What makes Christians unique?

[ted]

In the case of a hard atheist, who asserts the positive statement that a deity does not exist, an extremely difficult thing to try to prove, I would tend to agree that a certain amount of belief is involved. On the other hand, the position of the soft atheist is essentially negative in that he can see no reason to suppose the positive assertion of the theist is true. Some people would call this agnostic, I suppose, and there are several shades of meaning of both words.

The latter position is probably the same as that adopted by most people in the face of an assertion that a race of pixies inhabits the cabbage patch or that a certain person has conversations with the dead. We may say we do not believe such things to be true but what we mean is something weaker - that no satisfactory evidence that they are true has been presented and, from the reasoning so far employed, we have good cause to think these things are false.

Atheists trendy ? You could have fooled me - at least where I live.

[willcowskitz]

Thanks for the clarification, Ted.  I was speaking of the "hardcore" atheists.

Atheists trendy ? You could have fooled me - at least where I live.

Depends of course on the environment.  In Finland 15% of population are not members of the church.  Religion does not play a remarkable role here.

[janice]

  God just happens to seem like a very angry and merciless fellow. 

Oh not at all!!!  God is a God of love, as evident from the atoning sacrafice of Jesus, but His love and mercy is coupled with his JUSTICE.  Some people (I've noticed that many disenchanted Catholics feel this way) grew up TERRIFIED of God.  God is merciful, as well as just.  If He was merely merciful, then society would be chaotic, because we could all do whatever we felt like because we would surely be forgiven, right? 

Please, please don't underestimated God's love for YOU.

I was going to comment on more of your quotes, but I need to get offline---grrrr

[janice]

He doesn't explain things to us, only scares with hell and lures with paradise, but offers no explanation to the most burning questions or even hints to any existentialistic questions. 

You have only been told PART of the story.  The church that you grew up in (let me guess, Catholic, right?) only taught of God's wrath and made it all seem like a system of do's and dont's.  It's not like that.  It's a RELATIONSHIP.  Yes, there are things that God says not to do, and things you should do (love your neighbor, etc.), but it's primarily a RELATIONSHIP, and God wants a relationship with YOU, because He loves you!!  I'm sorry to hear that you were taught to be fearful of God when you were little.  It's hard to shake the thoughts and beliefs that we were raised with.

[pianowelsh]

Being a christian is not about escaping from hell or being in paradise (although these are aspects particular to salvation) Christianity is about having a relationship with the living God now though Jesus christ his son - that will never end. What are your burning questions Willcowskitz? God is increadible in that he has made so much known to us in his word about who he is and what his will for us is and how he relates to us. He is a God who shares so much about himself with us and wants relationship with us (he actually wants to show us more and more!). People often say god is angry and will punish - this is true (his anger is justified) but people forget his is a God of mercy of love and kindness and who is longsuffering and patient. The question often asked (if i had a $) is can God create a stone he cant lift? or some variation like , can he make two paralell lines touch etc.... The answer is of course yes he could Hes God he made all things he talks about the unseen things as if they were perfectly natural - he is a God of wonders.  What we need to understand is that God is not in competition with himself in any way. There isnt inconsistency in his character. His Love in in balance with his Holiness for example and his anger in balance with his patience. He has eternal plans. I mean look at israel in the old testament... His Love for them was very real, but his holiness and his righteousness were equally real in those situations - now we read time and time again of his patience with israel in the wilderness is an example but their disobedience warrented correction - NB when he corrects he does so in LOVE he is not like a parent that just gets more and more raty the a kid then slaps them silly - God dosent discipline in anger but in LOVE  he does it for our good and he does it because he is merciful and he knows the suffering and destruction that our sin causes. Hope that helps?!

[lostinidlewonder]

God brought me back to understanding about appreciation and love.  also, belonging to a group of christians (whether church or just a group that meets --which you can ask and find out who lives in your neighborhood and wants to meet--or sexual counseling group that is christian).  they give you support so that you aren't walking alone.

I think that is what we are all here for. To help one another get through this life, because it is often very hard for us, not many of us are strong enough to stand alone in this world. Of course in Spirit and Mind God is always with you and then even one could argue to include Body, since mind is very closely connected to body. But still we are social creatures, we need other people to inspire us, support us and allow us to return it. This exchange of caring is very important for us personally and spiritually. Especially spiritually because the more we get together and discuss the Word of God the more we will understand how many facets of understanding there are, but all which point to a single will of God.

The personal gain can be appreciated by anyone having friendship with another. But the spiritual gain has to be directed much more carefully. We clearly define what we want to have out of our relationship with other people the second we consider them. Whether that is subconsious or not, we choose what to say to someone based on what they offer us. If they are our parents for instance, ideally they offered us life on earth, nurtured us etc, so they strike up some more respect than if you where to talk to some stranger on the road. But when it comes to spirituality, there are many whoa areso flippant in what they choose. Many choose human knowledge as a basis for their spirituality, or indeed allow human ego to cloud the mind from a spiritual connection at all.

Of course each of us in this world has our own "demons" to conquer. Who is to say that having no faith is not something one has to challenge? We should always go against our nature if it reveals some gain shouldn't we? If we are disorganised in life, we should aim to get more organised. If we are too strict with our time schedules and constantly run about all the place keeping appointments, maybe we should slow down a little and give ourself more of a breather. There is always this force working against us begging for change and alteration for our own benefit, but often we are so caught up in what we are doing we don't even consider change.

Take faith for those who don't think they ever can have it.  Faith has a lot of gain throughout it, one of the greatest is that death cannot hurt someone with a little faith, but can destroy the strongest person with no faith. It also protects us from lots of mental illness like depression which strikes a great deal of us these days.

So someone without faith is passing up a great tower of strength which would ultimately make them a stronger person. So there is a force begging all people without faith to start investigating. Talk to people, ask carefully thought about questions, but open your eyes and mind. People always say that "Open your eyes and mind." but we have to realise some people have had this cloud covering their spirituality for so long it is a normal reaction to retract from any spiritual concept, just as it is so easy for someone trying to diet for the first time after 30 years of junk food eating to say, "Oh just one more piece of cake then I'll diet".

First comes reverence for the lord God, so all those without faith should find their way about achieving this I think. Why should we hold God in high repect, not only in our mind but also through what we do with our lives? We all must respect we are only observes of this galaxy, we had no say on its creation. That is utterly left up to GOD, or some mysterious science if you wish. Again I say to those without faith, if human knowledge of this universe is only 1% of the entire knowledge there is in this univerise (which by comparison is very very optimistic since we are only a speck in the entire galaxy, not even as big as a single grain of sand on an entire beach) there must be a great deal of knowledge still left unknown to us. Love, Creation, Faith, God, the Resurrection. What is love really? We see it all around us, but it is warped, shaped in so many ways, there is no one real idea of love everyone has a personal difference in how they offer love to one another. It is expressed also in so many ways, shapes, forms. So what is our knowledge of love? Not much at all! If we did have so much knowledge about it then there would be a 0 rate of divorce in this world, but look it is predominant all over the world. So we live with Love, but dont understand it, just as we live with God and often dont understand it!

These things are knowledge far and beyond our understanding, ask a scientist to write up procedure for a Ressurection and they would have to say what are you talking about. It's because it is far and beyond human knowledge, it lies in the 99% of knowledge of the universe we still do not know! But ask a Chrisitan to write up a procedure for a Ressurection and they will throw you the bible. So much detail on knowledge so beyond our own. The knowledge is beyond ours to understand the detailed workings of it,  but it is explained in a way so that we do realise it isn't the point to know how it works, but to know what it means for us and our life.

And i think what is key to learning all this is through other people. "Stand on the shoulders of giants" as they say. That is taking advice from someone who knows a lot more than you do and use their experience to affect your own choices. That is also building a relationship with those who know more than you do, because they can only make you smarter. That isn't to say that you should disregard friendship with people you think are not smart, but when you seek knowledge you will only gain from those who know more than you do, those that do not know as much may only fuel your ideas that there is no more knowledge to know. As they say, an idiot can sound wise if he says nothing.

[lostinidlewonder]

In Finland 15% of population are not members of the church.  Religion does not play a remarkable role here.

I think it plays a remarkable role for the other 85% which is the majority of people in your country. Maybe not for you, the 15%.

[ted]

For what the facts are worth, the 2001 census of New Zealand, with around 3,841,000 responses, gives 1,028,000 as stating no religion, 550,000 not stated or object to stating, 1,843,000 comprising the four or five mainstream Christian denominations, and the rest comprising a wide variety of other religions.

[pianonut]

for whomever wrote 'why make time for God if i am barely eeking out an existence?'  or something like that.  this is practically all of us at one time or other. God promises that he will never give us more than we can bear (though at times we wonder!).  if you look at olympic coaches, they challenge their players to the ultimate of what they can bear - but not 1mm. more.  they don't want them broken, they want them strong.  the same with navy seals.  if everything was easy, there would be no reason to work hard and not give up.

so, as i see it, there is more reason to believe God.  he's like a coach that you can ask questions to and wait for the response.  some coaches make you figure it out (for God, it might be reading the Bible more often).  some of the best teachers give you enough to go on to find the answer, but not the answer in plain language at first.  BUT, when you figure it out, they say 'good job' or smile.  what i find interesting is that in some of the poorest countries you find the most giving people.

maybe going through hard times teaches us to 'give.' and how it feels to be given to at just the right time.  even if we are not perfect in understanding, we are right before God if we have love.  also, we are told to love our enemies.  luke 6:35 ' but love your enemies, and do good and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.  be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. and do not judge and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon and you will be pardoned.  GIVE and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. for by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.'

that's pretty fair!

[pianowelsh]

Dear Ted  can you explain why you quoted those stats? - i missed it.
Hope you all doin good! i handed in 15000 words today so my brain aches a bit. For all the christians on the site hope you had a blessed easter! and that you didnt practice too hard!!!
The topic seems to have somewhat shifted from what makes christians unique? which is a perfectly valid question towards a slightly odd fascination for numbers.  I can quote approx numbers for christians residing in many places of the world using various sources but its seems of little relevence to the topic (unless im missing something) unless you are trying to argue that christians are unique because they are a minority - which is frankly a bizare and quite misleading tack to take 1. In someplaces the body of christ is far from a minority and 2. what has being a minority got to do with anything??? Is the arguement that because there are more of one religion  than another that makes one superior and another worthless???Surely not?! - please clarify where you were going with that one.
One thing that does make a Christian unique is that they are unconditionally loved by God whether they are on their own in the middle of siberia or in a crowd in times square and 'Nothing can separate them from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus'. They are under O condemnation from God the Father because their Sin has been taken away (ALL OF IT). They are unique because  they have direct access to God there is no barrier getting between them and God because they have forgiveness from God.
Another thing that makes Christians unique is that they already have a home in heaven. the bible calls it 'mansion' that Jesus has prepared for us and we have the certainty that one day - either when we die OR if we are privelidge to see the Lord return while we are still alive that we are going 'home' to be with him where he is  - and NOONE gets kicked out of heaven!
Im sure there are lots of other things that make Christians unique as my bros and sisters in christ will show on this site but looking back we actually have quite a list. But his mercies are new every morning so i reackon theres still a way to go - for those who are interested to follow it through.