Christianity has been a fixture of morality and culture in western civilization since the Romans. But over the last 60 years Christianity has been on the decline, mostly in europe but also in America and Canada. Do you think we'd lose something if we abandoned Christianity and most of all, do you believe that Christianity is a force for good in the world.
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Is Christianity a force for good in the world? I think so
38 Replies
Reply by Ponk BonkDonk
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Reply by Bruhshido
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My personal opinion on the matter is that Christianity can be a good force, fundraising, good spirits and helping others but recently it has become a weapon used by political parties, and that I disagree with. so it really depends of which way you see the quick red fox jump over the big brown fence. <3 hope that helps.
Reply by Leonidas_huh
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Reply by Appetite
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I think it is a force of good, and the decline of Christianity will inevitably correlate with an increase in degeneracy and indulgence is what I think. As ancient Greek philosophy would call it: people will follow their lower desires, instead of their higher ones. The 7 Christian virtues include the 4 already existing virtues in the ethics of Aristotle, which he thought to be the key components to a good and happy life (not just for you, but for others around you as well).
Reply by Robot
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Reply by Antonio Smith
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Christianity is definitely a force for good in the world (I'm not even Christian).
Reply by Lainey
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Christianity, like other religions, is not a monolith; it consists of many diverse ranges of cultures and people, so asking if Christianity itself is a force for good is not a good question.
Reply by Kaine Depraysie
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Reply by Austin_KornClown7
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Reply by Jahi
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I think the decline in Christianity is showing truly how horrid of a theism. It in history has been used for a lot of hate and lies, for example the incorrect translations of the bible. Translated by those who had an idea of the language, but not enough to correctly translate what was written. Christianity has never been a "force of good", pressing the religion on those who want to practice their own and putting them to death if they didn't follow the religion, no good.
Reply by Christopher Wu🎹🎵💗
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Reply by dumbb1tchboyxoxo
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Atheist/former Christian here. I like this question. it's very interesting to think about and discuss, so i'd like to give my personal insight. I would like to start off by saying that I do not care what religion you practice, but it should never by any means be forced upon others or used to spread hate, which brings me to my point.
Reply by Stella Albiston
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Reply by scenemo.mess666
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Reply by scenemo.mess666
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Reply by scenemo.mess666
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Reply by Deth
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Do you think we'd lose something if we abandoned Christianity?
No.
Do you believe Christianity is a force for good in the world?
No. If Christians God created earth and our lives, he is an evil God. Why? The way life is constructed. If he wasn't evil we would have perfect lives, but we suffer.
Desire,
Attachment,
Pain,
Reproduction,
Addiction,
..and more, are all very big problems of our lives.
The cycle of desire is evil.
-> Need something -> Work for it -> Replenish -> Need it again
And the cycle continues
Death is our escape, a perfect paradise elsewhere
Reply by Deth
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If your God is said to be real, there is no way you can believe he isn't an evil God.
If he wasn't, we would have perfect lives in a perfect paradise
Look around yourself and tell me thing's aren't horrible
We have so many issues and if your God is real he wouldn't have made our lives so hellish
Here are our issues:
Desire,
Pain,
Struggle,
(Negative) Value,
Opinion,
Attachment,
Indifference
Shall we start with desire
It’s a deprivation, a need, and not having it; that void. Desiring something is like valuing it without having it. Creating a dissatisfaction
People say “You can obtain it though” True, but you don’t instantly have it, it’s not an unlimited source (and you struggle to obtain it). It’s an endless desire, an endless need for something, a craving or an addiction, meaning it’s a game you’re playing, for example you’re almost like a hamster in a wheel, it’s the value trap of life, you always struggle to obtain something you need.
It's a cycle
Using -> Work -> Struggle -> Obtain -> Replenish -> Need of more -> using...
The eternal cycle
Struggle
Struggle is the process of obtaining a value, like working, or walking somewhere, or even cleaning your room
So, why is bad?
It prolongs that feeling of emptiness. rather than having it automatically, which you don’t and never will
You work for almost everything you obtain, and if you didn’t work for it you or someone else struggled to bring it in your life, either way it’s a struggle and a process to fulfill that temporary void and it leaves you in a cycle of working, struggling, obtaining, using
(N) Value
Pretty much the stuff you don’t desire upon yourself
Ex: losing a limb, pain, etc.
Negative feelings
Impermanence
Indifference is not being able to change your circumstance you don’t want
Despair, powerless
Value / Attachment
Everything you value you will lose ( ex. Loved one, precious items, etc. )
I believe by not reproducing, we would prevent these events from happening
You are attached to the things you value therefore making it fall under the category of attachment or just very similar ( ex. You stay loyal to things you care about (value), If you truly loved it or valued, you would give it up for the value
And now.. for our eternal and paradise state..
Death
Death is a valueless state
Which means you don’t suffer at all, or feel pleasure, a neutral state of being..
That’s the bliss of death
No struggle, no desires, no indifference, no attachments, no values or N values, nothing, But death isn’t actually nothing, because nothing is everything; nothing does not exist. There is always something, when you die, you don’t just disappear (this has nothing to do with spirits or souls transcending into ghosts) it’s a blissful state of not needing or wanting anything, that’s paradise, THAT is heaven
Reply by trenchfry
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Depends on what you mean by "Christianity".
As a religious system run by humans who claim to have access to higher power (*cough cough* the pope), no. People will claim to do some seriously messed up stuff "in God's name". Looking back at history we see a lot of the things so-called Christian rulers have done. Even now, there are churches such as Westboro Baptist that hardly anyone could call a force for good. In fact, the majority of traumatic experiences both long and short term in my childhood, happened in church. I was bullied and ignored, my family looked down upon for being friends with the biggest sinners and pariahs in the community.
However, there are churches who are a force for good as a whole, though. I've been part of fundraisers to raise money for various illness treatments in Africa... and that's good. Missionaries who have the resources to heal others who can't afford it and devote their entire lives to demonstrating love. Those are good people and I can't imagine the world without them. The way churches are involved in our communities (most of the time) are for the best.
Christianity, not as a religious group, but groups of individuals who look to God, walk with Him, and hear directly from Him, is an unmistakable force of good. These are the people whose first priority is to demonstrate His love, rather than the rules. People who listen to your struggles and don't force others to believe the same thing, that's beautiful. Even a society that doesn't "need" God couldn't function without people who love like Him.
Reply by oxygenatedMoron
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Christianity is a useful framework, if a little outdated. As atheism is on the rise, so are suicides and general directionlessness. Being Christian actually has a protective effect against depression. So yeah, Christianity is good but should have ZERO say in anything related to the state. Like abortion or gay marriage.
Now everything's all secular, we use politics and ideologies as poor man's substitutes for community. Which is why we're all sad now :<
Reply by leballingbuster
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I think in the past religion in general was an important community organizing centre and therefore has done good (hospitals, charity, etc.). However, I don't think it's the only way that could have happened in the past, and I don't think it's necessary in the future.
Historically, and to this day, religion has also done a lot of bad things. There have been wars, colonization, persecuting other opposing religions, promotion of sexism and homophobia, as well as other things.
Nowadays most of the good things they have done are also done or taken over by non religious groups. While some may be inspired to do great goo by their religion I think that reliance on any one church for social needs will hurt society as a whole because there is some bias there.
Religions are dying out because people are able to organize community without them now and science is advancing to the point that many are turned away from religious lore.
Religion can be a good or bad force in the world but holding onto it too much will probably hinder society in my opinion.
Reply by Ethan Lewis
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Die Frage, ob das Christentum eine Kraft zum Guten in der Welt ist, ist subjektiv und kann je nach individueller Perspektive und Überzeugung unterschiedlich beurteilt werden. Es ist wichtig zu erkennen, dass das Christentum, wie jede große Religion, ein komplexes und vielfältiges Glaubenssystem mit einer breiten Palette an Interpretationen und Praktiken ist.
Das Christentum hatte einen tiefgreifenden Einfluss auf die Geschichte und hat unzählige Einzelpersonen und Gemeinschaften dazu inspiriert, sich für Taten des Mitgefühls, der Nächstenliebe und der sozialen Gerechtigkeit zu engagieren. Viele Christen und christliche Organisationen haben eine wichtige Rolle bei der Förderung von Bildung, Gesundheitsversorgung, Katastrophenhilfe, Armutsbekämpfung und dem Eintreten für Menschenrechte gespielt. Sie waren an Bemühungen zur Bekämpfung von Ungleichheit, zur Förderung des Friedens und zur Lösung verschiedener sozialer Probleme beteiligt.https://nachrichtenmorgen.de/
Reply by Ethan Lewis
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Die Frage, ob das Christentum eine Kraft zum Guten in der Welt ist, ist subjektiv und kann je nach individueller Perspektive und Überzeugung unterschiedlich beurteilt werden. Es ist wichtig zu erkennen, dass das Christentum, wie jede große Religion, ein komplexes und vielfältiges Glaubenssystem mit einer breiten Palette an Interpretationen und Praktiken ist.
Das Christentum hatte einen tiefgreifenden Einfluss auf die Geschichte und hat unzählige Einzelpersonen und Gemeinschaften dazu inspiriert, sich für Taten des Mitgefühls, der Nächstenliebe und der sozialen Gerechtigkeit zu engagieren. Viele Christen und christliche Organisationen haben eine wichtige Rolle bei der Förderung von Bildung, Gesundheitsversorgung, Katastrophenhilfe, Armutsbekämpfung und dem Eintreten für Menschenrechte gespielt. Sie waren an Bemühungen zur Bekämpfung von Ungleichheit, zur Förderung des Friedens und zur Lösung verschiedener sozialer Probleme beteiligt.https://nachrichtenmorgen.de/
Reply by ☆Sol☆
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I think it has the ability to be good, but it (like many other religions) also has the capacity to be really really bad.
For example, the teachings of Jesus for example promote the idea of love, kindness, generosity, forgiveness, etc etc. These are all inherently good things, and many Christians follow these. They have taken the phrase "Love thy neighbor" seriously, and have promoted those values. However, you also have the people who have twisted these words or ignored them altogether in order to further their own ideas about what is "good" and "right". These are people who have caused harm to others in the name of Jesus, despite them being against what his morals were shown to be.
We've seen this time and time again in many different places at many different points in history.
But this doesn't mean that Christianity is "evil". The truth is, there will always be people who go against the teachings of the spirituality they claim to follow in order to further their own agendas, whatever they may be. Likewise, there will also be people who use their spirituality for good. And unfortunately, many of us (myself included) have had to deal with those people who use Christianity as an excuse to be hateful, which has led to a lot of pain and suffering. Even more unfortunate, these hateful people tend to be who people focus on the most. But religion is not black or white, and it never will be.
So yeah, Christianity can be a force of good, but it's important to know that there are really awful people out there who can and will use it for awful reasons.
Reply by Ace
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christians are inherently not what they show. what they preach is not as they practice. most christians only do good deeds to reap their benefits of salvation. if there was no heaven christians wouldn’t nearly care as much as doing good to the world as they seem to do. it’s not a bad thing good actions and bad intentions is better than vice versa but one should not praise these hypocrites either.
Reply by SwagOmni
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Personally, i believe christianity has caused more pain than good
but of course, im no expert lol
Reply by PlumpCracka1876
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the intent of framing Christendom as a "force" is already considerably something which strikes me as somewhat questionable. I very much am a Christian by all means, but to relegate Christianity to a word with such an oppressive connotation is very reductive by all means and really does indicate a solid summary of what religion's place is in our social dichotomy. When I look to the world I wish for nothing more than Christ's Gospel to be the one dominant philosophy by which we rule ourselves, but in the course of human history men who have held the same sentiments have saw to Christendom to be some sort of authority on conformity. As if concepts of the Masculine and the Feminine were not derived from desire and aren't nothing more than human hierarchy. To truly know this, you must resist the materialist part of yourself which wishes to heed to the "benefit" of desire and of the ambition to be a statue of man. Did the Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, Pentecostals, or Presbyterians think this? No of course not! And that is precisely the problem. The bigger the lie, the easier to believe. Do you think our definitions of man and of woman were taken from Christ? They were taken from the mouths of the men who, hundreds of years later, spoke for him and to those who didn't or couldn't even read! This, of course, is NOT scripture's fault. Today we have the majority, and I mean the majority, of the southern United States worshipping in some mega-church, each of which insist on selling their own T-shirts. The better the consumer the better the Christian, right? And it's all retributive as well. The viewers of Fox News don't care for you, nor do those of CNN. It's about appealing to the man, not knowing him. But they do care to know God, and they do, they just don't know how well.
Reply by Worm!
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the teachings of christ are a good force, but the church ran by man is not and has rarely ever been in history
Reply by David V. Kimball
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Reply by sonozaki
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Reply by dreamspider
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No. The good "Christianity" has done is just good that exists within people with or without religion. People are naturally compassionate, not always, but largely. Christianity has been co-opted for thousands of years by oppressive and evil political powers. It has been used as a tool to kill, enslave, oppress, and steal. The beliefs of Christianity are ~largely~ neutral, but it has been wielded for both evil and goodness. Ultimately, what it's turned into today is more bad than good. I also have to disagree with ascetic religions. I think there's value and transcendence to be found in abstinence, but I think the same is true of indulgence. The key is moderation.
Unfortunately organized religion co-opted by government is a recipe for disaster
Reply by Satan's Lavendar
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If Christians actually followed the word of Christ, the world would be better.
The Prosperity Gospel has overridden the word of Christ, and put Money in his place.
Jesus said rich men have to struggle to enter heaven, but according to the Prosperity Gospel, getting rich means God loves you. However, money is of man, and the only way to get a lot of money is to exploit others or to inherit it from someone who exploited others. That is explicitly against what Christ taught.
In addition, the goal of Christianity is to end the world. That's why none of these Christians care about making the planet hospitable for future generations, because they think they'll get raptured while everyone else deals with the mess left behind.
So, tl;dr - Christianity (and the other Abrahamic religions) are driving the planet to its death and will only benefit the rich, white, and male along the way.
Reply by Satan's Lavendar
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If Christians actually followed the word of Christ, the world would be better.
The Prosperity Gospel has overridden the word of Christ, and put Money in his place.
Jesus said rich men have to struggle to enter heaven, but according to the Prosperity Gospel, getting rich means God loves you. However, money is of man, and the only way to get a lot of money is to exploit others or to inherit it from someone who exploited others. That is explicitly against what Christ taught.
In addition, the goal of Christianity is to end the world. That's why none of these Christians care about making the planet hospitable for future generations, because they think they'll get raptured while everyone else deals with the mess left behind.
So, tl;dr - Christianity (and the other Abrahamic religions) are driving the planet to its death and will only benefit the rich, white, and male along the way.
Reply by Marshmallow_Fluff
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I find the Bible an interesting piece, recording the raw emotions of an imperfect humanity.
As for the falsehood of the prosperity gospel and the Organized Church in general.
1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son
of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell
them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of
Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their
flock?
3You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.
4You
have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured,
brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have
ruled them with violence and cruelty.
5They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts.
6My
flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were
scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them
or seek them out.’
7Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
8‘As
surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a
shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because
My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead,
9therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!’
is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I
will demand from them My flock and remove them from tending the flock,
so that they can no longer feed themselves. For I will deliver My flock
from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’ - Ezekiel 34:1-10
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.
4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’
5 So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing.
6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 “ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius.
10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.
11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.
12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?
14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.
15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”-Matthew 20:1
Reply by Marshmallow_Fluff
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Romans 8:26-7
pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with
groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is
the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints
according to the will of God."
Reply by Marshmallow_Fluff
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updated
Reply by purplecartn
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Reply by Tyler i guess
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Nietzsche was rite about us christians being cryptocommies but he was wrong about that being bad its actually freakin based