don't the Gideons (and other groups) give away copies of something that could actually aid the spiritual journey of a secular humanist? "The Purpose-Driven Life" by Rick Warren is a good example, though a bit heavy-handed. "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis would be a great thing to hand out to a thinking audience.

The modern world is much different than the world of fifty years ago. The methods and expectations have changed, and by not updating along with these changes, Christianity cannot help but look backwards to secular society.

Krark

Quoth giveuptheghost:
...Bible eventually. I think the problem lies at that the Bible, to many including myself, is so inherently unbelievable, contradictory, and outdated...

Yeah they need to write a new one.
The current one is getting on a bit.

Quoth Feanor:
There's already a thread on the pope dying here

just as well this thread isn't about the pope dying, then.

the problem is not within the bible. the problem is with people interpreting the bible... whether through translation or ideals. Most people fail to realize that the bible was not made to be an entire book from front back but is a collection of many many stories... all of these stories are told from many different view points. Therefore, the different viewpoints contradict each other sometimes. Just as when some major event happens like 9/11 you have many different stories of what happened (ie: whether the US deserved it or a horrible act of murder, whether you were in the building, maybe if someone you knew died during it) all of these things change your perspective.
Perspective is a funny thing and can completely change a story, read any good book or watch any good movie, you can either feel sorry for the hero and see that he is a great person, or they can show you the tragedy of the villian and make you feel sorry for the villain.

as stated earlier if you read the bible in the original hebrew versions and such it is very different and you actually get a bit of name calling with certain characters saying things like "you stupid corinthians, thats not what happened..." what we have now is a very watered down version of what was once written.

another thing is that the christian and catholic faiths have many many different branches.. some more "devout" than others... some believing heavily in different issues than others. I went to one church where it was almost cult like and sickening you could not argue reasonably with these people because they wouuld not have it! a person who truly understnads faith will take your argument with thought and clarity and offer there view point "perpective" on the issue.

a new pope is needed and called for to bring the faith into the new century and the pope even wrote this in his will. This is the only pope younger people have lived with and it will be excitiing to see how the religion changes.

I used to be a Christian and I quit because I couldn't bring myself to tell people that I was because I knew they'd judge me poorly. They have a bad rap and it's mostly the fault of close minded bigots who use God as a weapon and a symbol of stature. The idea of Christianity is good but once you let people have a good idea then it becomes fucked into a cocked hat.