Two-thousand years ago, a small religion popped up in the Middle East, inspired by Paul née Saul of Tarsus’ teachings about a man named Jesus.
Just as quickly, that religion died. It went extinct.
That’s not to say that “the faith” didn’t continue; rather, it rapidly evolved into something altogether different and incompatible with the original religion of Paul.
The traits which evolved are legion — encompassing everything from how Christians ought to live to nuances in what they are to believe — but I took a few moments to lay out what I consider to be the five biggest ways in which Christians get their own religion wrong.
- Satan — Who and what is he?
- The Church — Are all of those buildings that line the streets of your town actually biblical churches?
- The Bible — A lot has been written about the “plenary verbal inspiration and inerrancy of the Holy Bible” — including plenty which I’ve written myself — but what should people think of the Bible, as a book, in reality?
- Marriage — Ask just about any bumper sticker what marriage is, and you’ll get the same response: “marriage = 1 man + 1 woman.” Simple. Pithy. Memorable. Wrong. Well, at least from a biblical standpoint. That’s not to say that a single man and a single woman can’t make a marriage, but there is a lot more to what the Bible says about marriage.
- Jesus — The Grand Poobah himself. If he existed, what sort of man was he, and how should Christians actually be inspired by him?
