Question for the christians...

[Jahfo]

I don't know what type of Christianity you are familiar with, but having gone to a lutheran high school, I was told on a daily basis that God does not expect us to be perfect - we are sinners, we are full of flaws and imperfections, we make mistakes - the message was, however, that god loves us inspite of that and is willing to forgive us, should we let him into our lives and have faith.

Ok, I think I wasn't very clear. I said people think Christians have to always be perfect with their good wills and such. Like you said, I believe Christianity is not Man reaching to God, but God reaching to Man because they are flawed and imperfected, which thus gives purpose to Jesus Christ.

No, that is entirely subjective, based on where you are from - your country, your social and religious environment. Islam is widespread, yet for the most part, people in western societies such as mine do not get the opportunity to learn about it even though it is a part of our social fabric.

So do people know more about Christianity than Islam. If so then it is not as widespread as Christianity.

 

[Tupac-Soulja]

Ok, so... if it is not natural like you said (I believe it is a choice)... why you gonna go and say this...



So why does it matter if Christians do it if it is unnatural like you said for a human being to fight back? So it is not Christianity thats killing people it is the human being.

thats the thing christians are human beings.
Just because there christan doesnt mean they have to act differently. I guess to some people it is a big deal if christians do something wrong cause i guess its against there beliefs. To me i dont give a shit if christians go against there own beliefs or whatever cause they should live there life as they want to live it and not letting some stupid rules stop them from there own ambitions.

 

[Amara]

Amara like what you wrote "God does not expect us to be perfect - we are sinners, we are full of flaws and imperfections, we make mistakes - the message was, however, that god loves us inspite of that and is willing to forgive us, should we let him into our lives and have faith." if god does truely loves us why does he not answer my prayers and other people's prayers?...i guess that is the main reason i gave up on the lord...but can you blame me? Thats the thing i know god puts us where we belong and he tests us to have faith in him/her whatever no matter what happens...i tried to have faith but i guess it wasnt strong enough for me to keep on having faith on someone who you can't even see or talk to, and when i mean talk to i mean it as in face to face not by praying to him.

No, I can't blame you because I have the same thoughts myself which is why I could never call myself a Christian because I have trouble creating faith in something which I have never felt or experienced. But yes, that is the belief - faith is a test. We have a choice.

So do people know more about Christianity than Islam. If so then it is not as widespread as Christianity.

What I meant was, it is not as predominant in western societies, but simply because the majority are Christian does not mean Islam is not widespread, but rather our environments have dictated what knowledge we have of religion. So when you say, more people know about the christian beliefs, that only relates to the society that you live in, not societies everywhere.

 

[not really ken]

Many of you don't really understand how jesus fits into the abrahamic traditions.

cause its unatural for a person not to fight back

:thumb: .Jesus' meassage is incomplete without the old testament. You need to use the two together to come to a conclusion. You can't really pick isolated statements and try to apply them without looking at other statments which may change or slightly modify the meaning of the initial statment

In Islam for example (another Abrahamic tradition). After the passing away of Mohammed there came the four imams of fiqh (jurisprudence). These people were learned people who spent their lives trying to use the Qu'ran, hadith and sunnah the three sources of islam to come to conclusions in everyday situations of life.
YOu will go astray very easily in Islam if you try to pick certain statments and follow them strictly without reading everything else.

 

[MX Red]

Hey everyone, I noticed that alot of christians i know fight alot and dont back down from fights. i also understand that jesus thought to turn the other cheek. I dont understand why they do this. Do you turn the other cheek? if not please explain.

thx amara for letting me edit :thumb:

We aint fundamental about our faith, it is a good moral basis - its a good map for life. Plus we are human, we get angry and we believe in the concepts of right and wrong....u dont back down to someone if they are wrong - u come from the point of view that we have to listen to jesus and if not we are doing something terrible? plus u seem to be picking on everyday examples....grow up...i dont think any religious person of any faith sticks to their religion 100% - why ask this of only christians?

this is a stupid thread...is it meant to show that we arent as fundamental about our faith as some other faiths are....if so, i hope it does!
peace
MX!

 

[Default MX]

When a Muslim or a Jew does something wrong within their faith it's not as big of a deal when a Christian does it. Nobody follows their religion word for word in todays world.

Have you also noticed that when a Muslim commits a crime, Islam, along with the person goes on trial. MUSLIM terrorist. MUSLIM kills 5. MUSLIM does this, Muslim does that. When a Christian commits a crime you dont hear "Christian terrorist kills 10" .. or "Chrisitan man is convicted of murder" .. and when a Muslim is convicted of something people blame the religion. I'm done.

 

[Bina]

The Bible is full of contradictory passages, which is why it is hard to live by the scriptures. Although it says, turn the other cheek, it also says, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Hence people fight to get justice, or just plain revenge.

 

[not really ken]

^^That's not a contradiction.

 

[Pacaveli-T]

i guess they are exactly like irishmen just without so much the drunkeness and violence, im not ultra religious i dont go or like church i dont read the bible and stuff and i often dont debate on the universal god cause not only do i not know everything about it, it brings up 2 much conflict but depending on the person and the situation i will turn the other cheek, depending otherwise.

 

[Illuminattile]

Have you also noticed that when a Muslim commits a crime, Islam, along with the person goes on trial. MUSLIM terrorist. MUSLIM kills 5. MUSLIM does this, Muslim does that. When a Christian commits a crime you dont hear "Christian terrorist kills 10" .. or "Chrisitan man is convicted of murder" .. and when a Muslim is convicted of something people blame the religion. I'm done.

If a man committed a crime "in the name of God" while spouting verses from the Bible, it would be mentioned.

 

[Xen]

That sounds much better and to answer your question, I think it is something that is not specific to Christians - people everywhere refuse to back down, for the most part because they do not want to be proven wrong (see the way people carry on in arguments on here, they wanna have the last word). In regards to Jesus, however, I think the standard that he sets, is just that, a standard - not a checklist of how to live, but an example of perhaps a more sensitive way of dealing with situations. We have the choice whether or not to let situations get the better of us and often it is a better alternative to "turn the other cheek" even though sometimes we all cant refuse the temptation to stay and fight it out.

And that right there is one of the problems of organised religion: Everybody has different opinions on what is meant by the words in the bible.

You almost totally turn around the meaning of what this part says: Turn your other cheek. Nothing else, and not 'turn the other cheek, but sometimes it's alright to fight'

 

[kman_69]

i can't speak for all christians...

but i was raised catholic....went to all catholic schools....and were all basically either Irish or Italian......so theres my answer for all the fightin' haha.

 

[kman_69]

btw, since i've left school....i don't follow any organised religion....i think their all bullshit

 

[Amara]

And that right there is one of the problems of organised religion: Everybody has different opinions on what is meant by the words in the bible.

You almost totally turn around the meaning of what this part says: Turn your other cheek. Nothing else, and not 'turn the other cheek, but sometimes it's alright to fight'

I wasn't attempting to change the meaning. The original question was, why didn't people do it, my explanation was, although the bible says this, human nature and instinct is often somewhat different. Read in the context of the original post.