Christianity

[Sarah Louise]

I will start this with I am a believing Christian.

Now I realize that that isn't the most popular position today, especially amoung the transgendered population, but this is a section for Christianity.

I would love to see some positive posts from people who believe.  And please, don't bother to repond to this if all you want to do is knock Christianity or promote some other belief system.

Sarah L.

p.s.  I write this as a Christian, not a Moderator here at Susans.

[tekla]

I'm not going to knock Christianity, or any other belief system, other than this belief system, the one that says:Now I realize that that isn't the most popular position today.  Christianity in the United States is claimed by 77% of the population.  Everyone else, who believes anything else, combined, are less than half the number of Christians.  That's pretty popular in my book.

[Virginia87106]

Please consider that the Bible is meant to be interpreted allegorically, not literally.  For more on this subject, please see my blog:

www.virginiaandbuckspeak.com

[Sarah Louise]

Sorry Virginia, I believe in a Literal Bible.  I am not here to fight about it, I will agree there are a "few" places in the Bible that are allegorical, but the majority of it is designed to be read literally.  As I asked, this is a thread for positive comments about Christianity.

Sarah L.

[Miniar]

The problem with making a thread for "positive comments only" is that it really doesn't go anywhere. Nor is it likely to make people "want" to express positive comments on the subject matter.
As long as everyone is calm, respectful, and doesn't derail the conversation excessively, I don't see why they can't disagree or post comments which can be read as not "positive" specifically.

With that out of the way.

Christianity can be a beautiful religion, especially when one discards those parts of the bible that endorse slavery, abuse of women (and treating them like cattle), and so on. If one focuses solely on the teachings of love and respect of the fellow man, than it's an awesome religion.
Christians however rarely do, even if most of them (every one I've ever met anyhow) do actually cherry pick which aspects they like.

So yeah,.. "The religion" = Not "bad", "Individuals" = Capable of being bad/good.

[Virginia87106]

Sarah-  I honor your beliefs.  I also respect Christianity in whatever form it is practiced.
Be blessed today.

[Nigella]

I am Christian and I am sorry but we cannot discard parts of the Bible we don't like. The Bible is made up of a number of different forms of literature that expresses things about God, humanity and the salvation of God through Jesus Christ. God has used human beings as a medium and uses history, poetry, songs (book of Psalms was a Hebrew song book), Narrative, prose, letters, allegory and more.

There is beauty, there is cruelty, dishonour, honour, faith and lack of faith. It spells out the human condition in all its glory but also in all its badness. Yet through all of this we can find God in all his glory who raises the human spirit from the gutter to glory in Christ.

There is for me no other written work comparable to the Bible. I have read others, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism, I have taught the six major religions. There are parallels in all that one can see and yet I still come back to Christianity. If any one asks, no I was not brought up one.

Blessings in Christ

Stardust

[ICatchDinosaurs]

I personally am not a Christian, but I know a transgendered woman who is a Christian.

But, being that you are a Christian, you need to remember that God loves you know matter what. That's always been her philosophy.

[Nero]

Something positive - I really like the New Testament. I still struggle with my beliefs, but the basic message of love comes through and is universal. And there are words of wisdom in there applicable to every situation and every human regardless of belief system.

[spacial]

Sorry Virginia, I believe in a Literal Bible.  I am not here to fight about it, I will agree there are a "few" places in the Bible that are allegorical, but the majority of it is designed to be read literally.  As I asked, this is a thread for positive comments about Christianity.

Sarah L.

As a committed Christian I can accept that, to an extent.

Like I suppose many people, I was, for a number of years, not really sure.

I During a short spell in hospital I started to read a copy of Gideon's Bible, mainly because it was all there was.

I suddenly realised that the structure of the Bible, or perhaps the way we read it is the problem.

As a Christian, I take the words of Jesus above all others.

Reading the Gospels I realised that Jesus' message was an affirmation and clarification of the 10 commandment.

He clarified the 3rd by telling us that we must never judge each other. Also that our relationship with God is personal, that we should pray in private.

He clarified the 4th by telling use that we must stop working one day in 7. There is no need to attend a church. But if we do, we should not use it to make an issue.

He told us that what we think is as important as what we do. And so on.

What becomes clear is that Jesus overturned almost all Mosaic law. His clarification of the 3rd commandment means that we are not subject to the judgement of anyone.

His clarification of the 6th commandment, Don't Kill, means that the ultimate sanction is invalid.

Therefore, it has to be concluded that, any prophet or writer who makes any declarations that defy any of the comnmandments, as clarified by Jesus is wrong.

[Just Kate]

My LDS (Mormon) faith has made a more significant and positive impact on my life than any other single thing.  There are still things I struggle with, and still things I do not understand, but I've found that as I live closer to the teachings of the higher law, the better able I am to cope with and made positive decisions in this world day to day.  I feel that regular prayer and scripture study have been paramount in my development and as such I rarely miss a morning or an evening to do such.

Overall I feel being a Christian has been very positive - it gives me a strong anchor wherein to give me stability while still allowing me the flexibility to seek truth wherever it can be found.

BTW, I recognize that some people will not consider Mormons Christians, but I personally feel I fit into the Christian heading.

[Alicia Marie]

I am thankful that even though God Almighty would give the children of Israel a fiery law that would reveal every aspect of what true holiness and righteousness was in His eyes and make all guilty of sin, that He would send His Son to die to make the atonement for those sins revealed by that law.

And I am thankful that all he requires is an unfeigned faith in that atoning Lamb of sacrifice to be acceptable in His sight. Straight, gay, cisgendered or transgendered.

And also I am thankful that although I be nothing more than a poor Gentile with nothing more to offer than my body, soul and spirit and faith in the blood of atonement, He loved me enough to send His Son to the most gruesome butchering imaginable that I might dwell forever with Him.

[Suzy]

I personally am a Christian.  I know that this viewpoint is very much the minority here, but I make no apologies.  In the New Testament Jesus often challenges the religious establishment because they just did not understand the essence of his teaching, which was always love.  Even to the point of Him laying down His life for others.  I still don't think the religious establishment today, or many who blindly follow them, understand His message.  Sure, the name of the establishment has changed.  But the legalism persists.  I do not believe that was ever God's ideal.  It is all about relationship:  A God who created us and loved us enough to do whatever it takes to be with us.  In return, we are to offer that same kind of relationship to each other and to the world.  That is the essence of the faith, and sadly, the part most overlooked.

Kristi

[bethzerosix]

 kristy said it perfectly.

[Tammy Hope]

What Kristy said.

Also:

As i see it the organized Christian Religion is much more what people take issue with than the teachings.

That results almost entirely from faulty humans "sanctifying" with the mask of theology that which is in fact nothing more than a cultural tradition.

As for the book itself, those who find so much fault with it usually do so because they fail to place it in the proper context.

If we assume, for the sake of the discussion, that it actually is God's revelation to human beings and then look at it logically, you will see things like:

a. the book is honest about the people described. It doesn't have, with only one or two possible exceptions, any examples of abject hero worship. It's a "warts and all" picture of humanity.

b. you have to consider the literary genre and purpose - when a paslmist speaks of dashing the heads of his enemies children against a rock, he's not speaking from God's point of view but from the feelings of a weak and failing human being much like us.

c. consider the audience. for even the most sophisticate human beings, a being powerful enough to create and maintain the universe would HAVE to "dumb down" anything he had to say (one commenter has called the Bible "God's Baby Talk") and that is even more true of the people who lived in the time of Moses and before.

One of my big objection to the literalistic approach to the Creation story - or the Flood story - is this very point. God is trying to explain the creation of the universe to an uneducated former slave wandering in a deasert(not Moses so much but the rest of them) - is he REALLY going into scientific detail that many in the 21st century don't grasp?

Or is he simply going to tell a story that communicates the essential truths about himself that he wishes to communicate?

Likewise, for the critic of the contents of the bible - have you considered that the book is about imparting spiritual lessons, not about justifying slavery or moruder or whatever?

So, to bottom line what I'm saying here - the things that we fault "Christianity" for are things which result from the flaws of human nature. Just like the flaws of politics or any other thing humans get involved in.

the wonderful thing is that christianity can also magnify the better instincts of humans as well. Critics seldom note the incalculable good works that have been done by Christians (the "evil" SBC, for instance, spent and gave tens of millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of man hours to relief work after Katrina - more than any other private entity by a wide margin. I have a lot of disagreements with the church I grew up in, but credit where due)

On balance, I think the faith itself is very worthy of praise - it's only the failings of human nature that currupt the results.

[Nero]

What Kristy said.

Also:

As i see it the organized Christian Religion is much more what people take issue with than the teachings.

That results almost entirely from faulty humans "sanctifying" with the mask of theology that which is in fact nothing more than a cultural tradition.

As for the book itself, those who find so much fault with it usually do so because they fail to place it in the proper context.

If we assume, for the sake of the discussion, that it actually is God's revelation to human beings and then look at it logically, you will see things like:

a. the book is honest about the people described. It doesn't have, with only one or two possible exceptions, any examples of abject hero worship. It's a "warts and all" picture of humanity.

b. you have to consider the literary genre and purpose - when a paslmist speaks of dashing the heads of his enemies children against a rock, he's not speaking from God's point of view but from the feelings of a weak and failing human being much like us.

c. consider the audience. for even the most sophisticate human beings, a being powerful enough to create and maintain the universe would HAVE to "dumb down" anything he had to say (one commenter has called the Bible "God's Baby Talk") and that is even more true of the people who lived in the time of Moses and before.

One of my big objection to the literalistic approach to the Creation story - or the Flood story - is this very point. God is trying to explain the creation of the universe to an uneducated former slave wandering in a deasert(not Moses so much but the rest of them) - is he REALLY going into scientific detail that many in the 21st century don't grasp?

Or is he simply going to tell a story that communicates the essential truths about himself that he wishes to communicate?

Likewise, for the critic of the contents of the bible - have you considered that the book is about imparting spiritual lessons, not about justifying slavery or moruder or whatever?

So, to bottom line what I'm saying here - the things that we fault "Christianity" for are things which result from the flaws of human nature. Just like the flaws of politics or any other thing humans get involved in.

the wonderful thing is that christianity can also magnify the better instincts of humans as well. Critics seldom note the incalculable good works that have been done by Christians (the "evil" SBC, for instance, spent and gave tens of millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of man hours to relief work after Katrina - more than any other private entity by a wide margin. I have a lot of disagreements with the church I grew up in, but credit where due)

On balance, I think the faith itself is very worthy of praise - it's only the failings of human nature that currupt the results.

Good points. Interesting.

[tekla]

"If all the achievements of scientists were wiped out tomorrow, there would be no doctors but witch doctors, no transport faster than horses, no computers, no printed books, no agriculture beyond subsistence peasant farming. If all the achievements of theologians were wiped out tomorrow, would anyone notice the smallest difference?"

Richard Dawkins, The Emptiness of Theology

[MaggieB]

Faith is a major issue to me. I agree with Kristi that a relationship with the divine is essential. For decades, I thought I had one of those and depended on it for my life decisions. However, since many have turned out to be tragedies, I can't really deal with whoever or whatever it was that I interacted with. I thought it was Jesus but now that the barrage of the hatred towards LBGT people has escalated, I find that I am fearful of Christians. No amount of prayer changes that. So I find myself lost and alone spiritually and have been for about three years. If there is a Jesus, I am sure he hates me now.
Maggie

[Sarah Louise]

I accepted Jesus Christ when I was 30, while I attend a local church, my faith does not depend on the local church or its members.  My faith and trust will always remain in Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord.

People will let you down all the time, even Christians (especially Christians because you expect more out of them).

It isn't always easy and yes, I have been hurt at times, discouraged, questioning, lost, but through it all I will trust in my Lord until my death.

Sarah L.

[Nigella]

If there is a Jesus, I am sure he hates me now.
Maggie

Maggie, I had to reply to this. Jesus does not hate you, unfortunately its fallen, frail, and un-spiritual human beings that cause the problem and we stumble in our faith through it. Jesus did say how bad it would be for someone to make a child stumble, it would be better to put a chain around his head and jump into the sea. Such is the agony Jesus feels when he sees one of his children stumble in faith because of some person who thinks they now what God thinks.

I don't want to say things that might seem like platitudes so pm me if you want. Your sister in Christ

Stardust