Letters | True Christians would not preach hatred
Readers discuss modern Christians deviating from Christ’s message, and whether Trump poses a threat to the LGBTQ community
As a big fan of Jesus Christ’s fundamental message, I find that too many adherents of institutional Christianity – those self-described “Christians” most resistant to Christ’s teachings of non-violence, compassion and charity – tend to insist upon patterning their creator’s nature in their own fallible and often angry, vengeful image.
Perhaps most notably, they proclaim that God “hates” a certain group of people. Often being the most vocal, such versions of Christianity damage the message Jesus expounded, especially for the young and impressionable.
It seems to me that many followers of this “Christianity” struggle to reconcile the inconsistencies between the fundamental nature of the New Testament’s Jesus with the wrathful, vengeful and even jealous nature of the Old Testament’s God.
For me, Jesus’ teachings and practices epitomise much of what lies at the core of socialism: do not hoard gratuitous wealth in the midst of poverty. Jesus would not be in favour of individuals accumulating tens of billions of dollars, even as many others go hungry and homeless.
The example of Jesus is meant to show people that there is hope for the many. It is meant to resonate with young people encountering the physical, mental and spiritual challenges of our world today.