Metaldoc
01-23-2005, 15:11
This might be a good thing for all of us to ponder now that we have been given the privilege of having our own Religion forum.
Force Fed Christianity
Here in America we are afforded many rights when our nation is compared with others. It seems like we sometimes get carried away in making our religious voices heard when we disagree with others points of view. Sometimes we make ourselves seem no better than those who would complain and persecute the Christian faith.
There are a lot of angry Christians who in the name of a protest will think it is alright to become loud and obnoxious when it comes to standing up for religious rights. For example, there is an e-mail that I occasionally get that sometimes is titled “Agree or Disagree”. The e-mail has come to me in various different versions, but always ends up with the following statements;
I was asked to send this on if I agreed or delete if I didn't. Now
it is your turn... It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God.
Therefore I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a
mess about having "In God We Trust" on our money and having God in
the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the 14% to Sit
Down and SHUT UP!!!
While there is truth to what is said in this statement that we have “In God we trust”, on our money and God is mentioned in the “Pledge of Allegiance”, to tell people that disagree with us to sit down and shut up is not the way to express true Christianity.
Matthew 10:16 (NIV)
16I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
In order to be more Christ like, we need to consider that we should pay attention to what is going on in the world, but the way to be good examples of Christians to others is not gained by us being loud and obnoxious in making our points of views know to others.
Isaiah 53:7, 8 (NIV)
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
This is only part of prophesy written in Isaiah 53, that describes the experiences that Jesus would go for as our sacrificial lamb for our sins. If we are to be like Christ, shouldn’t we notice that when Jesus wanted to show others Christianity, he didn’t speak in loud or in an obnoxious manner? His actions spoke more loudly than words. It was his acts of kindness that compelled others to want to be more like Jesus.
Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Maybe we should think about those who are not Christians for a moment and instead of trying to tell them off for putting Christians down, we should be examples in witnessing to them. We can not force feed Christianity to anyone and expect to make a difference in the world. For when we choose to do so, we are no better than those who persecute in the name of religion.
Persecution can work both ways to promote hate when it comes to those who war in the name of religion and those who war in the name of godless causes. It would serve us best to pay attention that we don’t get caught up in anger to make our point in the name of Christianity.
For "Seeds of Faith", this is Russell Hunter. When it comes to our own sinful natures, without the Holy Spirit to guide us, we can become malicious and vicious in our treatment of others. History is full of recorded events which show how other have killed in the name of God, when indeed they were following the bidding of Satan. We need to examine our actions carefully and express kindness to others at every opportunity we get, otherwise we are no better off than those who are in the world.
Force Fed Christianity
Here in America we are afforded many rights when our nation is compared with others. It seems like we sometimes get carried away in making our religious voices heard when we disagree with others points of view. Sometimes we make ourselves seem no better than those who would complain and persecute the Christian faith.
There are a lot of angry Christians who in the name of a protest will think it is alright to become loud and obnoxious when it comes to standing up for religious rights. For example, there is an e-mail that I occasionally get that sometimes is titled “Agree or Disagree”. The e-mail has come to me in various different versions, but always ends up with the following statements;
I was asked to send this on if I agreed or delete if I didn't. Now
it is your turn... It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God.
Therefore I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a
mess about having "In God We Trust" on our money and having God in
the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the 14% to Sit
Down and SHUT UP!!!
While there is truth to what is said in this statement that we have “In God we trust”, on our money and God is mentioned in the “Pledge of Allegiance”, to tell people that disagree with us to sit down and shut up is not the way to express true Christianity.
Matthew 10:16 (NIV)
16I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
In order to be more Christ like, we need to consider that we should pay attention to what is going on in the world, but the way to be good examples of Christians to others is not gained by us being loud and obnoxious in making our points of views know to others.
Isaiah 53:7, 8 (NIV)
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
This is only part of prophesy written in Isaiah 53, that describes the experiences that Jesus would go for as our sacrificial lamb for our sins. If we are to be like Christ, shouldn’t we notice that when Jesus wanted to show others Christianity, he didn’t speak in loud or in an obnoxious manner? His actions spoke more loudly than words. It was his acts of kindness that compelled others to want to be more like Jesus.
Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Maybe we should think about those who are not Christians for a moment and instead of trying to tell them off for putting Christians down, we should be examples in witnessing to them. We can not force feed Christianity to anyone and expect to make a difference in the world. For when we choose to do so, we are no better than those who persecute in the name of religion.
Persecution can work both ways to promote hate when it comes to those who war in the name of religion and those who war in the name of godless causes. It would serve us best to pay attention that we don’t get caught up in anger to make our point in the name of Christianity.
For "Seeds of Faith", this is Russell Hunter. When it comes to our own sinful natures, without the Holy Spirit to guide us, we can become malicious and vicious in our treatment of others. History is full of recorded events which show how other have killed in the name of God, when indeed they were following the bidding of Satan. We need to examine our actions carefully and express kindness to others at every opportunity we get, otherwise we are no better off than those who are in the world.