While on the other hand they are selective of membership, discriminate against so called "sinners", and bash "non believers"? Isn't love supposed to be universal?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArFllS.r4IvYVMglLT47zCHzy6IX?qid=20070109040301AAXTfJE
this question clearly exhibits the various things I mentioned above.
2007-01-08 23:54:00 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Apparently, open thought isn't accepted either, judging from the responses I've recieved.
2007-01-09 00:06:23 · update #1
to Dewcoons:
"correct" the responses may be, you may wish to analyze the attitude or tone of voice of some of the responses.
2007-01-09 00:09:38 · update #2
I agree with you.
But not all are like that, you will find it is only the fundamentalists.
2007-01-08 23:57:36 · answer #1 · answered by A Lady Dragon 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes, we show love and compassion for others .... I have no idea what you mean by "selective of membership", the only condition to membership is that you be a Christian in my religion, we've never discriminated against sinners because we are ALL sinners, and I've never bashed a non-believer.
Is love supposed to be universal? Do you really know what love is and how hard it is to show love to people? If I don't tell someone that the road they are on will lead to destruction, I am not loving them very much am I. Sure, it hurts to have to hear it, but in the long run its better for them.
If my child runs into the street because she feels a sudden urge to do so, am I a loving mother if I just smile and wave and say "but she really wants this and it's not hurting anyone; maybe a car won't hit her"? No, sometimes loving people means you have to cause them a small hurt to save them from a big one. This is why we tell gay folk that the path they are on is a doomed one.
2007-01-09 08:08:16 · answer #2 · answered by arewethereyet 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
OUR MEMBERSHIP IS SELECTIVE
We do not allow anyone into membership unless they feel that God has spoken to them through the word or music and want to become a fellow believer in Jesus Christ and His Father in heaven.
WE DESCRIMINATE AGAINST SO CALLED "SINNERS"
We recognize man cannot please God if he is involved in sin.
We walk alongside a person who has a confessed sin, and try to help them to turn away from that sin. If they refuse to turn away from that sin, we may at some time in the future request they be removed from the fellowship.
That is rarely done.
Most members want to stop doing what displeases God.
WE BASH NON BELIEVERS
We try as best we can to tell non believers that they have a place in their being that only God can fill.
We tell them that life would be much better if they were to believe that Jesus died for their sins and let the Holy Spirit guide them in all that they do.
It has worked for the believer, why would it not work for the unbeliever if they would just give it a try.
WE DO NOT FORCE ANYONE TO ACCEPT CHRIST
We are encouragers, not pushers.
WHY WOULD WE WANT ANYONE TO BE A MEMBER IF THEY DID NOT BELIEVE ON GOD AND HIS SON JESUS THE CHRIST?
And why would they want to be a member if they did not put their faith in Jesus and His Father in heaven?
grace2u
2007-01-09 08:16:40 · answer #3 · answered by Theophilus 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As imperfect humans we fight imperfection with every breath. Yes there are people who judge, yes there are people discriminate. As one of Jehovha's Witnesses I can tell you that we do not discriminate. In fact the Kingdom Hall I was formerly in had a man who had been a transvestite. He began studying the Bible and on his own began to change. God's Word has GREAT POWER. I do not say this for cudoo's, but to show that we study the Bible with all who are interested in learning. Will we refrain from telling someone what the Bible says about Homosexuality? No, this is God's judgement, not ours. Do we claim to be perfect? No, we like everyone else on this planet make mistakes, but we strive to live good, clean, honest Christian lives that are pleasing to God. Yes love is universal, we love all people and as a group have no prejudice. Is there possibly someone in our organization the doesn't hold fast to that statement, probably, but Jehovah will handle that in his way, in his time.
2007-01-09 08:12:20 · answer #4 · answered by professor grey 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First..Do you honestly believe when a religious icon is insulted that there would not be a backlash.If you do time to take your head out of the sand!
Second. There is NO such thing as unconditional love. All have expectation of behavior All have the ability to stretch the relationship to where the people merely tolerate each other (if that much) Try going into your parents house destroying everything and killing a sibling even the greatest love would kick you out for the safety of the house.
2007-01-09 08:05:07 · answer #5 · answered by williamzo 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I don't really think most religions are that selective in their membership, mine certainly isn't. In Islam, black and white people pray together with no problems. Sin is sin, and we try to disassociate ourselves from it. Everyone sins, but unless you're open and bold about it, I don't think you're shunned. Religion has a spirit of brotherhood, or at least mine does. Love is supposed to be universal, but even family members get upset at their siblings for doing something wrong, it doesn't mean the love is gone.
2007-01-09 08:04:17 · answer #6 · answered by Sulayman 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That's what Jesus wanted to know right before he got mad and started throwing the makeshift mall off the temple grounds. Have you seen the T-shirt that says "Please God Save Me From Your Christians"? It's sad, but I don't think they read their own bible. They just go to church and sit dressed-up, waiting for 12:00 to go eat. Maybe if they took the Bible as a book and READ it they might feel the spirit, especially the words in red. There are so many versions of the New Testament now to choose from, no one has the excuse for not knowing what Jesus said. Live for Jesus, not what others do. Same for anyone, including you and me. It's God and you. Period. Don't deny God because other people are not doing what He told them to. That's no excuse. We are responsible for ourselves under the New Covenant in the New Testament. Free yourself. No excuses about others will help you. Blaming them won't bring you close enough to His spirit to feel and experience it for yourself. Face Him. Ask Him. Wait for the answer to come in a quiet, personal space so you can hear.
2007-01-09 08:11:28 · answer #7 · answered by Dovey 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
......Your right.......religion preach love and condone war................................So the question is , out of all the religions on earth, which one practise what it preaches.
Jesus said: “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.” (John 13:35) Such love reaches across racial, social, and national boundaries, drawing people together in genuine brotherhood. So strong is this love that it sets them apart as being truly different. When the nations go to war, who have enough love for their Christian brothers in other lands that they refuse to take up arms and kill them? That is what early Christians did.
Jesus said that his true followers would be “no part of the world.” (John 15:19) To worship God in a manner that he approves requires that we keep ourselves “without spot from the world.” (Jas. 1:27) Can that be said of those whose clergy and other members are involved in politics, or whose lives are largely built around materialistic and fleshly desires?—1Â John 2:15-17.
Jesus foretold: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:14) What religion is really proclaiming God’s Kingdom as the hope of mankind instead of encouraging people to look to human rulership to solve their problems? Has your religion equipped you to share in this activity, and to do it from house to house as Jesus taught his apostles to do?—Matt. 10:7, 11-13; Acts 5:42; 20:20.
2007-01-09 08:08:47 · answer #8 · answered by papa G 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I guess I am having a hard time seeing how this question shows discrimination against sinners and bashing non believers. It ask "was Jesus gay", and those who have actually read the Bible answers that correctly that it says he was not.
2007-01-09 08:07:58 · answer #9 · answered by dewcoons 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I can speak on behalf of Christianity. If anyone who calls themselves a Christian and does any of those things you listed, then they are not a true Christian. It's true that we are all human and make mistakes, but its people who do these terrible things while claiming to be religious that make faith look bad. Don't base your own belief on the actions of others. It's about your relationship with God, and that's it.
2007-01-09 08:15:13 · answer #10 · answered by Daninpa 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Love and compassion only has meaning if they are true and in the truth.
God loves everyone as all christians should do as well, but that does not mean we have to condone sinful behavior, like bank robbing for example.
2007-01-09 08:01:26 · answer #11 · answered by carl 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋