OpenChristian
This is a community for progressive Christians and friends to discuss our faith, support each other, and share inspiration for our spiritual journeys.
We seek God's message of Peace, Love, and Grace through following the Spirit of Christ.
OpenChristian Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenChristian/s/K3NwAgNj2a
OpenChristian Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/KwyUcXv
LGBT Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/e8HXnzV
Wiki: https://reddit.com/r/OpenChristian/w/index
FAQ: https://reddit.com/r/OpenChristian/w/faq
Online Resources: https://reddit.com/r/OpenChristian/w/onlineresources
Community Rules
- No bigotry or oppressive rhetoric.
All misogyny, racism, antisemitism, LGBTQ+phobia, etc. will result in removal and a permanent ban. This includes commenting that LGBTQ¢+ love or relationships are sinful. Be aware that using “Pharisee” as a negative slur is considered anti-Semitic.
1b. Side B folks are welcome, but follow Rule 1. If you are a Side B Christian, please respect Rule 1 above, but know that you belong here and we want you to participate.
- Do not promote oppressive/harmful ideology.
This includes all attempts to promote or normalise hate, shame, or fear within Christianity (e.g. purity culture, scaremongering against gender-transitioning, “complementarianism’”, or “demonic” attacks).
- No sectarianism.
Legitimate criticism of other Christians/ faiths is allowed but refrain from prejudice against entire denominations/groups, and against other religions (e.g. Islamophobia).
- No disparaging Christianity
This is primarily a supportive space for anyone who identifies as Christian. While everyone is welcome to participate we ask that no one disparages Christianity.
- Be respectful and polite.
No personal attacks or accusations, harassment, misrepresentation of others, or insults. This also includes forcing debate, gatekeeping, and denying the validity of another's faith.
- Don't be a troll or a jerk.
Don't concern troll, play devil's advocate, or pretend to be confused when you really just want to start a debate. This Rule will be interpreted at the moderators’ discretion.
- No spamming or proselytizing
Don't post here if you're mass posting to other Communities. Don't post here for self-promotion unless it's particularly relevant to this subreddit. This is not your soapbox, and we are not here for you to preach at us. If you want to promote your media please ask permission from the mods.
- Be sensitive about linking to triggering N~ content.
Because we want this space to be as safe as possible, we discourage posting images or links to oppressive rhetoric from others. However, we do understand that venting is important sometimes. If you must post something potentially triggering, mark it nsfw or use spoiler tags, and censor any identifying information.
- Discussion of the ongoing israeli-Palestinian conflict is temporarily prohibited.
This topic has proven to be too divisive to discuss without consistently violating this subreddit’s rules. In order to maintain peace and to continue supporting one another, content regarding the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict is not permitted at this time.
Notice:
OpenChristian is inclusive, open and welcoming of all. We are LGBTQ+ affirming, but we welcome any who have chosen celibacy, as long as you respect Rule 1.
Do not post or comment about how you believe homosexuality is a sin.
We have heard this a thousand times, and you have nothing new to contribute to the conversation.
If you do this, you will be banned.
Please note that as a progressive Christian community, we are explicitly followers of Christ, as well as LGBTQ+ affirming and egalitarian.
Friends are very welcome to participate, no matter what you believe.
But this is not the place for questioning or debating these positions.
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Christianity, as an organized religion, is rife with issues and inconsistencies. In some ways that's reflected in the extreme diversity of the religion. You'd literally need a spreadsheet to keep track of all the denominations, splinters, and factions within Christianity because none of us can agree on anything. To make matters worse, for much if it's history, the church has been a tool of oppression; completely antithetical to the teachings of Jesus that it claims to embody. Because of that, the church -- and by extension Christianity -- get a lot of well warranted criticism.
However, that's not to say that the church as a whole is inherently bad or lacking in value. There are plenty of Christians who genuinely believe in God and want to live in a way that exemplifies the teachings of Jesus.
If you want to know what it means to be a follower of Jesus, there are two passages in the Bible I would highly recommend. The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew Chapters 5-7) and The Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:20-49). In those sermons, Jesus outlines what [we believe] God expects from us and what it means to be his followers.
To address a couple of your other questions:
Sin
Sin is the things in our lives that separate us from God. Some Christians make the mistake of trying to distill sin down to a list of "Do's and Dont's". It's really a lot simpler than that. Read the gospel passeges I mentioned above and think of "sin" as failure to live up to those ideals. It's something we all do at times.
Heaven
Scripture does support the idea of an afterlife and "heaven", "paradise", etc. are mentioned on numerous occasions. The details are vague and honestly, some Christian traditions place way too much emphasis on "heaven" as though we were given life on earth only to speed run our way to death and the afterlife. That sort of thinking makes light of the miraculous gift that is this life.
Hell
Much of what you probably think of when you hear the word "hell" comes from fiction (think Dante's Divine Comedy) rather than from the Bible. English translations that refer to "hell" are actually referring to one of several different places depending on the context. Scripture is even more vague on this than it is on "Heaven". Personally, I do not believe in "Hell" as a place of eternal torment.
I hope this is helpful. My faith is an important part of my life. It didn't start out that way though. I nearly gave up on Christianity altogether because I grew up in the church and saw so many things happen that were the opposite of Jesus teachings. Eventually I learned that not all Christians are like that.
I'm no theology major but I'm happy to answer any questions to the best of my ability.