What do you think about this view of Christianity?

Question

It doesn't matter if you are religious or not, atheist or theist, or whatever though I would like to hear from Christians For the record, I am an atheist. :)

I was having a discussion with a person at the office who is a Baptist. His belief is that Baptists are the true and original Christians. The others are not true Christians. In his view, any person who kills someone for any kind of gain (eg. Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanisthan) is not a Christian. Only those who passively submit to death, like Christ did, for the advancement of Christianity is a true Christian. Of course, the discussion went on for a while and there were lots of answers that he gave that was contradictory. One that he stated was that killing in self-defence is okay as long as it was not for Christianity. Huh? I respect his views even though none of it made any sense.

Thank you. :)

Whitehorse456 : That is a noble thought but do you think that you can do that in real life? If someone comes to kill you, for being a Christian, are you going to turn the other cheek? In theory, it sounds great but I don't think you are going to stand there and let yourself be killed without a fight.

J. : Thank you for the offer but I am not interested. I have read a lot of religious books and have made my own decisions and formed my own thoughts. I have no issues with what others want to believe and how they want to live their life. I respect their views, ideas, opinions and thoughts. As long as they do not hurt others through word or deed. To each their own. This whole discussion came about while discussing other issues. I just wanted to gain an understanding of what other Christians think. :)

Answer 1

It is true that the Anabaptists have been around a long time,which I assume is what he is referring to about Baptists- but I wouldn't call them the original Christians. The true original Christians were Jews. The form of baptism that the baptists use is most likely the correct version, because the word 'baptizo' means to immerse. This is why they think they are the 'true' Christians. But anyone who confesses Christ is Lord is considered a 'true' Christian. His view is a little biased, I'm afraid.

His view on the soldiers is found nowhere in scripture- that is purely a man's interpretation, and nor does he have the right to declare someone not a Christian by what he does. A person is a Christian because of their faith in Christ, not because of their actions. We are saved by faith, and not by works. Works has nothing to do with it.

God does not expect us to be rugs either, for our enemies to walk over. Logic dictates that if we allow ourselves to be passively killed just because someone wants to kill us, we would all be dead, and Christianity would disappear. When Christ said turn the other cheek, He meant that if someone chooses to insult you, don't retaliate. Let him insult you again, if he wants to. Our job is to pray for our enemies, not punch them out. But when it comes to protecting oneself from bodily harm, we have the right to do so, unless it means denying the Lord.
Sounds like this fellow has gotten a lot of man's opinion-teaching rather than scriptural foundation

Answer 2

I will tell you, I am a Baptist, but I really don't understand any of that you said. My personal opinions on those two topics are that dividing Christianity into groups defeats the purpose of being a Christian in the first place and that war can sometimes be neccessary. All throughtout the bible there are people fighting in wars and killing and are still just as Christian as the ones who didn't fight.

I as well respect the beliefs of others. I would love it if they would be Christian, but I forcing people to believe something they don't is wrong, no matter what televangelists say. I live in America, so I have the freedom of religion, and so does every other American. I have no right to take that from them.

Answer 3

None of the things this person told you have anything to do with becoming or continuing to be a Christian.

He is correct, though, that the essence of his baptistic beliefs are characteristic of the beliefs of the early church. Not that the early church was "Southern Baptist" or "American Baptist" but rather what the original church believed and taught was generally consistent with general baptist doctrine.

As such, Baptists are not protestants. They did not come out of the Catholic church. People who believed as modern Baptists do were there before the Catholic church started, and were there for the 1200 years or so the Catholic church was around before the protestant reformation.

The Baptists and those who had baptistic beliefs were persecuted by the Catholics and later by the protestants. They pre-date Catholicism.

However, this talk about soldiers not being Christians is nonsense.

Answer 4

Without close study, the Bible can seem to give conflicting instructions on this subject. There are numerous passages that speak of Christians being pacifistic (Proverbs 25:21,22; Matthew 5:39; Romans 12:17). And yet there are many passages that talk about war and violence that God approves of. Such as David slaying Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Not to mention the fact that God commanded the Israelites to completely destroy everyone and everything in the promised land! So what is the conclusion? Is God for violence or not?

As with many questions in our lives, I believe it all has to do with wisdom, understanding, and tact. For instance, in the Luke 22 passage stated above in the question, Jesus does tell his disciples to get a sword. Jesus knew that now was the time when Jesus would be threatened (and later killed) and his followers would be threatened as well. Jesus was giving approval of the fact that one has the right to defend himself. Now just a few verses later we see Jesus being arrested and Peter takes a sword and cuts off someone’s ear. Jesus rebukes him for that act. Why? Peter was trying to stop something that Jesus had been telling His disciples was in fact going to happen. In other words, Peter was acting unwisely in the situation. He was trying to stop something that was not supposed to be stopped. We must be wise when to fight and when not to.

As far as fighting when one’s life or property is threatened, there is not a whole lot in the Bible concerning this. Exodus 22 does show quite a bit about God’s attitude towards self-defense. Let’s look at Exodus 22:2-3. "If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed. A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft.” Obviously here we see that when a thief breaks into someone’s house at night and that person defends his home and slays the thief, God does not hold that death over the defender’s head. However, God does not wish for anyone to take law into his or her own hands. This is why it is said that if a thief is struck down during the daylight the defender is guilty of bloodshed. Now this is speaking of thievery not an attack, I would believe that if the thief were to attack the defender even during the day, that man would be justified to defend himself.

It all has to do with wisdom, understanding, and tact. In my karate class one of our principles is this: “Restrain your physical abilities by spiritual attainment”. This is a fancy way of saying that since one has the ability to bring great harm doesn’t mean he or she needs to use it. Just because I can break someone’s arm, doesn’t mean I need to use that ability. Just because we have a gun doesn’t mean we need to fire on someone who breaks into the home.

Answer 5

The Baptists of today were orignally called Anabaptists and took their name from John the Baptist. They were persecuted by the Catholics which explains why there are still hard feelings between them. There are several different versions of Baptists and many of them have moved away from their first love, and follow man made rules instead of Gods. As for his beliefs of soldiers ask him to show you chapter and verse from the Bible that states his beliefs my guess is he won't be able to because it doesn't exsist. God calls some people to be warriors that carry guns and acctually kill the enemy, Michael the archangel is a warrior angel.
And true christians are those who profess that Jesus Christ is Lord, the one true son of God, born to a virgin mother, died on a cross, was buried and raised on the third day, and is at the right hand of God. He is returning one day soon for his bride the church which is not a denomination but the people who believe the above, and follow and do the will of the Father.

Answer 6

This view of Christianity is not biblical.

In the NIV, Exodus 20:13 You shall not murder. The Hebrew word ratsach H7523 is murder not kill. So you person at the office is incorrect regarding "true" Christians. True Christians do not murder; they may need to kill.

The real Christian restriction can be found in 1 Cor 10:23-24.

Answer: If you are interested in Christianity, I can recommend a good book to read.

Answer 7

Hello,
I personally believe that he is wrong in his beliefs but I am certain that I do not know everything that there is to know either. I have been a Christian for over twenty years. I read and study GOD'S WORD each and every day when I am able to do so. I hope to be in Heaven when the time comes but I am not a Baptist and I do not believe that the doctrine is without the creeds of man. I follow only the New Testament scriptures. Have a great week.
Thanks,
Eds


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Answer 8

I am a born-again Christian, and a Baptist, and I can tell you that what he believes in is not supported by the majority of Baptists.

Then I would ask him what to do with this passage Luke 22:33-38.

There Jesus clearly tells his disciples to buy swords, most likely for protection, but even Paul states in one of his Epistles, which one escapes me at present time, that soldiers should stay soldiers and not leave their position simply because of their faith.

I believe that he is well-intended if not mis-informed of what Scripture says. Perhaps they are his personal views, but if he is saying that his views are what Scripture says then he is flat wrong.

Answer 9

He is misguided. The first church was Catholic the first believers were Christians. A true Christian is one who believes Christ died on the cross for our sins so that we can have a way to speak to the father(God) We do this by personal invitation(inviting Christ into our lives) When we do this the holy spirit begins to speak to us. It has nothing to do with being baptist Catholic or any other denomination its Jesus!.God hates killing but does not prohibit in just causes Men have free will to choose war to choose hate to choose murder these things are not of God but of men. If more would submit to his spirit there would be fewer of all! You are awesome in accepting his thinking he who seeks finds God Bless

Answer 10

one of many misconceptions associated with this faith! there are many of GODS people scattered in all religions who really believe what they say but GOD alone is the judge of all things.i do not subscribe to the fantasy "once saved ,always saved" no way!!!! you can turn back into a liar,thief,adulterer,murderer,homosexual,drunk,drug addict or any number of sin that separates you from GOD and unless you repent and ask for forgiveness and sin no more you will die the second death in the lake of fire!the bible was written to be understood,do not be deceived!!! read the king James version of the holy bible.nothing else in this world is more important than your personal knowledge of and relationship with GOD! AMEN!