We need a christian chatroom since there is so much HATE!!!!

I hate to break it to you (well, not really) but having a Christian site will not end the hate. To be honest, Christians are some of the rudest, manipulative, ruthless people I have ever encountered. I am often ashamed to say that I identify as Christian because I have seen how they treat others and then they claim a person deserved it because they don't believe in Jesus.

Hell, I even say this sh*t happen on a suicide hotline! A place that's supposed to help save people. They were a Christian hotline. But the moment a person says they have lost faith in God, they ditch them. Please do not spoon feed people crap about how a "Christian site would be better." It's a damn lie.

I know that I'm super late to this whole thing, but let me just say what everyone has pretty much said: This is a place where our goal is to basically listen and let people know that we are here for them, they're not alone, and that things will always be better eventually. I understand that you feel that sharing your belief in God is part of your, for a lack of a better word, strategy to actively listen, but I'm afraid that not everyone will understand that. As some have mentioned, religion in general can be triggering, and some are completely against the idea of religion. So, a forum thread would probably be the best so-called solution to your dilemma (if one hasn't been created yet) and not a separate Christian chatroom. As for you, it's nice to know that you have a genuine concern for people and I know that you mean well, but please refrain from utilizing your own personal beliefs, whether they're religious or not, in your role as a listener. Try to be as neutral as possible. I'm sure somebody else has already told you all these things, but it wouldn't hurt to hear them again. :)

I don't that Jesus is what exactly what triggers people but instead the manipulation and twisting of the bible to tell others they are wrong and need to repent.

Site doesn't like religion

OP, I need to tell you a little story. A couple of years ago I went to a little festival at a small college. I was there with a group of people and we were representing the DBSA - the depression/bipolar support alliance. We were giving out information about support for people with mental illness - answering questions, giving out flyers, etc. Right across the road from us was a group of evangelical Christians. At one point, one of their members came up to us and said, "What do you all have to be depressed about? How can you be depressed if you have the love of Jesus in your heart?" We were so dumbfounded that anyone could say something so stupid and ignorant about something as serious as depression, we hardly knew what to say. We just asked him things like, "do you have any idea what depression is? How it works? Do you have any idea what it feels like?" There was even one of us who was my friend and was gay. He started to get really angry. It seemed like he was particularly affected by this incident because he had been persecuted for his homosexuality growing up around Christianity.

The thing you need to realize is that trying to sell people the idea that all their problems would go away if they simply accept the love of Jesus and believe he is the Lord means absolutely nothing to the people you are trying to help. Jesus is not a magic wand you can wave over the sick and expect them to heal. There are so many people who already believe in Christ who are hanging on to that faith for dear life thinking that if they just believe hard enough God and Jesus will alleviate the suffering they are feeling. But faith, as it turns out, does not move mountains. You cannot turn a non-believer into a believer by promising them that Jesus can save them. A person can pray every day for years and years without a single thing happening to change their lives.

I think that Jesus was (is) an amazing man and we can all learn from his teachings. Do I believe that he is Lord of Heaven and Earth? I'm not convinced. That doesn't mean that I will never believe. But, like with any of the people who need help, no talk of Jesus being the Light of the World is sufficient to get real momentum going in defeating depression.

I don't know what came up in your discussion of Jesus so I'm not accusing you of enacting any of these behaviors. You may not feel like you are pushing your religion onto anyone but as soon as you bring up Jesus or scripture many people will feel automatically judged because they don't share your beliefs. They may also decide to discontinue the conversation because they believe that the rest of it will entail you proselytizing to them. There is absolutely no way I would continue a conversation in which the listener tries to convince me that (insert name of religion I strongly dislike but I'm not supposed to say so here) is the be-all-end-all answer to my life. I agree with what the others said: put Christianity down as a specialty in your profile and hope the others seek you out. If someone brings up any type of religion to you in the chat, if you are willing to continue, keep asking open-ended questions to get more about their feelings. If it is a religion you are uncomfortable with, gently back out and refer them to another listener. If they are Christian, you can speak to them from your understanding as a believer but remember that these days, scripture is open to interpretation and there may be a disagreement over what things mean. There are many Christians today who don't believe that the Bible as it stands is literally the word of God. There is room for both parties to get upset by the other's take on what things mean.

If they made a Christian chat room then please acknowledge that they would then have to make a Jewish chat room, a Pagan Chatroom, a Muslim Chatroom, and Atheist Chatroom, a Satanist Chatroom....

it isn't really fair for you to just ask for a "Christian" chat. The proper thing to ask for would be a religious forum with different categories for each of the major religions.

Maybe instead of a Chatroom they should just recognize religious intolerance and do the appropriate measures, because I see a lot of moderators allowing atheist talk bad about religion but when a believer says one thing mods go all crazy and will even warn/mute you. God Bless

I don't wish to stir and I know this is a difficult and controversial topic but personally I would love to mod a Christian chat room. On many religious sites and even in some churches people can feel uncomfortable talking about mental health difficulties and how they relate to their walk with God, and the stigma free environment of 7cups makes it an ideal place to share personal narratives and offer encouragement. Happy Christmas everyone!

Disclaimer; these are my veiws and my veiws alone, I don't mean to show hate in any way nor do I wish to offend anyone, if I do, I'm really sorry ❤ I have tried my best to write this post while bearing in mind that religion is a sensitive topic, and if this offends you in any way at all I'm really really sorry, everyone deserves love and respect on 7cups regardless of religion and WOW that was a long disclaimer, wasn't it?

this thread has caught my eye, and I'm just gonna chime in with my two cents! After reading all the replies and after thoughts and suggestions I decided to add in my own viewpoints on this matter :) ❤ and, err, before you begin reading my long essay if you could take my disclaimer to heart that'd be really nice hehe ❤

okay, so let's get down to it! Personally I am a Bisexual and Atheist. I'm not bisexual because I'm aheist nor am I atheist because I'm bisexual, which is something I've been very clear about since day 1! Also, I have nothing against the Christian faith- I was born into a Christian family and I know not all Christians are homophobic, I'm also aware that they don't conform to any other of those terrible stereotypes out there. Christianity is something I personally do not find offending/offensive in general, and I am also not very easily triggered. However, my sexuality has been condoned by many of my relatives before- in plain sight. This is precisely the reason why I'm not out of the closet yet. Now, I'm not just rambling, (but I do ramble a lot) the point of this was for me to say that while I personally am not easily triggered, if someone who was more sensitive got put in my position, its easy to see how Christianity could be a possible trigger for them, as a reminder of bad memories- this is not to be blamed on christians and is an issue that should be dealt with delicately so as to benefit both parties to the greatest extent possible! ❤

The scenarios some of you have described about feeling hated are ones that I wish didn't happen- we all deserve respect, and feeling like you're hated is something that we don't want happening to you on 7cups! Honestly, I may be an atheist, and I may have some bad memories associated with the religion but I still think that we are all entitled to our own faith, but we should also adjust to everyone else so that we don't trigger anyone! However this is just my personal opinion and if you still feel Christianity is not and should not be considered a trigger topic, that's completely your veiws and your veiws alone, and I respect them!

As for getting a chat room specifically for Christians, I'd have to say that that's idea doesnt sound as feasible to me. After all, since in my personal veiw it is a trigger topic, I'd think it isn't appropriate to have as a chat room, just like how we don't have a Self Harm Support chat room, simply because the topic is a huge potential trigger! The idea of having maybe a forum section, that would be easier to monitor sounds a lot better, which I believe is what @YourTallestpinkamena suggested ❤

The inputs and discussions on this thread were very constructive, thank you @Peachy1 for voicing your concerns, because feedback is always the first step to improvement, hehehe, also thank you to everyone who posted such constructive arguments, veiws, and suggestions on this thread --> @GemmaPearson @SilentSerenityy @OdioModeradores @Miracle @braveSugar7964 @Itsacrazylifewelive @NikNak003 @blisseyneedsahug @sidneydelaghetto @Cae @Mist63 @Aventurina @Ulrik22 @CompassionateHeart2

❤ MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE ❤

I think this can be easily avoided simply by Listeners mentioning their religion in their profile and clearly stating in it that they will refer to their religion during conversations. That way, only Members who are okay with it, or even are looking for that, will send them a request.

Personally, for instance, I'm probably one of the least religious people to have ever lived, and if I see in a Listener's profile that they were explicitly and actively part of a certain religion, I will not consider them as a suitable Listener for myself, simple as that.

So yeah, I really think pointing it out in your profile seems to be an easy and perfect solution to this problem. Don't you think?