Agreed. why this is, is certainly debatable. What I think is rather cynical. The more members a church has, the more money is available to it. People like Olsteen have figured out a watered down feel good sermon of inclusion nets much more money than a fire and brimstone sermon. Also, most Christians really don't spend a lot of time reading much less studying the bible and whats in it. Most have been spoon fed certain scriptures over and over. When confronted with the "other" scriptures by people like Rev Phelps they are aghast. That's not in THEIR bible! People meld the bible into what they want it to be. I've heard more than one person tell me, Oh yes, I believe in God, Jesus and the bible, I just don't believe people that are basically good will go to hell because they are Buddhist and not Christian. Because to them, their personal religion can't be that awful so they have convinced themselves it just aint so regardless of what the bible says.
All super solid observations.
I don't think Joel Osteen has read the entire bible LOL.....he's an anti-Christ IMHO. He is the living embodiment of Jude 1:4.
Spoonfed believers are a definite product of the RCC. The catechism dictated by the teaching magisterium wants biblical communication and interpretation filtered only through the papacy and down to individual churches. It's a running joke for many years that Catholics neither read nor bring their bibles to mass because the priest will tell them all they need to know.
Yep twisted scripture is a definite tool people utilize. Eisegeting passages instead of exegeting them. Prime example both believers and nonbelievers quote is Matthew 7:1 "Just not lest ye be judged". But they stop there and ignore the entire context of this pericope of verses about hypocritical judgment; in addition to ignoring the remainder of the first verse they quote. To interpret this section you must read verses 1 through 5. Simple example of how people corrupt the words of the bible to their own end.
People refuse to accept the judgment and wrath of God. They refuse to be held accountable for their sins. They refuse to grasp the depth of God's divine nature and the impact of sin upon their lives and others around them. The refuse to acknowledge how God views sin. Easier to remain ignorant and dismiss it or pretend it isn't there.