How Many Christians Have Struggled With Being a Brony?

[Stancet 688]

This topic I created out of curiosity because I noticed quite a few Bronies of faith in this fandom, and a fair number of them have had moments when they second guessed how much they enjoy being apart of this community.

 

Personally, I've had such moments. But, now I've made up my mind and I love the fandom too much to quit on it. WOOT! 

[Dattebayo 2,850]

What? I haven't noticed any reason that those 2 would conflict.

[BastementSparkle 20,326]

What? I haven't noticed any reason that those 2 would conflict.

 It could be because there's magic used in the show. Or, it might just be other people in their social circle who are also religious getting upset at them about it for whatever reason.

[Stancet 688]

@,@@Dattebayo,

 

Well, there are reasons. Bronies are a group of people with many different religions, but some Christians just find it hard to be friends with people who aren't Christian. There's also Rule 34. But in all honestly, I think Love and Tolerance is about doing and not saying.

[MarcelineA 126]

Well you see to ME there's a difference between being religious and an actual believer

religion drags you down

believing and having faith comes from the heart

and as long as we don't hurt anyone or ourselves then we shouldn't worry about crap

also this here is a from a comment I found in YouTube: "God created the laws of the universe, so why can't He bend them"

that's what comes to mind when people worry about silly things (referring to religious people who judge someone based on little things)

just my opinion nothing in particular ya know

Edited April 19, 2014 by MarcelineA

[hollywood derpy 8]

Well I have never had being a brony and being a Christian clash I mean there is nothing in the bible that says I cant watch mlp

[RNgineer 161]

i dont see the struggle between the two......its never bothered me......i can see it being a problem maybe for extremist fundamentalists, they may see the magic as el diablo pero other than that ???????

[~Sole~ 852]

@,@@Dattebayo,

 

Well, there are reasons. Bronies are a group of people with many different religions, but some Christians just find it hard to be friends with people who aren't Christian. There's also Rule 34. But in all honestly, I think Love and Tolerance is about doing and not saying.

there is literally rule 34 in almost everything, so that shouldn't be a reason.

 

And there are also people of different faiths almost anywhere you go, so I don't see the logic in that one either.

 

As for magic, I've always found the Christian hatred of magic kind of ridiculous and unfounded most of the time. I mean, if you can't even enjoy a cartoon with some of it in it then that's just stupid.

[Paladin Butters 163]

Define struggled? I'm LDS and my cousins are brony's and a lot of others in their church.... soo. try to be more blunt please.

[Cassafrass 249]

I'm a Christian and I've never had trouble with being a Pegasister/Christian personally... I've had other problems, but none relating to my Christian faith...

[Discordian 6,015]

It could be because there's magic used in the show. Or, it might just be other people in their social circle who are also religious getting upset at them about it for whatever reason.

I've heard of crap like this where people will literally shun things that mention magic cuz witchcraft. It never made sense to me how this somehow conflicts with the teachings of the bible when they are fictional in nature. It's not as if they are promoting magic as a part of reality. Dumb humans are dumb. :okiedokielokie:

[TheSupremeLeaderOfChaos 1,206]

I don't see why the two would be a potential clashing point.

 

The show itself is about being kind and accepting and all the same qualities Christians should have.

 

The use of magic in the show is not the type of magic that the Bible condemns. In the show, magic is a part of their lives. It is a natural force in their world, just as gravity is in ours. When the Bible says to not perform witchcraft, it means don't pray and worship the Devil. Is the magic that the unicorns using devil magic? No. As Twilight explains in Boast Busters, Bridle Gossip, and Feeling Pinkie Keen, magic is a force that is inert in unicorns. It's the same as the pegasi's ability to move clouds, and earth ponies to farm the ground. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

The use of magic is the only argument I can think of against the show, and it is easily countered. I have never questioned the show because of my religion, and I see no reason I ever would.

[Yellow Diamond 7,569]

Well you see to ME there's a difference between being religious and an actual believer

religion drags you down

believing and having faith comes from the heart

and as long as we don't hurt anyone or ourselves then we shouldn't worry about crap

also this here is a from a comment I found in YouTube: "God created the laws of the universe, so why can't He bend them"

that's what comes to mind when people worry about silly things (referring to religious people who judge someone based on little things)

just my opinion nothing in particular ya know

 

The inner working of the soul should express itself in works of virtue, I think. Not worrying about anything beyond ourselves is a two-way street: we may never judge others, but likewise we cannot serve them, either. In this way the Christian faith is a fruitful tension between the individual and the community. And since faith is a gift, we are entrusted to do more with it than keep it inwardly directed. Such is an integral element of religiosity.

 

In any event, I've never felt an abiding sense of conflict between being a Christian and a Brony. I've frankly spent more time thinking of what it means to be an American Catholic than a Catholic who watches MLP.

[Batbrony 16,054]

I think the only time I've ever had any difficulty is if I've ever faced backlash in some threads (from more unpleasant members of the community, mind you, but that's a very small minority) after sharing some of my conservative or Christian beliefs.  But I don't debate in serious topic threads that much, really, so that's usually not an issue, and most people here are very open minded and willing to share and exchange all manner of beliefs with each other in a polite, civil, and friendly manner (which is actually one reason these forums are such a haven for me on the Internet, seriously, far more well mannered people here than in most corners of the Internet).  And the magic thing really isn't that big of a deal for most Christians.  I mean sure, we do believe that magic-practices are paganistic and evil in nature, but we can tell the difference between imaginative magic of the kind you encounter in fiction and actual, paganistic practices that people rarely, but in some instances still do, carry on with these days.  Sure, a small percentage of Christians might have a problem with magic in fiction as well, but they're in the minority, trust me. 

Edited April 20, 2014 by Batbrony

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

Nope, I haven't at all because I feel the ways being in this fandom(be bad or good times) has opened my mind and made me question has strengthened my faith. 

[Something Floaty 1,334]

What? I haven't noticed any reason that those 2 would conflict.

 

Well, one of those things is a devotion to a group of ridiculous, unrealistic fictional characters who use magic, do impossible things in defiance of all the physical laws of the universe, and whose actions are not governed by any sense of logic....and the other is a fandom of a TV show. 

[Henny Penny Benny 936]

At times, yes, but not for any of the reasons people have mentioned.

 

Part of what I believe as a Christian is that God ought to take precedence over everything else in my life. There should never be anything that I spend more time or energy on that my relationship with Him, because really, nothing else in the world matters in comparison. But there have been—and continue to be—times when I feel that I let my enthusiasm for Ponies go a bit too far, verging on obsession, and anything but God that I become obsessed with presents a distraction and a conflict of interest in my faith.

 

Not to mention the amount of time that I can devote to Ponies, what with forums and EqD and all sorts o' other stuff. After a while, I get to the point of yearning to leave this world and live in Equestria, and I can spend countless hours pining away, trying to will Equestria into existence. And when I'm devoting more time and energy on something that doesn't technically exist than I'm spending on the one thing that I believe truly matters, there's something wrong.

 

That's my conflict between Christianity and bronyhood, in a nutshell.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Henny Penny Benny

[Virgil 685]

For me it was the other way around, "My Flesh struggling against becoming a Brony" or something along those lines basically. Seriously, I could write a sizable blog entry entitled, "How God Dragged Me into this Fandom". (How I found this very forum was the result of me googling "Calvinist Bronies" one night out of curiosity.)

I'm a big C. S. Lewis fan, so the idea of liking something "for kids" never bothered me on an intellectual level; and I like the old-school Fairy Tale stories, and most of them have Christian themes ( Examples: The Snow Queen, The Little Mermaid [not Disney version] ). The magic elements never bothered me, otherwise how could I read any Narnia books or my favorite fiction book Phantastes by the Scottish Preacher George MacDonald. The R34 stuff, is in any fandom and I come from an Anime background; so I know how to duck that stuff. Although, in my experience, I have had a much easier time "ducking" in this fandom even around Bronies who do that kind of stuff; as they actually show a great deal of respect towards other fans.

 

So really the only thing that has ever caused me to struggle with me being a Brony, is my Pride and Vanity, which seems to take offense to candy colored equines; which is of course, Anti-Christian.

 

So if anything, I could point to a myriad of ways being a Brony has helped me in the Faith.   

[Adorkable 2,737]

Um...none?

 

God doesn't have a problem with dudes or dudets liking Ponies, it's wierd to most, but God loves us all equally.

 

It's not against God to like MLP, as long as you don't go overboard with it and idolize Ponies or make a religion out of it or anything.

 

(Source: Youth Leader -in trainning-)

Edited April 21, 2014 by Adorkable

[ZukoIsBestPony 561]

Well you see to ME there's a difference between being religious and an actual believer

religion drags you down

believing and having faith comes from the heart

and as long as we don't hurt anyone or ourselves then we shouldn't worry about crap

also this here is a from a comment I found in YouTube: "God created the laws of the universe, so why can't He bend them"

that's what comes to mind when people worry about silly things (referring to religious people who judge someone based on little things)

just my opinion nothing in particular ya know

Actually, you brought up the stirrings of an interesting paradox

 

Riddle me this Batman, if god can do anything, than can he create a rock to big for himself to move?

 

If yes, than he can't move that rock, and therefore can't do everything.

 

If no, then he can't do everything because he can't create that rock.

 

Just food for thought.

[MarcelineA 126]

Actually, you brought up the stirrings of an interesting paradox

 

Riddle me this Batman, if god can do anything, than can he create a rock to big for himself to move?

 

If yes, than he can't move that rock, and therefore can't do everything.

 

If no, then he can't do everything because he can't create that rock.

 

Just food for thought.

yeah because the size of the rock SO matters he CAN make the rock bigger AND still move it which brings it back to the point of him actually bending the laws of the universe since He CAN and before using "sophisticated words" to insult someone else's opinion think again ya tit... obviously because you stick to "evidence" and you stick to the abilities of just HUMANS is why you would come up with that assumption not saying it's 100% wrong but saying that to prove your point insulting my opinion just made is irrelevant and does not make sense at all ._.

[ZukoIsBestPony 561]

yeah because the size of the rock SO matters he CAN make the rock bigger AND still move it which brings it back to the point of him actually bending the laws of the universe since He CAN and before using "sophisticated words" to insult someone else's opinion think again ya tit... obviously because you stick to "evidence" and you stick to the abilities of just HUMANS is why you would come up with that assumption not saying it's 100% wrong but saying that to prove your point insulting my opinion just made is irrelevant and does not make sense at all ._.

I do ask that you hold the proverbial phone. Sorry if I offended you, I just enjoy and am fascinated by the concept paradoxes. My previous comment wasn't an attack on you or your religion, I was just pointing out something that has puzzled man and women kind for years. It's interesting to me, and I wanted to share my interests with the people around me. *Sigh* But I suppose the intellectual wasteland that is the internet cares little for my opinions or outlooks on life. Oh woe is me cursed to wonder this easily upset earth with my opinions that nopony gives a care to. The other members of my genus refuting my personal outlooks with obsessive cantankerous behavior and misplaced loathsomeness.

 

It saddens me. You sadden me. I bid you adieu fellow Animalia Chordata Mammalia Primate Hominidae Hominini Homo H. sapien. Adieu casteur. 

[Shanks 10,816]

Nope, no struggles here at least not about that anyway. I have never really liked hard core fundamentalists all that much or rather at least the ones that try to use the hand of government to impose their on people so I never had any issues with the show using magic and stuff. Sure when I first started watching I had moments of "I am watching WHAT?" But that had nothing to do with my religious beliefs and more with the shock that I actually enjoyed this of all shows but that eventually went away. There is no conflict whatsoever between being a Christian or pretty much any other religion and liking a harmless show about cartoon ponies, if anything this show though it isn't an exclusively Christian message does have a very positive message that is very much in line with Jesus's teachings.

[Revertz 159]

Dude the internet full stop is a bad place for religious people its tough. 

[Appledan 6]

I'm Jewish so... 

 

irrelevant though, I'm an agnostic Jew

 

 

anyways, what does religion have to do with it? I second guessed being a part of the community because of the stereotypes but I learned to ignore them.

 

edit: whoa i'm a muffin

Edited April 20, 2014 by Appledan