I'm sorry. I was in the military. War involves killing an enemy. Kindness is not war. Asking me to give my life to your God would be a conversion.
Its like reading George Orwell's 1984. Giving new definitions to words.
Christianity sounds like a trick. Is it a trick of the devil? Why would someone label being kind as war.
War is something very specific.
Maybe I'm just a dumb person and I don't get it.
2006-09-26 02:52:21 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I never heard the expression that 'being kind' is 'spiritual warfare' but I think I understand what it means.
'The Enemy' (in the minds of some Christians) is the Devil or Satan and Christian kindness (or, indeed, any kindness!) is supposed to 'hurt Satan' ... to kill a little part of him.
My personal belief is that the idea of Satan as a force, or a Fallen Angel, or as a person at all is an idea taken from a much earlier religion than Judaism or Christianity. It was a convenient way of saying to early peoples that the gods they worhipped were not the True God, so therefore they were evil. That idea got incorporated into Judaism and therefore Christianity and the idea of Satan is retained as a personal force ('god') which is opposed to the Jewish and Christian idea of God.
War certainly is something very specific and, because it is difficult to imagine combatting something which merely 'goes against' the will (or way) of God, it was convenient to personify evil and to imagine a 'war' against that personification.
I don't think you are dumb at all! I think you are on the way to asking the right questions (and finding the answers!)
I am tempted to say 'Don't bother with Christianity!' but there is a great deal of wisdom there (as well as any amount of silliness) ... and there also is wisdom in all of the 'organised' religions, so they should not be ignored ... merely taken as human views of something which is too big for an individual to comprehend!
2006-09-26 03:17:12 · answer #1 · answered by Owlwings 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Christians abstain from many of the good things in life and also suppress their ego. It is considered unChristian to engage in competion and behave arrogantly.
Therefore, use of the term "warfare" is a means of appealing to their natural aggressive tendencies. It makes them feel Badass!
2006-09-26 15:44:35 · answer #2 · answered by limendoz 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
for your understanding,
War is a fight for what? Land/Power?
who is fighting the war? Us/them?
What are the tools for war? guns/swords?
For the christian, spiritual warfare looks like this
War is a fight for What? Your Soul
Who is fighting the War? God/Devil
What are the Tools for war? Love/Hate
There is a story, of a young boy with his grandpa. The grandpa tells the boy, that their are 2 wolfs in him fighting for power over his spirit. One is Evil, full of lies and hate. The other is Good, full of truth and Love. The young boys asks his grandpa "witch wolf wins". His grandpa answers, "Witch ever one you feed"
2006-09-26 10:06:32 · answer #3 · answered by Shawn 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Could this be part and parcel of that long historical trend to degrade charity (and good acts in general)? This is done to promote "faith" (and "righteous" behavior) as THE ONLY basis for "salvation." - and thus reducing religious practice to a kind of nagging mysticism.
2006-09-26 10:34:32 · answer #4 · answered by JAT 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, Christianity is a trick. It's a waste of time, ignore Christians, they are dumb.
2006-09-26 10:04:24 · answer #5 · answered by Ale 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Every good deed is rewarded with graces, but spiritual warfare is much more than that.
The war is between good and evil and war isn't necessarily violent, just because most wars are...
2006-09-26 09:55:45 · answer #6 · answered by CatholicMOM 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Good question, and 'no', your not [dumb]. I agree that the phrase 'Christian soldier' is inaccurate when considering that a soldier engages in war-training.
2006-09-26 09:55:37 · answer #7 · answered by Yngona D 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I always felt religion was the path to what happened in 1984. Fundies drove them to that point, and it's going to happen again unless we continue to light the beacon of reason.
2006-09-26 09:55:36 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
If kindness is warfare, what is being hateful? OK? Makes no sense.
2006-09-26 09:55:10 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
You - dumb?!?! Never Darwin!
It's the others that label it "spiritual warefare" that are dumb not you
2006-09-26 09:54:54 · answer #10 · answered by ηιgнт ѕтαя 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋