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Author Topic:   The Marketing Of Christianity
Phat
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Posts: 18248
From: Denver,Colorado USA
Joined: 12-30-2003
Member Rating: 1.1


Message 1 of 2 (780794)
03-21-2016 4:33 PM


In our other thread started by member jar, What Is Christianity? the opportunity was given for anyone who called themselves a Christian to define in their own words what Christianity was to them. The topic had some valuable and well thought posts, but began to drift towards argumentativeness as to what was right and what was wrong. jar did not intend to argue the point there, so I propose starting a new topic called "The Marketing Of Christianity". In this topic it is appropriate to argue. Please present your best case and prepare to defend it. I will also allow atheists(Hard variety) to present arguments as to why they believe that Christianity is a fiction of humanity.
Keep in mind, however, that there is a clear distinction between facts and beliefs.
Per Forum Guidelines, The sincerely held beliefs of other members deserve your respect. Please keep discussion civil. Argue the position, not the person.
I'll start--with jar as my chosen debator. The rest of you feel free to jump in as we get this party rolling!
jar writes:
Were any of Jesus teachings related to a religion? Or is Christianity more the product of the early salesmen and writers?
I would say that Christianity is a product of the early church as well as the latter church. Religion is similar to politics in that many people simply regurgitate what they are taught---through various popular scriptural quotemines, thoughts of others told to them which they parrot on down the line, and personal bias.
jar writes:
A great example of why following the teachings and actions of Christ can be a problem can be seen in the evolution of "The Great Commission" (see The evolution of the Great Commission over time. ). The "Great Commission" is what the stories says Jesus told the disciples to do and yet it grew and evolved and changed over time as the authors of the different stories modified it to fit their narrative and epistle.
The same pattern can be seen in the iterations of Paul's vision.
I agree that the emphasis has changed over time. Different people have different personal experiences...some even claiming personal encounters with GOD and/or what they call The Holy Spirit. And lets take this term marketing. It is one thing to hawk sunglasses at a Yankees game or positive thinking seminars or instant wealth generating seminars or any other manner of livlihoods and schemes to earn a living. It is arguably different to devote ones life---to the extent of being in personal danger and losing all that one has---to proselytize with the motive not of making money or earning a living but with the motive to help other people find a better life. I will argue that the evidence shows that Saul Of Tarsus was knocked off of his high horse not by a tree branch or a bolt out of the blue but by God Himself. Paul was a chosen instrument of God so that everyone could be Jewish---but with a few improvements.
Faith & Belief, please.
Edited by Phat, : No reason given.

Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. —RC Sproul
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain

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Message 2 of 2 (780808)
03-22-2016 8:08 AM


Thread Copied to Faith and Belief Forum
Thread copied to the The Marketing Of Christianity thread in the Faith and Belief forum, this copy of the thread has been closed.

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