I would like to ask a religous ?

[Miniv]

In answer to your topic.

I am a Christian and have come to God & Christ my own way.

I was raised in a Christian home but found after leaving home MY life outside of the church was more important to me and more importantly NOT in sync with my 'beliefs' so I abandoned them for as long as I could

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Then I felt guilty for my life and could not bring myself to go to church!

Then I realised God would forgive me so I forgave myself and then I didn't care what others might think!

My faith in God is always there but life is a journey. For me there are many ups and downs, I am easily tempted to waiver in my believes but I feel that God never leaves me I just wander off from time to time. When you are ready you will come back, I believe, and God will always welcome you back.

I have found my journey although not always smooth has made me a more open, understanding person who has more empathy for others and can forgive easily! I don't think everyones journey is supposed to be smooth, we are all made different for a reason.

Find peace, don't be harsh on yourself and I think your faith will come back to you.

I was raised to see things in a simple way Right and wrong.....Black and white!

My journey has shown me that this simply is not reality and God knows this too.

I always try to remind myself that "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones!" , I don't intend to throw any stones because I know where I live

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Alot of interesting points in thsi topic though!

Btw you have not wiavered too far if you are asking this Q

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Lovely post........Thank you.

MA

 

[irishmini]

i do not believe in a god!!! i am an athiest.........but i am a good person... and to me thats what matters in life!! if you are happy with yourslf and the way you behave towards others..... how you would like to be treated!!i know of people who are on the friont row at church every week, but wouldnt think twice about stabbing you in the back... but they say they are christians...

i hate religion.... i grew up with biggoted people..... who say they love god but would easily kill a person who had different religious beliefs... thats a cross i have to bear... but i grew awy from it..............and lucky for me, i grew to see the truth,.....

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Nevermind, I answered my own question.

 

[runamuk]

i do not believe in a god!!! i am an athiest.........but i am a good person... and to me thats what matters in life!! if you are happy with yourslf and the way you behave towards others..... how you would like to be treated!!i know of people who are on the friont row at church every week, but wouldnt think twice about stabbing you in the back... but they say they are christians...

i hate religion.... i grew up with biggoted people..... who say they love god but would easily kill a person who had different religious beliefs... thats a cross i have to bear... but i grew awy from it..............and lucky for me, i grew to see the truth,.....

And you are not alone........and yet your disbelief does not in and of itself make you a non-religious or non spiritual person......here lies the beauty of it all..............if you step outside on a brisk fall eve and see the stars and even for one moment realize there must be more........you do not have to give it a name.......but the idea of something more than yourself......something much more than mere humans on earth.......the pure pettyness that Man is above all else................that is more attuned to "whatever it is" than any church, religion, gospel, etc..............that is communing with the true source of all that is...............the disbelief, the beauty, the sheer beauty...........that to me is what it is all about

: ......it has nothing to do with what so and such church has to say.......it has everything to do with feeling and knowing deep inside MY soul that this is love pure unadulterated love.......love of man, love of other species, love of species I may not have met ........it is all about love ...........and we aren't talkin puppy love from highschool..........I am speaking of the type of love that is so pervasive that you even feel it for your worst enemies and the most horrific criminals.......that love that encompasses all that lives and breathes..........and then you look at the stars again and stand there in complete awe at the expansiveness of it all

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I ask how many here would take in a leper? honestly would you do this? and criminals? and the poorest of the poor? Well I would help and take in any of these ........so unless you are willing to actually put on christs shoes ?....?......?

just remember that it is better to walk the talk than preach and make millions or convert by brainwashing

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I stand for no religion but do stand for spirituality and the greater good for all.............blessed be............with harm to none............

 

[nootka]

Very poignantly put, runamuk...and very similarly to how I feel.

I tend to believe that those that have found this individual and very personal "faith" to be the ones with the right idea as it shows the integrity and ability to "lead" in a situation that is very difficult for most to do. I feel, for my experience, that I am stronger and much more empowered than I ever felt when I was in church or hearing someone quote passages from a book about someone that I didn't believe existed or was very distorted and exaggerated for whatever purpose (my own personal theory is that in a time of civilization when not many, if any, read or had good communication other than the spoken word, religion and superstitions were used to control the masses, the earliest forms of government. Fear and guilt were powerful, and it was effective, also easy to manipulate and evolve to create government within government and it's not through. Look where we are now...but we as a society have to outgrow this if we are to make better decisions for ourselves. I may be wrong, but until each person realizes the responsibilites they have towards themselves as well as their world, and endeavors to do right by them/each other, we're in for being led around by the nose by these people, the ones that can gather together the "most" followers will inevitably have control of the world's resources).

Liz

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Yeah, Rori!!

I love that passage from Corinthians, it says it all for me.

If only more Christians would actually "Walk the walk" not just "Talk the Talk" .

Christianity is about love, is it??

Take a long, HARD look at the Christian world today.

I'm sorry, I am not criticising those of you who truly believe and truly try to follow the "path" but PLEASE open your eyes, do not follow blindly, look where you are going.

Quite often, lately, we have seen congregations led, blindly, down the wrong paths.

Listen to what your Pastors say and ARGUE with them if you do not agree, do not take scripture as the ABSOLUTE truth, it is an interpretation.

We were born with free will, we have a God given right and responsibility to use it.

"And it harm NO-ONE" how often could Christianity claim that??

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Can I ask...to be considered spiritual, rather than religious...what does that mean? I do not profess to a religion, and when I think about going to church, it's a really hard thing to do, even though in my heart I want to have the best relationship with God as possible.

I am Christian, but I don't attend a christian church. I did once, and I found so much I disagreed with. For one...they had "God bless America" and "God bless our troops" everywhere. I don't have a problem with this anywhere else but at church. In the house of God, it should read "God bless everyone" as we are all equal in God's eyes, and America is no better than any other country to him. Also, there are a lot of innocent people - Christian or not, dying over in the other countries because of our troops. I am patriotic to a point, but for some reason, the thought of the innocent dying doesn't appeal to me as something God would be ok with. This is only my opinion, and I know that a lot of people will disagree. It isn't meant to start debate, just something that I wanted to share that makes it hard for me to attend a church. Not to mention, the majority of preachers or pasters get paid to teach the word of God. To me...this should be something that one doesn't get paid for. It should be out of their heart that they do this...as everyone was commanded to do so by God. How is it right for them to take the money that is collected for the church, and spend it on thier own earthly possessions, such as their bills, cars, house. I just get so confused.

 

[looney2n]

In my opinion, we need to focus our attention on God and what His will for us is, hence, the living word of God, the Bible. Too many churches pick and choose what they want out of the Bible and I believe that is 'religion'. God's word tells us that man will always fail us so anyone who goes to a church and just does what the person up in front tells us, whether that is a pastor, priest, or whatever, is setting themselves up to fail. We are all human and that means we ALL will sin at times. But if we focus on God's will and our desire in our heart is to do His will, He knows that and he will lead and bless us for it. In the Bible, I think in Matthew 23, it talks of the Pharisees who always focused on the RULES and the outward appearances. In that chapter it says that Jesus was angry with them because God looks at our hearts and not just on good deeds, ect.

I had some really bad experiences with churches while growing up and got to a point that I found I didnt trust ANYONE. When I was young and impressionable, I put people in my church up on a pedistal, thinking that just because they claimed christianity, they were different some how. But eventually I found that was wrong. Too many people 'play church' for social status or whatever. They go to church and appear to be 'religious' or 'christian' but then commit immoral acts or sin when not in that 'role'. So I decided that I would worship God where ever I was and seek Him in prayer and reading the Bible. That worked very well but I felt that I still needed a church. I believe God looked at my heart and led me to one that was wonderful. I needed to 'be fed' the word of God and the services at that church turned out to be more in tune with today instead of all of the repeated prayers and such. Please understand that I am not saying repeated prayers and rituals are wrong, they are just wrong for what I need. I guess what I am saying is that what works for me is to always keep an open mind and always realize that 'people' are human and will always fail you. If you go to a church and find that you like it, don't expect to find perfection in the people that are there, whether they are leaders or followers, they are human. Just focus on God and He will guide you if that is what you seek. You may never find a church that you agree with, I didnt, but I found one that is very close. As long as it's a place where people are real and they are trying to find the truth, it works for me. In my opinion, if you believe in God, you really have to believe in saten as well. There is a battle going on to see who will win your soul. So if saten can convince me that I must find a church that fits perfectly with my believes where no one will disappoint me, he's won, because that place does not exist.

I agree that people should not be paid to teach the word of God. But you have to admit if it was me or you up there teaching full time as well as remain available for counseling 'the flock', we would need to have an income coming from somewhere to make ends meet. I think that is what the elders, or board members are for. They all must decide what the money is used for. Somewhere in the Bible it does instruct the churches to bless the teachers with gifts of money so they may continue to focus on the teaching and not have to work doing something else. Anyway, I didnt mean to ramble but I can really relate to what you're saying so I thot I'd reply. God Bless, Looney2n

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Thank you so much Barnbum and Looney2n. I think you both offered opinions that I may not have thought of before, and I truly appreciate it.

I know that it is true that everyone needs to make a living, but I still find it hard to justify people earning money for teaching God's word. I know of a church where the elders make no money what so ever...they have regular day jobs, and offer the evenings/weekends to teach God's word without monetary gain. If counseling is needed, it is after the congregation, again with no money involved. I do understand that most people are not so priviledged to divide their attention in this way or do feel they should be rewarded for their works. Thank you again for your responses.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Again I state my opinion.

The Bible is NOT the word of God, and can in NO way be even interpreted as the "living" word of God.

It is, at best "Chinese Whispers" of what some man once heard God say to him.

It has been handed down by word of mouth, written out, interpreted, changed to fit whatever the teaching of the day was and then interpreted again. As I said you can actually SEE the bits the Monks put in or words they did not understand so slapped in the one they thought was right.

Remember by the time the Monks got their hands on they scrolls Latin was no longer spoken as a language except by Monks!!

They could pretty much write down what they wanted and NO-ONE on pain of death, could argue with them.

To give one very small example of this, vellum, on which they wrote in those days was horrendously expensive.

Getting a Monk to write something out was horrendously expensive.

When the charter of my town- the Cathedral City of St. Alban was written up, that is what it was supposed to say.

The Monk wrote "The Cathedral City of St. Albans " on the charter and it was actually cheaper to change the name of the town than it was to have the Charter rewritten, and thus I now live in St.Albans, not St.Alban!!!!

Are you still going to insist that the Bible is the "living" word of God??

When, if a Monk made a mistake, it was left in as it was too expensive to correct it??

When printing first started the same applied- if a mistake was made and not noticed at proof reading, it was left in.

How many times have you come across an obvious mistake in a book you are reading??

Or just something you know not to be true??

Do you assume the writer was correct and everything you know is wrong, just because it is written in a book??

Or do you exercise the free will God made us with and dismiss it and move on??

If you accept the Bible blindly you are not exercising your free will you are acting like sheep.

Question everything, accept nothing blindly.

 

[C & C Farms]

Beautiful Karla!

: :aktion033:

Just wanted to share this poem, its one of my favorites:

"Footprints in the Sand"

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed

he was walking along the beach with the LORD.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.

For each scene he noticed two sets of

footprints in the sand: one belonging

to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,

he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of

his life there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very

lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he

questioned the LORD about it:

"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow

you, you'd walk with me all the way.

But I have noticed that during the most

troublesome times in my life,

there is only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why when

I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied:

"My child, my precious child,

I love you and I would never leave you.

During your times of trial and suffering,

when you see only one set of footprints,

it was then that I carried you."

 

[mountain_waif]

.....

 

[Nancy G]

I wasn`t going to post again as this kind of debate usually gets us nowhere but after seeing the last few posts I too decided it best to STAND UP FOR JESUS!! :aktion033: Thanks to all who have done this, openly on the forum. Although we will never change the beliefe of others, we CAN share what we belive and give others hope and the Truth.

If others have no shame in telling people God doesn't exist, how proud

should we be in telling people God is real? If they openly and defiantly

live their lives in rebellion to the Truth of God's Word, how much more open

and visible should you live your life in following the Truth of the Bible?

If they can openly mock our Lord, why can't we just as openly stand up for

Him?

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Those who hate Jesus and deny the Christian faith are never going to be

silenced and they are not going away. The question is ~

Will those who love Jesus and have put their faith and trust in Him continue

to be silent and hide in their "corner" leaving the lost and hurting

to satan and his lies, or will we go boldly, visibly, without shame and

compromise to reach the lost and hurting with His Truth and the hope

and love that is only found in Jesus Christ??? ! We get so distracted by

everything else that we have forgotten our number one job God has called us

to, and that is to bring the lost to faith in Jesus Christ.

The world lies and tells people that it has what they are looking for and

the answers to their problems. What they offer is the temporal pleasures of

the flesh and this world. People eventually figure out there has to be

more. The "more" they are looking for is only found in a relationship with

Jesus Christ. We who know Christ have got to be as bold as those who hate

Christ in taking our message to others Rather than wasting our time trying to silence those who hate the Lord, we should be busy in getting the

Truth out to the very same people they reach each day. We know in the

end the Truth will remain standing!

God HAS given us a free choice, AND a free gift. You CAN

: be in heaven with him one day ~~~~~~~~~~~~ OR NOT! Your choice. God Bless each and everyone of you.

And yes, this IS my last post and final word on my belief.

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[Ashley]

Most know I dont beleive in God. I have a funny way of things. I dont beleive in heaven and I dont beleive in heck.

I also have a hard time with a few things christians preach. The somethings people do or are God would not except. But then if that is the case then why would God make the person who they are if he would not except them for themselves?

When I have people jump on me for my beliefs that very religious that is the question I throw at them, Granted its always in more detail but didnt feel like typing it all out. FUnny how they never have answer and seem to shut up fast.

If I beleived in god you cant tell me he would net except me and everybody else in this world for who they are considering he created us, just because the bible says he cant.

 

[C & C Farms]

Nancy - :aktion033: :aktion033:

---------------------------------------------

Matthew 5

(The Beatitudes)

1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:

3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.

10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

No, sorry, I shall never accept that the Bible can be the word of God, it is not a physical possibility, it just is not.

I accept it and the Q'ran as useful guides but also as historical anachronisms , the WORD of God, no not possible, not at all.??

Some of the texts are beautiful, God inspired, certainly.

I do love to read some, and I do think that these books were, on the whole, written with a good path in life in mind, but it just is not possible for them to have been written by God- and nowhere in the bible does it claim that this is so.

The Books are written by PEOPLE.

The New Testament is written by PEOPLE- named PEOPLE, everyday people like you and me.

Inspired to teach a good way of life, without doubt, ready and in a lot of cases actually did die for their beliefs.

Good people, no doubt, but speaking their own truths, as they believed them.

No more.

Even the New Testament was not written in it's first draft until over five hundred years after the death of Christ- very, very, VERY long memories??

 

[looney2n]

:aktion033: I applaud all of those standing up for Christ. It is a touchy subject but it has always been. Why is that? Even tho we all come from different backgrounds with different upbringing and beliefs, when it comes down to the bottom line, it kind of smacks us in the face! When we die, where do we go? Is it something we don't worry about and just let life and death happen? Or is it something we SAY we don't wonder or worry about and when it's time to die, IF given time, we all of a sudden realize we DO care? Or is it something we CAN humbly face now and investigate it to see if we actually do have a choice of heaven or heck? It's a humbling experience but scripture tells me that 'God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble'. (James 4:6) I guess it comes down to how open we are to the possibilities of what is truth, or COULD be truth.

I am a person who has choosen to believe that Christ literally died for ALL of my sins, to believe that He is Lord, confessing my sins and realizing that He accepts me just the way I am but with a heart after His will, how can I loose? But if I take the opposite view, and if there is no God, no big deal. BUT, if there is, it will be a big deal. Not that unbelievers really care, but I choose to not take the chance. When my time to die is here, I am looking forward to being with my Lord. Not because of who I am, but because of 'WHOSE' I am! I am HIS child. All of you are but He gives us a will to choose. I find when looking at life and death, that I am not afraid of death but more afraid of life and all of ITS uncertainties. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Heb 11:1) The faith that Christs followers have will carry us through. He promises that he will NEVER leave or forsake us and he also tells us He will never give us more than we can handle. To me, believing those promises makes life soooo much easier to face. Believing His promises in the LIVING word of God makes EVERYTHING easier. It's like taking a trip. Do you want to take it in a car that is a piece of junk and take your chances, or do you want to use the Caddy.

: God Bless.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I choose to believe that mostly, whatever we believe will happen, is what does happen after death, to us,.... probably

.

If you believe in Jesus as your Lord and would not be happy without him then , of course, that is where you will go.

I would not be happy that way, nor comfortable, and I cannot for the life of me see Ashley lasting two minutes (sorry Ash!!)

Whatever makes you happy, since heaven is about being happy.

There is no "chance" here, no-one that does not believe in Christ as saviour will be turned away for their lack of belief, that is not the way God works, whether you believe it or not.

You are not going to go to heaven because you believe in Jesus anymore than I will be turned away because I do not.

There is room for everyone, Hindus and their myriad faces of God included!!

Buddhists, Muslims (except the ones that believe that murdering people in the name of God gets them a ticket ot heaven- Oh BOY will they ever get a shock- I hope they believe in re-incarnation because they have a heavy learning curve ahead of them!!!) Jews,Hindus ,Atheists, Agnostics, Wiccans et al, we are ALL God's children.

 

[Nancy G]

: Something to lighten the mood here :bgrin

A priest, a minister and a guru sat discussing the best positions for prayer, while a telephone repairman worked nearby.

"Kneeling is definitely the best way to pray," the priest said.

"No," said the minister. "I get the best results standing with my hands outstretched to Heaven."

"You're both wrong," the guru said. "The most effective prayer position is lying down on the floor."

The repairman could contain himself no longer. "Hey, fellas," he interrupted. "The best prayin' I ever did was when I was hangin' upside down from a telephone pole."

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[looney2n]

LOL

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