@maxdancona,
maxdancona wrote:
I don't think you have read the Bible either LivingLava. You can't ignore what Jesus says and still claim to be a Christian. Love, compassion, forgiveness are the core of what Jesus spoke about. He didn't talk about drug dealers, or borders or nations or fear of homeless people. He did talk about welcoming the stranger and selling your possessions to give to the poor.
The Bible also says to try to win people over to virtue, and if it doesn't work, to treat them as "a pagan or a tax collector."
Quote:
Matthew 18
A Brother Who Sins
15If your brother sins against you,c go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’d 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
But what exactly does it mean to treat someone as 'a pagan or a tax collector?' There are some people that won't see the light and all you can do is give them what they are due and try to avoid them further. If you could, you would help them more; but they won't allow you to because they have their own beliefs and values that are unreachable by you.
Jesus wrote:
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Your enemies are the people you are criticizing as unChristian. You are supposed to be practicing this you are posting with regard to them. You are preaching that they are not Christian, but are you loving them as you preach they should do against their enemies?
