As a Christian, our primary wisdom comes from the Lord. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 1:7) If you claim to be a Christian, you should not criticize a fellow Christian publicly or raise personal opinion about the Christian faith without consulting God first (praying to Him) and using Scripture.

For, "No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it."Ecclesiastes 8:1

Our sense of righteousness, unless driven completely from the Holy Spirit is ALWAYS false pride.

"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, James 1:19 For man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires."James 1:20

The problem of America is that we learn about God's righteousness and read about it. We live a good life and soon we think we have pretty good values, and then we go on proclaim what WE think is right or how society should change and now even what our religion should do….this is foolishness. Not everything we think good pleases God, for "good" is not a freestanding absolute. Rather it only happens when it is willed by God to happen. This means, sometimes even I do something good it can have results because it doesn't stem from the Lord or my obedience to Him personally. It's always about my relationship with Him and love. Americans feel very comfortable writing things, making movies of things and singing things that come from a personal perspective. This is potentially why there's a decline of faith and righteousness and love, because these good things DO NOT grow from good people. They come from GOD ALONE. That's why this whole discussion is a trap for believers to enter a rivalry debate and end up standing on opposite sides both displeasing God and fail to deliver the truth.

The Bible says, "No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it."Ecclesiastes 8:17

The important things we must understand and remember is:

1) Evil and good cannot be defined if detached from God. Apologizing and not apologizing are both meaningless unless either is willed by God. If God says apologize for faults your neighbor has done, then by all means do it. If you don't do it, you are not doing right. If God doesn't say it, you should ask in prayer and see how the Holy Spirit leads you. By no means should you write to others and suggest that it is a righteous thing in your opinion without referring to Bible. In fact, the Bible doesn't say we have to apologize for sins other Christians have done, let alone apologize for Christians.

We don't owe anyone anything other than God. He's the one that we constantly owe things to.

Christians are a Church, the Body of Christ, a Bride washed clean and fully accepted by the Father, NOT BECAUSE OF WHAT WE HAVE DONE, but WHAT JESUS HAS DONE. He is our head and our righteousness. We do not apologize for God's Holiness and Righteousness. It takes a lot of self righteousness and internal pride to dare to say we should apologize. At NO TIME and NEVER did the Bible ever say our faith is based on deeds.

Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

So it is through CONFESSING TO HIM that our sins are taken. Our work is to return to Him daily and let Him take our sins away and let His love pass through us to others. To the world and to death, and even to the Heavenly Father we have already become clean because Jesus has already given His life which covers all those who believe. It is HIS WILL and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS that exist. Apart from what He thinks is the right thing to do, there isn't any right thing to do, if you can understand what I mean.

The Bible says to confess YOUR sins only to Christians, those already saved and to God. You can even confess the sins that your country has done to GOd (Daniel 9:20 )You should also confess to whoever you have personally wronged. Because nonbelievers have selected a path to be enemies of God. If you serve God, you do not bend to the enemy's servants. Now, you may still love them and help them, but you certainly don't apologize to them, of course unless you have personally done something. NEVER does the Bible say confess or apologize for Christianity to non-Christians.

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. "James 5:16

2) If you proclaim that something is a right thing to do, first refer to God's will, not yours. Because it leads to self righteousness, which start of f good but lead you to the ruins like the Pharisees.

3) PLEASE check clearly what you are talking about, when you make huge statements like Christianity should apologize to other religions. Do you even know what other religions are? They are false gods and idols that God says He hates!

Exodus 23:32 Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods.
Exodus 23:33 Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you."
2 Corinthians 6:17 "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."
Deuteronomy 7:5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire.

Mecca and all of that stuff are idol worship constructions. In the Old Testament God commanded Israelites to demolish the other religion's idols and have nothing to do with them. In the New Testament God is simply letting His Son Jesus save us out of this world of idolatry and sins. It's a spiritual salvation as well as physical. That's why we are both to have nothing to do with them physically and spiritually or mentally. God's gospel is now spread to gentiles, but it doesn't mean we are all the same. The point is Jesus is our Lord. And now we are trying appease the world by apologizing for our faith?! You might as well follow them.

Don't you understand the original sin wasn't about doing a wrong action? It was about shifting our attention and submission to God to ourselves, our desires and whoring ourselves to the enemy? It was never about the THING, only about God and Me. If you start to focus on the world and what meets the eye, you will have many ideas, but they will all be wrong in the end. You can go and save all lives, apologize to everyone, do all good deeds. In the end, you are god and you die. The meaning Christianity is not to get along with everyone…it's to love God, and from here a love which is obedient to God flows to your neighbor. It's never about a person looking at the world and deciding for themselves what is right to do. That too, is a trap.

The only we can truly truly love others is not through action or heart, as people always say. It's through a relationship with God and a close study of His Word and a close following of His Spirit. From there, He will instill in your true love that is not self-righteous, and not of human origin, which always lead to demise.

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."Psalm 46:10

If it wasn’t for the “toxic” faith of the church in history then we wouldn’t have any semblance of what it means to follow Jesus. We literally wouldn’t be able to do it.

Hey Tyler–welcome to the conversation. You ask reasonable questions =)

I'm wondering if you can elaborate a little on this theme? Would you say that Jesus was "toxic" in the sense in which Julie is using the word? Or the early (book of Acts) church was toxic in that sense? Or are you talking post Constantine? Or are you saying that since the only way we could *receive* Christianity as transmitted through people over 2000 years is through toxic people, since people are in their nature toxic?

Or am I totally misunderstanding you altogether?

'Cause it seems kind of circular to say "Well, we wouldn't be humans if we weren't toxic, therefore we shouldn't criticize ourselves too harshly for being toxic." Although there is a certain truth to that. Overzealous self-criticism is hardly any more productive than overzealous other-criticism, I suppose. Progress not perfection–is that what you're saying?