Are you a TRUE Christian?!?

by brotherdan 152 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  brotherdan

  I've been thinking alot over the past few days on what makes a Christian a Christian, and I'm coming to some different conclusions than I ever have...

  The Watchtower likes to use the term "TRUE believers" or "TRUE Christians". I'm at a loss here lately. You are either an atheist or you are not. There is no such thing as a TRUE atheist. That could be applied to Christians, right? You are either a Christian or you are not. There is no such thing as a TRUE Christian.

  (I have DEFINITELY been guilty of this in the past) But it seems like by the use of the word "True", the writer or speaker is trying to make such a large distinction, that it verges on bigotry. "I am the TRUE Christian...but YOU, you worthless peon, are not a TRUE Christian."

  How arrogant! And how illogical. A Chrisitian is a christian. A muslim is a muslim. An Atheist is an Atheist. IMO, the only reason for placing the word "TRUE" in front of Christian is to try and imply that the other Christian is so wrong that they cannot be a Christian. If you want to be so arrogant, why not just say, "No, you are really NOT a Christian." Or, "No, you are not really a believer." Or whatever.

  Does this post make sense?

  I do
• 

  SweetBabyCheezits

  Do you consider Jehovah's Witnesses to be Christians?
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  SweetBabyCheezits

  Ahhhh, the No TRUE Scotsman fallacy...

  www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HJrAaGJudw
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  Honesty

  Do you consider Jehovah's Witnesses to be Christians?

  How can they be?
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  mindmelda

  Defining yourself as a "true" anything is tricky.

  A "true" American to one person can be someone who salutes the flag, and to another with equal conviction, one who burns it in protest.
• 

  brotherdan

  Jehovah's Witnesses?

  I think some could be. I think the organization festers an attitude that would cause Christians to reject it. But I can't say that "All Jehovah's Witnesses are NOT Christians!"

  That has been the attitude of many, including myself, in the past. Walter Martin, a man that I HIGHLY respect, claimed that all JWs were not Christians. But I cannot be that judgemental.

  Is the Watchtower a Christian organization? No. But are there some that are associated with Jehovah's Witnesses that are Christians? Yes, I would have to say that there are. I know that some would disagree with me.

  Just yesterday I posted a comment about 1John 5:1. It says: "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." I went on to say that all JWs believe that Jesus is the Christ. But do they accept that they are born of God? I said, "No". But how can I make that judgement? Have I talked to them all? No. So I can't say that.

  My point in the post was to talk about bigotry. Am I better than anyone else that claims to be a Christian? NO! Going beyond that, should I think that I am better than anyone? No way! My point was to say that when you use the word "TRUE" before your title, then you are imply that YOU are TRUE and all others that do not agree with you are "False".

  "You are a FALSE Christian!!!!"

  That makes no sense. IMO
• 

  brotherdan

  Ahhhh, the No TRUE Scotsman fallacy...

  Exactly! I guess this is the TRUELY subjective view of a person.

  However, we have to make a logical distinction between a PLACE that someone was born and a CONCEPT that that person has chosen to accept. I was born in America. Does that make me an "American"? Techically it does.

  I was born a "Christian". Does that make me a "Christian"? No it does not. The fallacy lies in the difference between the place and the concept or the belief.

  If I was born a Christan and then became a Muslim, am I a Christian? Do you see where the real fallacy lies? We are talking about 2 different concepts.
• 

  SweetBabyCheezits

  How can they be?

  Well, they define themselves as Christians. But so do others who have conflicting views. So who has the actual authority to make the call as to what constitutes a Christian? Jesus? Sorry, he's not returning calls right now. Please try again later.

  BTW, I came up with a new slogan for Christians that shouldn't be offensive:

  Christians - Imitating a Jew since 33CE!

  EDIT: Christians - Trying to imitate a Jew since the first century
• 

  LostGeneration

  The whole "true Christian" wording is another way of loading the language.

  The GB, and JWs who knock on doors already know that there is a very high probability of the person on the other side saying "I am a Christian" So what can they say to refute that? They don't even bother trying. Of course they know they wouldn't get far challenging a persons claim to be a Christian, so instead they hide their real belief that the person is actually controlled by Satan.

  Then they prop up and reinforce their own belief about "true Christians" in their indoctrination sessions.
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  SweetBabyCheezits

  I was born a "Christian".

  I was born a Texan, by virtue of the hospital's location. How is anyone born a Christian?