beads wrote:Scolai wrote:Flatly telling someone they are wrong is rude, inconsiderate, and jerkish, especially when you have no facts to back up why that person is wrong.
Again, I would say that you need to consider my viewpoint as well. From your viewpoint, I am a jerk if I tell you that you’re wrong and you need to turn to Jesus. But from my viewpoint, I am a jerk if I do not tell you that you’re wrong and you need to turn to Jesus, because I would be a jerk if I had the truth (from my point of view) and didn’t share it with you.
Christians are not out there trying to be jerks. We just want to share what we believe is the truth with as many people as possible in the hopes of seeing some people avoid ending up in hell.
Try to understand. I'm not calling anyone a jerk. The "you" in my quote was a generic pronoun, not intended to indicate second person. That having been said, there is a little thing I have learned over time called people skills. People never, ever, like to be told they are wrong directly. Granted there are times when we have to tell someone that they are in error, but there is a tactful way of doing that besides saying flat out "You're wrong." It might look a little something like this:
Pagan: "I'm a Pagan."
Christian: "Really?"
P: "Yep."
C: "Do you mind if I ask you a bit of a personal question?"
P: "I don't guarantee an answer, but shoot."
C: "What do you know about other religions, Christianity in particular?"
P: "Well, I know that they believe in Jesus and..."
C: "Can I share some other ideas with you?"
See? Unoffensive, yet effective. Certainly that has to be better than replying with, "You're a Pagan?! Don't you know Pagans are actually worshipping Satan and are going to end up in hell?!"
beads wrote:Scolai wrote:And using the bible as the basis for 'fact' does not work.
Again, perspective. Christians view the Bible as infallible, as the ultimate source of truth. Telling a Christian that they can’t use a Bible as the source of truth is like telling you that you can’t appeal to whatever you view as the real truth, whether it’s science, or philosophy, or whatever.
Ultimately, then, it boils down to:
why don’t you believe that Bible can be used as a basis for fact?
You have a book written by men, translated by men, and admittedly 'forged' in many ways to fit the prevailing social current of the time. There is relatively little writing that is authentic to the supposed author, and the book is chock full of glaring contradictions. This was one of the areas where, when I was in the christian church, I would get the dander of church leaders all fluffed up. They eventually blamed the contradictions on my own lack of understanding. :rolleyes:.
beads wrote:Scolai wrote:Pagans respect your right to believe what you want to believe without trying to win you over to their religious beliefs or practices.
Christians say they respect your right to believe, all the while trying to convince you that you are wrong and need the salvation of Jesus.
The latter sounds more intolerant than the former, don't you agree?
Of course you don't...
Actually, I do agree. I never claimed the Christianity is more tolerant than any other belief, or even tolerant at all, for that matter. What I did say is that other beliefs are not as tolerant as they think they are. You call me a jerk because I practice something that is taught by my beliefs, evangelism. So, in my mind, that makes you intolerant of my religion, since you call me a jerk for practicing it.
Honestly, I don’t know why you all are surprised that Christians are intolerant. We claim to have the only way. Wouldn’t you expect that any other way taught by anyone else would be unacceptable to us?
Again, I did not call you a jerk. I referred to 'jerkish' behavior. Also, I am just as tolerant as I can be, especially with christians who seem to make it their mission to re-save me. We are having this conversation, are we not?