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Old 26-03-2021, 12:34 AM
tom63376 tom63376 is offline
Newbie ;)
Join Date: Mar 2021
Posts: 17
 
I was raised a devout Catholic, however after years of asking questions about life and God, and never getting my questions answered by the nuns and priests, I abandoned the church at about 18. At the time my clear sense was that Christianity was about observing the rules and rituals of the church and doing charitable works to guarantee you would avoid hell.

For 20 years I was a "devout" agnostic/materialist. Then I was inspired to take a look at the question of belief once again. After a year or two I accepted the existence of God, but I was a blank slate I had no attachment to any belief system and I continually prayed for guidance, and I feel I was indeed guided.

At that time I studied the Bible from a different perspective than I ever had in the past: the perspective of an innocent child of God, made in God's image and likeness.

Now, to answer your question, "What Does Christianity Mean To You?", I would say that a true "Christian" is a follower of Christ; one who studies the actual teachings of Jesus and dedicates themselves to applying those teachings. I think Jesus made it absolutely clear that this was his actual intention when he said: "If you love me keep my commandments" and ""Why do you call me Lord, Lord, yet don't do what I say?". There are more than 10 statements like that in the Gospels. So in my view there Christianity is a religion and set of doctrines that is about Jesus, without any real focus on understanding and putting into practice as an every day way of life, the teachings of Jesus.
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