Even if the bible is not inspired, is Christianity a good thing?

by jwfacts 34 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Apostate Kate

  Therefore in my opinion a world without Christianity would not be less charitable.

  Thank God we will never have to find out. Charity is always good no matter who gives it. What I know is from my personal experience because I am no great thinker or debater. Where I live, the Red Cross has no shelters, only Christians are taking care of the poor suffering souls. These homeless are not terrible people. They come from the foster care system, booted from mental facilities, drug addicted, they all have very sad stories. The police refuse to 51/50 them (protective custody) even though some are a clear danger to themselves. I can not imagine the added suffering hundreds in this area alone would go through without the local Christians. Charity is the whole purpose of life for a surrendered Christian.

  Respectfully~Kate
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  Shakita

  There are shining exceptions, but they remain the exception. The hateful, nasty, Bible-wielding christians on this board are the rule, not the exception. To be fair, such is the case with literalists/fundamentalists of all religions.

  On another board a fundy quoted scads of scriptures to prove his point that one should DA himself because Christians are supposed to "pick up the cross and follow Christ." In other words, when a person wants to leave the JW's quietly but remain Christian, the only way that that person can remain such is to DA and reap the consequences.

  I pointed out that he was being judgmental and that everyone's situation is different. Some decide to DA but others choose not to because the price to pay of losing lifelong family and friends is too high. I posted that he was not imitating the example of love, compassion and empathy of the one that he professes to follow.

  The biggest problem that I have with Christianity is that some become narrow-minded know-it-alls that have the answer to all life's problems. They believe that they are the soldiers of Christ and that they are on a mission to spew out the truth. There is no middle ground. And there is no toleration for alternate views. Either view things my way (or from their perspective, the Bible's way, their opinion) or you are not approved by God.

  Christianity can be a good thing if those that profess their faith in Christ prove to be reasonable, understanding, empathetic and loving. However, I have had the experience of encountering too many Christians that are overbearing, stringent, inflexible soldiers for Christ. I feel that everyday people that either don't profess Christianity or are nominal Christians are far more loving, kind, reasonable and empathetic than those that claim their conversion to Christ has caused a significant change in their life. Of course, it isn't true of all Christians, but I feel that it is sometimes better that a person doesn't convert if such conversion turns them into unfeeling, unloving, unempathetic automatons for Christ.

  Mr. Shakita
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  Apostate Kate

  The biggest problem that I have with Christianity is that some become narrow-minded know-it-alls that have the answer to all life's problems.

  You can find these kind of people all over the world in all walks of life. They can call themselves Christians, Muslims, Hindu, Catholic, Athiest, whatever. Thise people do not define who Christ is and what His message is. It is easy to define who a real Christian is. Look at the fruit of their lives. Read the words of Christ as recorded, and compare them to the words and actions of the person you are assesing. It really is that easy. People make false claims about themselves all the time for whatever motivating factor. True Christianity is unconditional love in action in the name of Jesus Christ. Anything else is riff raff.
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  Seeker4

  Apostate Kate,

  Point well taken. I think part of the situation is that atheists like myself seldome belong to any organization. And I would never think of joining the Church of Satan - or any other church. I merely quoted those points because I was trying to show that teaching some very liveable principles is not that difficult. Essentially, I think the Satanic Church was clever publicity stunt to show how stupid much of the Christian church is.

  Personally, I contribute to all sorts of local food kitchens and shelters in a variety of ways. Most of them have nothing to do with churches, though a few do.

  S4
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  Narkissos

  Two remarks here:

  (1) As has been repeatedly pointed out, "Christianity" is diverse from its very beginning -- although its present diversity (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, fundamentalistic or liberal) is not the same as its original diversity (Judeo-Christianity, Hellenistic Christianity, Proto-Gnostic Christianity etc.). So the first question imo should be: what type of Christianity are we speaking about?

  (2) All which is helpful is also potentially harmful. Every medicine is a poison if taken at a wrong dose or by the wrong person. What is completely harmless is seldom helpful to anybody. Religious teachers should be aware of that but rarely are. I think every form of Christianity has its own psychological, social, political dangers which are tied in with its specific power. For instance, the calls to "get rid of all one's belongings," or "die to oneself" can be vital to some people at some stage in life but disastrous to many others.