As a child, I was dragged off to church or Sunday school after being told about this supreme being. Then, when I started attending school, there was a thing called 'Prayers' which we, us children, had to plough through, trying to visualize this super Batman in the sky. Anyway, after years of hearing this crap (that's how I viewed it), the novelty wore off and I sort of forgot about the whole thing. Or would have if the TV didn't have its God Slot. Or the damn bells every Sunday morning. Or the JWs knocking on my door and holding a fat book in their hands and asking me if I'd read it. Read it? I'd been forced to read it for years! And I come here or any other forum and come across plenty people on God's payroll, 'Godpushers', a God that clearly has an agenda, a God that advertises. Hey! All this is a bit much! You can easily switch off the TV. But everywhere you go, you see posters : "JESUS SAVES!' So I ask : WHY do people tell of their religion? Isn't it to promote an event that supposedly happened 2000 years ago? Or is it to convince themselves that something did happen? So I ask Christians here now : are you here to help an old lady cross the road? Well, I don't want to.
I'm clearly not a Christian. However I think we need to be careful when we discuss the beliefs of others so as not to be insulting or defamatory. We need to put aside any personal resentment in order to encourage an open discussion on the topic. Personally I understand that Christians feel it is their Gospel duty to spread the word or Jesus through speech and actions. Through his imitation they hope to inspire others and set themselves on a path closer to God. Through his Gospel I believe they hope that we will too bear witness to the truth: "You say that I am a king. For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice." John 18:37 I hope that some Christians do join this discussion, it would be great to hear you different views on the subject Shayla x
They might join to defend their religion. I am not attacking their religion. It's more an invasion of privacy. Be what you are, but keep it to yourself. In all fairness, we now have atheists doing the same thing in their Freedom from Religion campaign.
I am Christian, though I can't speak for them all. Belief in a higher power is far from being exclusively a Christian concept. It fits with a lot of world views. Belief that a higher power might have some sort of personhood is common to many belief systems. One of the main topics people like to discuss (and debate?) centers around the possibility that you and I might be able to make some sort of connection with a life force, a higher power or god or goddess. Others might see the higher power as the "Cosmic Watch Maker" who then put the watch on a shelf and walked away to let it run on its own. Some people prefer to see life as a mixture of both things that were set in motion long ago AND the possibility of contact with something or someone that lies beyond what we can immediately see and hear. If you have found fulfillment in connecting with the Life Force of Earth (called Gaia by some), connecting with a higher power or higher person. I can see why you would want to tell people you love about the things that mean a lot to you, including that "Cosmic Connection". They can accept it or reject it, it is just two friends having a conversation, nothing more. HOWEVER... A lot of us, me included, don't want strangers knocking on our doors telling us that we really, really need to open the door and let them come in the house to tell us all these great hidden truths. Uh, uh! You ain't comin' inside my house!! No way! You might even be the same belief I am. You ain't comin' inside the house! Mama didn't raise no fool!
I totally, absolutely agree with this post. I, too, am a Christian. I certainly understand why other people want to witness...and this is assuredly not only a "Christian" thing to do. This desire to spread the word, witness and or convince others of one's beliefs spans almost all systems, except for Scientology - lol...and you gotta pay to hear that "truth" . I feel the most effective way for one to show others the truth of what they believe is through one's actions, first. Second is our words. According to how those words come out, they can turn a person away as quickly (or quicker) as they can draw someone toward your own truth and beliefs. Believing in God is one of the few things I chose to do that I know I did right. Edit: oh yeah, don't come knocking at my door either. and I'm all for helping old ladies across the street...I'm not far from needing it myself. lol
The idea becomes perversion unless you are truly helpful. Helpful is a matter of timing. To help old ladies cross the street is not on my list of things to do either but if the time comes I am ready. Christian discipline is not meant for popular consumption but for those with ears to hear. It is one form of a universal curriculum that comes in many forms. That curriculum is mastery of your own life. We do not need to be taught love as we are natively endowed with devotion to our good. For those who are weary of the oppressive conditions they find themselves in, the truth sets us free. The truth that sets free is the restoration of sight, causing the blind to see. The thing that clouds perception is judgment as in determination of moral worthiness. Judge not lest you be judged. The measure you give being the measure you receive we are equal in every sense to our own regard. As you would have him be, so you find yourself in the world. Most who seek to spread the good word are enthusiastic consumers who believe in good merchandising, salesmen. They achieve a sense of safety in good demographic numbers. In perspective they are no more annoying nor significant than television commercials.
I don't understand your resistance to wanting to aid those who are less privileged. You complain about people preaching their religion outside of your doors as if they are doing you some evil, and then you finish by saying you would have no interest in helping an old lady cross the street. How are you any better than even a malevolent televangelist preaching a hellfire sermon about how gays will burn in hell? You come across to me as just as vicious.
