Anti-christian?

Over the last few years my views on religion, and Christianity in particular, have dramatically changed, and I'm sure all of you who have known me that long are well aware of that fact!

Many people accuse me of renouncing my faith, that I was never a real Christian in the first place, that I've been deceived by the devil, that I've twisted my beliefs to fit my experience, or that I've succumbed to my fleshly lusts so I can live the "gay" life.

I speak a lot about all that is wrong with religion, and am quite outspoken about the damage it inflicts on people.

In many ways, I've walked away from the belief system that completely shaped who I was for over 40 years. I've seen the logical fallacies, the contradictions, the lack of evidence, the confusion, the bigotry, the hypocrisy... and used the "God given" abilities of reason and logic along with experience and a ruthless self examination, honesty and as much integrity as I can muster, to unravel everything I believed.

Why? Because when push came to shove, it simply doesn't "work".

Am I "anti-Christian"? Am I even still Christian? I don't think they are the right questions to ask, because to attempt to answer them directly doesn't allow for the real scope of the issue.

The belief system of Christianity is very workable on many levels and has provided a tidy answer to the meaning of life for millions of people over the centuries. It addresses issues such as our place in the universe, human nature, morals and ethics etc in well defined ways, that if followed correctly, are good enough for most people to be able to get on with life without being distracted by the "big questions".

It works - on a certain level. Unfortunately, for myself and countless others, it has proven to be very lacking, with a very blinkered and fundamentally flawed view of life. I've written copious quantities about this so won't bore you with the details, but the point of this blog is to address my "anti-christian" stand.

My simple answer is this:

If whatever you believe brings love to yourself, and through that, brings love to everyone else...
If whatever you believe breaks down barriers and looks for love and beauty in everything...
If whatever you believe brings life, peace, joy and encouragement...
If whatever you believe accepts everyone without an agenda...
If whatever you believe has no dogma, bigotry, exclusivism or hate...

Then awesome! Go for it!

But if you have the guts and integrity to examine your belief system and find it lacking in any of the above, then it's time to stop and unravel, be prepared for a "crisis of faith", because your beliefs are the problem, not the solution!