If acceptance is critical to love, why do people trying to convert me to christianity often say they are doing

Question

it because they love me?

Does anybody else see the disconnect?

See my last question for some context:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=As2NOGACtgZHJlXaOhrU.eXd7BR.?qid=20070808182855AAs3Ffa

I notice how in the two answers saying it really is love, non-christians are equeated with little blue bunnies and children.

Answer 1

well .. i love you ... you dont see me trying to convert you do ya ...

Answer 2

i see where that can seem a paradox. i think christians who do this genuinely do accept you no matter WHAT you believe....but their love compels them to share with you what, to them, is the definition of love. To Christians, Jesus IS love. As a Christian, I know and accept and LOVE many non-christians.....and I will accept them for who they are no matter what they believe. But it will never stop me from sharing Christ's love at every chance I get. To me, the definition of being a true Believer is really about striving to live as Christ did...and that means love and acceptance WITHOUT judgement or conditions. We are imperfect humans, so we don't always get it right. I can be mean and judgemental. I can be snooty in my faith and say things that are hurtful and rude while in the same breath INSIST God loves you! I can see how non-Believers like yourself would be a little puzzled by this. The answer is, we are human...we don't get it right all the time but we like to think Jesus is working in our lives...it's a daily thing.

Answer 3

Your if-then statement has a "false" value because your premise is mistaken. Love isn't about acceptance. "Like" is about acceptance. Love is a decision you make - like a parent with their child. You always love your child, but you certainly don't like them when they are acting horrible, or doing drugs, or ruining their life in some other way. You don't accept what they are doing, but you still love them. God is the same way. He loves us, because He is our parent. But that doesn't mean he has to like us when we are disobedient and defiant and are ruining our lives or throwing away our future with both hands. So the only disconnect is the mistaken premise of the question. Love and acceptance are not synonyms.

Answer 4

They think it's love. Actually they just want everybody to think as they do.

Going over the responses here, I could not have a friend as a christian, always bugging me about my faith. I would not want to be around them. I have made my decision and I will live how I see fit. As I long as I'm being a good person you can't say squat. People like that just wouldn't be my friends.

Answer 5

I cannot subscribe to the idea that acceptance of another person is key to "love." I see love as desiring the best thing for the beloved, regardless of the consequences. Loving my drug addicted brother meant telling him to abandon his behavior, not accepting it in order to give him the warm fuzzies. If your child was playing in a busy street, would you accept this? Why should we be silent when someone is playing in the street called sin? Eventually, that one will be run over and wind up in hell. As another illustration, would you accept a Stradivarius violin covered in dung? I would accept the violin since it is incredibly valuable, but I would reject the dung as this devalues and degrades the instrument.

Acceptance, in another sense IS critical: we must accept your intrinsic value, worth and beauty as a human being.

There is no real disconnect, understood properly.

Answer 6

no disconnect. it's not you that is not being accepted. it's the path of destruction you walk on.

if you're a little blue bunny and you love being a little blue bunny - that's just peachy.

but if you're a little blue bunny who is hopping madly down the path right into freeway traffic, it would be heartless not to at least say *wait, don't go that wa....way....*

Answer 7

Because they've been INSTRUCTED to do it by their great big sky bully. The sky bully tells them that we're being deceived by Satan, so acceptance isn't an option in this case. They're "cleansing" us.

In other words, they've deferred logic and reason to obedience.

Answer 8

You can love someone and not agree with thier actions or point of view. The Bible tells us that of all of the gifts God gave us the greatest is love.

Answer 9

The word "love" is thrown around a lot. You know who truly loves you and who doesn't---be yourself and tell everyone else to go jump in the lake---Blessings!

Answer 10

It is because they love you, and they don't want you to be sent to Eternal Hell, where the flesh is ripped asunder, the "body" burned with fire and brimstone, and the "worm never dieith"

Answer 11

I think god disconnected the christian mind centuries ago.