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Realized
Stranger
Registered: 12/16/08
Posts: 223
Last seen: 13 years, 7 months
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What brings people to Christianity?
#10716389 - 07/21/09 05:12 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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It has been awhile since I looked at Christianity but I have been wondering what factor fuels people to become Christians the most.
Is it the fear of hell and the feeling that they need to please God in order to be saved? Is it the hope of heaven? Is it the fellowship of other people? Is it the comfort of pretending that the universe has meaning? Is it the answer to all their unanswered questions? Is it just something they were raised to believe in? Does it comfort them to think that someone else is in control and that God will help them through everything?
I think it is a mix of all of these. It really seems like the system of Christianity, as well as every organized religion provides for all the basic human desires and uses just enough fear to keep people in it and keep the system growing... It really has everything most normal people would ever want.
-------------------- “The person lives most beautifully who does not reflect upon existence” - Friedrich Nietzsche "Change my mind so much I can't even trust it. My mind changes me so much I can't even trust myself."
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Mushouse
Mycomancer
Registered: 06/26/06
Posts: 500
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: Realized]
#10716399 - 07/21/09 05:13 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Silversoul
Rhizome
Registered: 01/01/05
Posts: 23,576
Loc: The Barricades
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: Realized]
#10716564 - 07/21/09 05:38 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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As with any religion, most people are simply are simply brought up with it. Christianity also proselytizes, but I wouldn't put too much emphasis on that. I mean, if you had no interest in Christianity, would you really change your mind because some annoying guy keeps bugging you about it? One thing that often seems to trigger conversion experiences is when people hit rock bottom in their life, and then find salvation in Christ. Thus, many former drug addicts and prisoners become Christian(others join the Nation of Islam).
Now, these factors are basically for people at lower levels of consciousness. The drug addict or criminal who finds Christ is going from egocentric to ethnocentric, which is why the form of Christianity they find is generally a more conservative variety. However, others at higher levels of development might admire the Christian emphasis on love and forgiveness, as well as the active, communitarian aspect of it. Indeed, compared to many Eastern religions, Christianity gives a lot more emphasis to charity and serving the community. This is how, for example, Barack Obama became a Christian, after working with several churches as a community organizer. I was recently listening to an interview with a Zen Buddhist teacher who said that at one time he went through a period of reading various Christian mystics like Meister Eckhart and Theresa of Avila, and he said that he felt there was a great amount of "heart energy" in their writings.
As for me, LSD brought me to Christianity.
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Wet
maybe
Registered: 07/08/09
Posts: 207
Last seen: 14 years, 6 months
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: Silversoul]
#10716717 - 07/21/09 06:04 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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from my experience, most of the time it is either being brought up in the faith, or being put in a scary situation with "no where to turn but god". I have also heard of people becoming christians because it seems to make sense to them. Many different reasons.
-------------------- EARTH E ART HEART HEAR THE ART
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fivepointer
newbie
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Posts: 1,428
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: Wet]
#10716891 - 07/21/09 06:34 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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As a former Agnostic turned Christian I will speak for myself only. I did not fear hell because to fear something means you must believe it in its existence in order to fear it and being an Agnostic I had no belief in anything. Hope of heaven - nope just another fairy tale, not a motivation. I was not raised as a Christian, my family would mock them, not a reason either.
So since so many people in the world call themselves Christian I figured I would investigate what it is all about. I kept trying to understand it, for many many months. Just didn't "get it", made no sense. Would search for someone to explain it to me, never got a good answer. Was reading the Bible and it never clicked for me. Kept reading and trying as hard as i could to follow what it said. Found that the more I tried the more I realized I was going in the opposite direction. The Holy Spirit was showing me who I really was by nature, inherently unrighteous. I found I had absolutely no redeeming value and should rightly should be cast away. The Spirit convicted me of sin, and right after that moment I "got it". The Bible made sense. I was saved and I knew it. A new principle of behavior has entered my life. Great joy fills those who believe and know the truth and the Spirit is like a great wind that fills the sails of my soul.
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Wet
maybe
Registered: 07/08/09
Posts: 207
Last seen: 14 years, 6 months
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: Wet]
#10717183 - 07/21/09 07:29 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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maybe its like trying to understand a shroom trip without taking shrooms?
-------------------- EARTH E ART HEART HEAR THE ART
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Fraggin
Multi-Faceted
Registered: 01/05/05
Posts: 8,707
Last seen: 8 years, 2 months
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: Wet]
#10719593 - 07/22/09 08:45 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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I prefer to study and follow the teachings of Christ instead of being a 'Christian'. I dunno what that makes me.
Do I believe that Jesus Died for my sins?
I believe that Jesus Christ had a firm understanding of humanity and the divine and was an awakened being. I believe he was steadfast in his beliefs which went against the grain of the spirituality-law, thus resulting in the torture and crucifiction of one of the most loving kind men in history. The was such a tragedy in the eyes of men, they carried on his teachings and continued to stand righteousness for his beliefs. Eventually, this led to less harsh laws imposed on humans during that era, ultimatley leading to less deaths and punishments for petty things such as accidentally eating non-kosher meat. I suppose he tamed the hearts of the romans to a degree, and saved more lives that way. He made the world a better place for me today perhaps. Maybe if he never existed, law's punishment would be extremely severe today as it is in some Islamic countries. So, Yeah, I believe that Jesus Christ died for what he believed in, and what he believed in was a better world, and more understanding of God and Spirituality, and there was so much compassion for his cause, his death was a catalyst that caused the spread of his teachings.
What I don't believe, is that simply by reciting John 3:16, and saying that you believe in Jesus, makes you any more Christ-like than you were before. i.e. Most of the Christians in my family.
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zen buddy
not a buddhist
Registered: 01/22/09
Posts: 704
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: Realized]
#10719598 - 07/22/09 08:46 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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fear and insecurity
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Fraggin
Multi-Faceted
Registered: 01/05/05
Posts: 8,707
Last seen: 8 years, 2 months
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: zen buddy]
#10719610 - 07/22/09 08:49 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Some people simply have no one to look up to as a model example in their life. By accepting Jesus as a personal savior, and following his example, one can transcend society's modality of civility.
What brings people to Christianity?
The desire to be a better person.
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Taco Chef
I found dead John Cheever
Registered: 03/03/06
Posts: 33,222
Loc: the city of dis
Last seen: 3 years, 9 months
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: Realized]
#10719861 - 07/22/09 09:48 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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when ever i see christians now a days, they seemed to be filled with hate and rage, which alway reminds me of reich's idea of the emotional plague...
http://anarchy.org.au/?page_id=9
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DivineTantrika
Goddess
Registered: 06/27/09
Posts: 93
Last seen: 10 years, 9 months
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: Taco Chef]
#10722298 - 07/22/09 06:06 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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I was once a Christian...
I became that way because when I was a somewhat pathetic goth teenage girl, I was accepted by this one non-denominational church. they did lots of service for the community. It was their big thing. When I participated in these missions, I felt my spirit move. And this hurch also did mostly worship music, rather then a big long lesson from some old guy. And the people there were really worshipping their God, with love and praise. I felt my spirit move for this as well.
I interpreted this, being a young girl as "This must be the one true thing" since I hadn't really felt such stirring in my soul outside of these experiences at that time.
But, as time went on, I found that there was truth elsewhere, and when I started moving toward these other influenes, I gained enough distance from the bible to see clearly the downfalls of Christianity, and the downfalls of pretty much all organized religion, and I realized the path to enlightenment is one that is unique to each of us, and I resolved to gain truth from any source that contained it, and to move on with life, carrying those lessons with me.
-------------------- "I would rather be a bridge between people, then rushing water carrying debris." ~Me
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Mushouse
Mycomancer
Registered: 06/26/06
Posts: 500
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: DivineTantrika]
#10722615 - 07/22/09 07:02 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
DivineTantrika said: I realized the path to enlightenment is one that is unique to each of us, and I resolved to gain truth from any source that contained it, and to move on with life, carrying those lessons with me.
That is how I live.
I constantly consider every possibility; the simple and the absurd. Over time, my opinions and ideas of reality shift and evolve based on what I've seen and experienced. You might call it science; I weigh new info against everything I've known previously. I just move forward, knowing that nothing I think is concrete. I consider the person I was yesterday to be primitive.
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Existence
Stranger
Registered: 07/12/09
Posts: 362
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: Realized]
#10722703 - 07/22/09 07:17 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Fear, everything is fear.
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zen buddy
not a buddhist
Registered: 01/22/09
Posts: 704
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: Fraggin]
#10722813 - 07/22/09 07:35 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Fraggin said: Some people simply have no one to look up to as a model example in their life. By accepting Jesus as a personal savior, and following his example, one can transcend society's modality of civility.
What brings people to Christianity?
The desire to be a better person.
I didn't have anyone to look up to. I'm doing a fine job of becoming a better person without Jesus, we all have a conscience and all you have to do is listen.
Ask yourself what you can do to become a better person, you might be surprised at the answer you get. Asking friends and family how they think you can improve can also help a lot. Pay attention to the world and the people around you, the answer is here for you to find in this moment, and every moment -- the here and now.
Reading how other people remember a story about a guy who lived thousands of years ago instead of paying attention to the 'real' world around you and listening to the light in your heart, is an obvious sign of a lost and confused soul.
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Wet
maybe
Registered: 07/08/09
Posts: 207
Last seen: 14 years, 6 months
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: zen buddy]
#10722950 - 07/22/09 07:52 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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its kinda like asking why humans wake up in the morning
-------------------- EARTH E ART HEART HEAR THE ART
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Fraggin
Multi-Faceted
Registered: 01/05/05
Posts: 8,707
Last seen: 8 years, 2 months
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: zen buddy]
#10723645 - 07/22/09 09:24 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
zen buddy said:
Quote:
Fraggin said: Some people simply have no one to look up to as a model example in their life. By accepting Jesus as a personal savior, and following his example, one can transcend society's modality of civility.
What brings people to Christianity?
The desire to be a better person.
I didn't have anyone to look up to. I'm doing a fine job of becoming a better person without Jesus, we all have a conscience and all you have to do is listen.
Ask yourself what you can do to become a better person, you might be surprised at the answer you get. Asking friends and family how they think you can improve can also help a lot. Pay attention to the world and the people around you, the answer is here for you to find in this moment, and every moment -- the here and now.
Reading how other people remember a story about a guy who lived thousands of years ago instead of paying attention to the 'real' world around you and listening to the light in your heart, is an obvious sign of a lost and confused soul.
I'm beginning to think you disagree with everything I post, just to disagree with me... Honestly, how can you disagree with what I just posted?
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zen buddy
not a buddhist
Registered: 01/22/09
Posts: 704
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: Fraggin]
#10725604 - 07/23/09 07:09 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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You did read my post, right? I actually made my point very clear.
and I don't just say shit for the sake of argument, or in other words, NO, my post do not revolve around you...lol
I speak my mind, honest and clear. (If I'm joking around it will be obvious or I will make it clear that I'm joking)
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Fraggin
Multi-Faceted
Registered: 01/05/05
Posts: 8,707
Last seen: 8 years, 2 months
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: zen buddy]
#10725887 - 07/23/09 08:41 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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stereolab
Wizard
Registered: 06/08/09
Posts: 941
Loc: NY
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: Fraggin]
#10726841 - 07/23/09 12:58 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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What brings people to McDonalds?
An easy-to-read menu and there are a lot of them.
Or: God just wants it to be that way.
Just depends on how you look at it.
-------------------- Space is the Place
Edited by stereolab (07/23/09 01:30 PM)
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OrgoneConclusion
Blue Fish Group
Registered: 04/01/07
Posts: 45,441
Loc: Under the C
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Re: What brings people to Christianity? [Re: stereolab]
#10726993 - 07/23/09 01:32 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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For me, it was the tasty communion wafers and the Christmas presents.
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