What is "True Christianity"?

Padawanbater2

Padawanbater2

Well-Known Member
This has become an issue warranting its own thread because its been brought up so much recently.

What is "True Christianity"?

Who are the "True Christians"?

And why aren't all the other "Christians" following what the "True Christians" are following?

Believers say it's been abused and perverted over the centuries, but when you get down to it, the pure form of Christianity is objectively good, true, righteous, etc.

So someone, anyone, chime in and answer this question.
 
undertheice

undertheice

Well-Known Member
c'mon pad, you know what they're gonna say. every sect and cult believes they have "the truth", no matter how outrageous their practices and beliefs.
 
crackerboy

crackerboy

Active Member
Any one that believes that God sent is only Son Jesus to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and that through him only can your sins be forgiven, is a Christian. The rest is just whether or not you are teaching correct doctrine. It's that simple. All you have to do is accept that fact and then try to live like he lived. And if you would like to know how he lived and what he believed then you just need to "study" the Bible.
 
mistaphuck

mistaphuck

Well-Known Member
crackerboy said:
Any one that believes that God sent is only Son Jesus to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and that through him only can your sins be forgiven, is a Christian. The rest is just whether or not you are teaching correct doctrine. It's that simple. All you have to do is accept that fact and then try to live like he lived. And if you would like to know how he lived and what he believed then you just need to "study" the Bible.
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study hard to be a sheep..
 
mindphuk

mindphuk

Well-Known Member
crackerboy said:
Any one that believes that God sent is only Son Jesus to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and that through him only can your sins be forgiven, is a Christian. The rest is just whether or not you are teaching correct doctrine. It's that simple. All you have to do is accept that fact and then try to live like he lived. And if you would like to know how he lived and what he believed then you just need to "study" the Bible.
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I've been told by other people that if you aren't born again, you are not a true xtian.
 
sk'mo

sk'mo

Active Member
Crackerboy is right. There really isn't much more to it. I've heard protestants make a distinction between Catholics and 'Christians', but when asked they do acknowledge that 'yeah, Catholics are Christians to'. Kind of annoying. Point is, there isn't a 'true' Christian faith, just many different views on the faith.

"Study hard to be a sheep."

No more that ardent atheists.
 
GrandpaJ

GrandpaJ

Member
sk'mo said:
Crackerboy is right. There really isn't much more to it. I've heard protestants make a distinction between Catholics and 'Christians', but when asked they do acknowledge that 'yeah, Catholics are Christians to'. Kind of annoying. Point is, there isn't a 'true' Christian faith, just many different views on the faith.

"Study hard to be a sheep."

No more that ardent atheists.
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How does one define "ardent atheist"? Are there denominations of non belief like Lutheranism and Presbyterianism are denominations of Christian belief? What are the doctrine differences between the ardent atheist and the run of the mill atheist. The non belief system of non believers has always fascinated me.

Stephen Roberts quote; I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.
 
sk'mo

sk'mo

Active Member
"Ardent" - Enthusiastic or passionate.

I wasn't implying that there any such thing as denominational Atheism.

By 'ardent atheist', I mean those who go on about Atheism with great zeal. The folks who attack religion any chance they get to prove that Atheism is the truth. The polar opposite of Fundamentalist Christians. As opposed to those who simply do not believe in God, and go on with their lives without needing to challenge the beliefs of others.

These people often have little or no understanding of religion or religious practices and focus their attention only on Christianity, while ignoring every other faith.
 
Padawanbater2

Padawanbater2

Well-Known Member
sk'mo said:
"Ardent" - Enthusiastic or passionate.

I wasn't implying that there any such thing as denominational Atheism.

By 'ardent atheist', I mean those who go on about Atheism with great zeal. The folks who attack religion any chance they get to prove that Atheism is the truth. The polar opposite of Fundamentalist Christians. As opposed to those who simply do not believe in God, and go on with their lives without needing to challenge the beliefs of others.

These people often have little or no understanding of religion or religious practices and focus their attention only on Christianity, while ignoring every other faith.
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I guess I'm one of those "ardent atheists" then. Peoples beliefs should be questioned. It is necessary for the structure of our society.

What I call passive atheism isn't enough. Simply living my life as I see fit, yeah, that would be nice, if it were possible. But it isn't with the way religious people live theirs. Can't you guys understand that, or is it that you just don't believe it? Organized religion has dictated for the unthinking person what is right and wrong for centuries and shaped how we live today. To this day we still have laws and customs based solely on religious traditions. I'm not religious, yet am still subject to them all the same. This is unacceptable to me, and if you were me, you would feel the same way. How would you like it if all those "ardent atheists" with such different opinions were the ones who were shaping the society in which you live, in your opinion, for the worse, and it had been going on for thousands of years? Millions (if not billions) dead as a consequence.

Most atheists I know know more about religion than the believers who believe the shit themselves.

Also, most atheists I know tend to read the bible on a regular basis - why? Not because they hate Christianity, because we live in America and Christianity is the dominant religion, not to mention is majorly responsible for shaping the whole of western civilization. The US is the most powerful nation in the world, which equates to influence, Christianity being the religion of 85% of the population means Christianity has the greatest potential to spread and infect other cultures.

Furthermore, most atheists I know, including myself, realized we were atheist after having read the bullshit presented in religious texts.

But hey, that's just one ''ardent atheists'' experiences...
 
sk'mo

sk'mo

Active Member
Padawanbater2 said:
I guess I'm one of those "ardent atheists" then. Peoples beliefs should be questioned. It is necessary for the structure of our society.

What I call passive atheism isn't enough. Simply living my life as I see fit, yeah, that would be nice, if it were possible. But it isn't with the way religious people live theirs. Can't you guys understand that, or is it that you just don't believe it? Organized religion has dictated for the unthinking person what is right and wrong for centuries and shaped how we live today. To this day we still have laws and customs based solely on religious traditions. I'm not religious, yet am still subject to them all the same. This is unacceptable to me, and if you were me, you would feel the same way. How would you like it if all those "ardent atheists" with such different opinions were the ones who were shaping the society in which you live, in your opinion, for the worse, and it had been going on for thousands of years? Millions (if not billions) dead as a consequence.

Most atheists I know know more about religion than the believers who believe the shit themselves.

Also, most atheists I know tend to read the bible on a regular basis - why? Not because they hate Christianity, because we live in America and Christianity is the dominant religion, not to mention is majorly responsible for shaping the whole of western civilization. The US is the most powerful nation in the world, which equates to influence, Christianity being the religion of 85% of the population means Christianity has the greatest potential to spread and infect other cultures.

Furthermore, most atheists I know, including myself, realized we were atheist after having read the bullshit presented in religious texts.

But hey, that's just one ''ardent atheists'' experiences...
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You confuse God with the actions of men.

Your argument seems to be: If men who claim intimate knowledge of God and wield great power from this claim, act in this manner, then surely there is no God.

It doesn't seem like a very solid argument. Just anti-theistic. What about the good Christianity has done? What about good Christians? Or is Christianity only responsible for every death in history?

Focusing on one religions fallibility gives you no insight as to whether or not there is a God.

Atheists might believe they understand religion better than Christians, that's like studying botany but having never grown anything.
 
dbkick

dbkick

Well-Known Member
The fable of christ has been told at least 3 times in different forms(only names ,numbers and places were changed) , the first being in 3000 bc. It's all about control
 
mindphuk

mindphuk

Well-Known Member
sk'mo said:
You confuse God with the actions of men.

Your argument seems to be: If men who claim intimate knowledge of God and wield great power from this claim, act in this manner, then surely there is no God.
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Straw Man!
Pad did not once make any conclusion about the existence of a god in his post. The only conclusion you can reasonably draw from his post is that he believes religion can be harmful to society. He made no reference to whether or not there is a true god.
 
S

Scrooge

Member
All of the non-believers notwithstanding their ignorance in previous posts, I trust your question is a true and honest question seeking Truth. There are many Christian sects but all of our beliefs can be summed up, IMHO, in Matthew 22:35-40

Matthew 22:35-40
35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
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Another absolute that transcends every major religion is what has been termed The Golden Rule – MATT 7:12

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
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This isn’t too controversial. If you follow these simple Rules you will be judged as a decent person no matter what deity (or no deity) you follow.

As a Christian, I try to follow these simple commandments. As a fallible man, I struggle with this each and every day.
 
S

Scrooge

Member
dbkick said:
The fable of christ has been told at least 3 times in different forms(only names ,numbers and places were changed) , the first being in 3000 bc. It's all about control
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The existence of Yeshuah Ben Joseph is NO fable. No matter what you want to believe, his life and crucifixion was recorded by the Roman historian Tacitus and many other scholars of the time. If you are curious:

http://dmc.members.sonic.net/sentinel/naij3.html
 
mindphuk

mindphuk

Well-Known Member
Scrooge said:
All of the non-believers notwithstanding their ignorance in previous posts, I trust your question is a true and honest question seeking Truth. There are many Christian sects but all of our beliefs can be summed up, IMHO, in Matthew 22:35-40



Another absolute that transcends every major religion is what has been termed The Golden Rule – MATT 7:12



This isn’t too controversial. If you follow these simple Rules you will be judged as a decent person no matter what deity (or no deity) you follow.

As a Christian, I try to follow these simple commandments. As a fallible man, I struggle with this each and every day.
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You are correct that any person that follows the Golden Rule should certainly be judged decent and moral. The fact that it transcends religion should say something, specifically that there is no need to invoke a god to see the truth of that sentiment. It is the very basis for living living in a law-abiding society. The thing is, you will still find religious zealots that don't think that's enough and want everyone to worship the same god they do because he's the right one. It can be drastic as The Crusades or as subtle as proselytizating and middle ground like religious lobbies and the anti-science movement being seen on school boards across the country.
 
S

Scrooge

Member
mindphuk said:
It can be drastic as The Crusades.
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Any study of history will show that "The Crusades" were a defensive war to re-conquer lands taken by force by Muslim Extremists (much like what we are seeing today) …but I do get what you are, generally, saying.

I can't find our previous discussion from earlier in the week regarding "proof (or no proof) of the existence of God". I do find it interesting that all religions around the world came up with this common theme independent of each other. No matter what you believe, these "Golden Rules" are pretty cool. Wouldn't you agree?

I am going to bed now. God Bless!!!
 
mindphuk

mindphuk

Well-Known Member
Winter Woman said:
This is part of why I believe and it has nothing to do with man and his condition. A little simplistic, but...

http://www.andiesisle.com/creation/magnificent.html
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"Every aspect of Nature reveals a deep mystery and touches our sense of wonder and awe. Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition. They avoid rather than confront the world. But those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will penetrate its deepest mysteries."
~ Carl Sagan
 
Heisenberg

Heisenberg

Well-Known Member
Science has beauty, power, and majesty that can provide spiritual as well as practical fulfillment. But superstition and pseudoscience keep getting in the way, providing easy answers, casually pressing our awe buttons, and cheapening the experience. - Carl Sagan
 
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