Religious Question, possibly a doooozy, see details.?

Question

Looking at another religious based question I saw. I got to thinking. Why does religion, specifically Christianity followers, focus on negativity and threats. It's always about sins, judgement, feeling terrible about yourself. I only seem to see dedicated followers focus on absolutely damning statements.

I don't go to Church but I know the following from just keeping my ears open.
Examples:
"Suicide is a ticket to hell" no matter the reason and I don't care if you are retarted or were brutally beaten, raped, and shot 5 times and will now live life blind, unable to walk, needing 24/7 monitoring, etc...

"You are a sinner", just admit it and ask for forgiveness. Doesn't matter if your a monk who worships Jesus and has never had sex and you spent the majority of your life loving, donating your time for goos causes, and teaching others. You had one bad thought today, so you are a sinner.

Why is negativity the focus of Christianity?

Answer 1

A great question. I suspect tha answers have a lot to do with the evolution of Christian doctrine, because I don't believe Jesus viewed his message that way - Jesus focused on love and forgiveness, and on enjoying the gift of God we call life.

Certainly the earliest Christians followed Jewish traditions, which were not necessarily negative. The Apostle Paul focused on what he considered the abundant grace of God, particularly in allowing the Gentiles (non-Jews) into the Kingdom of God. For Paul, born and raised a strict jew, this was an amazing thing.

The Jews were known in Roman times to oppose the licentiousness of many Romans (you recall how we got our word "orgy" from the Romans?), so it's easy to see how the early Christians maintained this opposition to much of the sexual immorality of the times. Rome also had a barbaric streak in it - we only have to consider the gladiator fights to the death in the name of entertainment to see how Christians would be opposed to much of the prevailing world order.

As Christianity became the state religion in 325, under Emperor Constantine, the church began to assert their power. Theology now mixed with politics, and the threat of damnation became more real, using excommunication to intimidate believers into following the established orthodoxy. Excommunication later became Inquisition after the Crusades, and the Catholic Church taught heavily that nonconformists risked damnation. Of course, this was as much to maintain their power as it was about theological and moral purity.

Today, there are many Christians who see God as loving and forgiving, and some don't even believe in hell at all. A Christian is not someone who subscribes to a certain set of doctrines; a Christian is someone who has placed their faith and trust in God as revealed in Jesus, who Christians follow as their savior. Christianity is not a monolithic group of people who hold to the same beliefs - the Reformation changed all of that, and today Christianity continues to evolve and mature as a faith.

I wonder what motivates your question - do you believe in a loving God, or do you question whether you are lovable, just as you are? Christians believe God loves us, not because we are good at obeying God (none of us really are, if we're at all honest), but because He created us, and wants to have a spiritual relationship with us. The heart of the Gospel, the good news, is that God loves us just as we are, and forgives each and every wrong we have ever committed or will commit. Our trust in God and His son Jesus is sufficient for our forgiveness.

For those who do not believe in Jesus, I am not their judge. The same loving God who forgives me and judges me will also judge them, and He loves them no less than He loves me. I trust His judgment for them as well.

I hope this helps! If you want, feel free to drop me an email for more info - I'm a Sunday School teacher, and love to help others learn more about the faith.

Blessings and peace to you!

Answer 2

I think that the reason of focusing on the negative is an attempt to draw people into it...and I know that sounds weird, but hear me out.

You hear all these frightening things that are going to happen if don't believe in God. Almost like attempts to show you how horrible your life will be without Jesus. The problem with this, is that the people you're talking to, rarely want to listen to how life gets better with Jesus. They get freaked out because you're preaching and banging them with how horrible their lives are because they haven't found Jesus.

Personally, I make a point to never talk about those things with people when I discuss my religion. If a person doesn't believe in Hell, I don't necessarily believe that they can go to Hell. I simply share my personal experience with God and how it's helped me. You can believe it, or not. I'm never going to use scare tactics on you.

The other thing, is that people fail to remember that, according to Christianity, we're all sinners. It doesn't matter what you do, or who you are, you're a sinner. __BUT__ that's ok. God understands that and I don't think that you necessarily need to believe in God, per se, to have God understand that.

A lot of people make it seem like God is out to get all of us. I personally don't agree. I think that God has given us life for the purpose of glorifying and worshipping him. That's really where our purpose lies. That's why God has forgiven our sins. I think that it many ways it was to ease our minds from constantly worrying about how we're sinning.

You also have to remember that many people that claim to be Christians, don't actually read into the Bible, they simply spout back what they hear. It's sad, really, because there is so much to the Bible that is missed by not actually studying it and just spouting it.

Answer 3

Negativity is not the focus of Christianity. While I can see your point, you are missing the others of this religion. I follow a God of love, mercy, and forgiveness. I worship a God who is giving, caring, and open. With God, I have a loving relationship that I could not do without. I have a friend who is struggling with his belief in religion right now, and he always points out how critical other Christians are, and how judgmental some of them can be. While this is true, I always remind him that the most important thing is HIS relationship with GOD -- not other people's. So I guess my major answer is that it's a matter of perspective. :)

Answer 4

Religious Christianity is bad about this doomsday way of Christ - but true Christianity is about the personal redemptive relationship one developes when they confess and repent of their ways to Jesus Christ the only begotten son of God and there in lies the difference. For followers of Christ there is a certain amount of reality one has to face - primarily your eternal life decision is made here, but aside from that all our sins are forgiven, our burdens are Christ to bear, and he never, ever forsakes us or leaves us - we may step away from him, but he never turns us away. Religions on the other hand have a tendency to say if you do or if you don't do this or do that then the devil's gonna get you - well, once you're secure in the hand's of Christ, the devil may torment you and place stumbling blocks in your path, but he ain't ever gonna get you - and suicide is not a cause for going to hell for the Christian. Suicide is the result of mental illness which like any other illness is usually done in a state whereas the person had little or not control of the actions they were taking. It's so sad that the media has combined Christianity and religion into one lump sum - chalk up another blunder from satan that makes it difficult for true follower of Christ Jesus.

Answer 5

What do you expect from people whose major religious icon is a man being tortured to death. Christians cannot accept their own mortality, the simple fact when your dead that's it, you rot. So they spend their time thinking its all going to be great after they are dead. So they look on real life as $hit.. No wonder they are negative. Also Christianity became popular because the powers that be could say to the peasants, put up with all the oppression. Kiss the King's butt and be subservient and you'll get pie in the sky when you die, But you can be as miserable as you like here.

Answer 6

Preaching the reality of hell, without using the Law to bring the knowledge of sin, can do a great deal of damage to the cause of the gospel. A sinner cannot conceive of the thought that God would send anyone to hell, as long as he is deceived into thinking that God’s standard of righteousness is the same as his. Paul "reasoned" with Felix regarding righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come (Acts 24:25). This is the righteousness that is of the Law and judgment by the Law. Felix "trembled" because he suddenly understood that his intemperance made him a guilty sinner in the sight of a holy God. The reality of hell suddenly became reasonable to him when the Law was used to bring the knowledge of sin.

Imagine if the police burst into your home, arrested you, and shouted, "You are going away for a long time!" Such conduct would probably leave you bewildered and angry. What they have done seems unreasonable. However, imagine if the law burst into your home and instead told you specifically why you were in trouble: "We have discovered 10,000 marijuana plants growing in your back yard. You are going away for a long time!" At least then you would understand why you are in trouble. Knowledge of the law you have transgressed furnished you with that understanding. It makes judgment reasonable.

Hell-fire preaching without use of the Law to show the sinner why God is angry with him will more than likely leave him bewildered and angry—for what he considers unreasonable punishment.

Answer 7

I think it's safe to say that the people who turn Christianity's focus into the negative are misconstruing the true meaning of the Bible. My father is a preacher, and I can tell you that he doesn't spend his time talking about how we are all going to hell. In fact, he focuses his energy on the positive messages the Bible has to deliver. Not all Christians dwell on the negative messages, and those who do are not truly conveying the message of Christianity to those who are listening. I hope that helps. Have a nice day.

Answer 8

It's not. The focus of Christianity is what Jesus has done to free us from that sin. Are we all sinners? The answer is yes there is not a person in who has ever existed (besides Jesus) who has even lived a perfect life. Jesus came to die in our place so we could be forgiven for those sins. If we accept Him we will have eternal life in Him. That sounds pretty positive to me.

Answer 9

How many real Christians have you really talked to? From your question in my opinion very few.

There are an awful lot of so called Christians out there who call themselves Christians and are very easy to talk to and meet. Since they are so called by themselves Christians they of course do have a negative outlook. I am sure if you have the chance to meet a real true Christian you would be surprised and would possibly not even recognize that person as a Christian.

For that reason I personally do not enjoy being called a Christian. I would rather be called a pure "NO" meaning NO I am not a so called Christian.

Answer 10

I am a Christian and I can tell you without a doubt I do not hold negativity nor feel that way. I feel loved, accepted and very happy with my choice. I'm sorry that has not been your experience.

The teachings of Jesus focus on loving one another and not condeming.

The verse that comes to my mind is honestly very related to that....Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast The First Stone....

That will surely not be me.