How has Christianity (negatively) affected you?

Question

To me? For one, i am not able to come out of the closet, and be myself (g*y). sick, i know.

Answer 1

For me: to teach me as a child, that I need someone outside my elite group to condemn to h**l so I can secure my salvation in Heaven for eternity.

___________

I hope I have outgrown such a mentality, but that being said, it has taught me that all religion Christian or otherwise... is and should really be about love, love for self and others... and its sad that people have to feel they have to categorize themselves in boxes such as:

Christian, Atheist, g*y, Straight, Democrat, Republican...

If each one of us takes a hard look at ourselves... we all have tendencies into any one of these categories.. and its much sadder to feel you have to commit to any one for an entire lifetime... its much more simpler and complicated then choosing a lifestyle and sticking with it... cause like change... you limit yourself to outdated ideas, morals, and philosophies... that could serve you in more effective, greater capacities... or in Christian Terms:

"Labels were meant for man, not man for labels"

Answer 2

It has made me sorrowful for those who refuse to believe there is a God, so much so, that I "ache" for their souls.  The negativity in this saddens me.

As for your fears, I will have to say that God made you this way for a reason.  Society is not accepting, as a rule, but God accepts you.  Ask Him for the strength to know what to do and when.  He won't let you down.

Answer 3

It has affected me by making the world stereotype me, because they think they know what all Christians believe.  Christianity is not the problem.  Uneducated morons are the problem. Every faith, political position, movement, whatever has them.  Morons ruin it for everyone. Go ahead and be g*y and Christian. It's your faith; not theirs..

Answer 4

I have become sensitized to pentecostal ministers. They appear to be charlatans in the extreme. Think Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts, Swaggart, Baker: all Assy of God ministers. They began extreme high volume music and PA in churches.

Answer 5

It has been the cause for many people to justify intolerance and even violence.

Christians have routinely rejected me on the grounds that I believe in things that they believe is against their Bible (such as ghosts and certain psionic phenomena).

Christianity is the cause for my religion to be consistently persecuted throughout history as heathen outcasts, and people have even been put to death for believing anything but Christian dogma.

Christianity rejects the truth on the grounds that it's unreasonable to go against God... which, in His universe, is simply not possible.

Christianity seeks to save people from themselves instead of teaching them to be safe.

Christians are routinely the least tolerant group I've run across, and are constantly trying to push religion on me when they discover that I'm something other than their religion.

Christianity is a religion based on fear and guilt, yet which professes love and tolerance. It is exactly opposite in practice to what is taught. I worry about its influence on my children. This worry is just one more stressor I don't really need.

Answer 6

It made me come down hard on others, it made me judge others. I soon realized i needed to let go of it and find God. If Christianity was the only way then it would have never happened the label is wrong Jesus wasn't a Christian ;) so i don't have to be, though i believe in Jesus and some of what Christians believe i refuse to put a label on my love for God any more Now I'm just natural. I switched to Zen and it helped me find what was wrong with me, only when the self falls away can God be in you.

Answer 7

I was raised Catholic... Christianity has negatively affected me because it stuffed my head full of s*it that isn't plausible and told me that I had to believe it or I was going to "h**l." Age and the development of reason has taught me otherwise.

Answer 8

The only thing bad I got from Christianity was a brief period of depression when I concluded I was more a fluke of the universe than a child of God.

What I have realized as an agnostic Darwinist is that we are anything but a fluke.   See it turns out that almost EVERYONE believes there is an eternal unchanging Logic that governs the universe & created man.

Believers call it God.

Atheists call it Physics or Natural Selection.

As a Darwinists I see the point of life as survival & procreation NOT personal happiness.  

So from my viewpoint if Christianity keeps you in the closet and

A) Causes you to procreate against your wishes.  OR

B) Keeps you from interfering with a bi-sexual's procreative chances.

Then it serves the purpose too which it was evolved.  I.e. to promote social order & procreation.  Which in your case is a guilt trip over tendencies toward genetic suicide.

You are being made unhappy by Christianity; you are NOT being affected negatively.  The same is pretty true over all.   Christian children are told to be mothers & fathers instead of s***s & playboys.  Now it might be more FUN to be a **** or playboy but in societal terms this is a negative.

The short version is that Religion persists because it conveys a survival advantage on those who believe.  Which is to say Religion is here because it's affect overall is positive.

Answer 9

I feel contemporary Christianity has been the medium of at least three very unhealthy ideas that seem to influence even those who do not follow the Christian faith.

Disclaimer: Not all individual Christians buy into these ideas. And i do think Christianity has been the medium of some very healthy ideas as well!

1. The world is strictly divided between good and evil. More generally than that, all things in the world can be easily divided into binaries.

-- In my experience the world is full of a lot of gray areas, uncertainties, and overlap. Recognizing this allows us to better respond to the world! Not recognizing this creates situations where attempt to force reality to fit into oversimplified definitions, and people get hurt as a result.

2. The world is inherently deceptive. You cannot even believe your own eyes, or the lived experience of yourself and your community, if it disagrees with the doctrine. (satan's temptations into sin)

-- Learning one's environment and how to respond to it appropriately is an important part of survival! The idea that it's bested to ignore one's elder's or even one's own lived experience leaves people with the inability to adapt to change of situation or new found information!

(global warming comes to mind)

3. The ultimate goal of humanity is to join under one single world-view/religion/law, and it is everyone's duty to force others to think and act like them.

-- Personally, i find strength in diversity. The more people who approach life from different angles, the more different kinds of thoughts are out there, the more likely someone will think of a clever solution to a problem or have some unique insight on the world -- one from which all of humanity might benefit. In a homogeneous culture, while some problems might be easily addressed from within the views of that culture, it is inevitable that some issue will come along that folks are not prepared for and then, well, people have an essentially unsolvable problem and all the misery that might bring!

For example, I am also g*y, and i see the hostility some Christians have towards me not so much as just a product of a few passages in the Bible commonly interpreted as "Don't be g*y!" but more deeply as the core ideas above. Partly as (1) the byproduct of a very rigid binary gender/family structure that is rife with sexism and an obsessive control of fertility that has a very strong good vs. bad judgment placed upon it (2) and they have no room to acknowledge the *overwhelming* evidence that most g*y people are productive, well-adjusted members of society, or that gayness in MANY species seems to be a natural part of variation (3) and that everyone must agree to abide by Christian laws and morals, including the (hotly debated WITHIN Christian circles) prohibition on homosexuality.

Answer 10

It's forced me to listen to you annoying anti-Christians attack people you don't know because of our religion.

I am SO SICK of people assuming Christians and Christianity are to blame for the worlds problems. I'm Christian, AND I accept other people, including g**s, lesbians, and bis.

Christianity has taught me that it's not my place to judge others, so why do you assume I judge you?

Answer 11

Only in later years did I start to consider the possibilities of a spirit realm.  At 18 I very nearly went there, and there's still no proof that I didn't!  Since then, I have read extensively about spiritual events and can only conclude that Christianity, along with all the other religions, has been made up, to allow control and conflict to be used by those in charge to maintain a society of greed and inequality.

The negative impact of Christianity has been the misdirection of my contemplation, from a comprehension of what could actually be true, to an obviously man-made book dictating to me a story that at the very best can only be described as flawed.  At the worst, it is a blatant lie, that the powers that be support, and, as they control the mass media, then it takes a significant event, like the one I had at 18, before a person can break free of the state generated mental chains, that bind so many people to false beliefs, and start to think for themself.

There are very many extremely good messages in all the religious texts, that should be understood and followed; but the underlying stories are made up.  Fortunately a large number of people are waking up to this fact.  Unfortunately, they are choosing to disregard the benefits also.

Answer 12

At the age of 5  I was slapped by a nun for receiving communion - I was not baptized yet and did not understand that the "Body of Christ" was exclusively for the Catholic.

I continued my education in Catholic school going to Baptist church on Sundays and of course was scorned for going to Catholic church by the Baptist part of my family. My mother was into alternative beliefs.

On Saturdays I would occasionally go with friends to the Jewish synagogue and functions. I also had exposure to Pentecostal, Lutheran and Episcopalian groups. I held off on being baptized until I was 17.

I asked a friend to baptize me in church privately.Only she and I knew. It's not religion itself which negatively affected me but rather the people who negatively represented it....lol. Hope that makes sense.

Answer 13

Oh yeah, that evil horrible Christianity.  Who did Jesus think he was, anyway?  Walking around healing sick people, teaching about God's love, defeating death, speaking the truth, tossing about all those money-lenders tables in the temple.  What a punk.  Boy o boy do I ever wish I could just go back to being a slave in Egypt!  Then all my problems would be solved.

In case you can't tell, I'm being sarcastic.  2000 years ago Jesus came and told us that the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand if we just choose to live in it instead of turning away from God and living in sin.  The people nailed him up for it and wallowed in the evil of their lives, and they died miserably.  Today, nothing has changed.  Why don't you try to seek God in truth and sincerity instead of just blaming other people for your own problems.  

God loves you.  Work Him, not against Him.  He wants to share all the gifts of eternity with you, but you turn away and talk trash about Him and His people.  No wonder you feel sick.  

Answer 14

booFUCKENwho! so you're g*y, SO WHAT? don't blame someone (or something) else for your problem! if you want to come out (of which you seem to be doing so by admitting it here), THEN DO IT! be yourself, don't let anything hold you back.  

Answer 15

It actually has POSITIVELY affected me.

It's not really sounding like you're a Christian if you're not willing to abide by all the commandments.....

Answer 16

I had to grow up Christian, not knowing anything else. Now, I have to lie to my family and act like I still believe Christianity.

I think it is an outdated religion without anything backing it up other than faith. But I just let people believe what they want to without debate. If it makes people feel better about life to think that at ANY SECOND Jesus is going to come down and save you, or that you are going to heaven or h**l based upon talking to the Holy Spirit, then go ahead. Get through life your way, and I'll go mine.  

Answer 17

I'm not looking for a scapegoat. You have the power to do God's will..it's inherit in you as a Son of God.