Master and Lord

[TheLightWithin]

Can you give a concrete example of which Christians are behaving in which ways - and how it hides which things from - which people - and how does it repel which people from learning which things?

I'll try to explain if you'd like me to, but not in this thread. I'll see if I can find an existing thread for it.

I would love it if you offered something less abstract or more concrete.
Otherwise it seems like you are dancing around a point.
That could be interpreted as you being bothered by the current (and longstanding) conflation of a certain type of Christian theology with a certain type of politics (esp in the US) which you realize we cannot discuss on the forum at this time.
But perhaps you are afraid that type of thing going on in the world mistreats people, turns people off, or puts Christianity in a troubling light.
IF that is the case, IF that is what your concern is, the forum may not be a way you can address it, but you can address it in the world by locating moderate and progressive believers in many denominations, and working to create a much louder public voice for Christians who want to promote love, charity, selfless giving, calm, forgiveness, and any other ideas from scripture that you observe are being ignored.

Create your own website and Facebook page and reach out to as many people as you can who see things as you do, and publish writings and conduct charity drives and help people in ways consistent with your understanding of Jesus.

Explain that your organization is non-creedal and that obedience to Jesus is your only interest.

If you do that, many people may want to help you. Even people who are not religious may be attracted to this. You would explain that even though you are non-creedal your organization is religious and Jesus will be talked about and referred to at all times, and accepting that social fact about your organization would be part of the agreement for joining your group.

 

[TheLightWithin]

Here's one thing that I would like to know. Do we all agree that Jesus has all the authority, power, knowledge and wisdom of God that there is in the world?

I think somebody already answered this, but being this is an interfaith forum clearly there are going to be people on the forum who do not have te belief about Jesus that you state.
That does not mean they would not be sympathetic to your other ideas (such as not making people psychologically subjugated, however I think I should ask more about what you specifically mean by that)

 

[TheLightWithin]

I don’t call myself a Christian because I don’t have all the same beliefs as any Christians

It's okay not to call yourself Christian if you don't want to, as that is mainly a title and a social identity and doesn't speak to the heart.
However, there are lots of people who get accused of not having the right beliefs to be Christian, but may self identify as Christian anyway.

 

[TheLightWithin]

I see Christians behaving in ways that I think are hiding the things from people that He wants us to know

Still not sure what is being hidden, by whom and how

Another is that part of what I’m seeing looks to me like people being psychologically subjugated by people selling stories about God and Jesus.

What is your definition of psychologically subjugated? I could try to decipher it and make guesses, but that would be my definition not yours.

 

[TheLightWithin]

Anything else? Any other ideas about what to about what I’m concerned about?

I hope what I tried to do in Post #61 is a little bit on point.

 

[Longfellow]

I hope what I tried to do in Post #61 is a little bit on point.

I see that you might be trying to help me and I appreciate that. If you don’t see service and obedience to Jesus as an important part of His message that is being obscured by Christians online on all sides, then I don’t think that there’s anything anything you can do to help me, or even to understand what I wanted to do in this thread. Also, I’ve started a new thread for that because I see now that the title I chose for this one was poorly chosen.

 

[muhammad_isa]

However, there are lots of people who get accused of not having the right beliefs to be Christian, but may self identify as Christian anyway.

..and therein lies the problem .. that often people think that they "own" Christianity..
..or any faith, for that matter.

Naturally, regards Christianity, we have the legacy Roman enforcement of a particular creed,
with others being deemed heretic .. i.e. not a Christian

I prefer to reflect on what Jesus actually said, and not what some 'big power' espouses.
..just saying.

 

[Thomas]

If you don’t see service and obedience to Jesus as an important part of His message that is being obscured by Christians online on all sides, then I don’t think that there’s anything anything you can do to help me, or even to understand what I wanted to do in this thread.

You mean if we don't agree with you, we don't understand?

Or is it that you want this thread to gather people together who agree with you and are critical of what Christians, both in their denominations and in themselves, believe and teach?

 

[Longfellow]

You mean if we don't agree with you, we don't understand?

No.

Or is it that you want this thread to gather people together who agree with you and are critical of what Christians, both in their denominations and in themselves, believe and teach?

No.

 

[Thomas]

But that seems to me the essence of what you're saying; both @.

I'm sorry chum, and I'm sure you're looking round for the right way to say what you want to say, but you make comments like 'I'm not a Christian' and then criticise Christian online presence.

If someone's not a Christian, then I would not have thought for a moment they will accept Jesus as their Master and Lord, nor consider what they do as offering service and obedience to Him?

+++

Without doubt, atheists, agnostics and believers in other faiths might well acknowledge the wisdom of the New Testament 'at a distance', as it were; a Hindu might well array a statue of Jesus or Mary along with other spiritual figures, but they still very much remain within their own religious sphere.

+++

Are you calling for ideas among those who self-identify as Christian but are not attached to any particular faith or denomination?

 

[Longfellow]

But that seems to me the essence of what you're saying; both @.

If you won't believe what I say, then why are you asking me?

(later) I'm not trying any more to do what I was hoping to do in this thread, and my title was poorly chosen.

 

[Longfellow]

If someone's not a Christian, then I would not have thought for a moment they will accept Jesus as their Master and Lord, nor consider what they do as offering service and obedience to Him?

So do you think I'm lying about that or what?

Are you calling for ideas among those who self-identify as Christian but are not attached to any particular faith or denomination?

No.

 

[Longfellow]

But that seems to me the essence of what you're saying; both @.

I'm sorry chum, and I'm sure you're looking round for the right way to say what you want to say, but you make comments like 'I'm not a Christian' and then criticise Christian online presence.

If someone's not a Christian, then I would not have thought for a moment they will accept Jesus as their Master and Lord, nor consider what they do as offering service and obedience to Him?

+++

Without doubt, atheists, agnostics and believers in other faiths might well acknowledge the wisdom of the New Testament 'at a distance', as it were; a Hindu might well array a statue of Jesus or Mary along with other spiritual figures, but they still very much remain within their own religious sphere.

+++

Are you calling for ideas among those who self-identify as Christian but are not attached to any particular faith or denomination?

I'm not planning to post any more about what I was hoping to do in this thread, or about master and lord, or about service and obedience, or about any of my concerns about what's happening online. Maybe I should not even be posting in the Abrahamic Religions forum, or at least not about any Christian topics. Oh! That gives me an idea!

 

[Thomas]

So do you think I'm lying about that or what?

No, I think that anyone who's not a Christian would accept Jesus as Lord and Master, and offer service and obedience in His name.
Simple as that.

 

[Thomas]

... or about any of my concerns about what's happening online.

Forgive me if I got this wrong, but I rather got the impression your concern was about how Christians represent Christianity online?

The issue with, you never explicitly state what concerns you, nor what you think the teaching should be, nor what form online discussion should take ... so I can only speak for myself, but I do seem to be somewhat at a loss as to what you are trying to get at.

And as I have tried to point out, your premise of Lord and Master, service and obedience is contextually problematic.

 

[Longfellow]

Forgive me if I got this wrong, but I rather got the impression your concern was about how Christians represent Christianity online?

The issue with, you never explicitly state what concerns you, nor what you think the teaching should be, nor what form online discussion should take ... so I can only speak for myself, but I do seem to be somewhat at a loss as to what you are trying to get at.

And as I have tried to point out, your premise of Lord and Master, service and obedience is contextually problematic.

The best way that I can think of to understand your posts and some others to me is that people think that my only purpose in this thread and in some other posts has been to criticize Christians, and that’s all that anyone can see in my posts no matter what I say. That has not been my purpose at all, and from now on I will try to strictly avoid saying anything that anyone might interpret that way.

(later) Thinking about it some more, I can very well understand now why people would take what I’ve been saying that way.