Why sheep?

Umaro said:

I constantly hear Christians say they are sheep and God/Jesus is their shepherd. Why sheep? No offense, but sheep are usually generalized as slow, stupid, gullible, and easily manipulated, not usually a positive image.

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Quite accurate if you ask me.

Umaro said:

Then that brings up the other point. If Christians are sheep, what are Jews, Muslims, Atheists, and all the other major religions?

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Well, if they continue in their ways, never trusting Christ as their Savior, they are called 'goats' (as well as all other unbelievers).

Matthew 25:32-34 "Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. "

Well, it's more about the intimate relationship between the shepherd and his sheep. Sheep by nature are very paranoid creatures and are often very flightly, but if a shepard does his job right, the flock will actually bond to the shepherd, leaving their safety up to him and going about their business.

Sheep don't rest or lay down if they're hungry or feel threatened, so by indicating that christians are sheep, it is like saying that we rely on our shepherd, Jesus Christ, to watch over us and care for us. Sheep also sometimes need rest, but don't realize it. It's traditional for a shepherd to make the sheep lay down at certain times of day, especially during the more hotter seasons.

Psalm 23 explains it best:

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Besides this, Jesus referred to himself as "The Good Shepherd" and told Peter to "feed my sheep" in the gospel of John.

The role of the sheperd is to protect, feed, bring healing, lead to still waters, lead, find the lost and to know their needs. That's why Jesus is described as the sheperd for we are like sheep. Everyone one of us. We tend to stray and not always do what's best for us. We need protection from this world. We want to know that someone is searching for us when we are lost.

In short, if it were not for the shepherd, the sheep would be simply lost, scattered, and not as well fed and comfortable as they are otherwise.

All of us could say that we are gullible, stupid, slow and easily manipulated...and not just the christians. We all have fallen into stupid mistakes or been made out to be a fool.

Umaro said:

I constantly hear Christians say they are sheep and God/Jesus is their shepherd. Why sheep? No offense, but sheep are usually generalized as slow, stupid, gullible, and easily manipulated, not usually a positive image.

Then that brings up the other point. If Christians are sheep, what are Jews, Muslims, Atheists, and all the other major religions?

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The portrayal of sheep as being stupid gullible and easy manipulated comes from anti christian forces who have been at work doing their best to change the worlds perception of all thing Christian. And the poor sheep have been caught up in this vilification.

Sheep are a peaceful bunch of animals you do not often here of vicious attacks on Shepard’s by gangs of savage killer sheep do you?

Of course the quite and peaceful nature of sheep allow people to portray them as being dumb and slow.

When i think of sheep in my local area i think they live an idealic life. They have a servant Shepard’s who make sure that they are always eating on the best land eating the sweetest grass and that they are always supplied with water and protection. And they also organise a group of barbers to come around every now and then and cut their hair. Seems like they have manoeuvred themselves into a good position. LOL

Then that brings up the other point. If Christians are sheep, what are Jews, Muslims, Atheists, and all the other major religions?

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They are goats. As has already been said.


All Praise The Ancient Of Days

There are other implications that we don't need to take too literally, but give a general sense of the relationship. Sheep tend to have equal status and equal attention -- seniority doesn't apply when a sheep needs food, water, or help.

Shepherds sit with sheep continually, and never leave their side. They can roam quite large distances, but stay together. Even at night, the shepherd sleeps across the gate to protect the flock from lions and wolves.

Many shepherds watch the same flock for decades... sheep might come and go, but shepherds don't usually operate with high turnover. The sheep learn the shepherd's nature, and come to rely on his tendencies intuitively.

First, the Hebrew viewpoint expressed in the bible is an eastern mindset that spoke in word-pictures that appealed to the five senses and primarily developed relatonships.

you can see an wiki about it here: http://www.christianforums.com/t4658702-wiki-western-greek-mindset-verses-eastern-[ancient]-hebrew-mindset.html


Now, God gave to the people a concrete example of His relationship with them. Remember, there were two primary occupations for an Israelite, farmer or shepherd. God uses both occupations to describe His relationship with Israel.

God said He is the Shepherd and we are the sheep and likewise those who are disobiedent are goats. Shepherds and flocks know how to survive in the wilderness. The shepherds walk a distance in front and call out to the flocks to follow the shepherd. The shepherd knows how to lead the flock, where the water is, and where the food is. The flock only responds to the shepherd. The sheep stay together as a group, but the goats always know a better path and walk outside of the group. The aforementioned parable (sheep and goats) teaches that in the Day of Judgment when the goats will be seperated from the sheep for their disobedience.

Now, the Greeks had a different style to shepherding...they let the animals go in front with the shepherds walking behind them.

Umaro said:

I constantly hear Christians say they are sheep and God/Jesus is their shepherd. Why sheep? No offense, but sheep are usually generalized as slow, stupid, gullible, and easily manipulated, not usually a positive image.

Then that brings up the other point. If Christians are sheep, what are Jews, Muslims, Atheists, and all the other major religions?

Click to expand...

The main reason why believers in Christ are called "sheep" is because they have partaken of the nature of Christ and His nature is gentle, pure, innocent, undefiled and submissive to a higher authority. When this corrupted world ends, Christ's angels are going to be looking for souls that have consistently, (but not perfectly,) looked, desired, spoken and acted just like the Lord who's nature they have shared in.

Jews Are Sheep Looking For Their Shepherd
But The Veil Is Lifting

Umaro said:

I constantly hear Christians say they are sheep and God/Jesus is their shepherd. Why sheep? No offense, but sheep are usually generalized as slow, stupid, gullible, and easily manipulated, not usually a positive image.

Then that brings up the other point. If Christians are sheep, what are Jews, Muslims, Atheists, and all the other major religions?

Click to expand...

Jesus/God refers to us as sheep or as goats. From His viewpoint we are slow, stupid, gullible, easily manipulated, and in need of a (great) Shepherd (Jesus, the Son of God).

What amazes me is He desires to shepherd us.

He refers to those of us who refuse Him as goats.

He refers to those of us who pretend to follow Him as wolves in sheeps clothing.

Lastly, He refers to the devil as a devouring lion.

hope this helps.

You have repeated the symbols associated with foxes, owls, turkeys...so we have told you the symbol of the sheep.