One day an expert in religious doctrine stood up to test a brother by asking him this question: "Brother, what must I do to receive eternal life?" The brother replied, "What does the law of Christ say? How do you read it?" The man answered, "`You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, `Love your neighbor as yourself.' ". "Right!" the brother told him. "Do this and you will live!" The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked the brother, "And who is my neighbor?"
He replied with an illustration: "A buddhist man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes and money, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. "By chance a christian came along; but when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A hindu walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. "Then a despised muslim came along, and when he saw the man, he felt deep pity. Kneeling beside him, the muslim soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two pieces of silver and told him to take care of the man. `If his bill runs higher than that,' he said, `I'll pay the difference the next time I am here.' "Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" the brother asked. The expert in religious doctrine replied, "The one who showed him mercy." Then the brother said, "Yes, now go and do the same."
*******
I have seen some christians look and talk down to a fellow muslim based on the premise “you serve a different Godâ€Â. It is the same kind of contempt that the temple priest and a jew showed in the parable of good Samaritan according to Yashuah. It would come as a shock and a surprise that a Samaritan who “serves ‘another’ YHWH†would be considered a neighbor than a person who follows the true religion. This parable in my opinion is so ridiculously downplayed. By changing the names and cultural backgrounds of the persons in the parable you can see the truth of the parable more clearly. That a muslim who preaches another Jesus is more of a neighbor than a christian who shows contempt to his fellow humans.
The parable probably received the same reaction from the hearers of that day by a gasp of “what??? A Samaritan???†as it would if we replaced the Samaritan with something this culture can relate to, “what??? A mormon???â€Â, “what??? A word of faith believer???â€Â.
Christians need to realize they have the gift of having Christ in their lives and stop embarrassing Him. You don’t believe in the same doctrine as I do, so you are not born again, not saved, you are going to hell is less fundy and more mental.
If there is a burning building and people are stuck in it. How long will anyone want to get them out of there and save them? I bet it would be until the burning is complete and there were some whom we were able to save but some who died. But does this attempt to save them depend on the duration of the fire? Would we fight the fire for a day, two, or a week or a month and if the fire still blazes do we give up on the people?
How come we who call ourselves christians give up on people after trying a day or two and then leave people on the path to hell which according to some will last for eternity? Shouldn’t we preach repentance and obedience for a life time with humility and as a servant with less self righteousness when the results are based on eternity? Shouldn’t we be kind and passionate until the moment a person’s fate is finalized at their death? Others might never see the truth, but why should that be a license for christian arrogance and condemnation?
1 Peter 3:13 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don't be afraid and don't worry. 15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. 16 But you must do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak evil against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. 17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!
Where does it say it’s ok to disrespect others because of their beliefs? Doesn’t it say they will be ashamed when they see what a good life we have in Christ? Then why do we need to make sure that we shame them with our words and haughtiness and self righteousness? If only we could follow the second commandment of love, then we christians would be more Christ like.
PS: No buddhists were harmed in the making of the parable.
He replied with an illustration: "A buddhist man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes and money, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. "By chance a christian came along; but when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A hindu walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. "Then a despised muslim came along, and when he saw the man, he felt deep pity. Kneeling beside him, the muslim soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two pieces of silver and told him to take care of the man. `If his bill runs higher than that,' he said, `I'll pay the difference the next time I am here.' "Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" the brother asked. The expert in religious doctrine replied, "The one who showed him mercy." Then the brother said, "Yes, now go and do the same."
*******
I have seen some christians look and talk down to a fellow muslim based on the premise “you serve a different Godâ€Â. It is the same kind of contempt that the temple priest and a jew showed in the parable of good Samaritan according to Yashuah. It would come as a shock and a surprise that a Samaritan who “serves ‘another’ YHWH†would be considered a neighbor than a person who follows the true religion. This parable in my opinion is so ridiculously downplayed. By changing the names and cultural backgrounds of the persons in the parable you can see the truth of the parable more clearly. That a muslim who preaches another Jesus is more of a neighbor than a christian who shows contempt to his fellow humans.
The parable probably received the same reaction from the hearers of that day by a gasp of “what??? A Samaritan???†as it would if we replaced the Samaritan with something this culture can relate to, “what??? A mormon???â€Â, “what??? A word of faith believer???â€Â.
Christians need to realize they have the gift of having Christ in their lives and stop embarrassing Him. You don’t believe in the same doctrine as I do, so you are not born again, not saved, you are going to hell is less fundy and more mental.
If there is a burning building and people are stuck in it. How long will anyone want to get them out of there and save them? I bet it would be until the burning is complete and there were some whom we were able to save but some who died. But does this attempt to save them depend on the duration of the fire? Would we fight the fire for a day, two, or a week or a month and if the fire still blazes do we give up on the people?
How come we who call ourselves christians give up on people after trying a day or two and then leave people on the path to hell which according to some will last for eternity? Shouldn’t we preach repentance and obedience for a life time with humility and as a servant with less self righteousness when the results are based on eternity? Shouldn’t we be kind and passionate until the moment a person’s fate is finalized at their death? Others might never see the truth, but why should that be a license for christian arrogance and condemnation?
1 Peter 3:13 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don't be afraid and don't worry. 15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. 16 But you must do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak evil against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. 17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!
Where does it say it’s ok to disrespect others because of their beliefs? Doesn’t it say they will be ashamed when they see what a good life we have in Christ? Then why do we need to make sure that we shame them with our words and haughtiness and self righteousness? If only we could follow the second commandment of love, then we christians would be more Christ like.
PS: No buddhists were harmed in the making of the parable.
