Christianity

Forever Atlas · 03/02/08, 03:52 PM

I was sitting down, and i think about these things a lot.... different things as you all may have now seen, anyway, in regards to the Christian faith, it is based on the teachings of Jesus, and the congregation that he instituted here on earth. Christians are to base their faith and teachings on the Bible, so then, my question is.... why do you think there are so many different groups of Christianity if we are all supposed to have the same beliefs?

What are the beliefs BASED ON THE BIBLE that Christians are supposed to have or supposed to follow? If you chose to be something, you do it cause you want to, and any religion that someone "practices" is a choice.... so shouldnt we do it the right way? So what is the right way?

for example, certain religious ceremonies, holidays, politics, these things within the "christian" religions we see today, are they all acceptable to Gods standards set out in the BIble? etc. etc. etc.

HadesDragon · 03/02/08, 03:57 PM

The reason there are so many beliefs is probably because the cornerstone of Christianity, the Bible, is such an amazingly complex book that it can be interpreted to gain an infinite amount of truths.

Hence, different people have their own interpretation of it, form their sect, etc.

Forever Atlas · 03/02/08, 09:00 PM

well true, but i was also thinking about, not just interpretations of the Bible, but clear things in it. And how the first christians set the way... for example take these excerpts and compare them to todays Christian denominations:

Non-Christian Testimony. Secular writers of the first two centuries also acknowledged the presence and influence of early Christians in their pagan world. For example, Tacitus, a Roman historian born about 55 C.E., tells of the rumor charging that Nero was the one responsible for burning Rome (64 C.E.), and then says: “Therefore, to scotch the rumour, Nero substituted as culprits, and punished with the utmost refinements of cruelty, a class of men, loathed for their vices [as the Romans viewed matters], whom the crowd styled Christians. . . . First, then, the confessed members of the sect were arrested; next, on their disclosures, vast numbers were convicted, not so much on the count of arson as for hatred of the human race. And derision accompanied their end: they were covered with wild beasts’ skins and torn to death by dogs; or they were fastened on crosses, and, when daylight failed were burned to serve as lamps by night.” (The Annals, XV, XLIV) Suetonius, another Roman historian, born toward the end of the first century C.E., relates events that occurred during Nero’s reign, saying: “Punishment was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition.”—The Lives of the Caesars (Nero, XVI, 2).

Flavius Josephus, in his Jewish Antiquities (XVIII, 64 [iii, 3]), mentions certain events in the life of Jesus, adding: “And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day [about 93 C.E.] not disappeared.” Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia in 111 or 112 C.E., faced with the ‘Christian problem,’ wrote to Emperor Trajan, outlining the methods he was using and asking for advice. “I have asked them in person if they are Christians,” wrote Pliny. If they admitted it, they were punished. However, others “denied that they were or ever had been Christians.” Put to the test, not only did these offer up pagan sacrifices but they even “reviled the name of Christ: none of which things, I understand, any genuine Christian can be induced to do.” In answering this letter, Trajan commended Pliny on the way he had handled the matter: “You have followed the right course of procedure . . . in your examination of the cases of persons charged with being Christians.”—The Letters of Pliny, X, XCVI, 3, 5; XCVII, 1.

First-century Christianity had no temples, built no altars, used no crucifixes, and sponsored no garbed and betitled ecclesiastics. Early Christians celebrated no state holidays and refused all military service. “A careful review of all the information available goes to show that, until the time of Marcus Aurelius [who ruled 161-180 C.E.], no Christian became a soldier; and no soldier, after becoming a Christian, remained in military service.”—The Rise of Christianity, by E. Barnes, 1947, p. 333.

risingfalls · 03/02/08, 10:29 PM

As to why there are so many different denominations of Christianity, I'd have to agree with Hades.
Also, throughout history, we can see things like religion being used for power and thus leading to uprisings that cause schisms. Like the Anglican Church being created just because Henry VIII wanted to divorce his wife, and the Protestant Rebellion engendered by the Luther's disgust with the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church.

Which way is the right way? I really don't know. I figure that when you get to the heart of the matter, all you have to do as a Christian is accept Jesus as your Savior and follow the commandments....all the pomp and ceremony isn't really necessary.

I don't really get what you're trying to say with the excerpts. Christians didn't have a lot of things to worship with in the first century of Christianity. And now certain denominations have elaborate church hierarchies and stuff. Is that it? Well, some of it may be because Rome really hated Christians when they first popped up. Distracted loyalty from the emperor and all that. As people started to get desperate for hope of salvation/afterlife/something after death and moved toward Christianity, the empire adopted Christianity, the Church grew uber powerful, with power comes corruption, etc. etc.

Forever Atlas · 03/02/08, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by risingfalls

Which way is the right way? I really don't know. I figure that when you get to the heart of the matter, all you have to do as a Christian is accept Jesus as your Savior and follow the commandments....all the pomp and ceremony isn't really necessary.

well thats the thing, i mean his commands right? a lot of different denominations have different views on what those are, and some dont even follow his commands as clearly seen in the Bible... some dont even use the Bible as their guide but still call themselves "christians" of sort... so how can they follow his commands if they dont even know what they are?

risingfalls · 03/02/08, 10:49 PM

^Then in that case wouldn't that make them hypocrites?
For example, those random people who call themselves Christians and stand outside "heathen" households with picket signs and a bad attitude. See, they are clearly neglecting the whole "God is Love" message of the Bible. That's obvious.

But I see what you're saying, since we don't know who is exactly is right, and if one denomination fails to follow a rule and still calls themselves Christian, does that make them a hypocrite or something....idk.
You can't follow what you don't know.

Forever Atlas · 03/03/08, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by risingfalls

^Then in that case wouldn't that make them hypocrites?
For example, those random people who call themselves Christians and stand outside "heathen" households with picket signs and a bad attitude. See, they are clearly neglecting the whole "God is Love" message of the Bible. That's obvious..

yeah thats true....

Quote:

Originally Posted by risingfalls

^But I see what you're saying, since we don't know who is exactly is right, and if one denomination fails to follow a rule and still calls themselves Christian, does that make them a hypocrite or something....idk..

yeah exactly for example, Jesus told his followers to be completely seperate from the world and his followers were not to engange in any political matters in the world right? and yet, MOST of the Christian groups do... (no offense to those who dont notice i put most)

and thats just one thing... i mean, some use idols in worship and others do some things that are clearly shown in the Bible as not to be done... but once again im not condemning anyone im just asking ppls views if its right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by risingfalls

^You can't follow what you don't know.

right. its like calling yourself a ninja and you cant even do a kick ... it makes no sense you shouldnt call yourself a ninja....

now im not talking about ppl making mistakes on their own, cause everyone is imperfect and makes mistakes or do things that are wrong...

but regarding actual ways of worship and ways of life... the doctrines taught in the religions, the way the different denominations are built up and the foundations and .... dang cant think of the word.. my parents are being too loud lol anyway... do u understand what i mean?

risingfalls · 03/03/08, 03:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smooth

yeah exactly for example, Jesus told his followers to be completely seperate from the world and his followers were not to engange in any political matters in the world right? and yet, MOST of the Christian groups do... (no offense to those who dont notice i put most)

A lot of people find this contradictory. God says to be a witness, but we are to be seperate from the world. That doesn't work. So some sects take it uber literal, idk, like the Amish, and others figure this must be less rigid than actually stated and then you end up with lots of interpretations on the matter.

Quote:

and thats just one thing... i mean, some use idols in worship and others do some things that are clearly shown in the Bible as not to be done...

Again, depends on interpretation. If the icons are of God, or at least what people think he looks like, then isn't it okay to worship them? It's still God.
Then there are those who believe that it's still a sin, b/c God bans idolatry.

Quote:

but regarding actual ways of worship and ways of life... the doctrines taught in the religions, the way the different denominations are built up and the foundations and .... dang cant think of the word.. my parents are being too loud lol anyway... do u understand what i mean?

I understand what you mean. I really don't know what you want answered though. =/

Gildragon · 03/03/08, 04:50 AM

HAdes is partly wright in this. many people are interpreting the Bible, some incorrectly. the one thningtha many Christians need to realize is that Paul discouraged division in the church.

Einon SAMA · 03/03/08, 05:10 AM

I'd also like to meantion that the Churches directly disobey the commandment Love your neighbor as your self and You should not kill when they bless the soldiers and send them off to war.

I guess what Smooth is getting at is that IF there is a true religion, it would not be doing things that conflict with God's laws. Engaging in politics(worldly affairs or wars). At least in Christianity, since this is a Christianity thread, is there one religion that does do these things?

Gildragon · 03/03/08, 05:13 AM

come ont Einon you know better than to make generalized staements. that is so wrong on many levels. for one some churches do love their neighbor and even more thatn tehemselves and two. even if soldiers are going off to war you can pray for their protections. you may not suppoort the reason behind it but it is a command.

EDIT: also God commanded peopel to go to war after teh commandment of thou shalt no kill was there.

Morning Twilight · 03/04/08, 07:55 PM

Yeah, the Commandments are for our own intentions not for what God tells us to do. Even Jesus was we'll say proud of a Soldier because of his obedience. The whole don't engage in politics thing doesn't work either if you just think of David. He was King, which is politics. That's just for our own intentions.

The whole Church thing really, I think, is Christianity's biggest problem. I don't think any church that I have heard of has it right. There are a lot of stupid little things like the dunking vs. sprinkling and who cares, if God's will is for you to be baptized then it will happen no matter if you are dunked, sprinkled, swirlied, or even chinese water tortured into it. This whole right and wrong thing is all based on pride, which we're pretty much supposed to do away with. If we could get christians to be real christians and have their God truly above themselves then it would work. I'll give a story to show what I mean.

So when I was little, my friends and I decided we were going to build a fort. And this was like my life from 6-9 years old. First we spent like a whole month just scouting out the right location for our masterpiece. We finally found this really sturdy tree with enough open space to be able to shoot stuff without it being in the way. We then spent tons of time just gathering any wood, nails and hammers we could find. Then every day we worked. We never argued because there was no time, we HAD TO FINISH THE FORT. When someone stopped the other went because we just HAD TO FINISH THE FORT. The fort was bigger than us. I mean it was THE FORT. It was finished and it had like trap door and .......

I hope this makes my point more clear.

Rixam · 03/04/08, 07:59 PM

Ithink the reasons is that peole are reading and undertsanding the bible in diffeent ways... Sothats why people are following the religion in different ways..

~~Divine Light~~ · 03/04/08, 08:02 PM

yeah I agree with gildragon I think lots of people are misinterpriting the bible and they take stuff the wrong way

Gildragon · 03/04/08, 08:11 PM

That's one of the reason's that I don't belong to a particular denomination. If the bible says it and you take in all scripture to point a belief than its good. I find it amazing that so many denominations actually ignore what their own Bible says to them

03/02/08, 03:52 PM	#1
Forever Atlas The World Rests On Me Join Date: May 2007 Location: In your eyeball Age: 20 Posts: 2,746 Rep Power: 5	Christianity I was sitting down, and i think about these things a lot.... different things as you all may have now seen, anyway, in regards to the Christian faith, it is based on the teachings of Jesus, and the congregation that he instituted here on earth. Christians are to base their faith and teachings on the Bible, so then, my question is.... why do you think there are so many different groups of Christianity if we are all supposed to have the same beliefs? What are the beliefs BASED ON THE BIBLE that Christians are supposed to have or supposed to follow? If you chose to be something, you do it cause you want to, and any religion that someone "practices" is a choice.... so shouldnt we do it the right way? So what is the right way? for example, certain religious ceremonies, holidays, politics, these things within the "christian" religions we see today, are they all acceptable to Gods standards set out in the BIble? etc. etc. etc.

03/02/08, 03:57 PM	#2
HadesDragon HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Join Date: May 2007 Location: Plotting. Posts: 6,209 Rep Power: 13	Re: Christianity The reason there are so many beliefs is probably because the cornerstone of Christianity, the Bible, is such an amazingly complex book that it can be interpreted to gain an infinite amount of truths. Hence, different people have their own interpretation of it, form their sect, etc.

03/02/08, 09:00 PM	#3
Forever Atlas The World Rests On Me Join Date: May 2007 Location: In your eyeball Age: 20 Posts: 2,746 Rep Power: 5	Re: Christianity well true, but i was also thinking about, not just interpretations of the Bible, but clear things in it. And how the first christians set the way... for example take these excerpts and compare them to todays Christian denominations: Non-Christian Testimony. Secular writers of the first two centuries also acknowledged the presence and influence of early Christians in their pagan world. For example, Tacitus, a Roman historian born about 55 C.E., tells of the rumor charging that Nero was the one responsible for burning Rome (64 C.E.), and then says: “Therefore, to scotch the rumour, Nero substituted as culprits, and punished with the utmost refinements of cruelty, a class of men, loathed for their vices [as the Romans viewed matters], whom the crowd styled Christians. . . . First, then, the confessed members of the sect were arrested; next, on their disclosures, vast numbers were convicted, not so much on the count of arson as for hatred of the human race. And derision accompanied their end: they were covered with wild beasts’ skins and torn to death by dogs; or they were fastened on crosses, and, when daylight failed were burned to serve as lamps by night.” (The Annals, XV, XLIV) Suetonius, another Roman historian, born toward the end of the first century C.E., relates events that occurred during Nero’s reign, saying: “Punishment was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition.”—The Lives of the Caesars (Nero, XVI, 2). Flavius Josephus, in his Jewish Antiquities (XVIII, 64 [iii, 3]), mentions certain events in the life of Jesus, adding: “And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day [about 93 C.E.] not disappeared.” Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia in 111 or 112 C.E., faced with the ‘Christian problem,’ wrote to Emperor Trajan, outlining the methods he was using and asking for advice. “I have asked them in person if they are Christians,” wrote Pliny. If they admitted it, they were punished. However, others “denied that they were or ever had been Christians.” Put to the test, not only did these offer up pagan sacrifices but they even “reviled the name of Christ: none of which things, I understand, any genuine Christian can be induced to do.” In answering this letter, Trajan commended Pliny on the way he had handled the matter: “You have followed the right course of procedure . . . in your examination of the cases of persons charged with being Christians.”—The Letters of Pliny, X, XCVI, 3, 5; XCVII, 1. First-century Christianity had no temples, built no altars, used no crucifixes, and sponsored no garbed and betitled ecclesiastics. Early Christians celebrated no state holidays and refused all military service. “A careful review of all the information available goes to show that, until the time of Marcus Aurelius [who ruled 161-180 C.E.], no Christian became a soldier; and no soldier, after becoming a Christian, remained in military service.”—The Rise of Christianity, by E. Barnes, 1947, p. 333.

03/02/08, 10:29 PM	#4
risingfalls Up So High Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: The colors that pour through the streets. Age: 16 Posts: 1,280 Rep Power: 3	Re: Christianity As to why there are so many different denominations of Christianity, I'd have to agree with Hades. Also, throughout history, we can see things like religion being used for power and thus leading to uprisings that cause schisms. Like the Anglican Church being created just because Henry VIII wanted to divorce his wife, and the Protestant Rebellion engendered by the Luther's disgust with the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. Which way is the right way? I really don't know. I figure that when you get to the heart of the matter, all you have to do as a Christian is accept Jesus as your Savior and follow the commandments....all the pomp and ceremony isn't really necessary. I don't really get what you're trying to say with the excerpts. Christians didn't have a lot of things to worship with in the first century of Christianity. And now certain denominations have elaborate church hierarchies and stuff. Is that it? Well, some of it may be because Rome really hated Christians when they first popped up. Distracted loyalty from the emperor and all that. As people started to get desperate for hope of salvation/afterlife/something after death and moved toward Christianity, the empire adopted Christianity, the Church grew uber powerful, with power comes corruption, etc. etc.

03/02/08, 10:49 PM	#6
risingfalls Up So High Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: The colors that pour through the streets. Age: 16 Posts: 1,280 Rep Power: 3	Re: Christianity ^Then in that case wouldn't that make them hypocrites? For example, those random people who call themselves Christians and stand outside "heathen" households with picket signs and a bad attitude. See, they are clearly neglecting the whole "God is Love" message of the Bible. That's obvious. But I see what you're saying, since we don't know who is exactly is right, and if one denomination fails to follow a rule and still calls themselves Christian, does that make them a hypocrite or something....idk. You can't follow what you don't know.

03/03/08, 04:50 AM	#9
Gildragon Beloved Noble Lover Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Making Out With GD Cause He's So Damn Sexy =D Age: 21 Posts: 1,963 Rep Power: 6	Re: Christianity HAdes is partly wright in this. many people are interpreting the Bible, some incorrectly. the one thningtha many Christians need to realize is that Paul discouraged division in the church.

03/03/08, 05:10 AM	#10
Einon SAMA Pillow Talk Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Celestial Plain Posts: 1,286 Rep Power: 5	Re: Christianity I'd also like to meantion that the Churches directly disobey the commandment Love your neighbor as your self and You should not kill when they bless the soldiers and send them off to war. I guess what Smooth is getting at is that IF there is a true religion, it would not be doing things that conflict with God's laws. Engaging in politics(worldly affairs or wars). At least in Christianity, since this is a Christianity thread, is there one religion that does do these things?

03/03/08, 05:13 AM	#11
Gildragon Beloved Noble Lover Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Making Out With GD Cause He's So Damn Sexy =D Age: 21 Posts: 1,963 Rep Power: 6	Re: Christianity come ont Einon you know better than to make generalized staements. that is so wrong on many levels. for one some churches do love their neighbor and even more thatn tehemselves and two. even if soldiers are going off to war you can pray for their protections. you may not suppoort the reason behind it but it is a command. EDIT: also God commanded peopel to go to war after teh commandment of thou shalt no kill was there.

03/04/08, 07:55 PM	#12
Morning Twilight Keyblade Wielder Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 220 Rep Power: 0	Re: Christianity Yeah, the Commandments are for our own intentions not for what God tells us to do. Even Jesus was we'll say proud of a Soldier because of his obedience. The whole don't engage in politics thing doesn't work either if you just think of David. He was King, which is politics. That's just for our own intentions. The whole Church thing really, I think, is Christianity's biggest problem. I don't think any church that I have heard of has it right. There are a lot of stupid little things like the dunking vs. sprinkling and who cares, if God's will is for you to be baptized then it will happen no matter if you are dunked, sprinkled, swirlied, or even chinese water tortured into it. This whole right and wrong thing is all based on pride, which we're pretty much supposed to do away with. If we could get christians to be real christians and have their God truly above themselves then it would work. I'll give a story to show what I mean. So when I was little, my friends and I decided we were going to build a fort. And this was like my life from 6-9 years old. First we spent like a whole month just scouting out the right location for our masterpiece. We finally found this really sturdy tree with enough open space to be able to shoot stuff without it being in the way. We then spent tons of time just gathering any wood, nails and hammers we could find. Then every day we worked. We never argued because there was no time, we HAD TO FINISH THE FORT. When someone stopped the other went because we just HAD TO FINISH THE FORT. The fort was bigger than us. I mean it was THE FORT. It was finished and it had like trap door and ....... I hope this makes my point more clear.

03/04/08, 07:59 PM	#13
Rixam Unforgiveable Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The Realm Of Randomness Age: 20 Posts: 2,607 Rep Power: 9	Re: Christianity Ithink the reasons is that peole are reading and undertsanding the bible in diffeent ways... Sothats why people are following the religion in different ways..

03/04/08, 08:02 PM	#14
~~Divine Light~~ Banned Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: searching the depths of my heart for that which is hidden. Age: 18 Posts: 1,304 Rep Power: 0	Re: Christianity yeah I agree with gildragon I think lots of people are misinterpriting the bible and they take stuff the wrong way

03/04/08, 08:11 PM	#15
Gildragon Beloved Noble Lover Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Making Out With GD Cause He's So Damn Sexy =D Age: 21 Posts: 1,963 Rep Power: 6	Re: Christianity That's one of the reason's that I don't belong to a particular denomination. If the bible says it and you take in all scripture to point a belief than its good. I find it amazing that so many denominations actually ignore what their own Bible says to them

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