Let's pretend Jesus is real

[sally]

I've never become annoyed with anyone over their faith.

That is the word I was going to bring up is faith. Most don't need proof of the existence of God or Jesus or the events in the Bible.

If religion is created to control people-I wonder who is controlling the people that I know. The pastors-the members of the churches, the congregation.
I am pretty sure most pastors felt called to the ministry and not coerced into believing that it was just a good idea.

Am I on the wrong track?

Love Child, this is what I’ve encountered during the last 10+ years at my Lutheran Church.

BTW, we’re ELCA which is the tolerant branch, not the ball-busting sect.

This church reminds me in NO WAY of the Baptist Churches I attended as a teen. Those churches preached fire and brimstone on a weekly basis. Tithe, tithe and tithe some more, but they never talked about how the offering was going to the food shelf, or housing the homeless.

Our pastor had barely known my wife and I when our daughter was born prematurely, yet there he was at the hospital that next morning checking in with us.

These people are truly ‘called’ to do what they do. They serve others, drive modest vehicles, and are just as normal as any other person in this forum.

Anyway, I’m not here to tell anyone else they’re wrong.

I am here to say that being ‘religious’ doesn’t feel like the right word.

Being Catholic seems ‘religious’.

The Hail Mary’s, doing ‘works’ to gain Heaven’s entrance, feeling guilty your whole life for everything.

Your and Duchess’ definition of Christian seems spot on.

Well of course they had to modernize, the younger generation was creeped out by that archaic shit and they were losing customers. The churches here have even shamelessly reduced themselves to putting skate board ramps outside to lure them in.

It's like the Arby's commercial "We Got The Meats". As totally fucked up as that sounds people are piling in there to get their beef and cheddars.