The one thing

that has always impressed me about the Christian faith is the love we develop for those who would otherwise never be near and dear to us.

That in warning the unruly and edifying the ernest, we care enough for the stranger to help him or her advance to the next level.

 

Ahhhhhh! 666 posts!!!

 

I know lots of people like that. Many of them are not Christian.

Many Christians are the opposite, they hinder those who are not like them, seek to destroy and/or neutralize those who do not agree with their narrow minded principles.

 

Perhaps you see them only in the limited light of personal expectation. Someone asked Jesus 'who is my friend?' to which He countered 'to whom are you a friend?'

 

*ahem*

Christian love for others is a formiddable passion indeed.

But let's not forget, another formiddable passion is Christian hate.

Let's just chalk it up to the fact that Christians are passionate people, ja? ^_^

 

There are issues you children cannot grasp in all your 'playing with words' and trying to sound smart.

But that's OK.

You are, I suppose, exactly where you are meant to be in your personal development.

It is not what you hear that matters, for we all hear the same thing, but how you hear it.

 

Kindergarten in many cases round here if you ask me!

And brat-camp in others.

 

In this case I hear you raising yourself up by belittling others.

 

Yeah...christians showed lots of that love to the gay community by banning them from forming lifetime coupleships that are recognized by the law. I'm sure they're feeling the love...

Seems to me that christians like to preach love more than they like to show it to others. Peaching love and talking about loving other's isn't really showing love. You gotta practice what you preach.

I don't know anyone that has experienced love from the christian community that wasn't conditional. If you have no willingness to be like them you can forget about the love.

 

Hey, Sera! One of my most formidable opponents has returned! Sera, how's the Christian burnings going? Everything extra crispy? Daniel I don't think age has a lot to do with it. Their perspectives may or may not change. But, I can say Hikaru is an excellent debator. I rarely agree with him but truth is truth.

Anyway, in return I pose this question...Who here knows of a nonChristian who gives unconditionally?

 

Well actully Its mainly Prostants and Catholics that are banning Gay coupleships. The term "christian" was coined by the Pagans in Antioch. When they called the Disciples that it wasn't out of praise or anything, it was a derogatory term. Peter is the only one who uses the term "christian" and he only did that once and it was "if you find yourself being pursecuted AS A christian." He wasn't calling us "christians" we know this by the "as a" part. basicly "If you find yourself being pursecuted like a christian". so you're right most "christians" don't show alot of love because....they aren't "christian".....The people of Antioch called the 'christian" because they reflected how Christ acted and the disciples wouldn't do anything that was contray to what Christ taught.

 

In reply to:

you said:

No. For example, do you think Hitler loved the Jews and was just "joking with them lovingly" by putting them in concentration camps?

 

Bringing in Hitler and the Jews is really reaching. It has nothing to say of the relationship between Christians and those who judge Christians as totally unworthy.

Perhaps 'age' will not be seen to be relavent, but development and attainment are.

For years I have worked with people of all calibers. There is one constant in our relationships: that is that when I have told them 'no', they all accused me of being non-Christian.

Many of you don't know what love really is - you have a vague notion of warm, fuzzy feelings; or a live and let live (non-confrontational) attitude. The fact of the matter is that those that get in your face over some issue are the ones that care enough to take action. Do you honestly think that love is acquiescing to anothers demands? It is not. Every one, in the end, must find their way alone. Christians speak words; offer advice, whether negative or positive - alot of which is filtered through the individual's personality and character. The same can be said of any one who speaks. Are you really so afraid, or upset by mere words? Hear them, or don't hear them, but the landscape of ever individual's development will always be filled with opposing thoughts, as well as, advice from individuals further down the road than you.

 

Who knows ANYONE who gives unconditionally? Such a person is rare indeed.

anyways, I agree with whoever said this "christian love" depends more on the person than the religion. Most or all religions teach that we should be good to one another, however variously they phrase it. Many people strive to be good, to love one another. Success is a different matter, but even the secularists can be striving (which is the main thing).

Of course, many people live in a cloud of selfishness (at least in the materialistic West which I know, but probably everywhere else too, to some degree at least) and seem to care little for anyone else, aside from a few friends.

 

Not to boast, but I know of myself, for whatever purpose that serves you.

I think everyone here truly knows what love is, and we're all capable of giving and receiving it. No one owns love. It's not for anyone to say "You have it" or "You don't."

Why are you motivated to make people believe they don't have love? I agree that if you love someone you try to steer them in the right direction, but you're off to a bad start if you think the first step is to convince people that they don't know what love is.

 

Not really. I could have mentioned a more Christian specific example, such as certain 13th century Christians (if we look at them through the limited light of personal expectation). These medieval Christians were so loving, but the love they gave was so misunderstood (because of the limited light of personal expectation of those who received this great love). I simply mentioned the Hitler example to illustrate another misunderstood person spreading love to the world. It's sad, really, to see so much love go unnoticed and scorned.

Who has judged Christians to be "totally unworthy"?

What have you developed or attained that I have not surpassed?

Why?

Exactly.

 

I missed this little tidbit. Who the hell are you to tell me or anyone else what they do and do not know about love?

 

I know plenty of people who show love and compassion to the people of their community. I believe it is a natural characteristic of human beings to care for eachother and be a part of a greater community. I think most people have love for other people.

My problem with all this "christian love" is that it is completely conditional. You either have to be one of them, or open to being one of them in order to receive that love. If your lifestyle or circumstance is one outside the christian bubble, expect entire congregations to be told how bad it is and then expect them to head out and push public policy to force their view on you. There is much more to showing love than preaching your religion to other people and expecting them to live it. What's better for the community, handing out tracts and bibles or spending the cash it took to print those tracts and bibles to feed the homeless? I have been involved in many churches in my 20 years as christian and never once was enoucuraged to do anything for the community but spread tracts around the neighborhood or fund the latest missionary trip to some africian tribe so they could spread bibles around there to the nieve, sucking up and disolving their previous culture as they go. Why does some tribal child need to learn english? Why do they need to waste village resources building a church? There was no actual helping the community.

Now, my mother in law's church opens it's doors to the homeless so they have a place to stay at night, they feed them, and ultimately lead by example and not by preachiness. Unfortunatly, their church has been ostracised from the religious community because they have gay members and preform gay wedding ceremonies. But if American churches and their congregations were more like this one you'd hear less complaint from me.

I think christ of the bible is displayed as showing a pretty much unconditional love towards everyone (no matter how low they were considered on the social pole) with the big exception being the pious and pridefully religious. Unfortunatly, the vast majority of his followers you'll meet today are just like those that angered christ so much he tore up their temple in a rage. I don't think I have any different attitude about today's christians than christ would have had, in fact I think I'm nicer to them (I don't rampage through churches).

 

Well, first off speaking for the Christian community as a whole thank you for not raging through our churches. But, I'd like to point out to you that every Christian doesn't give conditionally. It's not the case. For some reason you don't understand that while your inlaws church isn't the majority it's not unique. There's plenty of Christian churches who give and don't hate homosexuals. Step outside the box for a second Sera. The only two Christians on earth that are good in your heart are your inlaws and their church members. But, if your one of your biggest arguments is most Christians don't condone homosexuality then trust me...Your beef is with most world religions. BTW It's a beef I have as well.

 

My beef isn't just their problem with homosexuality, it's just the best example of intolerance today consider all the gay marriage banning going on.

I do happen to think my in laws chuch is unique. It's unique because it just isn't common to find a christian church like that. While I know it isn't the only one, it is far from the majority, and I find that to be unfortunate.

If mainstream christianity was truely a religion of love, acceptance, compassion, and giving then I'd have no problem with it. Unfortunatly mainstream christianity uses the bible to justify and propegate it's intolerance and misunderstandings of other's lifestyles and choices. Rather than using the bible to seperate themselves from the world and lead by example they imbed themselves in politics and public policy (and have been for generations) and act like the world needs to conform to them, which is much easier then seperating themselves from the world like the bible claims they should do.

Christ didn't spend his time on earth campaigning the gov't for further censorship or gay-marriage bans. If he were here today would he be spamming the FCC with complaints every time there was sex on TV? He led by example and spoke his beliefs to those who would listen. He didn't badger the gov't to enforce his beliefs, or badger other people to follow them.