Relationships With Non-Believers

[Semiremis]

Lazarus The Resurected

viper_353

Lazarus The Resurected

viper_353

Umm...I believe it says in the bible somewhere that we shouldn't be dating people who are not Christians. Mostly because really: They don't have the reason for life in common with you. What matters most is not somethng that the two people can share. And personally, I want to be able to kneel before the cross and pray over the guy I love. I think that the best thing to do is try and bring them to Christ before you date them. That way, their life is changed, and also you have this special relationship with them. Like anyone, all we can do is hope there. We have no way of knowing what goes on with them and God before they die. And it's the same with friends. You just don't know and can pray that you'll see them there one day. sad

Do you honestly think that you and or for example a Buddhist, Wiccan, or Muslim wouldn't share Christian values? Or are you saying that seriously your SLOE REASON for living each day is a personal relationship with a ghost who didn't even wright his own message down? I'm almost certain that one of Paul's letters says not to mary non-believers but I'm not sure if the concept or practice of dating as we know it today even existed at the time the letter was written (or had any kind of equivalent). Also, I would advise against "Bringing them to God" (the rest of us call it "Conversion") before dating them because an average a person new to christianity is alot less stable in thier "walk" than a long term practitioner. This can be aproblem because it strains the newbie, they are trying to build a relationship with a person and a deity at the same time. Back in my church-going days alot of my friends tried your method. None of the relationships lasted (both with god and with the significant other). Also, just because someone isn't christian doesn't mean you can't pray for them. I still let my Christian friends lay hands on me and pray (it makes them feel better about me).

::EDIT::
your second post. I'd like to clear up a couple of things. Firstly I got to know your God and found I didn't want to know Him anymore, so I left. Tying to my second point 3 years after I moved away from my small town and two years after I found Satanism an old friend of mine from my former church died of a recreational drug overdose. So i went back to my home church for the funeral. It was the first time that I'd been back since my "fall". Someone had the exact same mentality as you that I hadn't been told properly about Christ. He tried to talk me back to God while I was TRYING TO FREAKING MOURN!
(in know it's a little off topic but I needed to reply to those ideas.)

Ares: By Christian doctrine unless she happened to say or think "God forgive me." and realy meant it right before her death, she's probably not in heaven. Ask yourself if it was in her nature or personality to have done that and answer honestly. As for your question: I have actualy been in that exacet scenario more than once (alot of my friends died while I was growing up, most were either non-christians or lip-service christans, they went to church, worshipped and prayed but also got high and laid. All of the ones that weren't suicides, were sudden so it's unlikely that they had time to pray for forgiveness.) I've found it best for my recovery to simply put that thought out of my mind and think about the good times. Asked that question with my current perception I can honestly tell you that I don't care because Satanists don't believe in an afterlife. I grieve the loss of my friends and family but i do right by Satanism to keep thier memory, and thus,thier immortal spirit alive in me.

No, but I'm just saying that something I would feel very strongly about he wouldn't be able to directly relate with. I'm sorry about your friend and what that guy did. I know well enough that sometimes prayer is all that helps. That people are sometimes so often having the 'tell them about Jesus' approach pushed upon them over and over again that they aren't able to absorb anymore than they already have. And then, it's time to always back off. And I'm glad that you still have friends to pray for you. I'm sorry guys. I know I ticked a lot of people off with that post, but I was ticked off myself and still feel that most of the points are valid. I admit that in lots of situations, yelling about Jesus (being a 'bible thumper') to them probably isn't the best approach. But certainly in some situations it is. Please don't argue with me on that.

Sorry, but I have to argue with you on that. Before my enlightenment I always felt that talking civily and showing was much more efective than "bible thumping". Believe it or not, some of my best conversations with peopl about God were over a couple of beers. But, I'm a Satanist, what can I possibly know about evangelism?

You can know your own preferences but believe it or not the more aggressive forms of evangelism do work on certain people, I'm just not sure how ethical it all is. Scaring someone into believing (for example) doesn't sit too well with me but it's a method that is used and gets results.  

[viper_353]

Semiremis

Lazarus The Resurected

viper_353

Lazarus The Resurected

viper_353

Umm...I believe it says in the bible somewhere that we shouldn't be dating people who are not Christians. Mostly because really: They don't have the reason for life in common with you. What matters most is not somethng that the two people can share. And personally, I want to be able to kneel before the cross and pray over the guy I love. I think that the best thing to do is try and bring them to Christ before you date them. That way, their life is changed, and also you have this special relationship with them. Like anyone, all we can do is hope there. We have no way of knowing what goes on with them and God before they die. And it's the same with friends. You just don't know and can pray that you'll see them there one day. sad

Do you honestly think that you and or for example a Buddhist, Wiccan, or Muslim wouldn't share Christian values? Or are you saying that seriously your SLOE REASON for living each day is a personal relationship with a ghost who didn't even wright his own message down? I'm almost certain that one of Paul's letters says not to mary non-believers but I'm not sure if the concept or practice of dating as we know it today even existed at the time the letter was written (or had any kind of equivalent). Also, I would advise against "Bringing them to God" (the rest of us call it "Conversion") before dating them because an average a person new to christianity is alot less stable in thier "walk" than a long term practitioner. This can be aproblem because it strains the newbie, they are trying to build a relationship with a person and a deity at the same time. Back in my church-going days alot of my friends tried your method. None of the relationships lasted (both with god and with the significant other). Also, just because someone isn't christian doesn't mean you can't pray for them. I still let my Christian friends lay hands on me and pray (it makes them feel better about me).

::EDIT::
your second post. I'd like to clear up a couple of things. Firstly I got to know your God and found I didn't want to know Him anymore, so I left. Tying to my second point 3 years after I moved away from my small town and two years after I found Satanism an old friend of mine from my former church died of a recreational drug overdose. So i went back to my home church for the funeral. It was the first time that I'd been back since my "fall". Someone had the exact same mentality as you that I hadn't been told properly about Christ. He tried to talk me back to God while I was TRYING TO FREAKING MOURN!
(in know it's a little off topic but I needed to reply to those ideas.)

Ares: By Christian doctrine unless she happened to say or think "God forgive me." and realy meant it right before her death, she's probably not in heaven. Ask yourself if it was in her nature or personality to have done that and answer honestly. As for your question: I have actualy been in that exacet scenario more than once (alot of my friends died while I was growing up, most were either non-christians or lip-service christans, they went to church, worshipped and prayed but also got high and laid. All of the ones that weren't suicides, were sudden so it's unlikely that they had time to pray for forgiveness.) I've found it best for my recovery to simply put that thought out of my mind and think about the good times. Asked that question with my current perception I can honestly tell you that I don't care because Satanists don't believe in an afterlife. I grieve the loss of my friends and family but i do right by Satanism to keep thier memory, and thus,thier immortal spirit alive in me.

No, but I'm just saying that something I would feel very strongly about he wouldn't be able to directly relate with. I'm sorry about your friend and what that guy did. I know well enough that sometimes prayer is all that helps. That people are sometimes so often having the 'tell them about Jesus' approach pushed upon them over and over again that they aren't able to absorb anymore than they already have. And then, it's time to always back off. And I'm glad that you still have friends to pray for you. I'm sorry guys. I know I ticked a lot of people off with that post, but I was ticked off myself and still feel that most of the points are valid. I admit that in lots of situations, yelling about Jesus (being a 'bible thumper') to them probably isn't the best approach. But certainly in some situations it is. Please don't argue with me on that.

Sorry, but I have to argue with you on that. Before my enlightenment I always felt that talking civily and showing was much more efective than "bible thumping". Believe it or not, some of my best conversations with peopl about God were over a couple of beers. But, I'm a Satanist, what can I possibly know about evangelism?

You can know your own preferences but believe it or not the more aggressive forms of evangelism do work on certain people, I'm just not sure how ethical it all is. Scaring someone into believing (for example) doesn't sit too well with me but it's a method that is used and gets results.

I think, that with different people there's gonna be different ways to approach them. And certainly, God always knows exactly how it would work, how he's going to plan it. And so I think that there's different approaches for different people with situations in their lives. And if God has a plan for us, then he's gonna give everyone the oppourtunity through us to accept him. And he's gonna have someone try and reach out to each and every person in a different way. It's interesting that I was talking to this guy a little while ago--and all I did was mention that my favourite quote was actually a bible verse, and then an hour later I got this email--Hi. You told me that bible verse a while ago, and I think that means you're a Christian. And I want to talk about that because I'm struggling a lot with getting to know God and holding on to faith.
And that made me happy!! But yeah...I'm thinking that there isn't a right or wrong way to show Christ. Yeah, I do agree that often actions speak louder than words, but some people are just going to connect with the person who says: No, I don't think that this is the way. Jesus is my light and I believe that if u choose to follow him too, then that's a life you should have! smile  

[Lord Maxdom]

I remember my Ex had a bit of trouble with me being atheistic. I mean, if your focus in life is just christiaity having a non-christian partner would cause a lot of problems, but if you are just an average christian it really shouldn't be a problem. You might not see everything eye to eye, but you aren't supposed to. Be human, have different ideas. And understand that many different people of different belief backgrounds share the same morals.  

[Zolof Keeper Of Souls]

I think You should talk to someone about jesus about jesus before you date them, but you should also try to talk to all your unsaved friends. Not just the ones you like  

[Lazarus The Resurected]

That's a fast way to run out of freinds.  

[Matt Pniewski]

zolof3344

I think You should talk to someone about jesus about jesus before you date them, but you should also try to talk to all your unsaved friends. Not just the ones you like

Then my pool of friends will be made up of the Campus Crusade For Christ, and those guys are jerks.  

[freelance lover]

zolof3344

I think You should talk to someone about jesus about jesus before you date them, but you should also try to talk to all your unsaved friends. Not just the ones you like

Not having relationships of any kind with non-believers creates exclusive views within the faith. We're called to love our neighbor, which means being respectful of their beliefs. After all, they're not trying to convert you.

@Lord Maxdom: It's interesting you should say that. I think when you get down to it, it depends on what you look for in a partner. Some people want a partner they can pray with or grow spiritually with, whereas others like to keep their faith more personal, so their partner's faith is much less important. I'm a pretty open person and I don't believe Christianity is the only path to God, but I've always known I wanted a partner with similar beliefs to mine. This is based more on what I want in a partner than anything. I think in the instance of what you're talking about it's more based on preference than beliefs.  

[Ransom3d]

8Ares8

Well I do understand that you can be pulled away from your faith by anyone even if they are not consciously trying... but I must say that most strong and/or logically minded believers to be pulled away by anything short of your world ending...

So my take on this policy of the bible's is to more protect our spirits rather than our walk. Because my friend was dating a girl since highschool and she was not saved and he was. They were a great couple and they got married after college, she still was not a christian. And two months ago she died in the hospital after a car accident. We don't know if she asked for forgiveness before she passed...

so my point is: How would you feel if the person you loved most in the world died and you didn't know if they were burning in hell for all eternity or not?

This is something very difficult to answer but I will. I would be heart-broken just to see that all the blood, sweat and tears I put in was for nothing. Even though it tears me apart to say this but 'May it be God's will not ours'. The person on this Earth whom I love the most (I know favoritism is bad, but I cannot lie) I would most likely teach the word of God to them. It's really up to them, their will whether live out the word of God or not.  

[Lord Maxdom]

At Freelance, I remember a friend of mine said I should just fake being of the religion the person I like, but if you ask me that is a terrible idea. I mean, sure, I would be very good at pretending to be of a religion since I studies so many different religions and their people. The problem is, I find that to be a bit of an ethical problem. And it would base my relationship with the person on something fake. As for preference, well it just depends how picky th person is. Whether they will let the corn touch their ham, or if they will throw the plate across the room and demand a new one before they sue the establishment, and everything in between. I suppose I'm just a bit too laid back when it comes to my beliefs on such manners, other atheists wouldn't settle for anything less than an atheistic spouse. I think I would actually prefer a religious person though, frankly I get annoyed at many other atheists. They seem a bit ore radical than the religious "nuts" they hate. I guess it does fall back to personal preference, but it almost seems like it falls upon that word I hate so much, "tolerance."  

[Lazarus The Resurected]

I understand where yo come from Maxdom. Although I am more than willing to lie to get the girl, I'm not sure I'd be willing to base a relationship on it. Like you said, it all depends on what you're looking for. If you want a couple of months of play then who cares what you tell her. If you want long-term comitment then honesty is important, honesty with yourself as well as with your partner. I don't realy feel that religions need to be shared (you would not believe the headache my last relationship with another Satanist was) but ideals and morals should at least match up. Failing that, I guess you could match up purely on an intelectual level.  

[Lord Maxdom]

Well I find that most people will have the same major morals, it's just the small things. And when trying to meet someone you aren't going to get those minor things, so why should it matter if there are minor religious ideas that differ? That's just how I feel on it, and as for me there is no play time. I'm always looking for a long lasting relationship, it's a flaw of mine. No play-time can make life a bit dull. And another thing that bothers me is how people are picky as to sects, I understand, I'm just saying it does bother me none-the-less.  

[Priestley]

freelance lover

We're called to love our neighbor, which means being respectful of their beliefs.

Not always. One can love one's neighbour and still think their beliefs are absurd, if not dangerous, and call them out as such.

In a Christian context, you're called to love your neighbour in specific ways: as Jesus has loved you and as you love yourself. Jesus did not stand for the rubbish that false teachers taught, taking every opportunity to call them out and correct them both in public view and in private with his disciples. The problem with basing your love for people on your love for yourself is that, we often pick our own preferences like our desire not to be lectured, for example, and then project that onto others. In this case, just because it's unpleasant for you doesn't mean that it shouldn't be done, if "making disciples of all the nations" is what you have been commanded to do.  

[Lazarus The Resurected]

"loving thy neighbor" is generaly the justtification that christians give for bothering me outside of metal shows, or anywhere else for that matter.  

[Lord Maxdom]

There is such a thing as tough love.