Christianity gives you....ummm...ummm....exactly what?

Terry

Christianity:

You get struck on the cheek and you pony up for the other slap.

You pray for the enemy who wants you face down in the mud with his heel on your neck.

You get treated like pond scum but you force a smile and forgive.

If you are Abused? Forgive and forget.

Need help desperately? Pray! Pray harder! Pray even harder!!

When nothing good happens, chalk it up to your unworthiness and lack of faith.

Little children get murdered in a classroom and one child survives? It was Divine Intervention at work! God saved her! Now that is truly selective thought process at work!

The path of christian righteousness is strewn with the corpses of innocents who gave up everything in life. Why? Because christianity teaches the NEXT life is much better!

Apostle Paul tells fellow christians to take up their cross. Get ready for the torture!

So, to sum up....Christianity gives you WHAT EXACTLY?

Waste your life and bet everything on the little white Roulette ball spinning around the Bible casino. Hope when your number comes up you hit the jackpot.

Better hope it is eternal life instead of the permanent inside of a coffin for the eternal dirt nap!

Perhaps the worst part is that you are compelled in knee-jerk Pavlovian fashion to DEFEND the Bible and interpretations of your fellow know-it-alls.

No matter how crazy something is--you find a way it could possibly be absolutely true!

Christianity gives you.....exactly what?

Hope?

Trying waiting for a bus. It probably is going to come!

Need to prove the impossible? Quote from a book translated and recopied for thousands of years which has no provenance.

With a church on every street corner and a hundred interpretations for every doctrine you can rest assured you are on firm ground in your faith.

Where am I going wrong? What am I missing?

Surely this can't be right!

Should christians feel sorry for non-christians or is it the other way around?

tec

Christianity gives you....ummm...ummm....exactly what?

Me? Nothing.

"Christianity" is a religion, and I don't really identify with much of it.

Christ... on the other hand... is a different matter.

So I will respond to the rest as if you are speaking of Christ... and faith in HIM... rather than in the religion that is meant to be about him.

You get struck on the cheek and you pony up for the other slap.

You do not return harm for harm. Yes.

Your pray for the enemy who wants you face down in the mud with his heel on your neck.

Yes... so as not to sin against him, and God. Do as you wish others would do for you... that is living by example. Showing love to someone... even someone who hates you... can shame someone (or cause them to at least consider their own actions) who wants to live in light... to reexamine themselves.

To look in the mirror, so to speak.

You get treated like pond scum and force a smile and forgive.

I have a hard time forcing anything. Sometimes (usually) it just feels like crap. Sometimes it means nothing. Forgiveness however, is what i would want for myself, and so I give it. Forgiveness also releases ME from the hate or anger or resentment that can cause ME to sin, and hurt someone else.

So again... it might be the only thing (or one thing that adds to other things) that helps someone else to examine the anger or hatred in themselves.

If you are Abused? Forgive and forget.

See above.

Also, if you do not forgive... how does that benefit you?

Need help desperately? Pray! Pray harder! Pray even harder!!

I am responsible for doing... though I can also pray for help.

When nothing happens, chalk it up to your unworthiness and lack of faith.

Nothing... never... happens. I do not tend to ask for something that would be against the will of God. His will be done; not my own.

(that was a double negative, sorry... something always happens)

The path of christian righteousness is strewn with the corpses of ascetics who gave up everything in life but misery and hope that the next life would be better.

This does not pertain to me.

Apostle Paul tells fellow christians to take up their cross. Get ready for the torture!

Yes. Not because we want it. But because that is what tends to get dished out. It is to help others though. So it is worth it. People pick up various torture stakes to help others in different areas of life and consider that worth it all the time.

So, to sum up....Christianity gives you WHAT EXACTLY?

Faith gives one the opportunity to build the body of Christ UP... to belong to and know Christ (who offers truth of God, life, peace - in Him; not necessarily peace in this world; strength, comfort, love)... to serve others (to help)... to love and forgive and show mercy.

If this is what one wants... then I think that even you must acknowledge that faith gives such ones exactly what they want.

Waste your life and bet everything on the little white Roulette ball spinning around the Bible casino and hope when your number comes up you it the jackpot instead of the permanent inside of a coffin for the eternal dirt nap!

Doing what one wants to do is never a waste. Perhaps others consider it so... but so what?

My life is very full. Sometimes too full, lol.

Perhaps the worst part is that you are compelled in knee-jerk Pavlovian fashion to DEFEND the Bible and interpretations of your fellow know-it-alls.

Sometimes one is so compelled. But that is true of everyone, in various walks of life.

No matter how crazy something is--you find a way it could possibly be absolutely true!

Not if it isn't true.

Peace again Terry,

tammy

Joe Grundy

What does it give you?

A sense of belonging, especially for the lonely.

A sense of justice in the future for those who are oppressed.

A sense of superiority for those who believe that they alone 'know the truth'.

A friend for the friendless.

Someone to talk to for those who have no-one else.

A supposed code of morality for those who need it.

Buildings, music, literature and a sense of history.

Comfort.

A sense that whatever you do, it is sanctioned or justified by your god and is therefore 'right'.

None of it is logical or reasonable, of course, but one can see how a religion (any religion) which offers all this and more could survive and prosper. All one needs to do is to surrender disbelief and critical thinking.

I suppose that my list of points above could apply to any religion and maybe that's why so many religions survive.

james_woods

Johann Sebastian Bach, Terry.

Would not want to do without him.

Joe Grundy

"Do as you wish others would do for you"

This is not, of course, a Christian teaching: or, to be more accurate, it is a teaching of religions/philosophies which pre-date Christianity and was incorporated into Christianity.

'Do as you would be done by' is, I understand, a principle espoused by (and evidenced by the behaviour of) many primates (not only homo sapiens).

tootired2care

Ummm another kick in the ass for not picking up your torture stake and doing more (slaving for Christ) into all eternity. With Christianty there will never be freedom to do what you want to do and independence. Just endless duty and obligation and worship to god to be thankful that you were a member of the lucky sperm club (gods grace of existence).

unstopableravens

without christ none can stand before a holy god, christ payed our fime so we can be righteous before our righteous god.

tootired2care

without christ none can stand before a holy god, christ payed our fime so we can be righteous before our righteous god.

So what good has it really done the people of this earth the last 2,000 years? Did the check just not clear, or is there an unstated principal that says the earth is just a proving ground to see if you're worthy of being permitted to bow down to god for all eternity in heaven?

Christianity gives you....ummm...ummm....exactly what?

Terry

NewChapter

unstopableravens

tec

Joe Grundy

james_woods

Joe Grundy

tootired2care

unstopableravens

tootired2care

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