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Or relevant for that matter. I'm only concerned with my own faith and don't push mine on others and don't feel it is better than anyone else's.
I'm simply stating that I have faith in God. To each his own.
I also have faith, faith in myself. Thats all I need.
You can talk all you want about your faith but in no way shape or form does it mean that its more than or better than someone elses. It might be placed in themsleves or it might be placed in another god. People all have faith just becuase its placing differs from your own doesn't make it irrelevant.
Or relevant for that matter. I'm only concerned with my own faith and don't push mine on others and don't feel it is better than anyone else's.
I'm simply stating that I have faith in God. To each his own.
I wonder who had to clean up all the animal crap on the one boat.....
If the Spurs win back to back les, I will believe in a Christian God.
Sincerely, TPark
God blessed Texas with his own hands.
Keep the faith.
I believe alotta things.
Proof that God exists and loves you...
You can only get Muenchener Hofbrau in Muenchen (Munich) anyway.
Good, smooth drinking beer that packs a punch. If you make it to Munich, it's a must-do.
In comparison to piss, heineken tastes like skunk piss... green bottles suck.
Who here has ever tasted Polar from Venezuela? now that is good beer!
i believe in the god. I is he and He is Me.
Hmmmmmm.
I am a Christian, though I claim no denomination. My husband is also Christian, formerly Catholic (no longer practising). We were married in Christian rites, by a (female) Baptist minister in a ceremony we wrote ourselves.
I respect those of other faith. I am not doubtful in my faith or my choices in faith. I know what I believe to be true because of my own personal experience. I am happy to share that experience, but I do not expect what was meant for my understanding to be influential to others (though perhaps helpful to some). I am unconcerned with what others believe to be true, since they do not concern me. I know only the truth I am given. Perhaps it is exclusionary, but I do not pretend to know what God has planned for other in other places and times.
I am not terribly reliant on the Bible, having a degree in history and studying historiography, and having some knowledge of the way things were put together. I believe it could be the word of God, it is not beyond his power. But I do not know.
For previous posters interested in how so many different branches of Christianity came to be - it is because there were no clear indications left behind Christ of what he wanted his followers to do. We know that believers are to be baptised and that we are to take communion. But should children be baptised? Or adults only? A full immersion in running water or water dribbled over their head? In taking communion, did Christ mean only a memorial to himself and reminder of his suffering and our salvation? Or did he truly mean that the bread and wine are his body and blood? Or is that a spiritual metaphor that affects us? Are women to be involved in ministry or not?
These are mysteries of the faith that we will never have explained. I personally don't think it matters at all whether the bread and wine are transubstantiated into his body and blood - the point is not theoritical. Why question that? Christ said to take it! What matter what form it is? It will do a believer good no matter. This is beside the point - the point is that there are and have been people to whom this question mattered very much, and indeed was essential to the faith.
That is how so many 'religions' sprang up - but truly, we all believe the same basic things. For an understanding of that, I point you to CS Lewis' 'Mere Christianity' - this is a book which changed my life. In addition to a basic laying out of the foundations of Christianity (that all denominations believe), it does a wonderful job of explaining how he himself came to believe in Christianity through logic. Not tons of Bible verses or proclamations of you being a sinner, just why he believed Christianity to be right and true. I highly recommend reading it - not to convince you, as indeed many people would not be convinced - but to give understanding.
If anyone has questions, I am happy to attempt to answer them, though I can only talk about myself and my beliefs and experiences.
Things like this make me further believe that something like religion is too complicated for humans to ever understand no matter how hard they try. The problem with religion and the word of god is that he gave it to humans to try to interpret it, and of course everybody ended up ing it up.
Yeah. I'm not going to disagree with this. But then I'm an odd ducky - I think religion is pretty simple and fairly individual. I think humanity has gone and ed it up.
I really think Dogma hit it on the head on a lot of points.
Do you believe in repaying loans?
The idea of Heaven is a Christian belief. And it's not about who is good and honest. It's not that Heaven is full of 'good and honest' people. It's full of people who accepted Jesus and made the personal decision to live for Him - regardless of whether they were good or bad.If there is a God or higher power and you just live your life the right way you should be fine. I don’t think that he or she is going to stop you at the proverbial gate to heaven and say “hey dude you lived a wholesome life doing good and being honest but you didn’t pray enough and sorry bud but you didn’t choose a religion following my name so your out”.
So, living life good and honest is all well and good - but that's not the pre-requisite for getting into Heaven. It never has been.
I don't know what I am, and I've prayed in the past and I'll probably pray in the future. But does it ever cross my mind that I'm wrong? Of course it does. I don't know a single person that never has doubts about what the believe one way or another.
But, and this is strictly my mantra, I don't want to live my life out of fear of missing out on something else. That goes for any part of my life outside of "religion" as well.
If there is a god, and it deems that I should burn in enternity or simply not be around for some party because I denied it or didn't worship it in the manner it wished, then I see nothing about that god that makes it special. You cannot be forced to love anyone, and that goes for a god as well.
Then maybe heaven isn't such a great place after all. I think if I die and find out there is a Christian god, I will be sad. Not because I missed out on heaven, but because a Christian god is a shallow god.
I don't believe that you are going to if you don't attend a church with a billboard out front, but that's just me.
As for religious faith, it is...faith. One has to accept that for which there is no proof save for their belief in it.
Man knows very little about the condition that he finds himself in. That is all the more reason to keep an open mind. Dismissing faith out of hand is just as dogmatic as dismissing that which does not fit a particular faith.
-MB
PS...if there wasn't a better reason to not be an atheist than the fact that Duff claims to be one, I don't know what it might be.
So?Religion has become for many the ultimate answer to everything. Mom didn't die of natural causes or a heart attack, stroke, possibly cancer. It was her time to go be with God. It’s a coping mechanism an excuse to use in dealing with reality. Bob got hit by a car and it was so random how would most be able to deal with "a out of the norm occurrence" they turn to religion to explain this.
I completely agree with your last post MB. I wouldn't classify myself as an atheist, I simply do not subscribe to Christian principles. I don't know what is out there and it is pretty much that simple.
I know. And I'm trying to figure out why that's such a bad thing.I'm basically stating that religion gives people something to fall back on when they need answers.
Everybody copes with things in their own way. Some turn to therapists, others to God, others to drugs, meditation, exercise, eating, violence, suicide, etc.
I fail to see what's so horrible about Daddy telling Johnny that his Mommy is in a Better Place now. Would Daddy have been able to prevent Mommy's death if he was an athiest? Would it make either of them better able to cope with her death?
I agree that it often gets taken to far where people force their rules on others, but war and theocratic politics should not be equated to praying and worship.
A couple of other points...
Christian faith is not about having more wealth, love, fortune, peace, harmony, etc...in this life. The payoff, if you like, is eternal salvation after death. It seems like far too often Christians and non-Christians miss that point. Selling Christianity as a means to getting what you want out of this life is disingenuous.
But, I will say this (and this is the 2nd point), if you are going to pin the blame for wars and pestilence and what not on those who have faith, then it would only seem fair to give credit for the good that comes from that faith, if you need to weigh the good versus the bad to determine what you believe.
Personally, I find that to be quite a downer. There's people in the world that need eternal salvation now, in this life, not after it.
Human nature is such that if there were no religions, we would come up with another reason to create conflict. So blaming war and strife on religion is like blaming a trip to the grocery store as the cause of an auto accident.But, I will say this (and this is the 2nd point), if you are going to pin the blame for wars and pestilence and what not on those who have faith, then it would only seem fair to give credit for the good that comes from that faith, if you need to weigh the good versus the bad to determine what you believe.
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