[W:201] What Christianity Is Not About.

[devildavid]

What you described are organized religions.

I'm referring to what is BIBLICAL (NEW TESTAMENT)

What does Biblical mean?

 

[Aunt Antifa]

It's not about gaining popularity among the heathen.

It's not about appeasement.

It's not about compromise.

It's not about coercion.

It's not about relentless persuasion.

It's not about getting the most likes in forums, or being "buddy-buddy" with, or praised by heathens, for being "understanding" of their stance.

It's not about being unscathed - whether it be from physical or emotional injury, or being villified, or ridiculed, or marginalized, or even shunned.







For those who think that upholding and staying true to what is in the Scriptures beats the purpose of converting non-believers,
and instead drives them away from Christianity......

....here is a sobering statement from Christ.




Matthew 10

22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.




Christianity is not about pleading with you to, "pretty please, see it from my viewpoint, and please believe!" Uh-uh.

Christianity is informing and explaining to you how you can be saved. Whether you want to believe it or not, that's up to you.


You have been invited by Christ. Your choice is whether to accept and take what is being offered.
Christians are simply His messengers who deliver His invitation. Making it known that the invitation is for EVERYONE!

All you have to do is call on Christ.




Your free will. No one will force you.

TAKE IT.............or................. LEAVE IT.

Okay, but when we leave it can the folks yelling at us about it finally stop yelling at us about it? At what point is our agency and free will that ya’ll claim we were given respected? Seems to me what Christianity is about is coercion and subjugation of the spirit, at least as practiced by most Christians.

 

[tosca1]

This is a very evangelical approach to the teachings of Christ and I'll explain why it is harmful.

It is not an "approach." It is how the Disciples were instructed.


What does it mean to shake the dust off your feet?

Answer: The command to “shake the dust off your feet” appears only four times in the New Testament. In each case the command is spoken by Jesus to His disciples when He sent them out two by two (Matthew 10:14; Luke 9:5). In Mark 6:11 Jesus says, “And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
In the Matthew 10 account, Jesus clarifies His meaning: “Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town” (verse 15).

In the scriptural examples, Jesus was telling His disciples that they were to preach the gospel to everyone. Where they were received with joy, they should stay and teach. But where their message was rejected, they had no further responsibility. They were free to walk away with a clear conscience, knowing they had done all they could do. Shaking the dust off their feet was, in effect, saying that those who rejected God’s truth would not be allowed to hinder the furtherance of the gospel.

Embedded within this symbolic gesture was the implication that God also saw the dust-shaking and would judge people accordingly.
There was a spiritual significance to a disciple of Jesus shaking the dust off his feet. It was a statement of finality about people who had been given the truth and who had rejected it.

What does it mean to shake the dust off your feet? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean to shake the dust off your feet? Under what circumstances were the disciples to shake the dust off of their feet?

www.gotquestions.org

You may not agree with it, but that's the truth of it.

You get a group of Christians together who are followers of the word. Nothing special there. You then tell them to go out into the world and save as many people as possible because it's not enough to simply practice the teachings yourself. We need to save people! And if you're not saving people then you're not a good Christian.

Corrections. We are not told to "save" people. It is Christ who saves people.
We are instructed to spread the gospel.....to introduce people to Jesus.

It is a duty that's been given to us.



Matthew 28

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

[tosca1]

Okay, but when we leave it can the folks yelling at us about it finally stop yelling at us about it?

Who's yelling at you?

At what point is our agency and free will that ya’ll claim we were given respected?

Uhhh......right now?

I can't remove you from this thread - but you can remove yourself.
Right?

Did someone push you to enter this thread? It's not like as if I lassoed you in, and tied you up.

Seems to me what Christianity is about is coercion and subjugation of the spirit, at least as practiced by most Christians.

....well....things are not always what they seem.

It can depend too on the person who's doing the "seeming."

 

[tosca1]

Jesus likes people. Jesus likes atheists too.

True!

That's why He wants everyone to have the chance to spend eternity with Him.
That's why He wants the Gospel to be spread that everyone will know about it.
He wants to give everyone that opportunity!

 

[devildavid]

It is not an "approach." It is how the Disciples were instructed.


What does it mean to shake the dust off your feet?

Answer: The command to “shake the dust off your feet” appears only four times in the New Testament. In each case the command is spoken by Jesus to His disciples when He sent them out two by two (Matthew 10:14; Luke 9:5). In Mark 6:11 Jesus says, “And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
In the Matthew 10 account, Jesus clarifies His meaning: “Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town” (verse 15).

In the scriptural examples, Jesus was telling His disciples that they were to preach the gospel to everyone. Where they were received with joy, they should stay and teach. But where their message was rejected, they had no further responsibility. They were free to walk away with a clear conscience, knowing they had done all they could do. Shaking the dust off their feet was, in effect, saying that those who rejected God’s truth would not be allowed to hinder the furtherance of the gospel.

Embedded within this symbolic gesture was the implication that God also saw the dust-shaking and would judge people accordingly.
There was a spiritual significance to a disciple of Jesus shaking the dust off his feet. It was a statement of finality about people who had been given the truth and who had rejected it.

What does it mean to shake the dust off your feet? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean to shake the dust off your feet? Under what circumstances were the disciples to shake the dust off of their feet?

www.gotquestions.org

You may not agree with it, but that's the truth of it.








Corrections. We are not told to "save" people. It is Christ who saves people.
We are instructed to spread the gospel.....to introduce people to Jesus.

It is a duty that's been given to us.



Matthew 28

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Do you personally baptize people? Can anyone do it? Is it a free for all?

 

[Somerville]

"What Christianity is not about"

Who knows, those who label themselves as Christian can't agree, so how can the non-believers figure it out?

Followers of Jesus span the globe. But the global body of more than 2 billion Christians is separated into thousands of denominations. Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Apostolic, Methodist — the list goes on. Estimations show there are more than 200 Christian denominations in the U.S. and a staggering 45,000 globally, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity. So why does Christianity have so many branches?

A cursory look shows that differences in belief, power grabs and corruption all had a part to play.

But on some level, differentiation and variety have been markers of Christianity since the very beginning, according to Diarmaid MacCulloch, professor emeritus of church history at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. "There's never been a united Christianity," he told Live Science.
[ . . . ]
Michelle Sanchez, an associate professor of theology at Harvard Divinity School, told Live Science via email. Protestants had used scripture to critique the Roman Catholic Church, claiming that any believer could read scripture and have a personal relationship with God. But then, "the obvious problem emerged: Whose interpretation of scripture was the right one?"

This question is one that we see, without explicitly quoting the words, on this forum on a near daily basis. "Interpretation of scripture", a topic that has a few difficulties: No, not one, zero original texts. Known interpolations that are excused for "being closer to the original" Known word changes in the original Greek text, changes supporting one faith's beliefs over another's

 

[Northern Light]

It is not an "approach." It is how the Disciples were instructed.


What does it mean to shake the dust off your feet?

Answer: The command to “shake the dust off your feet” appears only four times in the New Testament. In each case the command is spoken by Jesus to His disciples when He sent them out two by two (Matthew 10:14; Luke 9:5). In Mark 6:11 Jesus says, “And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
In the Matthew 10 account, Jesus clarifies His meaning: “Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town” (verse 15).

In the scriptural examples, Jesus was telling His disciples that they were to preach the gospel to everyone. Where they were received with joy, they should stay and teach. But where their message was rejected, they had no further responsibility. They were free to walk away with a clear conscience, knowing they had done all they could do. Shaking the dust off their feet was, in effect, saying that those who rejected God’s truth would not be allowed to hinder the furtherance of the gospel.

Embedded within this symbolic gesture was the implication that God also saw the dust-shaking and would judge people accordingly.
There was a spiritual significance to a disciple of Jesus shaking the dust off his feet. It was a statement of finality about people who had been given the truth and who had rejected it.

What does it mean to shake the dust off your feet? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean to shake the dust off your feet? Under what circumstances were the disciples to shake the dust off of their feet?

www.gotquestions.org

You may not agree with it, but that's the truth of it.








Corrections. We are not told to "save" people. It is Christ who saves people.
We are instructed to spread the gospel.....to introduce people to Jesus.

It is a duty that's been given to us.



Matthew 28

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Well, you completely ignored the rest of my post in favor of one single line, so I don't see why I should bother responding to you any longer.

Ta.

 

[RabidAlpaca]

Well, you completely ignored the rest of my post in favor of one single line, so I don't see why I should bother responding to you any longer.
Ta.

Lol, that will teach you to try to write a post of substance to tosca. She's not a substance kind of gal. The largest text and loudest colors win.

 

[Daisy]

What Christianity IS about...Jesus summed it up very accurately...

“‘You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. The second, like it, is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’" Matthew 22:37-39

 

[Northern Light]

Insightful post; I agree. If my perspective on a religion is that it’s mainly about God requiring its adherents to be Used Religion Salesmen, I’m going to form an opinion that it’s a stupid religion and steer clear. After all, used religion salespeople like their automotive dealership brethren are not exactly the most attractive ambassadors for their industry. Letting their own good works do the talking is much more compelling but I think this point is often missed by Christian Evangelists like the OP.

Well, I am still a Christian at heart, even though I am not affiliated with a church anymore... so I find your post a bit dismissive and hurtful. Christianity does a lot of good in the world. I'm thinking now about some of the poor countries I spent time in, where the church is literally the difference between life and death for some people. It provides real survival resources, social structure, community, and a faith based system. That might sound trivial to you who lives in the luxury of the U.S. but in impoverished places it makes a world of difference.

I am here to discuss nuances with discernment, not to carte blanche religion as good as or bad. Proselytization of the faith is not about being "used car salesman", that really cheapens the faith. People who really believe they are on the best path for themselves and humanity are naturally going to try and convince others. And in Christianity, they genuinely believe that humanity's free will makes it vulnerable to damnation. They don't want to see people suffer (under their idea of suffering). Ultimately, the motivation is highly compassionate, but it manifests in terribly misguided ways. In American Christianity, like the megachurches, it manifests as an actual evil, in my opinion. The Evangelicals have really caused a lot of problems, here and globally.

I'm thinking now about the missionary work I did when I was 18. An entire ship was rented, full of supplies, to go to the Congo and help build villages. We built schools, installed water wells, setup greenhouses and gardens. Almost all with church money or money we fundraised. We did it because Jesus is compassionate and would do everything to uplift the poor. Yes, we also built a church, and we had a priest that taught people who were willing to learn. I mean... they saw all the good will we brought, all the benevolence, so why would they not be curious about our faith?

I would never do anything like that now, for various reasons. But my point is... it's not black and white. Christians who don't do good works yet lecture others are hypocrites. The Evangelical megachurches raking in millions of dollars and creating media royalty are Satanic. You win people over by loving them, and I mean real love... not practiced, fake love. It's a love that can only come from really following Jesus and the love of God, and embodying it in everything you do, without judging others. When you radiate that love, you don't need to hit people over the head with a Bible like tosca is. No manipulation is necessary. There are some really good Christians out there.

 

[Northern Light]

Lol, that will teach you to try to write a post of substance to tosca. She's not a substance kind of gal. The largest text and loudest colors win.

I learned to not really try arguing with evangelicals a long time ago. It wastes a lot of energy. Their sect is a dying breed, by all demographic projections. They are losing simply because their methods are so transparently hypocritical and evil. The only reason why they have a platform is because the Republicans needed to save their party after their devastating defeat to Jim Crow. Their only remaining strongholds were in the Bible Belt. So, they can be loud all they want, but it's almost over for them... in about 20-25 years or so they will be less than half what they are now.

I mainly post so others can read, to know that not all Christians are so ****ed up.

 

[RabidAlpaca]

I learned to not really try arguing with evangelicals a long time ago. It wastes a lot of energy. Their sect is a dying breed, by all demographic projections. They are losing simply because their methods are so transparently hypocritical and evil. The only reason why they have a platform is because the Republicans needed to save their party after their devastating defeat to Jim Crow. Their only remaining strongholds were in the Bible Belt. So, they can be loud all they want, but it's almost over for them... in about 20-25 years or so they will be less than half what they are now.

I mainly post so others can read, to know that not all Christians are so ****ed up.

I absolutely love that their numbers are dwindling, but as you mentioned, that just reinforces their mentality that the world is being taken over by satan so they're going to get more and more entrenched and radical. I usually don't argue with them for the same reason I don't argue with a crazy homeless person.

 

[devildavid]

Well, I am still a Christian at heart, even though I am not affiliated with a church anymore... so I find your post a bit dismissive and hurtful. Christianity does a lot of good in the world. I'm thinking now about some of the poor countries I spent time in, where the church is literally the difference between life and death for some people. It provides real survival resources, social structure, community, and a faith based system. That might sound trivial to you who lives in the luxury of the U.S. but in impoverished places it makes a world of difference.

I am here to discuss nuances with discernment, not to carte blanche religion as good as or bad. Proselytization of the faith is not about being "used car salesman", that really cheapens the faith. People who really believe they are on the best path for themselves and humanity are naturally going to try and convince others. And in Christianity, they genuinely believe that humanity's free will makes it vulnerable to damnation. They don't want to see people suffer (under their idea of suffering). Ultimately, the motivation is highly compassionate, but it manifests in terribly misguided ways. In American Christianity, like the megachurches, it manifests as an actual evil, in my opinion. The Evangelicals have really caused a lot of problems, here and globally.

I'm thinking now about the missionary work I did when I was 18. An entire ship was rented, full of supplies, to go to the Congo and help build villages. We built schools, installed water wells, setup greenhouses and gardens. Almost all with church money or money we fundraised. We did it because Jesus is compassionate and would do everything to uplift the poor. Yes, we also built a church, and we had a priest that taught people who were willing to learn. I mean... they saw all the good will we brought, all the benevolence, so why would they not be curious about our faith?

I would never do anything like that now, for various reasons. But my point is... it's not black and white. Christians who don't do good works yet lecture others are hypocrites. The Evangelical megachurches raking in millions of dollars and creating media royalty are Satanic. You win people over by loving them, and I mean real love... not practiced, fake love. It's a love that can only come from really following Jesus and the love of God, and embodying it in everything you do, without judging others. When you radiate that love, you don't need to hit people over the head with a Bible like tosca is. No manipulation is necessary. There are some really good Christians out there.

The problem is that you built a church, rather than just help people. Just help them and get out when they no longer need it. Other organizations also help people without the extra baggage of importing a religion.

 

[Rumpel]

Bull. It's all about feeling you're a better person than the "other." After all, they go to hell while the so-called Christian is assured a seat in heaven. Amirite?

That's how those fundamental evangelicals see it.
Fortunately not every Christian thinks so.
Onely some fanatical "Christian" sects.

 

[Northern Light]

The problem is that you built a church, rather than just help people. Just help them and get out when they no longer need it. Other organizations also help people without the extra baggage of importing a religion.

The church is a symbol of our faith though. It's the whole reason why we were there, and the philosophy behind our existence.

It's like saying... go help people, but don't tell them about your culture, language, technology, or world view. Not very human, is it?

 

[devildavid]

The church is a symbol of our faith though. It's the whole reason why we were there, and the philosophy behind our existence.

It's like saying... go help people, but don't tell them about your culture, language, technology, or world view. Not very human, is it?

The church building is not needed to help others. You are there to show charity to the less fortunate. You don't need to build a church to do that. You don't even need to mention god or your faith. God will understand what motivates you. The reason to help others is to help them with what they need. If they ask about your culture, tell them. but it has nothing to do with helping them. Share with them what will help them and let them keep their own ways and culture. And try to understand and respect their culture while you help them with what they truly need.

 

[Northern Light]

The church building is not needed to help others. You are there to show charity to the less fortunate. You don't need to build a church to do that. You don't even need to mention god or your faith. God will understand what motivates you. The reason to help others is to help them with what they need. If they ask about your culture, tell them. but it has nothing to do with helping them. Share with them what will help them and let them keep their own ways and culture. And try to understand and respect their culture while you help them with what they truly need.

You're making us look like colonizers, we're not. The people who we were helping were already Christians, but they had no church. I don't understand your ire. We were invited to help them, we didn't force our way in. There was no disrespect. We helped a lot of people.

 

[phoenix2020]

Well, I am still a Christian at heart, even though I am not affiliated with a church anymore... so I find your post a bit dismissive and hurtful. Christianity does a lot of good in the world. I'm thinking now about some of the poor countries I spent time in, where the church is literally the difference between life and death for some people. It provides real survival resources, social structure, community, and a faith based system. That might sound trivial to you who lives in the luxury of the U.S. but in impoverished places it makes a world of difference.

I am here to discuss nuances with discernment, not to carte blanche religion as good as or bad. Proselytization of the faith is not about being "used car salesman", that really cheapens the faith. People who really believe they are on the best path for themselves and humanity are naturally going to try and convince others. And in Christianity, they genuinely believe that humanity's free will makes it vulnerable to damnation. They don't want to see people suffer (under their idea of suffering). Ultimately, the motivation is highly compassionate, but it manifests in terribly misguided ways. In American Christianity, like the megachurches, it manifests as an actual evil, in my opinion. The Evangelicals have really caused a lot of problems, here and globally.

I'm thinking now about the missionary work I did when I was 18. An entire ship was rented, full of supplies, to go to the Congo and help build villages. We built schools, installed water wells, setup greenhouses and gardens. Almost all with church money or money we fundraised. We did it because Jesus is compassionate and would do everything to uplift the poor. Yes, we also built a church, and we had a priest that taught people who were willing to learn. I mean... they saw all the good will we brought, all the benevolence, so why would they not be curious about our faith?

I would never do anything like that now, for various reasons. But my point is... it's not black and white. Christians who don't do good works yet lecture others are hypocrites. The Evangelical megachurches raking in millions of dollars and creating media royalty are Satanic. You win people over by loving them, and I mean real love... not practiced, fake love. It's a love that can only come from really following Jesus and the love of God, and embodying it in everything you do, without judging others. When you radiate that love, you don't need to hit people over the head with a Bible like tosca is. No manipulation is necessary. There are some really good Christians out there.

I think this is a perfectly fair set of points and I graciously and I would readily state that a religion isn't inherently a good or bad thing; it's in how religion is wielded toward an outcome that we should judge. So from that perspective I will agree that my post was overly harsh and apologize for the overall tenor.

That said, the motivations need to be clear. My own ancestry is from parts of the world where the pretext of missionary evangelical Christianity was used to enslave and colonize civilizations including my ancestors. I have no doubt many of the "boots on the ground" were genuinely concerned with helping a people... just as there can be little doubt that many of these missions were organized by leaders for whom Conversion was the primary objective. Being a 'heathen' myself who's lived through a lifetime of attempted conversions, I've come to realize that despite the professions about Love being the motivation, in every case the actual motive turned out to be a level of arrogance that their belief (in this case Jesus etc.) is the only/right one, such that they are entirely devoid of even curiosity about the existing belief of the person they are trying to convert. And where else in life do I see that level of arrogance? Yeah... used car salesmen.

So I have no issue with people who do good works - whether they do so because it's in line with religious teachings, or if it just makes them feel good about themselves. Great. And if they happen to build a not-too-ostentatious building nearby where they can practice their religion while leaving the door open to those who might be curious to learn more? That's great. But when they cross the line and tell me that their religion casts judgment and aspersions on heathens like me? Well, I don't care much at that point how much they implore that it was Love that led them to tell me their Truth. They're cheap ass salespeople at that point.

 

[Lursa]

It's not about gaining popularity among the heathen.

It's not about appeasement.

It's not about compromise.

It's not about coercion.

It's not about relentless persuasion.

It's not about getting the most likes in forums, or being "buddy-buddy" with, or praised by heathens, for being "understanding" of their stance.

It's not about being unscathed - whether it be from physical or emotional injury, or being villified, or ridiculed, or marginalized, or even shunned.







For those who think that upholding and staying true to what is in the Scriptures beats the purpose of converting non-believers,
and instead drives them away from Christianity......

....here is a sobering statement from Christ.




Matthew 10

22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.




Christianity is not about pleading with you to, "pretty please, see it from my viewpoint, and please believe!" Uh-uh.

Christianity is informing and explaining to you how you can be saved. Whether you want to believe it or not, that's up to you.


You have been invited by Christ. Your choice is whether to accept and take what is being offered.
Christians are simply His messengers who deliver His invitation. Making it known that the invitation is for EVERYONE!

All you have to do is call on Christ.




Your free will. No one will force you.

TAKE IT.............or................. LEAVE IT.

It's about doing your best to follow God's Word of compassion, brotherly love, forgiveness, and peace. It's a simple blueprint on how to live your life and for how to treat your fellow man.

And anything that does not break God's Word is not a sin.

Stuff invented or misinterpreted by fallible men of the times in the Bible that dont break that word...are not sins. See: being gay, having sex outside marriage

 

[AGENT J]

It's not about coercion.

It's not about relentless persuasion.

Christianity is not about pleading with you to, "pretty please, see it from my viewpoint, and please believe!" Uh-uh.

Your free will. No one will force you.

TAKE IT.............or................. LEAVE IT.

As a Christian myself to bad way too many don't follow those rules at all.

 

[Daisy]

It's about doing your best to follow God's Word of compassion, brotherly love, forgiveness, and peace. It's a simple blueprint on how to live your life and for how to treat your fellow man.

And anything that does not break God's Word is not a sin.

Stuff invented or misinterpreted by fallible men of the times in the Bible that dont break that word...are not sins. See: being gay, having sex outside marriage

If you think sex outside of marriage is not breaking God's law of brotherly love, forgiveness, and peace, you are clueless as to what it means to be a Christian...sex outside of marriage/sleeping around hurts everyone concerned..

 

[Lursa]

If you think sex outside of marriage is not breaking God's law of brotherly love, forgiveness, and peace, you are clueless as to what it means to be a Christian...sex outside of marriage/sleeping around hurts everyone concerned..

A) how does sex outside marriage go against God's Word? Which of those 4 things does it break?

b) How does sex out side marriage harm anyone? I'm speaking only re: consenting adults. And fornication is not adultery. I didnt write adultery.

 

[Daisy]

A) how does sex outside marriage go against God's Word? Which of those 4 things does it break?

b) How does sex out side marriage harm anyone? I'm speaking only re: consenting adults. And fornication is not adultery. I didnt write adultery.

Are you kidding me?...committing fornication does indeed ‘harm and encroach upon the rights of others'...human experience for thousands of years bears testimony to the fact that unrestrained use of one’s sexual powers can impair one's health and shorten one’s life...when urging Christians to “abstain from fornication,” the apostle Paul gave strong reasons in 1 Thessalonians 4...and don't go giving me your flawed reasoning that this is man's word and not God's...how else but God's Word, the Bible are we to get instructions on that "blueprint" as you call it, on how to live? Just who tells you that, if not the Bible? Did God whisper it in your ear? Get real...

"3 For this is the will of God, that you should be holy and abstain from sexual immorality.

4 Each one of you should know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,

5 not with greedy, uncontrolled sexual passion like the nations have that do not know God.

6 No one should go beyond proper limits and take advantage of his brother in this matter, because Jehovah exacts punishment for all these things, just as we told you previously and also strongly warned you.

7 For God has called us, not for uncleanness, but for holiness."

8 So, then, the man who disregards this is disregarding, not man, but God,+ who gives you his holy spirit.+

 

[Mashmont]

Being "hated" is not an accurate indication that you are a Christian. It really depends on why you are receiving that "hatred". Being annoying enough to generate dislike does not make you a Christian. Putting down those who don't share your faith so that they dislike you for it is not what Christianity is all about. Being annoying, condescending, and irritating are not Christian trait. Trying to justify obnoxious behavior by blaming the dislike you generate on being Christian is not being Christian.

Jesus was apparently very annoying to some people.

Here's the fact. People who embrace the darkness cannot tolerate ANY light, no matter how softly it is presented. Christians don't put people down; they observe truths. Those who live in the darkness perceive the truth as put-downs