Believing

we'll agree to disagree.

and, i never set out to knock anyone for believing in their faith ... except for that first whole "judgemental" post thingie.

 

I can't believe I just wrote that I find Christ more attractive than Buddha or Mohammed.

 

Zeke, You're friggin awesome.

 

oh shit, i just laughed til tears welled up.

 

Well said.

 

Help me out here. This is an honest question from a non-Christian. What exactly do you mean by "grace" in this context.

Are we talking about gaining paradise in the afterlife through faith and the willingness to repent your sins and ask forgiveness or am I misunderstanding?

I have always been very curious about faith in all its forms. Can't say mine 100 percent fits into any organized religion. I think deep down we all have our own beliefs based on the religious teachings we have embraced.

I remember a woman I was friends with in college who was very strong in her faith. She made it a point to put that way. She did not consider herself devoutly religious, though she went to church (Methodist, I think). But it was her personal faith that was truly meaningful to her.

There is also a song lyric. Local artist who 99 percent of you would never have heard of.

"Lost my religion....found my faith"

 

people get pist when you question why they "believe" the way they believe outofplace. i think that stems from the fact i can say i believe i'm lucky at blackjack and that holds about as much relevance as someone who says they believe in their god.

 

God is a bully with a magnifying glass next to an ant hill. -- Bruce Almighty

For me, it comes down to sleep. As in, Sunday is usually the only day I'm allowed to sleep until I wake up of natural causes. My eternal soul may very well be damned, but at least one day a week I'll be well-rested. If I get up and brow-beat the rest of my family into getting ready to go to church, well, that seems eerily similar to the rest of my week. If it's supposed to be a day of rest, I'm going to rest.

Believing in God? I've wrestled with that for several years now. I grew up with a significant religious presence in my life, and it seemed to generate a huge amount of discord. If that's what God is, then I'll pass. Live and let live.

Back to the subject of brow-beating .... if that is what is required to recruit people to your religion, then you really have to question whether it's worthwhile. If you have to shove it down people's throats, chances are they're not going to come around to your way of thinking anyway. If you have to blow people up to convince them you're right, what's the point? Just to say you won?

 

I believe what I believe, and y'all believe what y'all believe.

Don't beat me down with what you believe, and I won't beat you you down with what I believe.

The secret to world peace.

 

That's a good question and the best answer I've heard is this (Matthew 6:2)

"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

"But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

"In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

-------

The way I read this is there's no need to be on a street corner with signs telling people they're going to hell (like I see at certain bars in my town), and there's no need to preach and preach and preach at other people.

When you combine your beliefs with a healthy dose of humility, you won't be trying to shove it down other people's throat.

I'll never question or put down anybody else's faith, but, if asked, I'll tell them that I think it can be a beautiful thing and provide a solid base to live your life.

 

Well, grace and mercy are essentially two sides of the same coin. Grace is getting what you don't deserve (like a ticket to Heaven), while mercy is not getting what you do deserve (like a trip to Hell).
Basically, Christianity states that EVERYONE, from Hitler to Mother Theresa, deserves to burn because we have all sinned. God cannot allow sin into Heaven, so barring a miracle, we would all end up in the only other possible destination -- Hell.
Hell was created to punish Satan, not man, but it's all that's left after you are turned away at the pearly gates.
But the "Good News" is that Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of everyone. To get credited with that forgiveness, all you have to do is genuinely ask for it.
That is grace. You are getting what you don't deserve.
Now, Christian sects argue about what has to happen after that (do you need to be baptized? can you lose your salvation? etc.), but I don't know of one group that doesn't agree with all that.
All other religions are about appeasing God or whatever force through certain acts. Christianity is about accepting God's appeasement due to his own act (as Christ was actually God in human form, according to the vast majority of Christians).
That is why you'll hear people say everything else is religion, while Christianity is a relationship.
Does all that make sense?

 

Yup, makes perfect sense. Can't say I care for that line about religion vs. relationship.

To me, religion is about teaching and joining together in church/synagogue/etc. Faith is about your relationship with whatever deity you believe in.