We get it. Why would someone want to be affiliated with organized religion? If it is of so little benefit to those who profess it, how could it help me?
Some opt out altogether and give up on faith in God, Scripture, church, and heaven. They find church confusing and damaging, or at best, pointless and outdated.
Fifty-nine percent of 18-to-29-year-olds with a Christian background have dropped out. To them, church is irrelevant; its members are hypocritical, judgmental, and self-righteous; too often, church leaders are moral failures. The church becomes just another organized institution that postmodernists distrust.
Christians are as disgusted with hypocrisy as those who are outside. We make no excuses for the bad behavior of the charlatans or the insincere. False churches that create rules God never required (such as celibacy) set up leaders for moral failure. False members who abandon God’s doctrine soon abandon His morals.
Still, the sensational headlines are not representative of the vast majority of religious people. Sincere Christians do not claim perfection or ignore that sin might show up on our doorsteps, but we do sincerely try to live by Scripture. We have no hidden motives in preaching, evangelism, or church activities. We hope for heaven, fear hell, and simply want to help people prepare for judgment.
Others offended by modern religion take a middle-of-the-road approach. They want to be spiritual but not religious. Of the 22 million Americans who quit church over struggles with faith or relationships, many still see themselves as Christians. They pray, read Scripture, watch religious programming, and give to good causes. But they are not a part of a church. They abandoned organized religion to do their own thing.
Leaving a church under bad circumstances does not mean one has to leave the church completely. Many who dropped out are giving true New Testament Christianity a second look. It is possible to find a good church. Sincere Christianity is as different from the scandalous headlines as an unqualified doctor prescribing opioid to addicts is from a skilled surgeon who saves lives.
I’m Giving Up on Organized Religion
Scandal. Abuse. Confusion. Greed. Lies. Argument. Conflict. Hypocrisy.
We get it. Why would someone want to be affiliated with organized religion? If it is of so little benefit to those who profess it, how could it help me?
Some opt out altogether and give up on faith in God, Scripture, church, and heaven. They find church confusing and damaging, or at best, pointless and outdated.
Fifty-nine percent of 18-to-29-year-olds with a Christian background have dropped out. To them, church is irrelevant; its members are hypocritical, judgmental, and self-righteous; too often, church leaders are moral failures. The church becomes just another organized institution that postmodernists distrust.
Christians are as disgusted with hypocrisy as those who are outside. We make no excuses for the bad behavior of the charlatans or the insincere. False churches that create rules God never required (such as celibacy) set up leaders for moral failure. False members who abandon God’s doctrine soon abandon His morals.
Still, the sensational headlines are not representative of the vast majority of religious people. Sincere Christians do not claim perfection or ignore that sin might show up on our doorsteps, but we do sincerely try to live by Scripture. We have no hidden motives in preaching, evangelism, or church activities. We hope for heaven, fear hell, and simply want to help people prepare for judgment.
Others offended by modern religion take a middle-of-the-road approach. They want to be spiritual but not religious. Of the 22 million Americans who quit church over struggles with faith or relationships, many still see themselves as Christians. They pray, read Scripture, watch religious programming, and give to good causes. But they are not a part of a church. They abandoned organized religion to do their own thing.
Leaving a church under bad circumstances does not mean one has to leave the church completely. Many who dropped out are giving true New Testament Christianity a second look. It is possible to find a good church. Sincere Christianity is as different from the scandalous headlines as an unqualified doctor prescribing opioid to addicts is from a skilled surgeon who saves lives.
(Part 1 in a 5-part series by Allen Webster)