Covering Mainstream “Christianity” is Dangerous to Faith

As regular readers of this page are aware, we in the COGs do not believe that what passes for mainstream Christianity is truly Christian.

It appears that some long-term reporters of mainstream Christianity are losing whatever faith they had as they closer observe and report on it.

Notice the following news story:

Burnout on the God beat – second top religion writer calls it quits

Reuters – November 16, 2007 Paris, France – Covering religion may be harmful to your faith. Two leading religion journalists — one in Britain, one in the United States — have quit the beat in recent months, saying they had acquired such a close look at such scandalous behaviour by Christians that they lost their faith and had to leave.

Stephen Bates, who recently stepped down as religious affairs writer for the London Guardian, has just published an account of his seven years on the beat in an article entitled “Demob Happy” for the New Humanist magazine. Bates followed the crisis in the Anglican Communion for several years and even wrote a book on it, A Church At War: Anglicans and Homosexuality.

“Now I am moving on,” his article concludes. “It was time to go. What faith I had, I’ve lost, I am afraid – I’ve seen too much, too close. A young Methodist press officer once asked me earnestly whether I saw it as my job to spread the Good News of Jesus. No, I said, that’s the last thing I am here to do.” …

Shortly before Bates called it quits, William Lobdell, who gave the Los Angeles Times first-class coverage of the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal in California, threw in the towel with a wrenching story of his own struggle with organised religion. His farewell story in July, “Religion beat became a test of faith“ was a moving testimony of a journalist who started off as a Presbyterian, was active with evangelicals and seriously considered becoming a Catholic.

But, during his eight years on the beat, the Catholic clerical sex abuse scandal put him off religion so badly that he lost his faith altogether. For an example of what he came across, take a look at Missionary’s Dark Legacy, a powerful story from 2005 about the trail of sexual abuse a Catholic missionary left behind after seven years among the Eskimos. Nearly every boy in the settlement was abused. http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=26895&con=55&sec=75

The truth is that the early chuch did not have a celibacy requirement, which has devasted thousands, if not millions, of lives since it was added (please see the article Was Celibacy Required for Early Bishops or Presbyters?).

What passes for mainstream Christianity is opposed to many of the teachings and practices of Jesus, the original apostles, and the early church. Articles that explain the history and early doctrines of the true church can be found at The History of Early Christianity page.

It is sad that most reporters and even theologians do not realize that mainstream Christianity is not at all like true Christianity.