Why are there no extremist Christians?

[Nihilist Virus]

I'm interested to know which of Christ's teachings (or even expand it to all of Scripture as Christ believed in the authority of the OT) do you think are commonly neglected by Christians.

Could you even name a few that all Christians follow?

Could you name one person who follows 20 of them?

 

[Tree of Life]

Could you even name a few that all Christians follow?

I could name some that all Christians are theoretically committed to. No one follows the law of Christ perfectly. But that notion is built into Christianity. Are you asking for something that everyone follows perfectly without lapse?

 

[Received]

You live in luxury while people are starving. We know what Jesus said to the rich young ruler. What would he say to you?

You mean "us"? Do you think Jesus' message only applies if God exists, i.e., it's only good if someone demands it? And do you think Jesus requires us all to give up all of our wealth?

 

[Nihilist Virus]

I could name some that all Christians are theoretically committed to. No one follows the law of Christ perfectly. But that notion is built into Christianity. Are you asking for something that everyone follows perfectly without lapse?

I know no one is perfect. But almost no one is making a genuine effort on these issues:

Sell all that you have and give to the poor

Do not worry about what you will eat or wear and have faith that God will provide

Bless those who curse you, love your enemies

Do good deeds for no reward, not even recognition

Perform miracles through faith

 

[Nihilist Virus]

You mean "us"? Do you think Jesus' message only applies if God exists, i.e., it's only good if someone demands it? And do you think Jesus requires us all to give up all of our wealth?

I don't care about the bare minimum requirements. The topic is extreme Christianity.

 

[Tree of Life]

I know no one is perfect. But almost no one is making a genuine effort on these issues:

Sell all that you have and give to the poor

Do not worry about what you will eat or wear and have faith that God will provide

Bless those who curse you, love your enemies

Do good deeds for no reward, not even recognition

Perform miracles through faith

I know plenty of people who are making an effort on these issues. Do you know any Christians IRL? Have you ever been part of a Christian community?

 

[Nihilist Virus]

I know plenty of people who are making an effort on these issues.

Care to elaborate?

Do you know any Christians IRL?

Of course. What planet do you think I'm on?

Have you ever been part of a Christian community?

Yes. Why?

 

[Received]

I don't care about the bare minimum requirements. The topic is extreme Christianity.

So if the passage isn't part of extremist Christianity given the exegesis mentioned above, I guess we don't need to be talking about it in this way, afaik.

 

[Nihilist Virus]

So if the passage isn't part of extremist Christianity given the exegesis mentioned above, I guess we don't need to be talking about it in this way, afaik.

1. It's a good thing to sell your possessions and give to the poor
2. Why are you not doing it?

 

[Received]

1. It's a good thing to sell your possessions and give to the poor
2. Why are you not doing it?

Because for me it's better to keep my possessions, so long as they're not exorbitant and I'm able to live without them (which is the implication of how we should relate to possessions under the domain of the kingdom of God), than to sell them all, seeing how if I sold them all I wouldn't be able to have a job and do my calling, among other things. Secondly, what's best for any situation doesn't dictate how a person should act, and if it did the same would apply to you, so why aren't you doing it?

 

[Nihilist Virus]

Because for me it's better to keep my possessions, so long as they're not exorbitant and I'm able to live without them (which is the implication of how we should relate to possessions under the domain of the kingdom of God), than to sell them all, seeing how if I sold them all I wouldn't be able to have a job and do my calling, among other things.

Irrelevant. Jesus said to trust God for your food and clothing. And Jesus was homeless. Yet look at what he apparently did. If you need money for your calling, the Lord will provide; if he doesn't, it's not your calling. It sounds like you have no faith at all.

Secondly, what's best for any situation doesn't dictate how a person should act, and if it did the same would apply to you, so why aren't you doing it?

I'm not doing it because it doesn't make sense for any human being to do it. Ever.

 

[Received]

Irrelevant. Jesus said to trust God for your food and clothing. And Jesus was homeless. Yet look at what he apparently did. If you need money for your calling, the Lord will provide; if he doesn't, it's not your calling. It sounds like you have no faith at all.



I'm not doing it because it doesn't make sense for any human being to do it. Ever.

Then why would you expect someone else to do it? Because you like punishing them?

Yes, Jesus said to trust God for those things. Jesus was homeless doesn't mean we're called to be saviors and be homeless as well. It sounds like you're a fundamentalist atheist.

 

[ToBeLoved]

You live in luxury while people are starving. We know what Jesus said to the rich young ruler. What would he say to you?

Jesus called us more to love. But you are right in that we do live in a rich country where we are very blessed. We should give more.

 

[Nihilist Virus]

Jesus called us more to love. But you are right in that we do live in a rich country where we are very blessed. We should give more.

Yes. And one who lives in decadence and gluttony while the world is poor and starving is in a perpetual state of deliberate sin, no different from how you view the homosexual lifestyle.

 

[Nihilist Virus]

Then why would you expect someone else to do it? Because you like punishing them?

No, I expect you to do it because your savior commands you to. If tomorrow we found in the Koran, "All Muslims must stand on one foot at all times, no exceptions," then wouldn't you go around asking Muslims why they aren't doing this? But hey, if you don't really care what Jesus said, that's your business in the end.

Yes, Jesus said to trust God for those things. Jesus was homeless doesn't mean we're called to be saviors and be homeless as well.

Do you honestly believe that Jesus would chastise you for giving all that you have to the poor and then wandering the world performing good works and preaching the gospel? Would he be angry and say that you are no longer able to do your calling because of financial issues? Would he say that you are lukewarm and that he wants to spew you from his mouth?

It sounds like you're a fundamentalist atheist.

Huh?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Christian extremist: one who follows all of Christ's teachings without twisting them into something convenient that fits their lifestyle instead of selectively following some of them while going through pains to explain how certain things don't need to be followed.

...and are we to suppose that you are a hermeneutical/exegetical expert on the Bible? That you've got all of the interpretations about the ethical aspects of the Bible all figured out, while we poor, ignorant, brutish Christians are merely languishing in our delusive assertions about how our personal "lifestyles" measure up to the Bible? Is that where we're at in this discussion? Is this the central issue for you?

And if it is, your pretense to being an interpretive expert on Biblical ethics and morality seems to be antithetical to your also being a Nihilist. Moreover, I find it fascinating that as a Nihilist, you seem to imply that there is a truth to the matters of biblical morality and ethics, or any kind of morality and ethics, as if truth has some kind of "real" meaning and significance.

Or, am I just misunderstanding the banter, rhetoric, and epithets you whimsically toss about?

 

[Received]

No, I expect you to do it because your savior commands you to. If tomorrow we found in the Koran, "All Muslims must stand on one foot at all times, no exceptions," then wouldn't you go around asking Muslims why they aren't doing this? But hey, if you don't really care what Jesus said, that's your business in the end.

You're espousing divine command theory. I'm glad you're not a theist for the sake of your psychological health. Not being snazzy here. Once again: if you interpret something about God commanding us to do something bad, who's to say we should follow it rather than, I don't know, following practical reasoning and doing the good thing?

Do you honestly believe that Jesus would chastise you for giving all that you have to the poor and then wandering the world performing good works and preaching the gospel? Would he be angry and say that you are no longer able to do your calling because of financial issues? Would he say that you are lukewarm and that he wants to spew you from his mouth?

Yes, I believe that.

At the bottom of all of this is a spirit of legalism, which I don't really blame you for having seeing how almost all of Christendom is down with it. Legalism is reflected in the idea that you just need to do such-and-such in order to be a real Christian, as opposed to the Christian idea that goodness reflects dikaiosune, or inner goodness, which is fashioned by spiritual disciplines and then expresses itself through our behavior. A person who gives everything to the poor without changing his character is none the better in terms of the kingdom, which works through modified character. Again, Jesus was making a point: if you aren't willing to sell all your possessions, you can't enter the kingdom of God, and he was saying this precisely to the person who is attached to his possessions, hence the verse on how difficult it is for the rich to enter the kingdom. At the end of the day we can't forget that according to the most basic exegetical principles Jesus was speaking to a particular person about a concrete action, which reflects a general principle. The action he commanded isn't the general principle. He said "hey, you dude, go sell your stuff," and not "you can only enter the kingdom if you sell your stuff."

 

[ToBeLoved]

Yes. And one who lives in decadence and gluttony while the world is poor and starving is in a perpetual state of deliberate sin, no different from how you view the homosexual lifestyle.

Not really.

The most important commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. So there is something more important.

 

[Nihilist Virus]

Not really.

The most important commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. So there is something more important.

Off topic. I never said this is the most important thing. You are clearly wrong and thus are trying to confuse the issue.

 

[Nihilist Virus]

...and are we to suppose that you are a hermeneutical/exegetical expert on the Bible? That you've got all of the interpretations about the ethical aspects of the Bible all figured out, while we poor, ignorant, brutish Christians are merely languishing in our delusive assertions about how our personal "lifestyles" measure up to the Bible? Is that where we're at in this discussion? Is this the central issue for you?

And if it is, your pretense to being an interpretive expert on Biblical ethics and morality seems to be antithetical to your also being a Nihilist. Moreover, I find it fascinating that as a Nihilist, you seem to imply that there is a truth to the matters of biblical morality and ethics, or any kind of morality and ethics, as if truth has some kind of "real" meaning and significance.

Or, am I just misunderstanding the banter, rhetoric, and epithets you whimsically toss about?

And then we go back to my argument about how the Bible is simple, an argument so air-tight that you can do nothing but employ absurd counterarguments, like your claim that there are no stupid people.