A lot of my friends aren’t Christians, but we tend to have a lot of talks about God and spirituality, usually over cigars on the back patio. I never know quite what to say and always end up feeling like an idiot for what I do. I read this blog by Matthew Raley titled “What’s Missing From the Needy Self.” Here’s the passage I liked:
But moralism has been the downfall of contemporary Christianity. The precepts of godly wisdom nurture life in those who already have life; but among the legions who do not, the Get a clue! method of preaching doesn’t edify. The “practical applications” of moralism merely compound people’s guilt.
Moralism has been the downfall of Christianity because it is not the gospel.
Ross Gale is a writer and editor from the Pacific Northwest. 
Interesting thought and there probably is much truth to it. Many Christians, many churches are so in-ward looking that we forget there is a very different world out there that we need to become part of , live with, experience with, walk alongside of, instead of preach to, be patronising and condescending to, become so judgemental of.
We talk about love and forgiveness, but when it comes to the crunch, there are certain sins, certain individuals that we would not touch with a barge pole. This is where the inconsistency and lack of integrity of many Christians lies, and this is the downfall not only of Christianity wrongly understood and applied, but more worryingly, this is the downfall of those individuals who take the high moral ground and in doing that, completely miss the mark of Christlikeness that by the grace of God can truly transform lives for the better. People feel condemned instead of loved and then all hope for transformation is lost.
Thank you for your post.
ransom33 @ http://www.ransom33.wordpress.com
“…it is not the Gospel.” – So little truly is in corporate Christianity any more…