Are you a good Samaritan or a good Christian?

[hiddley]

Don't know why this occurred to me tonight. Listening to too much Stormzy for my age I think lol.
I would consider myself a good Samaritan but not a good Christian.

For e.g., I don't go to church, I don't praise the Lord, I don't pray, I don't engage in charitable works. On the other hand, if I see a homeless person on the street I will give them whatever change I have in my pocket (usually fuck all) and roll them a cigarette.

I am also the type who will stand up for the one being picked on, which usually lands me as the new central victim. But ..........

I actually think actions speak louder than words and songs of praise.

I do recognise that the Christian and other religious communities are social centres for people also, but often, they don't carry anything spiritual out of their prayer service.

I just don't usually find people to be both. They are either one or the other.

[hiddley]

I suppose what I'm thinking is that Christians tend to believe that attending church achieves their spiritual obligations, so they tend to not bother with anything outside of church organised charity etc.

[SuperBeagle]

I'm an atheist, so, by default, not a good Christian.

I said I committed my "good Samaritan deed" of the day yesterday when I pulled over in a 90km zone to rescue a turtle, which was trying to cross in the traffic.

Being religious has nothing to do with being a decent person.

[ShastaBeast]

Wow what a load of tripe. I’m not especially committed to church going but there are a lot of Christians who will do far more than go to church and pray. The charitable works you claim not to engage in do so much good both within and outside of church. Patting yourself on the back for dropping change and rolling a ciggie wow. How about you find out where your local homeless shelter will be running this winter and help cook or chat with the guys, many of whom are supported into work and permanent accommodation by a church led group. The people helped are not necessarily Christian nor is it overtly religious. But these people do far more than your example.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

I tend to think that good deeds done by those that don't think it's getting them 'points' are worth more. Of course I do; I'm like SuperBeagle!

My Grandmother was kind, accepting, egalitarian and massively ahead of her time in terms of so many things. She was also a life-long and committed atheist. If there is a God, and s/he doesn't let my GM in, heaven won't be the place to be.

[ShastaBeast]

I should add I do volunteer for the above and have done for five years or so. Almost all the volunteers are regular church goers at about 20 local churches.

You’d be amazed at how much pastoral work goes on in churches without any one having a clue.

[steff13]

I'm both. Go me.

[Cupcakegirl13]

Being a Christian is about so much more than going to church. Having a faith and believing in Jesus is a way of life , it should affect every aspect of your being. I'm a Christian and consider myself to be a normal flawed human being the same as everyone else who loves Jesus and tries very hard to live the life He wants us too, sometimes I fail miserably and other times I don't. This can mean acts of chairity sometimes both In and out of church but it also means
So much more , it's about living a life of unconditional love trying to mirror Him as best as you humanly can. Ultimately it's not about labelling yourself as either a Christian or a Good Samaritan , it's about love and ultimately whatever or whoever you are love wins.

[ShastaBeast]

If you knew anything about Christianity you’d know there’s no point scoring to get into heaven.

I’m not particularly religious but I can’t stand the bashing and uneducated nonsense levelled towards Christianity. There are good and bad people in all groups so let’s stop generalising. If we swapped Christian for Muslim or black people or women this thread would be zapped in an instant.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Why do Christians get so persnickety?

We all know Christians who are awesome. We all know Christians who aren't. I mean, don't we? Why can't we talk about the religion that we are forced to partake in? The House of Lords, schools etc. It's the 'national religion'. So we get to debate, don't we?

Muslims, women and Black people haven't managed to get representatives in government and schools merely because. Christians have.

[ShastaBeast]

All you are doing is showing your ignorance. I hardly label myself Christian but I do know people who are and generalising they don’t care about people and only care about church and prayer to get into heaven is bullshit. I know these people and was surprised myself as I wasn’t brought up religious and wasn’t forced to partake. My own grandmother told me there was no such thing as heaven when I was a child.

Bashing Christians because it’s a big religion in the uk who has/had power is like bashing white people because they had power and did shitty things. The fact is my white ancestors were all dirt poor and exploited but there are also good people and so much good also done. Bash the institutions all you like but leave individuals and generalising them alone.

[ShastaBeast]

Anyway I strongly suspect the OP is under the influence. Rambling nonsense.

[Julie8008]

I am neither, I am a good person who tries to do the right thing because I have figured out its the right thing to do, not because I have been told to by a deity.

[Julie8008]

Last thing I would want is some religious nut trying to help me when I was ill, just because them thought it would get them into heaven.

[araiwa]

Time has shown that secular morality is far superior to religious morality.

I dont believe in any of it yet i am generally a good person

[hiddley]

I am not slagging off any religion. There must be at least 100 versions of Christianity.

[hiddley]

Shastabeast. Rambling nonsense? Care to elaborate on that wee piece of tripe?

[Fffion]

OP, I don't think you'd written this bollocks if you knew the first thing about the Christian faith, or the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

May I suggest an Alpha Course?

[hiddley]

Fffion. I asked a very very simple question. No bollocks involved.
I have noticed a particular bias among church-goers and non church-goers in terms of how they treat people.
I'm simply asking whether anyone else has noticed similar without blatantly biasing the answers by stating outrightly what I have personally observed.
If you think it's bollocks, go and say a prayer for me to see the light or something.

[tripletrouble]

I do not know any Christians who say they are good people! I find it puzzling how someone could say that they are “good people” as some posters have said. What standard are they measuring themselves against? Do they mean that they have never had a bad thought or done something that was bad? If you are not a believer, where do your notions of good or bad come from?

[Fffion]

We all fall short of the glory of God.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

I know nothing about religion but isn’t this the whole Pharisee thing? And if Jesus asked the question, isn’t it all fine if the OP does?

[Fffion]

To answer the OP's simple question - I am not a Samaritan (obviously), but I am a Christian who is not good enough.

[Fffion]

What question did Jesus ask?

In this Parable, he was answering the question, "who is my neighbour?"