Why can't christians speak 'normal'?

GlorytoGod

GlorytoGod

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Interesting article here,

Bald Hills Presbyterian - WHY CAN'T CHRISTIANS SPEAK 'NORMAL'?

which echoes some of my own views about Christian who are always going on about "God Told me" this or that cause I am so holy :rolleyes:

When the giant has an idea, he never calls it an idea, or plan, or suggestion. No, much too normal, those words. He goes to his "God-Talk" dictionary and uses much holier words and phrases, like "I have a vision", "I have a burden", "The Lord laid it on my heart", "I felt led", "I feel called of God", or the very authoritative "God told me". That man has "words of knowledge". When he describes the nitty-gritty of daily life it is never as normal as ‘acting according to Biblical principles’: rather it is the highly mysterious "being open to the leading of the Spirit". Though the giant still doesn’t know what this means, it hopefully indicates that he "has an anointing", he has "the unction of the Spirit". Giant folk-lore has it that "if you talk the talk you’ve got to walk the walk". There is some neat "God-Talk" to cover everything. Problem solving is simply a matter of "let go and let God". Facing persecution is simply "turn the other cheek" (ie let the wicked walk all over you). The complex matter of Biblical interpretation is simple in ‘God-Talk’: "God said it, I believe it, that settles it". Bearing testimony to a watching world can be silent (the sign of the fish, or, in advanced cases, a fish plus the Greek writing icquj ), or it can be audible ("honk if you love Jesus"). The profound depths of the gospel are reduced in ‘God-Talk’ to "Smile, God loves you" or even worse, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life" (please address further enquiries to P.O. Box 666, Gomorrah).
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Nmaste G2G,

my thoughts...

I think the percentage of Christians that talk this way is lower than you think. It is just that they are more vocal. And yes while we were asked to not stand on the street corner but pray in secret...it is different strokes for different folks.

The issue with someone when they feel moved by the holy spirit, they feel moved to speak and rejoice as well. And anyone that is on that path where they see G!d's hand everywhere they turn, they so appreciate the guidance they wish to share it.

And then of course there are those folks that are willing to use this to take advantage of others... they make headlines and convince those who wish to be that that is the norm.
 
in my opinion, people that talk this way (of any denomination) are showman(women?).

Its for effect, the message however doesnt get through to the majority, but it sure sounds fancy!!! LOL. Anyone who speaks in plain old english to me, connects........ but maybe thats just me!!
 
I think all of these "catch phrases" are simply a by-product of "religion." They matter to those who choose "religion" as their assurance to themselves that God likes them, and the catch phrases serve to remind them that this is, in their opinion, so. Any "in group" whether religious, civic or simply social, develops its "lingo." It is a means by which the members of that "in group" identify each other, so there is a second pusrpose for the "catch phrases."

Jai Ram
Art
 
friendofbill said:
I think all of these "catch phrases" are simply a by-product of "religion." They matter to those who choose "religion" as their assurance to themselves that God likes them, and the catch phrases serve to remind them that this is, in their opinion, so. Any "in group" whether religious, civic or simply social, develops its "lingo." It is a means by which the members of that "in group" identify each other, so there is a second pusrpose for the "catch phrases."

Jai Ram
Art
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So do you think it would be fair to translate some of these phrases

eg

"God Told me" = "I had an idea, that I need to justify"
 
wil said:
I think the percentage of Christians that talk this way is lower than you think. It is just that they are more vocal.

And then of course there are those folks that are willing to use this to take advantage of others... they make headlines and convince those who wish to be that that is the norm.
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I think the problem is that people think if you are normal you can't be "Christian." You're worldly. You are "of the world." You've been corrupted. You have to be different. Conformity is a path toward the dark side.

Do I think I'm special and different? Oh yeah, for sure, but for exactly the opposite reason. I seek to be normal rather than abnormal. If being abnormal is conformity, than I rebel against this "Christian weirdness." I seek to be different from the "mainstream." I desire to go against the flow. I'm a rebel, doing things the upside-down way. I choose to assimilate (with society) rather than be a separatist (against society). I am like Jonah, running in the opposite direction.

Why do I do that? It's because I think it's phony and pretentious. I can't break away from society. I live in it. It's my life. Instead of trying to be different, I seek to conquer society and its ills. I am a warrior who chooses not to run from the enemy, but to be brave and run towards him.

I embrace iniquity as a way of achieving purity. It is the sin itself that makes me holy.

I think I need to experience life for a while before trying to be a disciple.

But here goes Part 2 of my rant . . .

Oh why don't ye just let the God-Talk talk you into making things happen? Isn't that the way the world goes round and isn't that why the world is round? I can walk in a straight line and end up where I started. I'm not sure why or how it happened. It must be a miracle!

I was going to ask . . . why is Christianity often so preachy preachy?

It's like people see the need to . . . sing a song, do a dance and chant slogans. Life is pretty boring without a melody.

The faithful are always the good guys. The heathen and blasphemers are always the enemy and are always causing trouble. The devil is everywhere and is always on the loose. Evil is all around us but never within us.
 
I was different a long time ago. Now I'm trying to be the same.

Being different has become conformity. Being the same is the new non-conformity.

When non-conformity becomes conformity, one must strive to conform in order to not conform.
 
This arglebargle jargon associated with "Christians" isn't actually Christian in a universal sense. I certainly don't hear it bandied about in my own Church. The jargon in question is a product of a particular flavor of Protestantism in the USA--it's "in-group language". That's all. It's just another type of slang.
 
Reminds me of this guy who announced that God told him he was going to marry my older sister. They had been dating, and he was with the family on an outing when he said it. I could not deny his personal testimony! I immediately commented that God may have spoken to him, but other than that it seemed very unlikely to me that they would be getting married. They didn't.

I knew another fellow who was new to our church. Every few couple of weeks or days he had a revelation about a different girl, and he'd tell her he felt God was drawing them together. A lot of times he was able to get a date that way.

I also knew a couple who got married as a result of a third party telling them it was God's will. They were not even dating, but they started as a result. Now they are married, but they have two autistic children. He can't keep a steady job, and she's having to work.

I also had a friend that knew a woman who was a burn victim, and she told him God had told her they should get married. (This same woman was the third party in the above paragraph.) He did not like this idea, however and it made him do a lot of introspection. He agonized over whether he was in disobedience to God, however he felt that God had told him if he served well and stayed clean, that he would be rewarded with a beautiful wife.

These are all things that really happened, and I am witness that they happened. I know the people and their strong beliefs. I have been their, and I'm not going to talk about my own experiences. Sometimes, there were moments where magical things happened. There were times when prayers were answered, I'm simply recounting the weirdness of those times when people said 'God told me this for you.' Those people are not to be trusted. Half the time they apparently believe it themselves, which makes it even worse than if they were being dishonest.
 
Dream said:
Reminds me of this guy who announced that God told him he was going to marry my older sister. They had been dating, and he was with the family on an outing when he said it. I could not deny his personal testimony! I immediately commented that God may have spoken to him, but other than that it seemed very unlikely to me that they would be getting married. They didn't.

I knew another fellow who was new to our church. Every few couple of weeks or days he had a revelation about a different girl, and he'd tell her he felt God was drawing them together. A lot of times he was able to get a date that way.

I also knew a couple who got married as a result of a third party telling them it was God's will. They were not even dating, but they started as a result. Now they are married, but they have two autistic children. He can't keep a steady job, and she's having to work.

I also had a friend that knew a woman who was a burn victim, and she told him God had told her they should get married. (This same woman was the third party in the above paragraph.) He did not like this idea, however and it made him do a lot of introspection. He agonized over whether he was in disobedience to God, however he felt that God had told him if he served well and stayed clean, that he would be rewarded with a beautiful wife.

These are all things that really happened, and I am witness that they happened. I know the people and their strong beliefs. I have been their, and I'm not going to talk about my own experiences. Sometimes, there were moments where magical things happened. There were times when prayers were answered, I'm simply recounting the weirdness of those times when people said 'God told me this for you.' Those people are not to be trusted. Half the time they apparently believe it themselves, which makes it even worse than if they were being dishonest.
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thanks for sharing that, sounds like a lot of self deception and manipulation.
 
Then there was the time when a prophet in my brother's church prophesied over my brother and his wife that their children would always be healthy. Their first child died shortly after her first birthday. The church was very supportive and paid for the funeral. During the funeral, the pediatrician (who was a church member) came forward and testified that my niece was healthy until the day she died and was now in perfect health. This happened less than two years ago, and I was present on the occasion. No one questioned the logic of what was being said, and the prophet is still considered legitimate in that church. My brother's second child has a genetic skin condition. His third child seems normal so far, and everyone is really happy about that.

It actually goes partly against my feelings about whether God is indifferent. I personally feel that in many of these cases, God was actually present to counteract what these stinking prophets were saying. Is it just me who feels that way? I am not sure, but it has messed with my head somewhat. I'd rather have zero prophets than a mixture of true ones and fake ones. Does that sound too extreme? I mean it really seems like the exact opposite of what they say has happened and a large percentage of the time. Predicting the future is tricky though; so maybe there was no direct counteraction.
 
Dream said:
Reminds me of this guy who announced that God told him he was going to marry my older sister. They had been dating, and he was with the family on an outing when he said it. I could not deny his personal testimony! I immediately commented that God may have spoken to him, but other than that it seemed very unlikely to me that they would be getting married. They didn't.
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It might still happen when they're very old. It just isn't supposed to happen now.:D

Dream said:
I knew another fellow who was new to our church. Every few couple of weeks or days he had a revelation about a different girl, and he'd tell her he felt God was drawing them together. A lot of times he was able to get a date that way.

I also knew a couple who got married as a result of a third party telling them it was God's will. They were not even dating, but they started as a result. Now they are married, but they have two autistic children. He can't keep a steady job, and she's having to work.
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Um . . . Dream, why are all your examples about people getting married or dating?

Dream said:
I also had a friend that knew a woman who was a burn victim, and she told him God had told her they should get married. (This same woman was the third party in the above paragraph.) He did not like this idea, however and it made him do a lot of introspection. He agonized over whether he was in disobedience to God, however he felt that God had told him if he served well and stayed clean, that he would be rewarded with a beautiful wife.
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Oh no, was she still pretty anyway?

Dream said:
These are all things that really happened, and I am witness that they happened. I know the people and their strong beliefs. I have been their, and I'm not going to talk about my own experiences. Sometimes, there were moments where magical things happened. There were times when prayers were answered, I'm simply recounting the weirdness of those times when people said 'God told me this for you.' Those people are not to be trusted. Half the time they apparently believe it themselves, which makes it even worse than if they were being dishonest.
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Head for the hills, one must paddle hard in the opposite direction and run like Jonah did. You can't out-run God, but you can certainly out-run a false prophecy.
 
Maybe G!d just ain't a very good match maker....or folks are misinterpretting when he is saying 'Get a life' they are hearing 'Get a wife'...

Reminds me of the one I heard as a warning when you go into a chapel at a seminary....if you hear the lord calling you to become a preacher...look around, you may be for the guy/gal behind you!
 
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