Why do people strongly dislike Christians?

tucker58 · Aug 14, 2010

Why do people strongly dislike Christians? Over and over again I constantly hear folks say that they strongly dislike Christians. Why? Jesus' message was one of love. Christians should be loved, not strongly disliked.

anybody?

love,

tuck

The4thrider · Aug 14, 2010

To me it is all perception. Most of us interact with people of different faiths everyday, And we have no problem.
The reputation is damaged when your getting preached at by some guy on the street corner, you see a womens clinic was bombed on TV, or were mistreated by Christians (sad but true). Its all based on that, a few can ruin your rep for the whole crowd.
Example, based on my experiences and perceptions i have a strong dislike of the Evangelical church. I throw them into the same bin as radical Islam. I know that not all evangelicals are bad people, I have evangelical friends. But as i said before, the evangelicals worry me.

merryheart · Aug 14, 2010

tucker58 said:
Why do people strongly dislike Christians? Over and over again I constantly hear folks say that they strongly dislike Christians. Why? Jesus' message was one of love. Christians should be loved, not strongly disliked.

anybody?

love,

tuck

because a whole lot of evil has been done in the name of God. A lot of it has been done by people naming themselves Christians. The Bible says that we will be hated for His (Jesus) namesake - but much of what Christians are hated for has nothing at all to do with Christians being followers of Jesus ^_^

The4thrider · Aug 14, 2010

merryheart said:
A lot of it has been done by people naming themselves Christians.

What you said is true, but every time i see this it's very "No True Scotsman" to me. Cutting the person loose rather than taking responsibility.

Gardenia · Aug 14, 2010

Unfortunately, people seem to judge the whole based on the loud minority. That goes for more than just Christianity, as well. That happens with many groups.

merryheart · Aug 14, 2010

The4thrider said:
What you said is true, but every time i see this it's very "No True Scotsman" to me. Cutting the person loose rather than taking responsibility.

yes - unfortunately much of the evil done in the name of Christianity over the last 2000 years has been done by the organized "church" itself :s i do agree - that no true follower of Jesus would engage themselves in that evil - its mutually exclusive - however, in the eyes of non-christians, we are tarred with that brush. its a dilemma.

He's Coming Soon · Aug 14, 2010

tucker58 said:
Why do people strongly dislike Christians? Over and over again I constantly hear folks say that they strongly dislike Christians. Why? Jesus' message was one of love. Christians should be loved, not strongly disliked.

anybody?

love,

tuck

that TRUTH hurts ... ?

hamashiachagape · Aug 14, 2010

tucker58 said:
Why do people strongly dislike Christians? Over and over again I constantly hear folks say that they strongly dislike Christians. Why? Jesus' message was one of love. Christians should be loved, not strongly disliked.

anybody?

love,

tuck

Antisemitism is one reason.

hamashiachagape · Aug 14, 2010

The4thrider said:
To me it is all perception. Most of us interact with people of different faiths everyday, And we have no problem.
The reputation is damaged when your getting preached at by some guy on the street corner, you see a womens clinic was bombed on TV, or were mistreated by Christians (sad but true). Its all based on that, a few can ruin your rep for the whole crowd.
Example, based on my experiences and perceptions i have a strong dislike of the Evangelical church. I throw them into the same bin as radical Islam. I know that not all evangelicals are bad people, I have evangelical friends. But as i said before, the evangelicals worry me.

I appreciate this objective truth.

Rosalila · Aug 14, 2010

I think that even if you take away all the atrocities the church has committed in the past, people would still hate us. And that's because we are commanded to be vocal about our beliefs (the gospel). I think that if Muslims and Jews were commanded to do the same, they would be hated just as much because their laws are very similar. Most people know what the Bible is about and what it says about certain issues of morality and they don't want to give up whatever it is they may be engaging in. They don't want to be told they're wrong. I bet that if Christianity permitted certain things everyone would love us. That's why we have all these watered down christian teachings today. .and the whole new age craze.

hamashiachagape · Aug 14, 2010

Rosalila said:
I think that even if you take away all the atrocities the church has committed in the past, people would still hate us. And that's because we are commanded to be vocal about our beliefs (the gospel). I think that if Muslims and Jews were commanded to do the same, they would be hated just as much because their laws are very similar. Most people know what the Bible is about and what it says about certain issues of morality and they don't want to give up whatever it is they may be engaging in. They don't want to be told they're wrong. I bet that if Christianity permitted certain things everyone would love us. That's why we have all these watered down christian teachings today. .and the whole new age craze.

I think that if the true beauty of Christianity was demonstrated, people would have no reason to hate us. I was once on an Atheist site and told someone that I was a Christian who believed in following the Torah and the Prophets. There was an Atheist who spoke up and said...."If more Christians were like you, I'd probably think about becoming one." The rest of the thread was silent.

merryheart · Aug 14, 2010

people disliked Jesus... but think for a minute about which people it was who hated him.... it was the people in power!!! the ones who stood to lose authority based on His teachings! the leaders of the established organized religion! ordinary people did not hate Him - not even when he exposed their sins - because He was so merciful and compassionate when He did so!

dlamberth · Aug 14, 2010

tucker58 said:
Why do people strongly dislike Christians? Over and over again I constantly hear folks say that they strongly dislike Christians. Why? Jesus' message was one of love. Christians should be loved, not strongly disliked.

anybody?

love,

tuck

Jesus is Love...yes. But are Christians?

.

hamashiachagape · Aug 14, 2010

merryheart said:
people disliked Jesus... but think for a minute about which people it was who hated him.... it was the people in power!!! the ones who stood to lose authority based on His teachings! the leaders of the established organized religion! ordinary people did not hate Him - not even when he exposed their sins - because He was so merciful and compassionate when He did so!

This was also prophecied to take place. Theres another prophecy beyond that that says that the fullness (tho not all) of the Gentiles will be brought in, and all of Israel will be saved as well.

hamashiachagape · Aug 14, 2010

dlamberth said:
Jesus is Love...yes. But are Christians?

.

We should be. What is love though? One must define that first, in Ancient Near East terms. Ahava, and Agape primarily is a good description of what we mean. Its more of a tough love. Not a love that says we can do whatever we want to do. There is respect involved too, both for God and our fellow man. So if we love the Lord our God with all our hearts, and follow his commands, then love can be exemplified through us.

dlamberth · Aug 14, 2010

hamashiachagape said:
We should be. What is love though. One must define that first.

Love is something of the heart. It can't be defined.

.

hamashiachagape · Aug 14, 2010

dlamberth said:
Love is something of the heart. It can't be defined.

.

Then we're not talking about the same thing. Most matters of the heart as defined by an Ancient Near East personality have to do with the intellect. And further 1 Corinthians 13.

merryheart · Aug 14, 2010

its not so much that love cannot be defined, as that it cannot be contained in a definition ^_^

God is love. and there is no love outside of God. The essence of God is too big for our puny hearts. The life of Jesus is an expression of that love. 1 Cor 13 is a reflection of that love.

hamashiachagape · Aug 14, 2010

merryheart said:
its not so much that love cannot be defined, as that it cannot be contained in a definition

God is love. and there is no love outside of God. The essence of God is too big for our puny hearts. The life of Jesus is an expression of that love. 1 Cor 13 is a reflection of that love.

I disagree with this. Its supporting an Agnostic concept of love. And I happen to believe that, well, even according to Josh McDowell terms, Agnostic theology and philosophy knows too much about itself.

I believe the essence of God is too big for our puny minds. After all, his ways are higher than our ways (to the Muslim, this doesn't mean we can't have a finite knowledge about God though). But remember, that Jesus says, "if you love me, you'll keep my commandments." Thats where the expression really is.

dlamberth · Aug 14, 2010

hamashiachagape said:
Most matters of the heart as defined by an Ancient Near East personality have to do with the intellect.

I have to disagree. People in the ancient near east were way too spiritual in their thinking to intellectualize Love and Compassion.

.

Why do people strongly dislike Christians?

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