Should a Christian allow "other" religions into their homes? (believers, scripture)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Ilovejazz, no one is condemning anybody or suggesting that we not learn how to live together.
Earlier posts in this thread said that Christians should condemn other viewpoints that don't believe in Christian tenets.
That doesn't seem much like a live and let live philosophy.
A lot of posts here seem to think that believing in Jesus is under attack, and in this thread, that has not been evident at all!
The "I am right. You are wrong" attitude is rather rude (hey, aren't we all right?), arrogant, and vitriolic. Condemning non-Christian viewpoints is not peaceful. And yet, people are arguing that they will not compromise their views at all.
The world has enough closed minds.
I don't condemn your religion. Why condemn mine?
I don't tell you that your views are wrong. Why tell me that mine are wrong?
A very famous religious teacher/philosopher named Hillel once said, "Do not do unto others what is distasteful unto you."
May have been the biting sarcasm. I do have to agree that if I invite someone into my home, and they say I'm going to hell if I don't change my ways, that my kids are Satan's spawn, or that they're a happy "swinging couple" (and would like us to join), they're probably not going to go on our Christmas card list.
I do have my limits....
I don't believe that anyone on this planet truly KNOWS the answers, not even religious leaders or molecular biologists. I think the beauty of life is the differences we have, not the similarities. Which is more beautiful, a garden full of one type of flower, or a garden chocked full of colors, vibrancy and species? Why are no two snowflakes alike? Why does rain come in sheets, sprinkles, torrents, floods and mist? God revels in diversity.
Hope that makes sense.
I find your last paragraph to be beautiful Magellan. I agree that no one knows all of the answers, since we are all human and right now we see as through a dark glass, to paraphrase the scripture.
Earlier posts in this thread said that Christians should condemn other viewpoints that don't believe in Christian tenets.
That doesn't seem much like a live and let live philosophy.
A lot of posts here seem to think that believing in Jesus is under attack, and in this thread, that has not been evident at all!
The "I am right. You are wrong" attitude is rather rude (hey, aren't we all right?), arrogant, and vitriolic. Condemning non-Christian viewpoints is not peaceful. And yet, people are arguing that they will not compromise their views at all.
The world has enough closed minds.
I don't condemn your religion. Why condemn mine?
I don't tell you that your views are wrong. Why tell me that mine are wrong?
A very famous religious teacher/philosopher named Hillel once said, "Do not do unto others what is distasteful unto you."
We should not condemn anyone, IMO, and I don't think that's what kay is trying to do. But Christ did say that He was THE WAY, not A WAY. When one believes that the consequences of disbelief in Jesus and God is an eternity in hell, one feels compelled to share the "good news".
However, I don't believe in an eternal torture chamber. If I did, I certainly would be WAY more dogmatic about it than many are here who do believe that. Why live and let live if an eternity in pain is the consequence?
I also wanted to add, you don't have to agree with a religion in it's entirety to know there can be some good lessons learned. For example, on a previous thread, there was a talk about sin through generations (because a previous generation sinned). Christianity took that sin away so people are not held accountable for the acts of previous generation. Even though I don't agree with Christianity, that is a good lesson to learn from.
It would be sad that someone would write off good life lessons because they are afraid to open their minds and learn.
This is probably something for a new thread, but does an atheist even believe in sin?
Isn't sin, by definition, tied to sinning against a divine being?
Maybe I'm wrong, emjbulls, but you really made my mind start churning on this one.
Alpha, the verse you are looking for is 2 Corinthians 6:14.
Hmmm...well it was for aiangel, but thank urbanlemur. I thought that was in the gospels. Ya never know what you don't know, eh?
Any luck finding the one about not letting others in your home? I'd wish I had time to dig that one out. Would like to look at it in this thread's context, ya know?
Why would one after becoming a Christian and accepting what Christ did for you, even THINK about looking to other religions as a means to God? is that better?
While I believe Christians should concentrate on learning Christianity, we are supposed to be fishers of men. If we are not willing to learn anything about another persons faith how are we supposed to be witnesses to them?
If we hold false beliefs about them we will end up wasting time trying to disprove beliefs they don't have, and by the time we get around to beliefs they actually have they have already gotten the impression that we are stupid, then if they think we are either stupid or just mean why would they listen to us.
If we know a certain faith has similarities to Christianity we can start on common ground and build on that.
We also have to warn our children that some groups are not just spiritually dangerous some like Heaven's Gate , and Jim Jones People's Temple are physically dangerous.
I guess to boil it down, in order to be a good Christian we have try to be a good witness to others, and if you know nothing about non-Christians it is hard to witness to them.
But Christ did say that He was THE WAY, not A WAY.
I could also argue that Jesus' teachings contradict what was written in the Torah, and the Torah was written first.
BUT -- that would start a fight.
Do you see where this is going if everyone says that only he is right?
I only wish several people here would treat others the way they wish to be treated. I cannot imagine what would happen if Jews started knocking on doors and telling others that their views go against G-d.
Location: Ohio, but moving to El Paso, TX August/September
434 posts, read 1,653,632 times
Reputation: 310
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpha8207
This is probably something for a new thread, but does an atheist even believe in sin?
Isn't sin, by definition, tied to sinning against a divine being?
Maybe I'm wrong, emjbulls, but you really made my mind start churning on this one.
Maybe you're asking the wrong person because I'm not an atheist.
But I think even an atheist can take something away from that kind of lesson. Let's say that someone is born into a family that is poor, uneducated, bad choices through life, multiple baby daddies (pick one or all, whatever). That person can take the lesson that the mistakes of his or her previous generations can just be that..the mistakes of others in their families, not theirs and they can then make a conscious effort to do better in some aspect of their life than a previous generation in their family.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I do have to agree that if I invite someone into my home, and they say I'm going to hell if I don't change my ways, that my kids are Satan's spawn, or that they're a happy "swinging couple" (and would like us to join), they're probably not going to go on our Christmas card list. 
