Christ without Christianity is D-I-Y religion

Religion is BS.
Thank you very much.

Seriously, 'Reverend,' Father,' Whatever.

You complain about 'DIY?'

You *killed* everyone that had another option than DIY.

My Gods found me, nonetheless.

While all your sophistry can only say, 'You can't thoroughly prove my unreason is not so.'

In all sincerity, sir, I don't *care* how much I have to 'DIY,' and it's less than your lies ever said, actually, because I'm not as *alone* as you said I would be, either.

Nothing's forgotten.

I'm *not* alone,

And if you want to compare carpentry, well.. Heh.

You're the only ones who said this was some kind of competition.

At this rate, you *may* wish to reconsider. *My* Gods never said yours had to go. But we do need to focus, here.

""They also know that you cannot transform the world without one another. That is why Christ called disciples to follow him. ""

Amazing then, how those 'disciples' somehow got the idea of taking over the world with political and military power, when, as far as I know, even the much-edited translations don't say 'This takes a world-dominating church, or any?'

Actually one can choose to follow whomever or whatever one wishes. What you mean to say that it wouldn't be efficacious; that is debatable. Christianity basically exists because Paul wanted to do it his way. In the years following the death of Jesus, there was quite an argument regarding whether one had to become a Jew first before becoming a Christian, i.e., Christians were considered to be sectarian Jews. Paul, who started out being a persecutor of Christians, had trouble selling the faith to gentiles. They didn't want to be circumcised, follow Jewish dietary restrictions, etc. To make acceptance of Christ more palatable to gentiles, Paul invented a new religion, Christianity. He did it his way.

Bishop Carey: "Christ without Christianity is D-I-Y religion"

**************************************************************************************

You say that like it's a bad thing. Since no two individuals within the same religion, within the sme sect, or even sitting side by side on the same pew have identical experiences in their encouters and relationship with the Divine, ALL religion is, in the end, a DIY project.

You know what they say,

If you want something done right... :)

Right, we'd be so much further away from God without having had the benefit of the church selling the papacy for hundreds of years, playing the kings of Europe off each other, killing millions in the Crusades, torturing and burning during the Inquisition, wiping native populations out of existence, oppressing women, and molesting small children, all while tricking people into donating 10% of their income to a tax-exempt institution.

But, of course, they've had 2,000 years to get it right, so there's just no finding God without them now.

"If Anne wants to follow Christ she can't do it on her own."

And why is this? Because "Christ" is the name posthumously bestowed upon Jesus by the real inventors of "Christianity."

Jesus had nothing to do with Christianity at the time of its inception, and it's arguable that he still has nothing to do with the religion that grew around -- and then away from -- his teachings.

If Anne wants to follow Jesus on her own, that's a different matter. Following the teachings of this Jewish philosopher and purported holy man is as easy as doing what Thomas Jefferson did in making his own bible.

The Jefferson Bible, with which some of the panel experts may be familiar, is a document he created by starting with the New Testament and redacting it to remove all but the statements Jesus himself was thought to have made. What emerged was a slim book of reliably moral teachings by a man who had great love and empathy for humankind.

I agree wholeheartedly with those who say that Jesus, if he visited Earth today, would not recognize the religion that co-opted his name. And he certainly wouldn't approve of it.

"Christ is synonymous with Christianity. We only know Christ through his people, through the saints, through the scriptures, through the church."

If this statement is true then Jesus is a Liar and we don't need him to get to GOD.

Jesus says no one comes to the Father but by me.

You say in order to know Jesus we need to come by way of you, therefor according to you in order to come to GOD we need you which effectively does away with the need for Jesus.

What a fool, He died on that cross for nothing since all we need is you.

Sorry dude but I already put my future in Jesus capable hands and I didn't need any church or organization or denomination to show me how.

I finally found him only when I realized that I really didn't need them to show me the way.

Organized religion and christianity pointed me down the wrong path for many years.

We do not need the church or its preachers to show us Jesus way over there, He's already standing right beside each and every one of us waiting for us to take his outstretched hand, Taking his hand requires no teaching from you, it only requires our willing action to lift our hand from our side and grab hold of his.

I would like just one answer: why do you need churches, priests, and an entire man - made bureaucracy in order to be a Christian, that is, to follow Christ? Are Christians so ignorant, naive, or simple-minded that they need to be led around by the nose? Can't they figure things out by themselves?

I think there's more to be nuanced about the relationship between Christ and Christianity than Archbishop Carey suggests. For starters, we could say that "Christ" is not Jesus' last name. There's a lot of territory between traditional expressions of Christianity and the SBNR crowd; plenty of room for emerging churches to gather and take root (and "church", as a gathering of those who sense a common calling from God, need not be refer only to trinitarians, although I wouldn't expect traditional Christians to surrender the term easily).

I agree that transforming the world does call for communal efforts. I just think the Archbishop goes too far in assuming that those who depart from Christianity are doomed to live solitary, contradictory lives. Official Christianity needs to take it's own contradictions more seriously, instead of hiding behind infallibility (if you're on the right) or fallibility (if you're on the left).