How Can Someone Not Be Christian?

Hello everyone,

Let me just get it straight out there by saying I am so flabbergasted sometimes when I think at the fact that there are people who do not believe in our savior, Christ. Even more, the people who had once been faithful but decided to throw their lives away by turning their backs on God. It is most definitely mind-boggling.

The effect Jesus Christ has had on us holy people is enough to make me never need to come close to questioning my faith. You have to admit that even if you do not believe in the Bible, that its message is so good and pure and life changing that in it of itself it is a perfect guideline to live your life.

When I see these people with their other "religions". I.E. muslims, jews, buddhists, etc... It makes me sick. To devote ones life to a mindless practice and to pray to the wrong God is probably the worst thing you can do.

All in all, what I'm trying to get at is I'd like people to tell me, how can you not be a christian? How can you deny the word of God and Jesus Christ when it is so obviously right?

God Bless.

xcrystx

You don't know Jesus. You know what people have written about him. The most mind-boggling thing here is the fact you take another persons word, and say you understand while acting opposite of how Jesus acted.

Proof of this is in your persecution of the other religions, which only goes to show you lack understanding.

People as a whole do not reject Jesus, they reject your claims of things you do not know or understand.

The only thing that has effected you is the church.

reply to post by xcrystx


Your attitude is why persecution happened.

Originally posted by xcrystx

When I see these people with their other "religions". I.E. muslims, jews, buddhists, etc... It makes me sick. To devote ones life to a mindless practice and to pray to the wrong God is probably the worst thing you can do.

wow, you know i could go into a big explanation of why I dont worship jesus or identify with christianity but thank you for explaining it for me. BTW, Jesus was a jew, why doesnt he make you sick as well?

[edit on 27-11-2008 by kokoro]

Actually, people like you who want to jam your religion down other peoples throats make me sick. Its people like you who actually turned me away from Christianity and all that is wrong with it. Yea, if Jesus Christ did exist, and did what they said he did, then he's a damn cool guy and I'd definitely shake his hand. He died for what he believed in, and to me thats something that really takes some balls.

And how can you say other religions are mindless practices? You do realize most religions were around WAY before Christianity even existed? You also do know that the Bible was written by MEN, edited by MEN, to control us. You are one of the blind, so ignorant to your own beliefs that you fail to see that any religion that preaches peace and love, is far from being pointless.

As for me personally, I used to be a Christian until I realized all that was wrong with the religion as it stands today. Now don't get me wrong, it has many great lessons and points, but so does every other religion in the world, many of which have been around far longer then before Christ even was blastocyst hinged to Mary's uterus.

Religion was made to divide the populations, plain and simple. How many people have been killed in the name of Christianity? Islam? and basically any other religion that exists. That to me is not something I would like to follow. I pray every night, I lead a peace filled life and try to forgive even those who do me wrong. If that is wrong to you then you really need to take a step back and try to look over your wall of ignorance.

Just because it may be the best religion for you, doesn't mean its the best religion for everyone else. Different people find peace in different teachings, and to me, as long as they are finding peace in something, and have something to give them hope not only in life but in death, then it is far from pointless.

I only hope one day you look back on this statement you have made and notice that you are no better then the followers of Islam calling all other religious followers infidels and that they follow false prophets and gods. One day, when you pass on, you will see that all religion leads to the same God, just many people need to take different paths to get there, depending on their on individual life.

I hope this makes sense and thank you for the question so I could provide this answer.

Oh man. Do you realize how incredibly arrogant and ignorant you sound? If not, let me explain.

I left modern Christianity because I came to the realization that the existence of God can't be proven, nor disproven. I left modern Christianity because I did not want to be associated with hypocrites. I left modern Christianity because I did not want to be associated with hate and intolerance. I left modern Christianity because of people like you.

That does not mean I am immoral. That does not mean I am wrong. That does not mean that I don't believe the original message of Jesus, the embodiment of true Christianity.

Don't get me wrong. You are free to believe what you want. But when you start saying that your way is right, it implies all the rest are wrong. And if all the rest are wrong, that is, all the other religions and non-religious philosophies, how can anybody be right?

Now, assuming Hell, or any other "negative" afterlife exists, then the notion that we are all wrong means we are all going to Hell. Obviously that is ridiculous. Ridiculous for two reasons:

1. The existence of Hell, like the existence of God, can not be proven nor disproven; and
2. It is absurd to think that good, pure, and loving non-Christians are going to Hell. Case in point: The Dalai Lama, and Buddha. There is no question that their messages were and are of love and tolerance. Which, *gasp* is a lot like Jesus' original message.

So the problem isn't with Christianity in theory. The problem is Christianity in reality, and the arrogance and ignorance of its followers, aka, you.

[edit on 11/27/2008 by prototism]

Thanks for your replies.

I'm sorry if I came off as a little hostile in my original post but I was kind of on edge just thinking of the whole thing.

I never claimed to know Jesus and all I need to know is what people have written about him. If I tell you something and you write it down and then you take what you wrote down to someone else and they read it, it does not make what I said any different. Despite claims of people editing the Bible over time to suit what they needed, I do not believe that the main points of what God wanted to tell us and for us to follow have changed. The word of God is the word of God even if there are a few extra things tacked on.

Persecution does not happen because someone believes in the one true religion... Persecution happens because of close-minded people who can not accept the truth, which in this case is Christianity.

Why? Because my IQ is high enough for logical thinking and reasoning. How dare you question other people's faith in whatever they want to believe in. You and/or the main stream churches have no right to a monopoly on religion or the lack of. The christian churches remind me of Star Trek's Borg. "You will be assimulated" .

You didn't come off as hostile. You came off as ignorant an arrogant. In fact, you ARE ignorant and arrogant.

Again, the problem we have isn't with Christianity per se, but with what people like you have turned it in to.

That is, I do not want to be associated with people like you. People who can't see the REAL truth. People who refuse to see that their bigotry, intolerance and ignorance is what drives people away.

[edit on 11/27/2008 by prototism]

Why? Because my IQ is high enough for logical thinking and reasoning. How dare you question other people's faith in whatever they want to believe in. You and/or the main stream churches have no right to a monopoly on religion or the lack of. The christian churches remind me of Star Trek's Borg. "You will be assimulated" .

Originally posted by xcrystx
Persecution does not happen because someone believes in the one true religion... Persecution happens because of close-minded people who can not accept the truth, which in this case is Christianity.

oh really? so in your estimation persecution is the fault of the person being persecuted because they wont accept the truth? :shk:

No, persecution is the path of the righteous.

Originally posted by xcrystx
Hello everyone,

Let me just get it straight out there by saying I am so flabbergasted sometimes when I think at the fact that there are people who do not believe in our savior, Christ.

Some are flabbergasted that there are people who cling so tightly to a religion that is so full of questions of authenticity. Have you read the bible?
Reading the bible was my first step on my journey toward agnosticism.
I find it really funny how most Christians have not even cracked a page in the bible, they just listen to what they want to hear from their church, or the evangelists on TV.

When I see these people with their other "religions". I.E. muslims, jews, buddhists, etc... It makes me sick. To devote ones life to a mindless practice and to pray to the wrong God is probably the worst thing you can do.

Those 'I.E. muslims, jews, buddhists, etc' are thinking the same thing about you, so I guess you are all right, or all wrong, about your chosen (sometimes by birth or culture) religion. Did you choose to be a Christian, or are you one because that's the one you knew best?

Do I want god to be real?
-Yes.

Jesus?
-Yes.

Do I believe the bible to be a document of their authenticity?
-No, men wrote the bible according to their own beliefs. The new testament was written 70 some years after the death of jesus, how accurate can that be? A lot of it was probably made up, a lot of it was shoehorned to mesh with then current political agendas.

Who was the real Jesus?
The answer is NOT in the bible! (IMO)

Originally posted by xcrystx
Let me just get it straight out there by saying I am so flabbergasted sometimes when I think at the fact that there are people who do not believe in our savior, Christ.

You have the right to believe whatever you choose to believe. And on the same coin -- I have the right to believe whatever I want to believe, free from your judgement, prejudice, descrimination and ignorance.

Even more, the people who had once been faithful but decided to throw their lives away by turning their backs on God. It is most definitely mind-boggling.

Throw their lives away? Really? Wow, that is a bold statement to make... I dont believe I have thrown my life away because I require MORE information on the subject of God. I don't believe I have thrown my life away because I have chosen to not believe in your religion. I don't believe in God, and I don't disbelieve in his existence - either one is possible, and I believe in possibilities. That makes me open minded, not calustiphobic or smothered by Religion.

You have to admit that even if you do not believe in the Bible, that its message is so good and pure and life changing that in it of itself it is a perfect guideline to live your life.

I don't have to admit anything - other than I am here now. The messages in the Bible might be Morale, but if I based my fatih on everything that was morale, I'd be a combination of religions -- which is clearly unacceptable, based on your intolerance for other religions.

When I see these people with their other "religions". I.E. muslims, jews, buddhists, etc... It makes me sick.

^ This is the intolerance I'm referring to.

To devote ones life to a mindless practice and to pray to the wrong God is probably the worst thing you can do.

The wrong God? What makes you so sure that yours is the Correct one?

All in all, what I'm trying to get at is I'd like people to tell me, how can you not be a christian? How can you deny the word of God and Jesus Christ when it is so obviously right?

I'm not a Christian because I don't believe in anything in particular or that anything in this world is certain. I believe that it is possible for God to exist, and its possible for him not to exist.

Obviously right? How is it obviously right...care to elaborate on your hidden knowledge, that clearly the rest of us non-believers are not privvy to?

Nothing is Certain. Nothing has been Proven, or Dis-proven. I don't have enought information to make a well informed decision on the existence of God. I don't feel that I am throwing my life away, I feel, that I am being rational when looking at this particular topic; and I feel the decisions I have made are right for me. Who are you, to tell me that I am wrong?

- Carrot

reply to post by xcrystx



Follow the bible?

Are you SURE it’s a good idea? Really sure?

Let’s find out! And remember, if you follow the bible you can’t pick and choose which parts to believe/follow or not believe/follow. I mean it IS the word of “God” right?


Here’s just a few beauties:


We may own slaves (Leviticus 25:44-46)

Excecute people that work on Sundays (Exodus 35:2)

Disobediant children should be put to death (Leviticus 20:9)

Stone to death women who are not virgins when they marry (Deuteronomy 22:20-21)

Women should remain silent in church (1 Corintians 14:34)

Women should not have authority over man (1 Timothy 2:12)

Wives should submit to their husbands in everything (Ephesians 5:22-24)

We should cut off the hand of a woman if she grabs the testicles of a man who is attacking her husband (Deuteronomy 25:11-12)


Go ahead, make my day.....

Is anyone really ever Christian enough for a christian? And even then there are all different types and teachers of christianity.

I erased my last answer-and opted for this one instead.

[edit on 27-11-2008 by HugmyRek]

I have a lot of good reasons as to why someone shouldn't be a Christian. I for one am not a Christian because while Jesus Christ said many good things they've made this religion which brainwashes so many people into thinking certain ways. The Christian religion was a good idea at first but you know how humans like to screw things up over time.

Perhaps this makes us even, as I'm also quite flabbergasted when people tell me they believe in a traveling, bronze age magician. Not only that, but this long dead magic man actually converses with them inside their own head.

"Devotees to these other "religions" makes me sick", says the grown man in the glass house; sipping imaginary tea with his imaginary friends.

This is what will make me fight organized religion as much as I can for the rest of my life.

You see OP, the problem here is that you probably had your own religion shoved down your throat so long ago that its all you're willing to experience. Do you know how fulfilling it can be to actually find religion on your own?

And the main reason you are so diluted in your own questioning: You probably have not even tried to learn about any other religion. You see them as a disgrace, and yet have never researched them. You see, you are the highest form of hypocrite, as you will accept one writing simply because the people around you say its true, but completely shun another because you are so shut-in that no one around you can help you gain knowledge of another.

I honestly think my religion is my own. I am very religious, and I believe in my own creator, but why put a label on him/her? Its a beautiful thing, faith. It gets me through some tough times, and I thank it by prayer and deep meditation every day.

Why anyone would want to argue any faith is beyond me. They are all wonderful and should be respected simply based on the fact that they give people joy.

It is the PERSON who brings the confrontation, not the religion.

Having said that, I am confronting your biased train of thought and not your faith.

Originally posted by xcrystx

Let me just get it straight out there by saying I am so flabbergasted sometimes ....
When I see these people with their other "religions". I.E. muslims, jews, buddhists, etc... It makes me sick. To devote ones life to a mindless practice and to pray to the wrong God is probably the worst thing you can do.

Don't be flabbergasted. Be murderous! Spare not, us ATS members, or even your family...

"If your own full brother, or your son or daughter, or your beloved wife, or you intimate friend, entices you secretly to serve other gods, whom you and your fathers have not known, gods of any other nations, near at hand or far away, from one end of the earth to the other: do not yield to him or listen to him, nor look with pity upon him, to spare or shield him, but kill him..." - Deuteronomy 13

"Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the LORD must be destroyed." - Exodus 22:20