Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God chooses to speak through people. Obviously , he could rip open the sky and say "I'm God.. You're not and abortion is evil" . He chooses to be more subtle . He allows for rejection.

and if you choose rejection, you go to hell. God can't help it - that's just the way it is. He made the rules and can't change them.

And he loves you.

Not according to Pope Francis.

+1. And not according to many other Christians. Why do you persist in such simplistic views when everybody here is telling you otherwise?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God chooses to speak through people. Obviously , he could rip open the sky and say "I'm God.. You're not and abortion is evil" . He chooses to be more subtle . He allows for rejection.

and if you choose rejection, you go to hell. God can't help it - that's just the way it is. He made the rules and can't change them.

And he loves you.

Not according to Pope Francis.

Anonymous wrote:God chooses to speak through people. Obviously , he could rip open the sky and say "I'm God.. You're not and abortion is evil" . He chooses to be more subtle . He allows for rejection.

and if you choose rejection, you go to hell. God can't help it - that's just the way it is. He made the rules and can't change them.

And he loves you.

Anonymous wrote:God chooses to speak through people. Obviously , he could rip open the sky and say "I'm God.. You're not and abortion is evil" . He chooses to be more subtle . He allows for rejection.

He's so subtle it's like he's not even there.

Why so Muslims blow up things and people?

... Oh right, it's not most Muslims.

What happens when 2 evangelicals disagree? How does that power struggle play out? They each think God is speaking through them.

I find evangelicals lacking in basic humility (except for their God) Everything that happens to them, every opinion, every decision is God's work - God doing his work through them. They can never be wrong. They don't seem to believe that anything they do might be selfish.

This quality is the most annoying, and the least Christian.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all it isn't "all" Christians.

Some are taught it is their duty to help "save" as many people as possible.

PP from right before you. Totally agree. People like this genuinely believe unsaved people are going to hell and that they it is on them to try to save as many as possible from hell fire.

For some, the more people they "save" the higher they rank in their church for.. whatever.

Anonymous wrote:First of all it isn't "all" Christians.

Some are taught it is their duty to help "save" as many people as possible.

PP from right before you. Totally agree. People like this genuinely believe unsaved people are going to hell and that they it is on them to try to save as many as possible from hell fire.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christianity is an evangelical tradition but not all Christians follow the practice of trying to convert people.

Another Catholic here and I have never tried to convert anyone. I have family and friends of many faith backgrounds including a cousin who is a militant atheist. I may speak about my own beliefs and practices but I have never tried to get someone to become Catholic. The only time I have even invited someone to my church is when we have had a special occasion or another Catholic has mentioned they were parish shopping.

Does he wear a uniform? carry a rifle?

First of all it isn't "all" Christians.

Some are taught it is their duty to help "save" as many people as possible.

Anonymous wrote:I've had friendships with evangelicals. I knew as a nonbeliever we had big differences, but we also had many things in common - children in school together, friends, neighborhood. I enjoyed their company very much. I didn't talk about faith but didn't mind when they did - some. It was a big part of who they were. But I became a "project" to them. I came to realize, and be insulted that they didn't view the friendship as one between equals. They didn't respect me as I think I was willing to respect them.

Catholic now, but was raised in evangelical churches and heard a lot of people talking about their friends in this way. How sad it was that they weren't saved, how they were working to save them, etc, etc. Almost like they weren't people, but objects, notches on the wall.

I came to Catholicism on my own and never had the experience of a Catholic trying to convert me.

I've had friendships with evangelicals. I knew as a nonbeliever we had big differences, but we also had many things in common - children in school together, friends, neighborhood. I enjoyed their company very much. I didn't talk about faith but didn't mind when they did - some. It was a big part of who they were. But I became a "project" to them. I came to realize, and be insulted that they didn't view the friendship as one between equals. They didn't respect me as I think I was willing to respect them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop generalizing please. Thanks. I am catholic and have never spoken to anyone about my beliefs unasked. I'd never try to convert anyone. Neither would any Christian I know. It's mostly the American 'saved' Christians that do this stuff...not all Christians.

If you aren't saved , why on Earth would you waste time being a Christian ?

I am not from the US so I don't even know what the branch of 'saved' Christians is called - but they join their church not at birth but usually later through a process they call 'being saved'...whatever that means exactly. And afterwards they always try to 'save' others as well.

I am catholic, my parents were born catholic and so was I. I was baptized as a baby to join the church and have renewed my faith through first communion when I was 10 and something I don't know the English word for when I was 16. The difference is being born into a religion and then choosing to stay in it versus not being born into any religion and then later choosing to accept one.

I don't know any born Catholics who try to convert anybody...it's the 'modern' born again Christians who do that stuff. That's what I meant.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's pretty simple really. Christians believe non-Christians are going to Hell. They don't want you to go to Hell. So they want you to be Christians.

Atheist don't try to convert people because they don't believe anything bad will happen if one chooses not to be an athiest.

I don't know why anyone would get all bent out of shape about it.

All Christians do not believe that. I am a Christian and I don't believe a loving Creator -the Source of all that is - would allow anyone to burn in hell. That idea is so preposterous to me that it is laughable.

Like many Christians, I believe that Jesus came to show us the way to live. When we choose to live our lives in a Christ-like way, we are able to join that loving, creative consciousness of God. I believe there are many paths towards the same God. No one path is more "right" than another.

Psst, you have not been reading your bible.

God chooses to speak through people. Obviously , he could rip open the sky and say "I'm God.. You're not and abortion is evil" . He chooses to be more subtle . He allows for rejection.