What's new
By:
Filters
Christian Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Christians?

E

elijah23

Guest
How do deal with people who call themselves Christians, but are in reality full of hate?
 
I stop calling myself a Christian, don't associate with Christians, and follow the Bible without worrying about others. It's worked well enough so far.
 
Let them go to the anti gay marches alone.

Let God sort them out. Everything we do is between us and God and we give account of our own actions not the actions of others.

I guess we are all on our own journey and dealing with hate can be a learned thing. Every christian must develop christ like qualities and it takes time.
Someone still with hate is not yet mature in the faith.

Giving someone an example of how to act in love usually never goes too far wrong. Some people may never have been shown.

Also treating people with respect and understanding while trying to work out the way they act helps a lot too.

Someone with hate issues might have childhood abuse problems or an unhappy

marriage fuelling it or something similar. Often if you scratch below the surface you find a good kind person who has been jaded by life circumstances.
 
elijah23 said:
How do deal with people who call themselves Christians, but are in reality full of hate?
Click to expand...

Chris, you sure do find fault with a lot of Christians. Are you at all concerned that you're becoming everything that you abhor? My friend, you are very critical of others with whom you share this faith.

Before this becomes a thread ranting about Christians, let's make sure we're not confusing conviction with hate. The world wants to say we hate when we stand firm in the faith. The world wants to make the label, "Christian" synonymous with hate, so much so that we have brothers and sisters distancing themselves from the word. :sad

Darkhorse, I don't know you well enough to declare your motives in rejecting the name. On the contrary, you've made a terrific impression since you joined. In general, I find that there is an air of arrogance when believers reject the name "Christian" or declare that they will not step foot into a church. It's quite a statement to separate ourselves from the body of believers when we do this. It's pride, IMO.

Elijah, it seems you're in a vicious cycle of pronouncing the bad in other people; pointing the finger at them and saying they are wicked. Here's some advice, brother. Be in prayer over the reason you not only obsess over all the flaws in other people (as you see them), but start thread after thread shaking your finger at them. That's not good for you or the body of believers to tear down others around you.
 
Honestly, sometimes you gotta take a step back and think about their positions. I was raised in a very liberal, "progressive" Presbyterian family. That didn't work so well...at 24, I ended up in a Pentecostal Christian Rehab ("Jesus Camp") for 1 year as part of an out-of-court deal for a crime I'd committed (kind of like a modern day temporary insanity deal).

Anyway, I thought those people were hateful, with their conservatism and everything. I still don't agree with everything they stand for, but I've softened up because they taught me so much and, more importantly, showed me how to be a Christian man.

Most people, I think, are fairly judgmental. "Tolerant" people are often the worst. Violate any of their rules and they'll turn on you--FAST. I don't tolerate pure hatred, Westboro Baptist "Church" style, but I try to learn from other Christians who intially strike me as "judgmental" or "harsh," even those who seem "hateful." Even if I end up still disagreeing with them, at least I took the time to do some soul- and hopefully Scripture-searching to see where they're coming from. If nothing else, you get to see the under-pinnings of other people's worldviews, which is always a good thing.
 
Mike said:
Chris, you sure do find fault with a lot of Christians. Are you at all concerned that you're becoming everything that you abhor? My friend, you are very critical of others with whom you share this faith.
.
Click to expand...
Yeah you are right I am crappy. It comes out in my intolerant words. sorry to let you down. I must be better and improve in godliness. I sure need to be more like Jesus, I'll work on it.







2.5: Respect each others' opinions. Address issues, not persons or personalities. Give other members the respect you would want them to give yourself.

It is a violation to misquote or misrepresent another member.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Mike said:
Chris, you sure do find fault with a lot of Christians. Are you at all concerned that you're becoming everything that you abhor? My friend, you are very critical of others with whom you share this faith.

Before this becomes a thread ranting about Christians, let's make sure we're not confusing conviction with hate. The world wants to say we hate when we stand firm in the faith. The world wants to make the label, "Christian" synonymous with hate, so much so that we have brothers and sisters distancing themselves from the word. :sad
Click to expand...
In my experience, Christians have done a fine job of that without any assistance from the outside world. There's a lot of people in the church who see their status as "Christian" as some sort of holier-than-thou card, which entitles them to look down on anyone different than themselves while conveniently ignoring their own sins.

There's a big difference between conviction (ex. "homosexuality is not God's plan") and hate ("God hates f***, so all homosexuals will burn in H***").


Mike said:
Darkhorse, I don't know you well enough to declare your motives in rejecting the name. On the contrary, you've made a terrific impression since you joined. In general, I find that there is an air of arrogance when believers reject the name "Christian" or declare that they will not step foot into a church. It's quite a statement to separate ourselves from the body of believers when we do this. It's pride, IMO.
Click to expand...

I'd be more inclined to call it arrogance if the separation of the believers was voluntary; rather than many people truly want to belong to a community of Bible-following believers but cannot in good conscience reconcile the majority of the church today with that description.

In more layman's terms, the name "Christian" has gotten a bad rap, and it's from the actions of self-proclaimed Christians, not outside interests who oppose them. I struggle every day with this issue, because I WANT to be a Christian, but I don't want to be like the vast majority of Christians I have met.
 
Chris. said:
Yeah you are right I am crappy. It comes out in my intolerant words. sorry to let you down. I must be better and improve in godliness. I sure need to be more like Jesus, I'll work on it.
Click to expand...

Chris, I made a mistake. My opening statement was directed to Elijah. Sorry about the confusion. You and I have always had a good relationship in PM's and on the board, IMHO.

And I feel Elijah and I are solid enough for me to point out that in thread after thread that he starts, he is either asking why some Christians are not good Christians or giving reasons why they aren't.

Elijah, in the last few days, you started a thread asking about self-righteous people. It can be seen as self-righteous of someone to find so many flaws in other believers they know. :shrug
 
Mike, you and Elijah23 have something in common.:angry :bigfrown What? :bigfrown What do you have in common:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
[SIZE=+3]American Football[/SIZE]
 
Chris. said:
Let them go to the anti gay marches alone.

Let God sort them out. Everything we do is between us and God and we give account of our own actions not the actions of others.
Click to expand...

This.:nod

Although I would try to show them the error of their ways, but that's just me. I tend to think I can reason with people. If they don't listen, at least there's it's not my fault. It's between them and God.



I found a forum of self-righteous Christians recently. They seem to believe that they can't sin because they are Christians and if you take one false move you're going to hell...though those statements kind of contradict each other, y'know?
But I think the site may have been satirical, someone trying to make Christianity look bad. A lot of the things they said were too ridiculous and hypocritical to be real. Although it was hard to tell.
 
Classik said:
Mike, you and Elijah23 have something in common.:angry :bigfrown What? :bigfrown What do you have in common:
-
-


-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
[SIZE=+3]American Football[/SIZE]
Click to expand...

-???????? Hi, two verses quickly come to mind. See if either fit the Christian today? And if so which ones??

Isa.58
[1] Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
[2] Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

And there is Numbers 16..

[1] Now Korah, .... took men:
[2] And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
[3] And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, [[seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them:]] ..'

And this Elijah is not the other 23 (?) Elijah!;)
But perhaps post persons best just speak for theirself, & not interfere with whom God has called to do His special work!:thumbsup

--Elijah674
 
Mike said:
Chris, I made a mistake. My opening statement was directed to Elijah. Sorry about the confusion. You and I have always had a good relationship in PM's and on the board, IMHO.

And I feel Elijah and I are solid enough for me to point out that in thread after thread that he starts, he is either asking why some Christians are not good Christians or giving reasons why they aren't.

Elijah, in the last few days, you started a thread asking about self-righteous people. It can be seen as self-righteous of someone to find so many flaws in other believers they know. :shrug
Click to expand...
All good no harm done.
 
questdriven said:
I found a forum of self-righteous Christians recently. They seem to believe that they can't sin because they are Christians and if you take one false move you're going to hell...though those statements kind of contradict each other, y'know?
But I think the site may have been satirical, someone trying to make Christianity look bad. A lot of the things they said were too ridiculous and hypocritical to be real. Although it was hard to tell.
Click to expand...

Speaking of that forum...I had an account there. I was posting there, because even if the site was just a satire, they are giving people the wrong idea about what Christianity is. So I shared Bible verses proving them wrong and whatnot. Also debated and had discussions with the site's Atheist members.
I tried to be polite and respectful to everyone, and for the most part did well in that area, I think.

Anyways, just checked there a few minutes ago, and guess what? I've been banned. For "posting unwanted content".
Frankly, I'm amused. Knew it would happen sooner or later, because that's the point of the site I think. To make it look like Christians reject logic, even from other Christians and thus "religion is bad".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top