| Dec 26, 2007 @ 9:21 PM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude"
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SweetNapaGuy
Posts: 4,565
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I'm an agnostic. I'll admit that, before anyone brings it up. I was raised fundamentalist Protestant, though, so I have a basic understanding of the Bible.
I'll start this discussion by saying that whoever wrote the "words written in red" (i.e. the words attributed to Jesus in the Gospels) must have been one of the most radical philosophers in the history of the world. So many assumptions prevalent in the secular world are overturned by what Jesus is said to have preached.
I think that if everyone actually lived their lives following the words in red, and had a "Christ-like attitude," the world would be a better place. Unfortunately, there seems to be a definite lack of such people in the world. In boardrooms, in legislatures, in concert halls, the message of the secular world prevails. Sadly, the same is true even in the worship halls of churches.
I've often wondered, what draws people to churches? The secular world is enticing. The percentage of Americans identifying themselves as Christians has declined from 86% (1990) to 77% (2001) to 71% (2007). Christianity is losing its hold on the Western World, because churches have lost touch with their "core competencies."
To compete, churches must offer something different--the "fruits of the spirit," for instance. If someone displays love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, they are definitely distinct from the majority of the population.
I leave it to our Christian members to decide if the message they display to the world, the message of what gifts their faith has brought them, brings glory to their religion, or marks them as just another version of secular...
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| Dec 26, 2007 @ 10:03 PM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude" |
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hammertime
Posts: 14,071
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While I agree with the spirit of your post I consider Jesus to be an updated composite man-god derived from previous man-god myths, i.e. Horus, Dionysus, Mithras, etc.. As for what Jesus said, if he existed at all, was written long after his alleged existence. So who is really speaking for Jesus? If he did exist how can we know what he really said word for word exactly? No one could know. Its all hearsay, conjecture and composite. However, that does not discount from the message that Jesus is given credit for.
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| Dec 26, 2007 @ 10:08 PM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude"
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Angel54214
Posts: 14,074
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 SweetNapa and welcome! First I will touch bases on this part below of your post...
I'll start this discussion by saying that whoever wrote the "words written in red" (i.e. the words attributed to Jesus in the Gospels) must have been one of the most radical philosophers in the history of the world. So many assumptions prevalent in the secular world are overturned by what Jesus is said to have preached.
The "Red Letter" bible print edition has a history. It was thought of by a man named Louis Klopsch. This man was the editor of "The Christian Herald" magazine in 1899. The red letter print became an instant hit among the church clergies as well as the congragation members.
There is also the "Blue Letter" bible print. This printing was done in the study bibles for scholars and clergy schools. These study blue letter print bibles have a vast concordance also in the bible book itself for indepth studies.
I agree with the rest of your post regarding to philosophers radicals as you say. Some philosophers have never been to bible college per'se and many don't really start fresh from the beginning of Bible history; where it came from, why it was written, by whom, when, the languages (Hebrew, Latin and Greek as well as many other cultural languages), and the history of the coming together of all the books as well as the history of the O.T. and New. I remember years ago, you had to hunt for a full bible with both Testaments in the sales market.
One thing to keep in mind as well is, the bible is available in all it's translations and versions to all ages. Many elderly favor the "red letter" editions for it's easy on the eyes to find the words Jesus spoke.
I enjoyed your post and will contribute more as time permits.
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| Dec 26, 2007 @ 10:45 PM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude" |
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SweetNapaGuy
Posts: 4,565
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Here's an example of someone whose actions cause others to stop and take notice, and to wonder how he came to be so different:
Lyrics from "Chain of Love," by Clay Walker
He was driving home one evening,
In his beat up pontiac
When an old lady flagged him down,
Her mercedes had a flat
He could see that she was frightened,
Standing out there in the snow
til he said Im here to help you maam,
By the way my name is joe
She said Im from st. louis,
And Im only passing through
I must have seen a hundred cars go by,
This is awful nice of you
When he changed the tire,
And closed her trunk
And was about to drive away,
She said how much do I owe you
Heres what he had to say
You dont owe me a thing, Ive been there too
Someone once helped me out,
Just the way Im helping you
If you really want to pay me back,
Heres what you do
Dont let the chain of love end with you
Well a few miles down the road,
The lady saw a small cafe
She went in to grab a bite to eat,
And then be on her way
But she couldnt help but notice,
How the waitress smiled so sweet
And how she mustve been eight months along,
And dead on her feet
And though she didnt know her story,
And she probably never will
When the waitress went to get her change,
From a hundred dollar bill
The lady slipped right out the door,
And on a napkin left a note
There were tears in the waitresss eyes,
When she read what she wrote
You dont owe me a thing,
Ive been there too
Someone once helped me out,
Just the way Im helping you
If you really want to pay me back,
Heres what you do
Dont let the chain of love end with you
That night when she got home from work,
The waitress climbed into bed
She was thinkin about the money,
And what the ladys note had said
As her husband lay there sleeping,
She whispered soft and low
Everythings gonna be alright, I love you, joe
The story behind the song. Don't know if it's true or not, but that story exemplifies the "Christ-like attitude."
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| Dec 26, 2007 @ 11:33 PM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude"
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Jankia
Posts: 9,171
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I understand you have knowledge of the bible but do you have knowledge of what goes on in weekly church services all over this country? I ask because you said this... the same is true even in the worship halls of churches .
You would be amazed at how untrue your statement is when also saying this...churches must offer something different--the "fruits of the spirit," for instance. If someone displays love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, they are definitely distinct from the majority of the popuation. Our small Methodist church in just one small town has over a hundred people doing exactly what you refer to as different.There are seven other churches in our community of 2500 doing the same.
I've often wondered, what draws people to churches? The secular world is enticing. The percentage of Americans identifying themselves as Christians has declined from 86% (1990) to 77% (2001) to 71% (2007). Christianity is losing its hold on the Western World, because churches have lost touch with their "core competencies."
Fellowship is the answer to your question and by being an active member of a church you would "wonder" no more.
As far as the actual number of Christains in America that depends on where you look to find numbers that arent really known besides polling.
From CBS news today...
Is America getting more secular? Not according to a new survey on Americans' religious beliefs, "American Piety in the 21st Century," published this month by Baylor University. According to the Baylor survey, 82 percent of Americans are Christians, 90 percent believe in God, 70 percent pray regularly, and half attend church at least once a month.
I've noticed myself people making the same claim as you did that Christianity is losing its hold Those people Ive noticed are not Christains like yourself. Is Christianity losing its hold or is that wishfull thinking by non-Christains?
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| Dec 26, 2007 @ 11:40 PM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude" |
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burnslikethesun
Posts: 9,609
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Do i have to have a tilte to get into heaven? No where am I awear of does it say be this or that. All i get from it is love, love and more love. So if i keep the hate love and the love high, shouldnt that be like golden?
It only from man and church do i see the titltes come in.
I know off subject. was just curious.
As you weres.
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| Dec 26, 2007 @ 11:48 PM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude"
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SweetNapaGuy
Posts: 4,565
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"Fellowship" can be found in a bar, at a sporting event, or at a nudist beach. I've met many "social Christians" who viewed the church as just another place to hang out with friends. They act no different than any secular group.
There is a measurable and considerable decline in people self-identifying as Christians. (US Census Bureau) Many people who identify as "believing in God or a higher power" do not necessarily believe in the Judeo-Christian God.
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| Dec 27, 2007 @ 12:17 AM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude" |
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hammertime
Posts: 14,071
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Napa,
That sounds about right of there being a belief in a "higher power" as opposed to the Judeo-Christian god, a personal god. Even an atheist can believe in a higher power god as a conceptual idea of the universe unfolding and revealing itself through discovery. This is the god of Spinoza. The god Einstein identified with. Its not an actual deity but more of a sense of awe and grandeur of our apprehension of the cosmos and so little we know about it.
The primitive belief of a personal god corresponds to a worshiper who is satisfied with little or no actual knowledge of the cosmos but must have a narcissist and egocentric view that there is nothing else. This keeps many in ignorance and isolated in communal groups who reinforce each other's tunnel vision of the world and to reinforce superstitions.
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| Dec 27, 2007 @ 12:19 AM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude"
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burnslikethesun
Posts: 9,609
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cool
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| Dec 27, 2007 @ 12:22 AM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude" |
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SweetNapaGuy
Posts: 4,565
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Could be deism. The "(absent landlord) God" of the Enlightenment.
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| Dec 27, 2007 @ 12:30 AM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude"
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hammertime
Posts: 14,071
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It could be the there is something more. Why is it necessary to create god to fill in the blanks? There is the left hemisphere of the brain that confabulates the gaps in knowledge. The less we know, the more god fills in the blanks as an explanation explanation of everything. Much of this might have to do with a set of specialized neurons in the brain called "mirror neurons" that give us a sense of self and other and perhaps extending into a concept an external god. The temporal lobes gives sensations and experiences of other worldly or so called 'religious' experience giving rise to belief systems attempting to explain the unknown. All gods are inventions of the mind.
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| Dec 27, 2007 @ 12:44 AM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude" |
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Angel54214
Posts: 14,074
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If surveys are your accuracy in determining believers hearts and spirits, SweetNapa, you might want to take a gander at the wider view....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States#Religious_affiliation
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| Dec 27, 2007 @ 12:49 AM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude"
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kattsmeow
Posts: 21,280
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December 24, 2007
55% of Americans Find Answers in Religion
USA Religion and Social Trends Video Reports Nearly 9 in 10 Americans identify with some type of religion and more than half attend church at least once a month.
http://www.gallup.com/video/103405/55-Americans-Find-Answers-Religion.aspx
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| Dec 27, 2007 @ 12:51 AM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude" |
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hammertime
Posts: 14,071
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Angel,
Did you take a gander? Numbers of religious are declining. But statistics are besides the point. Obesity is increasing so there are still plenty of stupid people. I guess is the old Faith vs Fat Food battle.
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| Dec 27, 2007 @ 1:03 AM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude"
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SweetNapaGuy
Posts: 4,565
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Angel, that link leads to an article that has a footnote to an analysis that is based on the link I provided. 
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| Dec 27, 2007 @ 1:10 AM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude" |
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hammertime
Posts: 14,071
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I know plenty of people who identify with a religion but mostly out of tradition and not to upset their parents, family, etc. Their's a joke about that going around. First say you're gay and really upset your family with that news and then later say you were kidding and that you're only an atheist. That should provide some relief.
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| Dec 27, 2007 @ 7:45 AM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude"
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bevrice
Posts: 11,144
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People don't have to attend a church to be a Christian, you know.
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| Dec 27, 2007 @ 8:10 AM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude" |
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hammertime
Posts: 14,071
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and one doesn't have to be Christian to attend a church. I know a few who go just for social reasons but don't believe in the myth. They sing, even pray along with the others because it makes them feel good.
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| Dec 27, 2007 @ 8:22 AM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude"
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yashaenka
Posts: 4,639
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When the Jewish religion was formed and then Christianity was formed after it as belief systems, few people could read or write. Almost everything was done by oral traditions. Even during the time of the Christian Crusades most people were still unable to read, nor did they have what we take for granted called Free Will.
Even during the Protestant Reformation the great masses still remained ignorant and illiterate. For the most part they depended on the Clergy and Rabbi's for sermons or reading of the Torah.
Here in this country most people can read or write but that does not mean they understand what they are reading. Nor do most spend a lot of time doing any bible study as an overall % of the population. No for the most part those that do attend religious services are quasi religious who attend church due to social pressures and acceptance within the communities.
Many will say not in my town or church, but I am sorry to say that fact is as much a fact today as it was in olden times. We call such people Hypocrites, Jack Mormons and the Jews have a name for them too. Pastors, Ministers, Priest and lay Pastors in large numbers preach sermons from the Bible then when outside the church do exactly the opposite themselves.
Christianity in this country is a social convention not real Christianity practiced by devout Christians, it is done in name only by 80% of those who claim to be Christian. When you make any religion simple for lay people who then sin and then can save their selves by simply praying and asking for forgiveness it is to be expected.
And Bev people do not need to attend a church or go to bible study, but they must walk the walk and talk the talk. I am not anti religion, nor Christianity, but I am anti Institutional bodies that are there merely for the money and/or to affect how people think within a community.
[Edited on 12/27/2007 8:28 AM]
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| Dec 27, 2007 @ 4:46 PM |
Christianity and a "Christ-like attitude" |
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Jankia
Posts: 9,171
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"Fellowship" can be found in a bar, at a sporting event, or at a nudist beach
Your question...I've often wondered, what draws people to churches? didnt ask what draws people to bars,football games or nude gatherings now did it? Change the question when you cant bear the truth of an answer heh?
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