If I might expand... true Christianity is a lifestyle. It's living according to Jesus' teachings, constantly striving to please and honor God. It has nothing to do with how you dress on Sunday, what you do with your hands when you pray, or how many Hail Marys you say. These are ritualistic exercises made up by people and don't have anything to do with God. Under one definition (our definition), "religion" refers to rigid rules and a church structure that is exclusive to those who don't follow them. Following Jesus is about His grace, not legalism. The two are opposites. Amazing Grace just isn't so amazing anymore when you wrap it up in a bunch of rules.

A lot of outsiders (yeah, I'm calling Brunnen-G an outsider, sorry) miss this key point and lump the Christ-following lifestyle into the category of "religion." But based on this definition of "religion," that doesn't really fit. We believe that our lives should revolve around an active relationship with our forgiving Lord, not just a set of rules and condemnation.

Of course, this is "our" definition of "religion." The word has several dictionary definitions, and ours admittedly isn't the #1 definition. If you go by the #1 definition, yeah, Christianity is just another religion. But we believe that it should be set apart, as our belief in saving grace makes it unlike all the other legalistic faiths of the world, and very unique.

As far as this Father Ramos is concerned, I agree that he is way off base. One of those great Christian catchphrases is "love the sinner, hate the sin." That's what Jesus did. Always shocking the Pharisees when he hung out with tax collectors and prostitutes and whatnot. Although I'd say there's some truth to what this guy's saying. Not quite to the extreme that he's saying it, but still... he's pointing out sin that a lot of pastors won't talk about. I think he lacks the gentleness that the Bible calls for, and he's definitely an extremist. He cites deaths and links them directly to role-playing while ignoring other factors in those peoples' lives. I think the true evil is not roleplaying as much as it is idolatry. Anything besides God that completely rules your life can be dangerous. People who get consumed in roleplaying are just as much at risk as binge eaters, alcoholics, and yes, even conspiracy theorists. On that note, maybe Father Ramos needs to take a look at where his priorities are as well.

-useless"Occasionally, I feel compelled to stand on this here soapbox. Today was one of those times."ness