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Christians.....I have a Question?

OK, first let me put you in my picture.....

I was raised as a Christian until I was fourteen when I decided after some considerable thought that I no longer wanted to be a part of something that was and is in my eyes so hypocritical. As I sat there on my last ever day in church half listening to the apparent glory that is god, and looking at the people around me I just couldn't get it out of my head "what a bunch of hypocrites"! with their big flashy cars, posh houses, bragging about what they bought last week and how much it cost, standing outside damning them down the road for the way they live, what they wear etc. You do something bad, go to confession and tell a bloke who wasn't even there that you are sorry, he gives you 2 Hail-Marys and an Our Father and your saved....I'm not buying it.

What makes me laugh is that those who say they believe in god, think that that makes them a good person....why? I don't believe in god and I'm a much nicer person than some devout christains I know.

What makes you think that because you tell some person at your church that you are sorry for somethings that you are automatically saved?

How many of you can say in all honesty that you don't repeatedly break one or more of the.....

SEVEN DEADLY SINS (CARDINAL) for those not sure what they are (in short)....

1. Lust...excessive sexual desires.
2. Gluttony....over consumption of anything to the point of waste.
3. Greed....acquisition of wealth, anything obtained by disloyalty, betrayal. for personal gain.
4. Sloth...sin of sadness/despair, apathy, depression, failure to utilize ones talents/gifts.
5. Wrath...hatred, anger, denial of the truth to others/self, revenge, spite.
6. Envy...the desire to have something someone else has, to deny that person of having it because you want it.
7. Pride...the most deadly of all because it is the ultimate source from which all the others arise from. Excessive love of self!

It is these 7 things that turned me away, because nearly every single person in that church that day committed at least one of these on a daily basis, but that's OK because they confess to them every week....or do they? Then go out and do it all over again.

What is it that makes you believe that you can repeatedly commit these Deadly Sins and be continually forgiven for them, but the rest of us are damned?

*NOTE* This is an open topic for those for and against, everyone is entitled to their opinion and that opinion although open for debate must at all times be respected. Thank you.

I'm sorry you feel that way.  I will pray for you, and God and Jesus loves you anyhow.  You'll be pleased to know that today, I am not guilty of any above, and I pray that tomorrow will be the same.  By the way, did you survey all those people in your church that day to come up with your conclusions?  You must know a young man that I spoke with not to long ago that proclaimed all Republicans are rich.  Do you attend the same church?

As I was once told by my father,

The Church is a hospital for sinners.

Those who sin seek forgiveness and the strength not to sin again. 

Since we are human, we sometimes fail to resist temptation.

While I am not a christian, I don't think you are giving them a fair rap. I see where you're coming from, but you are obviously being confronted by the worst type of christian - those who abuse the system, as it were. There are plenty of true christians out there who do use their faith in god to make them a better person, in much the same way others use their own spirituality to do the same. They use their belief to examine themselves and their shortcomings and then try and reflect the goodness they wish to attain back into the community. It is the fault of the individual, not the overseeing body, if they decide to take the wrong approach to their religion. Now I have issue with the christian religion for a whole slew of other reasons, but I just don't see your view as a fair approximation of all christians, although it is fairly spot on for many catholics I have known.

edit

i got angry and misread.

but i still dislike Christianity strongly

I believe you took mommakitty's comment out of context...she said TODAY that she hadnt done any of the above...which is entirely possible.

schnooder you must be a very angry young lady....I myself am not religious, but you must have some reason to be so angry and hateful. yes you have an opinion, but its not particularly necessary to spew hatred like that....its highly offensive...theres a way to express your opinion without offending probably 75% or more of this board...

edit: looking back I see that you are the one who had that "ug the bible" thread.......

Original Post by schnooder:

Original Post by mommakitty:

, I am not guilty of any above,

Oh come on. If you have never done that then you are not human. i smell s***. Im not saying this to be rude but you can honestly say you have never sinned? ehhhhhhhhhhh

Debating religion is great, but please don't take comments out of context.  Mommakitty never said that she's never sinned.  She said that she did not sin today.  That might be true, it might not be, but don't purposely misquote someone just for the sake of arguing. 

I am not Christian (I'm Jewish by family and agnostic by practice) and even I am getting fed up with all of the attacks on Christians on CC lately. 

Original Post by davefiredancer19:

I believe you took mommakitty's comment out of context...she said TODAY that she hadnt done any of the above...which is entirely possible.

schnooder you must be a very angry young lady....I myself am not religious, but you must have some reason to be so angry and hateful. edit: looking back I see that you are the one who had that "ug the bible" thread.......

I am absolutely the opposite of how you perceive me. I love this world and I love my life and I love everyone. But I really really really can not stand that religion. When I feel strongly about something I will say it like I feel it. So you can say Im and angry hateful young lady but I am definately not. Christianity is the only thing I hate

In that case it makes you highly immature if you are unable to express your in opinion in a non-hateful, non-highly offensive way.

I know the mods will probably warn me for saying that, and probably delete this post....If I cant call somebody a snot (last month sometime I mean), I probably cant call them immature

Anndjoe, I'm gathering from your post that you were raised Catholic.  I agree with p0nda - it sounds like the church you went to wasn't functioning as it should, or maybe it was just a few people in the church.  You shouldn't base your opinion of the entire religion off of the actions of a few people or one church.  

And it's not confessing to the priest that forgives your sins - it's the fact that Jesus died as a perfect sacrifice for you and the rest of humanity.  He took on all of your sins the moment that He died.  As soon as you accept Him as your Lord and Savior, all of your sins, past, present, and future, are forgiven.  

And if those who say they believe in God say that it makes them a "good" person, they obviously don't know very much.  Personally, being a Christian has made me realize that I'm often not a good person.  I believe it was Paul (correct me if I'm wrong) who called himself the chief of sinners.  

And once again, telling someone at your church that you're sorry does not save you.  Repenting to God and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior is the only thing that can do that.  I'm a Baptist, so I don't believe in the seven deadly sins, but as far as sinning in general goes, everyone sins simply because it's human nature.  Every single Christian stumbles and falls short, but all we can do is pray to God for forgiveness and strength and try harder the next day to do better.

Like I said, as soon as you accept Christ, all of your past, present, and future sins are forgiven.  Christians don't (or shouldn't) believe that this makes them "better" than non-Christians.  It just means that we've realized how helpless we are.  I've heard of it explained this way.  It's like God has given each and every one of us a gift, but we have to open that gift by accepting Christ.  God doesn't damn anyone - every single one of us makes his own decision.

I'm sorry for all that you've suffered because of your church, but I hope you don't dismiss Christianity simply because the Christians you've met have been poor representatives of the faith.  Ask yourself, have you really given it a fair chance?  Have you read the Bible and examined it closely, and really tried to figure out for yourself if it's right for you?

Original Post by aocean:

Original Post by schnooder:

Original Post by mommakitty:

, I am not guilty of any above,

Oh come on. If you have never done that then you are not human. i smell s***. Im not saying this to be rude but you can honestly say you have never sinned? ehhhhhhhhhhh

Debating religion is great, but please don't take comments out of context. Mommakitty never said that she's never sinned. She said that she did not sin today. That might be true, it might not be, but don't purposely misquote someone just for the sake of arguing.

I am not Christian (I'm Jewish by family and agnostic by practice) and even I am getting fed up with all of the attacks on Christians on CC lately.

I did not purposely misquote her I thought I read that she hasnt sinned yet in her life up till today and that was what got me on a rant. So my post was not justified

Original Post by schnooder:

Original Post by aocean:

Original Post by schnooder:

Original Post by mommakitty:

, I am not guilty of any above,

Oh come on. If you have never done that then you are not human. i smell s***. Im not saying this to be rude but you can honestly say you have never sinned? ehhhhhhhhhhh

Debating religion is great, but please don't take comments out of context. Mommakitty never said that she's never sinned. She said that she did not sin today. That might be true, it might not be, but don't purposely misquote someone just for the sake of arguing.

I am not Christian (I'm Jewish by family and agnostic by practice) and even I am getting fed up with all of the attacks on Christians on CC lately.

I did not purposely misquote her I thought I read that she hasnt sinned yet in her life up till today

I apologize for stating that you purposely misquoted her.  I wrongly assumed that you had done it purposely based on the way you quoted her. 

I think the church is a place for Sinners and that these people you call hypocrits are sinners--that's just my viewpoint..We aren't perfect--that's why Jesus died for us and we never will be perfect--I just don't believe you can expect so much out of people--we are human--sadly--we are--that's why Jesus died for our sins to make up for that---it's just what I believe....your post also makes it seem like your were Judging them too--so what makes you any better? lol so funny

I grew up in a church much like you describe. At around 17 I concluded that everyone was a hypocrite and declared myself an atheist. I took much delight in debating religion and the existence of god and gleefully poked holes in my friends' logic as they defended their concept of Christianity.

As I matured and started my family I realized that some of life's questions needed answers: Why am I here? Is there any purpose to life? Is there such a thing as Good or Evil? Is there such a thing as Right or Wrong? I needed to find out because I did not want to be a hypocrite to my children, but had a desire to teach them how to behave in a moral way.

So, I gave God another chance. I determined to search the world's religions and find out which one was right. In all of the religions I found empty man-made traditions that ultimately pointed towards myself and my own concept of right and wrong. But, God did not leave me to my own conclusions. In the Bible I found a person, Jesus Christ. Jesus was also displeased by the hypocrites in his church. He spoke out against the religious leaders of his day. But, He did not reject God because of them.

I am a sinner. I go to church. Sometimes, I sin on the way to church. Sometimes, I sin IN CHURCH! ouch... I know my sin greatly displeases God and it is a terrible way for me to treat the one who died to redeem me. If I was not a sinner; if it was possible for me (or anyone else) to live a sinless, perfect life; then Jesus would not have had to die on the cross. But I am, and we can't, so He did!

Becoming a Christian simply means that you acknowledge your own sinful state, you acknowledge Jesus Christ as God, you acknowledge that He was able to pay for your sins by His act of loving sacrifice on the cross, and accept Him as your redeemer and your Lord. You can call this process "getting saved", or being "born again" or "accepting Christ" or "asking Jesus into your heart" or any number of other terms. Becoming a Christian does not mean going to church and being non-hypocritical. Once you are a real Christian however, the rest of your life is in His hands. He may want you to go to church. He may want you to serve Him by NOT going to church. He may want you to be a missionary in some foreign country. He may want you to live in a posh house and drive a flashy car (although I doubt it). The point is that accepting Christ as Lord means that He is in control Its not about you anymore....its about Him.

Thats what Christianity is........Christ. Nothing more......NOTHING LESS!

Glad to be of service!

I just cannot believe how anyone can live their life thinking they are going to go to "heaven" afterward or that this "god" watches over them

Its a book. A story. Its not real. theres no proof. its just brainwashing all of you whether you think it is or not, it is. there was dinosaurs. not a man. with a beard. so,i think Christianity is a foooooolish thing and for those of you that follow it, i think you just want something fa miler and comforting to believe in.

Schnooder, I feel sorry for you.  First of all, you don't know your facts.  I assume that by saying "there was dinosaurs" (I assume you meant there were dinosaurs) you're implying that all Christians are of the young earth fundamentalist school, and that's simply not true.  Many many Christians believe in evolution.  And why do you say Christianity is a foolish thing?  You say it because you have heard other people say it, and because you think it conflicts with science.  Well believe it or not, many scientists, doctors, and other influential people in the scientific community believe in Christianity.  And there doesn't have to be proof.  If there were proof, what would be the point of faith?  

And pgeorgian, I'm sorry that you haven't realized how incredible and amazing it is to have everything not be about you, and how freeing and invigorating it is to say, "It's not about me, it's about you.  I don't need to be in control anymore."

Sorry if I came off a bit harsh in this one, I didn't mean to.  I was just being honest.

anndjoe, I'm sorry you had such a bad experience.  I am a Christian and get very frustrated at people who appear to be as hypocritical as you say.  It really does depend on your church, like some others have said.  Because I grew up in a church that was a mixture of both which frustrated me.  Christianity is supposed to be about having a personal relationship with God through what Jesus did on earth.  I never really heard that at my church growing up.  But in high school, I had a religious experience that lead me to believe in God and Jesus and the need to recognize myself for who I was.  I'm a horrible person at times.  I do a lot of good, like all people do, but sometimes if other people were in my head while I mentally role my eyes and cuss them out, they would be absolutely shocked!!  And speaking of confession...what I have heard said is that we confess (or apologize) and only really mean it if we really don't do it again.  It's really hard not to do some of those.  And we do fall into that path over and over again, even though we may feel bad after the fact. 

And just because somebody says that they are sorry for something does not mean they are saved.  That part is more about recognizing that you sin and realize that only God can clean you of that sin.  The way it was put to me once was this: If I have a clean glass of water to give to you and right before I hand it to you, I spit in it, is it still clean?  Will you drink it?  No (at least I hope not).  That's what sin's all about.  Once we sin, it's there.  God can take it away, make it clean.  But once there, he wants to continue to be with us, love us, etc.  So that's the commitment to him and being able to talk to him like a friend...that's the communication part.  It's not the constant committing of sin that allows us to be with him.  It's the choice of God to forgive us over and over again.  Like my daughter.  She does things all the time.  But no matter what, I love her.  I forgive her.

Schnooder, cute name btw.  It's ok if you don't respect Christianity.  Horrible things have been done of the name of Christ.  And sorry you feel that way.  But, I can turn your question back to you too.  I just cannot believe how anyone can live their life thinking there is no heaven afterword or that God doesn't watch over them.  It's just how belief works.  There are plenty of ways to debate your points.  I'm not the one to do it, nor do I think you need to hear that now.  But God becomes self-evident to some people.  We have things that happen to us that make us believe things.  I've seen amazing things that scientists would throw their hands up at and say, what happened here?  But, that's my experiences.  And I've known the worst horrors happen to people I know.  Yet they believe.  We all have our reasons for whatever it is we believe and I hope you find what you are looking for.  And I do think you are looking, otherwise, how come you are so involved in this discussion? (Don't worry, you don't need to answer that...rhetorical only.)