Why aren't you Christian?

Originally Posted by earthprowler

God and I have an arrangement. I believe in him and he believes in me. why does it have to be so complicated?

Such a superb feeling and anyone with this feeling is inching towards God.

[Honza]

Originally Posted by earthprowler

God and I have an arrangement. I believe in him and he believes in me. why does it have to be so complicated?

In a sense because there is a quantum GAP between Humans and God.

To bridge that gap one requires what?

I am not a Christian simply because I am not. I was raised as one, and up until my early teenage years I identified with the faith. But there were many things I disliked. And as I explored other religions, it seemed obvious that Christianity wasn't the path that appealed to me. Or at least, not the exoteric let's-go-to-church-and-talk-about-how-great-it-is-to-be-in-church type ;)

why do you feel the need to have to believe in anything at all?? why can't you simply believe in yourself? after all, it's your life, you are the only one living it. honestly, if you don't know which to choose, don't choose any. do you need some sort of faith to make you feel like you belong somehow? for me, i've come to realise that it really doesn't matter how i came to be here or who 'created' me. all that matters is that i know right from wrong, love from hate etc & to do the best i possibly can to live by those standards & pass them down to my children.
as for jesus.......whatever people percieve him to have been, 1st & foremost he was a man. a good, holy man of course. whether he was the son of god or not i don't know but nobody has 100% proof either way. he was a bloody good motivational speaker though!! look how many people realised the error of their ways because of him!!!
i'm just expressing my opinion & thoughts here so sorry if i've offended anyone by writing about jesus this way. :-)

Originally Posted by Honza

I was wondering to myself why I am not a committed Christian.

I used to be and I am seriously considering turning back to Christ and surrendering to Him again.

I seem to have a range of choices. I can try for enlightenment and become I AM. Or I can surrender to Christ and leave it in His hands. Or I can try something like Judaism or Islam and believe in God without Christ.

That is three choices: Enlightenment, Christ, and God without Christ.

Which is the best choice (for me or you)?

I don't really trust enlightenment. I have tried God without Christ and made some progress but still feel a bit 'lost'. So I'm starting to think that Christ may be the best choice for me again.

The question is to me; is He really the Son of God? Can He redeem me or not?

I Love the Christian tradition and Christian life...not necessarily in the old fashioned sense of Church every Sunday and Confession and Holy Communion etc. But in the more open way of a PERSONAL relationship with Him.

So I ask you; why are you not Christian? Do you not trust Christs word? Do you think He cannot save you? Do you think you do not need saving? Is enlightenment enough for you?

Hi,

I think questioning is not for the religious. You take the package with all concepts in it. Like shopping. You choose the package that suits for you and that's it.

3dnow

[genga]

Why am I not a Christian?

Because I am smarter than that.

Originally Posted by genga

Why am I not a Christian?

Because I am smarter than that.

Very good and appropriate answer and I subscribe to it wholeheartedly

[Honza]

Good answers everyone - I'm getting some great feedback.

[Honza]

I must point out that I feel there is a difference between Christianity and Christ.

Christ is who He is.

Christianity is the religion that people have built around Christ.

I think one can have a relationship with Christ without the religion of Christianity.

It is like going back to square one and saying "look Christ, I believe in YOU!" and leaving the Church out of it.

I believe in what Christ spoke of and what he did for this world. I do not, however, subscribe any longer to the myriad of interpretations that came with it. Christianity is not something I feel at home in, which has more to do with the church and all the things and rules that were added to the teachings of Christ throughout the years than with anything else. The religion is not for me, but that doesn't mean I don't subscribe to Christ's values.