Christianity for non-haters

The Rev · 03-08-2009, 01:53 PM

My wife is a Christian, but she has come to an impasse with her current church because of their intolerance toward certain groups, like non-christians, gays, etc. She's looking for a new church, one that orients itself more toward the teachings of Jesus (love, compassion, acceptance) and away from some of the mainstream prejudices her church professes.

Any suggestions on a denomination that might be good for her to look into?

The Rev

**Canuck Wisdom** · 03-08-2009, 02:37 PM

I grew up in a lutheran church and theyre very accepting of all those things, but I cant say for certain any lutheran church would be.

OldMan&TheWeed · 03-08-2009, 03:14 PM

By and large the Methodists, Episcopal, and Lutherans are pretty open minded these days, but It really depends just as much on the individual congregation as much as it does the denomination. Here's a good space to start looking:

List of Christian denominational positions on homosexuality - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Waves · 03-08-2009, 03:55 PM

Originally Posted by The Rev

My wife is a Christian, but she has come to an impasse with her current church because of their intolerance toward certain groups, like non-christians, gays, etc. She's looking for a new church, one that orients itself more toward the teachings of Jesus (love, compassion, acceptance) and away from some of the mainstream prejudices her church professes.

Any suggestions on a denomination that might be good for her to look into?

The Rev

love compassion and acceptance have no place in modern organized religion. the foundations are built on hate and separation and judgement.

i suggest Thelema

that or buddhism.

Mercury · 03-08-2009, 04:13 PM

You should tell your wife to bring back the Puritans. They're my favorite christians.

Waves · 03-08-2009, 04:24 PM

the most judgemental uptight hatefilled fucks of them all!

farmergiles · 03-08-2009, 04:26 PM

Thelema- didn`t Crowley start some cult based on that?

Waves · 03-08-2009, 04:26 PM

Originally Posted by The Rev

My wife is a Christian, but she has come to an impasse with her current church because of their intolerance toward certain groups, like non-christians, gays, etc. She's looking for a new church, one that orients itself more toward the teachings of Jesus (love, compassion, acceptance) and away from some of the mainstream prejudices her church professes.

Any suggestions on a denomination that might be good for her to look into?

The Rev

another thing she could do is take a deep soul searching journey and disregard outside teachings to find what is true in her own heart and mind.

that i really suggest, its great fun.

Originally Posted by farmergiles

Thelema- didn`t Crowley start some cult based on that?

yup. guy was crazy but smart. a combination i really dig.

The Rev · 03-08-2009, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by Waves

another thing she could do is take a deep soul searching journey and disregard outside teachings to find what is true in her own heart and mind.

that i really suggest, its great fun.

My first choice too, but it isn't my choice, it's her's. My wife is a Christian, and I support her in that. There are many paths to truth, and you have to go with what works for you.

The Rev

Waves · 03-09-2009, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by The Rev

My first choice too, but it isn't my choice, it's her's. My wife is a Christian, and I support her in that. There are many paths to truth, and you have to go with what works for you.

The Rev

thats a good point. the path that goes through the church is just really thick. gonna need a big machete.

**v3d4** · 03-09-2009, 04:56 PM

how about house church?

House Church Central

HCC is non-denominational and an effort is made to accommodate Christians of many backgrounds. The house church movement is an attempt to get away from the institutional church, seeking instead to return to the small gatherings of peoples that constituted all of the churches of the New Testament era.

The emphasis at this site is not to criticize the institutional church, but rather to lift up its alternative. Many house churches start among people who first meet in an institutional setting, and regular attendance at a good institutional church is encouraged as a source of Christian teaching. But can one really worship at an institutional church? The fellowship pictured in Mt. 18:20 (the source of the house church doctrine of church) is "two or three gathered together." Even "church growth" expert Lyle Schaller says that the "glue" that is necessary to unite worshippers cannot be achieved as a church grows beyond a limit of about 40 people. Other experts point out that an assembly larger than a mere dozen people creates an environment in which some of the people often back away from full participation. And there is the concern so well articulated by Kierkegaard that the institutional church tends toward viewing its members as an "audience" and the worship experience as a "show." It is better, he said, to view God as the audience and all the people equally accountable for the "performance" of worshipping in Spirit and in Truth.

OldMan&TheWeed · 03-09-2009, 05:13 PM

I belonged to a house-church when I was in my early twenties. They weren't very open-minded however. Quite the opposite actually.

It varies from congregation to congegation.

spicoli · 03-09-2009, 05:18 PM

United Church of Christ looks like the least judgemental and accepting church.
i've been feeling the same way, and like your wife, i left my church.
your post actually forced my to try and find a more liberal Christian community.
in just a few minutes i found this one. don't let it be confused with Churches of Christ, or Church of Christ, as they are against homosexuality.
good luck to your wife and her journey.

kamikazi89 · 03-10-2009, 09:53 AM

quakers..seriously..

**SageTree** · 03-11-2009, 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by spicoli

United Church of Christ

First Protestant denomination to preform gay union ceremonies. Very socially conscious.

Originally Posted by kamikazi89

quakers..seriously..

The Unitarians Universalist could be too liberal, although some UU churches are rather Christian.The one I used to attend was very Dharma realated. Many people who were debating about coming were throughing around between UUs and Quakers. Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations

I looked really hard to find a religous personality quiz, but the Belief-o-matic at Inspiration, Spirituality, Faith, Religion - Beliefnet.com is the closest I could get, and that narrows it down to a few types of christiantity mixed in with alot of other religions, However I would like to add that there is alot of information on types of protestant christians.

Good Luck. She might want to consider having personal devotion for a while and see where her spirit leads her. She might find that something else calls her.

As a side note, What does she think of your awakenings in 'spiritual' life?

Loving Kindness.
SageTree

al-Mu'akhkhir · 03-11-2009, 11:11 AM

you know I think it's sorta interesting that homosexuality is mentioned maybe once or twice in the bible, and modern day Christians believe it is "one of the biggest issues facing society today" or whatever, I mean shouldn't they be more worried about upholding the ten commandments rather than singling out a minority and shitting all over them?

**SageTree** · 03-11-2009, 11:27 AM

Some people forgot about the story where Jesus says ' Don't make a big deal out of the speck in your brothers eye and forget about the plant in yours' -paraphrase Matthew 7:2-3

JcP · 03-11-2009, 12:36 PM

Unitarian Universalist!

It might not be Christian "enough" but definately worth a look. I don't really go to church anymore, but I usher at evening services once a month. Plus UU's do a LOT of community outreach and volunteer programs, so if she wants to be a "doer" not just a pew-sitter, she might like to check them out if only for their outreach!

**SageTree** · 03-11-2009, 02:36 PM

For sure that is what the UU's are about. Social Action first, how you got that point of giving, second, over coffee, of course.

The Rev · 03-11-2009, 04:49 PM

I know what you mean about the bible. In Leviticus, it mentions that oft quoted phrase about "a man lying with another man" being "an abomination" but if you go back just a few verses, it says the same thing about eating shrimp. I saw a film recently which analyzed this statement, and made the point that, in its historical context, the label "abomination" simply meant that it was outside normal practice or tradition.

Personally, I find it very sad that so many people use a book that's supposed to make us better people as a weapon to justify harming or hating one another.

Just goes to show you, the best intentions (even God's), can still lead to ruin.

The Rev