There are Christians who really do teach this and interpret the bible this way. But they also practice a more loving and open expression of Christianity (e.g. Richard Rohr) than is historical. It's something I was thinking about today. The more progressive the expression the further it is from traditional Christianity. It is then deemed heretical by traditional / conservative Christians. It's a strange irony. To be what Christianity claims to be, you have to be less Christian.
From what I've seen and from what I've learned from study, the real dishonest/evil part of any religion is its hierarchy. The priesthood has a real vested interest in maintaining the status quo--that's how they get money and power, and once they have both money and power their main interest turns into growing both the money and the power. The people who make up those religions are, for the most part, just people. They, as a rule, are kind and caring people. I've been in several Southern churches, and a Methodist and Baptist church in the West, as well as a very active member of Unity from about a decade. I met a bunch of good people (in spite of their religious beliefs) and enjoyed that part of being a member.
