Topic: "Forcing" religion upon people

[Spider-Boogie]

In Christianity, it is said (probably in the Bible), that we are working until everyone comes to God. I know there are already a lot of Christians in this world, but what if people don't want to be a Christian (a.k.a. atheist)? Does the Bible say anything about people who don't wanna come to Christ? If they don't want to, what are we supposed to do? Are we supposed to say "I don't care if you don't wanna be a Christian, I'm gonna make it so you're a follower of Christ anyway!"? If somebody doesn't wanna come to Christ, I say don't force it on them. I'm a Christian, but I feel strongly about this. I have a co-worker who openly told me he's atheist, but he's still a nice guy. I'm not gonna say, "I know you're an atheist, Tim, but I'm gonna bring you to Christ anyway." He told me he wants no part of it, and I'm not broken up over that. Opinions, please.

[IceFox]

Your not supposed to force people to believe that way, last time I checked your not even supposed to ask them. Your suppose to teach them - spread the word, might be a better term.

[Dragon Of Grief]

I was a Christian most of my life... right now I identify as an Eclectic Pagan... but I know for a fact the bible says, right in Matthew, that if you preach the gospel, and they will not hear it, you're supposed to dust off your feet and LEAVE. You are NOT supposed to force religion on anyone. I believe in many different Gods. I don't force that on anyone. So why should Christianity, Islam, or Atheism be forced on me?

[IceFox]

I was a Christian most of my life... right now I identify as an Eclectic Pagan... but I know for a fact the bible says, right in Matthew, that if you preach the gospel, and they will not hear it, you're supposed to dust off your feet and LEAVE. You are NOT supposed to force religion on anyone. I believe in many different Gods. I don't force that on anyone. So why should Christianity, Islam, or Atheism be forced on me?

That's what I meant to say.

Again, another person sums up what I meant to say, only a 102x better.

[MiraclrPlz]

The Catholic Church teaches that there is only one true religion and the rest are false.  The Catholic Church teaches that pagan religions (such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Voodooism, and whatever the heck Ty/Scooter is, of coursee, etc.), which worship various “gods,” actually worship demons, since all the gods of the heathen are the devils.

So hahahahahah Ty u worship demons

[Dragon Of Grief]

The Catholic Church teaches that there is only one true religion and the rest are false.  The Catholic Church teaches that pagan religions (such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Voodooism, and whatever the heck Ty/Scooter is, of coursee, etc.), which worship various “gods,” actually worship demons, since all the gods of the heathen are the devils.

So hahahahahah Ty u worship demons

Lol. You want to know what I was taught as a kid? That the Catholic church is the great whore of revelations. I worship demons, so what? The things I believe in pre-date Christianity by more than 40,000 years... by more then 100,000 years. You Catholics are more Pagan than you think. Teehee

[Patback399]

The Catholic Church teaches that there is only one true religion and the rest are false.  The Catholic Church teaches that pagan religions (such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Voodooism, and whatever the heck Ty/Scooter is, of coursee, etc.), which worship various “gods,” actually worship demons, since all the gods of the heathen are the devils.

So hahahahahah Ty u worship demons

Citation needed.

[ssj4gogita4]

I don't force Christianity on people but if they want to hear the Gospel...I'll preach to them.

[Elizabeth Rose]

I don't force Christianity on people but if they want to hear the Gospel...I'll preach to them.

The way I view it, pretty much everyone in America has heard the Gospel.  If they want it they will ask for it.  My only job is to treat everyone with kindness and equal respect, and to live my life properly.

So far the first two are going well.  I do need to live my life better though.

[SJP2.0]

The Catholic Church teaches that there is only one true religion and the rest are false.  The Catholic Church teaches that pagan religions (such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Voodooism, and whatever the heck Ty/Scooter is, of coursee, etc.), which worship various “gods,” actually worship demons, since all the gods of the heathen are the devils.

So hahahahahah Ty u worship demons

Lol. You want to know what I was taught as a kid? That the Catholic church is the great whore of revelations. I worship demons, so what? The things I believe in pre-date Christianity by more than 40,000 years... by more then 100,000 years. You Catholics are more Pagan than you think. Teehee

I couldn't have said it better...

[spongehead 32]

What if your not a folower of Jesus but a folower of God (judaism).

[Daniel]

well then you don't follow the New testament..

Judaism is basically Christianity without the Jesus, Cross and new testament.

So it is basically the half of Christianity that christians don't follow. =|

[Patback399]

What if your not a folower of Jesus but a folower of God (judaism).

Eternal hellfire, my friend. Eternal f***ing hellfire.

[GIR]

What if your not a folower of Jesus but a folower of God (judaism).

well your not a Christian, your a Jew Christians follow Christ (jesus)

[Patback399]

What if your not a folower of Jesus but a folower of God (judaism).

well your not a Christian, your a Jew Christians follow Christ (jesus)

ppl unbellyfeel jc doubleplusungood

[Dragon Of Grief]

What if your not a folower of Jesus but a folower of God (judaism).

If you don't mind me interjecting here for a moment, originally, Judaism had no concept of a heaven or a hell. They believed God either rewarded or smited you on your physical existance on Earth, rather than a mythical heaven or hell. In a way Judaism has a lot to do with Karma. Hehe. Modern Day Judaism, however, is a hell of a lot different then Old Testement Judaism.

[ssj4gogita4]

I don't force Christianity on people but if they want to hear the Gospel...I'll preach to them.

The way I view it, pretty much everyone in America has heard the Gospel.  If they want it they will ask for it.  My only job is to treat everyone with kindness and equal respect, and to live my life properly.

So far the first two are going well.  I do need to live my life better though.

Meh...I don't think everyone has heard the Gospel. There are people who don't want anything to do with the Bible.

[Scilla]

I don't force Christianity on people but if they want to hear the Gospel...I'll preach to them.

The way I view it, pretty much everyone in America has heard the Gospel.  If they want it they will ask for it.  My only job is to treat everyone with kindness and equal respect, and to live my life properly.

So far the first two are going well.  I do need to live my life better though.

Meh...I don't think everyone has heard the Gospel. There are people who don't want anything to do with the Bible.

Yeah.. just the other day my mother overheard some people at her work talking about being atheists and she asked them a few questions about why they were, what they thought, and how they got there. It didn't take long for them to get thinking about God and the Bible.. I think there are alot of people who just aren't informed (right word?) enough to even understand what being a Christian - or any other religon for that matter - is.

[Elizabeth Rose]

I don't force Christianity on people but if they want to hear the Gospel...I'll preach to them.

The way I view it, pretty much everyone in America has heard the Gospel.  If they want it they will ask for it.  My only job is to treat everyone with kindness and equal respect, and to live my life properly.

So far the first two are going well.  I do need to live my life better though.

Meh...I don't think everyone has heard the Gospel. There are people who don't want anything to do with the Bible.

My point is: pretty much everyone has heard the general gist (i.e. Jesus was crucified for sins), and if they are not quite sure, it's not that hard to learn about the subject.  You can find stuff anywhere.

[Roger]

BEFORE YOU READ MY POST:  Don't assume that because I'm being general, that I mean ALL Christians feel the same way...I'm going by personal experience.

I have major issues with the way Christianity says to handle the situation.

Many Christian churches (including the one I attend...yeah I go to church.  I use it as an educational model ) teach that you should try to spread the word as much as you can.  But they teach also that if someone refuses the word of God, then they are bad and that you shouldn't even associate yourself with them.  The church I've attended even says that you shouldn't marry someone who doesn't share your faith.

Yet Christianity also claims to teach love and compassion for everyone...hating the sin and not the sinner.  That makes no sense to me.  It's a complete contradiction of the same teaching as above.  In one case they're saying "if you believe in OUR God, then we love you.  Otherwise, get out."  And in the other they're saying "we love you but not your beliefs."

That bothers me because it's basically forcing your religion with the promise of the acceptance of your peers.  It's simple peer pressure.  People are autonomous for a reason.  Let people practice the free will they're given.  If that means they want to reject your religion in favor of their own, then so be it.

[Daniel]

I agree with you.

Church people are hypocrites.

[Dragon Of Grief]

BEFORE YOU READ MY POST:  Don't assume that because I'm being general, that I mean ALL Christians feel the same way...I'm going by personal experience.

I have major issues with the way Christianity says to handle the situation.

Many Christian churches (including the one I attend...yeah I go to church.  I use it as an educational model ) teach that you should try to spread the word as much as you can.  But they teach also that if someone refuses the word of God, then they are bad and that you shouldn't even associate yourself with them.  The church I've attended even says that you shouldn't marry someone who doesn't share your faith.

Yet Christianity also claims to teach love and compassion for everyone...hating the sin and not the sinner.  That makes no sense to me.  It's a complete contradiction of the same teaching as above.  In one case they're saying "if you believe in OUR God, then we love you.  Otherwise, get out."  And in the other they're saying "we love you but not your beliefs."

That bothers me because it's basically forcing your religion with the promise of the acceptance of your peers.  It's simple peer pressure.  People are autonomous for a reason.  Let people practice the free will they're given.  If that means they want to reject your religion in favor of their own, then so be it.

What they mean when they say "Love the sinner, hate the sin", is pretty much, just tolerate the person. You can despise and hate everything about that person, just don't murder them or beat them to a bloody pulp. The Love The Sinner doctrine is not biblically justified in the least... nowhere in the bible will you find those verses. It is a Catholic doctrine I believe. To be quite honest, it is one of the biggest religious hypocrisies found in any religion. It isn't even in the bible. It was made up.

My problem with Christianity (mind you, NOT CHRISTIANS, CHRISTIANITY) is that it teaches strict abstinance from normal, healthy, sexual intercourse... ok, yes, abstinance is good to a point. Especially if you're still a kid. But when you hit puberty, that is when your sexual feelings start coming into play. Christianity teaches that sex is between one man, and one woman, in the bonds of marriage. I highly disagree with this doctrine... not everyone gets married, and not everyone is heterosexual. It also teaches you to be ashamed of masterbating. Masterbation is absolutely healthy and normal. Christianity teaches it as a sexual deviancy. Christianity suppresses normal human sexual expression it seems to me. Maybe the divorce rate would go down if people had sex BEFORE marriage... so then that way they can know if they are sexually compatible with each other BEFORE entering the bonds of something like marriage.

[Roger]

BEFORE YOU READ MY POST:  Don't assume that because I'm being general, that I mean ALL Christians feel the same way...I'm going by personal experience.

I have major issues with the way Christianity says to handle the situation.

Many Christian churches (including the one I attend...yeah I go to church.  I use it as an educational model ) teach that you should try to spread the word as much as you can.  But they teach also that if someone refuses the word of God, then they are bad and that you shouldn't even associate yourself with them.  The church I've attended even says that you shouldn't marry someone who doesn't share your faith.

Yet Christianity also claims to teach love and compassion for everyone...hating the sin and not the sinner.  That makes no sense to me.  It's a complete contradiction of the same teaching as above.  In one case they're saying "if you believe in OUR God, then we love you.  Otherwise, get out."  And in the other they're saying "we love you but not your beliefs."

That bothers me because it's basically forcing your religion with the promise of the acceptance of your peers.  It's simple peer pressure.  People are autonomous for a reason.  Let people practice the free will they're given.  If that means they want to reject your religion in favor of their own, then so be it.

What they mean when they say "Love the sinner, hate the sin", is pretty much, just tolerate the person. You can despise and hate everything about that person, just don't murder them or beat them to a bloody pulp. The Love The Sinner doctrine is not biblically justified in the least... nowhere in the bible will you find those verses. It is a Catholic doctrine I believe. To be quite honest, it is one of the biggest religious hypocrisies found in any religion. It isn't even in the bible. It was made up.

My problem with Christianity (mind you, NOT CHRISTIANS, CHRISTIANITY) is that it teaches strict abstinance from normal, healthy, sexual intercourse... ok, yes, abstinance is good to a point. Especially if you're still a kid. But when you hit puberty, that is when your sexual feelings start coming into play. Christianity teaches that sex is between one man, and one woman, in the bonds of marriage. I highly disagree with this doctrine... not everyone gets married, and not everyone is heterosexual. It also teaches you to be ashamed of masterbating. Masterbation is absolutely healthy and normal. Christianity teaches it as a sexual deviancy. Christianity suppresses normal human sexual expression it seems to me. Maybe the divorce rate would go down if people had sex BEFORE marriage... so then that way they can know if they are sexually compatible with each other BEFORE entering the bonds of something like marriage.

I know what the actual meaning of "love the sinner, hate the sin" is SUPPOSED to be, but as I said, the church that I've attended for two years (and laughed at basically the whole time) has constantly jumped back and forth.  They even went so far as to say basically to be the person's friend if they're showing interest, but if they don't want to become Christian, then you should push them out of your life. That seems completely stupid to me.  Then sometimes they tell us to ignore them completely, which totally goes against what Christianity teaches about witnessing to people. >.<

I'm agreed with you on everything in the second paragraph.  And I've always wondered why marriage have to be taken so literally?  Since when is marriage ONLY an institution of the state?  Just because two people aren't legally married doesn't mean that the same two people don't have the same bond (or perhaps better considering today's world) as any married couple out there.  Who's to tell these people that just because they don't have a piece of paper that says they're married, that they can't have sex if they choose to?

And I never understood myself why homosexuality was considered to be so bad.  Obviously if people have a different preference, then that has happened for some reason.  Why say that it's wrong?  I'm not going to tell someone they're wrong because they like green and I like blue.  So why would I say that a guy who likes other guys (or a girl liking other girls) is wrong?  It's his choice (I know that part is debatable...just go with it ) so let him be.

[Rocko]

My relationship with god is complicated. I am Christian I know that. But I can't really define my beliefs, I was raised Catholic, but I'm not sure that's the right church for me. But at the same time, I know a lot of the church's in my area, are evangelical so that's not for me either. So I basically pay a lip service to The Catholic Church, and worship god in my own right.