12 Questions Educated Young Adults Might Ask Progressive Christians

[Luce NDs]

Is love like a hot potato ... when the winner needs to have something put down. Pit fires are good for cooking things buried in the ashes ... don't get to close ... Cloes enough only for warming and not setting off kerygma ... a dark Greek pyre ... passion does have a destructive side ... can this be balanced?

Only with some onus ... Mona's honesty! It is a rare and thin fabrication truth, virtue and unimaginable gospel ... created by whom? Yah ... a strong man set on destruction ... consequences? It'd be obvious if not so shadowed by dark clouds ... we need a break from this fecundity ... a different winter? Well now ... the auguring begins ...

 

[Mystic]

Accountability is important. We're accountable to people closest to us. We're accountable to society.

I think you may have missed my point. There are many churches that use threats of divine "justice" if people dont follow what are usually man made rules. If you don't believe a certain way you're going to hell or won't have god's blessings. Etc.

No, you missed my point that you are creating a generalized caricature to serve your progressive agenda.
Most, not all, mid-sized or large evangelical churches are "seeker sensitive" and stress the positive, never mentioning HeYou didn't answer my question.

"Are you only good or behaving because of the threat of hell?"

Did you bother to read my quote of 1 John 5:7-8? John teaches that true Christians are motivated by mature love, which is devoid of fear-based motivation.

 

[Mendalla]

Did you bother to read my quote of 1 John 5:7-8? John teaches that true Christians are motivated by mature love, which is devoid of fear-based motivation.

There's an awful lot of very vocal professed Christians who do not seem to have read that. Scaring people straight seems to be very much a part of some schools of Christianity, generally (and probably not coincidentally) the same ones that tend to claim natural disasters and other destructive events are punishments from God.

Christianity's diversity is sometimes its worst enemy, with some schools of Christianity talking mindfully and beautifully about love and grace and others caterwauling about the horrible things that will happen to sinners if they don't embrace JESUS!!. Unfortunately, the latter tend to be louder and get more public attention than the former, creating the negative image you are responding to here.

 

[Mystic]

Get your mind freed from philosophy and get to know people personally as they are. Her answer expresses observation of reality, not word based philosophy.

'
"People as they are" generally have no answer to the question, "What makes right actions right?"
So they can only mindless pontifica

Then why do you insist on the need for accountability? Logic is a mental construct that works for mathematics and science but can be distracting from reality when it gets into morality. Most moral codes serve the interests of those with power in the community. The only moral code offered by Jesus was centered on love.

I got cut off before I completed my answer.

God is Love and is the ground of all being. Therefore, right and wrong, based on love, are grounded in all Being itself and in that sense we are ultimately accountable to God. No brass bands and flying confetti for Hitler in the next life! People who reject postmortem accountability have no rational answer to the question, "Why shouldn't I exploit others if this makes me happy and I can get away with it?" Appeals to conscience and compassion just beg the unanswered question of why we should be compassionate, obey our consicence, or accept someone else's notion of right and wrong.
Skeptics are sometimes motivated to take the leap of faith to become theists just so their lives can be morally meaningful in a defensible sense.
So in that sense Philosophy is more important than mindless inter personalvalues shaped solely by evolution and cultural conditioning.

 

[Waterfall]

'
"People as they are" generally have no answer to the question, "What makes right actions right?"
So they can only mindless pontifica

I got cut off before I completed my answer.

God is Love and is the ground of all being. Therefore, right and wrong, based on love, are grounded in all Being itself and in that sense we are ultimately accountable to God. No brass bands and flying confetti for Hitler in the next life! People who reject postmortem accountability have no rational answer to the question, "Why shouldn't I exploit others if this makes me happy and I can get away with it?" Appeals to conscience and compassion just beg the unanswered question of why we should be compassionate, obey our consicence, or accept someone else's notion of right and wrong.
Skeptics are sometimes motivated to take the leap of faith to become theists just so their lives can be morally meaningful in a defensible sense.
So in that sense Philosophy is more important than mindless inter personalvalues shaped solely by evolution and cultural conditioning.

I don't know why, but I remembered Constantine while reading about Hitler in your post, and Constantines baptism being performed as he was dying.....(to cover all his past sins.) Supposedly this was a common practice in the day, instead of infant baptism.
Thank goodness for Grace.

 

[jimkenney12]

Philosophy does not deter people from doing evil. Punishment by societies deters people from doing evil. Have you noticed reports about clergy who abused others, were involved in theft or fraud, and other violations? Your philosophy did nothing to stop them from doing evil even though they were thoroughly drenched in it.

Societies determine what is currently good and evil for them and devise means to enforce and reward behaviour as deemed appropriate to them. Words and abstract concepts do not deter evil.

 

[Waterfall]

Philosophy does not deter people from doing evil. Punishment by societies deters people from doing evil. Have you noticed reports about clergy who abused others, were involved in theft or fraud, and other violations? Your philosophy did nothing to stop them from doing evil even though they were thoroughly drenched in it.

Societies determine what is currently good and evil for them and devise means to enforce and reward behaviour as deemed appropriate to them. Words and abstract concepts do not deter evil.

We could take a cue from God, who knows our hearts so well, he knows our past and what some have lived through to make some who they have become and while justice should be served, so should understanding, IMO.

 

[Mendalla]

We could take a cue from God, who knows our hearts so well, he knows our past and what some have lived through to make some who they have become and while justice should be served, so should understanding, IMO.

But unless the person is a believer in that version of God, this is just one of those abstract concepts Jim is talking about. I mean there are literally people out there who think God sanctions a man marrying multiple women who are underage by current societal and legal norms. So whose God do we take the cue from? Yours or theirs? Belief in God is really just another philosophy when you get into the moral sphere. If someone doesn't believe in God or believes in a God different from yours, then what cue are they going to get from God?

 

[Mystic]

As for god answering prayers, this is something that I view on different levels.

I'm in some cancer groups on FB which are surprisingly helpful. Every now and again, someone will post about the glory of god who healed their cancer. That to me is an incredibly selfish view of the world. It's usually said in a way that suggests the person is better than the next guy or prayed the right way or whatever.

It's not "an incredibly selfish view of the world;" it's an expression of pure gratitude from someone who takes Jesus' teaching about the power of prayer soaked in faith seriously. How petty of you to attribute a superiority complex to people you don't know!
And for your information, many who go to the healing shrine of Lourdes are healed of metastatic cancer. Here is just one such testimony verified by the Lourdes secular board of medical specialists who gain access to all the relevant medical records;

60 Years After His Miraculous Healing, He Still Returns to Lourdes

‘There was this sense of well-being, of tranquility.’

www.ncregister.com

Whenever I ask about those who are or become metastatic, I get some lame "in god's plan or time" kind of non-answer.

Believing in a Santa Claus type of god is limiting and immature

No, what is immature is your poorly informed skepticism that would quickly be dispelled if you bothered to do the relevant research.
Here are just 10 more of the medically verified healing miracles at Lourdes:

Do You Know About these 10 Amazing Miracles of Lourdes?

Lourdes is the destination of millions pilgrims and visitors each year. Read about some of these 10 amazing miracles of Lourdes here.

www.coraevans.com

 

[Waterfall]

It's not "an incredibly selfish view of the world;" it's an expression of pure gratitude from someone who takes Jesus' teaching about the power of prayer soaked in faith seriously. How petty of you to attribute a superiority complex to people you don't know!
And for your information, many who go to the healing shrine of Lourdes are healed of metastatic cancer. Here is just one such testimony verified by the Lourdes secular board of medical specialists who gain access to all the relevant medical records;

60 Years After His Miraculous Healing, He Still Returns to Lourdes

‘There was this sense of well-being, of tranquility.’

www.ncregister.com

No, what is immature is your poorly informed skepticism that would quickly be dispelled if you bothered to do the relevant research.
Here are just 10 more of the medically verified healing miracles at Lourdes:

Do You Know About these 10 Amazing Miracles of Lourdes?

Lourdes is the destination of millions pilgrims and visitors each year. Read about some of these 10 amazing miracles of Lourdes here.

www.coraevans.com

I've always wondered why one needs a miracle if you're diagnosed with a life threatening/altering illness. If one is a true believer, as you say, what is the necessity of a miracle when you're grounded in God's love and sovereignty and His plans for you? Accepting death or your lot in life should be something you prefer to just accept with anticipation because God wants you back.

 

[Northwind]

No, you missed my point that you are creating a generalized caricature to serve your progressive agenda.
Most, not all, mid-sized or large evangelical churches are "seeker sensitive" and stress the positive, never mentioning HeYou didn't answer my question.

Yes, I realize some churches are seeker sensitive. That does not mean the churches who use shaming tactics and rigid dogma don't exist.

Did you bother to read my quote of 1 John 5:7-8? John teaches that true Christians are motivated by mature love, which is devoid of fear-based motivation.

That's the ideal of course and what many progressive Christians advocate. You ignore the fact that you have said people need a postmortem accountability in order to be good. You said it more clearly upthread. In fact it was in your OP.

People who reject postmortem accountability have no rational answer to the question, "Why shouldn't I exploit others if this makes me happy and I can get away with it?"

(3) The truth of any notion of right and wrong is based on ultimate accountability. How can Progressive Christians who reject postmortem divine judgment meaningfully answer this question: Why shouldn't I exploit others to my advantage if this makes me happy and I can g

Apparently you don't comprehend what I'm saying when you reply with this:

It's not "an incredibly selfish view of the world;" it's an expression of pure gratitude from someone who takes Jesus' teaching about the power of prayer soaked in faith seriously. How petty of you to attribute a superiority complex to people you don't know!

No, what is immature is your poorly informed skepticism that would quickly be dispelled if you bothered to do the relevant research.
Here are just 10 more of the medically verified healing miracles at Lourdes:

Yes, miracles do exist. The fact is, that people in the cancer groups of which I speak don't seem to factor in the medical treatment they got. They had a very early stage cancer and say that god healed them. While god may have played a part, good treatment was a large factor.

There are also those who have a Santa Claus version of god or Jesus whether or not you want to acknowledge that.

I do believe in miracles. I do believe in the power of prayer. I've seen them in my work and life. I'm glad when I see people whose faith sustains them.

The fact is, there is a very selfish stream of "Christianity" whether you like it or not. Ignoring that and attributing wrong assumptions to what I and others who you judge post, doesn't seem to fit whatever agenda you're promoting.

 

[Luce NDs]

Not knowing the line between right and wrong is sometimes considered in psychopathy and this is discouraged by a large class of powers! Bad shrinks ...