Pew report shows American Christian numbers in decline

[Hammster]

Prove it, please.

I did.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 1 John 2:19

So if they never believed then they were just lying about believing the whole time?

They may have been religious and did things that they thought they should. Jesus covers this in the parable of the sower and the seeds.

 

[HammerOfThor]

I did.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 1 John 2:19

That's not proof, that's a bible quote.

I want proof that no one who believed in christianity ever stopped believing.

 

[Red Fox]

The OP has kindly asked us to get back on the topic of her thread.

 

[HammerOfThor]

The OP has kindly asked us to get back on the topic of her thread.

sorry, I'll be done

 

[Booko]

I don't know. I'm not willing to give up my NDN identity to be known as a christian. I have already survived years of cultural genocide against my heritage and ancestry growing up and even when I was still in the church. I'm sorry, but I'm not willing to put myself through that kind of torment and unhappiness again.

Oh, I can understand that, in my own way. I left Christianity in no small part because of its view of women, and I refuse to go back to pretending I'm of so little value because I was born with two X chromosomes.

I was thinking more along the lines of within Christian Churches. As MLK said, Sunday at 11am was the most segregated hour in America.

I can't think how it could be anything but good if that changed for those who are in the Church.

 

[Hammster]

That's not proof, that's a bible quote.

I want proof that no one who believed in christianity ever stopped believing.

I'm sure God knows. So the bible quote is evidence. I cannot make you accept it.

 

[Red Fox]

Oh, I can understand that, in my own way. I left Christianity in no small part because of its view of women, and I refuse to go back to pretending I'm of so little value because I was born with two X chromosomes.

I completely understand and agree with that.

I was thinking more along the lines of within Christian Churches. As MLK said, Sunday at 11am was the most segregated hour in America.

I understand what you are saying now and I agree.

I can't think how it could be anything but good if that changed for those who are in the Church.

An integrated church would be good, but I have been in churches over the years where that didn't go over so well for everyone involved.

 

[Rescued One]

That's not proof, that's a bible quote.

I want proof that no one who believed in christianity ever stopped believing.

We don't even have to prove that God exists or that the Bible is true. That isn't one of His commandments.

 

[Red Fox]

Again, the OP has kindly asked us to get back on topic of her thread.

 

[Hammster]

I tried.

 

[Booko]

I'm sure God knows. So the bible quote is evidence. I cannot make you accept it.

Which part of "Will you please discuss the OP" did you not understand?

 

[Hammster]

Which part of "Will you please discuss the OP" did you not understand?

You mean like post 36?

 

[A New Dawn]

I can't say I'm too surprised, given "Nones" have been on the rise. It would be normal enough for those Nones to have been part of Christianity, given that's the largest religious group in the country.

Still, a bit of interesting research, as always:

US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds - BBC News

Identifying as Christian and being Christian are two different things. Many people who are brought up as Christian but who never have a testimony that actually converts them to Christ have identified as Christian because they weren't brought up as Buddhist or Moslem or Hindu, etc. Someone who is nominally connected to Christianity is not a Christian. One is not a Christian until they are a true believer.

 

[awitch]

I know some Christians can't deal with the idea that someone might convert to an alternate faith so they invoke No True Scotsman but here's my take...

Easy access to the Internet provides many alternate points of view beyond the bubble of a homogenous congregation.

Non-Christians are coming out the closet and becoming more verbal.

The far right's rage against minority groups (Muslims, atheists, immigrants, homosexuals women etc) is so beyond bigoted, that liberal and even moderate Christians are alienated. Because you can only hear that gay people are demon possessed democratic Marxist god hating pedophiles who will cause god to blow up the sun any second now...no really...any...second...so many times. I'm not surprised people don't want to be associated with that anymore.

 

[A New Dawn]

I know some Christians can't deal with the idea that someone might convert to an alternate faith so they invoke No True Scotsman but here's my take...

Easy access to the Internet provides many alternate points of view beyond the bubble of a homogenous congregation.

Non-Christians are coming out the closet and becoming more verbal.

The far right's rage against minority groups (Muslims, atheists, immigrants, homosexuals women etc) is so beyond bigoted, that liberal and even moderate Christians are alienated. Because you can only hear that gay people are demon possessed democratic Marxist god hating pedophiles who will cause god to blow up the sun any second now...no really...any...second...so many times. I'm not surprised people don't want to be associated with that anymore.

Wow. I've never seen anyone paint with a broader brush than that. It's so funny that there is one miniscule church that believes all that crap that you said, and so it get's transferred to all Christians (except the liberal and moderate ones, of course). I'm sorry, it is a pathetic argument.

 

[Hammster]

Wow. I've never seen anyone paint with a broader brush than that. It's so funny that there is one miniscule church that believes all that crap that you said, and so it get's transferred to all Christians (except the liberal and moderate ones, of course). I'm sorry, it is a pathetic argument.

I'm glad you said it.

 

[awitch]

Wow. I've never seen anyone paint with a broader brush than that. It's so funny that there is one miniscule church that believes all that crap that you said, and so it get's transferred to all Christians (except the liberal and moderate ones, of course). I'm sorry, it is a pathetic argument.

You misunderstand. It's not just one miniscule church; it's multimillion dollar political action committees with a whole lot of political influence (in additional to a small number of large, wealthy churches).

I'm not saying that all or even most Christians subscribe to the message of hate. But when it's repeated ad-nauseum by a powerful few, it's going to get people questioning things. I don't even think those driven by hate are even representatives of Christianity at all, but they are the ones who have been calling the shots in God's name.

 

[A New Dawn]

You misunderstand. It's not just one miniscule church; it's multimillion dollar political action committees with a whole lot of political influence (in additional to a small number of large, wealthy churches).

I'm not saying that all or even most Christians subscribe to the message of hate. But when it's repeated ad-nauseum by a powerful few, it's going to get people questioning things. I don't even think those driven by hate are even representatives of Christianity at all, but they are the ones who have been calling the shots in God's name.

And you know what? The multimillion dollar political action committees that pressure politicians into passing bills allowing for killing unborn babies, even in the last trimester, are worse. Killing is much worse that having beliefs about something that would never cause you to harm anyone.

 

[awitch]

And you know what? The multimillion dollar political action committees that pressure politicians into passing bills allowing for killing unborn babies, even in the last trimester, are worse. Killing is much worse that having beliefs about something that would never cause you to harm anyone.

I think a discussion about abortion is beyond the scope of this thread.
But it's not really just about having beliefs about something; it's about imposing those beliefs on other people and that's where the animosity and alienation come from.

 

[A New Dawn]

I think a discussion about abortion is beyond the scope of this thread.
But it's not really just about having beliefs about something; it's about imposing those beliefs on other people and that's where the animosity and alienation come from.

It might be beyond the scope of this discussion, but I agree, it most certainly is about imposing beliefs on other people. And it is not only done by Christians. In fact, there are very few Christians who try to impose their beliefs on others, but the far-leaning left do their darnedest to impose their beliefs on everyone.