I’m no longer a Christian, for several reasons, but one of the main reasons is the fundamental belief that you have to be a Christian to be accepted and saved by God. That excludes billions of people, and I believe we’re all loved and accepted by God. That aside, though, I continued to attend a Presbyterian church for years, because I took my mother-in-law who couldn’t drive. Over the years, they’ve gone through several pastors, and the one who stood out, the one I always enjoyed listening to, was a lady whose first goal was to make sure everyone knew they were welcome and valued and accepted. She made sure everyone knew she didn’t care where they were from, if they were members, if they were from a different church, religion, country, if they were members of the LGBTQ community, could speak English, etc. She was just glad they were there.
She never preached fire and brimstone or damnation or judgment. At the center of each sermon was always love, and she connected it in various ways to today and explained why it was important. People left feeling better than when they arrived. She brought the people depicted in the Bible alive and made connections to the people of today.
The younger people of today, and especially those who are still growing up don’t buy into exclusivity or entitlement. They’re not going to want to worship with people or within a church or religion who thinks two thirds of the world population is destined for hell because they don’t worship in the same way. I can’t imagine that Yeshua (Jesus) would want to, either, and I know He would not send all those billions of people to hell for eternity simply because they don’t know Him or recognize Him as god. People are entitled to believe that if they want to, but it will never call to the upcoming generations or make sense to them.
Maybe if there was a church who believed that but was committed to leaving the judgement to God and not closing their doors to others or condemning or persecuting them, they would still participate, but I don’t think so. I agree Christianity will survive, but I don’t think it will ever thrive again on a big scale, unless there is a broader understanding of the Bible, and everyone, regardless of religion and lifestyle, is accepted with love and respect, and Christians can agree to disagree where religion is concerned. Christianity is a beautiful religion in many ways, and I know many Christians who are beautiful people, but most of them disagree with many fundamental beliefs of their religion and have found a way to make it work for them despite its shortcomings.
I mean no disrespect to you or your religion. I wish you and your church the best.
