I am a Christian (lifelong Presbyterian)and have been a Deacon at my church; turned down being an Elder on three occasions due to time constraints; and am very involved with community outreach and other things within the church.
The evangelists; the “Christian Right;” the Fundamentalists; groups like Westboro Baptist Church; and the list goes on and on; are horrible wretched individuals and collective groups that do insurmountable damage to the Christian religion. They are very similar to the extremists from other religions (Muslim mainly) that they speak out so strongly against. Muslims are not bad; Christians are not bad; extremists from both can make their respective religions looked at as something people would never consider following. And that is a horrible thing.
Doing something or saying something abhorrent under the guise of doing it “in God’s name” or “in the name of Jesus Christ” makes me sick. They are turning off non-Christians or people that are Christians but are questioning their beliefs. They do more than give Christians a bad name also; they are going directly against God by saying they are doing things in the name of God. I would much rather support an atheist than a false Christian.
My God loves all his children. He loves straight, gay, transgender, and any types of sexual orientation there can be. He loves light skin, dark skin, and any shades there could ever be. He loves all humans no matter their religious beliefs. He thinks we should all love each other and help each other. He loves the poor. He wants the poor to get help. He wants the rich to help the poor.
I am not trying to get on a soapbox. Christians and Muslims get bad raps because of the wrong “Christians” and “Muslims.” They are the loudest and most visible. I would just like to let everyone know that you should not let the acts of those horrible, hypocritical, ungodly wretches deter you from exploring your own religious beliefs. You may still not gravitate toward a religion, but that is your personal decision. As long as we are all being good to each other and trying to make the world a better place, we are doing our parts.