Practising Christians

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Mohsin

Mohsin

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I am making this thread out of my pure ignorance about Christianity. The other day I was speaking to my sister about University societies and an idea came up that there should be inter-faith dialogues. Then i thought to myself about the christian societies and what they do at uni, and it got me thinking, what is a practising christian? I'm sure they do things and acts of worship, but are there any set of rules. I was thinking that they go church every sunday, but are there other things that distinguish practising Christians??
 
Well, they don't have to go church every sunday, some go on wednesday nights or so on, they differ.

Also, I don't think its easy to distinguish 'practicing' and non practicing.
 
Mohsin said:
I am making this thread out of my pure ignorance about Christianity. The other day I was speaking to my sister about University societies and an idea came up that there should be inter-faith dialogues. Then i thought to myself about the christian societies and what they do at uni, and it got me thinking, what is a practising christian? I'm sure they do things and acts of worship, but are there any set of rules. I was thinking that they go church every sunday, but are there other things that distinguish practising Christians??
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Hi Mohsin

I think inter-faith dialogue would be a great idea! :)
I think the important thing is to inform each other of each others faiths and beliefs without trying to push your faiths onto each other. (Not always as easy as it sounds! :))

As to your question about what a practising Christian is, you may find that it depends on the denomination.
Generally, Christians worship in church, with Sunday being the main day of worship. Christians read the Bible, which they honour and respect as God's word to humanity. Some Christians attend prayer groups and Bible study groups.
There are no visible signs as to who is a practising Christian (not like there is in Islam).
The best way to find out about what Christians do, would be to get into conversations with them and perhaps observe their way of praying and worshipping. You may find that some are quite formal and pietous in their prayer and worship, others more self-expressive and informal!

I am happy to tell you more about how I practice my faith personally, but I don't think I can speak for all other Christians. :rollseyes

Thanks for expressing an interest. :)

Peace
 
so basically u just need to read the bible to be a practicing chrisitian? what about following it?

So what does the bible stipulate for u to be a practicing chrisitan? eg, what does it say about fasting, methods of prayer, gambling, adultry etc.

Dosent it say what would make u a christian and what would make u a non christian?
 
Jayda said:
every time i think i want to post something and read what you say about us i change my mind
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Hey, sis, don't take it to heart. :)

It doesn't make for a healthy and tolerant discussion, I agree - but you are making the assumption that that's what everybody else is here for. Some people may have other motives ... :uhwhat

God bless.
 
^^ I hope u didnt take offense with my post...i noticed u didnt answer the questions. I assure u they are genuine.
 
sameer said:
^^ I hope u didnt take offense with my post...i noticed u didnt answer the questions. I assure u they are genuine.
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No, I didn't take offence at all. :)
I've just been busy, that's all.

You have to realise that I am a working woman with a husband and two children - so time isn't always freely available! :D
On top of that, people here sometimes ask very difficult questions or make challenging statements, which aren't always easy or even possibly to reply to.
I find that I have to go away to
read things up, or
pray about things, or
ponder questions, or
just put things on the shelf for a while, because I don't know a reply ...

I am not a scholar or theologian, so I tend to give my personal understanding of things, not necessarily the most knowledgeable reply ...

As it happens, your questions are difficult to answer:
so basically u just need to read the bible to be a practicing chrisitian? what about following it?
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Of course you have to follow the Bible message.

1) You need to read the Bible to understand about Jesus' life, the purpose of his life and death and his message to mankind.

2) You need to fellowship with other Christians to remain focused in God's word. Otherwise it would be all too easy to drift off into another 'God-told-me-to...thinking'. Furthermore, Jesus told us to gather in his name:
For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:12)
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3) You need to be willing to live every day of your life for God, to surrender to his will and purpose. The act of baptism is seen as a symbol of 'dying to yourself (i.e. your own desires and wishes) and starting a 'new life' for God.

4) You should pray and be in communication with God daily.
So what does the bible stipulate for u to be a practicing chrisitan? eg, what does it say about fasting, methods of prayer, gambling, adultry etc.
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The Bible has much to say about how people should conduct themselves.
But, seen from a Muslim perspective, it must be said that the Bible is by no means as clear-cut and directive as the Qu'ran is.

At the most basic level, Jesus condensed all of God's laws into this:
"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."(Matthew 22:37-40)
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Of course these are not the only commands to Christians, but somehow all others tie into those two

The Bible is quite clear on issues such as gambling, adultery, murder etc ...
In terms of fasting and methods of prayer, it is less prescriptive, and consequently there are many varietions amongst different denominations, and amongst individuals.

To give you a personal example, I pray daily, usually at least three times (morning, lunch time and night). If I don't manage that or don't find the time, that's fine. I haven't broken any 'law', because there wasn't one in the first place.
The prayer I offer to God, I offer out of joy and gratitude, not because it has been stipulated to me.
If I am praying for specific situations, or I feel God has put a certain issue onto my heart, I may choose to pray on an hourly basis for a certain amount of time. Again, not because there is a rule that says I should, but because I feel the desire to do so.
Now, all that's just me - ask 10 other Christians and they may tell you 10 different things.

Dosent it say what would make u a christian and what would make u a non christian?
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Despite all the differences between the different denominations, Christians all have these things in common:

They have put their faith and trust in the person of Jesus Christ, and they believe that he died on the cross as payment for sins and rose again on the third day to obtain victory over death and to give eternal life to all who believe in him.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12)
They consider themselves to be children of God, a part of God’s true family, those who have been given new life in Christ. The mark of a Christian is love for others and obedience to God’s Word.

I hope this answers some of your questions :)
Please feel free to ask some more, as long as you are patient with my replies (as explained above!) :D

Peace :)
 
QuranStudy said:
Usually they drink and sing.
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You really are uninformed aren't you? If you really are interested in finding out about other religions why not speak to a priest, rabbi or hindu equiv (soz to any hindu's here but I dont know what your equiv of a rabbi/minister would be called). You are obviously unaware that the tone of your posts cause offense, so that way you could find out what you want to know and not offend anyone in the process.

BTW I am giving you the benefit of the doubt that you are unaware you are causing offense, surely you wouldnt be trying to offend forum members on purpose with your posts would you.................................?

Peace
CG
 
Mohsin said:
I am making this thread out of my pure ignorance about Christianity. The other day I was speaking to my sister about University societies and an idea came up that there should be inter-faith dialogues. Then i thought to myself about the christian societies and what they do at uni, and it got me thinking, what is a practising christian? I'm sure they do things and acts of worship, but are there any set of rules. I was thinking that they go church every sunday, but are there other things that distinguish practising Christians??
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I wondered that too.


Some Christians attend prayer groups and Bible study groups.
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I see.... but is that all? What else do you do?
 
Al-Mu'minah said:
I wondered that too.




I see.... but is that all? What else do you do?
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Try to live our lives in obeyance of the gospel. Follow the commandments. Apply the teachings of Jesus to our lives, that sort of thing. I am sure someone else can put it more eloquently than I can.

HTH
Peace
CG
 
Try to live our lives in obeyance of the gospel. Follow the commandments. Apply the teachings of Jesus to our lives, that sort of thing. I am sure someone else can put it more eloquently than I can.
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If Christians care about the Gospel so much, then how come there are gay priests in churches?? Also, do you honestly think the Christians in general follow all Ten Commandments??
 
QuranStudy said:
If Christians care about the Gospel so much, then how come there are gay priests in churches?? Also, do you honestly think the Christians in general follow all Ten Commandments??
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If Muslims care about the Qu'ran, the how come there are people blowing themselves and others up in the name of Islam? Because they are not true Muslims.

My own personal view is that there shouldnt be practicing homosexuals appointed as priests, anymore than so-called Muslims who defile their religion by blowing themselves and others up in the name of Islam.

Some people claim to be Christians and are not. By doing so they disrepect the religion they claim to uphold. Some people claim to be Muslim and they are not. By doing so they disrespect the religion they claim to uphold. There are bad examples in all religions.

I do not think that all the people who claim to be Christians truly follow their religion and laws. Though many do, sadly the minority give Christianity a bad name. In exactly the same way not all that people who claim to be Muslims (in fact insert ANY religion here) truly follow their religion and laws. Though many do, sadly a minority give Islam a bad name.

HTH
Peace
CG
 
would it be fair to say that christians are more faith/belief oriented and muslims and jews more action oriented?
i've read on this forum that no matter your good deeds, if you don't believe in jesus you will go to hell.
respect is essential to interfaith dialogue. often people pose questions not because they really want to learn about another religion but because they want to ridicule it or confirm their prejudices.
 
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Al-Mu'minah said:
I wondered that too.




I see.... but is that all? What else do you do?
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I think the reason we are having so much trouble answering your question is the way it is phrased... A Christian is probably defined more by what they believe than what they do... like as far as rituals and stuff are concerned.

That does not mean we lack such practices... we just dont have as many and not nearly so structured. We attend Church on Sundays, since that is the day of the Lord. Most of our religious duties are performed there... attending Church itself is a religious duty. Beyond that there are sacrements, the sacrements are (for Catholics, but for most denominations as well):

* Baptism
* Confirmation
* Holy Eucharist (or Holy Communion)
* Matrimony (or sacramental marriage)
* Holy Orders
* Reconciliation (or Penance, Confession)
* Anointing of the Sick (or Extreme Unction, Last Rites)

I just pulled that off of Wikipedia. These are called sacrements because they are important rites, some will only happen once in a life time.

Beyond this we Catholics have other rituals (i do not know about other denominations), and they correspond to certain events in Christian history. Palm Sunday we carry palms during church to commemorate Jesus triumphant reception (i think in nazareth), on ash wednesday we have ash crosses on our foreheads to identify us as christians and to signify repentence, on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday Catholics fast... we eat only one meal and cannot eat meat.

We Catholics are also supposed to fast during Lent and Advent... this usually means either not eating a certian kind of food like meat, or cutting back to only one normal sized meal per day... i do that for both. Additionally abstinence is also for Lent. Both periods are about 40 days... there are other things Catholics are required to do that I dont think other denominations do like holy days of obligation... or at least dave never mentioned anything... he was protestant...

Aside from these rituals (and there are others) leading a Christian life... actually doing what Jesus told us to do morally is very difficult... taking care of the poor and sick, visiting people in prison, staying humble, no wealth and not judging others are among the things we are demanded to do by Christ... he encapsulated all of his commandments to us by telling us to be perfect like his father.

...i hope that helps!
 
Hi Jayda

Thank you for your enlightening post :)

The question I asked was in relation to the Christian society in universities. I wanted to know what activities and/or practise they do.

Going back to your post:

Exactly what you have posted is what most Christians I know tell me about their practises in Christianity.

In Islam the concept of worship is in every form really. From waking up in the morning saying a Ad-Du'a (supplication), eating, saying salaams, to have relationships with one partner and so on. Everything we do in Islam is worship. Worship is not just limited to prayer. Allah rewards us.

May I ask how God ask's you to worship Him in the bible? You seem to be putting alot of emphasis what Jesus said etc Why not on God.
 
May I ask how God ask's you to worship Him in the bible? You seem to be putting alot of emphasis what Jesus said etc Why not on God.
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If I'm not mistaken, Muslims believe Jesus was given the Gospel to share with mankind, and this Gospel was given by God. So whether you believe as we do that Jesus was God's Son, or that the Bible is God's Word, you should understand why we place emphasis on what Jesus said, because the Gospel was given Him by God.
 
We believe Jesus is God, i do not know the answer to your question... Jesus taught us prayers like the our father... but prayer has been many different ways in the bible... sometimes kneeling sometimes completely prostrate...
 

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