Bans against talking about religion...

[JesusIzKewl95]

That is sooo true! The bible even says you shouldn't talk about bad stuff cause then it leads to other bad stuff. People shouldn't talk about evil religions cause then people will want to know more and might even turn away from Jesus!

1 Timothy 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word , in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Even the Bible says to be an example when talking to people, and young people mostly cause they don't know any better! If you are talking about evil religions you are being a bad example!

People start swearing and talking about all kind of bad things if you let them talk about some.

[cebula_2005]

First off, welcome to the board! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Secondly, I like the way you worded that. I agree with you. Unless your faith is so strong that there is no possibility of your turning away from Christ (and let's remember that only God can help us have that kind of faith), you should not even look at other religions, for Satan is always ready to use any opening you give him in your life to tempt you away from Christ.

Good point about the young people. Some can be very impressionable and could easily be led astray, especially by trusted teachers, etc. Which is one of the reasons it's so sad that our public schools are becoming so secular these days.

I also like what you said about talking about bad things. It reminded me of this passage Jesus spoke in Matthew:
"You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
~Matthew 12:34-37

[sharlit]

Originally posted by Tra:
Some [people] can be very impressionable and could easily be led astray, especially by trusted teachers, etc. Which is one of the reasons it's so sad that our public schools are becoming so secular these days.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wait, wouldn't that be a reason *for* secularization? Our country has no official religion, so discussion of one religion cannot be banned while another is allowed. What would happen if your child's teacher is Jewish, Buddhist, or Islamic?

[MareUnwritten]

I have to disrespectfully disagree a little here. Until every person on this earth is Christian, we have to live amoung people of different religions and ideally we should live peacefully with them. So it helps to understand where other people are coming from, and it also helps us explain where WE are coming from too. And considering the problem we're facing from certain religions, I definetly think it does not hurt to learn about the true threat we're facing at this point in history. And maybe if we learn about their faith, we can help bring them to true Faith.

If your faith is fragile, then you have to defend it, but I have in some ways strengthed my own faith learning about others. Knowledge is never a bad thing, but you have to have the tools to use it properly.

And I think the same goes for "bad things". If your faith is strong, a horror movie or dropping the "F" bomb isn't going to turn you away from Jesus. I'll admit, I'm a writer and I write about crime, abuse, some horrible tragedies, but I hope that my characters who experince these things in the end can show what faith, love, and inner strength can do for someone faced with trials in life.

I base this opinion alot on the Pope's response to the controversy over the Harry Potter movies/books, and basically he said if your child can tell fact from fiction and allows God to guide him, nothing he can read will harm his mind or faith.

Just my two cents! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[MareUnwritten]

Uh...I meant "respectfully disagree" I left the typo there for your reading enjoyment. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[cebula_2005]

I didn't mean that everyone should not have any contact with other religions and or bad things. Just that people who's faith isn't strong or, for example, here on a board where you can have people who's faith is on different spiritual levels. Basically, you have to be careful what you post here. And what you let your kids read. Like our new board member said...you have to be a good example to the younger generations. That includes protecting them from things that you wouldn't want them to see...
But if your faith is strong, then you can know the difference between truth and fiction and there's no problem seeing fiction. Still, when some depict fiction as fact... just realize that just because some people believe it is true doesn't make it true.

As for secularization, yes, I see what you're saying about the non-Christian teachers maybe teaching kids wrong, but isn't that what's happening anyway? Atheists are teaching kids wrong (i.e. secular) already. I'm just saying, quit teaching only evolution. Either teach it with intelligent design/creationism or don't teach it at all. Why do they teach it anyway? I mean, it is just a theory. They don't teach all theories...why teach that one?

As for disrespectfully disagreeing... [img]tongue.gif[/img] Better watch out or the moderator might cite you for being disrespectful... [img]wink.gif[/img] (lol/jk)

[JabberwockyPie]

Tra, perhaps not everyone is ready to decide what they believe? There are some things that people have to figure out on their own.

At some point in your life, you've probably heard people talk about how people have different learning styles. Consider a math class. Some people are going to learn best by just reading the textbook. Others will only under stand if the teacher explains it. Other people may need a more hands on approach. When I was in school, I had a terrible time with place value and borrowing numbers or carrying numbers. Eventually my Mom got a bunch of noodles out of the kitchen cupboard. (I don't know why noodles, she just did.) She sat me down and explained that one red noodle (the tens) was worth ten of the plain noodles (the ones) and so forth, and suddenly it just clicked in my head.

Now, why am I talking about noodles? Just telling someone "what you believe is wrong, it says so in The Bible" isn't going to convince much of anyone. Why not try learning about their faith and actually discussing it? Talk to a person like you believe they're an equal, not like you KNOW you're right and that they're wrong.

If you learn about different mythos and what different people believe, you can find some really interesting similarities between your beliefs and theirs. For example, a lot of cultures have a story about a great flood that wiped out nearly all of the humans and animals. Usually in these stories, the Gods/God spared a man and a woman so that they could repopulate the world.

Wow, that got rather off topic.

[cebula_2005]

People tend to believe that Christians only know about their own faith because they can't believe that Christians could know anything about other faiths and still be so sure about Christianity. (I'm not saying YOU, but pepoole in general.) It may surprise you to know that I actually know some things about other faiths. I don't know everything, no, but neither do you. One of the myths of the flood is Babylonian and is called Gilgamesh.