When someone tells me they are Christian ...

[ItsjustMe]

[murielm99]

1. When my daughter's first husband died unexpectedly,

we discovered, purely by chance, that one of my son's childhood friends lived in her small Massachusetts community. This friend is now a mother with two young children. Both young women moved from a small Illinois town to a small Mass. town.

The young friend of my son had become a Christian when she was nine or ten. She has remained faithful. She organized her church friends immediately. They went into action and helped my daughter with food, rides and whatever else was needed.

When I related this to my friends here, some of them rolled their eyes. I told them that the young woman in question was a Jimmy Carter type of Christian. I think this is the best way to describe people like my son's friend - people who live their faith unselfishly and without forcing others to think the way they do. They lead by example and live their faith by example, the way Jimmy Carter does.

This young woman was raised by a single mom who drank too much. She took good care of her daughter, but she may have been an alcoholic. I liked her mom. Most people did. I never saw any signs of neglect. Things can be complicated.

I will accept your "Classic Jesus" phrase, but I like "Jimmy Carter Christian," too. Jimmy Carter Christians are out there. Don't give up.

P.S. Several years ago, I read a book by Jimmy Carter called, "Our Endangered Values." It was a Christmas gift. Whether or not you are a Christian, this book, only a bit over two hundred pages, is worth the time it takes to read it.

[greyl]

2. Jimmy Carter is indeed, a classic. nt

[Raine]

3. Jimmy Carter ❤ is a perfect example of what a Christian really is.👍 nt

[Celerity]

4. Inverted 'No true Scotsman' fallacy. nt

[ChazII]

5. Thank you for sharing. Jimmy Carter Christian

is a good phrase when explaining. When my son passed in March my church did the same for me. More importantly, when he was still alive but dying from the type of cancer that took Kennedy, McCain and VP Biden's son, they brought food and helped me with household chores, yard work and going grocery shopping back in 2019.

[Hortensis]

6. I may try that with someone I don't expect to see again. :)

A third option that I always wonder about when meeting self-avowed Christians: Are they the real, close-to-god kind or is it just a label they wear? I've read that roughly 40% of evangelicals, for instance, aren't particularly religious at all. They'd deny that to their last breath, but they don't know their own church's doctrine and are not concerned by that at all; eternal life was secured by chanting the magic words and all their ungodly choices in this life sanctified by the label.

The phony-label hypocrites aren't hard to pick out in short order, especially these days. But not to be confused with earnestly vulnerable people who truly try to live close to god but are lead down the wrong path by their friends and the hoards of horribly inadequate religious leaders out there. We know a fair number of those, generally good people in spite of bad influences.

Btw, I've also noticed that the special minority able to truly live their lives according to Jesus's and a well chosen church's teachings for living a good life as good people also often show it in their faces, as a calm serenity. Like secular nuns. They not only behave well toward others, but you just know their bills are routinely paid on time and their drawers and closets in good order. I envy those.

[ChazII]

8. +1 n/t

[raccoon]

7. I like it! Especially Since I've run into so many Republican Christians. Nt