this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2026
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This community isn't inherently religious, but don't be an ass to religious people. There's a fine line between poking fun at religion and being an ass to someone because of (or lack of) religious beliefs. Don't cross that line.
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This is a concept as old as the Gnostics and expressed most vividly within the concept of the Holy Spirit.
If anything was invented, it was the Catholic Clergy as spiritual interlocutor. The entire Catholic/Protestant schism is predicated on reformers in the early Protestant sects denying Papal Infallibility, the sacrament of Confession, and the need for a singular Apostolic Church to officiate over the blessing of Communion.
And the Thirty Years War that followed was an attempt by the church to reassert control through military force, when dogmatic religious assertions failed to sway the public any longer.
Seems to me like their willingness to employ military force to assert their position should have disqualified them immediately from any association with Jesus or Jesus-related religious practices.
Matthew 10:34-36
Matthew 26:52
Matthew 420:69 lmao gottem
Certainly the notion of individualizing Christianity is as old as Christianity itself, but I would argue that the contemporary version of it is really pretty recent. Go back 50 years ago and even most US Baptist churches wouldn't recognize the contemporary version of it.
The concept that we have today really developed in the 80s and 90s.
I'd strongly disagree. The 70s era Evangelical movement has enormous amounts in common with the modern movement. Largely as a result of Televangelism and the political entanglement between conservative politicians and the church.
The Billy Graham Crusade would fit in just fine in the modern American church
Go back 100 and you'll find more space. But then you're seeing all sorts of differences socio-economically.
I'm recalling that the Anabaptists had some pretty strong ideas about a personal relationship with Jesus. But, nobody really liked where they went with it.
The idea of Adult Baptism could really only occur during the Enlightenment, when people felt the ability to reason their way to their religious beliefs was more important than adhering to a mystical tradition