expressing my surprise

K

Knife

Familyman G
Registered Senior Member
i know this will bore some people....you know who you are ;) but i have a very little story to tell.

i am now in a country other than my own for business. i met a guy, w.s., that works in the same building as i do, but we dont work together (different company). about 7 months later, he invited me and my family (wife and two kids) to go up north for some bear hunting at a farm owned by some friends of his (being a muslim, of course i jumped at the chance to shoot something! :D ). anyway, we spent the weekend with his family and had a great time. i learned how to hunt bear, families and kids got along really well, to summarize we had a great time! later i came to find that he is a devout christian, very religious (not sure which church though cath./prot./prysb). i kinda got that impression when we were out for that weekend, but made nothing of it. since then we have discussed religion once or twice, but to any notable extent.

why is it someone like him can leave a really good impression of christians, but others, such as some i have met here, really give the good ones a bad name?

i asked him this question, to which he replied, "they cant be good christians if they cant/not willing to break bread, so to speak, with you or anyone else". furthermore, he reiterated something that i already knew and dont doubt "that christianity is a religion of peace and forgivness, using jesus as the prime example of this doctrine".

if the world is going to get along, we have to start somewhere.
 
I'm glad you had that experience Knife :) Showing good will and friendship with someone is not the same as accepting the truth of their beliefs in God. Loving your enemies is a cornerstone of true Christian faith. The actions of your friend must be seen in this light. True Christians out of love for their fellow men will do good to those who even oppose them because we are all sinners and the saving grace extended to Christians should be extended to all men in the loving Spirit that it has been given to us.

All Praise The Ancient Of Days
 
Why the :wink smiley? ;)



Turn the other cheek. Except when they call you an idiot, for in doing so you will heap coals of fire... :D

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There is a difference between a religious zealot and a religious fanatic. Often times in discussions, the distinction is forgotten and one is interpreted to be a fanatic.

It isn't the impression of Christians that matters however.

If someone denies God simply on the basis that "look at how all those Christians are such hypocrites" then they are fooling themselves. How "all those Christians" are behaving has naught to do with your personal relationship with God. It is a great sorrow to base one's salvation on how other people are acting.

One man may see something as a sign of complete friendliness and another may percieve the total opposite.

People often look to debate with someone who has a convenient philosophy, in order to justify their own beliefs and so on. If the person disagrees, the person becomes "unfriendly", or labeled as "illogical" or "fanatic". It is such an unfortunate trend in this forum, almost as if some percieve their own philosophies to be "standards of truth".
 
People often look to debate with someone who has a convenient philosophy, in order to justify their own beliefs and so on. If the person disagrees, the person becomes "unfriendly", or labeled as "illogical" or "fanatic". It is such an unfortunate trend in this forum, almost as if some percieve their own philosophies to be "standards of truth".
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Wow!!! Finally something we can agree on ;) :D

Godless.
 
After many discussions with Medicine Woman, from which some might have seen her calling me names even when I try to be friendly, it is unfortunate that I must distance myself.


Well, we can agree to agree Godless, but then again about your name... ;) :D
 
Knife said:
i know this will bore some people....you know who you are ;) but i have a very little story to tell.

i am now in a country other than my own for business. i met a guy, w.s., that works in the same building as i do, but we dont work together (different company). about 7 months later, he invited me and my family (wife and two kids) to go up north for some bear hunting at a farm owned by some friends of his (being a muslim, of course i jumped at the chance to shoot something! :D ). anyway, we spent the weekend with his family and had a great time. i learned how to hunt bear, families and kids got along really well, to summarize we had a great time! later i came to find that he is a devout christian, very religious (not sure which church though cath./prot./prysb). i kinda got that impression when we were out for that weekend, but made nothing of it. since then we have discussed religion once or twice, but to any notable extent.

why is it someone like him can leave a really good impression of christians, but others, such as some i have met here, really give the good ones a bad name?

i asked him this question, to which he replied, "they cant be good christians if they cant/not willing to break bread, so to speak, with you or anyone else". furthermore, he reiterated something that i already knew and dont doubt "that christianity is a religion of peace and forgivness, using jesus as the prime example of this doctrine".

if the world is going to get along, we have to start somewhere.
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It is easy to be friends with someone of another faith. The key word in such a friendship is respect. Respect their beliefs and they respect yours in turn. There are several people in my family who have married Muslims and my family is predominantly Catholic and very devout. I'm the black sheep of the family as I am an Agnostic bordering on Atheist. I have another family member who is considering joining the Buddhist faith because that is what he identifies with the most. We all get along well together. We respect each others beliefs and when we get together for family gatherings, discussions on religion is usually left outside. My Muslim family members join us for Christmas and Easter lunches and dinners and the rest of us join our Muslim family members for their religious festivals, such as the Eid al-Fitr and the Eid al-Adha. While Christmas and Easter is a religious holiday for my Catholic family, the rest of us join in the celebrations because it is a chance for us to get together as a family. The same applies for the celebrations of my Muslim family members. We are not enemies but family. Religion or lack of may be a part of our lives, but in my family, family always comes first. Religion is usually left outside when we are together. We've had discussions about religion and even argued about it at times, but at the end of the day, we know that we are family first of all.

There are extremes in all religions and beliefs, but that aside, it is quite easy for people of different faiths to get along. Being a borderline Atheist bothers my parents but they respect my decision and understand that I live my life as I choose to.
 
he could change it to DEVILMORE, would that be better Southstar, what's in a name
mine is a humorous slant on my brother's name.
but we not here to debate name's.

Knife: I am sure you would find most people, on this forum nice, if you met them in the flesh.
because a lot of people on forum's, say thing's they may not say normally.
I dont like or dislike you, I dont know you, I only know you writing's.
and you and I dont, have to agree with everything, other's say do we.
but if we new each other, we might be the best of friend's.
and here's the shocker Knife, I was brought up a muslim, but I am an atheist.
 
here's the shocker Knife, I was brought up a muslim, but I am an atheist.
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i'm not quite sure what’s shocking about that but it leads me to ask a question of muslims.

If a muslim converts to another religion they are under a death sentence from muslims for converting. I am wondering if a muslim becomes an athiest are they still under a death sentence?

All Praise The Ancient Of Days
 
Knife said:
i know this will bore some people....you know who you are ;) but i have a very little story to tell.

i am now in a country other than my own for business. i met a guy, w.s., that works in the same building as i do, but we dont work together (different company). about 7 months later, he invited me and my family (wife and two kids) to go up north for some bear hunting at a farm owned by some friends of his (being a muslim, of course i jumped at the chance to shoot something! :D ). anyway, we spent the weekend with his family and had a great time. i learned how to hunt bear, families and kids got along really well, to summarize we had a great time! later i came to find that he is a devout christian, very religious (not sure which church though cath./prot./prysb). i kinda got that impression when we were out for that weekend, but made nothing of it. since then we have discussed religion once or twice, but to any notable extent.

why is it someone like him can leave a really good impression of christians, but others, such as some i have met here, really give the good ones a bad name?

i asked him this question, to which he replied, "they cant be good christians if they cant/not willing to break bread, so to speak, with you or anyone else". furthermore, he reiterated something that i already knew and dont doubt "that christianity is a religion of peace and forgivness, using jesus as the prime example of this doctrine".

if the world is going to get along, we have to start somewhere.
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I agree with you totally.
 
adstar:
in the ancient of days, maybe.
but not now.
my dad does not like, it but accept's it.
he brought me up to be, my own person.
 
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