ASoleciSticlegion

A good friend of mine asked me to help him with an assignment for his class, this is the result...



Q: -Are there any things that you admire or respect about Jesus? If so, what are they?

A: --Since I equate the character of Jesus with the hero in a great novel I afford him alot of admiration and respect. The suffering he goes through, all in the name of his own beliefs, whether I agree with them myself, are worthy of great admiration and respect. The fact that a simple man could face his executioners and betrayers and still have the purity of soul to forgive them for what they were to do... That's amazing, and a shining example for others to follow, which is why I know that if you took the religious aspect out of it, and just focused the story solely on this man's life, people everywhere would share in my opinion.


Q: -Are there any things that turn you away from Jesus or that would make you not want to follow or love him? If so, what are they?

A: -- I feel that Jesus was perhaps too pure, by him being so good and loving he opens himself not to temptation, as most mankind, but too evils closer to himself. Like Julius Caesar he trusted his closest friends to watch over him, and protect him from those who would do them harm. But as in both cases that trust was misplaced and they died by the very hands that broke bread with them.


Q: -On a scale of -5 to +5, what kind of influence have the Christians that you've known been? -5 means that they have significantly turned you off from following Jesus, 0 is neutral and +5 means that they have been a very positive influence.

A: -- -5, would be my answer. The thing that turns me away from Christianity, besides the very archaic rules you're supposed to follow, is the people. Oddly enough it's the majority of Jesus's worshipers, who go to the extreme with their beliefs; now this can be found in most religions, and it turns me away quicker than any other aspect.

The wars, the hatred, which can even be found in even a local church, is astounding. I have noticed that people who believe in Christianity or Catholicism are far more judgmental of their peers than any other. It's very black and white in thier minds, either you're pure, or you're not. I don't believe that this was Jesus's true feelings when he died on that cross, I believe His way has been warped by his followers.


Q: -What has been your general impression of how Christians love other people?

A: -- I do believe some Christians are quite charitable in their love, even of those with differing views than their own. But the majority, only in my opinion, is that they adore one another in their shared faith but do not tolerate any one whose beliefs differ from their own, and in turn use their religion as the crutch of their intolerance.



My hubby wanted to add his opinion on Question 2 & 4, since those are the only ones that differ from my own.


#2. I agree with Tammy's answer, and wanted to add that I think it sets the bar too high. Jesus was so amazing and completely out there, and nobody could ever compare to him. So why would I spend my life striving to be like him if I could never hold a candle to him. I also think that Jesus isn't a coward but took the easy way out. Instead of lying about being the son of God, and giving his followers the opportunity to learn from somebody with a long life expectancy he did what most historical figures do, and screamed one thing really loud, and got killed for it. It seems to me that historical figures like this only achieve greatness because of the wrong that the 'bad guy' did to them instead of a case like Ghandi, where he continuously taught and lived a full life.


#4. I just wanted to include, with Tammy's answer, that I have noticed educated followers seem to have a larger understanding and tolerable attitude towards non-followers. It seems a lot of the uneducated or 'born again' Christians have extremist, "You have to join us or we hate you!" views. Whereas I've spoken to many priests and I've seen people like yourself in communication with people in my life who have been educated and thoroughly investigated their own faith and have tolerance and understanding. These people leave the ultimate judgement up to God.



Side Note: This was an assignment aimed towards people of the non-Christian faith, as a way to get their opinions on the different aspects of the religion or more so Jesus himself.