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 Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 10:31 am
There's something that's puzzled me for quite some time.
What's wrong with other Christians?
I'm led to believe that Christianity is the most self-loathing religion on the face of the planet. No, I'm not talking about the Catholic concept of "original sin". I'm talking about how Catholics and Anglicans are virtually the same thing, with maybe one or two differences here and there, and they hate each other's guts. I'm talking about how Lutherans, Methodists, and Baptists shun each other. How Eastern Orthodox Catholics denounce Roman Catholics. And let's not forget that everyone seems to despise Mormons.
What on earth is wrong with us? We're supposed to be the most accepting, loving religion on the planet, and yet the majority of Christians are told early on in life that every Protestant is a blasphemous sinner, or that Catholics are an evil perversion of the religion. Oh, yes, and lets not forget my favorite tale: Mormons are baby eaters.
So why exactly is it that we can't just accept our theological differences and move on? If we spent half as much time sharing our faith with others as we do bashing other factions, we would get a lot more done. "Love thy neighbor as thyself" apparently doesn't apply to us. I'll admit, I've got more than a few Catholic jokes up my sleeve, but all are just in fun and never malicious. I happen to be good friends with people from all denominations, as well as atheists, Agnostics, Buddists, and several others.
So, here's some things to discuss:
--What do you believe? How does it deviate from the root beliefs of everyone else?
--Why do you think there is so much hatred between Christians?
--Have you ever had someone stop liking you for your religion, especially another Christian?
--Why don't people find out what those other religious texts say (the Apocrypha, the Book of Mormon, the Torah, etc) before they say they're wrong? Following that thought, why don't they look into the beliefs before they go claiming to know what the other faction believes?
--Is there any reason you believe something from another denomination to be wrong, other than "Because I was raised in this church and my pastor said you're wrong"?
--Know any good, non-hurtful and playful jokes about other denominations that we can laugh at and not get upset over?
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 10:57 am
I think it stems from the idea that "Christians" are special, and that people believe that if any one denomination is "right" than the others must be "wrong" and therefore bad. I think it also stems from the preaching that if you're not "right" then you're going to burn in hell for all eternity. This re-enforces and strengthens that idea of "us" and "them". The idea that I'm a Christian and therefore I'm special, and if you don't agree with me than you're so WRONG. This is what religious leaders preach, this is what people are raised to believe. This idea gets strengthened from the beginning. That said, the volume of this kind of Christians is less than people might think. They're just noisy. For example, this is not really what my parish is like. Despite the fact that the Paster (my mother, in fact) is pretty liberal, the congregation is relatively conservative - but they're really nice. We have a Christmas service with the LDS church in this area every year, and are generally agreeable people. I find this of a lot of the people I know. So, take heart, it's less widespread than it seems to be, and not everyone who is conservative is a horrible person.
As for jokes? Hmmm. Here's a Presbyterian one: "How many Presbyterians does it take a to change a light bulb?" "You can't change that light bulb! My grandfather bought that light bulb! Why, I remember . . ." Hehe. That's the only one I can think of off the top of my head.
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Violet_Abyss Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:54 am
Violet_Abyss I think it stems from the idea that "Christians" are special, and that people believe that if any one denomination is "right" than the others must be "wrong" and therefore bad. I think it also stems from the preaching that if you're not "right" then you're going to burn in hell for all eternity. This re-enforces and strengthens that idea of "us" and "them". That's true, but I don't see why they think that way. Because honestly, while I believe my church to be the True Church(yes, thats just my LDS mindset showing through), I don't think that Enj is going to Hell because he's Catholic. If you're Christian, and you live the best you can according to that, I don't think you'll be condemed because God likes Puritans better...And Heaven forbid the Jehovah's Witnesses are right. Also, that seems like an awfully odd reason to stage Holy Wars over it. If you're right, you're right. It's not a big deal. It could be what happens with little kids, though. "Mommy, tell him I'm right!! Tell him!!" and then when she won't, he comes to dislike the other kid out of principle. Quote: The idea that I'm a Christian and therefore I'm special, and if you don't agree with me than you're so WRONG. This is what religious leaders preach, this is what people are raised to believe. Which bugs me, because we're supposed to be accepting of everyone. In principle, anyway. Because what I got from Jesus was "Hate the sin, love the sinner" Also, my leaders do no such thing, of which I'm very proud. I find it funny that the one most discriminated against denomination doesn't condemn everyone else. biggrin Quote: This idea gets strengthened from the beginning. That said, the volume of this kind of Christians is less than people might think. They're just noisy. Like how the majority of America is Christian, and the country was founded on such principles, but the noisy minority is trying to take "Under God" out of everything? And winning because the majority is quiet? Quote: We have a Christmas service with the LDS church in this area every year, and are generally agreeable people. Your congregation or the LDS folks? blaugh Quote: I find this of a lot of the people I know. So, take heart, it's less widespread than it seems to be, and not everyone who is conservative is a horrible person. I know. I'm more conservative than I sometimes let on, but I'm not so ultra conservative that I condemn people for being of a different faction. Quote: As for jokes? Hmmm. Here's a Presbyterian one: "How many Presbyterians does it take a to change a light bulb?" "You can't change that light bulb! My grandfather bought that light bulb! Why, I remember . . ." Hehe. That's the only one I can think of off the top of my head.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 4:08 pm
Elindarhya Violet_Abyss I think it stems from the idea that "Christians" are special, and that people believe that if any one denomination is "right" than the others must be "wrong" and therefore bad. I think it also stems from the preaching that if you're not "right" then you're going to burn in hell for all eternity. This re-enforces and strengthens that idea of "us" and "them". Quote: That's true, but I don't see why they think that way. Because honestly, while I believe my church to be the True Church(yes, thats just my LDS mindset showing through), I don't think that Enj is going to Hell because he's Catholic. If you're Christian, and you live the best you can according to that, I don't think you'll be condemed because God likes Puritans better...And Heaven forbid the Jehovah's Witnesses are right. Also, that seems like an awfully odd reason to stage Holy Wars over it. If you're right, you're right. It's not a big deal. It could be what happens with little kids, though. "Mommy, tell him I'm right!! Tell him!!" and then when she won't, he comes to dislike the other kid out of principle. Right, that's true. Kids are like that - but some adults are like that too. Quote: Quote: The idea that I'm a Christian and therefore I'm special, and if you don't agree with me than you're so WRONG. This is what religious leaders preach, this is what people are raised to believe. Which bugs me, because we're supposed to be accepting of everyone. In principle, anyway. Because what I got from Jesus was "Hate the sin, love the sinner" Also, my leaders do no such thing, of which I'm very proud. I find it funny that the one most discriminated against denomination doesn't condemn everyone else. biggrin Quote: This idea gets strengthened from the beginning. That said, the volume of this kind of Christians is less than people might think. They're just noisy. Like how the majority of America is Christian, and the country was founded on such principles, but the noisy minority is trying to take "Under God" out of everything? And winning because the majority is quiet? More or less. I don't get what the big deal about that is, anyway. I mean, if you don't believe it, don't say it. ( Although our country is based off of separation of church and state.) Quote: Quote: We have a Christmas service with the LDS church in this area every year, and are generally agreeable people. Your congregation or the LDS folks? blaugh Both! Quote: Quote: I find this of a lot of the people I know. So, take heart, it's less widespread than it seems to be, and not everyone who is conservative is a horrible person. I know. I'm more conservative than I sometimes let on, but I'm not so ultra conservative that I condemn people for being of a different faction. Right. And of course, there are some really crazy liberals too, whom I am not especially fond of. Quote: Quote: As for jokes? Hmmm. Here's a Presbyterian one: "How many Presbyterians does it take a to change a light bulb?" "You can't change that light bulb! My grandfather bought that light bulb! Why, I remember . . ." Hehe. That's the only one I can think of off the top of my head. Now it's your turn to tell a joke.
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Violet_Abyss Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:10 am
Violet_Abyss Elindarhya Like how the majority of America is Christian, and the country was founded on such principles, but the noisy minority is trying to take "Under God" out of everything? And winning because the majority is quiet? More or less. I don't get what the big deal about that is, anyway. I mean, if you don't believe it, don't say it. ( Although our country is based off of separation of church and state.) It excludes a large number of peoples. Anyone who is not monotheistic (and our numbers are rising.) The government is endorsing a faith above others in allowing this wording (which needn't be there seeing as it was only propaganda to differentiate us from the ebil atheist communists.) Seeing the reason of its creation, it may also be considered a blow at atheists and communists. While our country country was founded with Christian and Deist ideals, it was clearly not founded as a Christian nation. What then is the justification for, in our National Pledge, claiming this secular nation to be 'One Nation Under God'? (Should this be a separate thread? It is deviating a bit from the topic...) --- --- --- As for the point of this thread: I agree that the hatred stems from a minority. The majority of persons I've encountered (yeah yeah, personal experience does not valid proof make) are tolerant and friendly towards other Christians or other faiths.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:44 am
I think it's just an attitude of "Well, since I'm right you must be wrong." I've had countless heretics Protestants tell me that I've some sort of pagan devil-worshipping hethen just because I'm Catholic. I ran into someone else in the ED who claimed that Catholics weren't Christians because they don't baptise their babies by submersion (wtf? Is that even safe?).
Do I think I'm right? Of course I do, otherwise I wouldn't believe what I believe. But at the same time, I'm not arrogant enough to ignore the possibility that I could be completely or partially wrong. Yeah, I poke fun at other denominations, and I get worked up sometimes in debates (Sorry Elin sad ), but at the end of the day, I do try to respect everyone's right to...well, not agree with me.
I think the problem with so many Christian denominations is that rather than trying to find strength and unity in the similarities in our beliefs, we'd rather ostrecise groups of people because of differences in our beliefs. Which is a pretty petty and un-Christian thing to do.
Anyway, joke: How many Catholics does it take to change a lightbulb?
Answer: None. We use candles.
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Violet_Abyss Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 12:46 pm
Aino Ailill Violet_Abyss Elindarhya Like how the majority of America is Christian, and the country was founded on such principles, but the noisy minority is trying to take "Under God" out of everything? And winning because the majority is quiet? More or less. I don't get what the big deal about that is, anyway. I mean, if you don't believe it, don't say it. ( Although our country is based off of separation of church and state.) It excludes a large number of peoples. Anyone who is not monotheistic (and our numbers are rising.) The government is endorsing a faith above others in allowing this wording (which needn't be there seeing as it was only propaganda to differentiate us from the ebil atheist communists.) Seeing the reason of its creation, it may also be considered a blow at atheists and communists. While our country country was founded with Christian and Deist ideals, it was clearly not founded as a Christian nation. What then is the justification for, in our National Pledge, claiming this secular nation to be 'One Nation Under God'? (Should this be a separate thread? It is deviating a bit from the topic...) That's a good idea, yes, please do make another thread. Or I will. Whichever. I might be better - I have few opinions on the issue.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 1:38 pm
Quote: --What do you believe? How does it deviate from the root beliefs of everyone else? I call myself a Logosiast, because the Christian name is tainted I think. I know it causes further seperation and that is not good but we have to look at the fact that 90% of Christians out their don't even know what the Law of Agape is. And frankly, if they are that ignorant of their religion I do not want to be associated with them. Quote: --Why do you think there is so much hatred between Christians? Ignorance. Everyone in my church talks about how evil Catholics are, but none of them actually know what Catholics stand for. No one takes the time to learn about other people. Quote: --Have you ever had someone stop liking you for your religion, especially another Christian? Well being Presbyterian, yes. Most people have the reaction "Oh Noes! You believe in Predesination!" Well sorry to tell them, there is more support for than against it, so yes...I do. As soon as those words escape my mouth, I lose friends. Other religions are more accepting of me actually. Quote: --Why don't people find out what those other religious texts say (the Apocrypha, the Book of Mormon, the Torah, etc) before they say they're wrong? Following that thought, why don't they look into the beliefs before they go claiming to know what the other faction believes? Unfortunatley, "Pastor said so" is a valid reason for most people. Quote: --Is there any reason you believe something from another denomination to be wrong, other than "Because I was raised in this church and my pastor said you're wrong"? I believe Catholics confessing to a priest and praying to Saints is wrong. The Bible says there is only one mediator between God and man, and that is Christ. To anything different is calling God and the Bible a liar. Now if you confess to a priest just to get it off you chest, fine. I can see how punlic (albeit it is not really public) confession of your sins is a good thing. As long as they realize the Priest cannot ask God to forgive you. Quote: --Know any good, non-hurtful and playful jokes about other denominations that we can laugh at and not get upset over? They have slipped my mind actually....
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 7:35 pm
I was born and raised a Catholic until my parents divorce (real Catholic, I know wink ) and then later chose myself to continue practising this faith. Does it mean I hate other Christians? No, it doesn't. Personally, I'm Catholic because it's good for me. I believe in it too (not all things, of course, but a lot), but I don't think it's the only 'right' way to God. Plently of other Christians don't like me for it, and I get abused for being a heathen, or for 'worshipping' Mary and such like. I don't hate other Christians, and I don't think they're wrong, though I am guilty of being a bit too quick to judge before I know all the facts (about Mormons, especially).
As for the reason there is so much hatred between Christians...I suppose it's the same reason as there is hatred between anyone who doesn't agree with another person. They firmly believe what they say, do and think is correct, and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong- no matter what. They don't want to except that perhaps someone else may be correct, or at least have something right- too proud for that.
When it comes to what I deem about other demominations as wrong I think I base it on my gut feeling, on what I truely believe in my heart to be right, even if my denomination doesn't agree.
And sorry, I don't know any jokes sweatdrop
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 11:27 am
MY JOKE!!! lol
How many Christians does it take to change a lightbulb?
Charismatics: Only one. Hands already in the air.
Pentecostals: Ten. One to change the bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness.
Presbyterians: None. Lights will go on and off at predestined times.
Roman Catholic: None. Candles only.
Baptists: At least 15. One to change the light bulb, and three committees to approve the change and decide who brings the potato salad.
Episcopalians: Three. One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks and one to talk about how much better the old one was.
Methodists: Undetermined. Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb. Church wide lighting service is planned for Sunday. Bring bulb of your choice and a covered dish.
Nazarene: Six. One woman to replace the bulb while five men review church lighting policy.
Lutherans: None. Lutherans don't believe in change.
Jehovah's Witnesses: Three. One to screw in the bulb, and two to knock on your door and ask you if you've seen the light!
Amish: What's a light bulb?
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Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 1:37 pm
-What do you believe? How does it deviate from the root beliefs of everyone else?
I'm a Methodist
but I'm GHEY! [half-way....]
--Why do you think there is so much hatred between Christians?
Honestly, before this thread I had never really thought about it, I guess everyone thinks that there is only one way to heaven, and no one wants to be wrong, or worse go to hell, so it must be their way, not yours
--Have you ever had someone stop liking you for your religion, especially another Christian?
Nope
--Why don't people find out what those other religious texts say (the Apocrypha, the Book of Mormon, the Torah, etc) before they say they're wrong? Following that thought, why don't they look into the beliefs before they go claiming to know what the other faction believes?
Whose to say they don't? Or perhaps, they have a horrible bigot of a preacher that tells them that everyone else it wrong...
--Is there any reason you believe something from another denomination to be wrong, other than "Because I was raised in this church and my pastor said you're wrong"?
As I've said, I'm methodist [actually to be perfectly honest I attend 2 churches, one with my father and one with my mother, one is non-denominational, and one is United Methodist] But when I leave my parents house(s) I Think I might occasionally visit a catholic church, or at the very least go to confession, I feel a need to go to confession, but my parents wouldn't take me, and if they did they would want to know what I had confessed
So no, i dont dissagree with other denonminations, but i find thruths in all of them
--Know any good, non-hurtful and playful jokes about other denominations that we can laugh at and not get upset over?
Not really...but I will say this
Mormons Really are Baby Eaters!!! [Beware!]
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 7:49 pm
SpaZZtaSt!C -What do you believe? How does it deviate from the root beliefs of everyone else?I'm a Methodist but I'm GHEY! [half-way....] --Why do you think there is so much hatred between Christians?Honestly, before this thread I had never really thought about it, I guess everyone thinks that there is only one way to heaven, and no one wants to be wrong, or worse go to hyell, so it must be their way, not yours That's pretty interesting. I hadn't thought about it like that.
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Violet_Abyss Vice Captain
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