Christian Misanthropy

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Is it (even remotely)possible to be a Christian and a misanthrope?

According to the twelfth commandment ("Love your neighbor as you would yourself be loved") ... No.

From a theological standpoint, you may be right. But some Christian traditions seem to have pronounced misanthropic tendencies, based on their emphasis of certain beliefs:

1) All humans are miserable sinners and unworthy of anything except through the love of God (which many people don't accept);
2) Satan controls society,
3) Christians are called to be 'in this world, but not of it"

One fundamentalist sermon on 'miserable sinners' is enough to show that some Christians really do get off on misanthropy. I also have a problem with the way that good works are interpreted by many churches - on one hand, Jesus said that good fruit doesn't come from bad trees. On the other hand, some churches devalue good works compared to certain abstract doctrines - the 'faith through salvation alone' concept is hard for me to accept ... people latch on to the idea that they are saved through doctrine, and it doesn't seem to change their life that much.

The churches I have been to are not misanthropic - they put a positive spin on things. But there are some hymns that come to mind (Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me ...." that beautiful song does come from a self-flagellating tradition.

Yes, it is possible. Probably easiest for Calvinists, as their doctrine includes a strong emphasis on human depravity. The Christian ideal would not allow for misanthropy to be caught in it, but I don't see a reason that a Christian can't hate people on some level, it would be a sin, but most Christians sin anyway.

I'm a Christian and I don't hate people, but I avoid them as much as humanly possible. Is it possible to be a "society-anthrope"? It isn't individuals I hate, but society in general. I don't know if that makes me a bad Christian or not, but I don't stress about it. I am as God made me and I do the best I can with what I have.

Yes, but only if you're a lousy Christian.

Or a good misanthrope!

Everybody sins, AG. But it's only the travellers of the Narrow Gate that take responsibility for their sins. And these individuals are few.

A good misanthrope can't properly be called a Christian. A Christian in name only is a heathen.

I don't want to get into a theological debate over this. Frankly, we can argue about the nature of salvation for pages, and it would hardly matter.

Christianity and Misanthropy are mutualy repellent. They cannot abide eachother.

I think Nietzsche demonstrated how Christianity IS a general misanthropy (i.e. the rejection of everything real in human beings and in nature)

Nietzsche was wrong. Christianity is the opposite of general misanthropy. The story of Christ himself says it all.

It depends what you define as Real in humanity. I side with Nietsche and Darwin - The purpose of all life is the destruction of as much other life as possible, and its reconstitution as yourself and your genetic lineage. That's why I'm a Buddhist; I also add a caveat that if an enlightened Buddha goes above and beyond life, the autistic remains beneath it.



Well this is the Religion & Politics forum

The purpose of all life is destruction?

That's a scary thought.

Well I've felt that sine I learned evolution at 13/14 (15 years ago), so it doesn't scare me now