(April 8, 2017 at 10:54 am)Catholic_Lady Wrote:(April 7, 2017 at 6:15 pm)Mister Agenda Wrote: And there goes most of the Christian population again. 'Striving to live by the teachings of Christ' would be a gross exaggeration of the effort most American Christians put into actually trying to live by the teachings of Jesus as depicted in the Bible.
I think you could start by knocking off all the ones who aren't welcoming to foreigners, are pro-war, or unsympathetic to poor people or convicts. The ones who haven't taken the time to actually read an entire Bible. Most of the ones who show up to church once a month or less.
It's a pretty long list, and that's only for 'striving', not succeeding. Most of those folks aren't even trying. They're putting in the least effort they think they can get away with to avoid hell and the anger of their neighbors, and keeping the opinions that suit them personally whenever possible, which seems to be almost always.
See, that's the thing though. You say most Christians hate foreigners, like war, and don't have compassion for poor people/imprisoned people. I simply don't see that. What you describe above seems like really shitty people, and that has simply not been my experience. I mean, sure, there are bad seeds everywhere and we are no exception, but it has definitely not been my experience that most Christian people, or even many of them, are like that at all. I can't say I even know any Christian people being that way (not saying they don't exist though).
I mean, my family and I were foreigners. We moved to the US from South America when I was 7 years old, and while we have become citizens since then, both my parents still have really heavy accents. No one was unwelcoming to us when we got here. I started off here at a Catholic school (2nd grade) and knew absolutely 0 English. None of those Catholic teachers/students/parents were ever mean to me or my family.
I don't see anyone liking war, either. Or not having compassion for the poor. There are a TON of Christian charities. My church was always advertising volunteer opportunities and running fund raisers for the less fortunate.
I'm not saying we're all saints. Far from it. But I do think the majority of us are just normal human beings who really do try to follow the basic teachings of Christ. Again, I have lived in several places, but never lived in the deep south like you have, so maybe that's where our different experiences come to play.
(April 7, 2017 at 8:56 pm)Brian37 Wrote: This is a famous comedy skit, but it does demonstrate how Christians twist what is a horrific act into some Disney movie.
To clarify, we definitely don't think the crucifiction was anything other than a horrific, evil act. What we think is beautiful was the love and sacrifice Jesus made for us by having gone through it when He could have saved Himself. But the act itself of crucifying people (especially an innocent man like Jesus) is pure evil. The day that we remember the death of Jesus on the cross (Good Friday) is a somber day of prayer and reflection, not celebration. It's definitely not a Disney Movie.
Please. If nothing happens that God doesn't want happening then it is an act, not a sacrifice. What is with all the violence in your book? Why all the drama? Blinks everything into existence but cant find a less bloody way to get his message out?
That wasn't a sacrifice it was a pin prick. A sacrifice is when you don't get anything in return or expect anything in return. At the end of the book if you don't accept the love of Jesus you go to hell. That is not love, that is emotional blackmail. The soldiers of D-Day didn't do it for fame or attention and they stayed dead.
And who asked anyone to get involved with my decision making? I get to decide whom I forgive, not a third party. Nobody asked him to do that, not that he is a real magic man in any case. But i don't need his permission to live my life.
He did save himself, where is he now according to you? Gone forever? No, up in heaven. That is somewhere. Losing something forever is a sacrifice, not a temporary magic trick. The story is a literary device to draw the reader in. It is an old underdog story and nothing new to Christianity. Prior polytheism had it's underdog deities who end up winning the day. The only thing that changed with Christianity was the name of the underdog and the method of his success.
My mom sacrificed for me, and did so WITHOUT violence and she wont get famous, and I am not selling her as a god and she is staying dead and wont be rewarded with followers. Your Jesus Character reads like a publicity stunt, not a sacrifice.
