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I totally agree....but this is also where the "and they say they are Christian" comes from too. (I hear this repeatedly from my mom about other people) My input? Show me the church that allows someone to walk in and forever be perfect...Quote:
Originally posted by Cookiebaker
The number of times I have seen Christians that "talk the talk" but don't "walk the walk" is incredible.
I know you meant those who "talk" endlessly and judge others....but this came to mind too. :)
my two cents..
I too agree with how Noah's mommy put it...... when you find something wonderful that changes your life you have to tell somebody.
I honestly don't understand why athiest are offended when a christian tries to witness to them... I mean I do if they are rude or too persistant.... I mean ... I believe in Heaven and Hell and my beliefs are if you are not a christian... (having asked Christ into your heart)... and TRY to live a moral life you have eternal consiquences... now .... I know God is real... when I got saved and really got on fire for God he started revealing himself to me.. and no one in the world could ever convince me that he was not real because of what I have witnessed... Now it is so wonderful how he has changed my life and how could I not tell anyone?..... Some people think when you get saved you have to life like a nun... and that is not how it is... God helps you change your life you don't have to drop everything cold turkey.. he helps you.... but you have to ask for his help.
sorry to blabber on... I really am trying to make a point.....
ANYWAY.... I have talked to other athiest and one thing I didn't realise is how educated they are..... my brother in law was raised in church and believed his whole life until he went to college..... my brother in law is VERY intelligent... and having evolution CRAMMED down his throat...(talk about someone pushing THEIR beliefs on you) he started to question the existance of God... He is very anilitical and I think that is why most people are athiest... is because they are very smart and realise there is an answer for every question... Well the only thing is you have to believe to get the answers about God... my brother in law is now saved and it is amazing talking to him.... seeing how the points of view are from both sides of the spectrum....
blah ... blah... blah... hope I made some kind of point...;)
Sara,
I totally know what you mean...and of course, we end up looking like complete weaklings or idiots because we believe in something that you can't "SEE or TOUCH". But you are right, you do see things...not in the literal sense. Its totally and completely amazing...this, from a logical mind. :)
Its so hard to explain "witnessing" and that I've never just done it cause I wanted to convert someone. I would never just run around reciting the bible or walk up to someone on the street and start talking about Jesus. On the rare times that I do talk to a "stranger" about God, it is initiated by the other person...not me. Its not in my personality to push my beliefs on ANYONE, EVER. And when I find myself talking about my personal beliefs, a small voice in my head is asking what on earth I'm doing... ;) It truely feels like I'm suposed to talk about God when those few times have arised...like I wasn't the one making that decision.
I'm sure this sounds so totally crazy to you all...but maybe it can add some insight into WHY people "witness". (I totally hate that word...its has a stigma attached to it.)
Yeah it is hard trying to expalin witnessing.... I am sure there are A LOT of people going about it the wrong way..... Like there is a man in downtown Atlanta who holds a sign and shouts "REPENT OR YOU WILL GO TO HELL".... I mean NO ONE... is going to flock to you and want to listen to you..... you shouldn't tell them all about hell but about the wonderful things Christ does for you...:D
Yet another thing that gives organized religion a bad name.
I told a friend from work that I went to church (I was asked what I did that weekend) and when I said "Sunday was church and so and so" he puffed up and said "Oh....are you one of THOSE born agains?" and did this :rolleyes: I love how I'm suposed to respect other people opinions, but if I chose to be religous, I'm not respected....
This is standard practice in California. I'm not saying this happens all the time. But I continually hear about things mentoined in this thread, but the opposite side is NEVER addressed.
Isn't it strange that sometimes ones who make fun of Christians because we believe in things unseen, will consult psychics? Just an observation.
I've found the best witness is how I live my life. If I treat everyone else with respect and enjoy my life, sometimes people want to find out about it. If they do, fine. If not, fine. I don't worry much about what others think of me anymore. They aren't the ones I'll have to give an account of my life to.:)
I have believed in God all of my life and don't plan on changing now. But, when Max ate 72,000 mg of ibuprofin and 800 mg can be fatal in dogs and he lived and has no ill effects, that gave me my epiphany (sp?). I have never prayed so hard in all my life as I did that night. The emergency vet said that he had NEVER seen nor heard of a dog surviving after injesting that much. When we had left at 9:30pm, the vet told us to say our goodbyes because he would most likely never come out of his coma. An hour later the vet tech noticed him chewing on the breathing tube, so she pulled it out and he was breathing on his own. When Mike called at 1am he was awake and alert and responsive to his name. When I called at 6:30am he had been up and gone outside to go potty. When I went in at 12:30pm he and I were playing ball in the room. I firmly believe that God sent a guardian angel to Max and the vet that night. Now, do I expect anyone else to change their beliefs because of what happened to me??? No! Nor would I ever even attempt to change their minds. However, I would TELL them about it and what the vet said saved his life, but not in a way to try and convert them to Christianity. Religion or lack of religion is probably THE most personal thing in your life, you need to follow your heart.
PS( Max is now called by the vet staff at the emergency vet Miracle Max or Max the Wonder Weim!! lol)
I don't really belong to an organized religion, I was raised Catholic, even went to Catholic school. I try to live my life as best as possible, I 'm always willing to help everyone and try to treat people with the same respect that I want. But for my own personal reasons I left the Catholic church. But I'm never really bothered or offeneded when someone tries to "witness" me. One of my good friends is morman and we have had many discussion about her religion and she tells me what it has done for her and I am able to see what it has done for her. I don't feel like she is trying to push me into anything, but she's just sharing with me. We both respect each other and she respects and understands my reasons for choosing to leave my church. I really enjoy our discussions that we have.
Amen Mugsy!
And lets not forget our other miracle pups Perry and Miss. Daisy!!:D :D
Since we're discussing religion ... and doing it nicely, too, I might add! .... let me throw this is ....
This has always made my mom (a VERY Christian lady) see red when I bring it up, so I may be in for it here ... but here goes ...
I have always thought that what religion you happen to be is based very much on geography ... where you happen to be born. The United States and Europe are basically Christian areas. Chances are, if you happen to be born in the USA, England, France, etc., you are going to be born into a Christian household, raised Christian, raise your children Christian.
However .... if you would have happened to have been born in India instead, you would probably be a Hindu today. Or if you were born in Iran, you would probably be a Muslim. And if you were born a Hindu or a Muslim, you would, without a doubt, feel that your religion was the "right" religion ... just as you happen to feel that Christianity is the "right" religion now, having been born in the USA.
I realize there are exceptions - people that relocate or convert. But for the most part, what religion you are is determined by where you were born and raised.
I have told my mom - when she is telling me that Christianity is the "right" religion and all the rest are "wrong" because the Bible says so - that if she had been born in Iraq or India, she would be a good and faithful Hindu or Muslim today, thinking that Christianity is the "wrong" religion, because the Qu'uan (sp?) says so. She does NOT appreciate that thought .. but I think it is true, nonetheless.
Thoughts???
Tolerance of man/woman kind for all religious beliefs.
I was brought up to respect all religions as long
as you do not use the name of religion to harm your
fellow human being.
Man wrote/interpets the Bible, and each religion has their own Bible, so who is to say who's bible is correct?
It's what you do through out your life and how you
treat your fellow humans/creatures that is important.
And I will never understand how any religion
can preach, that no matter how good of a person
you might be, you will not go to heavon if you
do not believe in my G-d.
I believe those perly gates are open to all living creatures
who are good and not evil.
Here's another thing, I beleive in Miricales....[like Max and Daisy and Perry] I just don't beleive "God" is who makes them. People make them.
Yes people help make some miracles happen.. but God gives us the knowledge to do it....
There are some miracles that people have no controll over like how fast Perry and Daisy healed... or like me for instance... When I was three years old my intestines burst and I should have died.... my parents rushed me to the hospital and the doctors did their work but only God kept me alive... I should have been long gone... but God had his hand on me and the doctors... the doctors only performed the surgery but God kept me alive and made the surgery a success... people are only human..... ;) Hope I am not offending anyone.:)
Uhh...what is this supposed to mean? Mormons are Christians, and we definitely are "normal." I'm sorry, but I don't think a person of *any* religion enjoys being lumped into one type of person like you all are stating.Quote:
Originally posted by NoahsMommy
I'm sure it sounds wierd being so plain the way I put it, but, again, this is how is REALLY is to many "normal" Christians. (By normal, I am not talking about JW or Mormans)
Ok yes, I'm sure some of the missionaries that come are annoying, like in a group of people there will *always* be annoying ones....but that doesn't mean they are *all* awful like you guys act! My brother spent 2 years of his life in Switzerland. Missionaries don't just "preach"...they help people. I know he did a lot of volunteer work, and he touched many people's lives. He didn't have a "quota," actually, he really did not get many baptism's at all...but he fell in love with the people of Switzerland, no matter what religion they were.
We are taught to be tolerant of all religions. Our church does NOT tell us to go out and "preach" to every person we see. One of my best friend's is Catholic. Do I care? NO. I find it very interesting to learn about another religion. Our church is not as much of a well-known and world-spread religion as some of the others, that is why we send out missionaries.
Yes, as with any religion, there are those who feel they are better then everyone, and look down upon the rest. I know, some of my neighbors are bad that way, and I can't stand the "goody-goody" type. But I really would like to inform you that maybe you should not judge an entire religion by a few people anymore.
You may remember the Olympics were held in Salt Lake City this year. I don't remember seeing even one advertisement for our church. In fact, walking down town Salt Lake City all I received was a bunch of anti-mormon crap. I see more advertisements for other religions then I do my own.
Not that I'm the most religious person in the world...I'm not...I haven't been to church in at least 3 years. My family is religious, and believe what the church teaches....I'm just not on very friendly terms with most of my neighbors that go to the church.
Sorry, I think I just heard the world "Mormon" too many times in this thread not to comment (by the way, just FYI, we are actually called members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or LDS)
p.s. I realized now that this sounds like the entire post is directed at NoahsMommy, but it is not...that just happens to be the line I quoted...
You go to school to learn facts. Evolution is a fact and is proven. God is not. Religion is supposed to be a personal choice, education isn't. Do you see the difference?Quote:
Originally posted by Sara luvs her Tinky
having evolution CRAMMED down his throat...(talk about someone pushing THEIR beliefs on you)
wolf_q, I agree with you. A good online friend of mine is a member of LDS, and she is the best Christian I have ever met. What I mean by that is that she's never ever tried pushing her views on me, she has taken in many abused kids and raised them from all over the USA and she has hundreds of foster kids in other countries. When the government in Utah (that's where she lives) needs a temporary home for an abused child they go to her, and no matter how much personal troubles she might have she takes them in without hesitation.