How much of this is true?

"What has been the fruits of Christianity? ...Superstition, bigotry and persecution."
-James Madison, 4th president of the U.S.

How do you feel when you read this? At first, my ego was a little hurt. Kind of like that--oh man, that is pretty deep and personal, let me just scroll right on over it and not address the issue. Yet, my heart wouldn't let my hand keep scrolling. I reread it and realized that it is so true. How many people do you know that live out their religion in these arenas?

Superstitions: "I can't do that or I will go to Hell." --Shouldn't you just want to try and be a better person, not because of the hell vs. heaven aspect of things, but instead just to live like Christ wants us to live? I know adults who tell me constantly that the end times are near. Why should you live like that? Why should we care even?Shouldn't we all be living as if today were our last day? Although, I am definitely guilty of living like I have forever, I wish I didn't. I wish I lived like tomorrow was the end. In that sense, I think I would be more apt to live my faith though my words and my actions.

Bigotry: This one really gets me. Where in the Bible does it say to NOT love your neighbor? I guess I missed that verse. Or how about NOT turning the other cheek? Yeah, missed that one too.

Persecution: Probably the WORST excuse to persecute anyone. Aren't we all sinners?

It makes me really sad to read such a blatant eye opening statement, yet haven't we all been avoiding responding to it? I can completely understand why people are turned off by Christianity.