The issues of God, the Church (and me.)
There is a God. There must be a God else everything in the universe just can't exist out of nothingness. Hence, there must be a Greater Power out there.
Fair enough.
It is very disturbing for me to find out the fact that people are starting to hate Christianity. Not that it didn't occur in the past, just that I am experiencing it NOW - around me. Thanks to die hard evangelists fanatics who couldn't help using their gifted brains to think at least twice more.
It is appalling. I have read a blog of a Singaporean blogger who scorned at how Christians propagate their Good News. I am a Christian myself and I know what the Bible has said about this making disciples dogma. But this is NOT the way!
1. You do not coerce others into your religion.(by force, by harrassment, by compulsive follow-ups.)
Christians are loving people and at times, they want to express/share their love so eagerly that they don't realise they are being a nuisance to others. Why on Earth do you insist to others on your doctrines if people have no idea or interest as to what you're propagating about? It is a waste of time, effort and it definitely spreads hatred instead of love. You might ask then - HOW? Simple. Put yourself into a non-believer's shoes. Will you BLINDLY believe in a doctrine because someone tells you to? If you say YES, any evangelists can approach you with different packagings and will you believe them? If you say NO, that is why non-believers say NO to you. Same simple reason.
2. You do not approach others directly. It doesn't work anymore in this age.
Do you like sales executives coming towards you and start blathering? If yes, you're a weirdo, an outcast. So, if you do not like it, DO NOT do it to others. It brews anger and resentment and that defeats the total purpose of your intentions. Live it from your life, mate. People today are wise enough to differentiate a Christian and a non-Christian. If people want to know, they will ask. You do not need to offer yourself like some cheap dirt and start yacking without an attentive audience.
3. You do not just talk solely on doctrines. You might not have a life. Others do.
Today, religion is just supplements to life. Heaven-oh-Hell stories, cherubs, stories of Jesus and other dramatic dogmas just don't stir interests anymore. If you have ever heard of Da Vinci Code(or have you been reading only the Bible?), why was it the bestseller for God-knows how many months? It was a blend of facts, myths and fiction. It has to be more intellectual banter instead of just "Thou shalt not this. Thou shalt not that and that and that and that." How do expect non-believers to enjoy your water-into-wine stories when story books for kids like Harry Potter are already laced with action packs and super powers?
4. You do not use cheap gimmicks, please. (more friends, drums, songs...WTF?? Lying now?)
Never, never and never think that others are intellectually incompetent. Never think with a puerile brain with invitation gimmicks like "you could make lotsa friends there." or "you could learn how to play drums." You might be able to con some naive kids who do not usually reject invitations but this trick does not work on all ages. It is glib and it shows how feeble and cheap we can try to get people to church. The moment people finds out the "truth", they will leave anyway. So? Outcome? Bad impression again right? If it is ineffective, then don't use la.
5. You do not argue that other gods are fakes.
Please. I implore of you. Never ever blurt out the sentence of "your God is a fake and mine is genuine." It brings you no where but just deeper into the shit you stepped into. Gods are sacred deities worshipped by people. A stupid sentence like that would mean ultimate disrespect and mockery. Would you like it if others do the same to our God? Mutual respects are crucial. If they claim that their Gods are powerful, fine, powerful they are. Stop refuting. To many, religion is wholly about good values, which I say YES, they are. Just some differences here and there like Christianity is about relationship with God and not wholly just good values. So is Islam, so is Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Bahaism...etc - except occultic practises.
6. Learn to shut up and co-exist with others.
Living in a world so diverse can only be so beautiful with all sort of people around. But stop being a splinter in people's asses. Shut up whenever you do not need to speak. Shut up if people do not enquire. Shut up if people ask you to stop. Shut up if you think you should. The world can only be a beautiful place to live in if only we learn how to co-exist with others. Put a stop to your futile efforts(most of the time) and learn to accept others, respect others, considerate about others and enjoy the differences. God gave us the brain and skills to live among the unsaved ones. Use it wisely to share what you have to share - it could be anything k...not just the Good News. Appreciating others could only bring happiness and understandings. The divide is then bridged. Is this not better?
The world is constantly changing at a rate, which we know will lead us to doomsday quite soon. So why remain that rigid old you? Why do you not conform in line with the needs of the world? I think I sould sleep now. Please do let me know if I said anything outrageous. These are just a few tokens of my thoughts - thoughts of a Christian who lives in a precarious(aka fucked up) world.
Fair enough.
It is very disturbing for me to find out the fact that people are starting to hate Christianity. Not that it didn't occur in the past, just that I am experiencing it NOW - around me. Thanks to die hard evangelists fanatics who couldn't help using their gifted brains to think at least twice more.
It is appalling. I have read a blog of a Singaporean blogger who scorned at how Christians propagate their Good News. I am a Christian myself and I know what the Bible has said about this making disciples dogma. But this is NOT the way!
1. You do not coerce others into your religion.(by force, by harrassment, by compulsive follow-ups.)
Christians are loving people and at times, they want to express/share their love so eagerly that they don't realise they are being a nuisance to others. Why on Earth do you insist to others on your doctrines if people have no idea or interest as to what you're propagating about? It is a waste of time, effort and it definitely spreads hatred instead of love. You might ask then - HOW? Simple. Put yourself into a non-believer's shoes. Will you BLINDLY believe in a doctrine because someone tells you to? If you say YES, any evangelists can approach you with different packagings and will you believe them? If you say NO, that is why non-believers say NO to you. Same simple reason.
2. You do not approach others directly. It doesn't work anymore in this age.
Do you like sales executives coming towards you and start blathering? If yes, you're a weirdo, an outcast. So, if you do not like it, DO NOT do it to others. It brews anger and resentment and that defeats the total purpose of your intentions. Live it from your life, mate. People today are wise enough to differentiate a Christian and a non-Christian. If people want to know, they will ask. You do not need to offer yourself like some cheap dirt and start yacking without an attentive audience.
3. You do not just talk solely on doctrines. You might not have a life. Others do.
Today, religion is just supplements to life. Heaven-oh-Hell stories, cherubs, stories of Jesus and other dramatic dogmas just don't stir interests anymore. If you have ever heard of Da Vinci Code(or have you been reading only the Bible?), why was it the bestseller for God-knows how many months? It was a blend of facts, myths and fiction. It has to be more intellectual banter instead of just "Thou shalt not this. Thou shalt not that and that and that and that." How do expect non-believers to enjoy your water-into-wine stories when story books for kids like Harry Potter are already laced with action packs and super powers?
4. You do not use cheap gimmicks, please. (more friends, drums, songs...WTF?? Lying now?)
Never, never and never think that others are intellectually incompetent. Never think with a puerile brain with invitation gimmicks like "you could make lotsa friends there." or "you could learn how to play drums." You might be able to con some naive kids who do not usually reject invitations but this trick does not work on all ages. It is glib and it shows how feeble and cheap we can try to get people to church. The moment people finds out the "truth", they will leave anyway. So? Outcome? Bad impression again right? If it is ineffective, then don't use la.
5. You do not argue that other gods are fakes.
Please. I implore of you. Never ever blurt out the sentence of "your God is a fake and mine is genuine." It brings you no where but just deeper into the shit you stepped into. Gods are sacred deities worshipped by people. A stupid sentence like that would mean ultimate disrespect and mockery. Would you like it if others do the same to our God? Mutual respects are crucial. If they claim that their Gods are powerful, fine, powerful they are. Stop refuting. To many, religion is wholly about good values, which I say YES, they are. Just some differences here and there like Christianity is about relationship with God and not wholly just good values. So is Islam, so is Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Bahaism...etc - except occultic practises.
6. Learn to shut up and co-exist with others.
Living in a world so diverse can only be so beautiful with all sort of people around. But stop being a splinter in people's asses. Shut up whenever you do not need to speak. Shut up if people do not enquire. Shut up if people ask you to stop. Shut up if you think you should. The world can only be a beautiful place to live in if only we learn how to co-exist with others. Put a stop to your futile efforts(most of the time) and learn to accept others, respect others, considerate about others and enjoy the differences. God gave us the brain and skills to live among the unsaved ones. Use it wisely to share what you have to share - it could be anything k...not just the Good News. Appreciating others could only bring happiness and understandings. The divide is then bridged. Is this not better?
The world is constantly changing at a rate, which we know will lead us to doomsday quite soon. So why remain that rigid old you? Why do you not conform in line with the needs of the world? I think I sould sleep now. Please do let me know if I said anything outrageous. These are just a few tokens of my thoughts - thoughts of a Christian who lives in a precarious(aka fucked up) world.
posted by greyhound at 6:15 AM
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