Is Christianity a belief that attracts mainly people that are down on their luck, in bad situations in their..

Question

life, near poverty, and looking for a better way of life? I mean how many people that are doing really good in life say "hmm I think I will check out this Christianity thing"? I am a Christian and I ask myself questions like this a lot. For the first 15-20 years after Jesus most of the Christians were Jewish converts who were tired of being oppressed by the religion of Judaism and the Roman Empire. Even Constantine was facing hard times in battle when decided to change beliefs and take on the Christian faith. He believed the Christian God would give him success in Battle. What are your thoughts on this?

Take into consideration I am excluding those like myself that was taught this belief as a young child because my parents were Christians.

Answer 1

Some may be drawn to God when they're in a bad situation, but sometimes I see the opposite. People who turn away from God or mistakenly blame Him for something bad in their lives. Either way, God is their best Hope.

Answer 2

I do believe that many people come to God broken because they realize that nothing of this world can help them. In a sense they have a God shaped void inside. I for one was taught about God my whole life but I didnt care about Him until I was 13. I wasnt having any bad times. I simply thought there was something more to life so I just followed God. No thundering voice from the sky or anything. Ever since it has been a an uphill battle. I have gone through things in my life but I still believe what I believe and I honestly cant live without him even if I try. And believe me I tried for a whole year. I did the atheist thing and it didnt work for me. Anyways I think people turn to God for different reason not just by birth or broken spirit. Those are my thoughts.

Answer 3

Recall the parables of the treasure in the field, and the pearl of great price? In both cases, each man sold all they had to obtain the desired item. One, however, was actively searching for it, the other simply found it.
By this, we can confidently say that some search for God, others run across Him and find Him.
I personally was not down and out. I sought Him out.
Now, about Constantine, you might like to know, or maybe not! that Constantine was looking to build an army. He claimed to be Christian so he could tap the group known as Christians for volunteers.
The debate goes on about his genuine conversion, but based on some historical facts, it is safe to say he was a politician...played whoever to get whatever.

Answer 4

Early Christianity attracted all types of people from nearly illiterate fishermen like Peter to the most highly educated men of the day, like Paul. Ever since, it has been the same, though you may notice that certain denominations attract certain types so they tend to self segregate for some reason. Still, you can find the intellectual and the dullard sitting side by side on a pew on any given Sunday. Celsus is not the final word. Plenty of people on this forum will say exactly the same thing about Christianity out of spite and hate. He was no different.

Answer 5

Those who are well off think they have no need of God in many cases. They are comfortable, well fed, drive nice cars, eat the best food, and are rarely challenged or threatened by anyone. "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven."

There are exceptions. J. C. Penny was one of them. He got saved and invested a lot of money in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and was active in Christian work. I believe that in his will He made ongoing concessions to see that this work would continue after he died.

Another man was R. G. Latourneau who was the leading manufacturer of earth moving equipment. He gave 10% of his income to the gospel, then 20, then 30 and finally ended up giving 90% and keeping only 10 percent for himself and his family. He traveled extensivly preaching and teaching the gospel and built a Christian school and distributed millions of gospel tracts during his lifetime through his business and other means.

There are others, of course, but that should suffice to answer your question. It is still an individual choice that everyone will make whether rich or poor. God is a very personal God and loves everyone of us as if there were only one of us.

Answer 6

I know that depending on where you live and your actual experience it may seem like only the down trodden come to Jesus. Let us take a look at the Bible to see if this is true? Matthew a tax collector had money, Peter ran his own fishing business, Saul whose name was changed to Paul was very wealthy so much so that he went to the best schools and had a great education. He actually started out to destroy Christianity until he met God himself on the road to Damascus. So even though it may seem like religion is only for the poor or down on their luck type people, this is not the evidence in scripture nor in life. Look at Tony Dungy coach of the colts and Dwight Howard center for the Orlando Magic, they are not down on their luck but they still know that Jesus is the only way for them. I also would encourage any non-believer to go to the library or purchase a book called "More than a Carpenter's Son" By author Josh Mcdowell to see if this answer any of their questions. God Bless

Answer 7

My mother has always said that when you are at your lowest there is no where to look but up. God calls us all in different ways. For some of us God had to allow us to go through difficult times so that we have a testimony for those who will be in situations like us. For others He has a different calling. If the outcome is the same then does it really matter under what circumstances we get to Him?

Answer 8

Everyone needs Christ, whether your having a hard time with life or your on top of the world. It is out of love for him and the fact that he loves us which makes all situations in life beautifull. We should live "as though" we are attached to Christ and detached from the world. Read Fr.Robert Barrons sermons on detachment.

I hear what you are saying in the fact that when times get hard we turn to Christ. He is there to carry us in those hard times with his unconditional love. It's all throughout the Gospels where people come to Jesus that are hurt and Jesus heals them. Everyone has something they can bring to Jesus and He can heal them.

http://wordonfire.org/ you might be able to find it in his archives. God Bless You!

Answer 9

The whole planet will get destroyed at some stage. Remember the apocalypse....! People dont want to be kind to each other. Remember ten commandments....! Thats the whole story, love each other and love Jesus, the rest simply is not logical. Christianity is sooooo logical, almost a math course but not all people are good in maths.

Answer 10

Absolutely not! God calls to all of us, many choose not to hear. How many people wonder if this is all there is to life and what about its purpose? Jesus gives us hope for a future and promises of an eternal life that no human can ever imagine. We praise God when things are great and you praise him during a storm in your life. He is the center of my life and, I pray, yours as well.