What is your take on this quotation?

Question

I was chatting with one of my Christian friends and he made a comment that got me going, “hmmmmm”.

He said, “The strongest argument against the Christian faith is the lives of Christians. At the same time one of the strongest arguments for the Christian faith is also the lives of Christians.”

What do you think?

By the by: If you can’t be respectful go answer someone else’s question. Thanks much.

Answer 1

I like it. And I think it should be true of every religion.

I view religions as various paths to the same goal. And if someone is claiming to follow a particular path to God, and yet does not live a good life, then that reflects badly on his path. And vice versa.

Answer 2

Part of your friends comment was true. You can tell how God can change lives by viewing the TRUE Christians. Not everyone using the title is a Christian. Many want only the blessings of God, but do not want to obey God. They arent true Christians. God tells us we will follow Him and obey Him, notjust love Him, if we are truly His. He tells us obedience brings blessing and disobedience brings curse, several times in the BIble, His Holy Word, His love letter to US. amen. So, when someone is truly Christian, and allows God to come in and change them, we can all see just what God can do with a person, so this is a very true statement.
The other statement is a bit off, unless you once again use the true meaning of the term Christian.
If one watches people calling themselves Christian, and they see nothing but the same old ugly desires, of the world, then they are sayiing " see they are no different than athiest are" But, they come to the wrong conclusion, because the ones that they are watching are not True Christians. If they are watching true Christians, they will see daily change. and know that Christians are different. We still arent perfect, as we too are growing and learning all the time. No one is perfect except God. But, when we walk in obedience to Jeus, keep the faith, and be in a spirit of prayer and study, God is able to change us, one day at a time. So never look at Christians and expect perfection. The devil tempts us all, and only those walking in obedience with God, will be able to see that it is of the devil and resist the devil. But, when we are doing this, God forgives us. He loves us so much, and doesnt give up on us easy. Some people say believe in God is only a crutch. NO. But, its sure nice to have God to lean on . and without Him, we can do nothing. I loved your question. Anything that makes us think is always a good thing. God bless you.

Answer 3

True. Most of the Christians I know live in a way that I think would make Christ proud. They are selfless, non-judgmental, and hard-working. But the other side of the coin is that many of the Christians I see seem to think that they deserve to have God's blessings just to themselves, and can be spiteful and unpleasant when they feel threatened by other Christians or other religions. They seem to think that because they have "accepted Jesus as their personal savior" that they can act in any way they want, and treat others badly. Because they are "saved". There's a big dicotomy in the churches somewhere. It'd be interesting to see where it came from. How can people who claim to believe the same thing be so different in their perception of that belief?

Answer 4

Classically speaking this quote is reflective of the lives people lead. One is the life of the person who proclaims they are "Christian" while the other refers to those who simply are "Christian".

Here is the difference. People who proclaim their Christianity often times say one thing and then do another. These are the hypocrites...they ones who use their dogma as a place of self-justification for immorality. It is a place to hide.

The folks who simply are christian do not proclaim it..the simply live it. They spread the Word by action and true-ness of heart. They do not self-justify and they do not use dogma, but simply take Word and make the world better by faith and acceptance of humanity.

The difficulty is figuring out which is which..but be careful in your judgment in others because when you find inequity in others you best examine yourself first.

Answer 5

Interesting paradoxical question.
I think that the question give us insight into the falability of humans and an example of God's gift of free will. Christians ,like myself, are not without sin nor is anyone for that matter so it stands to reason that our sinful lives can lead another to think that the Christian existence is in contradiction with its message. In short, Christians have not always been the stellar followers of Jesus as we had hoped and that reputation has tainted our standing in the worlds' eye; however, there has been much good done by Christians that has been in the name of Jesus. Christians are their own worst enemy.

Answer 6

That quote speaks volumes about Christians themselves (and yes, I am Christian).

There are Christians who behave in less-than-desirable ways, but we need to realize that they are human and they are not perfect. Non-Christians and even some fellow believers tend to be judgemental in this aspect (in the sense that they judge the "misbehaving" Christians). And there are Christians who lead wonderful lives (Mother Theresa and Billy Graham to name a couple) that people consider to be the epitome of Christian behavior.

Your friend has an exellent point.

Answer 7

I believe what he was trying to tell you, is that Christains tend to hold each other together, support one another, pray and hold one another, help each other out when things might not be so good. Some people think of this as clanish. That if you don't accept their ways, you are evil and going to hell. This really is not so, but some feel intimidated by Christain faith, usually because they think there are so many rules to follow, and many think Christains are arrogant. It is merely confindence though. The belief in Christ is so strong, that folks who have questions about God can't understand the strength Christains have in their beliefs. Hope this helps you.

Answer 8

I have found that the largest reason for that is the teaching of the Theology concerning once saved always saved taught by some denominations, a doctrine that I do not agree with.
They are taught though not directly, that once saved they cannot forfeit their salvation, that very doctrine makes people believe that they have a "License to sin" even though those who do believe and preach that will say other wise.

http://www.jesusfamilies.org/Articles/ForfeitSalvation.htm
To learn more about this go to
www.jesusfamilies.org and scroll down to interesting topics and click on the article Can a Christian lose their salvation, or stated more accurately can he forfeit it.

Answer 9

The strongest argument against the Christian faith is the rational consideration of history and science. The strongest argument in favor of the Christian faith . . . is faith. Hmm, decisions.

Answer 10

THE history of Christendom, with its wars, inquisitions, crusades, and religious hypocrisy, has not helped the cause of Christianity. Devout Muslims and others point to the moral corruption and decadence of the Western, “Christian” world as a basis for rejecting Christianity. Indeed, the so-called Christian nations have lost their moral rudder and have suffered shipwreck on the rocks of faithlessness, greed, and self-indulgence.

That the standards of original Christianity were different from the permissive mores of today is attested to by Professor Elaine Pagels in her book Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, wherein she states: “Many Christians of the first four centuries took pride in their sexual restraint; they eschewed polygamy and often divorce as well, which Jewish tradition allowed; and they repudiated extramarital sexual practices commonly accepted among their pagan contemporaries, practices including prostitution and homosexuality.”

Therefore, it is fair to ask, Is Christendom’s history and its modern moral state a true reflection of the teachings of Jesus Christ?

To gain faith we need a meek and teachable heart attitude. Our faith is not in men or in the wisdom of men, for this is far surpassed by the limitless knowledge of our Creator. No wonder the Bible says that the wisdom of the world is foolishness in the sight of God. Faith comes, not through such human wisdom, but by a study of the Bible, God’s Word of truth. This is the foundation of true faith. However, knowledge in itself does not necessarily give a person faith. It must be supplemented with understanding that comes through God’s organization and by means of His spirit. (1 Cor. 2:9, 10)