I say "Christianity" What's the first thing you think of?

In My Humble Opinion
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I say “Christianity” What’s the first thing you think of?

What’s the very first thing that springs to mind when you think of Christianity? Or has you-know-what coloured your first impressions of it?

This is a sequel to the surprisingly popular “I say “Islam”” thread.

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Jesus

3

Great music. Bach, Charpentier, Alfonso “El Sabio”, Britten…heck, “I’m Workin’ on a Buildin’”.

I’m agnostic, and sympathize with Der Trihs when he makes his point about all religions encompassing ignorance and causing harm (though I also think he’s wrong to ignore any distinctions among religions in these regards), but bad stuff isn’t the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the word “Christianity”. It is the second thing, though.

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The image of Jesus on the cross.

5

Art. Paintings of saints, specifically. Then music.

And then hate, corruption, greed and a very very sad Jesus.

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John 10:10
I have come that they may have abundant life.

Then Der Trihs.

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The cross.

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Few things:

  1. Jesus
  2. Another religion which is not Islam. Same as saying that another religion with which I have no issues.
  3. The liberal west
  4. Cakes!! A Christian colleague of mine goes to his town every Christmas and brings back delicious home made cakes to office which everyone loves.
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Yep, me too.

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Fundamentalism

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The great monolithic entity that is the Christian religion in Western civilization.

Which is to say that when you say “Christianity” I think of Christianity, or at least the Western Church versions.

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Der Trihs

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Crosses and old angry white men.

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Oddly enough, when I read the title the very first thing that popped into my mind is the church in NYC with the Gothic architecture. That’s not much to go on, I realize, but I’ve only been to NY something like 5 times and I think I’ve seen this Church 1 or 2 times - I’ve never been in it at all. I don’t even know what type of Christianity the people in it practice.

That’s the very first thing that popped into my mind. Weird.

Outside of that, my friends, family, and some discussions I’ve had on the topic come to mind.

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Lions

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Since you said it in a thread on the SDMB, the first thing I thought of was that thread.

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I grew up United Methodist <gasp>.

The first thing that came to my mind when I read the topic was this:

Rather abstract, I know. I was a weird kid.

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Without reading any of the previous responses:

The dominant cultural and religious paradigm of Europe and the Americas.

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Probably St. Patrick’s Cathedral, in the heart of midtown Manhattan. It’s Catholic. There’s another gorgeous Gothic church a couple blocks away – St. Thomas – that’s Episcopalian. And another – Fifth Avenue Presbyterian – that’s Mormon (kidding!).

The biggest one is far, far uptown, in Harlem, really – St. John the Divine – and I think it’s Catholic. It won’t be finished until 2800 or thereabouts. I doubt that’s the one you’re thinking of.

If you took the Circle Line, or drove down the Henry Hudson Parkway, you would have noticed the impressively tall, and very Gothic, Riverside Church. It’s where William Sloane Coffin preached against the Vientnam War, and for civil rights, etc. Not sure which Protestant sect it represents.

Anyway, thanks for the reminder that great ARCHITECTURE is a Christian legacy as much as great music. (Other religions have produced great architecture as well, obviously.)

ETA: Turns out St. John the Divine is Episcopalian, and Riverside is “multidenominational.”

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First thing I think of is I really don’t want to get entangled in another thread about religion.