Please reply

[Mercutio]

Originally posted by azalea
I was just going to PM this, but I saw that Christians were grossly underrepresented in the thread.
What do you think turns people off from Christianity? "In your face" evangelism... those who try to force people to hear them or try to trick people into hearing them...hypocrisy shown by Christians both in the public eye and in one's private relationships, and people who act "holier-than-thou"... people who act as if they are "better" than or "above" everyone else because they are Christians.

Definitely...and, just for the record, I am a Christian (Lutheran).
You can add that to my pm, samwiselover2008.

[Mercutio]

Originally posted by Coney II
The Sound of Music prolly scared me off christianity for life.

How? Could you elaborate?

[Coney II]

Originally posted by Mercutio
How? Could you elaborate?

Well, I hardly think that young Nun's lusting after Austrian noblemen to be appropriate behaviour....or the impression that christians wish give of the nunnely orders.

(That and the singing.....the endless singing........)

[Last Child of Ungoliant]

Originally posted by Coney II
Well, I hardly think that young Nun's lusting after Austrian noblemen to be appropriate behaviour....or the impression that christians wish give of the nunnely orders.

(That and the singing.....the endless singing........)

#The Hills are alive, with the sound of music#

#these are a few of my favourite things#

etc etc

you get the idea

[Mercutio]

Originally posted by Coney II
Well, I hardly think that young Nun's lusting after Austrian noblemen to be appropriate behaviour....or the impression that christians wish give of the nunnely orders.

(That and the singing.....the endless singing........)

It wasn't lusting...she realized she wasn't called by God to be a nun. Secluded lives of prayer aren't for everyone, and she found that out. And what impressions were bad? Sure...you may not think being a nun is fun, and they wouldn't portray it to be so. Its separation from a wicked world to, again, live lives of prayer and service to God.

And come on, if you don't like the singing, why did you see it?

How do you solve a problem like Maria?

[Coney II]

Originally posted by Mercutio
How do you solve a problem like Maria?

Erm, lock her in the convent and remove her tongue?

That'd be a good start

[Mercutio]

Originally posted by BeardofPants
Are there any movies, plays, books, est. that have interested you into further research and possibly attending church? If so then what? Why?

I read the Da Vinci Code recently, which was pretty interesting. Raised some interesting points regarding Mary Magdalene, rites of fertility, the Jesus Myth, and so forth. Not interested in attending church (again) though.

Couldn't find a thread on the Da Vinci Code, but I'll just post here anyway. Its really anti-Christian, specifically anti-Catholic. And rife with errors/myths.

See this article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

[Nerdanel]

Survey Questions for non-Christians
Name:Nerdanel
Age:18
Religion/beliefs: none
Where you live:Finland
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What turns you off (makes you not interested) when you hear the word Christian, see a Bible est.?
The history, the being born into it, some things that are in the Bible, foreign missions, just some things that have been made in the name of christianity. But as I've got away from it, I have less against it. I in no way hate christians.

If you have, why have you chosen a different religion over Christianity?
No answer

If you are out of your parents house, then did you grow up in a Christian home? If you are not out of your parents house, then are you growing up in a Christian home?
I'm still living with my parents ( ). They are "christians by tradition": my dad never goes to church, but still he didn't let me stop being a member in the lutheran church of Finland before I was 18, neither did my mum. She is in church sometimes, to listen to music mainly. So I don't know a very good answer to your question: have I been raised in a christian home? Partially.

If you answered no to either of the questions above, then did you grow up ever going to church? If so, how often? If you grew up in a family with different religious beliefs, then what were they, and do you believe in them to this day?
I was to church quite often when I was a kid, 'couse I was in a choir. But otherwise, no.

What would make you interested in learning more about Christianity?
nothing. sorry.

Did The Passion of the Christ, The Jesus Video, The Jesus Video for Children, or any other video that you might have seen have any effect on you? If so, what was it?
haven't seen any of them, only the movie that's on television every easter here, about Jesus.

Are there any movies, plays, books, est. that have interested you into further research and possibly attending church? If so then what? Why?
I started reading the bible, and then I left church. So, no.

Out of ten, rate the chances of you becoming a Christian or faithfully attending a Christian church weekly, one being the lowest, and ten being the highest, any time in the rest of your life.
Why?
1. Christianity doesn't mean anything to me personally. But who knows what happens after I've read the entire bible (I'm gonna try it after Silmarillion, and then the Koran )

[hectorberlioz]

Survey Question for Christians
Name: Hector
Age: 16
Age that you became a Christian: as soon as i was old enough to be baptised.
Country and/or state/ general area- Tenn.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What/who lead you to Christ? Several factors: I've always been a christian, though I have had a big "doubting" section in my christian life. But I studied alot about religion and theology, and I no longer doubted. Besides, my dad is big on theology and He's taught me alot.

Did you grow up in a Christian church? Yes, and my family has changed "denominations" more than 12 times.

Did you grow up in a Christian family? Yeah....of course

Do you still attend Church faithfully to this day? Yes, every sunday of my life, and sometimes other days as well.

What do you think turns people off from Christianity?
not sure...

How should we (as Christians) best approach sharing the Gospel?
Simply bieng good examples.

Do you believe in the age of accountability?
Yes.

Is the King James Version the only correct version of the Bible?
Of course not. Its THE BEST though.

Should the Gospel be shared with children, adults, teenagers, or who?
For everyone...no one is too young or too old too begin...


Have you ever bean physically or verbally persecuted for your religious beliefs? If so, how, and why do you think it happened? Did this happen in the USA? (If this has happened multiple times, then pick one verbal and one physical action that stands out to you the most): No. But I find offensive things on this board on occasion directed torward christians.

Also, why did I choose to keep in th christian faith? becuase I chose faith over fiction...

to finish with: I decided to post mine, like azalea, for the same reasons she chose...

[hectorberlioz]

sorry guys, double post

[BeardofPants]

Originally posted by Mercutio
Couldn't find a thread on the Da Vinci Code, but I'll just post here anyway. Its really anti-Christian, specifically anti-Catholic. And rife with errors/myths.

Not surprising considering that it is a work of fiction. I don't know anything about the author asserting it as fact, but you can rest assured that I never considered it as anything other than fiction with some interesting ideas and concepts.

[brownjenkins]

Survey Questions for non-Christians
Name: tom
Age: 37
Religion/beliefs: 99% atheist... there might be a god, but i severly doubt it, and if there is, i have more than a few things to discuss with him when we meet
Where you live: boston, usa

What turns you off (makes you not interested) when you hear the word Christian, see a Bible est.?

closemindedness... i think that anyone who truely believes they "know the truth" is seroiusly deluding themselves

If you have, why have you chosen a different religion over Christianity?

i've read much about religions throughout the world and find the eastern beliefs which concentrate on the self much more compelling then concentrating on any supreme being... that said, i'm too ecclectic to subscribe fully to any one belief

If you are out of your parents house, then did you grow up in a Christian home? If you are not out of your parents house, then are you growing up in a Christian home?

my parents both went to catholic school... when they had children, they decided to stay away from organized religion... they found it had many more negatives than positives... i think they both believe in a god (more than i do at least)... but they see religion as having little if anything to do with it

If you answered no to either of the questions above, then did you grow up ever going to church? If so, how often? If you grew up in a family with different religious beliefs, then what were they, and do you believe in them to this day?

i've been to religious services with friends a handful of times (catholic, jewish, buddhist and a few fringe beliefs)... i found them interesting but was never compelled to return on my own

What would make you interested in learning more about Christianity?

i know more than enough already for one lifetime my interest tends to be towards the older pagan beliefs these days, as i have studied the "major" religions for quite a while

Did The Passion of the Christ, The Jesus Video, The Jesus Video for Children, or any other video that you might have seen have any effect on you? If so, what was it?

never saw any of them

Are there any movies, plays, books, est. that have interested you into further research and possibly attending church? If so then what? Why?

no, as i said, i've kind of "been there done that" already

Out of ten, rate the chances of you becoming a Christian or faithfully attending a Christian church weekly, one being the lowest, and ten being the highest, any time in the rest of your life.
Why?

0 ~ while i appreciate the positive parts of christianity, i can get the social aspects from other organizations without the "god" business

[hectorberlioz]

Originally posted by BeardofPants
Not surprising considering that it is a work of fiction. I don't know anything about the author asserting it as fact, but you can rest assured that I never considered it as anything other than fiction with some interesting ideas and concepts.

BoP, in your opinion. You dont know for sure if it is a work of fiction, thats just your opinion, therefore you dont have the ultimate say of wether it really is fiction of not (you arent a god you know ). Just because the Bible is in book form doesnt mean its fiction. And just becuase the things described in it (The Bible) happened so long ago that scientists cant find evidence for it, doesnt mean it didnt happen. Not all things are meant to be revealed. And science cant reveal all things.

[Andúril]

Originally posted by hectorberlioz
BoP, in your opinion. You dont know for sure if it is a work of fiction, thats just your opinion, therefore you dont have the ultimate say of wether it really is fiction of not (you arent a god you know ). Just because the Bible is in book form doesnt mean its fiction. And just becuase the things described in it (The Bible) happened so long ago that scientists cant find evidence for it, doesnt mean it didnt happen. Not all things are meant to be revealed. And science cant reveal all things.

BoP was referring to the Da Vinci Code.

[hectorberlioz]

Originally posted by Andúril
BoP was referring to the Da Vinci Code.

ohhh oops sorry

[sun-star]

Survey Question for Christians
Name: Elanor
Age: 18
Age that you became a Christian: I was baptised as a child
Country and/or state/general area- UK
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What/who lead you to Christ? God did To give more detail: I grew up a Christian, but as I got older I read more widely about Christianity, through the Bible and Christian writers (e.g. C.S. Lewis) and that helped me to a better understanding of my faith.

Did you grow up in a Christian church? Yes. I was baptised an Anglican, but my first experiences of church were as a Roman Catholic.

Did you grow up in a Christian family? It’s complicated. My parents believe in God and go to church – one Catholic and one Anglican – but they don’t call themselves Christians exactly, whereas I do.

Do you still attend Church faithfully to this day? Yes.

What do you think turns people off from Christianity? I think it depends on the person. Sometimes a bad experience with one Christian or church can turn people away for life. Apart from that, I think hypocrisy is a big reason, as is showy, aggressive evangelism about hell and fire and brimstone. And middle-aged vicars trying to be trendy

How should we (as Christians) best approach sharing the Gospel? By showing its work in our lives.

Do you believe in the age of accountability? Can you tell me why or why not? Are there any references in the Bible to this? How old is a person when they reach the age of accountability? If the age varies, then at what point dose a child become responsible for his/her sins? I’m not familiar with this debate, but my instinctive reaction would be that it’s different for everyone, depending on their growing maturity and awareness of what’s right and wrong. It doesn’t seem an important issue to me; I’m sure God knows whether someone is accountable or not.

Is the King James Version the only correct version of the Bible? Do you think that this has any effects on people becoming Christians or not? It can’t be the only correct one (otherwise what would non-English speakers do?) though it is stunningly beautiful in places. I think that the number of people attracted by its profundity and loveliness and the number of people turned off by the difficult language probably even each other out.

Should the Gospel be shared with children, adults, teenagers, or who? Why? It should be shared with everybody – in the right way – because it’s the truth.

Have you ever been physically or verbally persecuted for your religious beliefs? If so, how, and why do you think it happened? Did this happen in the USA? When you spend time with teenagers who are militant atheists in RE lessons, you do get persecuted a little. I think it happened because it made them feel clever to argue, to be honest - it didn’t bother me that much. (No, it didn’t happen in the USA, but I suspect it could easily have done) I’ve had lots of people disagree with me politely, but I don’t count that as persecution as some of my Christian friends do.

[Mercutio]

Originally posted by BeardofPants
Not surprising considering that it is a work of fiction. I don't know anything about the author asserting it as fact, but you can rest assured that I never considered it as anything other than fiction with some interesting ideas and concepts.

Good you realize its actually fiction. Even though Dan Brown claims everything as truth (you can see his personal website on the book, linked at the bottom of that other article).

[SamwiseLover2008]

Sun-Star, do you believe that baptizem saves you?

Note: I don't want this to start an argument, I'm just wondering because I know that some people do think that baptizem=salvation, and your the first to reply in that way.

[The Gaffer]

Originally posted by SamwiseLover2008
[B]Survey Questions for non-Christians
Name: Douglas
Age: 38
Religion/beliefs: No religion, lots of beliefs
Where you live: UK
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What turns you off (makes you not interested) when you hear the word Christian, see a Bible est.?
**Hypocrisy, Absolutism, Judgmentalness (is
that a word?)

If you have, why have you chosen a different religion over Christianity?
**n/a

If you are out of your parents house, then
did you grow up in a Christian home? If you
are not out of your parents house, then are
you growing up in a Christian home?
***Grew up in Church of Scotland (Protestant Presbyterian) household; both parents strongly active, but they never tried to make me go against my will, for which I am grateful.

If you answered no to either of the
questions above, then did you grow up ever
going to church? If so, how often? If you
grew up in a family with different religious
beliefs, then what were they, and do you
believe in them to this day?
*** Was taken to church until old enough to protest (about 13) when I stopped.

What would make you interested in learning
more about Christianity?
*** I think I know enough about it already; would like to know more about other religions though, and it's always good to learn new stuff.

Did The Passion of the Christ, The Jesus
Video, The Jesus Video for Children, or any
other video that you might have seen have
any effect on you? If so, what was it?
*** Charlton Heston as Moses had a profound impact...

Are there any movies, plays, books, est.
that have interested you into further
research and possibly attending church? If
so then what? Why?
*** No.

Out of ten, rate the chances of you
becoming a Christian or faithfully attending
a Christian church weekly, one being the
lowest, and ten being the highest, any time
in the rest of your life.
1
Why?
I put 1 because I don't think you can ever rule out something like this, but I find it hard to believe that I'll ever swallow any one dogma enough to enrol.

What do you intend to do with these responses?

[Valandil]

Wow! I will answer this later - when I can take enough time. I am REALLY impressed at all the non-Christians who took the time to answer it and the great answers they gave. On the other hand, what I find most striking is that those who have low opinions of Christianity formed those opinions from bad examples of Christianity.

I'll reply to a bit of BoP's answer here if I could - not to either 'put you on the spot' or 'single you out' - but in fact to try to 'reassure' you about Christianity if at all possible - and give you my view of what you have encountered. Hope that's OK.

Originally posted by BeardofPants
What turns you off (makes you not interested) when you hear the word Christian, see a Bible est.? Prejudice, hatred, etc. Yesterday I was walking down Queen St, and someone handed me a pamphlet that said, "Jesus hates you".

If you are out of your parents house, then did you grow up in a Christian home? Yes, and no. My parents were both atheists who became born-againers when I was in my pre-teens. However, my father is deeply suspicious of christian sects (particularly catholicism), and they don't go to church. My mother subscribes to Benny Hinn ( ), and my dad subscribes to various christian lit., one of which I remember claimed that Germans were going to cause World War III, and that they were all evil.

If you answered no to either of the questions above, then did you grow up ever going to church? If so, how often?

My father has always spurned going to church (see above suspicions regarding christian sects), but my mother did make me attend church (every week) for about a year.

OK, the tract: First of all, two problems with different groups of 'Christians' (who may not actually be so - but I leave that to God) - some stray from the Bible, soft-pedal everything in order to please everyone - yet cling to the name of 'Christianity' - OTHERS (those I'll call 'cults') take some phrase from the Bible out of context and run with it... and think that only THEIR interpretation of scripture is sound. Three possibilities come to mind about the tract - (1) that the inside would state other than the cover and the cover message was just to 'grab your attention' (in which case the statement lacks integrity and is irresponsible) - (2) that it's published by one of those off-the-wall 'cult-type' groups or (3) that it's not a Christian tract but was actually an anti-Christian publication produced by some group which doesn't like Christianity. My guess is that it's most likely the second - the work of some 'cult'.

Next - your folks: Christians are commanded in Hebrews 10 to not forsake meeting together with one another. We are called to be part of a fellowship - with real people, not with television screens. It's likely that your father got discouraged by encounters with one of the two extremes I mentioned above... but it's still important for Christians to keep trying to find a sound fellowship where the Bible is accurately taught. Even 'good' denominations will have differences of opinion on different points of doctrine, but the goal should be to find a congregation that agrees on the 'essentials' of faith. Your mother apparently also gave up on finding a good group of fellow believers and instead devoted herself to the TV ministry of a man who is likely a charlatan (my opinion - but again, it's for God to judge) and who cannot, in any regard, do for her what a local church fellowship can do. If there's a way you can print / forward what I wrote here to them, ask them to just take it as advice from one Christian to another (but don't rub it in on them - many Christians are in that boat - and it's partly because many churches are not doing what they ought).

For Christians to properly grow in their spiritual life, they need to be 'IN' at least these four things:

* In Prayer with God
* In the Word of God - the Bible
* In fellowship with other believers
* In the community and society of which they are a part