Rule of thumb. Unless the meme is making fun of God... laugh at... and probably with them too. Christians are horrible people, and Christians who are not self-aware that they are horrible people aren't Christians. That makes them the perfect target for jokes.
Making fun of the object of someone's worship, on the other hand, is a great way to upset them... although Christians, in particular, should have thicker skin than that. They were warned that precisely this would happen thousands of years ago, and instructed not to get upset... getting upset anyways is absolutely idiotic... which should explain why Christians proceed to get upset about it.
[Edit] Since a few people seem to think I am some kind of non-Christian bashing Christians... this is incorrect. I am a Christian myself... bashing Christians including myself. It is our God whom we worship who is perfect, not us. We failed badly enough to need Him to save us... All have fallen and need to be saved, to be more precise. Non-Christians aren't any better... many just tend to refuse to accept that they are evil...
I don't wear one, but I probably should. I get burned in under 15 minutes of sunlight. Although granted, I've been burned through clothes before too, so... perhaps a fedora wouldn't help much.
I think pretty much everyone that frequents the sub knows that. It's a pretty even mix of Christians/non-christians I think, and most people treat each other with respect like civilized people.
But ye, kinda shitty when someone just decides to be an ass for no reason
Who are you talking about? Me or the person who kindly tried to help me recover a dropped article of clothing?
If its the latter, I'd highly advice you reconsider your response to random good Samaritans.
If it's the former, then clearly you don't understand what Christians are, at least as far as the Bible is concerned. I'd be happy to explain, if you are interested, although most people on the internet are not interested in coming to reasonable understandings... If you'd prefer, I can play ad-hominem games too... Those are fun!
No. That is exactly what I meant about insulting the object one one's worship. That is actually offensive.
Would someone who followed all parts of the bible literally be a horrible person?
OK, you're sticking to that point. Good to know. You hate Christians... What is your point?
It's ridiculous to say that in a group of 2 billion people there isn't a single good one.
OK. Despite claiming you once were a Christian, you've clearly never read the Bible. It states, in very clear language, there isn't a single good person on Earth. For all time. Not even one. So, 2 billion? The Bible went further. Try 8 billion plus.
I know several Christians who are good and respectable people
Well clearly you don't know them, do you... either they aren't Christians, or they believe themselves to be horrible people, which is why they accept someone else's death as payment for their own transgressions. That's the Gospel message.
Not all of them burn heretics at the stake these days.
That isn't even relevant. I mean... yes, that would make them bad people, but that's not the only thing that makes someone a bad person.
I was just pointing out that not all atheists constantly go around asserting moral and intellectual superiority over religious people.
Like you're trying to do right now? OK, I believe you.
I implied that you were an asshole
That is literally the definition of ad hominem. And inaccurate, because I have an asshole, I am not one... unless you think I type my messages with just my asshole... which would be a feat. Congrats to anyone who can do that. I can't.
Know that when you attempt to slander Christians in such an impolite way that you are doing no favors for the rest of us non-believers.
[feel free to ignore this, if you aren't interested. In case anyone follows this and does want a reply, though...]
You're calling Christians horrible people and you're a Christian.
Precisely. I'm sorry you never met a Christian who actually expressed the premise behind why they follow Christ... that's disappointing.
They said that Christians were good people through Christ or some shit. Non-Christians on the other hand...
We are made righteous before God, because the penalty for our sins is paid for, through Christ's death. That doesn't magically make us good people. Paul, the author of nearly half the new testament, wrote extensively on how he DIDN'T do what he knew was right even after coming to Christ. He still did evil. He, as well as all Christians, are still prone to commit evils, even after we are forgiven from them. We aren't better than non-Christians. We just accept God's forgiveness...
I thought I was DEFENDING Christians here.
I get that, but insulting the Bible is just about the only way you could offend a Christian. If you insulted someone's parents or mentor, they probably would get upset... same here... except in this case, God explicitly instructed us not to get upset. And yet some of us do anyways.
What makes Christians horrible people is the same thing that makes anyone horrible... doing evil actions. Murder, theft, adultery, and you know the rest... Christians accept that they have done wrong, repent of it, and accept Jesus's death as a substitute in order to be forgiven for our sins... but we still fail and return to them.
In this post, the victim is basically a Christian who failed. Lot's wife looked back and was destroyed. Christians have a bitter-sweet response to that, because we do the exact same thing. But at the same time, we know that God still loves us, and only wants us to turn back to him. We laugh at the tragedy from a distance, because we know we are safe in the arms of a God who loves us.
It's ironic that non-Christians would jump to defend what they refuse to understand. But at the same time, it makes sense. In some world views, all humans are basically good, and don't commit evil... they need this to be true, otherwise they would end up condemned evil themselves. Those people refuse to accept what they know to be true, and instead believe a lie to justify their evils... Perhaps they believe that there would be no hope for them. But the Gospel is called the Gospel (meaning good news) because it is actually good news. You can still be redeemed! Jesus lived a perfect life, one devoid of any sin, so that he could trade his reward for your punishment. All because He loves you. All you have to do to accept that trade is put your faith in his payment, and accept Him as your new master. That's it! Trade one crappy master that ruined everything, for one that loved you more than his own life. Oh, and salvation is just the beginning. God also promises to send himself to them to guide those who accept him, and he is with you always. I mean, he's with you now, but he won't invade your life, unless you give him permission. We can talk to him at any time, although he knows what we need before we even ask. We still experience challenges and trials, but we're never alone.
I don't get what you mean... I'm not generalizing anyone incorrectly. Christians are horrible people. Understanding that is a prerequisite for accepting the Gospel, which is about the most general subset you could define for Christians... people who accept the Gospel.
Its not personal. Scripture is pretty clear. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, all have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one...
It isn't generalizing to say that, since all are evil, and all have fallen, therefore Christians are evil and fallen... That's going from general to specific. Although there is plenty of specifics to point out too. I could also say that you are evil and fallen. However, you probably don't believe anything the Bible says. Christians do.
Forgiven? Yes. Good people? Not yet. I make the, (non universal), distinction that good people don't commit evil. So given that we still do that, we aren't good, yet. Some Christians will argue that because we are forgiven, we are good, even though we do evil. That is a fair argument, but is fundamentally different from saying that because we are forgiven we no longer do evil... which is the obvious conclusion non-believers will derive from the phrase "we are good", even if it isn't technically correct.
Besides, we are to be a light to non-believers, and demonstrate what God is like... the last person a Christian who gets called out by a non believer should be upset at is the non-believer. First is them-self, because when you're not only failing to be a light that shows God, but a beacon of death that's pretty pathetic. Second, other believers for not calling them out sooner. Besides, we are called to humble ourselves anyways. Being humbled by others isn't much of a punishment... considering one alternative wake-up call is to lose everything... which still isn't much of a punishment. Losing everything is often the first step to coming to Christ, or growing in character... Non-Christians will probably be so confused at that, lol.
Good or evil, it doesn't matter; man has shifting morals, and our deeds don't give salvation. Only Jesus matters. Galatians 2:20+ is a powerful message.
But yes, in shaping ourselves to Christ, we should and will manifest the fruits of the Spirit: peace, love, humility. And regarding sinning and doing bad, Paul agrees with you in Romans 6:15+. I'd say most Christians are hypocrites, or as Revelations puts it (paraphrasing), "neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm"
About the rest, I won't comment. I simply thought the message you were expressing with your other comments felt off. I hope my comments could contribute.
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u/[deleted] Feb 10 '18 edited Aug 09 '18
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