Confucian Mormon Buddhist
Member
There's an argument I've had numerous times which has been weighing on me.
I'm basically just a deist, but I've spent time with Mormons, Pentecostals, and Baptists. One thing I've found is that all three of these Christian denominations have different thoughts regarding the impact God has on a person's life. Specifically: Does being a Christian tend to make life easier or harder?
The Mormons don't really play up God's helping power a lot, but they generally talk about him positively. You'll certainly hear plenty of stories in church about God saving people, or helping them get a job... the usual "benefits." Mormons are also a people who have recently experienced genocide and hatred, though, and so they're just as familiar with the hardships that come from their faith. Still, though, it seems to me that Mormons present Christianity as being a thing that improves one's life, but carries risks.
The Pentecostals I was with were very, very much focused on the positives of serving God. The pastor of my congregation argues that it's not necessarily God's will for people to be martyred (he claimed the apostles willingly exposed themselves to that risk), and he frequently argued that ignoring the will of God confounds one's life while serving it makes it better. Very temporally-focused. In discussions I had with a friend there, though, he warned that the "beginner grace" of converting wears off, and it takes more and more effort to maintain that peace. In general, God increases his burdens, and the pastor would actively pray for bad (!) stuff to happen to the congregation to challenge us to grow. So, their attitude seemed to be that Christianity improves ones life, but advancement means hardship.
My Baptist pastor hasn't really talked about God's impact on temporal life, but I have a Baptist friend who talks about religion a lot. He's the guy who got me thinking about this topic. I referred to following God as improving one's life, but he argued that it increases (!) your hardships. He points to examples like the Book of Job and dismisses the churches that preach about God's immediate benefits as "prosperity gospel" churches that are just selling what people want to hear. He argues that Christianity brings persecution and troubles.
I think he's full of himself; pretty much every church and the Bible itself tells stories about God helping those who need him. Why do people pray for aid? For that matter, who would even want to follow a God who flings misery at you but never blessings? I think my friend is just bound up in a very negative, paranoid form of Christianity (he's also a conspiracy theory nutter), but I thought I'd share this topic here where some other people might be able to comment.
I'm basically just a deist, but I've spent time with Mormons, Pentecostals, and Baptists. One thing I've found is that all three of these Christian denominations have different thoughts regarding the impact God has on a person's life. Specifically: Does being a Christian tend to make life easier or harder?
The Mormons don't really play up God's helping power a lot, but they generally talk about him positively. You'll certainly hear plenty of stories in church about God saving people, or helping them get a job... the usual "benefits." Mormons are also a people who have recently experienced genocide and hatred, though, and so they're just as familiar with the hardships that come from their faith. Still, though, it seems to me that Mormons present Christianity as being a thing that improves one's life, but carries risks.
The Pentecostals I was with were very, very much focused on the positives of serving God. The pastor of my congregation argues that it's not necessarily God's will for people to be martyred (he claimed the apostles willingly exposed themselves to that risk), and he frequently argued that ignoring the will of God confounds one's life while serving it makes it better. Very temporally-focused. In discussions I had with a friend there, though, he warned that the "beginner grace" of converting wears off, and it takes more and more effort to maintain that peace. In general, God increases his burdens, and the pastor would actively pray for bad (!) stuff to happen to the congregation to challenge us to grow. So, their attitude seemed to be that Christianity improves ones life, but advancement means hardship.
My Baptist pastor hasn't really talked about God's impact on temporal life, but I have a Baptist friend who talks about religion a lot. He's the guy who got me thinking about this topic. I referred to following God as improving one's life, but he argued that it increases (!) your hardships. He points to examples like the Book of Job and dismisses the churches that preach about God's immediate benefits as "prosperity gospel" churches that are just selling what people want to hear. He argues that Christianity brings persecution and troubles.
I think he's full of himself; pretty much every church and the Bible itself tells stories about God helping those who need him. Why do people pray for aid? For that matter, who would even want to follow a God who flings misery at you but never blessings? I think my friend is just bound up in a very negative, paranoid form of Christianity (he's also a conspiracy theory nutter), but I thought I'd share this topic here where some other people might be able to comment.
