Why don't Christians like each other?

Question

Baptists think the Catholics are going to hell
Mormons think the Anglicans are going to hell
Catholics think the Methodists are going to hell
Every christian I've ever met hates the Jehovah's Witnesses (except the JW's of course)
etc, etc.

Why don't you like each other?

And how can you get mad when non-christians don't like your church, when your "fellow" christians don't like it?

Answer 1

Religion is usually a response to fear - fear of death, especially oblivion, fear of not knowing one's purpose in life, fear of living a life that is essentially meaningless. Religion nullifies these fears. But fear is also the source of hatred. It is harder to hate something you do not regard as a threat than something you do. The Christian church has split in so many directions in 2000 years because different parties disagreed with how the first set of fears might be overcome: each now represents to each other a threat to their psychological security. They are not interested or able to understand their opponents, and so remove their sense of fear that way, so they hate them instead.

It's for the same reason many Christians can unite against anything else they both fear and do not understand - it explains, for example, why they are so hostile towards a long-dead English naturalist. Evolution destabilizes their security in their faith more than anything: they fear it, and do not understand it. At least it's something Christians can agree on.

Answer 2

Especially noteworthy about this question is that "Every christian [the question has] ever met hates the Jehovah's Witnesses".

Interestingly, such "hatred" should be expected by true Christians in this time of the end, and it actually helps identify Jehovah's Witnesses as Christ's true disciples:

(John 15:19) If you were part of the world, the world would be fond of what is its own. Now because you are no part of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, on this account the world hates you.

(Luke 6:22) Happy are you whenever men hate you, and whenever they exclude you and reproach you and cast out your name as wicked for the sake of the Son of man.

(1 Peter 4:4) Because you do not continue running with them in this course to the same low sink of debauchery, they are puzzled and go on speaking abusively of you.

(2 Timothy 4:3-5) For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the healthful teaching, but, in accord with their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves to have their ears tickled; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, whereas they will be turned aside to false stories. You, though, keep your senses in all things, suffer evil, do the work of an evangelizer, fully accomplish your ministry.

It seems signficant that the relatively small religion of Jehovah's Witnesses are the ones best known for their worldwide preaching work. Yet Jesus commanded that ALL who would call themselves "Christian" perform this public work:

(Matthew 28:19,20) Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And, look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/library/jt/index.htm
http://watchtower.org/library/w/2003/3/1/article_01.htm
http://watchtower.org/library/w/2002/4/1/article_01.htm

Answer 3

Most religious questions can be answered like this: We live in a fallen world in which the religious institutions are run. Being that people are prone to sin, corruption, big egos, temptation, etc, inevitably there are going to problems. The sad thing is, many people blame God or a particular faith on the doings of the the people associated with religious groups.

If you can transcend the formal setup of the religious institutions and the people the run them and pursue God and the Bible with a spiritual perspective and an open mind, what you'll find is a wonderful doctrine that teaches love, tolerance and forgiveness.

I'm sorry if this hasn't been your experience, but that's what the Jesus and the Bible teaches. It's unfortunate that other "Christians" are such poor representatives of the faith.

Cheers!

Answer 4

I can't get mad as you say, when non-Christians don't want to go to church. I believe the 2 greatest things that hinder "Christianity" world wide are: sin, hypocrosy, ungodliness in church goers, and secondly disunity in the collective community of those who subscribe to the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus prayed for unity for all just before he died. That was one of the very last things and therefore the last thing someone says before they die I assume would be very important to them.

Also, I would wonder about someone's so called relationship with God if they did fall under those stereo typical people who are very much against other followers of Jesus Christ, because Jesus said that people would know his disciples by the love they had for ONE ANOTHER. I would not want to be part of anything where the members didn't treat each other nice.

Don't think that Jesus was oblivious to all of this. He said that there would be weeds in a sense growing in the midst of the wheat. When harvest time comes (when we die) he will seporate the wheat from the weeds. That is he will seporate the real from the fake.

I would also like to say that Jesus was not into partisanship. He taught that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord with all you heart mind soul and strength, and he said the second most important was to love your neighbor as yourself. In fact he said that if you loved your neighbor as your self you in fact would have fulfilled the entire Bible just by doing that.

A religious person who tried to justify themselves then responded by asking Jesus who exactly was his neighbor. Jesus then told a story of three people who passed someone on the road who had been beaten and robbed. The first two, a priest and a levite(someone very involved in church) didn't help at all. The third was a Samaritan. Samaritans were called dogs by the jews and the were generally disliked very much. However this Samaritan went out of their way to help this person and make sure they were taken care of. Jesus then asked his Jewish audience who in this story was the neighor of the man in need. They shamefully knew the answer.

However all though love and unity are essential and I can understand about many who have been turned off to Christianity, Jesus is still the only way. There is an answer and there is one truth. 1+1 is two and that is the truth, there is no other truth.

Jesus was born from a virgen performed miracles and healings and died executed though he was innocent. He did not get punished for his own guilt because he had none, however he was punished and killed for our guilt that our debts to God ( rather than debt to society) has been fulfilled and we can be innocent in the eyes of God once again. After his execution he was burried but 3 days later he came back to life, to prove his diety.
This is the only truth.

If you claim to believe this it will do you no good unless you live like you believe it. If you don't believe this you will be judged because you have been told the truth but didn't accept it. You are now accountable because you know the truth of Jesus Christ.

Finally

Answer 5

All religion is a little click. If your not a part of my click your WRONG! It is the same stuff that drives "my (insert your particular group i.e. baseball team, high school, nation, religion, sect) is better than yours!" . The more people who are a part of your group the more correct (and powerful) that group believes itself to be. Eventually if the group is strong enough, and can control the means, they will persecute the other weaker groups. Christians, Muslims and Hindus are all pretty keen on punishing their minority groups So its not just a Christian thing it is universal.

But how sad that all preach love but the practice seems to be so freakin difficult.

Answer 6

The reason may seem irrational but even in families, family members don't get along... non-christians expect to see a christian "united front" of peace and solidarity and instead they see infighting and they point to that as evidence that there's nothing there worthwhile. Instead I think it should be looked like this.. although no one is perfect, including christians.. there is an important message there that should be looked at, a method of living, a method of thinking, a method of living life. You can look down on all christians as failures because they don't live up to it.. or you could choose to see them as human too who are just trying their hardest like everyone else.

Answer 7

Not all Christians hate each other.Not all people of different denominations hate each other either.It's true different teachings and issues can separate denominations.Not everyone that says their of a denomination, group, goes to a church or claim to be religious are Christians.
Read Romans 10.
you will find Christians in all bible believing churches.

Answer 8

As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, it's wonderful to see bible prophecy come true.

Matt 10:22, "You will be objects of hatred by all people on account of my name."

Think about it during WW 2, every nation from Germany, Japan, England, United States, Canada, Italy the only thing they were united in was throwing Jehovah's Witnesses in prison.

Narrow and cramp is the road leading to life and few are the ones finding it.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

I think much of it has to do with doctrine. so many churches have stayed from strictly following the word and have added stuff as they like to make it serve their purposes. I personally, though Christian , do not belong to any organized religion. I prefer to read the bible on my own, meditate on it and talk to God personally about the scriptures I do not understand. I do not know of any Man who is so pure and infallible that they wont put their own spin on the Word. In the end, I think you have to break away and walk with God yourself and spend time communing with Him to understand where your purpose lies and what He wants of you. I also do not hate any of the other religions, I just think most of them are indoctrinated with what the church fathers want them to believe and they have not come to Christ willingly if they have not pondered and questioned for themselves.