Unfortunately, another problem I see among many Christians and churches, is that they don't actually read their damn Bibles! And, taking individual out-of-context passages from Scripture does not constitute as "reading your damn Bible!" Just like, me skimming a book I hate for a college project, probably won't get me good grades. To get a good grade in college, I must read the entire book chronologically, from start-to-finish, rarely (if ever) skipping a page or a passage. Same goes for Scripture. To get a good understanding of the Christian faith, one must read Scripture chronologically, from start-to-finish, rarely (if ever) skipping a page or a passage. 

Yet, most of the churches I've been to have unfortunately done exactly that. I've honestly yet to attend a church service wherein an entire chapter (or two) of Scripture is read in its entirety. The most I've ever seen have been maybe five or six passages, though normally I only ever really see one or two passages. Now, some may argue this is due to the fact that church sermons last only about forty-five minutes on average, but forty-five minutes is more than long enough to read an entire chapter of Scripture and talk about it. If my hour-and-fifteen minute long college class can cover 1/3rd of an entire book with plenty of time left to do other things, then a pastor can read an entire chapter of Scripture and talk about it in forty-five minutes with time to spare. 

So, why do I think so many places do this? Well, there are many reasons, but the one I'm aiming at is many churches' desire to twist Scripture to fit their chosen narrative, rather than let Scripture lay out the narrative itself. Of course, this is extremely dangerous in so many ways. 

The "us-vs-them" mentality doesn't just pit so many churches against non-Christians. They pit churches against each other, turning their congregations hostile towards one another. It's a really ugly problem, and it's something that makes me feel even less motivated to go to church anytime soon. Especially because I was (and still very much am) that kid who always asked questions that got me in trouble at Sunday school (and my private Christian school). 

Truth is, a church that can't handle the tough questions I love to ask and explore, is a church not built on a foundation of faith. It's a church built on a foundation of fear. Fear of death. Fear of Hell. Fear of God (the bad kind of fear). Fear of opening up their minds to new ideas and new beliefs, in the face of new information and evidence. And, that fear leads to hostility. Hostility leads to hate: the exact opposite of all that Christ represents.

A church that fails to read Scripture in its entirety, as well as in its context (to the best of our western, 21st century ability), is failing at being a Christian church. And, that freaks me the fuck out. I am well aware of the parts of Scripture that essentially say, "If you believe in Christ, then you're a Christian...", and I wholeheartedly agree with that.

But, I also think that a church that never reads their damn bible isn't a church worth going to. It's a church prone to turning hostile towards other churches and faiths, becoming hostile and hateful toward anything and anyone that might even slightly challenge their view on Scripture. Including the Sunday school kids who ask the most obvious (and, for many churches, the most dangerous) questions, such as, "Why is there a talking snake in Genesis? Snakes can't talk!"

Again, such hostility goes against pretty much everything God stands for. If people actually read their damn bibles, they would know that. 

For the record, I don't believe every pastor and church that fails to read their damn bibles are actively and purposefully twisting Scripture to fit their narrative. Some people and churches just aren't well-educated when it comes to Scripture. They don't know how to actually read and interpret Scripture, and many people (largely because of fear) refuse to dive down those rabbit holes. 

I can't say I am all that angry at people who, due to fear and lack of education, refuse to explore their doubts and honest questions. Some people simply aren't ready to do that, and that's okay. Everyone's walk with God is (and should be) different. Because, God desires to have a personal relationship with everyone. 

I only feel anger towards people who attempt to weaponize their faith to oppress and hurt others, and scare those curious souls in their church that feel compelled to explore those hard questions. But those who are just quietly living their life and not using their faith to cause harm don't worry me. To me, it only becomes an issue when someone decides to weaponize their faith against others, whether that's going after other members in their church, going after other churches, or preaching on street corners (among other things).