airtwardo 7 #76 March 30, 2004 Point Taken! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pajarito 0 #77 March 30, 2004 Your quote is the coolest I've seen in a while. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #78 March 30, 2004 Quote If someone's only impression of Christians are "those weirdos on the Promenade who keep giving me fliers and yelling Bible verses at me", they're not going to see Christianity in a very positive light. A bus is heading towards a complete stranger. They just stepped in front of it. They will probably suffer broken bones and pain for 6 months. Do you yell a warning? A complete stranger is walking into a place of sin and iniquity. On his departure from this world, they will suffer unending torment for their sins. Do you yell a warning? Maybe these people doing the yelling are better Christians. They don't seem to be worried about being unpopular. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 7 #79 March 30, 2004 Thanks I have yours on a poster w/ a picture of Mr. Hawking in my shop. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brits17 0 #80 March 30, 2004 Quote A bus is heading towards a complete stranger. They just stepped in front of it. They will probably suffer broken bones and pain for 6 months. Do you yell a warning? A complete stranger is walking into a place of sin and iniquity. On his departure from this world, they will suffer unending torment for their sins. Do you yell a warning? Maybe these people doing the yelling are better Christians. They don't seem to be worried about being unpopular. Heh, I see your point, however, is the 'world' responsive to the 'in your face' attitude? In general, from my limited experience, no. As Christians, we want to see people drawn TO God, not drive them away. People are skeptical, they want tangible proof, they want to understand 'why,' etc. It's a delicate subject, and each person responds differently to approaches. Versus telling them "this is correct, this is what you should believe," why not show them first? _______________________ aerialkinetics.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #81 March 30, 2004 in your bus situation, yes, of course yell. The person will probably listen to you. in the second situation, yelling isn't going to do any good. The person has no compelling reason that they can see to listen to you. Perhaps a conversation after a rapport has been established, but in this situation, shouting isn't going to work, no matter how loud you yell. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
champu 1 #82 March 30, 2004 Quote I completely agree. Anyone who pushes any religion on another person usually ends up pushing that person away instead of drawing them in. The best way to preach a religion to non-believers is to simply live it and answer their questions when they ask. And when they're ready, they will ask. non-believer is a non-sensical word. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #83 March 30, 2004 Quote Heh, I see your point, however, is the 'world' responsive to the 'in your face' attitude? They might be responsive. They might even write a couple of books about you. However, your life is going to suck right around Easter. I don't see how a Christian can choose between being liked and being truthful. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #84 March 30, 2004 be truthful... but do it in a polite manner. Rudeness gets people pissed at you, and when they're pissed, they don't listen, which defeats your purpose. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brits17 0 #85 March 30, 2004 ? See nightingale's post above yours, she might have said it better than I did. Anyway, its not a matter of being un-truthful, its a matter of living out that truth. Actions speak louder than words is all I was trying to say mate. _______________________ aerialkinetics.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #86 March 30, 2004 Quote yelling isn't going to do any good. "Yelling" is just used in the analogy. Walking up to them and saying "Hey, you're on the pathway to sin." in a polite voice. My ex was a Jehovahs Witness. Every Saturday morning, walking door-to-door for 3 hours and talking to people in a polite voice. They didn't worry about being liked, but they were out there talking to people. Well-dressed, polite, conversational. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brits17 0 #87 March 30, 2004 Ok ok, I feel your drift now. I was getting the image of ol crazy on the street waving a sign, "you're going to hell, REPENT" type thing. In no way am I trying to say to not witness by word of mouth. Thats a given. I've done my share of mission trips, and sharing my faith in public. My first major was ministry for goodness sakes. Thanks for clarifying. Once again, I never stated that I care about being 'liked.' If I gave a crap, I wouldn't be posting here. _______________________ aerialkinetics.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,106 #88 March 30, 2004 Quote Troll Song I'm the bad old, wicked old Troll Tooraloora, Tooraladdie I'm the bad old, wicked old Troll And I eats goats for breakfast. Lyrics by Jonathan Selby Over the rickety bridge I go...Are you suggesting that the Christian church was not responsible for the Inquisition and the Salem witch trials? If so, I'll sell you my rickety bridge and you can hide under it.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #89 March 30, 2004 LOL. you try that and about the only response you'll get is the finger. That's kind of similar to the woman who "wanted to tell me about Jesus" while I was waiting for the restroom. Gotta work on timing and phrasing there. When someone is walking into a "den of sin" as you put it, they probably aren't going to be extraordinarily receptive to whatever you have to say. Perhaps, instead of saying "you're on the pathway to sin" you could try "are you ok? is there something I can help with?" Take a look at the world from the other perspective for a moment. You're having a rotten day. Everything's going wrong. All you want is to go into a bar and drink yourself into oblivion, and be left alone to wallow in your misery. Someone walks up to you and says "Hi. Did you know you're on the pathway to sin?" do you: A. arrange a meeting between his nose and your fist B. ignore him C. tell him to leave you the f-alone D. invite him to sit down and have a pleasant little chat. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zenister 0 #90 March 30, 2004 Quote Can we all just get on a load ? My "church" is the sky. I'll be playin while you're prayin. and everywhere else for that matter. God loves it when you play, its an expression of love and joy in creation..why waste your breath talking about it when you can drink from the fountain instead?? start to tell me how i'm a sinner and damned to your hell and we have issues.... worship his creation in anyway you wish, but your going to get alot more than 'shunned' if you try to lay your mythos on me, or make me feel in anyway guilty or wrong for worshiping God as i do. I hear the voice of God everyday. I dont need anyone else telling me what she's 'really' saying... but you can certainly ask if your interested........____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shotgun 1 #91 March 30, 2004 Quote A bus is heading towards a complete stranger. They just stepped in front of it. They will probably suffer broken bones and pain for 6 months. Do you yell a warning? A complete stranger is walking into a place of sin and iniquity. On his departure from this world, they will suffer unending torment for their sins. Do you yell a warning? The difference here is that there is a general consensus that if you step in front of a moving bus you will get hurt. There is no consensus about what happens when we die. So yelling at someone who is about to step in front of a bus would probably be appreciated, but yelling your opinion about what might happen after a person dies is a completely different story and will most likely be taken as an annoyance. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #92 April 5, 2004 Personally, I would say the Christian church, especially in the case of the Salem witch trials, was used to advance someone else's political and/or financial gains. The trials themselves had less to do with religion and more to do with personal grievances . The church, however, provided a convenient outlet for these issues. I wouldn't say the church was at fault here, not completely. It was more that the church created something that was easy to abuse, and therefore, people abused it to advance themselves. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 26 #93 April 5, 2004 Quote Are you suggesting that the Christian church was not responsible for the Inquisition and the Salem witch trials? If so, I'll sell you my rickety bridge and you can hide under it. Yep. I think human nature was responsible for those things, and similar things can, and would have, happened in an Atheist, Muslim or Hindu society. How high is that rickety bridge? Can I jump off it?-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cloudseeker2001 0 #94 April 6, 2004 Quote Hey now, those are Mormons I think Mormons used to not call themselves Christian. They started to change their ways about 10 years ago. Mormons are odd to say the least and they do all kinds of crazy things the guys on bikes will not talk about or probably do not even know about. "Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance, others mean and rueful of the western dream" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #95 April 6, 2004 Mormons do, however, believe that Jesus Christ is the savior, so I guess they qualify. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pajarito 0 #96 April 6, 2004 I used to work with a Jehovah's Witness. He described for me one day that Jesus was the equivalent to God's secratery. He was trying to explain "I am the way, the truth, and the life" that Jesus said. They do not believe in the Trinity. They do not accept Jesus as equal with God. They believe that you can achieve the same level as Jesus eventually. Good luck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pajarito 0 #97 April 7, 2004 I believe JW's and Mormons call themselves Christians and put up a good front with wholesome family oriented radio commercials and stuff like that in order to be considered as mainstream as possible in order to draw people in when in fact they are a cult and deviate from doctrine. The Jesus they worship is not the Jesus of Christianity as is detailed in the article at the following link: http://www.watchman.org/lds/ldstimrk.htm Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jakee 1,558 #98 April 7, 2004 Quote Yep. I think human nature was responsible for those things, and similar things can, and would have, happened in an Atheist, Muslim or Hindu society. For a church going christian to admit that then they'd have to agree that the church is only human. What's the point in that?Do you want to have an ideagasm? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pajarito 0 #99 April 7, 2004 The church is a body of believers led by the Holy Spirit. The body of believers are people and are, therefore, fallable. God is not. The vile things that people do or have done in the past in the name of the church is not "of God." No matter what their denomination. If a church doesn't have God at its center, it is dead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jakee 1,558 #100 April 7, 2004 Quote The vile things that people do or have done in the past in the name of the church is not "of God." But they thought it was.Do you want to have an ideagasm? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
