Evangelical Christianity

[catmint_1984]

*groans*

I'm sorry, but Evangelical Christianity is really frustrating me at the moment.

Their attitudes to Catholicism is really frustrating me. On several occasions while I was at home people from my home church went on a rant about how Catholics aren't Christians (worship the saints as idols, worship Mary (same reason), heretical, blasphemous).

Comments

[vote_incitatus]

Stupid people are such a turn-off. It's so much harder to avoid stupidity and ignorance when its coming from people at church though.

When I was at Mardon last year, I too got really thoroughly p'd off with evangelical christianity, most of my rage focused on the ECU. They were always like "We've got this event! Invite your non-christian friends! If you don't, they're going to hell, and it's your fault!" Ok, not in so many words, but that was pretty much the message. I didn't HAVE any non-christian university friends, just people I vaguely knew on my course - English is a bit anonymous, being so big, isn't it? All the time I really wanted to know how to tell my Dad about Jesus, but I wasn't getting any help about that. I invited him to the carol service the ECU put on, and he hated it. (But he was good enough not to say so until a long time after. I think he used the words "self-rightoeus evangelist" and "smug" about the preacher. Oooh dear...) Their approach was all about talking to friends, which is GREAT if you're outgoing and popular and don't want to melt into the corner in social situations. It made me feel horribly guilty and confused.

I think God made quiet people and social people. I don't think introversion needs to be "cured" like one speaker I heard said. There are people who are going to be turned off by someone they hardly know inviting them to Christian events, and might respond better to reading a book, or the subject just coming up in conversation with one person they know really well, or discussing it more anonymously online. I think you can be quietly passionate. Like you said, if you work better by serving and getting on with it, then go on and serve, and may God love and bless you.

I wrote my Dad a letter, explaining my beliefs clearly, so he understood. He wrote me one back. It didn't involve any awkward silences, cringing with embarrassment, stuttering, saying the wrong thing, forgetting to say the right thing, or feeling that we didn't love and respect each other. :D

People are different, if what they say doesn't work for you, then it doesn't. There'll be other people it doesn't work for - perhaps the Catholics. Go find 'em!

WOOHOO, I did a rant of my own...uh yeah...wow...okay. Hey, what's the Catholic view on bible studies? The stereotype draw from medieval times sort of assumes they don't study the bible but just believe what the priest tells them it says. I don't think that's even slightly accurate...If you just read a page a day, and it's hard, surely that's worth more in terms of sacrifice than someone who reads for an hour every morning just because THEY like it - not for God or anything?

[catmint_1984]

I agree with you completely that English is really anonymous. When I go to lectures I see sooooooooo many people I just don't know and it's like, You're on my course?

One of the reasons I left ECU at the start of last term (apart from morris practice "clashing" - ie. it overran, which meant I missed tea in Mardon, so I had to go somewhere else for food (Tuesday 9am lectures are not conducive to remembering late-meal requests...how convenient), which is generally Clydesdale House, and by the time I've ordered food, it's been cooked and I've eaten it...Oh dear, it's about 7.30 and I'd be late for ECU...*that's* a shame) was exactly what you said - the pushing pushing pushing. I hate that kind of stuff and I just don't work that way. Most of the stuff I'm learning about both Christianity in general and specifically Catholicism is through reading stuff, discussing it with close friends and listening to stuff. I'm a quiet person; I don't get on well with in-your-face stuff.

Take Chris - he's very much the opposite of me in that respect. He's a great guy and a good friend, but his way of going about stuff is completely different to mine. I respect his way of doing stuff and sharing his faith, but I also know that that really isn't my thing. I may go to an Evangelical church at home, but I would never describe myself as an Evangelical (big 'E') Christian.

From what my friend Kate says, Catholics aren't always good at reading their Bibles - though I think on the whole they're getting better. I know some of the Catholics that I know here know their Bibles fairly well. I think it helps that Fr Paul tells us the readings beforehand so we've got the opportunity to look it up. I don't think Catholics are as bad at Bible reading/studying as people make out; I think a lot of it is those people falling back on old stereotypes because they don't know anything different. Also, nowadays there are all those study books and so on, which I think makes a huge difference

[vote_incitatus]

I know more people in English after the Creative Writing modules. It's more personal, I guess - or maybe I just get on better with the creative people!

Yeah, by the last term me and my roommate just flat out stopped going, with no real excuse. The dinner one is perfectly valid, I feel - what kind of a system is that anyway??? I got back so late on thursdays I'd missed the late dinner deadline, and Anne had to nick me some sandwiches. Which were usually quite gross.

All hail little bible study books!