Christianity and self-esteem
Offline Hi,
Is there a form of Christianity that doesn't require wreckage of one's self-esteem?
I grew up in the Holiness ranks. the sermons and the hymnody were slanted as to make followers see themselves as completely worthless without God.
Songs with lines like:
"Would He devote that sacred Head for such a worm as I?" - 'nuff said
"God can do anything but Fail" - Failure's the fault of the believer.
"I can never, never outlove the Lord" - more worthlessness (There are plenty of discussions here on the nothing Jesus actually did)
and verses like Is 64:6, Ps 143:2 and a bunch of stuff in Romans 3.
I've even seen churches hold seminars and workshops on showing people how to improve their self image. That always seemed futile to me - holding a week long workshop to fix what gets destroyed every Sunday and Wednesday.
If there was a branch of Christianity that made people feel like they were worth something, I might come back. the closest I've seen are the UUs - they're more like atheists who like the social parts of church.
any help from the theist types?
"I do this real moron thing, and it's called thinking. And apparently I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions."
— George Carlin
- Login to post comments
Kind of a loaded question. I think if you believe the fundamental Christian doctrine -- namely evil man being saved from himself by Jesus, I don't think there's any way to not suffer from at least a small amount of unnecessarily delusion about human nature. I mean.. hell.. that premise is inherently belittling.
Having said that, I think it's possible for any individual Christian in any denomination to have high or low self esteem. It basically just proves that people don't incorporate their beliefs into their psyches with any measurable consistency.
I still think UU's are atheists with sandy vaginas.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
Books about atheism
That's my point, Hamby. In the Christianity I was raised in, it wasn't an individual thing - it was institutional. You were constantly reminded of your worthlessness before God and had to debase yourself totally before he would accept you.
It was like a sick contest - who could make themselves more worthless in the eyes of god.
"I do this real moron thing, and it's called thinking. And apparently I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions."
— George Carlin
Paradoxically, God values worthlessness, so debasing oneself is equivalent to making oneself worth more.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
Books about atheism
I think it depends on the individual and his/her environment.
I've seen tons of haughty Christians who think they're king of the world. By sacrificing yourself to the Lord and admitting that you're worthless, you are closer to God, and thus, conveniently, better that anyone that is not as devout as you are.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespeare