What's the difference between being open-minded and too accepting of other religions?

[tryingtofindhim]

I've been told that I'm too liberal for a Christian and that I'm too accepting of people's beliefs and religions. Is there a fine line between that? I mean I hear people shocked when I say I'm not against gay marriage. I don't agree with it but I'm not against it. I'm not going to tell one of my gay friends they are living in sin, but if they ask I'll give my opinion. Is that being too accepting or is that just minding my own business?

 

[Definition_Christ]

1) Do you believe the bible is God's word?
2) If so do you accept God's word above your own ideas and opinions?

So if someone was to show you with the bible, (God's word).. There is only one way to heaven, there is such thing as immoral living etc, would you accept/believe that?

 

[motojojo]

Sodom had rights, perversion is perversion I didn't make the rules, God did He loves you and He wants you to change.

 

[tryingtofindhim]

1) Do you believe the bible is God's word?
2) If so do you accept God's word above your own ideas and opinions?

So if someone was to show you with the bible, (God's word).. There is only one way to heaven, there is such thing as immoral living etc, would you accept/believe that?

1. yes
2. yes

 

[Maddog]

I've been told that I'm too liberal for a Christian and that I'm too accepting of people's beliefs and religions. Is there a fine line between that? I mean I hear people shocked when I say I'm not against gay marriage. I don't agree with it but I'm not against it. I'm not going to tell one of my gay friends they are living in sin, but if they ask I'll give my opinion. Is that being too accepting or is that just minding my own business?

It depends what you mean when you say 'I don't agree with it but I'm not against it'.

But from what I understand, it sounds as though you know what you believe but you're just not being a busybody about it. That's not a bad thing, in my opinion.

 

[taylor_11]

I've been told that I'm too liberal for a Christian and that I'm too accepting of people's beliefs and religions. Is there a fine line between that? I mean I hear people shocked when I say I'm not against gay marriage. I don't agree with it but I'm not against it. I'm not going to tell one of my gay friends they are living in sin, but if they ask I'll give my opinion. Is that being too accepting or is that just minding my own business?

Well, we shouldnt be so intolerant of others that you go around like some holy roller, condemning people to hell every chance you get...but, Jesus commanded us to tell people about Him, and sometimes, that means pointing out people's sins - in a loving way. Jesus was loving, but was He so tolerant of others beliefs that He always minded His own business and never pointed out people's sins? No! He pointed out people's sins because He loved them! Take your gay friends for example: I'm just going to assume that you believe that homosexuality is a sin. God's Word says quite plainly that it is, and it also says that homosexuals will not inherit the kingodm of heaven. On one hand, you could "mind your business" and your friends may never reach the point of repentence because you failed to point them in that direction. On the other hand, you could lovingly take the initiative and say, "Dude, I care about you and I dont want to see you go to hell." They may get mad at you; they may call you intolerant and tell you that you should mind your own business, but just because they didnt accept what you had to say doesnt mean that you did something wrong. You werent being intolerant, you were just trying to see them come to know Christ.

Sorry, i didnt mean to ramble on so much, but I hoped that helped a little at least. =)

 

[sword]

I have seen amazing testimonies of ex-homosexuals who now preach the Gospel with an aweasome conviction. Only the truth can set them free so we should not remain silent. Being the salt and the light in this world means to tell the truth no matter how unpopular it seems.

 

[concernedguy]

Well, we shouldnt be so intolerant of others that you go around like some holy roller, condemning people to hell every chance you get...but, Jesus commanded us to tell people about Him, and sometimes, that means pointing out people's sins - in a loving way. Jesus was loving, but was He so tolerant of others beliefs that He always minded His own business and never pointed out people's sins? No! He pointed out people's sins because He loved them! Take your gay friends for example: I'm just going to assume that you believe that homosexuality is a sin. God's Word says quite plainly that it is, and it also says that homosexuals will not inherit the kingodm of heaven. On one hand, you could "mind your business" and your friends may never reach the point of repentence because you failed to point them in that direction. On the other hand, you could lovingly take the initiative and say, "Dude, I care about you and I dont want to see you go to hell." They may get mad at you; they may call you intolerant and tell you that you should mind your own business, but just because they didnt accept what you had to say doesnt mean that you did something wrong. You werent being intolerant, you were just trying to see them come to know Christ.

Sorry, i didnt mean to ramble on so much, but I hoped that helped a little at least. =)

Christ said we are to stand against evil but in a loving way. Christ said we are to be the light
of the world but that light can't shine if its hidden too much.
Christ said the world would hate us. But Christ also said What does Light have to do with darkness?

I would give a word of caution. The new hate laws that Obama just put into effect make it a crime
for a person of faith to tell a homosexual they are wrong if they file charges against the person
of faith. It is getting more difficult to tell others about Christ.

It is amazing that a Christian is expected to endure sexual jokes even negative religious jokes
for hours and even weeks and months because it is their right to say those things. But let a
Christian mention God and they are told to shutup because they don't have the right to talk
about God.

 

[concernedguy]

I've been told that I'm too liberal for a Christian and that I'm too accepting of people's beliefs and religions. Is there a fine line between that? I mean I hear people shocked when I say I'm not against gay marriage. I don't agree with it but I'm not against it. I'm not going to tell one of my gay friends they are living in sin, but if they ask I'll give my opinion. Is that being too accepting or is that just minding my own business?

We are commanded to be Christ-like. Christ hates gay marriage. It is an abomination to not only God
but His sacride Ordnance of Marriage. As a Christian, you must hate the things Christ hates. When you
became a Christian, you were saying you would put your worldly views aside and adopt Christ's views.

It is this worldly Christian view that is allowing the gay marriage rights to over ride God's Laws. Obama
is trying to pass a new law that eliminates traditional marriage licenses. Since they have tried for
years to raise the gay marriage standard to the elite status of traditional marriage but couldn't,
they have adopted a new direction. If gay marriage can't be elevated to the esteemed level of
traditional marriage, then lets reduce traditional marriage to the immoral level of the gay marriage
by eliminating marriage licenses.

Our enemy is winning by leaps and bounds lately. Christians with half worldly views and not the
views Christ said we are to have and the Church are not united. They see God's word to mean what
they want it to mean instead of what God said it means. Our enemies are united and beating
Christians at every turn.

 

[taylor_11]

Christ said we are to stand against evil but in a loving way. Christ said we are to be the light
of the world but that light can't shine if its hidden too much.
Christ said the world would hate us. But Christ also said What does Light have to do with darkness?

I would give a word of caution. The new hate laws that Obama just put into effect make it a crime
for a person of faith to tell a homosexual they are wrong if they file charges against the person
of faith. It is getting more difficult to tell others about Christ.

It is amazing that a Christian is expected to endure sexual jokes even negative religious jokes
for hours and even weeks and months because it is their right to say those things. But let a
Christian mention God and they are told to shutup because they don't have the right to talk
about God.

I completely agree. We have had similar problems at my high school, where Christians have been forbidden to pray out loud or decorate our lockers w/ anything that has to do w/ Jesus, because it might "offend" someone....yet students of any other religion can say and do whatever they want and teachers wont say a word about it....why should Christians be the only ones who have to keep quiet about their beliefs? I find the whole thing a bit offensive myself. lol

 

[Daffy4Christ]

lets all make a difference. lets be the salt in politics.

 

[Jordan9]

In my humble opinion (but I get the "you're too liberal" thing all the time, too), too far is when you start denying fundamental truths of Christian theology (virgin birth, resurrection, etc.)

However, tolerating others' beliefs, acknowledging them, etc., isn't being "too open-minded." It's called being respectful.

Respectful does not mean that you hide your faith, though, it just means you don't boast about it or derisively put down the faith of others.

 

[tx_songbird]

tolerating others' beliefs, acknowledging them, etc., isn't being "too open-minded." It's called being respectful.

Respectful does not mean that you hide your faith, though, it just means you don't boast about it or derisively put down the faith of others.

I think this is the real key in the discussion. We all live in a society that requires interaction with others who will not believe what we believe. And it's our duty as Christians to be an example to others, and to treat them well. "Love the sinner, hate the sin." Being a friend and living by example is the very best way to demonstrate God's power. We have to walk the walk instead of just talking the talk, to use a very tired but true expression. We're not meant to judge. We're not the judges. We're sinners like everyone else. Live and let live, and be respectful, loving and compassionate to others, because you never know what they have going on in their lives today. When the time comes to minister to them, the Holy Spirit will let you know. Otherwise, just love! Remember that patience in ALL things is a virtue.

 

[Jordan9]

I think this is the real key in the discussion. We all live in a society that requires interaction with others who will not believe what we believe. And it's our duty as Christians to be an example to others, and to treat them well. "Love the sinner, hate the sin." Being a friend and living by example is the very best way to demonstrate God's power. We have to walk the walk instead of just talking the talk, to use a very tired but true expression. We're not meant to judge. We're not the judges. We're sinners like everyone else. Live and let live, and be respectful, loving and compassionate to others, because you never know what they have going on in their lives today. When the time comes to minister to them, the Holy Spirit will let you know. Otherwise, just love! Remember that patience in ALL things is a virtue.

Exactly!

"By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another." - Jesus, John 13:35. He doesn't say, "If you memorize your Bible" or "If you protest outside Caesar's palace for more rights" or things of that nature. We're called to love, not debate. Or, like you said, to walk not to walk.

Or, as G K Chesterton said, "Reason is always a kind of brute force; those who appeal to the head rather than the heart, however pallid and polite, are necessarily men of violence. We speak of 'touching' a man's heart, but we can do nothing to his head but hit it."

 

[Cup-of-Ruin]

I think this is the real key in the discussion. We all live in a society that requires interaction with others who will not believe what we believe. And it's our duty as Christians to be an example to others, and to treat them well. "Love the sinner, hate the sin." .

That's a Gandhi quote, why do Christians keep on using this quote?

Try a true Biblical quote;

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." John 2:15

 

[concernedguy]

I completely agree. We have had similar problems at my high school, where Christians have been forbidden to pray out loud or decorate our lockers w/ anything that has to do w/ Jesus, because it might "offend" someone....yet students of any other religion can say and do whatever they want and teachers wont say a word about it....why should Christians be the only ones who have to keep quiet about their beliefs? I find the whole thing a bit offensive myself. lol

Just so you know, you as an individual Christian can at any time say a prayer on school grounds and those
that want to meet can too. The law is against school organized religious functions not individuals meeting in
an independent manner as a private citizen.

 

[concernedguy]

That's a Gandhi quote, why do Christians keep on using this quote?

Try a true Biblical quote;

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." John 2:15

The quote was given by Jesus. Christ never had any hard feelings against those that mistreated Him
or put Him on the cross. He hated their sins but loved them.

 

[concernedguy]

lets all make a difference. lets be the salt in politics.

Christians should have done that years ago while they still could. Because Christians didn't get
involved, we now must be ruled by the ungodly instead of Christians. We must stand by
helpless as new laws are being passed that remove Christian rights and approve homosexuals.
Obama just cosponsored an agreement with the UN that makes it a crime to speak against
other religions. But since Islam is allowed to do as they please, Christians saying anything about
or against Islam can be brought up on charges. Not by our country. By the country that took
offense to what you said. Our US laws don't protect us any more.

 

[Cup-of-Ruin]

The quote was given by Jesus. Christ never had any hard feelings against those that mistreated Him
or put Him on the cross. He hated their sins but loved them.

No the quote was not given by Jesus . It was given by Gandhi, we need to be truthful about this.

 

[Jordan9]

That's a Gandhi quote, why do Christians keep on using this quote?

Try a true Biblical quote;

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." John 2:15

We use it because "Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." (John 18:37)

We use it because Gandhi did not exist in a vacuum, and he was influenced by Christian thought, which is self-evident in the quote.

And, like someone else has stated, because as we crucified Jesus he forgave us.