> >What is interesting about Christianity is that it
> >is arguably *most* "personalized" of any major
> >religion today, and yet, at its core, it should be
> >among the least malleable. Three reasons:
>
> I'm confused about your meaning here. Are you agreeing that people "personalize" Christianity to suit themselves, but arguing that this isn't necessarily a good thing, or are you claiming that Christianity is a personalized religion in that each person comes to God in their own way? Or both? Or neither?

The former. Despite being a religion that is inherently and explicitly an "all or nothing" deal, there are a lot of sects and individuals that subscribe to a kind of piecemealed Christianity. I argue that people tailoring Christianity to suit themselves is illogical. Either Christ is Lord, or he isn't, so you follow his teachings to the letter or don't. It doesn't make sense to say, "Christ is Lord, except for these bits that I don't like." (Granted, there is room for sensible disagreements on biblical interpretation, but even some of these arguments are made by forcing one's own opinions into what the text *should* say, rather than what it does.)

On the other hand, for religions based more on philosophy than on belief about historical fact, it might be perfectly reasonable for someone to make alterations based on their own values and what works for them.