To wonder if a lot of people who are Christians have had a rather nice life?

[stilllivingbythesea14]

I know I phrased that clumsily but I know a few Christians. They are nice people but very devout and pretty much always have been.

They are all white, middle class, privately educated, university graduates, plenty of money, nice jobs, one SAHM.

It must be easier to have faith in God if you've had a nice life?

I'd like to believe but I'm not sure I can.

Oops

What is a rather nice life?

I agree with pps that it's a massive oversimplification. I'm a white, Middle class Christian with (just) enough money. My life, by your terms, is "nice". But having a "nice" life doesn't mean that you don't have problems, that your parents are immune to cancer or that your friends never miscarry. All that crap is still there...The difference is how you handle it. Christians just have to admit they can't deal with it alone and give it to God. Yes, it can be faith-challenging...But I find the idea that all Christians float around on a happy little cloud quite odd.

I went to a Bible study today. Present were a variety of people who look as though they are having a nice life, but in fact one was widowed at a young age and brought up two children by herself, one had parents who committed suicide, one has a son who is a drug addict, three had been unable to have children, one has two children with disabilities, one had a serious illness which left her brain damaged, one is slowly going blind, and another has recently nursed a relative who died of cancer.
When you get to know people you realise that everyone has their trials in life. These people would all say that their faith is what has carried them through.

There are so many different kinds of Christians and so many different ways to be Church. Perhaps the important thing is to keep looking?

It's unwise to look at other people and think " oh they have a nice life and I don't "

It's unwise because, as many other posters have pointed out, you have no idea what people have been through and what goes on behind closed doors. The people you judge for being " white, educated , middle class and nice jobs " might be struggling with depression or other metal health problems, come from abusive families, have partners who are unfaithful or violent, kids who have gone off the rails, be fighting cancer or heart disease , caring for a parent with dementia etc etc

It's also very foolish because we only look with envy at those we consider to be better off than ourselves. We don't look at the millions of Christians around the world who live in poverty or face persecution for their faith .

Why don't we compare our lives to those of the families of the seven Egyptian Christians who were abducted from their homes in February in an act of religious cleansing ? Their hands were bound and they were shot in the head and left on the beach . Or members of the three churches in Zanzibar that were bombed a few months ago ? Or those in Oaxaca state in SW Mexico which have been closed by the local authorities and locked with concrete tubes, chains and padlocks? What about the 33 Christians who are about to be executed for their faith in North Korea ?

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, not all the Christians in the world went to Cambridge university with you .

I think myself that some people are brought up white middle class well off christians and when the good times are there are devout but when the shit hits the fan they fall away. Others go the other way and come to a faith through the (sometimes appalling) times they live thru.

I think it's really hard for us to completely rely on God becuase we naturally prefer being independent, not dependent.

Some people have no chance in life, non at all, you wonder how they even carry on living from day to day and why God allows them to have such a terrible hand. I don't know the answer, I wish I did. Some of them seem to have a very real faith, others don't.

it varies so much. It depends on who you happen to know, too.

well said Kristina Christians have a terrible time in certain countries. Pakistan for instance when there were floods and aid was kept from christians or China

Most churchgoers I know are middle-class. Of course, it depends on the C/church. E.g. Your local CoE vs. inner-city Pentecostal. The CoE is very middle class.

Statistically, 1 in 7 Christians are being persecuted worldwide. In fact, it's the most persecuted religion. Yet, despite facing death at worst, people still practise their faith. Such is the power of faith in Christ Jesus. In fact, hardship can be found in the origins of the early church, when most disciples and first followers suffered greatly and mainly were martyred horrifically for their faith. Yet, as the Bible says, we can do all things through Christ.

Zombie. This thread is 10 years old.

As a Christian I count my blessings. So in my case that got me through secondary infertility and then a series of mcs after DS1. I trusted that if another child was coming my way it would happen, and to be patient. A friend of mine had some similar problems and ended up with depression. The GP prescribed CBT and some of it involved writing down what she was already blessed with - seemed remarkably like Christianity to me.

A strong faith should involve reflecting on your behaviour towards others as well - which could well save you from doing something unwise which might have serious consequences.

But - some folks who claim to be religious have got themselves into complete messes, and it didn’t stop my DGM having several bouts of depression.

I think a lot of people who have had a nice life are Christians (so the other way around, really)
Some of these are really trying to do some good because they recognise their privileges, but others want to be seen to be doing good for their own public image.
When my local parish was overrun by the others, I stopped going to Church. Now I just try to be good and kind to everyone with whose paths I cross in day to day life. I feel less of a fake now…

I've been an atheist sense I was 12. No trauma, very happy childhood. I just realized that it made absolutely no sense. I can't say I've had a happy or unhappy life. I've live a life with ups and downs but never attributed either to a god. I've meet miserable christians, and bitter atheist, and happy content people of all faiths.

Wow, what a bizarre post. None of the Christians I know have even remotely a similar background to the one you described. Very, very far from it, in fact. Most of the Christians I know have had difficult lives or come from deprived backgrounds, and their religion gets them through a lot and is the source of their happiness.

Why does someone's personal belief concern you, anyway?

I think it's an interesting question and one which troubles me, as a Christian.

I have a comfortable life, and I don't know how much of my faith is dependent on that.

Just realized it's a zombie thread.