Am I a Christian?

[justgamma]

I was raised in a Christian household. I was taught to live by the golden rule. I taught Bible school. I believe very strongly in the Jesus and his teachings. Always try to live by them.
On the other hand, I don't believe in God. I don't think he's a seperate being, floating above the earth and controlling everything. I think that He is more like your conscience, I guess that's the closest I can come to describe what I believe.

Hope this makes sense. I'm having a hard time explaining myself.

[napi21]

1. I have to ask you, if you taught bible school, how could you do that

amd not believe in God? It just sounds like a contradiction to me.

[justgamma]

7. I taught years ago.

My beliefs have changed since then. I'm not sure why or even when. I loved teaching though.

[nemo137]

2. I dunno, your description of God sounds like my

definition of the holy spirit, and you live by the primary commandment, so yes, you are a Christian.

[texpatriot2004]

3. Do you believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior, as your Savior?

I don't think you have to have all the answers or even believe what everyone else believes about Jesus. If you believe in Jesus then you are a Christian. I think Christianity is an inside job, a personal thing. If you continue to accept Jesus and love Jesus then I think all the rest of your doubts or questions or points of contention will ultimately be resolved. That's my approach. I don't like the Jesus of the "Religious Right" that is not my Jesus. He said His Kingdom is Within.

I don't know, I don't have it all worked out or know it all. If you could understand God, He wouldn't be God now would He? Same with Jesus I think. I do accept Jesus as the Son of God and as my Savior.

Jesus also said (to Thomas) "doubt until you believe" He told him to keep seeking and basically to not go on blind faith but to follow his own conscience and understanding in regards to his faith.

Those are my thoughts on your post. O8)

[nemo137]

8. "doubt until you believe." I love that

because that's all I can do.

[texpatriot2004]

13. And that's okay. God gave you a brain to use. Reason and

Faith can coexist. I think, sometimes, faith goes beyond reason but not in that blind I believe it because I am told to way. There is a scripture that says something like "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God" maybe the word of God is more than the Book...I don't know, they say He works in mysterious ways.

These are difficult times and it's easy to get down on God. I have faith and I find myself ill equipped to deal with the current events. I do know this, they aren't God's fault. God didn't do it.

So, the story of the "doubting Thomas" is a wonderful one. Go at your own pace, but go - that is to say, seek and find, and keep seeking the Truth with a capital "T". Jesus says "all those that seek will find, knock and the door will be opened."

I don't usually quote scripture, well it seems I do it more these days and I don't do it very well but it's in my heart and mind. I do believe that Jesus is the way.

[texpatriot2004]

14. Here I brought you a link on the doubting Thomas

http://www.leaderu.com/theology/doubting_thomas.html

[I_Make_Mistakes]

16. I keep saying, I have no idea who the Jesus of the RW is, I can't

find him in any of my bibles. Their Jesus does not exist, he is a conglomeration of many biblical figures (mostly, not Jesus).

Remember, Satan, tested Jesus using bible scripts taken out of context. That is the RR, they deceive, not out right lie in many cases, just like the 40 days of testing. I no longer call them liars, but deceivers, it has more meaning to the multitudes on both sides.

I will tell you, I don't pray to their Jesus, I have no idea who he is. I pray to the Jesus of the Gospels.

To the OP, if Jesus of the Gospels is who you follow, then you are on the narrow path.

[texpatriot2004]

21. Yes BE YE NOT DECEIVED I say to them. The great deceiver

can quote scripture better than us and he prays in public too. They are following the great deceiver.

"By their fruits ye shall know them" and their fruits are rotten to the core.

[jeff30997]

4. The teachings of Jesus are a message of hope and is telling us...

How to live in harmony with other peoples.Religion have deform that to an horrible degree(The inquisition,the Crusades,intolerance,bigotry and the list goes on and on).
Personally I'm not a religious person.I have no idea if there's a God or Supreme being or whatever.But I try to live with the respect of peoples beliefs,race, sex life,like the teachings of Jesus were really meant IMO.

[DLnyc]

5. Strong "yes" by me.

I assume the words in the Gospels part of the Bible are pretty close to the teachings of someone we've come to call 'Jesus'. Personally, I think those teachings are pretty good (and pretty close to what's called 'Progressive' thought today). I kind of resent various churches having taken to themselves the right to define what is 'Christian'.

Without being a scholar or an expert, it seems to me the spirit of what this guy (pardon me if I don't obey the orthodoxy by capitalizing and talking in idol-worshipping tones; I am not being disrespectful, this is just how I relate) . . . seems to me the spirit of what this guy was saying is that the path to goodness is personal and doesn't have to be mediated by a church or a dogma. Seems to me personally, I should say. I don't like to tell others how to interpret something like this and I don't really appreciate others telling me how I must interpret it. And, in my humble opinion, I think some of those with very strict ideas about how it 'must' be interpreted might be, with all due respect, kind of missing the point.

[purduejake]

6. Does it matter?

Believe what you will, but also know that God may be in many forms (edit: assuming a God or gods exist). God doesn't really have to fit the definition anybody else gave you. Open your mind and believe whatever you are comfortable with.

[intheflow]

9. If you're having a hard time explaining your religious beliefs,

you're in damn fine company. The great minds of all ages have struggled with trying to define God and/or how God works in the world.

I like the idea of God as conscience, I think that make perfect sense. I don't think God is separate from humans, which works if you believe in God or don't (i.e., if you believe that God is just a creation of humans for whatever reason).

Personally, I think of God as Time. Always, eternal, not really into the day-to-day human stuff, but integrally woven into human life. Quantum physics tells that time flows backward as well as forward, which seems pretty God-like--ethereal, unhinged from a physical form. God and Time both existed before me and will exist when I'm gone. Indeed, my screen name, intheflow, refers to being in the flow of Time--living my puny life swept up in a large picture I can't see, even as I catch glimpses and snapshots of it.

There's a quote (I can't remember who by at the moment) that said something like, "There are as many Gods as humans can envision." Therefore, if you envision God as the human conscience, then that God exists. If nothing else, it is a facet of God, part of a larger picture our puny brains can't see.

[mestup]

10. I think it's time Christians start sorting themselves out by beliefs.

(No offense to anyone or their beliefs intended here.)

I have an in-law family member who labels herself simply a "Christian." This person firmly believes among many things that:

It's okay when people kill abortion doctors.
Criminals should be put to death.
It's better for a child to die than to not "know Jesus."

I'm assuming that's an extreme evangelical view (if that), but I find it very sad how people like her are tainting the word Christian.

I think Christians who believe in personal choice, the state of grace, and leaving judgment to God should attempt to separate themselves from these people.

[intheflow]

11. The fragmentation of Christianity

is the main reason why I don't consider myself a Christian. I think Jesus is very cool, but his followers have split into more factions than any other religion, as far as I can tell. How is it that Jesus' unifying message of loving your enemies has caused so many splits among his followers, people who should be in agreement, living their ives according to his teachings? That is the part of Christianity I struggle with the most, and ultimately, why I don't consider myself a religious Christian. (Although I do consider myself a cultural Christian. But that's another story for another post! :))

[mestup]

12. "Cultural Christian" That would be an interesting post! n/t

[intheflow]

20. Not really that interesting.

It means that I was raised to celebrate rather secular versions of Christmas and Easter; that I learned the Lord's Prayer and some bible stories as a child; and that my worldview has been influenced by Judaism and Christianity in ways I was wasn't aware of as they were happening. (An example of the latter is growing up listening to The Byrds sing "Turn, Turn, Turn" and not knowing until I was an adult that the lyrics were taken almost verbatim from the Old Testament book Ecclesiastes.)

[EST]

17. Jesus' unifying message did not cause any splits.

Those 'splits' are caused by each of the parties' attempts to own Jesus, exclusively.

[expatriot]

15. The very idea of god is the anthropomorphing of the....

unseen, unexplained and the universal.

sounds like you want to abandon the anthropomorphication of spirit in your disbelief that "he" is a single being. The historical jesus had some great sayings but these concepts had already been preached by others before him.

the idea of jesus as the son of God, born by Mary dictates that the concept of God is a single male anthropomorph... Christianity is nothing more than an eastern and hellenistic philosophical influences trying to break free from the doctines of tribal ancestor worship. thrash the chaff from the wheat... extract the philosophical gold from the religious ore.

i need to go to bed, will respond in morning. night.

[xchrom]

18. i guess i try to focus on whether i'm the kind of person

god could believe in rather than if god is living up to my standards.

i don't belive in the hierarchical god -- the dogmatic god -- of organized religion -- but rather the christ.

the outsider who called us to love our neighbors as our selves.

at the end of his life he reminds us to first love god with all our heart, mind and soul -- and second to treat our neighbors the same.
on those two commandments are all the ''laws'' based.

i'm christian -- but i also recognize that what i think -- i may not find in a ''church''.
i attend an episcopal church -- if denomination is important.
very liberal and allows for free thinking.
but there is lots of liturgy -- which personally i love.

[BurtWorm]

19. I think the earliest Christians believed something more like what you do.

Maybe you're a gnostic. Have you read The Jesus Mysteries?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0609807986?v=glance