Reason for the Season

Well there are nice people all over the world, but its by what intentions you have that set Christians apart from nice people. Christians are nice because they not only want to show Gods love but they want to honor God by how they live and what they do.

The IRA weren't nice people...

Wgrt wrote:okk sorry

haha its okay...

eternally_running wrote:Well there are nice people all over the world, but its by what intentions you have that set Christians apart from nice people. Christians are nice because they not only want to show Gods love but they want to honor God by how they live and what they do.

What great things do Christians do? This is what I dont get....

I really don't think its worth trying to argue that christians are nicer people because they are christians

Christians are called to "express your faith through action", in the words of Paul. Yes, there are people who are not Christian and are very nice people, and there are "Christians" who are not nice people. Most Christians you meet like that, are probably not Christians at all. "You will know them by their fruit. A bad tree does not bear good fruit and a good tree does not bear bad fruit." Jesus Himself said that.

Gahndi is a perfect example of a person who was very good, but wasn't Christian. He saw that Christ was who he wanted to be, but he didn't see it in the Christians.

One of the worst things American Christianity invented is the word "Carnal Christian". They say a carnal Christian is a real Christian, but they imitate the world. Carnal Christians are not christians at all. If a person is saved, it is a supernatural event brought on by God, followed by repentence and hatred of sin.

As to what FK said, we are called to share our faith with our mouths, and to back that up with our actions. If a person has never heard of Christ, your actions aren't going to lead them to Christ but words backed up by action will.

1 John 3:18 - "My brothers, let us not merely say that we love each other, let us show that truth by our actions."

I'm sure almost all other faiths are told to be nice as well
There is nothing special about Christians

I'm not advocating purely expressing faith through actions, but merely pointing out that your talk-action ratio could use a little adjustment.

Wgrt wrote:I'm sure almost all other faiths are told to be nice as well
There is nothing special about Christians

Christians are not just told to be nice. When your heart is fully set on God you have a yearning to honor Him and to witness to others. And one of the ways we do that is by being kind. We dont do it because we are told to. Christianity is not all about a set of rules that need to be followed....its about a relationship with Jesus.

So you reckon the fact that jesus appears to us as immanent while other religions portray their god's as purely transcendent
and that makes you nicer people?
nicer than all the other faiths there are?
nicer than atheists?
stop making such generalisations

Im not making gereralisations, and I am not saying that Christians are nicer than other people. I am just saying that our intentions are different. We are nice to serve God. Jesus does not make us nicer people. Jesus set the example for us to follow, and true Christians are nice beacsue we have a longing to serve our King and we can serve him by being kind to others.

Wgrt wrote:So you reckon the fact that jesus appears to us as immanent while other religions portray their god's as purely transcendent
and that makes you nicer people?
nicer than all the other faiths there are?
nicer than atheists?
stop making such generalisations

I'm not saying it does I'm just saying some people have to do less talking and more doing.

this is a stupid argument.

alex-likes-running wrote:this is a stupid argument.

+1...billion

Wgrt wrote:So you reckon the fact that jesus appears to us as immanent while other religions portray their god's as purely transcendent
and that makes you nicer people?
nicer than all the other faiths there are?
nicer than atheists?
stop making such generalisations

True Christians are, I would say. But you probably don't come in contact with true Christians very often, so I can understand your skepticism.

There is also a point to be made as to whether telling the truth is "nice". Is it "nice" for me to tell you that you are walking the wide path to hell? What about if it saves your soul?

"Do you know how much love it takes to stand before over 5,000 people and tell them that American Christianity is almost TOTALLY WRONG?" - Paul Washer

Fitter, Happier... wrote:

alex-likes-running wrote:this is a stupid argument.

+1...billion

So you bump it up?

I don't think anyone says it makes Christian's nicer people, they are just saying that if a person is fully living out their relationship with God, then they will aspire to be a nicer person. Because God is love, and when we live through him, we portray love.

Love For Running wrote:I don't think anyone says it makes Christian's nicer people, they are just saying that if a person is fully living out their relationship with God, then they will aspire to be a nicer person. Because God is love, and when we live through him, we portray love.

Exactly!!!!!

Here's a good verse to sum it all up:

"We love because he first loved us." --1 John 4:19

You're still saying we should be able to tell a christian by how nice they are, which is hilariously retarded.

Look i dun give a hoot about you christians, just don't sit there and tell me how to celebrate my holidays.

Adonai wrote:You're still saying we should be able to tell a christian by how nice they are, which is hilariously retarded.

In truth, Christians are supposed to be different in their actions. However, there are so many more Christians that don't try to live it out, so it may seem like a joke.

Adonai wrote:You're still saying we should be able to tell a christian by how nice they are, which is hilariously retarded.

"Should" is the key word there. Christians should show express their faith through action and outward appearance. Christians who never do that are not Christians at all.

So what you're saying is you're not Christian at all?

my problem is how circular this argument is
all Christians are very nice > no they're not > they have to be nice to be Christians > but to be Christian all you have to do is believe in Jesus