"Well you see, a long time ago there was this guy named 'Jesus' and he wrote this book...
And yes, that was sarcastic. Seriously man, do you even understand Christianity at all? I don't have to 'believe' that I am qualified to judge who is and is not a Christian. All I have to do is look in the Bible and compare the rules, standards, and commandments laid down there with the beliefs and actions of people who claim to be Christians. If their beliefs and actions conform to what the Bible says, they are Christian. If not, then they are not Christian (or at least poor Christians).
This is not hard to figure out. I don't know why so many people persist with this ridiculous argument that no one can say what a true Christian is when there exists a millennia-old text that clearly defines what a true Christian is."
In reply:
@mightysamurai Today 06:57 AM
"I don't have to "believe" that I am qualified to judge who is and is not a Christian. All I have to do is look in the Bible and compare the rules, standards, and commandments laid down there with the beliefs and actions of people who claim to be Christians. If their beliefs and actions conform to what the Bible says, they are Christian. If not, then they are not Christian (or at least poor Christians)."The only conclusion I can come to, is you're being willfully obtuse for the sake of argument... I'm not talking about some weird street preacher who wants to baptize people with his own urine, or the Wesboro Baptist folks here, as my previous comments made clear. Kingfisher sounds as though he believes that those denominations who do not go out and evangelize are not "true Christians." To me, that's nuts, just as it would be if he said the opposite, condemning those who do evangelize to non-Christian status.
The thing about the Bible is, different denominations of Christianity read, understand, and emphasize passages within it differently. So who among them would you declare lesser or un-Christian? Is it the Protestants or the evangelicals who are mistaken? What about the Jehovah's Witnesses? What about anti-Trinitarian denominations, like the Unitarians?
Even on the very subject you're talking about, there is disagreement among Christian individuals and denominations. Some agree with you, believing theirs is the only "true" Christianity, attacking those who don't worship Jesus just as they do. (Though he seldom speaks of his exact denomination, Donald Douglas, who wrote the original post, falls into this category, judging by the things he said about Elizabeth Edwards, and her final public words.) Others believe that the big picture--worshiping Jesus--offsets the smaller differences between denominations, and sees all Christianity as a spiritual good.
So yes... If someone talks about committing murder or rape as the one true way to get closer to God, that ain't a real Christian, and I'll join you in passing judgement. But I'm not going to attack or denounce those individuals and sects of Christianity who don't pray in public or evangelize to others--or those who do--as being lesser or not "truly" Christian. You do as you will, Mighty Sam...
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Revised and extended from a comment posted at Right Wing News 12/10/10, 2:42 PM (or thereabouts)
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1 comment:
The nice thing about the Bible is that it is a book. It is written. It's not like one's personal revelation from God, which may differ from another's personal revelation, so that how can a third party possibly decide which one is true, if either.
But as regards the Bible, either this or that statement is there, or it's not. So the process is reasonably simple: 1) satisfy oneself as to whether the Bible is a reliable source or not, and 2)examine what it says.
As one of the groups mentioned in the post, Jehovah's Witnesses offer free home Bible studies to persons they encounter. Possibly, other groups also offer some avenues so that persons can examine their beliefs and the basis for them. Yes, it takes some effort, but most worthwhile things do.
At least, it is free, which is what one might expect given Jesus' compassion for the poor. Alas, being free is not necessarily seen as a plus today (though it should be). A bit like Huck Finn describing a traveling circus which came to his tiny town: it didn't cost nothing, and it was worth it, too!
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