Are you a TRUE Christian?!?

by brotherdan 152 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  mindmelda

  Huh, my Websters gives the definition as "one who professes belief in the teachings of Christ".

  Key words there are "professes" and "teachings" to me.

  Some people will profess to be Christian because of course, they believe it to be a good thing, and have one set of interpretations of the teachings of Christ.

  Some other people will interpret the teachings of Christ, with equal conviction and sincerity, believing they are trying to be nice people, and also profess to be Christian.

  Who decides which group is the true Christians, Christ? Why doesn't he just step in and settle it, or make it obvious in his words and book which of the hundreds of Christian sects is the "right" one, if there is indeed only one correct interpretation of Christ's teachings?

  I dunno, I'm asking you.

  Witnesses claim to be the "truth" based on a strict criteria of Biblical teachings too, and claim total purity. They claim to be the only ones who can correctly interpret the Bible for you, and that all the rest of Christianity is false if it even contains one element that is incorrect (the old "if a glass of water has one percent filth in it, would you drink it?" illustration comes to mind), but they themselves have been incorrect many times in the past, by their own admission.

  That they get people to demonize other religions for being "false" when they themselves constantly update and change their own teachings and explain it away as not incorrectness or being wrong, but "increasing light" is merely proof of how good they are at mind control and damping down cognitive dissonance, that's all.

  Those for whom it does not occur that their might be a reason different people interpret Christ differently and it was even intentional, well, isn't that a possibility?

  Maybe there is no "one true" religion or one "right" interpretation of Christ's teachings as long as one lives by what they BELIEVE it to be, to the best of their ability.

  As human beings with a natural diversity of thought and emotion, that may be the best we can do in interpreting Christ or anything, really.
• 

  PublishingCult

  Thousands of years ago, the Israelites, who were actually polytheists and who worshipped Isis, Ra and El, embraced and rearranged the concepts of pagan religions and made up their own version in order to create a false distinction between them and other pagan god worshippers. Because they cut the foreskins off their penises, for example, and made up 600 other laws to enslave other men with, they were somehow true worshipers of the One True God. Simple as that. All religions have done the same thing throughout history and will continue to do so. Yes, Christians are simply those who are trying to imitate the Jews :)
  
  IMHO, all Christians are TRUE Christians. All Christians are deluded and believe archaic mythos invented to explain the world around them, why we are here, why we die, and what happens afterward. They pretend to know something about an invisible realm that is unknowable. They cannot prove that realm exists, and neither do those supposed residing in that realm have the power to prove they themselves exist. It doesn't matter whether you believe in the Trinity or not, celebrate Xmas or not, whether you use the name Jevovah or not. Ultimately all Christians are obliged to prove the basis for their belief in an all-knowing all-powerful invisible deity. They cannot. They claim they just have faith, but having faith in something that cannot be proven to exist is not the same as having faith in something we know exists, can prove exists, have seen manifest, and therefore by such virtue have faith that it will always behave and manifest itself accordingly.
• 

  mindmelda

  I'd agree with a lot of Publishing Cult's comment, except since you can't really PROVE belief, no one is obliged to prove it to me.

  I think humans are just blessed or cursed with the ability to believe in the metaphysical or supernatural, to leap beyond the rational or logical, depending on how you choose to take that particular aspect of the human psyche.

  Magical thinking is part of us...we can't explain everything, but a bit more than Bronze Age humans could, obviously and so it's still around. But still, magical thinking isn't all bad, as long as you don't start killing people over it. And it's part of imagination, creativity, and many things connected to that that we find great enjoyment from.

  I'm not a fan of trying to live in a totally rational fashion, because for one thing, it's not really possible, but I'm all for a big dose of humanistic and rational thought into the metaphysical.
• 

  aquagirl

  To answer the question,no.Gawd no!
• 

  tec

  Sorry, I don't debate with the likes of you on this. I already know you aren't a serious believer but a believer-of-convenience, so why should I debate you as if you are serious?

  OTWO - You would first have to prove that having 'true' faith in Christ and God means that you do nothing but pray and leave them to have the world revolve around you.

  Is that what you are implying?

  Tammy
• 

  tec

  Dan, I tend to agree with Ding on this. We should a) look to ourselves and leave others claims and relationship with God and Christ between them/God and Christ. And b) We should try to recognize false Christs only to avoid leaning on their teachings and being swayed from the Truth, who is Christ Himself.

  I also don't like the term 'true' Christian, because it implies that we are judging other people's worthiness as Christians, and measuring it against our own.

  Tammy
• 

  XJW4EVR

  I think when a person calls herself a "true" Christian, then she has forgotten the gospel.

  I have been listening to a lot of preaching from the "new Calvinists" (Timothy Keller, Mark Driscoll, Francis Chan & my own Pastor Alex Choi) and they point out that the gospel message is the realization that I am a sinner in desperate need of salvation. When I begin to compare my personal walk with God to others, I will either look down on those whose walk appears less spiritual than mine, or become jealous of those whose spirituallity appears to be greater than my own. In either case I have forgotten that it is neither my spirituality nor the spirituality of others that saves me, but it is the work of Christ on the cross.
• 

  cyberjesus

  I was born atheist.
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  Satanus

  I agree w you, brodan. Someone is either a christian, or not, however screwed up or unscrewed. Jesus, portrayed in the bible, at least his human aspects, sided w the downtrodden and screwed up. Christians have no right to get between other christians and their god, jesus. Using qualifiers such as 'true' or 'not true' does just that.

  S
• 

  jay88

  tec -Dan, I tend to agree with Ding on this. We should a) look to ourselves and leave others claims and relationship with God and Christ between them/God and Christ. And b) We should try to recognize false Christs only to avoid leaning on their teachings and being swayed from the Truth, who is Christ Himself.

  I also don't like the term 'true' Christian, because it implies that we are judging other people's worthiness as Christians, and measuring it against our own.

  Very beautiful statement Tammy!

  >>>>>>>>

  I was using the term "True Christian" when talking to BrotherD, because I know how obnoxious it is!