Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!psuvax1!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: coatta@cs.ubc.ca (Terry Coatta) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Message-ID: Date: 26 Sep 90 06:53:51 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 42 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu Joe Buehler writes: > I think that sort of thinking is worthy of ridicule. Don't steal his > car, but feel perfectly free to convince him that God doesn't exist? A > case of slightly disordered values. I think. You forget the converse... You are also free to convince him that God does exist. And therein lies the only CHRISTIAN means you possess of spreading the Christ's message. Not by laws, not by rules and judgements. The good news of Christ is that we are freed from sin and death; that we are so loved by God that he sent his only son to die for us. Is this message SO DISTASTEFUL that you feel you have to resort to oppression in order to communicate it? If you believe in the message of Christ, and if you have faith, then no power or dominion will prevent you from bringing the good news to others. What are you afraid of? Is there something stronger than Christ that you feel compelled to legislate out of existence? Will legislation prevent the erosion of Christian ideals and ethics? Nonsense. We don't need legislation, we need committed Christians, secure in their beliefs and acting them out in daily life. We need to care for the hungry, the lonely, and the sick. We need to show our love both for Christians and non- Christians alike. We need to bring the message of Christ to the world, not as legislators, or oppressors of thought, but as concerned friends who have found comfort in God and want to share that comfort. Passing judgement is the #1 Christian pastime. That is the reason Christian ethics and ideals are in decline. We spend so much time pointing out how right we are, and how wrong everybody else is, that if we do bother to talk about God's love and Christ's message of salvation, nobody is listening because they've written us off as a load of hypocritical bigots (which is in fact just what we are). Reading through this group is the largest challenge my faith has ever experienced! I read postings such as Joe's and I keep asking myself: ``Is this really what Christianity is all about?'' There are so many negative and judgemental postings that I despair. I thank God that He takes the time to re-assure me when I feel like this. Terry Coatta (coatta@cs.ubc.ca) Dept. of Computer Science, UBC, Vancouver BC, Canada `What I lack in intelligence, I more than compensate for with stupidity'