My friend is bugging me about church!!!?

Question

I have a friend at school that keeps calling me a sinner and he says im going to hell for some things that I do, and the worst I've done is cussed. He goes to the "Church of Christ" and from what I understand, they are hypocrits, and they think everything that they do is right. How do I deal with this guy? Is there any bible verses that I could put him down with?? Well thank you for your help.

Answer 1

Hmm, not much of a friend, then, is he?

Unfortunately, religion gains converts through childhood indoctrination and emotional manipulation. Since you aren't a child anymore, you're being submitted to the emotional manipulation. He's using your friendship to get you into church, so that you can be pressured further. You can hardly even blame him, because he's probably been indoctrinated since childhood. He's doing what his church is telling him to do. From his point of view (which was given to him by the church), your immortal soul is in jeopardy and the end justifies the means if he can coerce you into being a Christian.

The only way to deal with guys like this is to try to softly reason with him. To do this, you have to become familiar with his arguments, then learn ways to respond to his queries. Eventually, he'll realize that you're not converting. Then he'll probably be told not to be "unequally yoked" or "throw pearls before swine" and leave you alone.

Of course, if you need any suggestions for responses to specific questions, you can always find them here.

Answer 2

Well hey you can do some reaserch about hell, I have done extended research, and quess what Hell is mans commin grave, if your barried 6ft. under then thats hell, if your thrown in the sea that hell, its where your dead body decomposes, people think the soul and the body are seperate,but in the Bible it says this Ecclesiastes 9:5, For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten,
Tell him that your not going to hell, and he is imperfect too, that he is being judgement and not encouraging.
Next time he says anything that affends you , I would say this to him " Are you not a sinner? because, I thought that we were all imperfect, and that we should not be boastful, but know that we sin as well, and stop cursing infront of him don't give him a reason to judge you" either way he is a sinner too, maybe he thinks he scaring you into doing good. Lol

Answer 3

If you want a Bible verse to "put him down", then you are misusing the Bible. He may not have the proper attitude, but that is not the proper attitude either.

We should "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15). Sometimes this is a difficult balance to maintain. We should not compromise either truth or love.

If indeed you are in sin, and if your friend recognizes that, then he would not love you very much if he did not warn you!

Perhaps he means well, and he conveys the truth, but he has not expressed love effectively!

Don't reject his words until you investigate them! Make him show you from the Bible what he is trying to tell you! If the Bible teaches the things he is saying, accept it! If the Bible does not teach his doctrine, reject it!

Don't get into an argument with him. This might cost you a friend. Don't be to quick to reject what he says. If he is speaking the truth, and you reject it, it may cost you your soul.

Answer 4

When he tells you you're a sinner, is it in a condemning tone or a loving tone? The Gospel is about God's love for us. (In fact, that's the very core of God, the Bible, AND Biblical morality.) If a church completely misses this, DON'T GO. It is better to read a Bible alone in your house and let God speak to you PERSONALLY instead of going to a a large "God-loving" social club.

I recomend an Amplified Bible (my favorite version). It gives all the possible conataions, denotations, and alternate meanings of the words. But please, don't make judgements about God without reading entire Bible first. Look at the whole picuture first and them comment. (I suggest 3 chapters a day starting with the New Testament. At this pace, you'll finish in a year. I have.) Large, dogmatic, hypocritical, insitutionalized religion doen't save. Loving God and being personal with Him does. Take care. God bless.

Answer 5

No, you may memorize the Bible in Greek if you wish but it really won't work to quote any to him. I know someone like that who says, "I wouldn't do that, I'm Christian, the Bible says..., verse this says that, blah, blah, blah".
As a Christian myself I find it very insulting. People like that can't pee w/out thinking about what the Bible said. I am a member of the Church of England and do not believe that you sinned. He may be snitting because of the 10 commandments, but they say you shall not take the LORD'S name in vain (G-dammit, etc) they don't say "also don't say any other nasty words".
This guy you are talking about sounds just like a guy I worked with. In the course of conversation I mentioned that I have epilepsy. He then went on about me having "the devil living in me" and I needed to go HIS church for help (also Church of Christ as I remember). I told him the doctors and medicine God sent me do just fine, thank you.
Last you may want to point out what hubris (let him look it up) it is for him to assume that he knows what God thinks of you. The Bible is there for guidance, not to thump others on the head with. IMHO he sucks as a Christian by telling you that stuff (insert profanity here and let him know about it).
Live your life and be kind to others, obey the laws, etc. If you do something that really pisses God off he'll let you know Himself. He doesn't need intermediaries.

Good luck and please believe that his kind do represent all Christians. That attitude kept away from God and the church until I was 27 years old but then found my comfort with the Church of England. May you find yours.

Answer 6

A so-called friend who would do that is no friend at all. I personally would drop him like a hot potato. If he really wants to keep the friendship going and you value him as a friend you might want to consider talking to him about how if he's your friend he will respect your right to make your own decisions about your life and spirituality even if he doesn't agree with how you go about things, and then you might agree to never bring up the topic of religion. Don't try to put him down or argue his religion down...that kind of stuff only eggs people like him on more because A) no one likes having their personal choices, such as religion put down. You don't like him putting you down about your choices, don't do the same to him and B) Fundies like that tend to see any challenges made towards their faith as a sign that they are getting to you, which is want they want, and it also proves their point in their eyes, that being that anyone not of their faith is a moralless troll who seeks to be the enemies of their faith.

If you really want to use a verse you might want to use the old standby "Judge not lest you be judged", but unfortunetely that rarely works. Reminding them that it's not their place to judge people for their sins but God's tends to work even less.

So just talk to him, tell him how you feel, tell him to back off and do a "agree to disagree" kind of thing and agree to never discuss religion. If he refuses then I suggest just dropping him. A friend that doesn't respect your boundaries is no friend at all.

Answer 7

If you don't want to go, then just say NO! If he keeps on, then explain to him that he is damaging your friendship.

Don't try to "put him down." What good will that do. It turns you into the hypocrite to use scripture to belittle someone else. And name me one religion that doesn't think that everything they believe is right. If they didn't, what would be the point.

Answer 8

Yea that's a horrible way of getting somebody to church. He is the guy that give Christians a bad name. I don't agree at all what so ever.

Tell him that if he is free with out sin then he can cast the first stone. (Jesus said that to men who were about to stone Mary Magdelene, because of her choice of lifestyle)

Tell him that he shouldn't judge because Mathew 7 tells him not to judge.

When you are ready to explore Christianity it needs to be on your own terms and when you feel like you should.... many of my friends who were non-believers would come up and ask me about church, I let them bring up the subject.. i don't force it on them.
Plus he is obviously not a friend if he keeps judging and saying those mean things about you, I would make that clear to him as well.

Answer 9

I am a "lapsed" catholic. Your 'friend' has forgotten that jesus spent his time with the 'outcast' and the "sinner" , people went to see him, not the other way around. There's tons of bible's online, good quote deals with mary magdelene "let ye who is without sin cast the first stone"
Personally, I've gone home, back to my culture. My true religion, not the one imported from the place they say today is filled with terrorist. Remind him, that TODAY jesus would be on a watch list or in gitmo.

Answer 10

We're all sinners and fall short of the glory of God, and your freinds is wrong for calling you a sinner, because he's one himself.
On that note, you do need to go to church. God provides grace in that whoever believes in him may have everlasting life. Going to church isn't enough though. You have to accept Jesus into your heart and become a born-again believer. Because if you don't, you will go to hell, and you don't want to be there.
EDIT: Church of Christ = Mormons? Don't go with that, he's on the wrong end of the stick also. Go to like, actual Christian Church.