Is Jesus relevant today?

[marco]

We know we should love and forgive. For good people this is good advice, which, being good, they will try to live by. But more important than platitudes is advice on how to talk to wicked people, how to persuade violent people to be peaceful, how to put out the flames of terror. Jesus seems to give no answers.

When millions were persecuted, all we can find in Christ's bag of advice is, turn the other cheek. He also said: pray, and you'll be given an answer, not a stone. Millions are praying every day for a solution, but sadly Christ gave no means to act against those who are evil. He might well smack them later, but that is small consolation to his suffering sheep.

Was Jesus capable of talking only in platitudes?
Is his message irrelevant in the turmoil of today's world?
Or do you think Jesus DOES have answers to help us today against the evils we face (other than to say - it serves you right!) ?

[marco]

[The Civil Rights Movement] was based on common sense.

I think that the leaders of the movement reserve the right to determine their inspiration for the movement and Dr. King cites Christ and Christian twenty-two times in his Letter from Birmingham Jail.

O dear. So common sense had nothing to do with it. It is customary for Christians to direct their actions through Christ and it was laudably unselfish of Dr. King to involve Christ, though the active support of the Lord was, as one would expect, rather lacking.

[MadeNew]

We know we should love and forgive. For good people this is good advice, which, being good, they will try to live by. But more important than platitudes is advice on how to talk to wicked people, how to persuade violent people to be peaceful, how to put out the flames of terror. Jesus seems to give no answers.

When millions were persecuted, all we can find in Christ's bag of advice is, turn the other cheek. He also said: pray, and you'll be given an answer, not a stone. Millions are praying every day for a solution, but sadly Christ gave no means to act against those who are evil. He might well smack them later, but that is small consolation to his suffering sheep.

Was Jesus capable of talking only in platitudes?
Is his message irrelevant in the turmoil of today's world?
Or do you think Jesus DOES have answers to help us today against the evils we face (other than to say - it serves you right!) ?

Certainly. Jesus IS the answer! If Jesus is our LORD and savior, and he was crucified on a cross while praying for the forgiveness of those who were killing Him, then our suffering can be justified by Faith. God doesnt tell us there is no evil in the world, or that our faith in Him will make it so we dont suffer or go trough trials of those evils. No, God tells us we can get through all evils in the world with Faith in Him. Ya, Christianity tells us that we WILL face evils, and that we can withstand them with Faith!

[Inigo Montoya]

[Replying to Elijah John]

Are JW's really exempt from military service?

[Delphi]

If Jesus is our LORD and savior, and he was crucified on a cross while praying for the forgiveness of those who were killing Him, then our suffering can be justified by Faith.

This is fascinating to me. Please explain. Our suffering can be 'justified' by faith in Jesus? What does this mean?

[MadeNew]

If Jesus is our LORD and savior, and he was crucified on a cross while praying for the forgiveness of those who were killing Him, then our suffering can be justified by Faith.

This is fascinating to me. Please explain. Our suffering can be 'justified' by faith in Jesus? What does this mean?

Jesus Christ suffered and died for us, at the hands of ungodly men, at the hands of sin, at the hands of evilness. He died for us... We are blessed to call ourselves His disciples and to live our lives accordingly to His life... The biggest misconception about being Christian is that it is just a walk in the park. That to be Christian is so we can live a life of happiness and good feelings. That we can be accepted by the world if we are Christian... NO! We are exiled by the world! Our faith is so we can live our lives according to the Son of God! That we can be led by Jesus Christ to the righteousness of God! If Jesus died on a cross, we should expect that those spirits who persecuted Christ will likewise persecute the faith of Christ and all His disciples... We should expect to die with Jesus, in His suffering, and to live with Him in eternal life.

Blessed are those who suffer for God!

[Zzyzx]

.

Jesus Christ suffered and died for us, at the hands of ungodly men, at the hands of sin, at the hands of evilness.

Wait a minute. Weren't Jewish officials involved? Is this to say those men were ungodly, sinful, evil?

They were probably like any other religious officials who don't like having competition or having a wandering preacher agitate against them.

He died for us... We are blessed to call ourselves His disciples and to live our lives accordingly to His life...

So say those who believe Bible stories.

The biggest misconception about being Christian is that it is just a walk in the park. That to be Christian is so we can live a life of happiness and good feelings.

According to Christian lore can't one do whatever they please, sin however they want, as long as they ask forgiveness and repent? Don't they still get a ticket to heaven if they do so before they die?

That we can be accepted by the world if we are Christian... NO! We are exiled by the world!

Exiled by the world? Surely you jest. Christianity dominated Europe for a thousand years (Dark and Middle Ages) and the Americas for hundreds of years.

Perhaps some Christians feel persecuted now that their theocracy has failed and they are given less of the accustomed preferential treatment.

As someone said, When you're used to privilege, equality seems like oppression

Our faith is so we can live our lives according to the Son of God!

If Christians actually live according to the Son of God WHY are they incarcerated at rates similar to everyone else, divorce at similar rates, and have half a million abortions per year?

Why do Christians live about like everyone else (but perhaps act pious and make claims of righteousness)?

That we can be led by Jesus Christ to the righteousness of God! If Jesus died on a cross, we should expect that those spirits who persecuted Christ will likewise persecute the faith of Christ and all His disciples... We should expect to die with Jesus, in His suffering, and to live with Him in eternal life.

Is that intended as a sermon " or is it somehow intended as debate? Sermons should be restricted to Holy Huddle sub-forum.

Blessed are those who suffer for God!

That is a great mantra for preachers addressing the downtrodden.

[marco]

Certainly. Jesus IS the answer! If Jesus is our LORD and savior, and he was crucified on a cross while praying for the forgiveness of those who were killing Him, then our suffering can be justified by Faith. God doesnt tell us there is no evil in the world, or that our faith in Him will make it so we dont suffer or go trough trials of those evils. No, God tells us we can get through all evils in the world with Faith in Him. Ya, Christianity tells us that we WILL face evils, and that we can withstand them with Faith!

Yes. I agree that belief in Jesus provides morphine to make people withstand the horrors they endure. By shutting folk off from reality and having them incant prayers Christ provides a something that does not remove hurt and pain but makes people think they are coping. I cannot possibly fault Christianity for this benefit. Something is better than nothing.

[marco]

Jesus Christ suffered and died for us, at the hands of ungodly men, at the hands of sin, at the hands of evilness. He died for us...
If Jesus died on a cross, we should expect that those spirits who persecuted Christ will likewise persecute the faith of Christ and all His disciples... We should expect to die with Jesus, in His suffering, and to live with Him in eternal life.

Blessed are those who suffer for God!

This is a dismal doxology. First of all it was not the ungodly who took issue with Christ but the godly - the very people who were supposedly God's favourites, acting in their God's defence when Christ arrogated himself to the position of God. Did their God not say: Thou shall have no other Gods before me?

The majority of Christians today, thanks to secular progress, enjoy good lives and only in some imaginative way do they share Christ's crucifixion.

Some who suffer and die for God are anything but blessed; they commit atrocities in the name of God. Of course they believe their God is the right one, just as you do. And God says nothing to disabuse you or them of the error.

[JehovahsWitness]

Jehovah's Witnesses were victims of the Holocaust, along with Jews and others. ...Aren't you folks pacifists too, and abstain and exempt from military service? ... Quakers, Amish and a few others too, (I believe) are pacifists.

No, Jehovah's Witnesses are not "pacifists". A pacifist believe ALL war and killing is wrong. Jehovah's Witnesses recognize that godly wars were fought by Joshua and others in bible times and that Jesus himself will one day very soon, fight the battle of Armageddon to destroy all wicked people.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that fighting and combat are incompatible for Christians, since Christians were not given authority to fight or make war, but were rather commanded to "love their enemies". For this reason JWs do not believe it is right to for them to kill anyone and would never deliberately do so. We do indeed refrain from military service and presently have hundreds of our young brothers in prison for this very reason.

I think this is one of Jesus teachings that JW's take literally, (turning the other cheek) where most other Christians take that teaching metaphorically.

No, when Jesus said "turn the other cheek" Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe Jesus was telling his followers to literally go around turning their faces. We interpret that particular verse to be a metaphor. A metaphor that Christians should not rise to provocation to fight (slaps are usually blows intended to provoke a conflict). So even when faced with a deliberate provocation to restort to violence, Jehovahs Witnesses apply the principle in what we see as a metaphor, by NOT resorting to violence but rather seek a means to either dissipate or avoid a potentially violence situation.

I can only presume other groups also (like JWs) view the exortion to "turn the other cheek" as a metaphor, but for them "turn the other cheek" means build a bomb and kill as many of the enemy as possible.

if that was Jesus intention, your denominations insitutionally exemplify the teachings of Christ.

Exactly, which is why I wonder when people seem to imply it is so difficult to identify true Christianity when there are so many hundreds of denominations to work through when simple looking at the one teaching of "Love your enemies" narrows the whole search down to so very few groups.

It's really not rocket science.


JEHOVAHS WITNESS

[marco]

We do indeed refrain from military service and presently have hundreds of our young brothers in prison for this very reason.

Then we have nothing to thank JWs for in Britain when we needed people to stand up against Hitler. Millions more would have been exterminated had other young Brits followed the shining example of these JWs.

For evil to succeed it is sufficient that good men do nothing.