Hypothetical Question

[linicx]

An awful lot of the people I meet who profess to be Christian, love God and workship his son are mean spiritied, miserable, human beings who ought to be released from the burden that is causing their misery. I don't ask a lot of questions about religion from most people becuase they tend to launch into a sermon of redemption.

[SilverAndWhiteLining778]

Originally Posted by blue62

Troop has a very valid question in the other forum..Yet he is not getting a valid answer.. Even though I do believe in God, I understand Troops frustration in trying to get an "honest" answer..So here is a question that I want to ask all my atheist friends here..Remember guys, I am not gonna try to "save you" I just want your opinion on a hypothetical question..

IF you decided you wanted to have a belief in the Christian religion, or any other belief) and you asked a someone a question about his belief do you want his own opinion from his own thinking, his own experience or his own searches or do you merely want him to start quoting scripture that makes no sense to you,or tell you that you need to have faith, which is not something you can conceive of at that point

How would you want to be ministered to in a way that may lead you to believe?

Well of course I would want his personal experiences, his thoughts and searches first, exspecially if it was a good friend that I thought had good judgement, but I would also want to read the scriptures for myself and see if they correlate to my life or if they make sense to me. I would not follow 100 percent sheepishly, no, but I would definantly through time if I got serious enough into it, see how it effects my life and how it is symbolically, spiritually, physically or metaphorically related to me.

[Fullback32]

Words are meaningless, hence, ministering would do nothing to lead me to believe. Though an agnostic, I have studied the Bible extensively so I can have a better understanding of what people believe. I have done this with other faiths as well. It helps me live in peace with them and, if need be, gives me weapons should they attack with their "witnessing".

Better than ministering with words, it would be so much better to actually see them minister with their lives rather than their mouths. Rarely have I seen that. There might be some believers who actually live their beliefs, but they are FAR outweighed by those who do nothing but talk.

With all their public spectacles at the flag pole and all that, I think they forget Matthew 6:5-6

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

When it comes to the witnessing thing: Matthew 10:14

And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

In other words, if no one wants to hear what you have to say, leave and go about your business. But they (fundies) don't...they push and push and push.

[arod0331]

Does it matter? Seems like many christians argue with each other over what the bible says. Why are there so many different denominations of christianity? Because each of them has their own interpretation and feels anyone else is committing idolatry.