Christians,don't you think the fact that other Christians repeat untruths as facts undermines your credibility?

Even if your specific beliefs are true, different Christians have different beliefs, and some of them claim to *know* their beliefs are true.





Take the concept of Hell: Some Christians tell us it's "the grave", some tell us it's separation from God, and some tell us it's eternal torture.





Even if one of those groups is right, it still means some Christians repeat to us, as facts, things which are not true.





Don't you feel this represent some kind of credibility problem for your religion?|||Seriously? Is this seriously what your worried about? Your actually worried about a Christian's credibility? What is the point of your question if not? Regardless of my own worldview - it should be apparent to most people of common sense and a little bit of intelligence that you actually understand very little about the world you live in. My bet is your an American educated in public school.





Don't believe me - let's ask the same question this way...


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Americans,don't you think the fact that other Americans repeat untruths as facts undermines your credibility?


Even if your specific beliefs are true, different Americans have different beliefs, and some of them claim to *know* their beliefs are true.





Take the concept of Profit: Some Americans tell us it's "Evil", some tell us it's separation from Good, and some tell us it's eternal torture.





Even if one of those groups is right, it still means some Americans repeat to us, as facts, things which are not true.





Don't you feel this represent some kind of credibility problem for your Nationality?


==================================|||The problem is that you look at "Christianity" as a singular force. In fact, there are a great number of different sects of Christianity. The beliefs that each of these sects hold can vary greatly. If you compare the major branches, their differences would become apparent. The major branches are: Catholicism, Protestantism, Latter Day Saints, and Nontrinitarians. In addition to those major branches, there are also a great number of religions that may not be considered Christian, as such, but that incorporate many of the elements of Christianity.





The last estimate I heard put the figure above 35,000 unique sects of Christianity in the United States, but I wasn't able to find a source for that number in my answer.|||I wonder if there is a 2nd issue they disagree with, and if there is a close correlation between their opinion of your example and their opinion of the 2nd issue.





If there is not a close correlation, and the 2nd issue has 2 options, then there would be 6 types of Christians if you only consider those 2 options.





Surveys often report the results of each question separately but do not show the correlation. I'd like to see numbers for maybe the top 4 issues.|||Good question but no, as an individual I take responsibility for my own credibility.





Christians belong to a wide variety of groups and religions and because of this there are bound to be differences in opinions and beliefs.





If someone asks me about my beliefs then it's my responsibility to provide an explanation for it. And not my responsibility to provide an explanation for what other Christian religions might believe.





This is where my credibility lies.|||Yes. It is a problem I go through constantly with new friends that I meet. They have a certain opinion of what a "Christian" because of certain bad experiences in the past and it makes me feel awkward because when I hear the stories I shake my head and say to myself, "I can't believe a so-called "Christian" would do/say that". So I have to be a better witness to them that not all Christians are like the ones they had met in the past. But it is very annoying having to go through that time and time again.|||There is a difference between being sincere and being genuine.


The person repeating the "fact" may truly believe this, but it is not genuine. No-one may believe the "fact" but that doesn't stop it from being genuine.


No, I've no probs with the credibility issue, neither do you.|||*Sighs* Yes. Because, we are all unsure when it comes to the general population of Christians. None of us have been to the afterlife to say so.|||Those are not Christian untruths. All of those conflicting beliefs are straight out of the Christian bible, which, as we all know, contains no contradictions.|||Figuratively, these people wear clown makeup, orange wigs, polka-dotted jumpsuits and big floppy shoes, and there is a concern for their CREDIBILITY?|||Different sects have different views. And there are plenty of Christians who belong to know church who formed their own interpretation of things.|||Yes, and this exact phenomenon contributed majorly in sending me away from Christianity. For example, I met people from other churches who were speaking in tongues. My church friends and disciplers all "knew" that speaking in tongues ended at the Pentacost, and that after that, things changed and we didn't need to speak in tongues anymore. Therefore, my church "knew" that the other church was wrong in their interpretation and was just spewing BS from their mouths.





This phenomenon happened over and over across different spheres of Christianity to me until I realized that there was no way to legitimately distinguish the validity of one interpretation from the next. It was as if we were reading a poem and all trying to tell everyone else how wrong we were about the subjective interpretation we got out of it. No, your interpretation of the poem is wrong, because my inner conviction says that you're getting your interpretation from false teachings from Satan. It is so, so CLEAR and OBVIOUS that my interpretation is the one true interpretation from God. Are you letting your own mind guide you, or are you looking at the scriptures with the guidance of "the Holy Spirit"?





If members of Christianity can understand that their religion makes them do things that are obviously bogus, then Christians should be able to understand why their own interpretations are bogus, too. There is no way to distinguish between who is right and who i wrong. Anyone can claim divine knowledge or guidance of the Holy Spirit and claim that anyone else is getting deceived by Satan. The Bible is not clear at all what is metaphorical and what is literal, which is why there are thousands of denominations, even "Christian Science" which believes faith healing is better than going to the doctor, lol. Almost all Christians understand why this is stupid, and understand that "Christian Scientists" are wrong when they use Jesus's prophecies to back up faith healing today. etc. etc.|||"You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." So declared Jesus as he was teaching the multitudes in the temple in Jerusalem. (John 8:32) Jesus' apostles could readily identify Jesus' teachings as the truth. They had seen abundant evidence of their teacher's divine origin.








TODAY, however, some may find it difficult to identify the truth Jesus spoke about. As in the days of the prophet Isaiah, today there are "those who are saying that good is bad and bad is good, those who are putting darkness for light and light for darkness, those who are putting bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." (Isaiah 5:20) With numerous opinions, philosophies, and life-styles being promoted nowadays, many people feel that everything is relative and that there is no such thing as truth.





When Jesus said to his audience that the truth would set them free, they responded by saying: "We are Abraham's offspring and never have we been slaves to anybody. How is it you say, 'You will become free'?" (John 8:33) They did not feel a need for anyone or anything to set them free. But then Jesus explained: "Most truly I say to you, Every doer of sin is a slave of sin." (John 8:34) The truth that Jesus was talking about can open the way to freedom from sin. Jesus said: "If the Son sets you free, you will be actually free." (John 8:36) So the truth that frees people is truth about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is only by faith in the sacrifice of Jesus' perfect human life that anyone can be freed from sin and death.





On another occasion Jesus said: "Sanctify them by means of the truth; your word is truth." (John 17:17) The word of God as expressed in the Bible is the truth that can bring freedom from superstition and false worship. The Bible contains the truth about Jesus Christ, which leads people to put faith in him and opens the way to a bright hope for the future. It is a splendid thing to come to know the truth of God's Word!





How vital is it to know the truth? Many religions today, while claiming to follow the Bible, are largely influenced by human philosophies and traditions. Often, religious leaders seem not as concerned with the accuracy of their message as they are with its acceptance by the masses. Some feel that God is satisfied with any form of worship, as long as it is sincere. But Jesus Christ explained: "The hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father with spirit and truth, for, indeed, the Father is looking for suchlike ones to worship him."鈥擩ohn 4:23.





If we want to worship God acceptably, we must know the truth. This is an important issue. Our eternal happiness depends on it. Therefore, everyone should ask himself: 'Is my way of worship acceptable to God? Am I genuinely interested in learning the truth of God's Word? Or am I afraid of what a careful investigation might reveal?'