crazy, i agree with you, theres people taht say beign a christian is boring, well i tell you waht, Jesus said that he came to give life and that we may have it more abundantly, John 10:10.
I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior 3 years ago,and those 3 years have been the most exciting in my life, never would i have thought of traveling outside of the country, but since ive been a christian, and following Jesus, He has led me all over this country and even on my way around the world, I want Jesus to use me to reach the nations with His Gospel, and as a missionary, ive been all over the USA, and even to Mexico thus far, i cant wait to see waht else He has in store for me.


Following Jesus IS NOT boring, its the most exciting life you could live!

 

way to go crazy and nick....and your right...it shouldn't be a list of don't and cant's but wow...look at how God has provided and what he has done!

 

amen! Jesus Rocks! in fact, Hes the Rock that rolled my blues away!

 

nick, fisher, and others, have you ever seen the movie Black Robe?

It's about a French missionary sent over to convert the "barbaric heathen" North American Indians. Very eye opening and disturbing movie. If you haven't seen it, I'd suggest watching it, not to try to alter your beliefs, but maybe as a warning of the pitfalls.

If I had to pick my biggest complaint with "Christians", especially those that are deeply religious or "born again", it's their self righteous attitude coupled with their constant attempts to convert everyone to their beliefs. If you feel secure in your faith, great, all the power to you, what I don't understand is the constant need to convert everyone else. Where does this come from?

I really can't stand "bible thumpers".

Anyhoo, I guess my point is this, to me, religion of any kind is a personal matter. My beliefs are none of your business, and vice versa. I feel no compunction to impose my beliefs on anyone else.

Waxy

 

I don't consider myself to be a Bible Thumper...I am however a youth minister....I don't force my beliefs on anyone...in an open discussion of religion...I hope that nobody would see my comments as that.....long before I started living out what I knew I needed to all along I too was turned off to people sharing their faith...I still believe to this day that depending on how you "share" with others can turn them off...I don't see my self as more righteous or more "holy" than anyone else...I too screw up and suffer temptation and have times when I waiver in my relationship with Christ...but because it is a relationship and because I do love Him and because I care for others...just as I would any of my friends, I feel the need...even the call to share...Christ calls us to share with others...in our community, our neighborhood, and all across the world....I try not to get into discussions like this because of the simple fact that it usually turns into "whose side are you on"....which I don't want to happen. But when it's my "turn" I'm gonna openly and honestly share my view too. I really don't feel as though I have tried to convert anyone on this site...and I'm sorry if I came across as that...your belief is not any of my business...I just hope that you believe the truth and are secure in your belief. If you had the cure to someone that was sick...wouldn't you want them to have the cure?

 

Sorry fisher, I didn't mean to imply that you were thumping me with the Bible here. Not at all. We're having a discussion on religion, pretty hard to do that without expressing your views. IMHO, you've done a great job of doing just that.

I guess I was making a generalization. The unsolicited preaching of the "one and only right way" is what gets to me.

The church has done many wonderful things throughout history, however, it has also been the cause of much "evil" IMHO. Many things have been done in the name of God and religion, that could not be justified in any other (logical) way. I'm leary of anyone that justifies all of their actions based solely on religion or "God's will".

The need to convert or preach to others is something I'll never understand. Christianity is not the "cure" for everyone and everything.

I'm not trying to start a flame war here, for a religious thread, it's been amazingly well behaved so far.

Waxy

 

agreed.

I don't know that it is a need so much as it is following in obedience to what Christ has called us to do. For those who don't understand what it means to want to obey Christ out of love and because of the way that He has impacted your life...I can understand why there would be hesitation in wanting to share....or even more so a question of why to share.

once again I agree.

 

thats exactly waht it is for me as well, its not that I want to go around forcing my beliefs on others, its the simple fact that the God i love has commanded me to do so, "GO into all nations preaching the gospel to every creature making disiples baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" Matt. 28:20. God has placed a clear call on my life to do so, I once heard an evangelist say, that becaues of the above quoted scripture, we as christians, everyone of us are called to GO into all nations, and we better have a clear call from God to stay home. im just quoting Keith Green, an evangelist/musician of the 70s.

As for me and my house, we WILL serve the LORD

 

Exactly, nick. I think those who choose to follow the lord are generally much happier than those who turn away from Him or don't live it.

Christianity is not about going to church every Sunday or proclaiming christianity and not living it. It's a way of life. If you choose to follow the lord he will always be with you, and your life will be much happier.

My years as a christian are MUCH less stressful than those before. Seeing what He has provided for me is proof that He has a place in the world today.

 

The problem is getting non-Christians to believe that when they think it's just a bunch of rules.

 

As you wish. That tells me you don't want to debate. A good debate challenges the mind and I don't mind questioning my beliefs. Ahh well.

 

So are you saying that because I don't believe in God that my life won't be as happy and fulfilling as yours. I am still pretty young, but I have to say my life has been very happy and fulfilling without the Lord's presence.
Since I am new to this argument, I will give some history on myself. I believe in the evolutionary theories. I do not deny that God exists because nobody can prove he doesn't. I am not an athiest, to be an athiest means that you know God doesn't exist. I am open to all possibilities and I like a good debate. My theological knowledge is average at best, but I have a BS in microbiology and am working on a PhD.

I don't want to flame or hurt anybody's feelings.

 

I remember just for a bit ( thats all I could stomach) watching madaam ohara ? the atheist show on cable , years ago. And as I sit and listen to her proclaim "there is NO GOD! " I wondered something. If she was ever to get in a car wreck, and say, her little grandaughter was trapped under the burning car tire and she was trying to lift it off of her, I wonder what words would come off of her lips as she put all off her might in to the lifting the car?

 

She probably would would mutter something about God, it is human nature, religion has been apart of humanity since the start of civilizaiton. Whether it is God, Yahweh, Allah, Buddah, or Zeus, it is instinct. Relgion has been developing and undergoing evolution for the past 4,000 years. And I am sure cavemen worshipped something.

 

This is enlightening to me. I have saved all of this thread, and will study it carefully. I am at a point in my life where I need to see what the people think is wrong with Christianity. As Clergy, I see what is wrong, and this tells me a lot of people know what is wrong also.

As a theologian - a person whose life is dedicated to the theology of the belief - I can say that many steadfast believers believe what is not written in the original language, or many none English translations. The Faithful of different countries have TOTALLY different 'Facts' to base their belief on. That, I feel, is the purest reason for the chaos that is Christianity. This thread has shown what beliefs people have, and the references show me where to look for the basis of that belief, and for that I thank every one who posted here. I have read, and will reread the arguments, and base a paper I am contemplating on the thread, and the realizations this thread has given me. Armed with that I hope to make known the problems this theologian has found with a simple faith made complicated.

Again, my Friends, thank you for this.

Theo