Christians "Carrying our crosses"

[oc16]

As somebody who is Christian (Roman Catholic); you always here it said that to be Christian we must carry our cross.

What does this mean exactly? Most Practicing Christians aren't being persecuted for their faith (unless you live in the ME or Africa).

I mean the only other thing I can think of is this.

It's alot easier to go through this life desiring the things of the flesh (money, sex, power, etc) or being a selfish person who has no qualms about taking advantage of others and only living for yourself.

To love, live for others, to be patient, charitable, compassionate etc, is a lot harder than the former. Wouldn't you agree?

 

[zekko]

It just means we each have our own troubles to bear.

 

[Billtx49]

It’s the same meaning as the man that knowingly carried his own means of death to it’s intended location.
A mentally and emotionally intense and difficult situation to deal with while still keeping faith and trust…

 

[mrgoodstuff]

As somebody who is Christian (Roman Catholic); you always here it said that to be Christian we must carry our cross.

What does this mean exactly? Most Practicing Christians aren't being persecuted for their faith (unless you live in the ME or Africa).

I mean the only other thing I can think of is this.

It's alot easier to go through this life desiring the things of the flesh (money, sex, power, etc) or being a selfish person who has no qualms about taking advantage of others and only living for yourself.

To love, live for others, to be patient, charitable, compassionate etc, is a lot harder than the former. Wouldn't you agree?

Don't ever think that "carrying your cross" means to bear being cvcked for more than one year. That's not what it means at all. Being cvcked multiple years for someone who doesn't appreciate you, is being a pawn of the DEVIL. Truly it IS. You see when you allow someone to BULLY you like that for that long, there is no return. That's how they see you.

 

[mrgoodstuff]

Dont your Christian azz get cvcked and call it "carrying your cross". Being in that position is being a pawn of the devil.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Bring up being a Christian in any academic climate in the US and everyone immediately thinks you are a flat earther moron. That isn't as bad as being murdered for your beliefs, but there is academic persecution, at least.

 

[zekko]

I count at least four distinctly different interpretations here of what carrying your cross means. Explains how different Christians (and denominations) can read the same Bible and develop very different beliefs.

One passage can speak to different people in different ways. But it also shows how the greater overall message (the good news) is more important than the details. Early Christians quibbled over circumcision and dietary habits and Paul's letters basically told them to knock it off lol.

 

[ImTheDoubleGreatest!]

Bro Christians are not persecuted in the ME lol that’s one group everyone tries to avoid. Otherwise they’d be pissing off Western Europe, the US, and Russia all at the same time lol which definitely a no-go. The only ones who are ‘persecuted’ are the ones caught in the crossfire, or Palestinian Christians by Jewish settlers. Christianity is dead in Europe anyway, except certain part of Eastern Europe and Russia. The US too, cuz apparently Europeans in general think Americans are religious, which goes against all reasoning for this eof is living here but whatever lol

 

[Bokanovsky]

As somebody who is Christian (Roman Catholic); you always here it said that to be Christian we must carry our cross.

What does this mean exactly? Most Practicing Christians aren't being persecuted for their faith (unless you live in the ME or Africa).

I mean the only other thing I can think of is this.

It's alot easier to go through this life desiring the things of the flesh (money, sex, power, etc) or being a selfish person who has no qualms about taking advantage of others and only living for yourself.

To love, live for others, to be patient, charitable, compassionate etc, is a lot harder than the former. Wouldn't you agree?

Organized religion is, and has always been, an instrument to control the masses. Carry your cross = do what you're told, obey, don't ask any questions.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Organized religion is, and has always been, an instrument to control the masses. Carry your cross = do what you're told, obey, don't ask any questions.

Organized religion murdered Jesus, which is the unfathomable irony of organizing a religion to follow Jesus.

 

[mrgoodstuff]

Organized religion murdered Jesus, which is the unfathomable irony of organizing a religion to follow Jesus.

I thought it was the politics at the time that did him in?

 

[Bible_Belt]

I thought it was the politics at the time that did him in?

The Pharisees were the religious leaders of his time, whose authority he questioned, especially in regard to profiting off their status, both monetarily and by lording their holiness over everyone else. Eventually they turned him over to the Romans as someone rebelling against the empire, the punishment for which was the most torturous death they could create. Crucifixions were not all that uncommon. The Romans would leave the crosses standing afterward, to serve as a reminder to the populace - fvck with us and we'll nail you to one of these.

 

[cola]

I’m a big Jordan Peterson fan, I think he is brilliant. He sums it up as accepting that life is suffering and continuing to push forward anyway while finding a meaningful purpose to make the suffering worth it.

 

[andreihaha]

Organized religion is, and has always been, an instrument to control the masses. Carry your cross = do what you're told, obey, don't ask any questions.

That's a missinterpretation, my friend. One that was only stated by people with no relationship to christianity or any sort of faith in general. And judging something you don't understand does not make anyone look smarter. It's quite the contrary.

As to carrying your cross, I'd say a lot of Christians, maybe all of them are persecuted in a way or another in our times too. Mostly by people who don't even realise why they're hating Christians so much, calling them flat earthers, manipulated or whatever. People with a huge void inside them who try to fill it with food, alcohol, sex or any other type of pleasure. A pleasure that is only temporary and that can't fill that need they end up feeling at various types in their lives.
So when they see someone seem so happy or fulfilled in such a simple way, they get angry and start throwing feces at them.

It is not easy being a man in our times. And for a lot of the "men" I know, it seems like it's not easy to stand for what they believe in. We are so ovewhelmed by our everyday activities that we end up forgetting what's important for us.
It is a struggle to carry your cross in this century, even if you're not a Christian. As a man or as a woman living in this day and age, you have a cross to carry.

 

[Bokanovsky]

That's a missinterpretation, my friend. One that was only stated by people with no relationship to christianity or any sort of faith in general. And judging something you don't understand does not make anyone look smarter. It's quite the contrary.

As to carrying your cross, I'd say a lot of Christians, maybe all of them are persecuted in a way or another in our times too. Mostly by people who don't even realise why they're hating Christians so much, calling them flat earthers, manipulated or whatever. People with a huge void inside them who try to fill it with food, alcohol, sex or any other type of pleasure. A pleasure that is only temporary and that can't fill that need they end up feeling at various types in their lives.
So when they see someone seem so happy or fulfilled in such a simple way, they get angry and start throwing feces at them.

It is not easy being a man in our times. And for a lot of the "men" I know, it seems like it's not easy to stand for what they believe in. We are so ovewhelmed by our everyday activities that we end up forgetting what's important for us.
It is a struggle to carry your cross in this century, even if you're not a Christian. As a man or as a woman living in this day and age, you have a cross to carry.

I agree that Christians are, in some respects, unfairly denigrated and persecuted these days. My comment was not about Christianity per se but rather about the way religion is used for social control.

 

[andreihaha]

I agree that Christians are, in some respects, unfairly denigrated and persecuted these days. My comment was not about Christianity per se but rather about the way religion is used for social control.

I can's see how Christianity can be used for social control. Me personally, simply can't find a connection between the 2. It's just an ethical state of mind and i don't see the link between being a good person and being manipulated. Manipulation is usually used in order to drive people towards a political party, maybe to raise consumerism, to organise revolutions. So for mainly ethically questionable stuff.
I don't have many links to other religions, I'm sure some of them use their followers.

Don't you think we can be and we actually are manipulated through way easier means?
Like Netflix shuving homosexuals down our throats? And a lot and I mean A LOT of bad movies to make people dumber, so you can waste your time and...maybe not read something once in a while? To be dumber so more easy to control.
How about all the modern role models that teach you that the only important thing is to be rich, so they can sell their sh1t and get even richer?
There are many ways in which we are being manipulated right now, probably some we don't even realise. Don't you agree that those are the real problems that need to be stopped? Not some obscure denomination trying to fool people into giving them money?

The sole fact that we are here on this forum trying to educate ourselves and to help others improve their lives is a battle! We are resisting these trends and becoming stronger. We could be on the internet just masturbating for half a day and gambling our hard earned money in the other. Or buy sh1t we don't need. But instead, we are becoming a sort of elite of...at least slightly better MEN if not more. This is a battle worth fighting for, not throwing sh1t at others because they believe in something else. We are better than this!

 

[zekko]

I can's see how Christianity can be used for social control. Me personally, simply can't find a connection between the 2. It's just an ethical state of mind and i don't see the link between being a good person and being manipulated.

People using organized religion for manipulation certainly exists, but to say that is the sole purpose of Christianity is pure nonsense.

 

[Kotaix]

In the end, all religious preach the same message: Let go of that which you can't control and go with the flow instead of trying to swim against it.

If religion didn't provide value it would long have ceased to exist.

 

[Georgepithyou]

Organized religion is, and has always been, an instrument to control the masses. Carry your cross = do what you're told, obey, don't ask any questions.

Do you want the masses to live in total anarchy or something? We need control and order in society

 

[Bokanovsky]

Do you want the masses to live in total anarchy or something? We need control and order in society.

I never said the masses didn't need to be controlled. I was just explaining the meaning of the phrase to the OP.