Close-minded Christians?

[trini_gsr]

The fact that there are many other gods is no surprise. The reasoning that because a religion exists therefore it is valid is also flawed. The fact that jungle natives pray to frogs, their ancestors, a tree stump or some god named dagon, baal, or billybob is proof of only one thing...idolatry and false gods exist. This is evidence of the Bible being correct in that the devil has been working hard eveywhere to decieve humans. Those gods have no saving power. Although the names differ with cultures there are commonalities shared by most all those gods. Make no mistake, although many of those names are just varieties of the same false god, virtually none are of the Creator. The foundation of Christianity is that there is but one real living Creator who made the universe and its inhabitants. He does have many different names but dagon, baal, billybob and all the others are not Him. His creatures either acknowledge him or not. Worship of creation instead of the Creator is itself idolotry.

good answer, i actually agree with you partially on this. i never said and i certainly do not believe that every single religion on the planet is valid. the key is to look at them objectively and critically (the Bible actually instructs to do this) to see if they make sense. and when i say objectively, it means that you set aside your biases and notions and look at ALL the FACTS before judging.

the idea of one creator creating the universe, or even the general concept of salvation of the soul, is neither unique or even original to christianity. some of those very same 'jungle natives' believe the same thing, and have been believing it long before hebrews walked the earth or moses decided to write anything down. even the idea/word 'worship' as we understand it is a very loose and probably inaccurate way of describing their respect/reverence for their 'tree stumps' or 'frogs'. it's a LOT more complicated than that...this is the same ignorant attitude that drove the Crusades, the Dark Ages, and even the institution of slavery.

In fact if you study carefully there are really only two paths a human being can be on, regardless of their original religion or lack of it. They (we all) are either on the path to eternal life or the highway to eternal death.

I agree 100% on this. but remember, the goal of trodding the path of righteousness is not the destination, but making the journey itself

[metalman]

the idea of one creator creating the universe, or even the general concept of salvation of the soul, is neither unique or even original to christianity. some of those very same 'jungle natives' believe the same thing, and have been believing it long before hebrews walked the earth or moses decided to write anything down. even the idea/word 'worship' as we understand it is a very loose and probably inaccurate way of describing their respect/reverence for their 'tree stumps' or 'frogs'. it's a LOT more complicated than that...this is the same ignorant attitude that drove the Crusades, the Dark Ages, and even the institution of slavery.

It is true that peoples have existed and been "discovered" that indeed had some understanding of the Creator and worshipped Him. This is not common however and in fact is extremely rare. Some people for example, think that american indians worshiped the "great spirit"...in fact they like the people in the time of Noahs flood worshiped the creature much more then the Creator.

As for the Dark Ages & Crusades, the ignorance that fueled those times was in fact the papacy/catholcism. It was the church that kept people from even reading the Bible (punishable by death in fact) and kept people ignorant and in the dark. The church efforts to wipe out heritics and "unbelievers" led to much death....tens of millions. Some historians say as many as 300 million.

[Malana]

As for the Dark Ages & Crusades, the ignorance that fueled those times was in fact the papacy/catholcism. It was the church that kept people from even reading the Bible (punishable by death in fact) and kept people ignorant and in the dark. The church efforts to wipe out heritics and "unbelievers" led to much death....tens of millions. Some historians say as many as 300 million.

Oh for goodness sake... this isn't the least bit true.

[metalman]

Oh for goodness sake... this isn't the least bit true.

On the contrary, it is fact.
Only the exact numbers are not known.
PC "Revisionist" history books that change facts or ignore them have lead to many people being ignorant of the facts of the middle ages.

The roman church has long flourished on ignorance...and still does.

[Jaimecbr900]

Everyone is simply going back and forth on tangents now.

Some people confuse "Christians" with being "closed minded" rather than simply convinced. There is a difference when it comes to faith.

We've discussed this like 2 gazillion times. Go look up the word "FAITH" in the dictionary. By definition it is something that CAN NOT be tangibly proven all the time, hence it's called FAITH as in someone BELIEVES it rather than EATS it .

So it is immesurably EASY for someone to rebutt a FAITH debate with the good ole tried and true, "PROVE it to me..... " When it comes to FAITH, there is only PROOF to the person professing to have that faith. In other words, if I am satisfied for myself that there is a God, then THAT is all the "proof" that I need. Sort of like trying to explain to someone what "love" IS. It's a "feeling" that is DIFFERENT for everyone. No one answer is correct or incorrect, it just IS. Well, Faith is a lot like that.

My buddy Atif I KNOW believes something that is slightly different than what I believe. Does that make him or I any LESS a "believer"? No. My friend Ren believes yet something else. Does that make HER any LESS a believer because I don't totally agree with her? No. So, just because someone doesn't share the same viewpoint or belief doesn't make THEM any less or more a "believer" or a "Christian/Jew/Muslim" because someone else "doesn't get it". Get it?.....Probably not.

People think that "Christians" are "closed minded" because we hold strong beliefs and stick to them. What about Muslims that share that trait? What about Jews? What about atheists? What about devil worshipers? Each in it's own right firmly believes SOMETHING, don't they? So should they be wishy washy about it or hold steadfast to that which they honestly and truly believe IS right? To me, it's pretty clear that if you had people sitting on the fence about ANY of their beliefs, as it pertains to religion, they truly aren't ANY religion for which the profess to be a part of then. Think about it. Religion is a very black and white thing if there ever was such a thing. So to be called "closed minded" is basically to be misunderstood IMO.

I can converse with anyone on just about any subject. Does that mean I'm going to agree with everyone, no. Does that mean that someone is going to be able to talk me into something that I truly don't believe in, no. Does that make me "closed minded", no. It makes me someone that has enough conviction to stick to what he believes regardless of what others may think about it.

[{X}Echo419]

On the contrary, it is fact.
Only the exact numbers are not known.
PC "Revisionist" history books that change facts or ignore them have lead to many people being ignorant of the facts of the middle ages.

The roman church has long flourished on ignorance...and still does.

Proof?

[metalman]

Proof?

You have access to good libraries and many hours and a desire to spend reading? This subject cant be covered in one sentence.
Much historical info is there for anyone who wishes to know. Catholic libraries are also great sources of info. For an overview you can start with Foxes Book of Martyrs and once youve read that in its entirety I can give you a lengthy list of other books to read.
I know people are largely ignorant of history in general. I didnt realize the reformation/counter reformation era, and prior era leading up to it was an "unknown". Many schools in fact teach about this though I suspect most to be private schools as "PC" plagues our public school system.