I Propose A Challenge

[blü 2]

Another believer I see.

It's just another way of saying I see no point to your challenge.

The more I've looked at Christianity, the less I've found to like ─ some notes here >Your Complaints About Christianity?< ─ though some people very high in my estimation are Christians.

 

[Madsaac]

Those who don’t believe in Christ, I challenge you to pretend that you do for about a week and come back here and tell me if you feel any different. You have to pretend that Christ is alive in your heart though. Whatever that means to you. See ya in a week.

Okay, I'll try but how do I do it?

Do I think about a bloke who lived a couple of thousand years a go, in a different place, walking around in a 'gown' with a bunch of other men?

Or do I think about someone who was trying to be nice?

I don't know, what do you, to put Jesus in your heart?

(And don't say something like, 'you need love in your heart' or whatever)

 

[GoodAttention]

Those who don’t believe in Christ, I challenge you to pretend that you do for about a week and come back here and tell me if you feel any different. You have to pretend that Christ is alive in your heart though. Whatever that means to you. See ya in a week.

For every person who accepts this challenge, I will work twice as hard to convert people to atheism.

Recant this challenge and I will work only half as hard.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

@Jimmy

You have inspired me. I also have a great idea.

How about for the next week, you pretend you value science and logic.

 

[Secret Chief]

Ah. I see you're still being condescending.

Back on the ignore list.

Think of the fun you'll miss!

 

[Secret Chief]

Yeah, that’s the whole purpose of my proposal, hoping that the pretending will become real. It’s for the people who have hearts of stone.

Wanna pretend you believe in Shiva? Or Odin? Just for a week?

 

[Secret Chief]

Perfection isn't needed.
Belief is.
But I'm an adult.
No unevidenced fairy tales that don't even
make any sense.
Even as a kid I never believed in Santa Claus,
Easter Bunny, Jesus, Buddha, God, Allah, etc.
This is a perspective that's very foreign to
the faithful. Perhaps none can imagine or
understand it.

The chap known as Buddha did actually exist though - I think this is generally accepted. He lived, he breathed, he pooped, he died. Do you not "believe" this or am I missing your point?

 

[Altfish]

Those who don’t believe in Christ, I challenge you to pretend that you do for about a week and come back here and tell me if you feel any different. You have to pretend that Christ is alive in your heart though. Whatever that means to you. See ya in a week.

The trouble is, I believed in the Christian god for the first 15-years of my life. So, I've done it and got the t-shirt. My life is good without god or JC.
Thank you

 

[Viker]

Those who don’t believe in Christ, I challenge you to pretend that you do for about a week and come back here and tell me if you feel any different. You have to pretend that Christ is alive in your heart though. Whatever that means to you. See ya in a week.

I would possibly be open to this if only you would be interested in swapping places for a week. Sorta like a wife swap but with religions.

If so, welcome to In Diabolica! May you join with the Gods gloriously. Blessings.

 

[Viker]

I tried this with atheism once. I came back a week later with a still firm belief in God. I guess some things are difficult to let go of.

The problem isn't with atheism or Christianity. It's with "pretending". One can't fake it till they make it. These things have to be genuine.

 

[Secret Chief]

I would possibly be open to this if only you would be interested in swapping places for a week. Sorta like a wife swap but with religions.

If so, welcome to In Diabolica! May you join with the Gods gloriously. Blessings.

Depends. Is your wife a goer? (Asking for a friend)

 

[Viker]

Depends. Is your wife a goer? (Asking for a friend)

I'll admit. I had to Google that one.

No. She's not a goer. She's a very loyal hard working woman!

 

[Secret Chief]

I'll admit. I had to Google that one.

No. She's not a goer. She's a very loyal hard working woman!

Harumph. OK, I'll tell my friend.

 

[firedragon]

Those who don’t believe in Christ, I challenge you to pretend that you do for about a week and come back here and tell me if you feel any different. You have to pretend that Christ is alive in your heart though. Whatever that means to you. See ya in a week.

I have been a believer of Christ for a long long time. Yes. Christ is in my heart. So are other prophets. But to me, God is supreme. The creator. Singular. Not begotten, neither does he begets. He is the necessary being. There is nothing like God. Well, that's what's in my heart.

 

[Heyo]

Yeah, that’s the whole purpose of my proposal, hoping that the pretending will become real.

Reality is real, and it has a tendency to bite you in your behind, eventually.
"Perception creates reality" is the mantra of post-modernism, but it fails miserably.
It's the same in politics. Reality isn't important, only what voters perceive to be real. That's why politicians lie all the time. As long as people buy the lies, they vote for you and thus "create reality" in the form of real governments. But even politicians have to face reality eventually.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Those who don’t believe in Christ, I challenge you to pretend that you do for about a week and come back here and tell me if you feel any different. You have to pretend that Christ is alive in your heart though. Whatever that means to you. See ya in a week.

I was a very devouted amd zealous believer for 15 years. It wasn't good and things got better for me after I quit and plucked myself from Christ's flock.

 

[Quintessence]

I could try, but the rub is I don't really know what that means.

Genuinely adopting and practicing a religious tradition - which is what I think you might mean - takes time (at least in my experience). It can be changed over time, but it's not quite a simple on-off switch. To really internalize it is work. Hard work. This is something that is too often underestimated by those who crap on theism, believing it to be the "easy" road. It is not. It takes learning and effort. A learning and effort that - if you are going to "believe in" it in all the ways that actually matter doesn't happen in a week.

 

[Balthazzar]

The problem isn't with atheism or Christianity. It's with "pretending". One can't fake it till they make it. These things have to be genuine.

I think it's difficult to move beyond preconceived concepts we've held as truths for a lifetime...no matter how much we may want to. Sure, we can lie about it, but what does that prove? Belief, as you suggest must be genuine, otherwise it's just a mask to cover something else up.

 

[PureX]

There are many ways of understanding what "Christ" is, and is about. So I don't think this exercise will do anything for most people to significantly change their understanding of it.

I think a far better exercise would be to explain Christ in common practical terms so that most people could easily recognize and understand what that term means and how it can be applied to our way of living in the world for positive practical results.

A big problem with a lot of religious Christians is that they don't know how to think or speak about Christ without all the archaic and pedantic religious terminology. And it all just sounds foolish to people that have not been indoctrinated to conflate their religion and religious dogma with their concept of God, and of spirituality. They end up being more of a disservice to their own intentions, than a proponent.

 

[Subduction Zone]

To pretend is to inherently not believe.
Wouldn't an omniscient supreme deity
detect the subterfuge?

I had to upgrade this to a winner after looking at the diversity of thumbs up that you got. When you point out how bad someone's reasoning is that both very ardent believers, nonbelievers and those in the middle agree with you that tells us that you nailed it.