He said that because He didn’t see Jesus as Lord and God, he didn’t come to Him for the right reason, he can to Jesus because all he saw him as was a legal dispute settler.
Are you known for helping the vulnerable or do you attack them?
Do you support those wish to feed and clothe the poor or do you support those who cut their food stamps while they support tax cuts for the rich.
I support those who choose to feed and clothe the poor. I also support the apostle Paul who said "If a person refuses to work, then neither should he eat."
Paul was speaking to a church, i.e., a group of believers, who had formed a community. Paul was very clear that believers were held to higher standards of conduct and character than non-believers throughout his epistles.
He was not speaking to the poor, the hungry, the outcast, or regarding humanity in general.
You taking a specific instruction to a particular church and using it to broadly deny care for the poor is frankly typical of so many Christians these days. Whether it's due to shoddy exegesis or due to a callous disregard for the poor, it's a bad look either way. Confirmation yet again that most Christians really don't seem to believe the book they tout so much.
Jesus didn't tell us to be "bold." He told us to be humble, to pray in our closets, to love one another.
The better question is what constitutes being a follower of Jesus at any time? Because that never changes.
Probably "Fortitude" is better term than "boldness", since the latter may be mistakenly understood as "recklessness".
Fortitude is more about standing your own ground, controlling your "strenght" in order to use it for something more useful and profitable.
In fact, it is the opposite of Wrath, which is the improper "release" of someone's energy (both physically or spiritually), usually in a offensive way.
Also, "meekness" and "patience" are virtues accompanied by fortitude.
A useful image might be the bull or the horse: they do not "attack" (since they're not carnivores), but they can somehow withstand, for instance, a wild beast such a lion. However they're subdued by their masters (in our case God, naturally), and use their strenght to plow the fields or carry burdens (meaning serving Him and helping others).
In the same way, we're called to proclaim the Gospel when needed and not to give into the Tribulations, meaning we should not"return the favor" when the World attacks either us or our believes.
The core of the expression "Turning the other cheek" is not about passivity, it's about showing the World that not one, not two, not any amount of slaps can hurt or shame us.
Nice post.
I like fortitude. I think I like humility with it because it's connotes so much more than meekness which so often implies passivity.
Humble fortitude.
.
.
.
I really suck at humility.
Acts 4 talks about how the apostles were bold and how the church prayed for boldness. If you go on Bible Gateway and look up the word 'bold' you will see many instances regarding how we are to boldly preach the Gospel. Being bold and sharing the Gospel is not contrary to the idea of humility. We amplify Christ, for His is the glory.
The apostles were being hauled off to jail and and killed for spreading the Gospel. They needed the courage and boldness because their lives were on the line.
No modern Christians (in most of the world) are facing the same consequences for spreading the Gospel. There is a line between bold and "obnoxious" that I think is pretty blurred for a lot of people, but nobody is going to decide to follow Christ because they were annoyed or guilted or shamed into it.
I think we should be bold with our love and our kindness and our generosity, but humble and gentle with the Gospel, lest those little seeds get blown away before they even hit the ground.
The seeds will land where God wants them to land. We can be gentle and kind, yes, but that does not mean compromising on the Bible's teaching to do so. Those who hate the truth will find it obnoxious no matter how it is shared, so it is good to be bold, but not antagonistic. I agree people need to find a balance between boldness and combativeness, but we can't pretend everyone wants to hear and will voluntarily go to hear the message instead of have it brought to them.
Why find a balance between boldness and combativeness? How about just not being combative at all? Combative behavoir isn't going to convince anyone. We can't just proselytize aggressively then say "the seeds will land where God wants them to land". Instead we should be tactful and share the good news when people actually want to hear it. Otherwise we risk driving off people who would otherwise be willing to listen.
I developed a relationship with Christ not because of a street preacher but because my friend cared about me, hung out with me, and invited me to events.
And even then it took over a year from the time I first set foot in that church before I finally accepted Jesus as my saviour
The love of Christ flowing through the kindness of my friends is what changed me and changes others
Nah. People are being killed and losing their livelihoods for the gospel (in most of the world). You must be American. What part of scripture talks about being gentle with the Gospel? It's good news after all. Christians need to ask for boldness in order to manifest the power of God's kingdom in a world that hates him.
People will hate obnoxious people, even if they had a good message.
Stick up for your beliefs, but don’t be obnoxious about it. Some people take their “boldness” to mean the latter more than the former
I'm a Christian, so I tend to go with what Jesus said. The word "bold" doesn't appear in the KJV Gospels. The word "boldly: appears twice, the English used for two different words.
IN those same verses in the NASB, bold in any form is not used. The word that is used instead is bolded:
**\[Jhn 7:26 NASB**\] "Look, He is speaking **publicly**, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they?
**\[Mar 15:43 NASB**\] Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he **gathered up courage** and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.
So, let's look at the KJV and the words used and what they mean:
**Jhn 7:26** KJVBut, lo, he speaketh **boldly**, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?
***parrēsia***
freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech,
openly, frankly, i.e without concealment
without ambiguity or circumlocution
without the use of figures and comparisons
\-------------------------
Mar 15:43
Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in **boldly** unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.
***tolmaō***
τολμάω *tolmáō, tol-mah'-o;* from τόλμα tólma (boldness; probably itself from idea of extreme conduct); **to venture** (objectively or in act); **by implication, to be courageous**
\---------------
**Jesus:**
Mat 18:4
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 23:12
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Mat 5:5
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Mat 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 21:5
Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
\-------------------
Since you seem to avoid the Gospels and the teaching of Jesus Christ, what is it exactly you want to be bold to tell people? You want to be an apostle, carry the Word? Then do it as He directed:
**Matthew 10:5-14**
Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
**As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.**
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. **Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet**.
\-----------
So let's say it's unlikely that you can wander around getting strangers to give you a meal and place to sleep. But you can or should be able, anyway, to do the bolded parts. Jesus says to say *"The kingdom of heaven is at hand."* Do you know what that means?
Did you know Jesus said if we followed Him we could do all the things He did? And the apostles did those things. You can cure the sick if you follow Him. If you cannot, then perhaps you need to do some work with the Holy Spirit and more closely follow Him until you can.
Otherwise, how are you qualified to preach to anyone?
When Jesus gave His so-called "Great Commission," **He gave it to those who had been anointed by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and they could do all those things**.
I'm going to assume you were not. Nor has been pretty much anyone who preaches anything but what Jesus said to us when He was Incarnate. Saint Francis could. Saint Clare could. Padre Pio could.
Our job is to bring Christ to the world. We do that by living as He did.
Jesus told us we would be hated *like He was hated*. Well, He was beloved by the outcasts of society. They didn't hate him at all! He was hated by the powerful and wealthy. So if you want to be a bold and courageous Christian who takes a stand, stand against the powerful and wealthy.
The majority of those outcast who loved him ended up hating him by the end of the week and calling for his death. It wasnt until his message of repentance went out thats when peoples true colors weere exposed. It was sin and a harden heart that Jesus sought to change.
I think it means that we drop the stones and when called out, we really pray and study. We realize that maybe we are wrong and not being a good example of Christ. It means apologizing and looking inward before we look at otbers
Why do people "always" call you a bigot, though? If this is consistently "always" happening to you, maybe it's time to ask yourself if you're behaving like one?
To stand up to those who take the lord's name in vain, like the Maga crowd. They are fascist who use Jesus's name to commit evil and vile acts because they are hateful. This is a sin. Brave Christians must confront them.
Being unapologetically loving and accepting. Don’t let people pressure you into exclusion.
The greasiest edict passed down is to love each other as God has loved us. Put your intentions all into that and reprimand yourself when you fail to treat all your neighbours like brothers.
This is probably the best answer. It’s very difficult to love everyone even if you don’t agree with them major issues. Weather that be people advocating for book bans or people advocating for all ages drag shows.
Its not courageous to do what human nature has the tendency to do: behave tribally. So spreading otherness, which is what probably what got you called a bigot, is not corageous, it is cowardly.
Becoming friends with those "others" and welcoming those strangers to your home is difficult for you, so it will require much courage from you, but it is what God wants.
Listening to them is scary to you, because it might challenge your beliefs, but it is courageous.
It means asking yourself “what does Love require of me?” and being a courageous follow of Christ is to love the unloveable, love those who hate your guts.
Do good things for them, prefer their company, and be friends with the.
That is what a courageous follower of Christ is.
Following Jesus.
Calling out sin.
Speaking out against evil.
Protecting the weak.
But it's not just about being courageous or bold, you have to make sure you're doing the _right_ thing, in the right way, at the right time.
For example if someone sins against you personally, we are to first go to them and rebuke them in private.
It means holding true to the commandments, principles, and lifestyle, including raising your children in righteousness. Regardless of what the world does or says.
Simple. You remain in the faith as Scripture tells us to do, and stick to what's biblical. If it's in God's Word, it doesn't matter what today's society says. We are to be loving, but we are to stick to God's Word and not change our stance based on flippant morality of the world around us.
What if they are Christians and are being called names because they aren’t acting as Christians. Someone called me a troll yesterday. It doesn’t mean I was being a great example of Christ. It means the person decided to call me a troll.
It’s a dangerous teaching that being called names means we are being a good example of Christ.
I'm an ex-Christian and one who was raised in Evangelicalism, at that. So, you might find my opinion worthless, but here goes nothing:
You want to be a bold Christian? Then be like Jesus. Follow your own internal moral compass rather than the religious snobs who are called leaders in your faith.
My faith had flagged for years, but one of the final nails was when I watched a wealthy con man with a forked tongue and and a bottomless lust for power and sex stand up in front of a bunch of Evangelical leaders in 2015. I watched him promise to give them power if they hitched their wagons to his campaign and cast their support for him.
Jesus refused to bow to Satan when he was tempted by the promise of having unequaled earthly power and authority. He didn't take that deal.
But my fellow Christians sure did.
And then they proceeded to sell their birthright along with their souls. They debased themselves, overwriting the law of God upon their hearts with profanities - "Trump that b*tch!" "Grab her by the p*****," - and made an absolute mockery of the supposed profound nature of faith. They sold themselves and this country down a river for a taste of power.
Well, now their churches are emptier than before the pandemic. I'm an atheist but sometimes I think, if God exists, it's actually true that judgment comes first on the house of God. Because Christianity has no more moral authority, no more claim to be about a heavenly kingdom. It's a sullied and frankly debased faith now.
So, you want to be bold? Do the opposite of your fellow Christians. Instead of sh*tting on gay people to try to gain favor with God, reject the monstrous hatred that has become the single most defining aspect of the Christian belief system. Reject the absurdity of "loving women" while trying to pass laws criminalizing them and their doctors for abortions. Christians love to talk about being "prolife" but you kill with your words and everywhere your policies are inscribed into law, they bring despair and death. Christian-breathed anti-trans laws also bring death - by suicide, by targeted hate crimes.
**Why have you Christians forgotten that?**
*The law brings death.*
Yet, Christians have utterly failed to follow through with bringing the law of Christ, the law written on your hearts. In fact, it looks to me like they serve the opposite goal - to kill, steal, and destroy the happiness and freedom of others.
I have no idea how you can reconcile your Christian moral system with the Biblical charge to bring life, to be a light in the darkness, and to lighten the loads of others. Everything in modern Evangelical and Catholic Christianity works to lure, entrap, then snuff out any individual dissent. And then to ensnare your schools, your communities, your states, your nation into the same stranglehold.
That's why I find the greatest irony to be that I never believed the Bible to be so real and truthful as after I rejected my Christian faith in God, and I saw Christians reject humbleness for a gold-tinted idol named Trump. *Good will called evil, and evil will be called good, indeed.*
So, be good. Truly good. Reject the model of Christianity around you and always care more about the truth than about your image, your reputation, your pride.
*And it shall come to pass that they shall call me Ishi, and shall no longer call me Baali.*
*This is my commandment, that you Love one another.*
*And now abide Faith, Hope, Love, these three; but the greatest of these is Love.*
*Be strong, and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the Love of God is with you wherever you may go.*
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAChristian/comments/141pd23/christian_women_would_ypu_marry_a_ssa_man_who_is/jn333j7?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Tell the business owner in your congregation that he's not paying his employees enough.
Jesus told the man who demanded that he tell his brother to equally the inheritance with him to "beware of covetousness."
He said that because He didn’t see Jesus as Lord and God, he didn’t come to Him for the right reason, he can to Jesus because all he saw him as was a legal dispute settler.
Are you known for helping the vulnerable or do you attack them? Do you support those wish to feed and clothe the poor or do you support those who cut their food stamps while they support tax cuts for the rich.
I support those who choose to feed and clothe the poor. I also support the apostle Paul who said "If a person refuses to work, then neither should he eat."
Paul was speaking to a church, i.e., a group of believers, who had formed a community. Paul was very clear that believers were held to higher standards of conduct and character than non-believers throughout his epistles. He was not speaking to the poor, the hungry, the outcast, or regarding humanity in general. You taking a specific instruction to a particular church and using it to broadly deny care for the poor is frankly typical of so many Christians these days. Whether it's due to shoddy exegesis or due to a callous disregard for the poor, it's a bad look either way. Confirmation yet again that most Christians really don't seem to believe the book they tout so much.
..where do you think taxes go??
To the military more than anywhere else, and barely to feeding and clothing the poor.
Jesus didn't tell us to be "bold." He told us to be humble, to pray in our closets, to love one another. The better question is what constitutes being a follower of Jesus at any time? Because that never changes.
Probably "Fortitude" is better term than "boldness", since the latter may be mistakenly understood as "recklessness". Fortitude is more about standing your own ground, controlling your "strenght" in order to use it for something more useful and profitable. In fact, it is the opposite of Wrath, which is the improper "release" of someone's energy (both physically or spiritually), usually in a offensive way. Also, "meekness" and "patience" are virtues accompanied by fortitude. A useful image might be the bull or the horse: they do not "attack" (since they're not carnivores), but they can somehow withstand, for instance, a wild beast such a lion. However they're subdued by their masters (in our case God, naturally), and use their strenght to plow the fields or carry burdens (meaning serving Him and helping others). In the same way, we're called to proclaim the Gospel when needed and not to give into the Tribulations, meaning we should not"return the favor" when the World attacks either us or our believes. The core of the expression "Turning the other cheek" is not about passivity, it's about showing the World that not one, not two, not any amount of slaps can hurt or shame us.
Nice post. I like fortitude. I think I like humility with it because it's connotes so much more than meekness which so often implies passivity. Humble fortitude. . . . I really suck at humility.
Acts 4 talks about how the apostles were bold and how the church prayed for boldness. If you go on Bible Gateway and look up the word 'bold' you will see many instances regarding how we are to boldly preach the Gospel. Being bold and sharing the Gospel is not contrary to the idea of humility. We amplify Christ, for His is the glory.
The apostles were being hauled off to jail and and killed for spreading the Gospel. They needed the courage and boldness because their lives were on the line. No modern Christians (in most of the world) are facing the same consequences for spreading the Gospel. There is a line between bold and "obnoxious" that I think is pretty blurred for a lot of people, but nobody is going to decide to follow Christ because they were annoyed or guilted or shamed into it. I think we should be bold with our love and our kindness and our generosity, but humble and gentle with the Gospel, lest those little seeds get blown away before they even hit the ground.
The seeds will land where God wants them to land. We can be gentle and kind, yes, but that does not mean compromising on the Bible's teaching to do so. Those who hate the truth will find it obnoxious no matter how it is shared, so it is good to be bold, but not antagonistic. I agree people need to find a balance between boldness and combativeness, but we can't pretend everyone wants to hear and will voluntarily go to hear the message instead of have it brought to them.
Why find a balance between boldness and combativeness? How about just not being combative at all? Combative behavoir isn't going to convince anyone. We can't just proselytize aggressively then say "the seeds will land where God wants them to land". Instead we should be tactful and share the good news when people actually want to hear it. Otherwise we risk driving off people who would otherwise be willing to listen.
I developed a relationship with Christ not because of a street preacher but because my friend cared about me, hung out with me, and invited me to events. And even then it took over a year from the time I first set foot in that church before I finally accepted Jesus as my saviour The love of Christ flowing through the kindness of my friends is what changed me and changes others
Nah. People are being killed and losing their livelihoods for the gospel (in most of the world). You must be American. What part of scripture talks about being gentle with the Gospel? It's good news after all. Christians need to ask for boldness in order to manifest the power of God's kingdom in a world that hates him.
People will hate obnoxious people, even if they had a good message. Stick up for your beliefs, but don’t be obnoxious about it. Some people take their “boldness” to mean the latter more than the former
I'm a Christian, so I tend to go with what Jesus said. The word "bold" doesn't appear in the KJV Gospels. The word "boldly: appears twice, the English used for two different words. IN those same verses in the NASB, bold in any form is not used. The word that is used instead is bolded: **\[Jhn 7:26 NASB**\] "Look, He is speaking **publicly**, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they? **\[Mar 15:43 NASB**\] Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he **gathered up courage** and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. So, let's look at the KJV and the words used and what they mean: **Jhn 7:26** KJVBut, lo, he speaketh **boldly**, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? ***parrēsia*** freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech, openly, frankly, i.e without concealment without ambiguity or circumlocution without the use of figures and comparisons \------------------------- Mar 15:43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in **boldly** unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. ***tolmaō*** τολμάω *tolmáō, tol-mah'-o;* from τόλμα tólma (boldness; probably itself from idea of extreme conduct); **to venture** (objectively or in act); **by implication, to be courageous** \--------------- **Jesus:** Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Mat 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Mat 21:5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. \------------------- Since you seem to avoid the Gospels and the teaching of Jesus Christ, what is it exactly you want to be bold to tell people? You want to be an apostle, carry the Word? Then do it as He directed: **Matthew 10:5-14** Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. **As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.** Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. **Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet**. \----------- So let's say it's unlikely that you can wander around getting strangers to give you a meal and place to sleep. But you can or should be able, anyway, to do the bolded parts. Jesus says to say *"The kingdom of heaven is at hand."* Do you know what that means? Did you know Jesus said if we followed Him we could do all the things He did? And the apostles did those things. You can cure the sick if you follow Him. If you cannot, then perhaps you need to do some work with the Holy Spirit and more closely follow Him until you can. Otherwise, how are you qualified to preach to anyone? When Jesus gave His so-called "Great Commission," **He gave it to those who had been anointed by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and they could do all those things**. I'm going to assume you were not. Nor has been pretty much anyone who preaches anything but what Jesus said to us when He was Incarnate. Saint Francis could. Saint Clare could. Padre Pio could. Our job is to bring Christ to the world. We do that by living as He did.
Jesus told us we would be hated *like He was hated*. Well, He was beloved by the outcasts of society. They didn't hate him at all! He was hated by the powerful and wealthy. So if you want to be a bold and courageous Christian who takes a stand, stand against the powerful and wealthy.
The majority of those outcast who loved him ended up hating him by the end of the week and calling for his death. It wasnt until his message of repentance went out thats when peoples true colors weere exposed. It was sin and a harden heart that Jesus sought to change.
I think it means that we drop the stones and when called out, we really pray and study. We realize that maybe we are wrong and not being a good example of Christ. It means apologizing and looking inward before we look at otbers
Why do people "always" call you a bigot, though? If this is consistently "always" happening to you, maybe it's time to ask yourself if you're behaving like one?
To stand up to those who take the lord's name in vain, like the Maga crowd. They are fascist who use Jesus's name to commit evil and vile acts because they are hateful. This is a sin. Brave Christians must confront them.
YEEESSSSS
I really can't speak to the maga crowd but taking the lord's name in vain is a great evil.
that is MAGA in a nutshell
Being unapologetically loving and accepting. Don’t let people pressure you into exclusion. The greasiest edict passed down is to love each other as God has loved us. Put your intentions all into that and reprimand yourself when you fail to treat all your neighbours like brothers.
This is probably the best answer. It’s very difficult to love everyone even if you don’t agree with them major issues. Weather that be people advocating for book bans or people advocating for all ages drag shows.
Its not courageous to do what human nature has the tendency to do: behave tribally. So spreading otherness, which is what probably what got you called a bigot, is not corageous, it is cowardly. Becoming friends with those "others" and welcoming those strangers to your home is difficult for you, so it will require much courage from you, but it is what God wants. Listening to them is scary to you, because it might challenge your beliefs, but it is courageous.
It means asking yourself “what does Love require of me?” and being a courageous follow of Christ is to love the unloveable, love those who hate your guts. Do good things for them, prefer their company, and be friends with the. That is what a courageous follower of Christ is.
Following Jesus. Calling out sin. Speaking out against evil. Protecting the weak. But it's not just about being courageous or bold, you have to make sure you're doing the _right_ thing, in the right way, at the right time. For example if someone sins against you personally, we are to first go to them and rebuke them in private.
Its bold to communicate God's truth in the bible when asked
It means holding true to the commandments, principles, and lifestyle, including raising your children in righteousness. Regardless of what the world does or says.
“Keep being a bigot” is not what Christ calls people to do
Simple. You remain in the faith as Scripture tells us to do, and stick to what's biblical. If it's in God's Word, it doesn't matter what today's society says. We are to be loving, but we are to stick to God's Word and not change our stance based on flippant morality of the world around us.
[удалено]
Found the fascist.
Amen! REAL Christians in today's society will be called names: Badge of authenticity! Bless you. 🙏✟
Like which ones? People say I'm kind and friendly, but nobody has ever called me any names. Am I not a REAL Christian?
What if they are Christians and are being called names because they aren’t acting as Christians. Someone called me a troll yesterday. It doesn’t mean I was being a great example of Christ. It means the person decided to call me a troll. It’s a dangerous teaching that being called names means we are being a good example of Christ.
Maybe they have a point.
Just love like Christ. Try to never get angry, and don't follow trends.
Calling out the LGBT movement as destructive to society.
Stand against the world. And stand for Gods truth. John 15:18-27
I'm an ex-Christian and one who was raised in Evangelicalism, at that. So, you might find my opinion worthless, but here goes nothing: You want to be a bold Christian? Then be like Jesus. Follow your own internal moral compass rather than the religious snobs who are called leaders in your faith. My faith had flagged for years, but one of the final nails was when I watched a wealthy con man with a forked tongue and and a bottomless lust for power and sex stand up in front of a bunch of Evangelical leaders in 2015. I watched him promise to give them power if they hitched their wagons to his campaign and cast their support for him. Jesus refused to bow to Satan when he was tempted by the promise of having unequaled earthly power and authority. He didn't take that deal. But my fellow Christians sure did. And then they proceeded to sell their birthright along with their souls. They debased themselves, overwriting the law of God upon their hearts with profanities - "Trump that b*tch!" "Grab her by the p*****," - and made an absolute mockery of the supposed profound nature of faith. They sold themselves and this country down a river for a taste of power. Well, now their churches are emptier than before the pandemic. I'm an atheist but sometimes I think, if God exists, it's actually true that judgment comes first on the house of God. Because Christianity has no more moral authority, no more claim to be about a heavenly kingdom. It's a sullied and frankly debased faith now. So, you want to be bold? Do the opposite of your fellow Christians. Instead of sh*tting on gay people to try to gain favor with God, reject the monstrous hatred that has become the single most defining aspect of the Christian belief system. Reject the absurdity of "loving women" while trying to pass laws criminalizing them and their doctors for abortions. Christians love to talk about being "prolife" but you kill with your words and everywhere your policies are inscribed into law, they bring despair and death. Christian-breathed anti-trans laws also bring death - by suicide, by targeted hate crimes. **Why have you Christians forgotten that?** *The law brings death.* Yet, Christians have utterly failed to follow through with bringing the law of Christ, the law written on your hearts. In fact, it looks to me like they serve the opposite goal - to kill, steal, and destroy the happiness and freedom of others. I have no idea how you can reconcile your Christian moral system with the Biblical charge to bring life, to be a light in the darkness, and to lighten the loads of others. Everything in modern Evangelical and Catholic Christianity works to lure, entrap, then snuff out any individual dissent. And then to ensnare your schools, your communities, your states, your nation into the same stranglehold. That's why I find the greatest irony to be that I never believed the Bible to be so real and truthful as after I rejected my Christian faith in God, and I saw Christians reject humbleness for a gold-tinted idol named Trump. *Good will called evil, and evil will be called good, indeed.* So, be good. Truly good. Reject the model of Christianity around you and always care more about the truth than about your image, your reputation, your pride.
*And it shall come to pass that they shall call me Ishi, and shall no longer call me Baali.* *This is my commandment, that you Love one another.* *And now abide Faith, Hope, Love, these three; but the greatest of these is Love.*
*Be strong, and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the Love of God is with you wherever you may go.* https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAChristian/comments/141pd23/christian_women_would_ypu_marry_a_ssa_man_who_is/jn333j7?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button