Posted on 06/07/2013 10:30:42 AM PDT by DaveMSmith
One of the common critiques leveled at present-day Christianity is that it’s a religion full of hypocritical people. A new Barna Group study examines the degree to which this perception may be accurate. The study explores how well Christians seem to emulate the actions and attitudes of Jesus in their interactions with others.
The research project was directed by David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group, in conjunction with John Burke, author of Mud and the Masterpiece, a book exploring the attitudes and actions of Jesus in all of his encounters.
Assessing Christlikeness
In this nationwide study of self-identified Christians, the goal was to determine whether Christians have the actions and attitude of Jesus as they interact with others or if they are more akin to the beliefs and behaviors of Pharisees, the self-righteous sect of religious leaders described in the New Testament.
In order to assess this, Barna researchers presented a series of 20 agree-or-disagree statements. Five actions and five attitudes that seem to best encapsulate the actions and attitudes of Jesus Christ during his ministry on earth. The researchers did the same for the Pharisees (10 total statements, five reflecting behaviors and five examining attitudes).
< snip >
The findings reveal that most self-identified Christians in the U.S. are characterized by having the attitudes and actions researchers identified as Pharisaical. Just over half of the nation’s Christians—using the broadest definition of those who call themselves Christians—qualify for this category (51%). They tend to have attitudes and actions that are characterized by self-righteousness.
(Excerpt) Read more at barna.org ...
“Nothing particularly unusual about it, after all, self-righteousness was the basis for the Fall.”
You make a good point that I can’t deny.
And you got to use “pharisaical” in a sentence today.
LOL. Always a good day when that occurs. At least until the word "pharisaical" no longer applies to anyone. (Wow. That's twice.)
The Pharisees believed that an adherence to God’s Law was what saved you. The better you kept to His Law, the better you were. Unfortunately, this is still the prevailing belief today. Nothing changes. If Christ were to come back today, his battles would be with the accepted, mainstream Christianity.
It’s a man-centered belief, not a Christ-centered one. This story isn’t about mankind. This story is about God and Christ. We are just blessed to have a small bit part in it. But so many churches put mankind at the center. It’s all about us. So many churches pay lip service to Christ, while the entire sermon is about us - how we should act, what we should do, how sinful we are. All chaff.
Here is some valuable knowledge. The Lord says we will know false prophets by their fruits. Just as there was one fruit that was eaten to cause the fall of man, there is only one fruit by which we may attain salvation: the fruit of the vine, the blood of Christ. If your preacher doesn’t center his sermon on the blood of Christ, you should run from that church. Only false prophets spend their time telling you there is some code of conduct that keeps you in God’s grace or that you must perform some act to please him.
It just seems right, though, doesn’t it? If I can just stop having that beer after work, if I can just stop slipping up and cursing, or if I can just give more of my money to the Church, God will like me better. I will be more righteous. He will surely be pleased with me.
Satan transformed into an angel of light.
It is a faith in the flesh, and the Lord says it’s a path to destruction. It’s laid out very well in this passage in Philippians 3:
3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
That short passage, which takes less than thirty seconds to read, mentions Christ five times. How many times does your preacher say it in his hour-long Sunday morning service?
Do what??
Currently my church has no members (except Jesus) but I'm working on it.
LOL! Triple LOL!
Post of the day.
LOL. Our local Presbeterian Church has an ad in the paper welcoming everyone to come especially sinners, since no one in their church is a saint.
Shakes head ... not good enough. Especially not good enough for me. My standards are very nice.
Standards are important.
Christians are those who believe in the Holy Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Other variations are not Christian...
Come for mass on Sunday and you’ll see that..
It’s important to remember that Jesus was a Pharisee. He was regularly referred to as “rabbi”, and the Pharisees were then the only branch of Judaism “ordaining” rabbis through the practice of “simicha”, or the laying on of hands. Their practices essentially developed into modern Judaism.
We’re all sinners, saved by the grace of God alone, through faith. That does not mean that unrepentant, ongoing, openly sinful behavior should be tolerated within any church. It’s poison. Such individuals demonstrate who and what they are as well as what they aren’t, and there comes a point where disassociation is the correct, best thing to do for the congregation as a whole.
Matthew 10:38 NKJV
And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
No one can be saved with out repentance which is admitting we our wrong and doing our best to go the other way, any one who truly believes would have to be ashamed when doing something God says not to do.
No believer could advocate doing anything God forbids period.
Many people have strong desires which if they are Christian gets them into trouble, and many people Christian or not do not have these obstacles.
Are the people who do not have these strong desires of nature the only ones who can be Christians? no.
That is why Paul explains that Bishops and deacons chosen from among the elders should be responsible.
1 tim 3
2
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
Not all of the elders would have qualified because other wise it would not have been necessary for Paul to even mention the qualifications.
So it is evidence that even the actual members of the Church were not all people with out things in their lives that could be a detriment to the teaching of the Gospel.
People use that word love with out trying to take the time to understand what it means. as in love your neighbor and your enemy.
Jesus explains what love is very plainly.
Matt 22
39
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
luke 10
33
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: And when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, ‘Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.’ Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He that showed mercy on him.” Then said Jesus unto him, “Go, and do thou likewise.”
People can go around hollering love or they can go around with their fists doubled up but the above is what Jesus says the love of God is.
First we say we will and then we won,t then we say we won,t and then we do, words, words, words.
When is the last time a christian could make their point without quoting Paul over Jesus or God’s Word?
Paul was Apostle to the Gentiles, he knew sin, was a great sinner, persecuting and killing Christians himself, before God intervened.
He came from that state of sin to become one of the foremost teachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and taught it well, especially to the sinner and the unbeliever because he had been adamantly so himself once.
His scriptural writings speak quite clearly to certain people. Perhaps you’re not among their number. Perhaps you think Paul, an Apostle, is a nut but somehow inexplicably regarded as a saint by the Catholic Church, which is perhaps your own church. A nut who wrote divinely inspired scripture, that you perhaps reject.
If so, you wouldn’t be the first Catholic on the FR religion forum to hold that opinion, internally contradictory though it obviously may be to those Christians in other churches.
He came from that state of sin to become one of the foremost teachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and taught it well, especially to the sinner and the unbeliever because he had been adamantly so himself once.
Much of Pauls writings are not the Gospel but simply instructions for building the Church to teach the Gospel, for instance qualifications for Bishops and Deacons in Timothy 3
I would not meet those Qualifications because i have done so many stupid things that makes me unfit to be in a position such as that.
I am not a Catholic, neither am i anything else so i guess i am near to nothing, no joke.
At any rate if the words of our lord is not the only Gospel then we are all lost, the Churches which Paul was writing to may have only taught the birth, death and resurrection of our lord because it is possible they never had the full Gospel as we see it in our Bible.
There are many who believe and speak that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised in the flesh as proof of the glory of God.
It’s not true to say “we” have lost the Gospel.
Very good. Strom is on it and he’s correct. The ‘Christians’ have deviated from Christ and his clear teaching.
Yes, Paulinists is a great term and apt.
Trinitarian Christians are those who believe in the Holy Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Other variations are Christian’s who believe in the Bible. The Trinity is a philosophical invention.
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