1 Reason

There is one underlying reason as to why I do not choose to be a christian. I cannot chose a way of life that essentially entails following a list of rules. And there IS reason & rhyme to this. I know the christians make all these claims that their religion is NOT a bunch of rules, but the point of being a christian is to follow Christ.. which means you need to do certain things (aka follow rules, guidelines, whatever you want to call them); otherwise you're following yourself and there is no point in calling yourself a Christian.

So that's the reason- I can't chose a way of life in which I can't choose to edit the rules & morals according to different situations.

To me, it doesn't make sense or seem very realistic, or even functional, to use someone else's rules to live out your own life. And according to christianity you must follow the rules no matter what (unless you want to sin). And I do agree that the "end" does not justify the means. You shouldn't just do whatever you want to get to a certain end point. However, what if there's a situation where there's nothing else better to do?

For example, say a friend keeps flaking out on you, 9 out of 10 times. This is just "how they are," but you feel extremely disrespected. They don't even let you know right away if they can't show up; they let you find that out after they never show up or answer their phone. So you confront them in a kind way, asking what's going on and what can be done so this pattern can stop. They refuse to see there is a problem. So you start flaking on them, because that seems like the only way to make them realize how shitty it feels to be flaked on by friends.

In this example, I would MUCH RATHER teach someone a lesson by reciprocating their wrong actions to them-- than to let them keep treating me as a doormat. However, two wrongs don't make a right.

Right?

And I'm not sure this explains the reason fully. What I am using too many words to explain is: why choose a pre-determined set of behaviors that you can't even theoretically imagine yourself successfully following? Why would I chose a way of life that says "to be drunk is sin" when I occasionally plan to get a bit drunk? Why would I set myself up for failure? I find it extremely hard to figure out how to abide by christian rules without becoming a generic stereotype of a christian that both I and everyone else will hate.