Southern Baptists (gospel, protestants, Christianity, Christians)

[Aconite]

Originally Posted by aamazing75

What do Southern Baptists believe, and are they "more judgemental" of others than other denominations (in your opinion)?

There are intolerant, self-righteous prigs in any faith. Some of them merely have more political power than others.

[Aconite]

Originally Posted by natewood3

Can someone please define "judgmental" for me? What do you mean when you say Christians or even Baptists are "judgmental"? Do you mean they are intolerant? If so, what do you mean by "intolerant"?

There's an old phrase which you may have heard, being a Southerner: "your right to swing your fist ends at my nose". My definition of "intolerant" would be someone who believes that his right to swing supercedes my right to bodily integrity: that is, someone who believes his opinions (based on a book, a teaching, or a revelation from the Flying Spaghetti Monster) are sociopolitically more important than my right to privacy and self-determination as guaranteed by the Constitution.
As for judgmental...I don't really care whether you (generic) are judgmental or not, other than for my own amusement. Your God seems to care quite a bit, though. If you figure he's okay with your behavior, then why worry about people on a message board?

[Aconite]

Originally Posted by natewood3

When you say "accepting" other views is tolerant, do you mean that

I would wager that what it means is that tolerance dictates the following edit:
I must agree that your right to your view is as equally valid as my right to hold my view?
Nobody expects you to suddenly start waving a rainbow flag and joining the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans. But by the same token, it's a small step between denying the legitimacy of either's existence, and denying them existence altogether.

[Aconite]

Originally Posted by natewood3

Can you do me a favor and point out my strawman?

A straw man argument is one which argues an extreme and only vaguely related point. Arguing that rape and murder are societally frowned upon when the actual discussion is minority religion or gay rights is a pretty typical straw man. Yes, both gay rights and murder are frowned upon by a certain subset of society. However, that's pretty much the extent of their relationship, since what Bill and Mike do in their own home has not been proven to deprive their neighbor of life or limb. Substituting one issue for the other is either intentional building of a straw man or sloppy debate skills.

[Aconite]

Originally Posted by bchris02

Some are this way but they should not be.



The Bible commands us to assemble with other believers. That fellowship is important.



No, as long as its a denomination that agrees on the fundamentals, being the virgin birth, death, burial, resurrection, salvation by grace through faith and repentance. Everything else is trivial stuff.

I think Christ would disagree:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.
Mt 22:37-39

[Michigan_Man]

Originally Posted by GCSTroop

I've grown up around Southern Baptists all of my life. At least, the community I grew up in is by and large, mostly Southern Baptist. Quite honestly, I can't judge a person strictly based on what church they attend but for the most part I find them to be hypocritical, snobbish, and downright condescending.

Those 3 last terms accurately describe the Jehovah's Witnesses...

[EclecticEars]

The Bible clearly states that the path of following and accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior is the only way to get to Heaven. No other way. That is not believing some random statement by Jesus, but in fact it is the true essence of the Christian faith. Christ is the formula, not the Southern Baptists or any other denomination. People are the humble servants. God is the pilot, not the co-pilot.

I am not afraid to befriend somebody who is agnostic, atheistic, Catholic, Mormon, even Islamic...I don't care. I consider myself to be an open-minded individual. Yes, I'm proud to be raised Southern Baptist and even prouder of being a saved Christian. Christianity is a matter of wearing your faith and love on your sleeve, not your religion. Huge difference! I'm not afraid to tell a non-Christian that I don't agree with their beliefs; I never tell anybody that they're "wrong," "unjust," or "sinful." I'm equally as willing to let them have an uninterrupted explanation as to why they follow their god. What is the First Amendment for, folks? Freedom of Religion!

If Christians are to continue to win people over to Christ, it is not by telling people that "they're not living a righteous lifestyle, they're going to Hell, they shouldn't see 'The Golden Compass' b/c it has one line that promotes witchcraft..." and all that jazz. No human is perfect and every one sins--shoot, I'll be the first to confess that I've had a beer and cuss on occasion. (Okay, so I just admitted some hypocrisy. Might as well be honest, right?) Yes, I try my level best to be Christian by virtue of my behavior and kindness. While Jesus doesn't make my sin "alright" and "correct them," it's an issue I deal w/ internally and w/ Him one-on-one when the time arises.

[EclecticEars]

Wow. Surely somebody else has something to say about Southern Baptists.

[cncracer]

I think it depends on how educated they are. The lower end of the group will be narrow mined and at times vocally abusive. The higher educated end is much like any other faith.

[sanspeur]

Originally Posted by jcm1986

Wow. Surely somebody else has something to say about Southern Baptists.

Not me. I live in far north of them and have never encountered one, so I can't comment.