Why is the world hostile to Christians?

[shahreevar]

well i don't think people are against Christians per se, they are against fundamentalists (doesn't matter of which religion).

mobboss said:

I didnt say they did, however, by implication, they are expected to have more personal responsiblity than non-believers are they not?

Personally, I think a lot of people who call themselves christians shouldnt, as its fairly evident that they have no real interest in living a Christlike life. All it does is give Christians a bad name.

for the first time i agree with Mobboss (i am shocked ) but again that is true of any religion where the believers are , by implication, expected to behave in more responsible way than the non-believers.

p.s. if one is Christlike, or rather must follow in Jesus Christ's path, then shouldn't he/she refrain from War, and Killing, from hate? if so then one cant serve in the Army and be christlike can he???

 

[Odin2006]

Rofl. Yeah, responsiblity from within. The prisons are loaded with those kind of people.

You think all criminals are atheists?

 

[shahreevar]

i dont understand when someone who "sins" can then be easily forgiven by a priest!! i also dont understand, or rather agree with "original sin". are we all sinners because Adam sinned a long time ago??

 

[JollyRoger]

Rofl. Yeah, responsiblity from within. The prisons are loaded with those kind of people.

The majority of prisoners have some degree of religious belief, especially as you move up in violence to the more serious crimes.

 

[MobBoss]

You think all criminals are atheists?

No, I think most criminals justify their actions along their own self-imposed morals.

The majority of prisoners have some degree of religious belief, especially as you move up in violence to the more serious crimes.

The majority of which are not exposed to religious belief until they are actually within prison. I have friends who run a prison ministry and can directly attest to that.

 

[Kyriakos]

Why do people dislike/hate christians (or religious people in general)?
Well, obviously it is both different particularly for each individual, and different even if you generalise the anti-religious people in groups.
A person who is standing infront of the gallows, but isnt to be hanged, may dislike the sight of the gallows, but a person who is at risk of being hanged will dislike it even more, and even moreso if in his view disliking it may prevent him from being hanged. In other words if a person is unsure about his atheism then he may hate religion even more, since the hatred is what mostly stands between him and religion. If, on the other hand, a person's atheism is based on ideas (the complexity and quality of which is not the real factor here, since the real factor is their quality in relation to his own intellect, ie if he is happy with them or not) then he doesnt have a great reason to hate religion, but can dislike it, for various reasons, eg because in his view it is a mental trap which diminishes people.

 

[JollyRoger]

No, I think most criminals justify their actions along their own self-imposed morals.

In Texas, there have been women who drowned their children, cut their children's arms off, and stoned their children to death all in the name of Jesus.

The majority of which are not exposed to religious belief until they are actually within prison. I have friends who run a prison ministry and can directly attest to that.

Actually, the majority have attended religious services of some sort prior to being imprisoned.

 

[Irish Caesar]

In Texas, there have been women who drowned their children, cut their children's arms off, and stoned their children to death all in the name of Jesus.

And would you honestly consider this true Christianity? It's her own rationalization...she just happens to claim Jesus is her reasoning.

 

[blackheart]

And would you honestly consider this true Christianity? It's her own rationalization...she just happens to claim Jesus is her reasoning.

Then what is true Christianity? People will rationalize their actions either way.

 

[Irish Caesar]

I think it has been said a couple of times in this thread that the idea is to be Christ-like, to act like Jesus. He never cut anyone's arms off.

 

[CaptainF]

Does this mean that you think only Atheists should hold political office, or for example, sit on the Supreme Court?

No. That is not only unrealistic, but unreasonable.

 

[JollyRoger]

And would you honestly consider this true Christianity? It's her own rationalization...she just happens to claim Jesus is her reasoning.

I'm just responding to the proposition that Christians are "expected" to be more personally responsible than nonbelievers and thus nonbelievers are hostile to Christians because of being reminded of Christians' personal responsibility superiority. These women were believers and obviously were using their misguided perceptions of God's will to substitute for personal responsibility. My experience has been that numerous Christians tend to use their beliefs as a dodge from true personal responsibility. Not all Christians and not to the extreme extent as these Texas women - but still in enough quantity and quality to deeply discount any claim to personal responsibility superiority.

 

[GenMarshall]

Does this mean that you think only Atheists should hold political office, or for example, sit on the Supreme Court?

I realy dont want to see an athiest to hold political office or hold a seat in the courts. Especialy the Supreme Court. I perfer to have someone who believes in God and is from a Judo-Christian background (It does not matter to me if the guy is a Christian or a Jew) to hold political office.

 

[Kozmos]

Because they say:"God loves everyone and he will help you."Then I try to punch them or start swearing so badly they'll leave me alone.

 

[JollyRoger]

I realy dont want to see an athiest to hold political office or hold a seat in the courts. Especialy the Supreme Court. I perfer to have someone who believes in God and is from a Judo-Christian background (It does not matter to me if the guy is a Christian or a Jew) to hold political office.

Change which God you prefer and you would be happy in Iran.

 

[GenMarshall]

Change which God you prefer and you would be happy in Iran.

Incase you forgotten, Both Judaism and Christianity both worship the same God since they are both Abrahamic Religions.

 

[Odin2006]

No, I think most criminals justify their actions along their own self-imposed morals.

No, it's because they either don't guve a damn if something is moral or not (such as mobsters and fraudsters) or have a behavioral problem that requires them to be put away for the public good (such as serial killers and pedophiles).

 

[shadow2k]

Sure. Basic christian tenets revolve around a person conducting their life in such a manner as to be christlike. Be a good citizen. Dont sin. Love one another.

However, a lot of people in our world dont want to "feel bad" about what they have done and make excuses for their own bad behaviour, instead of repenting of their actions before God and asking forgiveness.

This one is always laughable to me. That religious believers are somehow morally superior.

Let's start with the sin of not believing in Jesus/God. Christianity is followed by about 1/3rd of the population. That means that you're telling 2/3rds of the world that they are sinners based on this alone. You're in the vast minority here.

I do what I believe to be right, because I believe it to be right. Christians do what they are told to, not because they believe it to actually be right...except in the notion that it's the word of god, so it must be right. It says nothing about their own personal convictions, only that they seek to obey god and his wishes.

This is clearly portrayed throughout the bible. Take one hotly debated subject, the Amalekites.

I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys. (I Sam 15.2f)

Now, most people will immediately jump on the children/infants part. Debates about whether it's genocide, what the surrounding context is, blah, blah. None of that really matters though. The followers of Your god kill them merely because they are told to do so. They only belief in right or wrong comes from their belief that god tells them to do so so it must be right, not in the act itself.

This is why I believe religion to be an inferior moral basis. Take yourself for example. I bet you believe certain things are morally wrong. Maybe it's druge use, stealing, murder, whatever it may be. But if I ask you to list them out, you'd come up with a pretty decent list, much of which I'd probably agree with. Now think about this...

Tomorrow, the second coming of christ occurs. He performs some magic miracles to prove to christians that he is in fact, who he says he is. You truly, in your heart, believe him to be genuine, and speaking the word of god. Now he tells you to do everything on that list which you said you beleived to be wrong. But now, it must be ok to do these things, because you believe god said it's ok.

The common refute a christian will give will be it IS ok, because god said so. That's fine, and why it's impossible to logically talk about a lot of this anyway. All I want to point out is that despite your own personal beliefs in what may be right or wrong, a few words from god can change all that. You could suddenly become the murderous bastard that you so despise right now. And it all depends on god's wishes for you. Considering his past plights, I might wonder about what I was dedicating my life to when judging others on moral convictions.

 

[Ebitdadada]

Simple enough. Take me for instance, I'm a fairly young guy, have a normal job, wife and two kids. I have BBQ's, birthday parties, watch football and baseball, and drive an average joe car. Everything about me has middle America and average joe written all over it except one thing, I'm a Christian. That is a believer in Christ who tries with God's grace to live a life pleasing to Him and according to His will for me. So the question is "Why is the world hostile towards me?"

I know the biblical answer, but would very much be interested in the views of "unbelievers". Not necessarily hostile ones either, just in general.

Yes, the oppressed majority

Please ask yourself this question: Could a non-christian be elected president of the United States?

I say this as an agnostic person who's effectively barred from running for political office in the United States. btw, about 90% of my friends are christian.

Have a nice day!

 

[toh6wy]

Rofl. Yeah, responsiblity from within. The prisons are loaded with those kind of people.

It sounds like intrinsic rewarding versus extrinsic rewarding to me. It's much more effective in the long run when trying to correct bad behavior to appeal to a kid's sense of morality (i.e. "I know you're a person who doesn't like to cause pain in others") than it is to slap them. So, it follows that people who have found their own reasons for responsibility and doing the right thing would be more likely to do so than people who are told that they'll go to Hell if they don't do the right thing.

Incase you forgotten, Both Judaism and Christianity both worship the same God since they are both Abrahamic Religions.

I can see JollyRoger's point wizzing over your head...