A Bit About Christianity.

I have seen thread after thread explaining how Satanism isn't as "bad as Christians stereotype them to be", but I have yet to see a thread dedicated specifically to correcting the stereotypes set upon Christianity. So I thought I'd make one. :)

First off, before we get to the main point, I want to say something about Knowledge and Wisdom. Knowledge is gained by those who are willing to learn; close your eyes and ears and you will remain ignorant and foolish, open your eyes and ears and you may see/hear things that you never thought were there. Wisdom is gained through experience; when you see/hear something check it out, learn more about it, see what it can/can't do, and make mental notes of the boons and banes. To avoid becoming wise, don't bother checking out what you see and hear.

That said, let's move on to the main point here. Here's a little index of what is listed below:
A) What a Christian is.
B) The Ten Commandments and why they are there.
C) The reason for Christians being "anti-other" or whatever.
D) Why it can be considered foolish to stereotype Christians.
E) How to tell a true Christian apart from a Hypocrite/Extremist.

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A) A Christian is any individual that believes in, and accepts, Jesus Christ as their savior. Many people try to complicate this by adding allot of details, but basically a Christian is any individual who believes in and accepts Jesus Christ. The other bits and pieces of Christianity (be good, do this, do that, etc.) are also part of the religion, but not required to be a Christian. Some might say you could refer to doing those things as "getting bonus points" or something like that.


B) First Commandment: I am the Lord thy God and thou shalt not have any strange gods before me.
Second Commandment: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Third Commandment: Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day.
Fourth Commandment: Honor thy Father and Mother.
Fifth Commandment: Thou shalt not kill.
Sixth Commandment: Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Seventh Commandment: Thou shalt not steal.
Eigth Commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Ninth Commandment: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.
Tenth Commandment: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.

These commandments are not followed by everyone, nor are they even followed by all Christians. I know several Christians who are true to their beliefs yet have broken commandments 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7. There are Christians out there who have broken the other four, there are also Christians who have broken all ten, but I have not met them in person so I can't say much about them. These commandments are here for pretty obvious reasons, to try to keep Christians (and everyone else who's willing to listen) doing the right thing and being an asset to society. Nobody really wants thieves, murderers, dishonorable cheaters and liars around. There are also Christians who have successfully integrated these commandments into every day life, of course, but these Christians you probably wouldn't know about. For the most part these Christians are at the point where they don't see the point in bragging about anything or they feel that it would be wrong to do so. They are satisfied in doing what they see as right, no need for approval from others.

Some people have used these commandments as a way to complicate being a Christian, saying that you have to follow every commandment in order to be a true Christian. Well, if that's the case then there are allot fewer Christians out there then the polls claim there to be. Nope, breaking a commandment is called "sinning" and Jesus died so that we wouldn't suffer eternal punishment for it. We don't HAVE to follow every commandment, but many Christians WANT and TRY to follow every commandment. It is because so few people can follow every commandment that we do not have the right to judge others for their sins, who are we to say a sinner is wrong when we ourselves have sinned? It's hypocrisy and hypocrisy is, in fact, frowned upon in Christianity. As, I'm sure, it is in many other religions.


C) Different people see things differently, and what you hear can easily affect what you see.
As a hypothetical situation, say you saw on the news that so-and-so was a mass murderer. You saw a pic of this person on the news and later saw this same person in your front yard. Chances are you'd call the cops and have the person arrested because you don't want to be murdered too. Several years later you may see on the news again that this person was framed and the real mass murderer has been arrested. This is not an attempt to dissuade you from calling the cops on a mass murderer (by all means, I would say call the cops. Better him then you, it could be that he really is a murderer), this is my way of letting you know that not everything you hear is true even if the person saying it believes it to be. So many years ago some Priest or another was ignorant and spread the rumor about other religions being what many Christians nowadays believe them to be, but not all Christians believe this. Back then the other religions didn't concern Christians to much so they didn't research these religions themselves, the result was the spread of ignorance and the lack/loss of knowledge. In the modern day many Christians, myself included, are more open minded and are looking into things themselves. I can tell you from personal experience that many of the stereotypes that Christians placed on others are wrong(this last sentence is for other Christians who might be viewing this, I don't think I need to tell the witches that witches aren't what some Christians think they are).


D) Funny enough, I have seen time and time again someone on this site will make a several paragraph post complaining and whining about Christians stereotyping everyone and then the complainer/whiner makes a second post, or sometimes adds into the SAME post, how "all Christians are the same" and they go on stereotyping Christians. A common Christian stereotype includes these traits; ignorance, close-mindedness, hypocrisy, hateful towards everything different, judgmental, and they try to forcefully convert others. Well, I'm living proof that these stereotypes are wrong. I may be ignorant on a few things, but who isn't? Nobody knows everything. I try to be as open-minded as possible, which is why I have taken up Jediism and can now be called a "Christian Jedi." I try my best to not be hypocritical, but everyone makes mistakes once in a while and whenever someone points out(or if I realize on my own) that I've been hypocritical I do own up to my mistake and apologize. I am not hateful towards anything different, rather things that are different strike my curiosity and are well worth studying and learning more about. I do my best not to be judgmental, but I do tend to develop a low opinion towards hypocrites, cowards, and criminals. And I never try to force my beliefs on others, I simply share my beliefs when someone expresses an interest in something I happen to know a bit about.
Everyone is different, everyone has their own unique personality, and that is why it is somewhat stupid to stereotype any group (including Christians) just because they have a certain label, title, appearance, or religion.


E) A Hypocritical Christian is likely to say things like "you're going to hell", or do things like getting drunk on Saturday and saying it's ok because they'll go to church the next day. Hypocrites are also the ones who are likely to criticize you for the way you dress, the things you say, the way you act, etc. Although non-hypocrites may criticize allot as well, they are not the ones who would run you out of the church for not wearing a suit and they are not the ones who would refuse to talk to you just because you don't dress up to their standards. Hypocrites are very common among the Christian religion, unfortunately, and I think it's because they feel that by claiming Christianity as a religion they can be jerks/fools/pricks/etc, and still keep a good reputation by going to church.
Extremists are the Christians (who may or may not be Christian, it is possible to find a Hypocritical Extremist) who you can see on street corners yelling things like "Repent now or burn in hell forever!", doing things like using a whip to tear open their own backs when they sin(this also has another name, but I have forgotten it right now), they may attack other people(verbally or otherwise) for not being Christian or for being "devil-worshipers."
Neither Hypocrites nor Extremists accurately show what the Christian religion is about. Both give the religion as a whole a bad name and seem to be the cause of many stereotypical views.

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And that concludes my little Christianity lesson. Thank you, for those of you who were willing and patient enough to read the whole thing. For everyone else; sorry for making it to long.

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Ok, adding on to what I said about Knowledge and Wisdom earlier. I felt I should clarify a bit better.

Gaining Knowledge means to learn. You can learn through any of your five senses: smelling, feeling, hearing, seeing, and tasting. Choosing not to learn is how we hold on to ignorance. Ignorance may be bliss, but knowledge is power, so many people(including myself) view holding on to ignorance as somewhat foolish. Rather then remain ignorant you should pay attention to every sense and use them to learn more. Don't close your ears when someone is talking, don't close your eyes when there's something to be watching, don't ignore you're feelings when feeling something new, etc.

Wisdom is gained through experience, and you gain experience by paying attention to those senses listed above. Again, many people(including myself) view choosing not to gain Wisdom as somewhat foolish. Such a choice usually goes hand-in-hand with a desire to remain ignorant.

If anyone wants to add on to what I've said here, feel free to do so. I'm getting really tired and can't think as straight now so I'd rather not risk giving false info or miswording what I want to explain.

I appreciate this post, Rag. Thank you for standing up for yourself and clarifying. :D

I have a question I hope dosn't anger you,

one of the ten commandments says, Thou Shall Not Kill correct?

Well what of in Exodus 20:18 "suffer No witch to live"?
That says to kill a witch, A witch being human, to kill it would be breaking the ten commandments, so wich creed of the bible are you to break?

Here are a few more:

War or Peace?
EXO 15:3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

ROM 15:33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.


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Who is the father of Joseph?
MAT 1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

LUK 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.

How many stalls and horsemen?
1KI 4:26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

2CH 9:25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.


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Is it folly to be wise or not?
PRO 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

ECC 1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

1CO 1:19: "For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."

Snakes, while built low, do not eat dirt
GEN 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:


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Earth supported?
JOB 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

JOB 38:4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

Heaven supported too
JOB 26:11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.

These are just a few I hope to get answers from. Thank you for your time.
Workcited...
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/jim_meritt/bible-contradictions.html#war_or_peace

"Well what of in Exodus 20:18 "suffer No witch to live"?
That says to kill a witch, A witch being human, to kill it would be breaking the ten commandments, so wich creed of the bible are you to break? "

That is grossly mistranslated from the original Hebrew, which states that "You shall not make your living from witchcraft". As in: do work like an honest person!

i thought it was thou shalt not suffer a posioner to live?

"Well what of in Exodus 20:18 "suffer No witch to live"?
That says to kill a witch, A witch being human, to kill it would be breaking the ten commandments, so wich creed of the bible are you to break?" -Bledri
I looked it up in the King James Version, and it says; "Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it they trembled and stood afar." -Exodus 20:18
You have to use the King James Version. The Vatican and many churches confess, INCLUDING the churches that use other versions, that the other versions are the most diluted with added lies during translation. These versions, in my opinion make the whole religion look bad, and the particular version that you got that scripture from was probably made by some anti-witch. So, to answer your question, listen to the commandments.

For the other questions:

"War or Peace?
EXO 15:3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

ROM 15:33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen."
If you read the whole bible you find that God "OKs" and even ENCOURAGES self defense. We are not to just sit down and say "oh well" when our enemies knock on our doors, we are to stand up and fight back. The Lord backs up the army doing that, not the army attacking without a justified cause. So both, Peace when there is no cause for War and War when our enemies choose to take away our Peace.

"Who is the father of Joseph?
MAT 1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

LUK 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli."
I'm not sure which is which, but my guess would be that one was Joseph's dad and the other was his mom. Most likely, as the naming suggests, Jacob was Joseph's dad (Jacob being a guy's name) and Heli was Joseph's mom (guessing since Jacob is a guy's name and Heli sounds like a girl's name to me).

"How many stalls and horsemen?
1KI 4:26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

2CH 9:25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem."
I think it means he only bestowed four thousand of his forty thousand stalls unto the city mentioned, the others were elsewhere. I don't know. Could be a typo? I did notice some misspelled words in one of my older and no longer used Bibles. Typos happen.

"Is it folly to be wise or not?
PRO 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

ECC 1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

1CO 1:19: "For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.""
Sounds like common sense warnings to me. I don't know about that last one, but have you ever heard the phrase "Ignorance is bliss"? Think on this; if you did not understand anything about any of the stressful things in the world, including the fact that they were there, would you still worry about them? The answer for most would be no, because most people wouldn't worry about things that don't exist and if you don't know it's there then to you it isn't.

"Snakes, while built low, do not eat dirt
GEN 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:"
It doesn't say they eat dirt, it says they eat dust. Still, they don't intentionally eat dust. They might if they open their mouths while crawling though. I think what it meant was a kind of explanation that their heads, like their bellies, would be on the ground rather then in the air as with so many(I think every) other land animal.

"Earth supported?
JOB 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

JOB 38:4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

Heaven supported too
JOB 26:11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof."
First verse listed explains, Earth is supported by nothing. Second verse is a metaphor, the foundations(as they are understood today) would probably be the lairs of the Earth(everything from topsoil to core). The third isn't exactly how some might understand it, it means the pillar WITHIN Heaven, not a number of pillars holding it up. It is said that Heaven is like a city with streets of gold and pillars of marble, in other words a beautiful place rather then just a bunch of clouds. This verse is probably referring to those pillars of marble INSIDE of Heaven.

"These are just a few I hope to get answers from. Thank you for your time." -Bledri
Your welcome, and I hope I answered them accurately enough.

Ning; I forgot to mention at the beginning of this post, your welcome and I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

Thank you for this, it was very interesting and informative.

I have something to say about the destroying wisdrom thing well if some one gets wise he will try to imitate God or try to chalenge him and God does not like to be copyed or chalenged remember Moses and the pharon ,the pharaon thought he was wise and a God for him self and wanted to chalenge our God to the Egiptian gods so our God proved his might :D