Zone1 What makes Christianity different from other religions?

[Foxfyre]

Granted, not all "Christians" may agree as many try to still earn their salvation.

For me, Christianity differs from all other religions because it is a relationship with God. We do good works because that relationship inspires and compels us to do so, because of the love of the one with whom we have a relationship.

We do not have the relationship because of good works that we do. We know in our hearts that the relationship is an unearned blessing given to us by God's grace and continues after the body 'gives up the ghost (spirit)' so to speak. That blessing is given to all who are willing to receive it on God's terms, not our own.

The relationship is the sum total of what Christianity is.

It is not a set of rules, regulations, rituals, dogma that is required to be followed. It isn't something we can earn. It just is.

 

[theHawk]

Convince people there is something wrong with them, and you have the cure, and a cult.

As opposed to telling everyone there is nothing wrong with anything you do, and there is no need to improve yourself, and you can do anything you want, and you don’t need no God to set any rules for you.

That’s a good way to lead people to hell.

 

[Meriweather]

That's called homework, or practice, and yes, it's valuable.

I want to reiterate that I have no beef with individual Catholics, many of whom love God and follow Jesus. I do have a big problem with some of their doctrines, which are just Biblically wrong.

Name a specific doctrine and let's discuss it and why it is Biblically wrong.

 

[Meriweather]

I believe there's a fellow Catholic in this very thread who said Original Sin is not a thing, or something like.

Who said that? In the Catholic faith, that first sin of Adam and Eve is known as the fall of man, the first sin, and original sin. It answers the question of, "How did it all start."

 

[norwegen]

Jesus never once repudiated Judaism. Only Paul did that.

Jesus most certainly did. Read the story.

He berated the Jews, calling them hypocrites, broods of vipers, etc.

Then he threatened to destroy them and their temple. And guess what. Those things happened.

 

[Dragonlady]

You’re lying again. You said that Catholic Church won’t bury you on consecrated ground if you weren’t baptized at birth. That is 100% false.

Original sin was accepted by the entire early church. Only modern day quack churches like the Mormons reject original sin.

Yes, God punishes humans with generational sin. You may not like it, you may think it’s “unfair”, but it is the truth.

If you don’t believe in it, then why are all humans so sinful? There shouldn’t be anything at all preventing you from never sinning. Yet here you are, defending abortion (murder) and LGBTQ rights (homosexuality/adultery) all the time.

The entire early Church was MEN deciding the rules of the religion. And then you babble on about all of the early rules established by Church leaders so that the governments would stop murdering Christians.

If abortion is murder, why does God do it? 30% of all pregnancies end in a "spontaneous abortion". It's "God's will". No, it's biology. Because the fetus isn't developing properly. The process of going from one cell to an entire viable human being is so complex and everything has to happen just right for it to happen at all, that for close to 1/3 of all pregnancies, something goes wrong.

Why must pregnant women die if their pregnancies aren't viable. Why do Republicans refuse abortions for women with ectopic pregnancies, which will result in the fetus dying 100% of the time. The only question is whether the mother will die too. Her ability to have another pregnancy will be seriously compromised, if she's able to get pregnant at all.

In states that have banned abortions, stillbirths and infant mortality rates have risen, as women are forced to carry pregnancies to term that were never viable in the first place, and then watch their babies die in their arms hours later.

I HAVE NEVER DEFENDED ADULTERY. EVER. NOR WOULD I. IN FACT, I HAVE CONDEMNED IT UTTERLY.

 

[Paradoxical#1]

Well he rather did, everytime he excoriated the Pharisees. It wasn't an attack on Judaism as a whole, which would be strange, since Jesus Himself was Jewish. But an attack on being stuck in a rut in your own faith

Did he not say the "law" would never be abolished and was he not an expert on the OT?

 

[Paradoxical#1]

As opposed to telling everyone there is nothing wrong with anything you do, and there is no need to improve yourself, and you can do anything you want, and you don’t need no God to set any rules for you.

That’s a good way to lead people to hell.

Um, you don't need to "insert imaginary god here" for that.

 

[Paradoxical#1]

Jesus most certainly did. Read the story.

He berated the Jews, calling them hypocrites, broods of vipers, etc.

Then he threatened to destroy them and their temple. And guess what. Those things happened.

That means nothing. He berated them for their greed and not following good morals in the OT. Unless you think the OT was bad.

 

[theHawk]

The entire early Church was MEN deciding the rules of the religion. And then you babble on about all of the early rules established by Church leaders so that the governments would stop murdering Christians.

If abortion is murder, why does God do it? 30% of all pregnancies end in a "spontaneous abortion". It's "God's will". No, it's biology. Because the fetus isn't developing properly. The process of going from one cell to an entire viable human being is so complex and everything has to happen just right for it to happen at all, that for close to 1/3 of all pregnancies, something goes wrong.

Why must pregnant women die if their pregnancies aren't viable. Why do Republicans refuse abortions for women with ectopic pregnancies, which will result in the fetus dying 100% of the time. The only question is whether the mother will die too. Her ability to have another pregnancy will be seriously compromised, if she's able to get pregnant at all.

In states that have banned abortions, stillbirths and infant mortality rates have risen, as women are forced to carry pregnancies to term that were never viable in the first place, and then watch their babies die in their arms hours later.

I HAVE NEVER DEFENDED ADULTERY. EVER. NOR WOULD I. IN FACT, I HAVE CONDEMNED IT UTTERLY.

Wow, somebody is triggered.

The fact that it was MEN who make up the church elders really irk you, doesn’t it?
It just needs a strong powerful womyn to make up new rules!


God has the right to take take life, not us. God allowed death into the world because Adam and Eve chose sin and evil over God, so God granted them their wish and departed. God would be fully justified in wiping out all of humanity as he nearly did with the Flood. But because he loves us, he kept giving his faithful a second chance. Ultimately leading up to him sacrificing his own son for us, something no man could make up. For every man-made religion had it the opposite way, that we had to sacrifice human life (often innocent children or virgin women) to the gods. Instead God told man we are not to make such human sacrifices, because he gave his Son for us.

By the way, it’s birth control and the abortion pill that are killing women. As they are lied to by pro-abortion propagandists like yourself that such things are “perfectly healthy”. These lead to miscarriages and sometimes death for the woman. But even worse, it also condemns the woman herself to an eternity in hell.

Curious to know why adultery in your world view is wrong, if abortion is perfectly fine. Why do you care if two “consenting adults” have relations? Isn’t it just a “biological urge”?

 

[theHawk]

Um, you don't need to "insert imaginary god here" for that.

Except that is exactly what you are doing, inserting your imaginary god in, typically yourself or whatever world view you subscribe to, to determine what is right and wrong.

 

[norwegen]

That means nothing. He berated them for their greed and not following good morals in the OT. Unless you think the OT was bad.

I wouldn't say that about the OT.

The Israelites were bad, though. You should read the OT. Talk about depravity. And idolatry, of course.

So Jesus berated them and judged them, according to the narrative.

 

[Meriweather]

I wouldn't say that about the OT.

The Israelites were bad, though. You should read the OT. Talk about depravity. And idolatry, of course.

So Jesus berated them and judged them, according to the narrative.

Did every American citizen riot and burn property during the 2020 "Summer of Love"? Did everyone in the 1960s participate in "free love"? No, it has always been a very small minority that beat the drum and seize memories and attention. The rest of us (and this was first noted in the Old Testament) became known as the "remnant".

We, the remnant, are an interesting group. We are not a loud people, and we wait quietly throughout all the hubbub. Much of the time I consider whether we are the people who are neither hot nor cold--and Jesus had words for us as well, probably more harsh than the ones with which he berated idolators. Even so, it was because of the the remnant Israel was restored. My point is Jesus did not condemn all. His words were for the participants of wrong behavior, not all of Judea.

 

[Paradoxical#1]

Except that is exactly what you are doing, inserting your imaginary god in, typically yourself or whatever world view you subscribe to, to determine what is right and wrong.

This is correct. Here we think its immoral to eat dogs. Some other countries they don't. In some middle Eastern countries they think it's moral to kill homosexuals. Here we only now think it's immoral to do that even though YOUR god says they deserve death. Your bible sanctions slavery. Sane rational secularists do not.

What was that about "God" and morals again?

 

[Paradoxical#1]

I wouldn't say that about the OT.

The Israelites were bad, though. You should read the OT. Talk about depravity. And idolatry, of course.

So Jesus berated them and judged them, according to the narrative.

Didn't Jesus, as God (trinity) inspire the OT? What made him change his mind?

 

[onefour1]

Faith will manifest in good works. Faith begin with good works though; good works are evidence of a healthy faith.

I am opposed to illegal immigration and yet have fed illegal immigrants using my own hands and money.

you? Or do you just complain about what the govt does?

So why complain about good works?

 

[onefour1]

That is not what I said. It's not that good works make the atonement "less effective"; it's that they're not necessary for salvation.

The way you have it rendered, Jesus did okay with the atonement but needs a little help from us with our "good works".

That is blasphemous, actually.

I disagree. I believe works are necessary for salvation because Jesus has told us the following:

Matthew 7:21
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Jesus requires that we do the will of our Father in Heaven before he will grant us entrance in the kingdom of heaven. This is why Jesus taught, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" Its not that our works save us but that Jesus will not save us unless we comply with the will of our Father in Heaven.

 

[theHawk]

This is correct. Here we think its immoral to eat dogs. Some other countries they don't. In some middle Eastern countries they think it's moral to kill homosexuals. Here we only now think it's immoral to do that even though YOUR god says they deserve death. Your bible sanctions slavery. Sane rational secularists do not.

What was that about "God" and morals again?

Homosexuality is immoral. Perpetrators of it, if remained unrepentant, likely suffer an eternity in hell for it.

So called “sane rational” secularists have brought us to the point of promoting and allowing children to be butchered in the name of transgenderism(which itself is a total lie). How did we get to his lunacy? By going soft on homosexuality.

 

[BreezeWood]

Jesus never once repudiated Judaism. Only Paul did that.

the entire 1st century events are a repudiation of judaism from its birth - by two free spirits blessed by the heavens ... who feared neither moses nor their religious strictures.

nearly every episode of jesus's teachings is a repudiation of judaism false commandments hereditary idolatry religion of apartheid et al ... as even the christian bible can not disguise written in league w/ judaism as well rendering the exact opposite the reason for why jesus was crucified.

 

[BreezeWood]

- since Jesus Himself was Jewish

prove jesus ever claimed to be a jew - judaism.

written by their own hand, their condemnation of mary and joseph as well their heavenly bondage w/ mary magdalene. not one of the heavenly exemplars are a jew.