Chistianity: Is It All Pretend?

To the average atheist (and many an agnostic), Christianity is all pretend.  That is to say they feel it's simply about people pretending stuff that isn't true, and isn't real.  Don't kid yourself.  To them that's what it really looks like.  To me too, much of the time.

Christian communities can be absolutely about people who, without even being aware of it, are unthinkingly trained to pretend:

-not to have any serious doubts about things that, if they thought freely about them, they would find important doubts that need to be explored

-to smile when they don't have any real urge to smile.  A lot.

-to like people they don't really like.  Also fairly often.

-to care about stuff they don't really care about, because they care enough (about seeming like caring people) to fake it.

-to feel whatever religious feelings the others around them are claiming to feel, whether they are, or not.

-to be at peace and not have unanswered questions they aren't getting answers to.

-to be offended by things they really aren't offended about at all.

-to enjoy things they don't like.

-to not be angry when they are.

-to be humble when they aren't.

-to be hopeful when they aren't. 

-that God told them to do various things.

-that the bible told them not to do various things that it didn't.

-that the bible is full of nice things, and that Jesus was nice and went around being nice and not saying anything much that wasn't nice. 

The really bad thing about this pretending stuff thing is that it gets very competitive, and it's also tied into shame.  This adds up to something pretty serious. Among other things, it adds up to people being willing to settle for pretence, or to give up on real spiritual growth.  It adds up to people making an idol out of  "nice."  It adds up to people unable to deal with true, real people or things, getting together into groups to play let's pretend.

And it doesn't have to be like that.  If God and Christianity needs us to pretend stuff, then they aren't worth anything.  But they are.  Don't take my word for it, either.