Liberal Christians: Why is it bigoted for Christians to believe they’re part of the true religion

[Brickjectivity]

Romans 3:12. Also the Fall of Man

This does not support your position or show our position, but for some reason you don't know what our position is. In several threads now I've pointed out the biblical fallacy of your claim, but you keep replying with paranoid claims. You actually called me a Satanist. That's just...like...very cult like behavior. Anybody but you is a Satanist? Not scriptural. For whatever reason you think it is, its not.

 

[Jeremiah Ames]

when a conservative Christian says that Christianity is the one true religion, you call them bigots. But, if someone from a different religion says the same thing about their religion, you affirm them.

Hypocrisy? Political bias? Humanist hatred?

I consider myself a liberal Christian, so I thought I would answer.
However, I find the post a bit obnoxious. Why? It assumes facts not in evidence, as Matlock would say. And is purposely accusatory against me.
I have never called any Christian a bigot and have never heard it stated anywhere at any time. Perhaps you should hang out with better people.

IMO, I think it’s good that everyone views themselves as part of the one true religion. There’s nothing wrong with that.
I would never comment about the fact I find the statement faulty, because the part that is faulty, imo, is not relevant. Since I believe all religions are true, not just one, there is nothing wrong if everyone believes theirs is the only true one.
The religion of a person makes no difference, since the requirements for inherenting the kingdom have nothing to do with religion. The primary goal for any Christian should be meeting those requirements, not worrying whether or not they or anyone else is.

It appears that you’re a “conservative Christian”, and it appears that you’re feeling picked on. Well let me just say, I find you totally, absolutely UNbigoted. And I have no doubt you’re a very kind, thoughtful, caring person.

Now a bit about me.
My liberal beliefs include the fact that there absolutely positively is no such thing as a trinity in God. There absolutely positively is no such thing as hell. Homosexual people have just as much chance of inheriting the kingdom of God as anyone else, if not more so. Oh, and atheists too.
And I consider myself 100% Christian in tune with God’s word.
So what do think about that?

 

[Deeje]

I am reading this thread and learning....I have never engaged in politics because the world and its rulership I believe, are in opposition to God, so I had no idea what a liberal "Christian" was, or even that they existed. To me this is wearing a label but denying the teachings of the Master you claim to serve.

If you don't think the religion you subscribe to is the "right" one, then why follow it? Wouldn't you promote it and extol its virtues if you believed that it could help others to find a satisfying way of life....and a peaceful future?

If you believe that those with the "right" religion are the only ones who will survive a coming world catastrophe, then isn't letting others know about it a humanitarian obligation? If we have what we believe is life-saving knowledge, then what does that make us if we keep it to ourselves? Informed choice is the only one worth making.

It isn't a matter of being intolerant but attempting to supplant ignorance. Intolerance means working against something to prevent it from operating. Jesus never did that. He spread his message and allowed people to respond as they wished. The world kept on its merry way but those who followed him changed their lives forever. They were to imitate him in his words and actions....in spite of what others did.

This is the role of a Christian IMO.

 

[Jeremiah Ames]

It doesn't matter what you do. I have engaged in debates against Islam more times than I can count and I've been called everything under the sun. When I talk badly about Christianity it's silent. You haven't been here long enough.

@YmirGF

Humanist States Man is inherently good. That goes against Christian teachings. It opens the door for apologist mentality

Genesis 1:31.
Your statement goes against the word of God.
Sin is bad, but God’s creation is good, imo.

 

[sayak83]

They are. Have you tried criticising Islam without someone calling you an Islamophobe, bigot or a racist? Try it on these fora.

Yes i have, and have not been called any such thing.
Heck, I have also posted Muhammad cartoons in this forum without any name calling by anyone.

 

[whirlingmerc]

when a conservative Christian says that Christianity is the one true religion, you call them bigots. But, if someone from a different religion says the same thing about their religion, you affirm them.

Hypocrisy? Political bias? Humanist hatred?

It appears to be an inconsistency.... after all they believe they are right and conservatives wrong

 

[Deeje]

My liberal beliefs include the fact that there absolutely positively is no such thing as a trinity in God. There absolutely positively is no such thing as hell. Homosexual people have just as much chance of inheriting the kingdom of God as anyone else, if not more so. Oh, and atheists too.
And I consider myself 100% Christian in tune with God’s word.
So what do think about that?

I for one find your posts very reasonable Gerry. I also reject the trinity and hellfire....and all humans have a shot at life IMV too. God holds no past deed against anyone who is repentant. His power to forgive is bigger than any sin of the flesh.

However, having said that, in Eden God demonstrated that his mercy and forgiveness have limits. Nowhere is there a single statement of remorse or a request for forgiveness from the first pair. The reason for that is that they had no sinful nature to use as a reason for their disobedience. They were without defect and therefore what they did was a wilful and deliberate act, resulting in the death penalty being implemented on the very day that ate the forbidden fruit. They virtually "unplugged" themselves from the protective power of their Creator and began to die that very day. Kicked out of their paradise home, where God had provided so bountifully for them, they then had to eke out a miserable existence on cursed ground for the rest of their lives. There was no basis upon which their sin could be forgiven.

God's command to them originally was to "fill the earth" with their kind. God allowed them to do that before death finally caught up with them. Adam's children would be saved from this inherited death sentence by God when he provided a savior sent on a mission to redeem them with his own life, paying the debt Adam left to them.
Adam and his wife died without regaining God's favor, but their children were plunged into a situation from which they could not recover on their own. (Romans 5:12) God provided a way to save them.

Part of the defect in humans is the propensity to make bad decisions and to exhibit faults in their genetics, be they inherited diseases or physical deformities or even gender issues. These will all be dealt with by the Kingdom that Jesus taught us to pray for. When the "Kingdom comes" only then will "God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven".

I for one look forward to seeing all those issues sorted out, right here on earth, with a joyful outcome for all those who obeyed the teachings of Jesus and his apostles regardless of the difficulty. Jesus came so that Adam's children could see the fulfillment of God's original purpose...to have the earth filled with righteous humans all serving and praising their Sovereign Creator....forever.

Jesus chose a relative "few" to assist him in the role of kings and priests. (Revelation 20:6) Only these will go to heaven. God's original purpose for man was to live forever on earth in the most beautiful conditions.

Imagine waking up to a world like this every day, knowing that no evil people exist in this place?

Insert your own vision of paradise.....

 

[David1967]

I for one find your posts very reasonable Gerry. I also reject the trinity and hellfire....and all humans have a shot at life IMV too. God holds no past deed against anyone who is repentant. His power to forgive is bigger than any sin of the flesh.

However, having said that, in Eden God demonstrated that his mercy and forgiveness have limits. Nowhere is there a single statement of remorse or a request for forgiveness from the first pair. The reason for that is that they had no sinful nature to use as a reason for their disobedience. They were without defect and therefore what they did was a wilful and deliberate act, resulting in the death penalty being implemented on the very day that ate the forbidden fruit. They virtually "unplugged" themselves from the protective power of their Creator and began to die that very day. Kicked out of their paradise home, where God had provided so bountifully for them, they then had to eke out a miserable existence on cursed ground for the rest of their lives. There was no basis upon which their sin could be forgiven.

God's command to them originally was to "fill the earth" with their kind. God allowed them to do that before death finally caught up with them. Adam's children would be saved from this inherited death sentence by God when he provided a savior sent on a mission to redeem them with his own life, paying the debt Adam left to them.
Adam and his wife died without regaining God's favor, but their children were plunged into a situation from which they could not recover on their own. (Romans 5:12) God provided a way to save them.

Part of the defect in humans is the propensity to make bad decisions and to exhibit faults in their genetics, be they inherited diseases or physical deformities or even gender issues. These will all be dealt with by the Kingdom that Jesus taught us to pray for. When the "Kingdom comes" only then will "God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven".

I for one look forward to seeing all those issues sorted out, right here on earth, with a joyful outcome for all those who obeyed the teachings of Jesus and his apostles regardless of the difficulty. Jesus came so that Adam's children could see the fulfillment of God's original purpose...to have the earth filled with righteous humans all serving and praising their Sovereign Creator....forever.

Jesus chose a relative "few" to assist him in the role of kings and priests. (Revelation 20:6) Only these will go to heaven. God's original purpose for man was to live forever on earth in the most beautiful conditions.

Imagine waking up to a world like this every day, knowing that no evil people exist in this place?

Insert your own vision of paradise.....

Love the pictures Deeje. I like the one on the bottom best. A place that looks like that. Not to hot or cold. My family are there and healthy and happy. All the animals are nice and no crowds. Now that's my idea of paradise earth.

 

[Kelly of the Phoenix]

If you don't think the religion you subscribe to is the "right" one, then why follow it?

If man can't live on bread alone, why bother eating it?

 

[Deeje]

If man can't live on bread alone, why bother eating it?

Ummmm probably because man can eat lots of other things.....some are good for him, some are not.

Humans did not originally eat bread.

 

[Deeje]

Love the pictures Deeje. I like the one on the bottom best. A place that looks like that. Not to hot or cold. My family are there and healthy and happy. All the animals are nice and no crowds. Now that's my idea of paradise earth.

Those pictures are programmed into the hearts of those who love God. They love what he loves. He created what we love but a knowledge of good and evil made his choices bad ones, taking away a lot of the beautiful things that we humans enjoy. Finding unspoiled places is getting harder and harder. We were never meant to live in a rubbish dump.

The clean up crew is coming!!! Soon we hope.

 

[sayak83]

Those pictures are programmed into the hearts of those who love God. They love what he loves. He created what we love but a knowledge of good and evil made his choices bad ones, taking away a lot of the beautiful things that we humans enjoy. Finding unspoiled places is getting harder and harder. We were never meant to live in a rubbish dump.

The clean up crew is coming!!! Soon we hope.

You live in Australia. That's not a Rubbish dump.

 

[siti]

If you don't think the religion you subscribe to is the "right" one, then why follow it? Wouldn't you promote it and extol its virtues if you believed that it could help others to find a satisfying way of life....and a peaceful future?

Yes - but the real test is when you discover it isn't...what then? Are you permitted to openly criticize the beliefs you once held and then found were not "right" after all? Are you permitted to interpret or reinterpret the religious dogma and tenets of your own "faith"? That's the real test of tolerance. That's the beef @SinSaber seems to have with liberal Christians - they reject conservative and traditional interpretations in favour of more radical and rational versions and it is clear from the language that this is perceived as a threat. But in reality, how so? If one really did have "the Truth", the one and only "right" religious view - what possible threat could mistaken opposition pose? How could any fallible humanist or secular thinking pose any real and present danger to the conservative faithful?

What is really at stake if I (for example) dissent? My life or your faith? That's the question. And that seems to be at the root of religious intolerance as far as I can tell. "The Lord" really does seem to be a "jealous God" - and with good reason - because there's not much room for an intolerant God demanding "exclusive devotion" in a world that is tolerant and accepting of diverse religious beliefs. Bigotry is anathema to liberal Christians just as liberality is to fundamentalists. And to any fair-minded outsider, it all just seems like so much unnecessary pots and kettles calling each other black - and the world would be so much better off without any of them.

 

[UpperLimits]

Someone claiming theirs is the One True Religion™ is be default being intolerant of anyone else's religion, and therefore a bigot.

Has it occurred to you that you've just called anyone and everyone who is religious, a "bigot?"

Truth by its very definition is exclusive. And while it is possible for multiple contradictory claims to all be incorrect, it is logically impossible for them all to be correct. I've spent my life studying world religions and I've never yet found one where it's adherents did not believe that they, and they alone, had arrived at "the truth." About the closest group I've ever found to be accepting of different claims and perspectives is the BaHai faith. And even they feature exclusivity in their truth claims!!

Think about it for a moment. One simply does not follow a religion they believe to be in error. Do they? I'm not talking about merely giving lip service to doctrines, or an inherited family history. I'm talking about what they actually DO, the way they act and live. The moment you declare that you have "the truth," you have by definition excluded all other perspectives. That's just simple logic.

I can explain what I believe. Respectively, I can try my best to live according to those beliefs. I can actively proselytize those beliefs. Those beliefs can be different from, contradictory to, and in many instances counter perspectives to what other people believe. I can also vigorously defend those beliefs. None of the preceding makes a person a bigot. Hatred and intolerance does.

 

[UpperLimits]

Not really. They just think their beliefs are true and others are false. Bigotry would imply they aren't allowing others to have differing beliefs.

Bingo!

 

[UpperLimits]

..

...Tolerance is allowing people to believe as they wish which I think most Christians are ok with. Tolerance doesn’t mean agreeing with everything.

Tolerance has the implicit understanding that, "I believe you are wrong. But I'm going to allow you to continue in your error."

 

[UpperLimits]

... It seems to me the liberals welcome discussion, while the conservatives fear and, therefore, condemn it.

...

Until the conservative metaphorically says, "This is the hill I'm going to die on."... And then the flame war starts!

 

[idav]

..
Tolerance has the implicit understanding that, "I believe you are wrong. But I'm going to allow you to continue in your error."

Faith is matter of opinion so error is subjective in such cases.

 

[QuestioningMind]

when a conservative Christian says that Christianity is the one true religion, you call them bigots. But, if someone from a different religion says the same thing about their religion, you affirm them.

Hypocrisy? Political bias? Humanist hatred?

Who are all of these 'liberal Christians' that you keep claiming to speak for? I know plenty of Christians who consider themselves to be liberal and not a single one of them would make the ridiculous claims that you profess to somehow know that they would make. I'm starting to think that the only 'liberal Christians' you actually know are the imaginary ones you've made up in your head.

 

[QuestioningMind]

Because it's alright to bash Christians left right and centre, but religions like Islam and Judaism are protected species. Regressive leftist politics in action as usual.

LOL... only in right-wing conservative conspiracy land.