Whilst thinking about that which I don't like within Christianity (and spirituality in general), I have got myself into a bit of a quandry. I really do try to be as accepting and inclusive as possible, but I find quite a few beliefs and practices pretty objectionable in terms of what I view as spiritually beneficial.
However, I think I'm just not distinguishing between what I am comfortable with in terms of my own spirituality, and what I am comfortable with other people doing as part of their spirituality. The second group is far larger than the first, and basically includes most things that are legal/socially acceptable practices. We're all entitled to our beliefs, and entitled to bring ourselves closer to God in any (legal/socially acceptable) way that we see fit.
That brings me neatly round to one of my pet annoyances: The belief in a 'right way' that absolutely must be done by everyone, because that's the way that God wants it. I know this is stepping dangerously close to the whole "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's intolerance!" thing, but therein lieth the problem of such arguments. To quote another well-used phrase, I generally ascribe to the "I may not like what you're saying/doing, but I will fight tirelessly to uphold your right to say/do it" mentality; it's just the forcing it on others bit that irks me somewhat.
That seems to be enough for a bitesize chunk of my mind, more again soon.
FiF
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I think there's a balance to be had. It seems to me clear from the Bible that God does have standards that he expects of us - he is a holy God, and we come to him on his terms, not our own. There are moral standards he expects of us, he demands our complete worship of him, and expects us to accept the need of his grace. So it's not that "anything goes".
However, there is also a great deal of freedom - there is no one set style of worship or music or culture; there is freedom to express our personalities and come to him as individuals. It's also not that there's only one possible expression of the faith, one form of church, one form of discipleship and so on. There is both form and freedom.
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