can you have a religious identity consciously ?

[Majed]

lately i've been interested in constructing a christian identity.

i differentiate between the positive aspects and the negative ones of christianity.

the positive aspects for being a christian are the culture, the art, the architecture, the history, the identity...

the negative aspects are the ideology, absolutism, religious indoctrination, the beliefs, the cultural or religious superiority, close mindedness and dogma, the denial of science or spirituality... 

i'm fully conscious of the negative aspects and i don't fall into their traps, however i can be a christian, knowing it's a fictional construct, for the positive aspects. 

same way leo calls himself "leo" even though "leo" is a fiction. 

Edited September 15, 2023 by Majed

[itsadistraction]

No it's an oxymoron, what would a Middle eastern Jew who lived 2000 years have anything to do with your life? It's sheer nonsense. Even if you believe Jesus's teachings to be good, he never encouraged going to church, building churches, and all the nonsense Christians do and believe. 

Edited September 15, 2023 by itsadistraction

[Yimpa]

59 minutes ago, Majed said:

i'm fully conscious of the negative aspects and i don't fall into their traps

Let’s not kid ourselves 

[Sucuk Ekmek]

1 hour ago, Majed said:

lately i've been interested in constructing a christian identity.

 

Why you interested?

[SeaMonster]

It sounds like you already have an identity.

Otherwise, on what basis would you judge the negative aspects of Christianity?

In other words there is already a preexisting identity and set of beliefs which judges the ethics of Christianity.

So the more interesting task is to consciously ascertain what you ALREADY believe and WHY you believe it, prior to constructing any new identity.

And maybe then it's that preexisting identity that needs to be deconstructed or altered in some way.

[gettoefl]

you want the trappings not the teachings, seem like it gives you comfort and respectability

christianity is one thing, jesus

to identify as christian and strip out the putative Son of God may make you feel good but you won't be able to declare this to others since without him you will be living a lie

i would say sort out what about jesus resonates and what doesn't

[itsadistraction]

8 hours ago, gettoefl said:

you want the trappings not the teachings, seem like it gives you comfort and respectability

christianity is one thing, jesus

to identify as christian and strip out the putative Son of God may make you feel good but you won't be able to declare this to others since without him you will be living a lie

i would say sort out what about jesus resonates and what doesn't

That's deep.