Hope I've phrased this correctly. Also I've noticed some people here mentioning 'religious Christians'.
And the other thing is: are Christians on Yahoo Answers more extreme than ordinary Churchgoers? Someone alluded to this in an answer
2006-09-23 04:48:16 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
hey, also is it only fundamentalists that believe in hell?
2006-09-23 04:58:21 · update #1
"Fundamentalist Christians" = New Pharisees like those who protest at military funerals, 700 Club, Pat Robertson and others.
"Ordinary Christians" = New Publicans - some are humble and some get carried away from time to time until informed of their error. Many of them repent and many of them find comfort in Fundamentalist organizations.
2006-09-23 04:51:23 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
There are SO many types of christians. Read 'Belonging to the Universe' and you'll hear two Jesuits who sound buddhist. Read interviews with the new head of the U.S. Episcopal Church, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori; she emphasizes that homosexuality is not sin, that there is not a single path to god, and that evolution is not at odds with religion. Other christians -- like Meister Eckhart and St John of the Cross -- used christianity in the way a zen buddhist uses buddhism: as a means for a direct experience of 'reality'/'god'. The spectrum of belief and practice in christianity is enormous. Unfortunately, the ones we see in the spotlight are the fundamentalists. They're the ones who don't consider symbolism and metaphor, who ironically make god into their own image (like their predecessors who were responsible for misinterpreting Jesus' message and putting it into the bible), and who use the religion as a huge mechanism for worshipping the 'self'. They do this by forgetting about love and concentrating on the 'whats in it for me' mentality where one does good and believes to get an eternal reward, and judges others without ever considering whether their beliefs are true or not (whether it's due to strict literalism of metaphor in the bible or due to believing in the negative stuff the early christians put into the bible). They should NOT be hated or judged for this; it's just fear and attachment to ego and we ALL in some degree or another have SOME level of this. But, of course, fundamentalism does cause a great degree of suffering (for the believer and others) and so, with the greatest amount of compassion involved, their agendas should be responded to by others.
2006-09-23 04:58:43 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I believe it is backwards verbage. A true fundamentalist would be very gentle and loving in everything that they did. An ordinary Christian would be the majority of people who believe in Jesus an accept how they see others acting as the norm.
Behavior would be the difference. People who are seen as abrasive or "jerks" are automatically labeled "Fundamentalist" and people who are agreeable would be "Normal". I have been labeled both. Both labels are cool by me.
GOD bless ya.
2006-09-23 04:57:00 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Fundamentalists usually take the Bible at its word literally, as in a six-day creation, a virgin birth, etc.
"Ordinary" Christians (usually termed "mainstream") would take the more fantastic elements of the Bible with a grain of salt and approach them as allegories, and are usually more concerned with trying to live the life than to worry about what's literal and what's not.
As to average numbers in general and average numbers on here, I know not. I think here more fundamentalists feel free to speak out due to the typical Internet anonymity than they would in everyday life, so it's hard to say.
2006-09-23 04:53:27 · answer #4 · answered by angk 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The difference in any Christian sect is the doctrine practiced. As for the other thing - I think we get a reasonable representation of ordinary church attending Christians.
2006-09-23 04:53:21 · answer #5 · answered by Nora Explora 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The fundamentals of any faith, are the original teachings. These
teach us how to overcome the basic nature of the human body.
However ,this also creates self-righteousness, in that noone can
be 100% perfect, and they demand it from others, in order to
avoid their own failings.
Progressive people see that we all have a spirit within.
Don't condemn, but don't condone, (or excuse everything).
Then you will find a measure of spiritual balance.
2006-09-23 04:54:16 · answer #6 · answered by zenbuddhamaster 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ordinary Christians are willfully ignorant, gullible, nonrational and deluded... but they would not be dangerous, were it not for the fact that they are 'enablers' of the fundies, and that they constitute an army of willing dupes for the Fundies to manipulate and use in their dominionist schemes.
Fundamentalist Christians are profoundly ignorant, profoundly gullible, profoundly nonrational and profoundly deluded... and VERY dangerous in their own right. Christian 'Dominionists' (Reconstructionalists, Theonomists) have largely usurped the local level political apparatus of the Republican Party, and are engaged in a sub rosa process to politically motivate moderate Christians under the false cover of religious issues such as morality and family values, under cover of front organizations like the Christian Coalition, the American Family Association and the Promise Keepers. The goal is nothing less than the takeover of all elective offices in the USA.
Their doctrine comes from the Bible, starting with the term 'dominion' at Genesis 1:28... “And God said unto them, [Adam and Eve] Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have DOMINION… over every living thing.” They interpret DOMINION as: “... a supremacy in determining and directing the actions of others or in governing politically, socially, or personally.”
They want to remake the USA as a theocracy... and they are succeeding.
Its most common form, Dominionism, represents one of the most extreme forms of Fundamentalist Christianity thought. Its followers, called Dominionists, are attempting to convert the laws of United States so that they match those of the Hebrew Scriptures. They intend to achieve this by using the freedom of religion in the US to train a generation of children via home-schooling and in private Christian religious schools. See: JESUS CAMP http://www.apple.com/trailers/magnolia/jesuscamp/trailer/ Later, their graduates will be charged with the responsibility of creating a new Bible-based political, religious and social order. One of the first tasks of this order will be to eliminate religious choice and freedom. Their eventual goal is to achieve the "Kingdom of God" in which much of the world is converted to Christianity. They feel that the power of God's word will bring about this conversion. No armed force or insurrection will be needed; in fact, they believe that there will be little opposition to their plan. People will willingly accept it. All that needs to be done is to properly explain it to them.
All religious organizations, congregations etc. other than strictly Fundamentalist Christianity would be suppressed. Nonconforming Evangelical, main line and liberal Christian religious institutions would no longer be allowed to hold services, organize, proselytize, etc. Society would revert to the laws and punishments of the Hebrew Scriptures. Any person who advocated or practiced other religious beliefs outside of their home would be tried for idolatry and executed. Blasphemy, adultery and homosexual behavior would be criminalized; those found guilty would also be executed. There are two conservative Christian pastors in Texas who have advocated the execution of all Wiccans. Ralph Reed, the executive director of the conservative public policy group the Christian Coalition has criticized Reconstructionism as "an authoritarian ideology that threatens the most basic civil liberties of a free and democratic society."
By failing to openly confront this insidious agenda, we have sown the seeds of our own destruction, while these religious wing-nuts are paving the way to Armageddon with gleeful anticipation.
"Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder." ~ Arnold Toynbee
http://www.religioustolerance.org/reconstr.htm
http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/HistoryOfReconstructionMovement.html
http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/Clarkson_RiseOfDomionism.html
2006-09-23 04:57:45 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
VERY good ques. I think "angk" hit the nail on the head. Most Yahoo Ans. Christians scare me. However there are some very insightful and compassionate Christians here.
2006-09-23 05:09:47 · answer #8 · answered by BETTY ROCKER 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Ordinary" christians are like those of the last 1600 years or so who view the Bible as "guidance" written by about 40 or so men, but inspired by their God.
"Fundementalist" christians invented their "faith" in the late 1890s/early 1900s in the US as a protest against the teaching of science in schools, taking as their basis the literal "innerrancy" of the Bible.
2006-09-23 04:56:05 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
'ordinary' Christians are good law abidding people.
'fundamentalist' Christians are crazy bastards who are similar to Islamic terrorists
2006-09-23 04:51:41 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋