|
Author
|
Topic: SOME INTERESTING FACTS TO WAKE UP (& ALARM) REAL CHRISTIANS!
|
tenboom155
Advanced Member
Member # 4358
|
posted
It is my experience that if you love someone, they will ask you about Jesus eventually. I have never "pushed" Jesus, and never denied him. Yet I have had people ask me why I loved them--and I got to tell them about Jesus. Some recieved Him. Praise God.
--------------------
My 2 Cents--pardon my poor spelling.
Posts: 52 | From: Oklahoma | Registered: Feb 2005
| IP: Logged | 
|
|
WhiteEagle
Advanced Member
Member # 3728
|
posted
I also pray I will not be a stumbling block to someone coming to know the Lord.
I'm convinced it's not when we try to witness that counts, but it's when we are being observed by others.
It's not what we might do wrong as a human being that will cause them to stumble, but how "righteous" we present ourselves to others without God's Holy spirit that will turn people off.
How honest are we?
How loving are we?
Are we real?
That's what they want to know. Because we might be the only one that can show them the Christ.
Posts: 1392 | From: Maine | Registered: Aug 2004
| IP: Logged |
|
|
WhiteEagle
Advanced Member
Member # 3728
|
posted
In reading about the early church, I read that many didn't like the 1st century Christians because they didn't follow the common social practices of that time period. Most of the general population except for the Jews did give offerings to the Roman gods, and because the Christians refused to partake in athletic games, or any social occasion which commonly referred to the "gods", they were deemed "hateful" to the practice of Roman god worship.
A Christian in the Roman empire couldn't be appointed as a public official due to he would need to take an oath of alligence to the Roman gods. Christians of course wouldn't take that kind of oath, and were looked upon as strange by most of society.
We are now in a sense reverting back to a similar type of society. One that reveres homosexuals, and using aborted babies stem cells for medical research. One that disallows any mention of God or the Bible in public places, except for the designated one of a church building.
A society that wishes to teach all the children their social responsibilties of keeping their health, so they won't be a burden, being tolerant of all kinds of sexual perversion, and teaching a totally humanistic philosophy in schools, that man is the supreme cause and effect of the future.
So of course, one will be hated if one has any kind of Biblical outlook on life.
We are the last generation who will know what a moral society used to look like. Or at least the last ones who will know the difference, unless the next generation is saved.
Posts: 1392 | From: Maine | Registered: Aug 2004
| IP: Logged |
|
|
mohawk
Advanced Member
Member # 2898
|
posted
One trait that I have noticed, is whenever non-believers "pick a religion," thinking it will shore up their self-created beliefs regarding the here-after, they will claim to believe in "a god," without pinpointing any in particular... or they will claim a preference for a religion from which nothing is required of them should they join up. That's their unspoken complaint about Christianity--it is a spiritual path in which they will be convicted for their ways and required to seek the one true God's plan for them--which would of course attempt to curtail if not circumvent their established, self-absorbed life patterns. Interesting, no?
I've known a number of people who deny Christ, yet seek to join a religious organization in the hopes of bettering themselves or growing spiritually. In one case, a person wanted to "convert to Judaism," perhaps to give themselves a sort of spiritual credibility in their own minds... yet ran into trouble when none of the Rabbis would just "go along" with this person's New Agey internal paradigms (!!!) What did the person think? That joining a church (much less adopt a personally committed belief in God) was like joining a gym?
Part of the problem (my opinion) is that the true definition of "faith" has been watered down. Jesus said if one had faith the size of a mustard seed, it was enough to command a mountain to cast itself into the sea (paraphrase). Today, most believe faith simply means thinking pleasant thoughts and believing the Universe, or a pedestrian-level karma, justifies the "positive effort" by making their day "nice". ![[BooHoo]](graemlins/boohoo.gif) They are good, caring people at heart... but the spiritual pool they see their reflections in, is very shallow.
Posts: 223 | From: california | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
|
|
GODSmessenger
Community Member
Member # 4198
|
posted
SOME INTERESTING FACTS TO WAKE UP (& ALARM) REAL CHRISTIANS!
1.) Here is a fascinating (& tragic) quote that probably reflects why many people don't choose to come to our LORD:
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ". (Mohandas Gandhi)
2.) Some Frightening Statistics (Which We Must Assume Have Changed Since These Assessments):
a.) Within Christianity (counted as just one religion), 33,830 different denominations are counted. (This would include denominations as large as Catholicism and as small as Shakers).
b.) The number of self-professed Christians worldwide is approximately 2.4 billion
c.) Contemporary figures for Islam are usually between 900 million and 1.3 billion. It has been reported that there are more practicing Muslims than practicing Christians in the world. They are rapidly catching up to the number of Christians & will probably surpass us in a few years.
d.) Between 1990 & 2000, the U.S. population consisted of 76% Christians, 13.5% secularists (nonbelievers) & 0.5% Muslims. However -- in that same time frame -- the membership for Christianity increased by only 5%, whereas the Islamic membership increased by 109% & the secularists gained an increase of 110%. (*These figures come from the NSRI and ARIS data, based on self-identification*) That should alarm those of us who really care about our LORD and about the world, in general!
3.) According to George Barna's Research, barely half of all Protestant adults (54%) read the Bible during a typical week. (Since some of these figures were based on self-identification, this is probably a very inflated number)
4.) According to Barna:
The groups whose adherents are most likely to possess biblical perspectives are also those whose adherents are most actively pursuing spiritual experiences. The churches where people's beliefs have strayed farthest from the Bible tend to be those in which the people are least involved in religious and spiritual pursuits."
5.) Conclusion Regarding Christianity In The United States:
Overall, Barna contends that the data portray a nation that is comfortable with religion but not particularly committed to spiritual growth. "Most people who are aligned with a Christian church really make a rather minimal investment in religious activity. There are those who are completely committed to spiritual growth and invest themselves quite heavily in such development, but they constitute less than one out of every five adults in America. Similarly, relatively few adults have completely negated the role of faith in their lives - again, perhaps one out of five. Most people describe themselves as religious, describe their faith as being very important in their daily life, but make only a half-hearted effort to truly master the foundations of their chosen faith and live a life that is determined by that faith."
Our LORD warned us that the "love of many would wax cold" in the Last Days, & the loss of His Presence has had a corrupting influence not only on the churches, but also on how people perceive Him as an "attractive option" through His representatives (Christians). I've been to many websites where I've heard that most people reject our LORD because of our negative behavior, hypocrisy, & criticism. While some may use us as a scapegoat for their own refusal, I'm sure that some people have been negatively influenced against our LORD because of some unkind, unChristlike behaviors in the churches, & we should all desperately pray that none of us is ever the reason someone chose not to come to our LORD (that would be very hard for me to live with). Yet the memberships for secular humanism (& the like) & Islam are growing like wildfire! People have a natural need for worship, so we need to ask what are we -- as a whole -- failing to do that they are turning toward extremist movements & not toward our LORD? Perhaps there is nothing we can do if this is merely one of the signs of the end time, but it doesn't hurt to keep ourselves informed about these kinds of statistics, the possible reasons for such statistics reflecting so poorly on Christianity, & pray to our LORD to guide us & help us to never be a stumbling block or a reason why someone chose not to come to Him.
--------------------
Yours In Our LORD'S Service:
GOD'S Messenger
Make A Difference Ministries
Posts: 19 | From: California | Registered: Dec 2004
| IP: Logged |
|
|
|
Printer-friendly view of this topic
