Is it normal that being a christian makes me sad?

46% Normal

I am a Christian. It makes me sad because so many people don't believe in God, and a lot of these people are good people. I think about how people who don't have faith are doomed to hell, and once they die it will be to late for them to change their mind. It makes me sad because for years I've had the feeling that people think I am bad because I am a Christian. Sometimes I am tempted to not let them know about my beliefs, but I just can't do that. God is greater than everyone and more important than my ego. Anyone else struggling with being a Christian in todays anti-Christian society?

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46% Normal

Based on 48 votes (22 yes)

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Comments ( 38 )

q25t

10 years ago

"I've had the feeling that people think I am bad because I am a Christian."

Please don't think that. Speaking as one of the anti Christianity folk you're likely thinking of, I hold absolutely nothing against 99% of all Christians. Just as you said, many people don't believe in God and are still good people. The opposite is of course true as well. The overall sentiment among nonbelievers is that belief has very little to do with morality, save the extreme cases of fundamentalists or cults.

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Anonymous Post Author

10 years ago

Let me explain better. Heaven is so great because of God's love. Hell is so terrible because it is the absence of God. If everyone gets into heaven, that would mean that people who chose to worship something other than God throughout their lives would be getting something they didn't want. If you don't want God in your life, you don't get him in your afterlife either.

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[Old Memory]

10 years ago

What Misses24 said. Don't give up, it's hard for every real Christian.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  10 years ago
  
  Thank you:)
  
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Idunno101

10 years ago

Same, me too sometimes.

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[Old Memory]

10 years ago

I have a question. Why would God doom people to hell for not believing in him? Doesn't that seem like a very simple minded philosophy? "I'm going to smite you for not blindly following what someone else I made told you".
Wouldn't God have a more evolved thought process than that and not judge people for thinking freely?

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  10 years ago
  
  It's not God who dooms people to hell, people can choose to accept the gift or not. God gave all of us the freedom to think freely. You can choose to not believe him, but that doesn't override the truth that he exists. We all have free will, but one person's choice to not believe in God doesn't suddenly make the universe Godless.
  
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  - PatrickZ
    
    10 years ago
    
    The truth that he exists? I really see that in a different way. You may believe that he exists, but always keep in mind that that's only your point of view. That doesn't make it the truth.
    
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  - [Old Memory]
    
    10 years ago
    
    Some people see no reason to believe because there is no proof. There isn't proof God doesn't exist either. There is no possible way to know for certain either way and to be judged for thinking something that can not be proven makes no logical sense. The only thing that makes since to me is agnosticism because I cannot truly know.
    
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    - Anonymous Post Author
      
      10 years ago
      
      Try going to youtube and watch Heaven is for Real and similar videos. Talk to people smarter than me who can explain how truly impossible the Bible would be if God weren't real. Be as informed as possible before you make such a decision. I believe in God because I know in my heart he is real, but also because it is the most logical explanation. You could also read the book "The Harbinger," or look that up on Youtube.
      
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      - [Old Memory]
        
        10 years ago
        
        Ok. I just watched Heaven is Real with Sid Roth and will give my input on what I watched although I don't know if this is the same one you refer to because there were several.
        
        If anything suggested the man who went to Heaven's story was real it was the fact that he was mysteriously healed. I will say that was amazing and I have no explaintion for that other than sometimes unlikely things happen.
        
        The part about going to heaven and other stories of out of body experiences can be explained by dream like experiences while unconscious or medically "dead".
        
        Through dreams I have experienced similar things. I have been out of body, I have traveled to alternate universes, I have time traveled, I have visited other worlds and been to heaven and hell. I have been everywhere in dreams. I have also shared dreams with others.
        
        I do believe dreams are real in a way and have had experiences that have shown me I have been out of body because I have known things that I would be unlikely to know otherwise.
        
        Dreams to me often seem as real as it does here. If the people in my dreams don't exist (although they very well might) then it is just as possible no one here does either.
        
        All these things can be explained if we hypothize that telepathy is real, which I believe it is. Telepathy work because our brain waves extend outside our skulls the way wireless signals do. Our brains are receptors of thoughts.
        
        One thing that I thought was absurd about the video and most religions is how judgemental they tend to be. Even at the end of the video the preacher stated all the sins humans do including premaritial sex, homosexuality, and other things that are logically not immoral. True sins are things that hurt others, not harmless lifestyles that don't conform to a prejudice society.
        
        Also the Bible and any religious text has been proven to have been changed by people several times throughout history.
        
        I'm not stating whether or nor any religion is right or not, because I do not know the answers. I have even had some unusual experiences but for all I know nothing outside my own perception is real and there is no way I or anyone could ever know any difference.
        
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        Anonymous Post Author
        
        10 years ago
        
        The "Heaven is for Real" that I am talking about is the one with a little blonde boy. He went to heaven and met his little sister that his mother lost through a miscarriage, which he knew nothing about. Now, how do you possibly explain that? There are many stories like this that you can find online or in bookstores, and I can recommend some to you if you want.
        
        As for your dreams and telepathy, well none of that refutes God's existence. I'm open minded and believe that these things are possible. However, these experiences in heaven aren't just dreams. All of these people who came back to life had injuries less severe than they were initially, and an unexplained miracle is always involved.
        
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thegypsysailor

10 years ago

I have been guaranteed one life and one life only; the one I'm living. Anything else is just wishing or wanting. My biggest gripe with Christianity is the rampant hypocrisy of so very many Christians; from the mobsters that would literally kill people and go to church seeking absolution, then go out and kill again, to the priests that molested so many children and the church covered it up until it couldn't any more.
Never mind the absolute insanity of not believing in evolution in favor of creationism; evolution is a fact, not a belief.

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- BLAh81
  
  10 years ago
  
  I agree with what you say. Many Christians indeed are hypocrites. However, I don't think you can fairly judge Christianity by the actions of individual Christians. It's a mistake very often made. I think you can only judge Christianity by what it actually teaches, by the Bible in other words. This vile book is quite sufficient to discredit Christianity.
  
  "Never mind the absolute insanity of not believing in evolution in favor of creationism; evolution is a fact, not a belief."
  
  Agreed.
  
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  - Anonymous Post Author
    
    10 years ago
    
    I agree that you should judge Christianity by the Bible and not by the actions of individual Christians. But that is where our agreement ends. As far as evolution goes, give me an example of one animal that has evolved into another one. Evolution requires more faith than Christianity.
    
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    - BLAh81
      
      10 years ago
      
      You sound pathetically ignorant. Evolution is a hard fact. It may be CALLED the THEORY of evolution alright, but that name is akin to the THEORY of gravity, which is also a fact of course. Almost all academics in the world believe in evolution, while Creationism is backed up by only a FEW (predominantly American I think) religious nutjobs who probably also believe the Earth is flat (as the fucking Bible teaches BTW).
      
      As for an example of one animal that has evolved into another one, that's just plain hilarious. OF COURSE you wouldn't see that. Evolutionary processes take billions and billions of years to have an actual effect. Still, humans and apes have a common ancestor though.
      
      However, I can understand why primitive minds like yours would prefer Creationism over evolution. It's much harder to try and grasp a very complex process, which took billions of years, than to simply believe *poof!* and everything was spontaneously created by magic. It's also pretty naive I'm afraid.
      
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      - Anonymous Post Author
        
        10 years ago
        
        To me, a naive and primitive mind is one that subscribes to the beliefs indoctrinated by their teachers and schools without using skepticism and critical thinking skills of their own. When I was younger, I fell into the same trap as you, because it all made so much sense the way my teachers explained it. After all, bacteria is constantly evolving right? Wrong, this is an example of adaptation, not evolution. The difference? one can be backed up by the scientific method and the other cannot. The scientific method requires observation, and no one has ever observed one species becoming another. So technically, evolution should not be called a theory. Gravity, on the other hand, can be observed, so it is termed a theory. Another thing that has never been observed is life coming from non-life, which evolution requires. Also, there is no actual proof that humans and apes had common ancestors (saying it over and over does not make it a fact). I never said evolution isn't possible, because unlike you I have an open mind. I did say however, that evolution takes more faith than believing in God. While you are aligning yourself up behind professors who use intimidation and dismissive ridicule, I'll be aligning myself behind Jesus.
        
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Misses24

10 years ago

I am a Christian and it has already been written that we will be hated because we follow Jesus.
John 15:18-21
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you... If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you... because they do not know Him who sent Me."
At the end of the day it was their choice not to have faith. Not having faith its easy "I cant see God so I wont believe" simple. Being Christian its hard but humanity biggest challenge is believing the gospel.
America is slowly but surely removing Christianity out of the way arresting people for praying in public,removing "under God" from the national anthem, accepting things that are against the bible, i could go on and on but these things have to happen for it is written.
Remain strong in your faith you are not alone and also remember that salvation its not for the weak

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  10 years ago
  
  Thanks for this!
  
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- brookeM.
  
  10 years ago
  
  Wonderful :)
  
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pizzabrowniesushi

7 years ago

you should convert and become a bacon eating secular jew its awesome. the food for rosh hashanah and Chanukah is epic.

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stevieboy

7 years ago

You are a victim of enforced propaganda made up by MAN.
We are all children of the universe, no hell, don't sweat it--your higher power is not evil.

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Sweetbird

9 years ago

I've been there. And I don't know if there is a God, but if it makes you sad, and me sad, that people would go to hell, I think it would make God sad too. Otherwise why love Him at all? I can love those people. A God who is not as capable of love as I am is none that I'd consider worthy of worship. Someone on Earth threw a person in a fire, they'd be jailed for life--as should anyone who would throw away any of these poor ordinary people I used to feel forced into awkward conversations because I had to help them get saved. I am so glad now that I am not required to tell others they are wrong and such. I always shied out of it anyway, but as required, said something about Jesus to anyone whenever I could. Deep inside, I knew better.

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queen0fhearts

10 years ago

God exists. But not as a singular spirit that has us on puppet strings. God is what we (by "we" I mean humans who we can objectively agree have the superior consciousness that we know of on this specific planet) make of Him -- the concept of the singular Christian God is only a few millennia old and you can't tell me that before that, everybody was just mindlessly unaware of this consciousness; the human race is way older than that and we have the artifacts and monuments from ancient civilizations to prove it. By saying He controls whether we go to heaven or hell is completely surrendering our own power over our own lives and this is why a lot of Christians (the ones I know anyway) feel powerless and would rather pray than actually take accountability when the universe works against their interests.

And no need to ream me with "how the hell do you know" responses -- I don't. My beliefs, like every other, is an inconclusive speculation. But I don't claim to be an athiest either, I just don't believe in religion as a whole -- it presses too many limitations on our ability to think for ourselves. Spirituality, however, is a different story.

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BLAh81

10 years ago

According to the Bible, your vile God sends people to hell if they don't believe, even if they are good people. Now, what does that tell you about him?

I think it's fucking impossible anyway. An all-knowing, loving being who creates other beings that he KNOWS are going to suffer in hell for all eternity is impossible.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  10 years ago
  
  God gives people what they want. If you live a life with God you'll get into heaven. If you live a life hating God he'll let you go to hell because hell is the absence of God. God wants everyone to go to heaven, it's your choice not his.
  
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  - PatrickZ
    
    10 years ago
    
    I don't hate God, I just don't believe in his existance.
    
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    - Anonymous Post Author
      
      10 years ago
      
      I understand, but if you're not for him, you're against him.
      
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  - brookeM.
    
    10 years ago
    
    God doesn't give you everything, just remember that.
    
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- noid
  
  10 years ago
  
  Not all Christians believe in an eternally burning hell.
  
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  - BLAh81
    
    10 years ago
    
    True, that's because the Bible contradicts itself a GREAT many times on the subject of Hell (as it does on many, many other subjects too BTW).
    
    Jesus HIMSELF taught about an eternal Hell though.
    
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    - noid
      
      10 years ago
      
      I don't think that was the point He was trying to make in that parable (if that's what you're referring to).
      
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      - BLAh81
        
        10 years ago
        
        THAT parable? Jesus spoke of Hell on more than just one occasion I think.
        
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Couman

10 years ago

And why shouldn't we think you're bad for worshiping a being who by your own admission sends good people to hell? And please, don't try to justify his behavior with weasel words. When you're omnipotent you have no excuses.

It seems you're overlooking the obvious answer to your ethical dilemma. Instead of telling the rest of us what to do, tell your god to stop sending people to hell!

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  10 years ago
  
  In order for God to stop sending people to hell, people would have to give up their free will. Would you be OK with that?
  
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  - Couman
    
    10 years ago
    
    Nonsense. He could just make it opt-in in instead up opt-out. Setting sensible defaults is an important part of universe design.
    
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PatrickZ

10 years ago

Your problem is that you think that everyone who's not a Christian is doomed to go to hell. I can tell you, that's not true!

I'm probably one of those persons you feel sorry for. I'm an atheist, a person without religion. For me there is no God. However, I got a different compass in my life. You got your Christianity that makes you strong, makes you make the right choices. I got something else instead, I'm making the right choices in life because I just feel it's the right thing to do.

Don't try to force your religion upon me, I won't accept it anyway and I don't need it either. I know what you believe in, I've read the bible and I know what it says in there. And for you that's the truth, for me it's not. But that doesn't mean it's evil, quite the opposite. Whatever the bible says is good and you should act like it. But I would also have acted like it if it would not have been in the bible. I act like it because I feel it's the right thing to do, that's the only reason I need.

About heaven and hell, my personal opinion is that there is no heaven and hell. Therefor I don't believe I can end up in hell when my life is over, and neither can I go to heaven. After death it just stops, there is no more. At least, not for me and that's a very satisfying thought.

Really, you should get away from the idea that everyone who does not believe in God will end up in hell just for that. Let's assume there is a heaven and hell, then who says people who have always done the right things in life but just don't believe in God can't go to heaven? It doesn't matter what makes you do the good things in life, as long as you act like it.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  10 years ago
  
  Thanks for commenting, but there are a few flaws in your logic. First, I cannot stress enough that there is only one ultimate truth, either you are right or I am. The universe won't dictate how to handle each person after they die based on their personal beliefs.
  
  To your second point, no person in the world is perfect, including you. The only way to get into heaven is to accept the gift of salvation and repent your sins. You can't earn your way into heaven through good deeds because eternal salvation is a gift.
  
  I would never try to force my religion on anyone, and that's not what I'm trying to do. I just can't ethically carry on with my life without trying to inform people about God, because I know he exists. If you were confident that God existed, could you just sit idly by while others lived and died without God? Anyway, right now you are trying to be the Lord of your life and maybe that's working out for you. I just hope you consider this more and research as much as you can so you can be absolutely 100% confident in whatever decision you make.
  
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Are You Normal?

Is it normal that being a christian makes me sad?