Atheists: Does anything attract you to Christianity?

[Nessa]

Atheists,

Is there anything that attracts you to Christianity?

[Kenny]

Atheists,

Is there anything that attracts you to Christianity?

Not so much the religion itself, but sometimes the people of Christianity can be an attraction.... but then that kinda works both ways, some of them can have the opposite effect.

Ken

[B. W.]

Atheists,

Is there anything that attracts you to Christianity?

Not so much the religion itself, but sometimes the people of Christianity can be an attraction.... but then that kinda works both ways, some of them can have the opposite effect.

Ken

Welcome to the real world
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[Nessa]

Atheists,

Is there anything that attracts you to Christianity?

Not so much the religion itself, but sometimes the people of Christianity can be an attraction.... but then that kinda works both ways, some of them can have the opposite effect.

Ken

Specifics?

[Kenny]

Atheists,

Is there anything that attracts you to Christianity?

Not so much the religion itself, but sometimes the people of Christianity can be an attraction.... but then that kinda works both ways, some of them can have the opposite effect.

Ken

Specifics?

I think for some people Christianity gives them a reason to be their best. I've seen people who were jerks, all of a sudden take their religion seriously (aka got saved) and notice a distinct positive difference in their behavior. Even when they get mad you can sometimes see the jerk trying to come out, but they suppress it and they handle the situation in a more peaceful manner because they feel an obligation to represent their religion in a more positive light, because others might judge their religion by their behavior.
I find this attractive.

Ken

[RickD]

Kenny wrote:
I've seen people who were jerks, all of a sudden take their religion seriously (aka got saved)

Just wanted to correct you on this. Someone taking his religion seriously, isn't aka-also known as getting saved.

"Getting saved" is aka placing your faith in Christ for your salvation.

[Nessa]

Atheists,

Is there anything that attracts you to Christianity?

Not so much the religion itself, but sometimes the people of Christianity can be an attraction.... but then that kinda works both ways, some of them can have the opposite effect.

Ken

Specifics?

I think for some people Christianity gives them a reason to be their best. I've seen people who were jerks, all of a sudden take their religion seriously (aka got saved) and notice a distinct positive difference in their behavior. Even when they get mad you can sometimes see the jerk trying to come out, but they suppress it and they handle the situation in a more peaceful manner because they feel an obligation to represent their religion in a more positive light, because others might judge their religion by their behavior.
I find this attractive.

Ken

Thanks for replying

Ah, but is an obvious change of behaviour always due to a sense of 'obligation'?

I use to know this guy from my old church. He once told me he use to swear ALOT habitually.

Overnight he changed, and hadnt sworn since. There is a chance that it was all his doing but I dont think so. When you swear all the time, it can be near impossible to stop a swear word from just naturally coming out. Especially if you have done that for years and years. You can control it to a certain extend for sure tho.

I remember the word [love] slippping out of my mouth by accident (I didnt even swear much then) as a teen infront of my grandparents and family

My dad absolutely came down on me like a ton of bricks too, though I wonder where I got it from in the first place

[RickD]

Nessa,

You can't say the f word on this forum.

[Kenny]

Atheists,

Is there anything that attracts you to Christianity?

Not so much the religion itself, but sometimes the people of Christianity can be an attraction.... but then that kinda works both ways, some of them can have the opposite effect.

Ken

Specifics?

I think for some people Christianity gives them a reason to be their best. I've seen people who were jerks, all of a sudden take their religion seriously (aka got saved) and notice a distinct positive difference in their behavior. Even when they get mad you can sometimes see the jerk trying to come out, but they suppress it and they handle the situation in a more peaceful manner because they feel an obligation to represent their religion in a more positive light, because others might judge their religion by their behavior.
I find this attractive.

Ken

Ah, but is an obvious change of behaviour always due to a sense of 'obligation'?

That is just my speculation. I suspect obligation along with a desire to be a better person.

]

I use to know this guy from my old church. He once told me he use to swear ALOT habitually.

Overnight he changed, and hadnt sworn since. There is a chance that it was all his doing but I dont think so. When you swear all the time, it can be near impossible to stop a swear word from just naturally coming out. Especially if you have done that for years and years. You can control it to a certain extend for sure tho.

I remember the word [love] slippping out of my mouth by accident (I didnt even swear much then) as a teen infront of my grandparents and family

My dad absolutely came down on me like a ton of bricks too, though I wonder where I got it from in the first place

I remember one time I was in a high crime gang ridden neighborhood and I was riding a city bus. Behind me was two guys dressed like thugs, using extremely dirty language, but they were't cussing just to cuss, it seems to just be the way they talked; the way every young person in this neighborhood talked. When ever they would refer to a friend, they would say my N-word, and they were constantly using F-bombs in the place of adverbs.

After about 5 minutes of this type of language going on behind me, I noticed one of the guys was christian and he was witnessing to the other guy about jesus and getting saved. Now even though he was Christian, he was able to curse with the best of them. Now was he speaking this way because he knew he would not be able to reach the thug type speaking proper english? Perhaps, or maybe he grew up in the culture of that neighborhood and when he got saved his language didn't change because he saw nothing wrong with it.
What ever the case, I think this guy was trying to be the best he could be, and your friend from your old church was trying to be the best he could be. Your friend felt a need to stop cussing, but this guy witnessing to the thug did not. What do you think?

Ken

[edwardmurphy]

Atheists,

Is there anything that attracts you to Christianity?

If you're asking if there's anything that makes me want to become a Christian then no, not a thing. I don't think Abraham's god exists. Jesus was probably a real person and he was ahead of his time, but he wasn't the son of god, he's been dead for 2,000 years, and he's never coming back. I know that the Bible says otherwise, but then a lot of religious texts say a lot of things that nobody here believes. I'm as impressed by Christianity as the average Christian is by Hinduism, or Islam, or Zoroastrianism, or Paganism, or Satanism, or whatever.

If you're asking if there's anything about Christianity that I like, then sure there is, but for every positive there's a negative. For example, Christianity motivates some people to be generous with their time and money. The unfortunate flip side of that is that Christianity also allows scumbag con men like Creflo Dollar to bilk gullible old ladies out of their life savings. There are some things in the Bible that I like - love they neighbor, be generous to the poor, and so forth - but then Jesus inexplicably drops the ball on addressing a bunch of obvious evils, like slavery, misogyny, and war.

Basically I see no difference between Christianity and any other religion. Every religion I've ever heard of has its good points and bad points and its saints and sinners. Religions all seem to have vagueness as a common characteristic - they're extremely open to interpretation and they can be used to inspire and justify astonishing acts of kindness and horrifying acts of cruelty. For example, there were priests who risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazis, but the Holocaust couldn't have happened in the first place if the Nazis didn't have hundreds of years of (Christian) antisemitism to tap into. That pattern repeats all over the place. There have been passionate Christians on both sides of every major debate in American history - slavery, women's suffrage, organized labor, segregation, civil rights, women's rights, gay rights - every one of those positions can be attacked and/or defended using Bible quotes.

Soon someone is going to tell me that how people behave is irrelevant and what matters is what it says in the Bible. Those people will fail to recognize that their own beliefs are predicated on the assumption that their particular interpretation of the Bible is correct. Maybe that's just easier for me to see, as an outsider looking in.

[abelcainsbrother]

Atheists,

Is there anything that attracts you to Christianity?

If you're asking if there's anything that makes me want to become a Christian then no, not a thing. I don't think Abraham's god exists. Jesus was probably a real person and he was ahead of his time, but he wasn't the son of god, he's been dead for 2,000 years, and he's never coming back. I know that the Bible says otherwise, but then a lot of religious texts say a lot of things that nobody here believes. I'm as impressed by Christianity as the average Christian is by Hinduism, or Islam, or Zoroastrianism, or Paganism, or Satanism, or whatever.

If you're asking if there's anything about Christianity that I like, then sure there is, but for every positive there's a negative. For example, Christianity motivates some people to be generous with their time and money. The unfortunate flip side of that is that Christianity also allows scumbag con men like Creflo Dollar to bilk gullible old ladies out of their life savings. There are some things in the Bible that I like - love they neighbor, be generous to the poor, and so forth - but then Jesus inexplicably drops the ball on addressing a bunch of obvious evils, like slavery, misogyny, and war.

Basically I see no difference between Christianity and any other religion. Every religion I've ever heard of has its good points and bad points and its saints and sinners. Religions all seem to have vagueness as a common characteristic - they're extremely open to interpretation and they can be used to inspire and justify astonishing acts of kindness and horrifying acts of cruelty. For example, there were priests who risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazis, but the Holocaust couldn't have happened in the first place if the Nazis didn't have hundreds of years of (Christian) antisemitism to tap into. That pattern repeats all over the place. There have been passionate Christians on both sides of every major debate in American history - slavery, women's suffrage, organized labor, segregation, civil rights, women's rights, gay rights - every one of those positions can be attacked and/or defended using Bible quotes.

Soon someone is going to tell me that how people behave is irrelevant and what matters is what it says in the Bible. Those people will fail to recognize that their own beliefs are predicated on the assumption that their particular interpretation of the Bible is correct. Maybe that's just easier for me to see, as an outsider looking in.

Our bible covers everything you just said and the things you bring up shows that nothing is getting overlooked by God.all you've really done is basically say because man sins I will reject God because God allows sinners to sin. However you totally white-washing history by ignoring the fact that atheists killed,slaughtered and oppressed far,far more people than all Christian wars,atrocities and countries combined even if you include Hitler. so if you were really so concerned with the evil in this world atheism should be the last place you look towards.

The very reason God sent Jesus into this world is because of the very things that somehow causes you to reject God but you fail to realize that judgment day is coming and nobody will get away with anything and yet they would if atheism were true,so that you really have no reason at all to complain about the sinful and evil things done in this world.

You cannot on the one hand see evil and act like you are so concerned aboiut it and yet if atheism is true all of the evil people get away with it. You have no right at all to complain holding to your world-view.I can tell you alot of people will bust hell wide open for their evil,sinful ways.

[Nessa]

Atheists,

Is there anything that attracts you to Christianity?

If you're asking if there's anything that makes me want to become a Christian then no, not a thing. I don't think Abraham's god exists. Jesus was probably a real person and he was ahead of his time, but he wasn't the son of god, he's been dead for 2,000 years, and he's never coming back. I know that the Bible says otherwise, but then a lot of religious texts say a lot of things that nobody here believes. I'm as impressed by Christianity as the average Christian is by Hinduism, or Islam, or Zoroastrianism, or Paganism, or Satanism, or whatever.

If you're asking if there's anything about Christianity that I like, then sure there is, but for every positive there's a negative. For example, Christianity motivates some people to be generous with their time and money. The unfortunate flip side of that is that Christianity also allows scumbag con men like Creflo Dollar to bilk gullible old ladies out of their life savings. There are some things in the Bible that I like - love they neighbor, be generous to the poor, and so forth - but then Jesus inexplicably drops the ball on addressing a bunch of obvious evils, like slavery, misogyny, and war.

Basically I see no difference between Christianity and any other religion. Every religion I've ever heard of has its good points and bad points and its saints and sinners. Religions all seem to have vagueness as a common characteristic - they're extremely open to interpretation and they can be used to inspire and justify astonishing acts of kindness and horrifying acts of cruelty. For example, there were priests who risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazis, but the Holocaust couldn't have happened in the first place if the Nazis didn't have hundreds of years of (Christian) antisemitism to tap into. That pattern repeats all over the place. There have been passionate Christians on both sides of every major debate in American history - slavery, women's suffrage, organized labor, segregation, civil rights, women's rights, gay rights - every one of those positions can be attacked and/or defended using Bible quotes.

Soon someone is going to tell me that how people behave is irrelevant and what matters is what it says in the Bible. Those people will fail to recognize that their own beliefs are predicated on the assumption that their particular interpretation of the Bible is correct. Maybe that's just easier for me to see, as an outsider looking in.

I guess I was just after any aspects of it that attracted you. I didnt think there would currently be anything that would tempt you to actually become a Christian. Just interested in your thoughts and how you see things.

[Nessa]

Atheists,

Is there anything that attracts you to Christianity?

Not so much the religion itself, but sometimes the people of Christianity can be an attraction.... but then that kinda works both ways, some of them can have the opposite effect.

Ken

Specifics?

I think for some people Christianity gives them a reason to be their best. I've seen people who were jerks, all of a sudden take their religion seriously (aka got saved) and notice a distinct positive difference in their behavior. Even when they get mad you can sometimes see the jerk trying to come out, but they suppress it and they handle the situation in a more peaceful manner because they feel an obligation to represent their religion in a more positive light, because others might judge their religion by their behavior.
I find this attractive.

Ken

Ah, but is an obvious change of behaviour always due to a sense of 'obligation'?

That is just my speculation. I suspect obligation along with a desire to be a better person.

]

I use to know this guy from my old church. He once told me he use to swear ALOT habitually.

Overnight he changed, and hadnt sworn since. There is a chance that it was all his doing but I dont think so. When you swear all the time, it can be near impossible to stop a swear word from just naturally coming out. Especially if you have done that for years and years. You can control it to a certain extend for sure tho.

I remember the word [love] slippping out of my mouth by accident (I didnt even swear much then) as a teen infront of my grandparents and family

My dad absolutely came down on me like a ton of bricks too, though I wonder where I got it from in the first place

I remember one time I was in a high crime gang ridden neighborhood and I was riding a city bus. Behind me was two guys dressed like thugs, using extremely dirty language, but they were't cussing just to cuss, it seems to just be the way they talked; the way every young person in this neighborhood talked. When ever they would refer to a friend, they would say my N-word, and they were constantly using F-bombs in the place of adverbs.

After about 5 minutes of this type of language going on behind me, I noticed one of the guys was christian and he was witnessing to the other guy about jesus and getting saved. Now even though he was Christian, he was able to curse with the best of them. Now was he speaking this way because he knew he would not be able to reach the thug type speaking proper english? Perhaps, or maybe he grew up in the culture of that neighborhood and when he got saved his language didn't change because he saw nothing wrong with it.
What ever the case, I think this guy was trying to be the best he could be, and your friend from your old church was trying to be the best he could be. Your friend felt a need to stop cussing, but this guy witnessing to the thug did not. What do you think?

Ken

Thats interesting
It is hard to know why the Christian you mentioned swore without him telling us himself.
To me, swearing is a heart issue, cos out of the mouth, overflows the heart. Something I struggle with myself.

I still believe the guy I mentioned had 'help' with his swearing. As far as Im aware he didnt have any specific desire to stop as he was a new Christian. Swearing for him was a habit, and he recognised himself that there was literally an overnight transformation with his mouth.

[melanie]

I swear. Not because I have too. I am articulate and can get my point across regardless but I like language. Expressive and heartfelt.
I don't like filth nor vulgarity but I'm not particularly offended by the f word.
I much prefer honesty and clarity.
Language changes but motivations don't.
I don't judge a person on their vocabulary or use of colourful language but on their character.
People are fickle, self righteous and self serving.
I often feel more comfortable with the occasional swear word when used in context rathet than a holier than thou attitude.
I like language, it's expression and honesty.
Give me real and flawed any day over contrived and staged.

[Nessa]

Mel,

I agree 100% to the heart of what you are saying.
There are mixed feelings I have tho.

I went to get a coffee at a little cafe once and the owner started going on about something, letting the f word drop. I actually felt extremely disrepected and put off. To me thats darn rude to run a professional business and acting all angry and mouthing off infront of your customer. I just would never do that to a customer myself while working.

We also have had tradesmen come and work on the kitchen and have sworn like a sailor. Part of me takes offense and then realistically I am sitting in the lounge giggling away like a school girl.

Some farmers mouth off during my work interviews but I notice when some say 'shivers' instead, I actually will feel respected, like they are considering my feelings.

Friends swearing around me doesnt make me feel disrespected at all tho and I do it too. There are lots of things I consider wrong but context, and being real matters a heck of a lot.