Christianity: For entertainment purposes only?

"Christians help people because they want a reward when they die"Brian, this is a hugely mistaken claim. You cannot soley base your argument on your OWN assumptions as to how other Christians live.
Christians reach out to others in gestures of Love and kindness, as instructed from scripture.As a side note, try an Evangelical church sometime. You'll be surprised as to how God moves in those places...

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Sometimes even to live is an act of courage. ”Seneca

I recently read an article by NT Wright were here offered up a rebuttal to Liberal Christian theologians who deny the resurrection. One quote struck me as odd: "If the resurrection is not true then all is for naught. What is the point of being a Christian if not for the resurrection?"In other words, why would you want to be a Christian and follow the moral commandments if not for the truth of a redemptive act which ensured eternal life for Christians?So, If the resurrection were not true, would you still think it worthwhile to "reach out to others in gestures of Love and kindness," or do you need instructions and the presence of an implicit reward or punishment to do such things?Let's say Jesus were to tell you that the gates of Heaven have been closed and nobody else gets in; your death represents the expiration of your existence. You are free to do as you wish without fear of reward or punishment. Out of your love for God you are asked to continue to follow the moral law and commandments, not because of a reward or punishment but because of your respect for God who gave you life. Of course, as a Christian I understand your response will be "this is impossible"; still, as a hypothetical, what would your answer be and how would your view the "moral law" as presented in scriptures?Are gestures of love and kindness to be done for their own sake or because we are told do these things? Which approach to morality is more shallow and which is more "righteous?" Which do you think a God would be more pleased by?Edited by Grizz, : No reason given.

Hoots mon!I am neither Celtic nor pure!And sometimes it is so cold here that you don't need to put woad on to look blue.

I never said this. I'm not changing anything.My initial post was regarding steert preachers in the UK,and obviously where I live in particular. Street preachers in the USA are not covered by the new UK law, so your mention of USA street preachers is irrelevant.Are you telling me that there are no ministers/preachers/priests/pastors etc that do not make a wage from preaching?

Can you prove this or is this information for entertainment purposes only? Edited by Brian, : No reason given.

And scripture is quite clear about what will happen if you do not reach out to others with love and kindness.Yahweh is very good at threatening people into doing what He wants them to, and Christians will do it because they know how evil and jealous yahweh is.

What will happen to a born again child of God's?God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

1. If Jesus spoke and I knew the message was from him I'd likely do his bidding, knowing he knew what was best for me and my descendents.2. I would consider the history of the world, knowing that here and now life on earth works best when Biblical principles are applied to cultures.3. I would likely not bother with promoting the ministry of the gospel of salvation with funds and participation.4. I'd continue to attend church services and worship Jehovah God, knowing he does exist.

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BUZSAW B 4 U 2 C Y BUZ SAW.
The immeasurable present eternally extends the infinite past and infinitely consumes the eternal future.

According to Christian mythology they will live happily ever after in the Kingdom of God.Can you tell me what will happen to someone who isn't a born again child of God?Edited by Brian, : Grammar and spelling

You missed the question.You said they are doing good deeds to be rewarded in the hearafter.I asked if a born again child of God did not do the things you said people were doing to be rewarded in the hearafter what would happen to them. They get to spend eternity with their father the Devil.God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

'Can you tell me what will happen to someone who isn't a born again child of God?'"They get to spend eternity with their father the Devil."Is there an echo here? Something about infants and righteous savages?

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"The wretched world lies now under the tyranny of foolishness; things are believed by Christians of such absurdity as no one ever could aforetime induce the heathen to believe." - Agobard of Lyons, ca. 830 AD

"Woad," of course! Thanks for the correct spelling. Scotland has always been a fascination to me. Just curious: Do people from Scotland call themselves "Scots," "Scotch," pr 'Scottish"?”HM

You didnt ask this you asked: "What will happen to a born again child of God's?"Anyway, your born again child of God who doesn't beg the ass off God and doesn't do good deeds will join 'their father the devil'.You worship such a lovely God you know.It is intensely embarrassing that adults can take Christianity seriously.What is missing in your life that you have to cling to an ancient fairytale to make you happy, or was it some traumatic episode that done something to your mind? A recovering alcoholic maybe, or drug addict, or NDE?

According to Jesus in Matthew 25:

quote:

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31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

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34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

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37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

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40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

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41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

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44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

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45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

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46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

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Looks like they burn too. At least I don't see something that excludes born-agains from the parameters of this parable.Likewise if they don't adequately invest what God has given them.Also from Matthew 25:

quote:

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14"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents[a] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

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19"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'

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21"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

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22"The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'

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23"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

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24"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'

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26"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

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28" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

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Again, no exclusion concerning those who follow Paul's conversion process.Seriously though...It seems that most Christians who help out at shelters or soup lines are there because their church already sponsors/helps in those places. The members of the church are asked or encouraged to help out. They start out helping because it is part of their group identity or dynamic.This is not to say that the volunteers get nothing from the experience. They still get a sense of satisfaction from helping others but no more than an atheist would. This satisfaction is what brings them back after the first time.Additionally, not all Christians help out. The vast majority don't do anything beyond dropping coin in the collection plate.

Christians - Wikipedia Now if this is the definition of Christian you are using I will agree with you. But this definition has nothing to do with anything other than religion.That is why I do not claim to be a Christian.I do claim to be a born again child of the King. King Jesus.Let me put a couple of things straight here.When I was 9 years and 11 months old I asked Jesus to take my spirit and take care of it. At that moment I was born again and He sent the Holy Spirit to lead me and guide me for my journey here on earth. The Holy Spirit sealed my soul until the day of redemption. I shall never perish. So Jesus saved me. The Holy Spirit sealed me. Jesus gave me eternal life and I shall never perish. Nobody, or power can get me out of the hand of Jesus.That means I don't have to do anything to go to heaven but die physically.So if I can't lose it how can you say what I do, (I will not speak for other people) I do expecting a reward. I help because I want other's to share what I have been blessed with. I do understand your viewpoint as you do not know my friend, my Jesus.There are billions of professors but only a few posessors.If a person is doing something to receive a reward from God they have already received their reward. A child of God does not have to do anything to get the reward that you put forth he will receive.
Matthew chapter 25 has nothing to do with a born again child of God as they will have had their judgment at least 3 1/2 years prior to the judgment of the nations.Since you are such a great theologian would you please point out the scripture that tells me that I have to do anything besides make disciples, baptize them and teach them the all things that Christ commanded. Matt. 28:19, 20. This was the orders given to the New Testament Church.
And the two commandments Jesus gave me.Matt 22:37 (KJV) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.Now he gave a lot of rules through Paul on how I am supposed to conduct myself within the local Church. Church member to church member.Paul said concerning feeding the poor. BTW he is the only one who mentioned it.1Cor 13:3 (KJV) And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.Paul said he could give everything he had to feed the poor and it would profit him nothing. Withouty Charity (Charity here means Love)
So if he did it for reward he gets nothing.God Bless,

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"John 5:39 (KJS) Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."