Deleted User said 8 years, 5 months ago:

I’m starting this thread to help people understand what being a christian is. I still see a lot of people who come to church just to ask forgiveness or to ask for something they want. Which is not entirely wrong because God already gave you the things you need so you only have to ask for what you want. But what’s wrong is people just come to church to pray for this kind of gift or that kind of gift.
We can talk to God anytime we want. You don’t have to ask your pastor to pray for you. You have a GENUINE relationship with God.

There are still people who are only Christians inside the church and it should be changed.

Let me know some of your thoughts and we can talk about it in this thread.

Humanist Hope said 8 years, 5 months ago:

Part of the problem of Christianity is how people conceptualize their god to behave as a magical genie that grants the right wishes.

“Dear god, help me find my keys to get there on time.”
“Dear god, please let my son’s little league team win this season.”
“Dear god, please help me get a find a better job.”

Their god becomes their crutch, their placebo, and their excuse. “If god intends for this to happen, nothing anyone does will change it.” – which is a clear excuse for not putting in effort towards a goal, believing instead that a god will magically bring prosperity without effort.

In the end, no two Christians agree on what Christianity even *is*. There are 41,000 denominations of Christianity and many interpretations of the Abrahamic god and the figure called Jesus (even though that isn’t a proper interpretation of his name). Therefore, there is not, nor can their be any such thing as a “true Christian”, because there is no clear definition of what a “true” Christian is intended to be:

Nonviolent? Jesus whipped men and ran them out of the Temple.
Temperance? Jesus cursed a fig tree for not producing its fruit out of season.
“Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself?” Jesus refused to heal a Canaanite woman’s daughter until the woman compared herself to a dog and this act somehow impressed him. It was not his allegedly divine or helpful nature, but that woman’s obeisance and humiliation of herself that inspired his assistance.

From the most ultra-Orthodox Jew to the most intense Imam to the most pious Christian of whatever denomination, there is no consensus about how a follower of the Abrahamic god ought to conduct themselves. For every law, rule, covenant and commandment that exists, there is a scriptural inconsistency and even blatant contradiction to that precept.

Deleted User said 8 years, 5 months ago:

@Niklaus I’m not making rules. What I’m trying to say is that there are people who just come to church and just sit down on a corner waiting for the service to end. What’s the point of going to church if you’re not there for God.

And what I mean’t by “pray for this kind of gift or that kind of gift” are those people who just go to church just so they could ask what they want. How does that look like I’m making the rules?

rinseandrep said 8 years, 5 months ago:

@rockerdudezz So, in which way are you a Christian (Catholic?) outside of church?

Niklaus said 8 years, 5 months ago:

@blackholehead then let’s have it. Let’s get this “discussion” going instead of you hiding behind your politician answers.

Humanist Hope said 8 years, 5 months ago:

@theripper

Every discussion that expects to really make any kind of progress has to begin with common ground; if we’re not speaking the same language and reading on the same page, then there’s little to expect as far as having a coherent discussion.

Agreed?

Humanist Hope said 8 years, 5 months ago:

@theripper

Your distrust is understandable, given how volatile relations often are between theists and atheists, but there is no charade. Only an honest invitation to respectful dialogue.

Humanist Hope said 8 years, 5 months ago:

@theripper

Agreed, that was presumptuous on my part. From my position, I do not often hear atheists refer to churches as “god’s house”. So your passive-assertive conversational posture did seem somewhat misleading.