Christians, in your opinion, what is the greatest Christian myth?

Question

And before any atheists answer, please don't say "The existence of God" or "The Bible".

Thanks in advance to all who answer. May God bless you.

Good answer, piano_kath.

American -

Hi there. With all due respect my friend, I think that you've missed the point of my Q.

Please take a look at piano_kath's answer and you might have a better idea of what I was driving at. I certainly wasn't implying that any of the Bible or the fundamental doctrines of BIBLICAL Christian faith are in the myth category.

Blessings to you.

Machaira, Lance, pastorart1974 -

All good answers !

Katy S -

Some interesting points.

Re "Gay" people - I hate homosexuality, but not homosexuals.

I'm no better than anyone else, but (by God's grace) IN CHRIST I'm in a better position (forgiven of my sins, and not under God's condemnation & wrath!)

Forcing my beliefs on others - A total waste of my time AND theirs. Only want to speak to people who have ears to hear (see John 6:44).

That we are stupid - With all due respect, I would have to disagree with this one. There are many SAVED but often STUPID Christians. At times, I fall into that category !

Bless you.

happygirl -

A decent answer. But we can't do it in our own strength, can we ?

johnus maximus1 -

Actually, Jesus refers to Himself as "the First and the Last" in Revelation 1:17 and Yahweh/Jehovah calls Himself the same in Isaiah 44:6.

So how can Jesus not be God ?

Sophie -

I agree with you on praying to saints and "Mary".

STRONGLY disagree with you on your anti "once saved, always saved" point.

Kanakalele, KnK 724 -

Decent answers.

Lord's Armor -

Some good points made, thank you.

You're right Hopey, man is NOT the first cause in his salvation. He can't even believe in Christ & come to God apart from divine initiative & influence.
John 6:44, Ephesians 2:1 - 10, etc. you know the scriptures, sis.
Bless you !

Some very good answers - thank you.

Some valid points made which, with all due respect, probably belong more in the category of heresy (i.e. an outright contradiction of fundamental biblical doctrine) rather than myth (which I see as a lesser untruth not necessarily directly contradicting scripture). Perhaps I should have phrased my question better, apologies.

I'd like to leave you with one of my favourites - That God is portrayed as a vengeful, God of wrath exclusively in the Old Testament & He's all grace, mercy & love in the New. No mention of the lake of fire in the Old, for starters...

I chose the following as best answer because it is indeed a Christian myth which I can especially relate to at this stage of my walk with the Lord...

Blessings.

Answer 1

That your life will be better/easier/more fun once you commit it to God.

Heads up guys - THAT'S NOT THE POINT!!!!

EDIT: why thankyou! I've struggled against this one my whole life...

Answer 2

The greatest Christian myth is that being a Christian means saying a prayer and then living any way you like. One can't read the New Testament without seeing that God is calling us to changed lives--the kind that can change the world for the better. Anyone who reads the book of John can see that Jesus taught his followers to love and serve those around them, not to get a good job, make a lot of money, and live in a comfy house until we die and go to heaven.

Blessings.

Answer 3

Wow there are so many.

Good people go to Heaven and Bad people go to Hell.

God only helps those who help themselves.

We are all God's children.

Purgatory

Baptism gets you into Heaven.

There is so many more but I want to give others a chance.

Remember the ultimate authority is not man's traditions But God's Word.

2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

God Bless You.

Answer 4

I'm not being cynical but the entire religion is a myth. All religions are. That does not mean that God does not exist. Just that organized religions were created by man, not God. I don't care how holy that dude at the Vatican with the pointy hat is. He does not have a direct line to God he can call everyday to get the latest scoop on what's going on in heaven. All of the books of the bible are derived from dreams and stories (myths) therefore the entire religion is a myth.
Think about it, the stories about Jesus were written about 500 years after he died. 500 years! What's the likelihood that is an eyewitness account? The bible uses stories to teach moral lessons. It is not meant to be taken literally the way ignorant Jesus freaks do.

Answer 5

I wouldn't call the writtings in the bible a myth. But I think homosexuality. Some of the dearest friends I have are christians and are gay. They have tried everything NOT to be gay and they just cant it makes no sense how someone can be a devoted christian and great person all around that would choose something they believed was wrong. I think its a natural thing. I dont think its wrong and I think that part of the bible is a bit outdated. Some of the things I read in the old testament are pretty mind boggling to me also!

Answer 6

I think the greatest myth embraced by many Christians is that any one denomination has all the answers at the exclusion of all others.

Collectively as a generalized group, we have a history of letting the trappings of our faith obscure the Object of our faith.

Answer 7

That Jesus is God. How many times does the Bible refer to Jesus as God's SON.

It's not that hard to understand. God's "Son", child, offspring, begotten-one (John 3:16). Nowhere does the Bible refer to Jesus as God the Son. It only refers to him as the Son of God. Jesus referred to the Father as "my God" (John 20:17; Matthew 27:46) Does God have a God? Jesus also said that the Father was greater than he is (John 14:28)

Answer 8

I was a Christian for over 40 years. Now I doubt a lot of doctrinal things the church teaches, although it is good at teaching kindness toward others.

The biggest myth I see is that it was God's plan for Jesus to be tortured and killed and that Jesus' death was good for us.

The bible clearly - and rightly - teaches that murder is wrong. But then how can the murder of Jesus produce salvation? That means that Christians derive the joy of their salvation from a hateful, sinful event (murder) condemned by the bible.

I think we're saved simply because God loves us and knows that we function better when we're not under the constant burden of guilt. If he really needed someone (Jesus) to be tortured brutally, he wouldn't be as forgiving as he's cracked up to be.

Answer 9

Great question Carl-
One prevalent misconception about Christianity that I've seen is the teaching that man is first cause in his salvation;
i.e. that praying a prayer or making the right "decision" for Christ causes one to be born again.

Answer 10

I like the Apocrypha, especially the Wisdom of Ben Sira. I think that's the one where Jeremiah gets stuck in a bathtub.

Answer 11

I think the greatest Christian myth is that the "original sin" that Eve committed was to eat some piece of fruit from a fruit tree. It is very clear that the tree of knowledge of good and evil was present in the garden IN ADDITION to all the trees that grew edible fruit. It is also clear both Adam and Eve covered their sex organs to hide them from God after the sin took place. It is also clear that God multiplied Eve's conception. It is also clear that Eve's error in repeating God's instruction included the addition of neither shall ye touch. Do we think ourselves so holy that we have to censor the word? Do we think that our children can't handle truth about sex? Do we really think that God would put an apple tree in the garden, tell them they can't eat the apples, and then kick them out because they ate one? Why would he do that????? What would be the point?????