r4zz3nd4hcub3n: are you a christian?
berrygirl09: yeah
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: does christ radically change lives?
berrygirl09: definitely
berrygirl09: :-)
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: then why dont christians act radically changed?
berrygirl09: good question....
berrygirl09: why are u asking?
berrygirl09: i can go into it if u want, i was just wondering why u were asking
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: it seems like the only way christians can impact is by being different, yet the only christians i've met are... no different, really
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: except maybe they dont swear or they dont believe in sex til marriage
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: really blatant stuff, in other words
berrygirl09: I'm really sorry, but we haven't talked in so long i really don't have a clear idea who i'm talking to.....:-[ can i have a hint?
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: you've never talked to me before
berrygirl09: really? cause you were on my list.....
berrygirl09: that's strange
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: ok so why is it that christians listen to the same music and watch the same movies as non-christians
berrygirl09: well, i guess it kind of goes back to what Jesus said about being "in the world and not of it". we can't hide from our culture, but we can refrain from the actions and as well as we can, the thoughts He wouldn't count right
berrygirl09: and there are some things that are inappropriate
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: yeah but you arent going to change a "lost" persons life by being the same as they are, but rather being different
berrygirl09: and we shouldn't watch those movies or listen to that music
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: and my point is that if christianity is so radically life changing, why are christians living it out?
berrygirl09: are u a christian yourself?
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: i mean you would think they would be able to grasp their own reality, that this life is a vapor
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: right now i just want to learn more about christianity as people who claim to be christians perceive. i had some upsetting experiences with the church during my life
berrygirl09: all right. what do u mean "upsetting experiences"?
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: well it seems that humanity is like a melting pot. we all move towards "liberalism," including the church. and basically it annoys me that I go to one church and hear one thing, and go to another church and hear another
berrygirl09: yeah, that can be upsetting
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: and at the more conservative churches, i hear things i like, but none of the people there actually live it out in a radical way. its all just ideas that they agree with
berrygirl09: it's hard to do. and it's something none of us will ever actually "get", it's more like a learning process....our entire lives we learn what it means to follow Christ in everything we do
berrygirl09: we don't just magically "perfect" once we become Christians, but we are "changed"
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: yeah i know that... its just i dont see any changes. that goes back to my main point.
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: where are the christians who throw away their tv's when they get converted
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: or run out and tell their neighbors about how their life was just changed
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: its like you have to go to a persecuted country before you see people actually living out their faith.
berrygirl09: not entirely....i've seen people who's lives have really been changed by Christ
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: are you one of them?
berrygirl09: i would hope so, and i would like to say i am, but i don't think i can judge my heart that well, and that's where the change takes place. asking that question is a good thing though. a daily challenge to live that way. consistently too, which is something i definitely fail at.
berrygirl09: i suppose one of the problems is that people nowadays, in the US anyway, seem to get "converted" at a very young age
berrygirl09: not a problem in and of itself mind u
berrygirl09: but we tend to get more complacent
berrygirl09: people like that have been christians for as long as they can remember so they can "forget"
berrygirl09: what it was like before Jesus saved them. before he changed their lives
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: yeah, i guess i can see that. well, thanks... i got to go. perhaps i will talk to you later.
berrygirl09: ok. nice talking berrygirl09: it's good to be challenged like that
berrygirl09: so thanks
r4zz3nd4hcub3n: thats an interesting statement in itself. ok, thanks again, seeya!
berrygirl09: see ya!