God's Love: Don't leave home without it!
This could be fun-no one has ever been hurt yet by trying to say positive things about Christ/Christians.
If karma wasn't a pagan lie, it might even be good 'karma' to speak well of us Christians. See what happens when you go positive.
Jesus said to love one another, feed the hungry, heal the sick, clothe the naked, visit prisoners, comfort the afflicted. I know a lot of Christians who do those things.
Well, I'm more of a "Deist" and am not really "anti-Christian", but ...
I guess the question is must they be UNIQUELY Christian attributes? I can think of many generous, kind, forgiving, patient, etc. Christians ... but these values are also held by some Buddhists and Hindus and even some non-believers.
Don't overthink it, James:
"Whichever un-Christian can post the highest number of Positive Christian attributes without mentioning the Salvation Army wins a prize to be determined by the sincerity of the contestants. And this post can't be used as an entry."
We're not talking love and peace and all that territory anyone can claim. Christian attributes. Christian. Unlike any other.
As for 'Deist'-don't underthink this, James-Jesus said, "23“He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters." Luke 11:23
So, if you are not with Christ, like the label or not, you are anti-Christ.
Part two of this little exercise might be a bit more fun for y'all. Watch this space.
"Love thy enemies", perhaps?
This is why the Christian faith is such a paradox to me. It encourages such virtue and yet ...
Short story: our pet bunny died last night. I loved that little thing. We kept her in a large pen and her ears would perk up when she heard me coming. She'd lick your hand which I understand is their way of being affectionate. We held a proper burial for her in the backyard, and I could really only feel pity for the poor thing. It was, however, just an animal.
I'm not sure I understand looking at a family member or loved one in a casket and saying, "Well, that person is suffering some unimaginable torments right now because they didn't pray to Jesus" or some such thing. Such cold, heartless apathy towards the suffering of others.
This stands in such start contrast to the wonderful prodding towards self-sacrifice that you see in some parts of Scripture and witnessed in the lives of some Christians.
Maybe I'm a bit slow or a bit of a nitwit, but I just can't reconcile these sentiments: apathy/hatred and love.
Do you know at all what I'm talking about?
I do, James. I've stood next to the burial plot of my brother, who was not a Christian. My family visited it again this past Monday.
See if you can understand this: God is not cruel, and life is not meant to be cruel, harsh, bad.
The reason that you cannot reconcile that a God of Love is also a God of Justice is you presume that we are in some way innocent.
There's a reason why John 3:16 is so well known, even by non-Christians: it expresses God's Love (For God so loved...)for a world lost in sin. He does what we could not do: makes a sacrifice capable of washing away our sins (He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.)
God is Sovereign, whether we like it or not. "14What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy." Romans 9:15-16
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