"I'm not religious, I just have faith in Jesus."

Started by Valigarmander, September 18, 2013, 01:53:23 AM

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Valigarmander

I've been running into a lot of people lately who claim that they're not religious, or that they hate religion even, and that rather than being religious they just have a personal relationship with Jesus. That you don't have to be a Christian to be saved, you just have to have faith in Jesus.

I honestly don't get it. How do you respond to people like this?

Jason Harvestdancer

"That's the definition of being a religious Christian."

They just want to eat their cake and have it to, be religious without using the word.

Or if you want to be cruel about it, compare it to Peter denying Jesus 3 times.
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GSOgymrat

Quote from: "Valigarmander"I've been running into a lot of people lately who claim that they're not religious, or that they hate religion even, and that rather than being religious they just have a personal relationship with Jesus. That you don't have to be a Christian to be saved, you just have to have faith in Jesus.

I honestly don't get it. How do you respond to people like this?

How I interpret this is that this person believes in a personal relationship with God and doesn't want all the dogma associated with religious affiliation. It doesn't bother me.

Plu

As long as they don't go to church and don't ascribe to dogma, they are just harmless people with a silly belief. Those are a dime a dozen, and no problem at all.

If they do go to church, ask them to explain what it means to be religious. It'll probably be an interesting answer at least.

Atheon

It's people trying to deny that Christianity is a religion, so they can special plead. They don't realize that ALL religions are some form of perceived "relationship" with an imaginary god-thingy.
"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful." - Seneca

Jason78

Quote from: "Jason_Harvestdancer""That's the definition of being a religious Christian."

They just want to eat their cake and have it to, be religious without using the word.

Yeah, it's pretty much just this.
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GSOgymrat

Quote from: "Jason78"
Quote from: "Jason_Harvestdancer""That's the definition of being a religious Christian."

They just want to eat their cake and have it to, be religious without using the word.

Yeah, it's pretty much just this.

Kind of like people who don't believe in God but don't want to call themselves atheists.

AllPurposeAtheist

They've completely thrown themselves into denial that as children they lost their personal relationship with the hottie who crept up to their bedsides, slipped a kind yet sexy hand under their pillows, snatched (pun time!) their little tooth and replaced it with loose change.
These are dark days indeed when people claim a belief in zombies over the one true dental deity.
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SGOS

#8
Quote from: "Plu"If they do go to church, ask them to explain what it means to be religious. It'll probably be an interesting answer at least.

That was my first thought.  Its most likely a semantic misunderstanding.  But when I hear someone say they have a personal relationship with Jesus, it makes me think this person has gone beyond usual religion and become even more delusional about the whole thing.  Having a personal relationship with anyone, requires a more intense investment of your own social and psychological resources.  It implies the other party is also investing some of their resources in return.  When you get to that point with an imaginary friend, you've pretty much gone off the deep end.

Faith in Jesus also requires a lot of your psychological resources and certainly a lot of thought about where this faith comes from.

But it could be just semantics.  Bill Maher used to say he didn't believe in God, but when the interviewer would allude to atheism, he would get downright defensive.  "I don't believe in God, but I'm not one of THOSE people," was his usual response.  I'm not sure what he meant by "THOSE" people, but the tone of his voice suggested something sinister, even though he was as outspoken in his criticism of religious superstition as members of this forum.

He must have gotten a ton of letters from the atheist community explaining the definition to him, because he now identifies himself as an atheist without the denial.  I can understand.  I used to deny that I was an atheist because I misunderstood the definition, and equated it to something evil.

It's often just semantics.

SGOS

Other red flags suggesting deeper delusional states might be:

"Do you walk with Jesus?  I walk with Jesus!"  
Or just plain,
"Jesus is my friend."  

When you hear phrases like this, you likely dealing with a very religious person.

Mermaid

Quote from: "GSOgymrat"
Quote from: "Valigarmander"I've been running into a lot of people lately who claim that they're not religious, or that they hate religion even, and that rather than being religious they just have a personal relationship with Jesus. That you don't have to be a Christian to be saved, you just have to have faith in Jesus.

I honestly don't get it. How do you respond to people like this?

How I interpret this is that this person believes in a personal relationship with God and doesn't want all the dogma associated with religious affiliation. It doesn't bother me.
Same. I wouldn't respond because I wouldn't really care.
A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticise work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life’s realities â€" all these are marks, not as the possessor would fain to think, of superiority but of weakness. -TR

mykcob4

Quote from: "Valigarmander"I've been running into a lot of people lately who claim that they're not religious, or that they hate religion even, and that rather than being religious they just have a personal relationship with Jesus. That you don't have to be a Christian to be saved, you just have to have faith in Jesus.

I honestly don't get it. How do you respond to people like this?
Those people that claim that they are not religious and just have a personal relationship with jesus are.....DANGEROUS. In otherwords they are beyond mentally disturbed.
They say that they are not religious because they fear what people think of churches and religious organizations, but they don't want to be outcast in society, so they opt for a noncommittal position.
"Hi, I'm not with the stupid people but I rode on the same bus" kind of thing!
These are the same people that voted for Sarah Palin, watch Desperate Housewives of Beverly Hills, and secretly hate Gays, Minorities, Atheist, and anything that doesn't conform to the religious zealotry that they claim that they are not a part of.
It's like 1939 Germany. Most Germans became avid NAZIs, but after the war they claimed that they were never NAZIs and were held captive by Hitler.
It's the biggets lie in history and the "I'm not religious but I have a relationship with jesus", is the same exact lie.
These people that say that, are nutcase evangelical lying screwballs, that would turn on you in an instant. They have NO integrity, NO honor, and NO moral compass. They cannot be trusted and you can't talk to them and expect any kind of an honest answer.
My advice, get the RAID can out and spray them if they come near. They are best avoided!

Solitary

I'm religious, I just don't have faith in Jesus!  :shock:  Scary people that just have faith in Jesus but aren't religious.  :twisted:  Solitary
There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.

Hijiri Byakuren

"I'm not an atheist, I just don't believe in any gods."
Speak when you have something to say, not when you have to say something.

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LikelyToBreak

My first thought was, "I'm not religious, I just like Christmas."