What Exactly Is Your Problem With Christianity?

[Benson]

Lots of people say Christians "Are trying to jam religion and God down our throats." Yes, I know how this is a figure of speech. But, I doubt any of these people can say how this actually happens. Nobody is forcing them to do anything about God or religion. Why the complaint?

To help non Believers in God to better understand why Christianity is good for them, here are some reasons:

1.) If you want to have a better life, obey God. Jesus says those who obey His Commands will live better and longer. Such as getting everything they need for life, and living forever.

2.) If you give yourself completely to God, you will not go to Hell.

3.) If you belong to God, you will feel better.

4.) If you become a Christian, you can even accidentally believe the wrong Theology, but as long as you state Jesus is God and He died for you, you can still go to Heaven.

5.) After you become a Christian, you will not go to Hell for not understanding The Bible, because no person alive understands The Bible. That is why every part of The Bible is argued about. After you die, then you will understand everything about it.

6.) If you become a Christian, you will always have someone important to talk to who lives you.

7.) Finally, when you are a Christian, you will probably save a lot of money on useless things. Maybe.

[Benson]

No. That was not my question. Let's try it again.
Can you think of any benefit you would attain from God?

[Bust Nak]

[Replying to Benson in post #22]
Would? I don't think I would attain anything because I do not believe there is a god in the first place.

This probably isn't what you were asking either. I don't have a vision of God of my own, only what Christians tells me. I like the sound of a happy afterlife, I like having some guardian angel looking after my safety.

[1213]

4.) If you become a Christian, you can even accidentally believe the wrong Theology, but as long as you state Jesus is God and He died for you, you can still go to Heaven.

..............HITLER AT HEAVEN'S GATE

.

I think you are giving false hope for hitlers, because Bible tells eternal life is for righteous.

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mat. 25:46

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23

[Miles]

4.) If you become a Christian, you can even accidentally believe the wrong Theology, but as long as you state Jesus is God and He died for you, you can still go to Heaven.

..............HITLER AT HEAVEN'S GATE

.

I think you are giving false hope for hitlers, because Bible tells eternal life is for righteous.

But Benson says "as long as you state Jesus is God and He died for you, you can still go to Heaven." And certainly you're not saying that the Bible trumps Benson are you?


.

[nobspeople]

4.) If you become a Christian, you can even accidentally believe the wrong Theology, but as long as you state Jesus is God and He died for you, you can still go to Heaven.

..............HITLER AT HEAVEN'S GATE

.

I think you are giving false hope for hitlers, because Bible tells eternal life is for righteous.

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mat. 25:46

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23

Romans 10:9-10
Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Titus 3:5-6
He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior

Matthew 19:16-26
And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him

Revelation 3:20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Romans 10:9
Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Ephesians 1:7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,+

Acts 16:31
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”


Seems the 'Hitlers' of the world have a lot of options to get in to Heaven and par-tay with Jesus.

[DieAmartyr]

[Replying to Miles in post #2]
Do you think God is running around trying to prove Himself to people and failing? Do you think Christians are so desperate to believe in anything that we have Unicorn shrines in our houses and put teeth under our pillows? No. We were just as skeptical as anyone else and in one way or another God made His presence known to us and He is more real than you or I could ever be. When you have something affect your senses, you FEEL the presence. Have you ever laid there with your eyes closed and felt someone staring at you? You open your eyes and there they were! In my life personally I have had God make a way for me when there absolutely wasn't one. For example I got kicked out with my son on foot. My mother thought I was writing bad checks in her name but it turned out to be my brother. I had no where to go and I posted an ad on craigslist. I got a call, and the guy had a small 2 bd trailer he was renting in walking distance from where I was. Went to look at it- it was perfect. Totally remodeled. Dude wanted first and last months rent plus a security deposit. I was broke. I wanted it so bad and I started praying. Dude says " Tell you what- " HE HANDS ME THE KEY. " Go ahead and get your stuff and move in. We can work out the money later. We will leave the electricity on and you can just pay the bill when it comes." And he left! Who does that when they just remodeled a place and only did it to make money? We lived there for 5 years. Dude told me later " God told me to rent it to you." It was amazing and it isn't proof for you in your life, but it was for me in mine and the thing is I didn't NEED proof. I had faith that we would be ok. I wasn't expecting that though! I don't know where you live but in Phoenix that is unheard of. To get the keys to move in with no money, no background check, no deposit, no references, no proof of income. Nothing. He didn't even know my full name. Unheard of. People don't do that these days. The guy never tried to sleep with me and was always professional. I could quote you a bunch of scriptures but things like this have happened to me my whole life. God has never left me and that is just a blessing I guess. I give the glory to God because no one else made that happen. I would walk away from life right now and die for Jesus Christ. If I were forced to bow before someone or die I would die because my life is not worth living without Jesus. It just isn't.

[Miles]

[Replying to Miles in post #2]
Do you think God is running around trying to prove Himself to people and failing?

Considering that I'm an atheist I'm sure you can appreciate how meaningless this question is.

Do you think Christians are so desperate to believe in anything that we have Unicorn shrines in our houses and put teeth under our pillows? No.

I believe that many Christians, as with many members of other religions, are often desperate enough to buy into a whole lot of malarkey simply to gain needed comfort from their faith.

We were just as skeptical as anyone else

Not in comparison to agnostics, atheists, and other non-believers you're not. In fact, I find gullibility to be a hallmark---sometimes even a necessity---of "believers."

in one way or another God made His presence known to us and He is more real than you or I could ever be.

Speak for yourself, because he certainly hasn't made his presence known to me and millions of others. But if what you say did happen to be true, then he's been an utter failure at convincing all us "lost folk," which doesn't earn him high marks at all for doing the god job. Simply consider:

Have you ever laid there with your eyes closed and felt someone staring at you? You open your eyes and there they were!

Nope. The closest anyone has come is when my brother would creep up on me while I was resting and put his wet finger in my ear. Usually I'd hear him before he succeeded.

.

[The way eternal]

You said:


4.) If you become a Christian, you can even accidentally believe the wrong Theology, but as long as you state Jesus is God and He died for you, you can still go to Heaven.

The way to heaven and eternal life is in the keeping of the commandments of LOVE:

(New Testament | Luke 10:25 - 28)

25 ¶ And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

Jesus said:

(New Testament | John 14:15)

15 ¶ If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Paul said:

(New Testament | Romans 6:1 - 6)

1 WHAT shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.


(New Testament | Romans 6:20 - 23)

20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Salvation is for the obedient:

(New Testament | Hebrews 5:8 - 9)

8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

[Kylie]

Lots of people say Christians "Are trying to jam religion and God down our throats." Yes, I know how this is a figure of speech. But, I doubt any of these people can say how this actually happens. Nobody is forcing them to do anything about God or religion. Why the complaint?

To help non Believers in God to better understand why Christianity is good for them, here are some reasons:

Okay, let's have a look.

1.) If you want to have a better life, obey God. Jesus says those who obey His Commands will live better and longer. Such as getting everything they need for life, and living forever.

Can you show that Christians have objectively better lives? Higher levels of satisfaction? Longer lifespans? Can you show that they get everything they need, such as food and medical attention when needed? Can you show objectively that they live forever?

2.) If you give yourself completely to God, you will not go to Hell.

This seems completely unprovable.

3.) If you belong to God, you will feel better.

This seems easy to test. So can you provide a source that Christians feel better than non-Christians?

4.) If you become a Christian, you can even accidentally believe the wrong Theology, but as long as you state Jesus is God and He died for you, you can still go to Heaven.

So it doesn't matter what you believe, you just gotta say the right password so they'll let you in the door?

5.) After you become a Christian, you will not go to Hell for not understanding The Bible, because no person alive understands The Bible. That is why every part of The Bible is argued about. After you die, then you will understand everything about it.

This seems silly. Believe in the book that nobody can understand. You have to believe in it even though you can't possibly understand, and you'll understand when you're dead. One could say that about anything.

6.) If you become a Christian, you will always have someone important to talk to who lives you.

You can get the same thing if you have imaginary friends.

7.) Finally, when you are a Christian, you will probably save a lot of money on useless things. Maybe.

MAYBE? Are you just guessing random things now?

Yes, so true that life has the appearance of randomness. And, that appearance is all anyone can see when they are spiritually dead without the Life of Jesus in them.

Would you like to know how God is not imaginary?

Amazing how you didn't actually respond to ANY of the points I raised and instead offered nothing more than a sales pitch. I doubt there is any argument for God you can provide that I haven't already heard.

[William]

[Replying to Miles in post #2]
Do you think God is running around trying to prove Himself to people and failing? Do you think Christians are so desperate to believe in anything that we have Unicorn shrines in our houses and put teeth under our pillows? No. We were just as skeptical as anyone else and in one way or another God made His presence known to us and He is more real than you or I could ever be. When you have something affect your senses, you FEEL the presence. Have you ever laid there with your eyes closed and felt someone staring at you? You open your eyes and there they were! In my life personally I have had God make a way for me when there absolutely wasn't one. For example I got kicked out with my son on foot. My mother thought I was writing bad checks in her name but it turned out to be my brother. I had no where to go and I posted an ad on craigslist. I got a call, and the guy had a small 2 bd trailer he was renting in walking distance from where I was. Went to look at it- it was perfect. Totally remodeled. Dude wanted first and last months rent plus a security deposit. I was broke. I wanted it so bad and I started praying. Dude says " Tell you what- " HE HANDS ME THE KEY. " Go ahead and get your stuff and move in. We can work out the money later. We will leave the electricity on and you can just pay the bill when it comes." And he left! Who does that when they just remodeled a place and only did it to make money? We lived there for 5 years. Dude told me later " God told me to rent it to you." It was amazing and it isn't proof for you in your life, but it was for me in mine and the thing is I didn't NEED proof. I had faith that we would be ok. I wasn't expecting that though! I don't know where you live but in Phoenix that is unheard of. To get the keys to move in with no money, no background check, no deposit, no references, no proof of income. Nothing. He didn't even know my full name. Unheard of. People don't do that these days. The guy never tried to sleep with me and was always professional. I could quote you a bunch of scriptures but things like this have happened to me my whole life. God has never left me and that is just a blessing I guess. I give the glory to God because no one else made that happen. I would walk away from life right now and die for Jesus Christ. If I were forced to bow before someone or die I would die because my life is not worth living without Jesus. It just isn't.

That is a great story and I am like you in that regard - when I put it out there and all the pieces fall together when they need to and I am trusting an invisible intelligence to help make it so, and "It Is So" I then place that in the "passed the test" pile of data and move on to the next exciting unfolding related to that [for they all unfold in relation to each other.]

I have not been disappointed and if anything, it is so common-place for me to experience that I take it for granted on a daily basis - because that is what naturally happens when enough data is in the "proved itself" pile.

However, I am still an agnostic when it comes to making claims that it is a "god" behind the scenes "pulling the stings"...as this may lead one down the wrong path due to the huge and largely untested list of gods that we know of in the human dominion.

Monotizing the idea of 'what a god is' - while helpful [for it limits the potential confusion] - still hasn't got humans out of the dark yet...so the question is still unanswered.

It could be that the highly intelligent invisible entity "behind the scene" obviously [to me re my personal proven pile] is some type of "god", and can be referred to as such...but I myself - while seeing similarities to said entity in religions [generally] - haven't heard of such a being anywhere in known human mythologies...thus "Agnostic" in relation to religious claims in answer to the "What is a God/who is God" question.