western religions more like a threat??

Question

since im more familiar with christianity i guess ill jus say christian teachings/beliefs.

isnt the be christian or burn idea more like a threat? i mean i know christians believe god gave people free will thus we can choose to believe in "god" or not. but isnt that really a sugar coated threat?? since the religion is pretty much saying you can either choose "life"[jesus] or death[no jesus]. no matter what i choose im screwed. if i choose jesus im not living by my own free will...since i just dont believe its real....but if i dont force jesus in my head i BURN.

isnt that the same thing as lets say.....you got involved with a mob and you made a deal with a mob and the deal is if you agree with this deal theyll give you protection, money, etc etc. but if you dont join thats fine too since its you choice...BUT....few years later the gangs going to GET YOU and KILL YOU.

to bahaus b:

uh...hows your example in anyway a threat??? did you read what i wrote??? think about it for more then 3 sec.

oh btw...dont try to educate me about christianity. my families christian and i once was christian. just when i was christian... for some reason i totally denied or didnt understand how it could be a threat when in reality it was and is.

Answer 1

it is a threat.

its time for people to stop believing in bronze age myths.

Answer 2

To those who don't see it as a threat, it rarely is. Sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn't.

The example someone posted of yelling because a car is racing towards an unsuspecting person is a great example. Now, if the person does not know the driver of the car, they yell because they truly believe they are acting independant of the threat. However, if the driver and the person know each other, and are working together, then the 'threat' is more akin to your mob example.

The real question, therein, is how 'culpable' are the people who are yelling out their 'threat'. Its purely a case-by-case basis. I honestly do not think Jesus wants people to be 'fear-directed' towards him, and I honestly doubt he wants fear-tactics used to persuade. That means that alot of his 'followers' are in for a rude awakening when Jesus sits down with them and asks them 'what have you done to your fellow human being?'

Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring/nurting of the sick is hardly the work of the 'mob', so one could easily say those who create 'fear' are signifying the fruits of their work. If you are afraid of Jesus/Christianity, it is definitely the fault of the messenger, not the sender.

Answer 3

Religions are always threat.
If you look back in history more wars were fought on religious grounds than any other reason and more people were killed in religious wars then any other wars.

There is nothing like eastern or western religion. All religion are created with same base that wants all people living in this world to come under one roof and support the leader irrespective of their beliefs.
If you believe some body Else's beliefs you surrender to that religion, and if you have your own beliefs you create your own religion.
There is more power (physical & financial) in a mob than a single person standing alone and that is why people tend to join the mob instead of standing on their own conviction.
You can hardy find a single person who will believe and practice cent percent the religion he or she believes, including the so called leaders.
The important thing is people do not hold on to religion more than they do on their own faith. It is the faith that you develop which holds you responsible, either it is in You or in God.
There is nothing wrong in writing your own bible of beliefs which will give you more strength then any other books in this world.
But of course you can take help from not one but numerous such Bibles and create your own.

And one more suggestion do not fight with the person who has blind faith instead of created faith.

I think my last statement is much more appropriate after I read Morganie_xo's reply.

Answer 4

I think you're looking at it from the wrong perspective.

God is not like the mob, he is our judge. That means that after we die, we appear before God and we are judged for how we have lived our lives. However, it isn't a matter of doing more good than bad, or being better than the majority of people. We will be judged based on God's standards of holiness. Have you ever lied? Stolen anything? Hated anyone in your heart? Have you ever lusted after someone?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, your conscience condemns you and warns you that if you do not get right with God, judgement awaits you.

However, you can't get right with God by being a better person or doing good things. The only way to get right with God is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

It's like if you're standing before a judge and you know you are guilty. The judge has declared that the fine for your crime is more money than you will ever have - more money than there is in all the world. You cannot pay, so the judge is about to send you off to prison, but instead of condemning you, he takes off his robe, comes down from the stand, opens his wallet, and pays your fine himself.

This is what Jesus did for you when he died on the cross. He is not offering you protection, but payment for the sins you have committed.

When you are judged by God you will have to give an answer for everything you ever did when you were alive, even everything you ever said. The only question is, will you make the payment for what you have done, or will you accept Jesus's death as the payment?

Answer 5

Interesting question.
Join Jesus or else? That is certianly one way of looking at it. But I must diagree and I will do my best to explain why.

Yes, as a Christian, we do believe that faith in Jesus saves us from hell. Now there are people who believe this for the sole purpose of escaping hell. They treat Christianity as a type of fire insurance, you might say. However, that is very shallow Christianity.

I mean, sure preacher talk about fire and brimstone, but really, what defines hell? By defintion, hell is the one place in the universe, where God is not. (And that to some that is the real torture.)

Christianity, you see, is all about a relationship with God. It would be analogous to a relationship with a friend. Its very simplistic to say, but basically, you would want to be roomates with a friend you like and you would not want to be roomates with someone you don't know, much less an enemy. Imagine heaven as being roomates forever with God.

Now, as humans, we all are naturally in a state of rebellion towards God. That is to say we want to do things our way and not His way. Never mind if His way might actually be better. We insist on doing things our own way, and thumbing our nose at him while we are at it. This is the natural state of things. (So we would make terrible roomates.)

God through Jesus offered forgiveness for our sins and asks that we repent from them. If we stop thumbing our noses at him and take his offer, then we become friends with God. Then on, we have to cultivate this friendship. After, all we will be spending eternity with him.

Now, briefly, you are right, you would be killing your own will in accepting Chistianity. Many scriptures speak to that point. But generally, the elment of the will that dies is the part that is in prideful rebellion to God.

I don't have time enough to give this questions the time it desearves. But I hope it helps.

You may want to read C.S. Lewis "The great divorce" It describes a bus that transits between heaven and hell. People from hell can visit heaven and decide to stay. Most people decide to go back to hell for one reason or another. C.S. Lewis doesn't believe that there is a literal bus, but uses it as a plot device to talk about the issues you brought up. It may be a good read.

Answer 6

Boy, this one really gets me fired up. It IS a threat. I spent most of my life with an abuser and it was EXACTLY like the Bible. Do as I say or else. If you follow his rules and things go bad its because you're being tested and if they dont then its because your following the rules. They both say love me and do as I say, like it or not, then you will die and be with me for eternity. Living with inner peace and believing in yourself is the only way to survive this life. I am a firm believer in the spirit world and reincarnation and this has nothing to do with god.

Answer 7

Consider this... You are standing in a street and you are unaware that a car is speeding towards you. I yell out to you and tell you to watch out for the car. Am I threatening you or trying to save you?

Answer 8

It's a threat which no longer applies to me. Now to get it to not apply to 2007...

you know, it would be much better to have options than to have only (ONLY) two ultimatums.

Answer 9

Ah, no.