Posted on 03/15/2011 3:58:16 PM PDT by MNDude
“There are Christians who mainly think about spreading Christianity.”
I can’t tell if you are criticizing these Christians or not??
As an add-on. The japanese aren’t very religious people.
In lieu of attending church, I watch 4 services online every Sunday morning.
I get my fellowship from another organization that I belong to.
God knows that I love Him.
Sounds to me like this individual is under the believe that citizens of Japan are not Christians...........He couldn’t be further from the truth.
Also, think of it in this way. What better way to show God's love and mercy than to extend help to those in need, as these people in Japan assuredly are?
Whether or not helping benefits their immortal souls, it is certainly not detrimental to one's own.
I pray for our enemies as well as our friends. I pray for gays, atheists, the homeless, the rich the sick, the healthy, the suffering and the content.
I think I’ve found most peace in praying for those its hardest to pray for.
I think that many people don’t know how to pray in these situations.
Sometimes people don’t always express verbally what they feel. The person leading the prayer may have had very much the compassion you were looking for and thought the phrase “their land will be healed” an example of that.
Hell’s worse
“Sounds to me like this individual is under the believe that citizens of Japan are not Christians...........He couldn?t be further from the truth”
About 10% are christians, about 60% have no religion, and the rest are Buddhist or Shinto. They believe in self-determination.
I don’t do that as much as I should, but I have, and it has indeed given me peace when I have been able to honestly pray for someone who I feel does not deserve my prayers, someone who has really wronged me or someone I love. It is an amazingly peace giving experience (but very difficult—I can’t always do it).
I think asking for them to realize real comfort and compassion through Christ Jesus is great.
I am positive the rest willand has already come normally from the congregation. Love, Prayers, donations, offerings.
Nothing wrong with it at all, it sounds like something I would say. Not cold or unfeeling at all.
So I hope he really meant to appeal for a Matthew 25 compassionate response. Hopefully the way he worded his prayer could be chalked up to rhetorical thoughtlessness or clumsiness rather than premeditated sado-evangelism.
The body of Christ has different parts for different purposes. Some have more empathy than others, but each has his role.
As with all religions there are liturgical, scriptural, and social considerations.
As Buddha would undoubtedly say, if pressed, if somebody wants to become a Christian in the midst of this incredible disaster, that's OK ~ whatever he needs to deal with it.
Just to note that Christians and Jews look at the request that the Japanese find Jesus quite differently than do Buddhists, so self flagellation with whips is not needed.
I don’t have a problem with that prayer. There are a lot of ways to look at it. I think we go out of our way to say the obvious sometimes. Of course we all want the suffering to end. By “experience”, perhaps he meant the tragedy as well as the recovery.
The best possible thing that can happen for those suffering in Japan is that they find Christ.
Prayer will help their spiritual well-being but if you want to help their physical well-being then you have to give $$$
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