Why do you think people reject Christianity? (suggestions)

FireDragon76

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Hey all. I just wanted to ask you guys for your help briefly. I’m starting a YouTube channel where I want to discuss things in the bible and things that are taught that may be “confusing” or cause doubts for people on the fence about Christianity or for atheists altogether. I want to address those questions, talk about them, and hopefully levy some clarity. I notice a lot of youth I encounter nowadays are more and more against the church and it scares me. I’m not old(31) but, I notice it a lot and it is obviously concerning. Some examples I’ve come up with: The church allegedly hating gays/gay marriage, Creationism vs Evolution, Is the Old Testament meant to be taken literally, Why does God allow death/disease, etc.

Those are probably the major ones. Some people perceive being Christian as anti-science, anti-gay, or anti-sex.

There's also the perception among young people that somehow being Christian is wrapped up in politics now days, like churches are nothing but the Republican party at prayer.
 
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MariaJLM

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And there's a second ignore. If you want to pick an argument with someone, look elsewhere.

If you're ignoring everybody who disagrees with you then you've come to the wrong place. This is a discussion forum; if you can't handle the heat then don't stand in the kitchen.
 
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CitizenD

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Hey all. I just wanted to ask you guys for your help briefly. I’m starting a YouTube channel where I want to discuss things in the bible and things that are taught that may be “confusing” or cause doubts for people on the fence about Christianity or for atheists altogether. I want to address those questions, talk about them, and hopefully levy some clarity. I notice a lot of youth I encounter nowadays are more and more against the church and it scares me. I’m not old(31) but, I notice it a lot and it is obviously concerning. Some examples I’ve come up with: The church allegedly hating gays/gay marriage, Creationism vs Evolution, Is the Old Testament meant to be taken literally, Why does God allow death/disease, etc.

What are some other things you guys have heard or experienced where you hear someone say, “Well, I don’t believe because of X, Y, and Z.”?

Why don't you ask some non-Christians why they don't believe instead of asking Christians what they've heard (hearsay) non-Christians say?
 
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Tom 1

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I gotta say, I didn’t see anything in the post you responded to that was related to Marxism, an economic philosophy of workers owning the means of production.

‘Cultural Marxism’ is often used as a term by people to sum up or dismiss ideas (or people) they can’t be bothered to engage with in any kind of mature or meaningful way. From the other side of the political spectrum you get other terms like ‘Nazi’ being thrown about in a similar way.
 
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Neogaia777

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Hey all. I just wanted to ask you guys for your help briefly. I’m starting a YouTube channel where I want to discuss things in the bible and things that are taught that may be “confusing” or cause doubts for people on the fence about Christianity or for atheists altogether. I want to address those questions, talk about them, and hopefully levy some clarity. I notice a lot of youth I encounter nowadays are more and more against the church and it scares me. I’m not old(31) but, I notice it a lot and it is obviously concerning. Some examples I’ve come up with: The church allegedly hating gays/gay marriage, Creationism vs Evolution, Is the Old Testament meant to be taken literally, Why does God allow death/disease, etc.

What are some other things you guys have heard or experienced where you hear someone say, “Well, I don’t believe because of X, Y, and Z.”?
Refuse to bow... To or before anyone or anything... Whole idea sickens them to the core, but I do not think they see that is stupid and foolish, stubborn and rebellious pride...

I've met some with that reason... Why many atheist's cling so hard to their atheism... It can also be, or develop into, a deep seated hatred of God, (who they claim does not exist), (to which I would say why so passionate over nothing) and his (God's) people...(and why not leave those people alone if it's nothing, (religion/spirituality) why do you feel so threatened by it, or ticked off by it, or it's people...?) (They will say "it", referring to "religion" has done nothing but bad things for us, and I would say maybe, perhaps "religion" has, but not "spirituality", not in it's true and purest form)... (Cause something is happening right now... Religion will be going out, and only true spirituality will remain)...

There are many reasons though, and some are not like this at all...

God Bless!
 
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Mountainmanbob

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No doubt some people reject Christianity because they have met some rather poor examples of the Christian faith who rubbed them the wrong way.

Well obviously you have never been to our church. Nor the last three or four churches that we have attended.

Until the Holy Spirit gives one a new heart they have no true belief in or desire for God.

Think back to when Paul was knocked off his donkey and blinded.

M-Bob
 
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Mountainmanbob

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the church paints God as a monster.

I have never attended a church such as that.

The God-loving goats have one thing to say regarding your post, "how embarrassing!"



M-Bob
 
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Tom 1

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Hey all. I just wanted to ask you guys for your help briefly. I’m starting a YouTube channel where I want to discuss things in the bible and things that are taught that may be “confusing” or cause doubts for people on the fence about Christianity or for atheists altogether. I want to address those questions, talk about them, and hopefully levy some clarity. I notice a lot of youth I encounter nowadays are more and more against the church and it scares me. I’m not old(31) but, I notice it a lot and it is obviously concerning. Some examples I’ve come up with: The church allegedly hating gays/gay marriage, Creationism vs Evolution, Is the Old Testament meant to be taken literally, Why does God allow death/disease, etc.

What are some other things you guys have heard or experienced where you hear someone say, “Well, I don’t believe because of X, Y, and Z.”?

The most surprising for me are people who just don’t give it much thought - I remember having a long conversation with a guy from work, someone who I got on very well with, a serious thinker - regarding work issues - and genuinely nice guy, we talked for ages about spirituality, belief etc in a very general way. At the end of it I asked him what his overall thoughts were and he just said ‘I dunno, I never really think about it’. That really took me by surprise.

One thing I don’t think is helpful is when Christians push ideas that are out of date, attempts to make parts of the bible fit into a modern mindset when they clearly don’t and so on - dogmatism and a general lack of seriousness about careful study of the bible. That kind of thing puts a lot of people off.
 
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Thess

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Because, Christians are generally the weakest, most insecure people I've ever known. I'm 51 and I think I've had one person actually try to share the Good News of Jesus to me face to face. That is unacceptable, so if we truly are this insecure and frightened, too frightened to love others with the Gospel of Christ, then how could our message be received as anything other than hypocritical? You'd be surprised by what other faith systems have to say about us. I am currently working with two wonderful Jehovah Witnesses and they hear and report the same things from their newly converted "Christians". We are losing our flock because we teach a gospel that does not demand obedience or love.

I believe in you and your work. Great job.
 
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WannaWitness

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I would like to take this time to present an idea as to why some people may reject Christianity. I am speaking mainly as a generality, and not an absolute (please note this), but it should make sense. I am also speaking as one who has been guilty of this very thing, and knowing fully that I have things to work on myself. I say this because we as believers can all get caught up in the moment out of pure love and concern for lost souls, but there are right ways to go about things.

Here's the deal. The reason, I believe, for some people rejecting Christ is that we as Christians tend to focus on pointing out sin before pointing people directly to Jesus who offers forgiveness for sins and the gift of eternal life through His death on the cross. And even regarding the issue of sin alone, this can be confusing because there are "doubtful disputations" (Check Romans 14:1) regarding things that are considered sinful to some people and not considered sinful to others (and keeping in mind this is a completely separate issue from things that really are considered sin according to the Bible). Some things are a matter of personal conviction. Things such as what what foods to eat/not eat or what days to observe/not observe (these things are actually mentioned as examples in Romans 14), what Bible translations to use/not use, whether or not women should only wear skirts, what music to listen to/not listen to, entertainment in general and where to draw the line, how to vote/not vote, and so on. I mean, it is only natural that we are going to have our personal convictions as believers, but some of these things can be confusing to those who are new believers or seekers, and when they see us as Christians at one another's throats over petty garbage and "oneupping" one another as to who is "holier", "wiser", etcetera, and not uniting over our common ground as Christians and what we actually do agree on, it can be a turn-off.

Also, it's better to focus on the basics of the Christian life when conversing with non-Christians and new Christians, and things will come natural as they grow in Christ. We have to treat them delicately, as the mere babies (symbolically) that they are. I liken this to feeding steak to an infant who is barely cutting teeth. Babies are not able to chew steak, let alone digest it. It would cause them to choke and as a result, make things worse. We give them milk first, and naturally they will grow and be trainable into more solid foods, and in time, they will be ready for steak, pizza, tacos, salads, and a wide variety of things they can eat if they desire. We cannot expect a newborn baby to bust out of the womb and start walking. That, too, will come in time as they go through phases such as sitting up, crawling, then eventually walking and running. This is the same with one's walk with God. There is a growing process, and God will deal with us as the unique individuals that we are.

It also goes without saying that no matter how gentle we may try to be in our approach to lead the lost to Christ, some will just not accept at all, unfortunately, being content to "do it their own way" with the philosophy of "if it feels good it's okay". After all, 1 Corinthians 1:18 says that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. With this in mind, there does come a time when shaking the dust from our feet is the right thing to do. God does not want anyone to perish, but unfortunately, some will because they die without having a personal relationship with Jesus and accepting the gospel message for themselves. And that is sad, but this still should not stop us from getting the Word of God out when we see an opportunity. And even then, we should let God do the leading.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I apologize if I veered a little off-topic in my elaboration; this is just the best way I could explain it.

As always, I wish not to debate.

God bless.
 
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Mountainmanbob

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I would like to take this time to present an idea as to why some people may reject Christianity. I am speaking mainly as a generality, and not an absolute (please note this), but it should make sense. I am also speaking as one who has been guilty of this very thing, and knowing fully that I have things to work on myself. I say this because we as believers can all get caught up in the moment out of pure love and concern for lost souls, but there are right ways to go about things.

Here's the deal. The reason, I believe, for some people rejecting Christ is that we as Christians tend to focus on pointing out sin before pointing people directly to Jesus who offers forgiveness for sins and the gift of eternal life through His death on the cross. And even regarding the issue of sin alone, this can be confusing because there are "doubtful disputations" (Check Romans 14:1) regarding things that are considered sinful to some people and not considered sinful to others (and keeping in mind this is a completely separate issue from things that really are considered sin according to the Bible). Some things are a matter of personal conviction. Things such as what what foods to eat/not eat or what days to observe/not observe (this things are actually mentioned as examples in Romans 14), what Bible translations to use/not use, whether or not women should only wear skirts, what music to listen to/not listen to, entertainment in general and where to draw the line, how to vote/not vote, and so on. I mean, it is only natural that we are going to have our personal convictions as believers, but some of these things can be confusing to those who are new believers or seekers, and when they see us as Christians at one another's throats over petty garbage and "oneupping" one another as to who is "holier", "wiser", etcetera, and not uniting over our common ground as Christians and what we actually do agree on, it can be a turn-off.

Also, it's better to focus on the basics of the Christian life when conversing with non-Christians and new Christians, and things will come natural as they grow in Christ. We have to treat them delicately, as the mere babies (symbolically) that they are. I liken this to feeding steak to an infant who is barely cutting teeth. Babies are not able to chew steak, let alone digest it. It would cause them to choke and as a result, make things worse. We give them milk first, and naturally they will grow and be trainable into more solid foods, and in time, they will be ready for steak, pizza, tacos, salads, and a wide variety of things they can eat if they desire. We cannot expect a newborn baby to bust out of the womb and start walking. That, too, will come in time as they go through phases such as sitting up, crawling, then eventually walking and running. This is the same with one's walk with God. There is a growing process, and God will deal with us as the unique individuals that we are.

It also goes without saying that no matter how gentle we may try to be in our approach to lead the lost to Christ, some will just not accept at all, unfortunately, being content to "do it their own way" with the philosophy of "if it feels good it's okay". After all, 1 Corinthians 1:18 says that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. With this in mind, there does come a time when shaking the dust from our feet is the right thing to do. God does not want anyone to perish, but unfortunately, some will because they die without having a personal relationship with Jesus and accepting the gospel message for themselves. And that is sad, but this still should not stop us from getting the Word of God out when we see an opportunity. And even then, we should let God do the leading.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I apologize if I veered a little off-topic in my elaboration; this is just the best way I could explain it.

As always, I wish not to debate.

God bless.

Let's think back a little ways to John the Baptist.

Truth is you cannot give them the good news until you give them the bad news.

Don't water down the gospel.

Blessed are the preachers.

Jesus will not lose one that the Father has given to Him.

Relax the ones that are supposed to get there will definitely get there it's a work of the Holy Spirit only.

True, you might be blessed as being a helper someday. But, it ain't nothing that you do, don't get puffed up little man.

M-Bob
 
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WannaWitness

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Let's think back a little ways to John the Baptist.

Truth is you cannot give them the good news until you give them the bad news.

Don't water down the gospel.

Blessed are the preachers.

Jesus will not lose one that the Father has given to Him.

Relax the ones that are supposed to get there will definitely get there it's a work of the Holy Spirit only.

True, you might be blessed as being a helper someday. But, it ain't nothing that you do, don't get puffed up little man.

M-Bob

I see what you are saying, but I think you are misunderstanding what I am getting at. I am not suggesting to "water down the gospel" or avoid the topic of sin. It does need to be addressed. But there is a time and place for it, and a right way to go about it. Yes, I know all about John the Baptist. He was used mightily to bring the good news. But He listened to God's voice, and presented the Gospel as He led him. God also knows that everyone has a different way of going about things. Some people did not come to know Christ as personal Lord and Savior while sitting in church. Some came to him through an inspirational song that spoke to them, some came while listening to a sermon on TV or being moved by a Christian movie. Some have been ministered to through a variety of people over time (where one plants, another waters, and another actually leads to salvation). I have an acquaintance, once an agnostic I believe, who is a Christian to this day because of this method.

We also need to remember that as we are speaking with such people, we need to keep in mind our own shortcomings, which all of us will struggle with until eternity. None of us can claim complete perfection until then.

Here are a couple of powerful songs that explain things better than I can.



Hope this clears things up. I have explained this the best way I know how. I already said I do not want to debate. Let's agree to disagree respectfully as brother and sister in Christ.
 
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Cm1989

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From personal experience in my own family and friends.

People can't get their mind around a loving God allowing suffering to happen to children as it does sometimes (which a lot of these people had very bad childhoods).

They can't accept God's will as a final authority because they disagree with the standard that God has set. Example, the list of things that can keep you out of heaven, fornication, homosexuality, etc...We have normalized these behaviors so much that it just doesn't make since that they are wrong to people.

Or what I mainly have encountered is that they do in fact believe in God, but they are angry at Him for the many hurts that have occurred or because they don't understand his never changing character that is contrary to their ideology.

I think in general people have a lack of understanding of sin in the world, and what really happened when the fall occurred. And how Satan is the prince of this world for now. And how important Jesus is in all of it is not always conveyed well from experience.
 
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Maria Billingsley

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Hey all. I just wanted to ask you guys for your help briefly. I’m starting a YouTube channel where I want to discuss things in the bible and things that are taught that may be “confusing” or cause doubts for people on the fence about Christianity or for atheists altogether. I want to address those questions, talk about them, and hopefully levy some clarity. I notice a lot of youth I encounter nowadays are more and more against the church and it scares me. I’m not old(31) but, I notice it a lot and it is obviously concerning. Some examples I’ve come up with: The church allegedly hating gays/gay marriage, Creationism vs Evolution, Is the Old Testament meant to be taken literally, Why does God allow death/disease, etc.

What are some other things you guys have heard or experienced where you hear someone say, “Well, I don’t believe because of X, Y, and Z.”?

There is no lack of excuses for rejecting the Gospel that's for sure! But our job is to lead by example. A lot of hate comes out of the "body" so I can see why the "good news" falls on deaf ears. I think we need to clean up our act first and follow the central message of Christian faith and teaching "love one another".

The message you heard from the very beginning is this: we must love one another. (1 John 3:11)

And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)

Do not take revenge on others or continue to hate them, but love your neighbors as you love yourself. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18)

Above everything, love one another earnestly, because love covers over many sins. (1 Peter 4:8)

Be under obligation to no one—the only obligation you have is to love one another. Whoever does this has obeyed the Law. (Romans 13:8)

My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action. (1 John 3:18)



Blessings
 
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NothingIsImpossible

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I notice most people reject it due to personal "selfish" reasons. Or more so due to reasons that aren't biblical. Like getting upset about church goers. Being upset about God not acting like a genie...etc. And then of course there are the people who never were a christian and say theres no proof of God. But thats just silly given the fact theres also no proof He doesn't exist either. And most scientist will admit that. Science can't explain supernatural things because its beyond our capabilities. Thus if God is supernatural, we cannot disprove Him.
 
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Josephus

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The number 1 reason people might choose to reject Christianity, is often due to the ignorance of Christians. Who is a pastor or preacher that you know who can read the bible in its original language, let alone a congregant? Yet in Jewish congregations, this is the norm, and a love for scholarship, and reasoned argument, abounds in Jewish communities. People are drawn to where the answers are. If someone feels like they aren't gong to get answers at one place, they will go to another.
 
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Mountainmanbob

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I think we need to clean up our act first and follow the central message of Christian faith and teaching "love one another".

Us cleaning up our act or not will not affect one person either going to the hot place or to heaven. They have already been predestined.

True, we all need to do better and examine ourselves as the Bible ask of us to do. Note -- you will not find or see perfection.

M-Bob
 
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Hey all. I just wanted to ask you guys for your help briefly. I’m starting a YouTube channel where I want to discuss things in the bible and things that are taught that may be “confusing” or cause doubts for people on the fence about Christianity or for atheists altogether. I want to address those questions, talk about them, and hopefully levy some clarity. I notice a lot of youth I encounter nowadays are more and more against the church and it scares me. I’m not old(31) but, I notice it a lot and it is obviously concerning. Some examples I’ve come up with: The church allegedly hating gays/gay marriage, Creationism vs Evolution, Is the Old Testament meant to be taken literally, Why does God allow death/disease, etc.

What are some other things you guys have heard or experienced where you hear someone say, “Well, I don’t believe because of X, Y, and Z.”?
The fear factor is leaven in any belief, you can't do anything of yourself until the belief in two powers is dealt with, your separated from the One true God judges no man. This world can appear to be wicked and evil judging by it's appearance, a powerful stronghold on a dual effected mind creating it's own optional evidence to debate.
 
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