Replies

Let me say first that it is not my intention to make anyone mad, or to discount anyone's beliefs. This is rather wordy, but I had a lot of posts to which I needed to respond. I thought it would be easier this way. Feel free to ignore it.

There are billions of people in the world, and many, many religions. I believe that there are good people of all faiths, and bad people of all faiths. Some of the meanest, most shallow people I have ever met have claimed to be Christian. To me, religion is simply not an accurate gauge of one's character. All people who claim a certain religion do so because they believe in the teachings of that religion, and all believe they are right. Every religious person has faith in their particular beliefs, and assumes every other religion is wrong. That is fine. But to condescend to anyone simply because they are not of your religion I find rather arrogant. Everyone believes that they are right. I believe that everyone is entitled to their opinion when it comes to religion. To me, spirituality is intensely personal.

Good? According to whom? Search4Truth

In my original post, I used the phrase "good person". I do not do the right thing because God tells me to do so. I do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. If the threat of damnation is the only thing that keeps one on the straight and narrow, what does that say about a person? To me, a good person is empathetic, helps those who are less fortunate, helps those who have been or would be victimized, follows the law, respects others, is never mean, spiteful or selfish, goes out of their way to assist a child or the elderly, is responsible in their daily life, volunteers when possible, and raises their children to be the same. I teach my children the Golden Rule, not because we are Christians but because is the right way to behave. I'm sure there are things I am leaving out, and I'm sure one of you will point those out.

Both of your statements are unbiblicalAnniegetyourgun

I am not Christian, so pointing out that statements I make do not follow biblical teachings is not surprising. Very many people in the world are not Christian, and I simply will never believe that only one group is right and everyone else is going to hell. Even though I don't believe in hell.

some perceived lack of Christianity only drives good people who don't happen to be born-again Christians from conservatism and the Republican party. We need to welcome all good people who care about their children's character into this discussion. lieutenant columbo

Many of the people I know who are conservative and/or Republican do not subscribe to any particular religion. I agree with Columbo. Any person who does harm to another, whether physical or mental, is a bad person. You simply cannot judge a person because his faith is different from yours.

Why would non-Christian people wish to join a discussion about a Christian article unless it was to complain about Christians? Free2BMe

I am not complaining about Christians. I just think some are too myopic and should not be so hateful or judgemental. Parenting should be an important issue to all.

If any religion teaches that I will be damned even though I have done the right thing all my life, and Charles Manson can, in the end, truly accept Jesus Christ and go to Heaven, then I want no part of it. I also think that children should be taught to be open minded, and make their own decision, based on their own information and beliefs, when they are old enough to understand what religion is. I know many of you do not agree with that, but that is just how I feel. No need to post to me to tell me that I am wrong. We are all different.

Nearly every war or public persecution since the beginning of time has been about religion. Millions, probably billions, of people have been killed over the centuries simply because someone else thought their religion was wrong. I just wish people of all faiths would be more tolerant.