Can I Believe In God In My Own Way? (1 Viewer)

[katie_tully]

Of course you can have ur own interpretations of religion, im not sure if the organised religions chief body accepts it however

And there is the problem. The problem I find with religions, are staunch fundamentalists who refuse to change with the times and condemn those who do.

 

[sped_kid01]

You definately DONT have to go to church to be a Christian...however going to Church is seen as worship to God...but if you make conscious efforts to pray to God, then that is fine too!

In respect to you having gay friends, there is nothing wrong with that either, you are still a Christian (if thats what you class yourself as)

Dont let what this girl has said get you down! If you have faith, than that is enough!

Ok, enough of my rant!

 

[inasero]

well katie i think it's in our being not to "change with the times" because to Christians, the theological doctrine is what dictates how Christians live their day to day lives and not the other way around. i.e. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.
" (Romans 12:2)

But I agree there's a problem when Christians forcibly try to enforce that view upon others and/or condemn them e.g. homosexuals to the fires of hell in a gay pride rally.

But in all, the fundamentalists are acting in contrary to what is advocated in the mainstream doctrine and taking it upon themselves to administer "The Law" so I hope that this doesn't discourage you from wanting to find out more about the church doctrine as such.

 

[inasero]

Firstly, I would say that religious institutions are not appropriate sources of finding truth. However, if you have affiliations with these groups and have come to believe some of their thinking, but have your own ideas on some respects, you are ultimately being a "smart Christian." It would be blind folly to accept without question everything a religion says. For you to have differing views based on your own perceptions and reasoning then I say well done. A lot of Christians aren't able to detach themselves from the ideas that have been entrenched into them from an early age.

There's a couple of ways of looking at it. You're right in that the Church as a religious institution is not the be all and end all. It's important for people to critically appraise what is presented before them as opposed to following like blind sheep. I think that's what God intended for us to do otherwise He wouldn't have placed the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden and He would just force us to love Him- hardly a meaningful relationship. It's all a matter of free will and choice.

But that's not to say that religious organizations can't help one to find truth. In fact, they are often a good source of encouragement for Christians and can help new belivers in their faith. When it all comes down to it, we might have debates about whether we need the gift of tongues to demonstrate the inworking of the Holy Spirit in our lives or we might argue about the spiritual significance of a physical immersion baptism but it never amounts to a debate on whether Jesus existed or what it takes to be saved.

 

[iamsickofyear12]

No you won't, hell is just as real as heaven, i.e. it's a delusion. Anything less than believing in yourself is weakness - religion is just a way of placing the responsibility of your own actions or inactions upon a higher power.

Though, I suppose to a Christian I'm the perfect candidate for hell.

- I don't believe that people are equal.
- I'm happily selfish when I choose to be.
- I'm honest.
- I'm an individual - and I'll mow down whatever gets in my way.

Thats Exacty Right.

'as far as i know' do you mean 'as far as i have been told by people who haven't died and came back to life before'

As far as I know meaning what I have been told for 17 years by numerous different chaplians and christians and other holy word spreading people. The fact that if you ask for forgiveness and mean it you will go to heaven is their main marketing idea to try and get people to convert, cause they still have a chance.

 

[Hippy La-Laa]

^ I agree.

 

[soha]

If I wanted to boil a kettle of water, I don't beg to God- I go and boil it myself.
If I hope a car doesn't crash into my house, I don't plead to God- I just look outside my house a few times. If a car did bust into my house, it's not an act of God, it's a crap driver.

it all happens by the will of God

 

[hiphophorray123]

will smith - ms holy roller

theme of the song is similar to this thread

'if i dont believe what you believe im going to hell???'

 

[Pixydust*]

Religion is supposed to enlighten you and add some sort of value into your life - you can't make youself 'believe' in something you truly don't have the heart for. If you are happy and comfortable with the way you worship God, people shouldn't judge you - it's all a matter of heart. Religion should never be a burden

 

[iamsickofyear12]

A couple people have said stuff about how religion is different for everyone, and how times have changed etc.

I get that certain people want to 'change' the way they view christianity so it fits their personality, and I am fine with that. However ignoring major parts of it means you aren't a real christian. Like going to church, thats important. If you don't go to church then obviously you don't care very much.

And time have changed sure. We no longer expect people who have sex before marrige to be stoned to death. However that doesn't mean it's ok to do it. That's one of the important things that christians should be happy to follow.

 

[Liza-LaBoheme]

"Religion is the perversion of faith."
-Bono

treat others basically how you would like to be treated. beyond that do/believe whatever the hell you want.

 

[Liza-LaBoheme]

If I wanted to boil a kettle of water, I don't beg to God- I go and boil it myself.
If I hope a car doesn't crash into my house, I don't plead to God- I just look outside my house a few times. If a car did bust into my house, it's not an act of God, it's a crap driver.

Amen, brother!!

 

[Ell]

I am part of a religion named "smurfism", basically because i am sick of organised religion and being "spoon fed" my beliefs to make it look as though i have som depth, I am sick of every religious lesson beginning with "as Catholics you should believe"...I am sick of such a hypocritical system such as the catholic church who take the morals and ideals they wish to manipulate and leave the others. I DO go to a religious school, so im not shooting at the hip about stuff i know nothing about. Smurfism is a religion where you believe whatever you want, your faith is not imposed nor is it manipulated or analyzed to the point of no meaning.

 

[Riewe]

I get that certain people want to 'change' the way they view christianity so it fits their personality, and I am fine with that. However ignoring major parts of it means you aren't a real christian. Like going to church, thats important. If you don't go to church then obviously you don't care very much.

i am one of these christians who believe in all that spiritual part, such as Jesus was the son of God, salvation etc, but i don't see church to be an absolute essential part of this, and thus i don't go out of my way to attend.

To people like you, i may not be a 'real' christian, but blindly going through the motions waiting for it to end doesn't have much significance to me and doesn't enhance my spiritualness at all. Being a christian at his basic means a belief in the Son of God and belief in him will bring you to salvation and I don't see how going to church fits in with this belief.

Being quite a learned person myself, i can interpret the meaning of the texts in the Bible and thus i can form my own view about what being a Christian is all about. Leading a good, moral, faithful life is all that is required of you, and God will not punish you for not attending church. 'But church is how we worship him' you might say, but to this i say i worship God everyday, as i respect all the gifts he has given us, and have a firm belief in him. So i consider myself to be quite a christian indeed

 

[RingerINC]

Oh shit i thought religion was supposed to delude you and stop people going crazy and commiting suicide...

 

[Liza-LaBoheme]

Anyway, I think if Jesus was around today he would be preaching to people in the Gay Bars, the people who feel the church can’t help them because of their sexuality. But what they don’t know is being homo is just like every other sin and Jesus death on the cross has conquered that. So its extremely possible for gay people to be Christians, they just have to know that what they are doing is wrong and try to change it. But homosexuality is like every other sin.

that's bollocks! the bible also states that bad eye sight is a sin. and for fuck' sake- genesis states that the animals were created twice!!!!!!!!!!!!! you people make me very very angry

 

[iamsickofyear12]

i am one of these christians who believe in all that spiritual part, such as Jesus was the son of God, salvation etc, but i don't see church to be an absolute essential part of this, and thus i don't go out of my way to attend.

To people like you, i may not be a 'real' christian, but blindly going through the motions waiting for it to end doesn't have much significance to me and doesn't enhance my spiritualness at all. Being a christian at his basic means a belief in the Son of God and belief in him will bring you to salvation and I don't see how going to church fits in with this belief.

Being quite a learned person myself, i can interpret the meaning of the texts in the Bible and thus i can form my own view about what being a Christian is all about. Leading a good, moral, faithful life is all that is required of you, and God will not punish you for not attending church. 'But church is how we worship him' you might say, but to this i say i worship God everyday, as i respect all the gifts he has given us, and have a firm belief in him. So i consider myself to be quite a christian indeed

Thats pretty convincing, but I still reckon christians should be going to church.

 

[inasero]

the Bible itself states that we should be in the habit of meeting up with other belivers and encouraging/getting encouraged in the process. Another advantage is learning about the gospel and having stimulating discussion rather than form a personal view which may be misguided.

Anyways I dont think people should go to church because the Bible says so...they should go out of the joy in ther hearts otherwise yes...it will be a meaningless act

 

[iamsickofyear12]

the Bible itself states that we should be in the habit of meeting up with other belivers and encouraging/getting encouraged in the process. Another advantage is learning about the gospel and having stimulating discussion rather than form a personal view which may be misguided.

Anyways I dont think people should go to church because the Bible says so...they should go out of the joy in ther hearts otherwise yes...it will be a meaningless act

...and christians should have a joy in their hearts that makes them want to go to church.

 

[transcendent]

I don't like all that happy la la holding hands and singing about how much I love God. It's childish. I prefer a deeper more meaningful discussion on Christianity in contemporary society and what God means to us these days and how we should best follow his teachings where everyone in the discussion is equal and none imposes their views on others. I prefer 'Bible study' to churches.