Disclaimer: My beliefs (and myself, really) are still under the microscope. I'm still trying to figure out who exactly I am and what I believe. The below beliefs are subject to change as I come to understand myself better and better.
1. One can go from saved to unsaved, simply by a choice. If grace is a gift, one can not only accept (or refuse) it at the first offer, but one can also return (or accept) it later. Think Wal-Mart gift return.
2. God exists, but is either uncaring, cold, impersonal, and distant, or is cruel, unforgiving, and punishing. To a fault.
3. While I am highly accepting, to a point of apathy, of most (if not all) other religions, I do not believe in any of them.
4. I agree with the deist view that all of the different holy books are man-made and should be treated as such. Yes, many/most/all of them are/could be true and historically accurate, but they are still man-made. Any claims to true spirituality are considered false until proven beyond any doubt to be true.
5. I view all religions to be very selective and discriminatory. Everyone believes that they are right and everyone else is wrong. Thus, I don't trust any of them. (See #3)
6. If there are sins to be considered, judgment is one of the biggest. It shows a complete lack of love and/or acceptance of the judgee as a person. You may disagree with their beliefs all you want, but judging them is NOT acceptable. Everyone wants to be loved and/or accepted. There is no sense in depriving them of this just because their god has a different name.**
Judgment = Religious Discrimination = BAD
**This is the point where my church sinks to a very low and disgusting place in my eyes. They have an entire congregation of die-hard "sinners". AKA, they all jump for the chance to judge others.
This is a basic summary of what I believe. I am willing to discuss any point further with anyone. If you have any questions regarding any of these points or regarding any other points that may have been overlooked, please feel free to ask. I'm still working on understanding what I believe. Any questions or serious discussions can only help me to understand myself more.
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Me 201
To be completely honest, I don't even know myself right now. I'm 99% sure that I haven't changed though. Just my view on life and the world around me has changed. But, I'm still trying to figure out how.
I know that I don't believe in God (or god, if you so choose) anymore, but I do believe in His (his, etc.) existence. But again, that's just a viewpoint. If you had told the year-ago-me about the today-me, I would've told you I was going to hell. A year ago, I was a die-hard Christian, just like the rest of them.
Well, actually I'm still a little confused about that part too. Yes, I prayed the believer's prayer. I went to church every Sunday and Wednesday. I read my Bible every day. But now, I'm not sure how much of that was sincere. Did I pray that prayer, attend church, and read my Bible all for show?
Unfortunately, I can see this being true. Thus, I'm not sure if I was ever Christian, but I know for a fact that, today, I am not. This point has been included in my present "religious" views.
The incredibly good news is that my boyfriend, Corey, and I have finally come to an understanding about all of this. See, he's still a Christian. Still wants to attend church and talk to God and read the Bible, etc. I'm willing to do all of that, but I will never believe in any of it. Not from my present viewpoint. But, for example, he worries about our future as a couple, potentially (and very possibly) a married couple with children. He wants, and I also want, our children to be raised in a Christian home. For them to go to church and learn about God and become better people for it.
While I do not presently believe in God myself, I do see the character and morals that believing in Him has given me. At the same time, this effect could have come from my parents. Again, not sure. But to make him (Corey) happy and to give our kids a chance to be happy, I do want them to go to church and figure out what they believe. Yes, I want them to find their own religion/beliefs, like I have. If their father is a Baptist Christian and their mother is nonreligious, I think they should have a good chance of learning for themselves. They don't have both parents influencing them one way or the other like Corey and I both have had.
Either way, for our future and for our kids, I am willing to go through the motions. I can go to church every Sunday. I can pray with them at the dinner table. I can participate in whatever family Bible studies we have. And if my kids ask me what I believe, I will not lie to them. And one day, perhaps I will even tell them the whole story of what happened, what became of what happened, and why things are the way they would be then.
Would this be lying to them their entire lives? If so, it's only to protect them. To give them their own choice.
Feedback please: do you think this will work the way I'm saying it? Will they have free choice? Should they have free choice?
Maybe I'll make a post later on a better description of what I believe. We'll see.
I know that I don't believe in God (or god, if you so choose) anymore, but I do believe in His (his, etc.) existence. But again, that's just a viewpoint. If you had told the year-ago-me about the today-me, I would've told you I was going to hell. A year ago, I was a die-hard Christian, just like the rest of them.
Well, actually I'm still a little confused about that part too. Yes, I prayed the believer's prayer. I went to church every Sunday and Wednesday. I read my Bible every day. But now, I'm not sure how much of that was sincere. Did I pray that prayer, attend church, and read my Bible all for show?
Unfortunately, I can see this being true. Thus, I'm not sure if I was ever Christian, but I know for a fact that, today, I am not. This point has been included in my present "religious" views.
The incredibly good news is that my boyfriend, Corey, and I have finally come to an understanding about all of this. See, he's still a Christian. Still wants to attend church and talk to God and read the Bible, etc. I'm willing to do all of that, but I will never believe in any of it. Not from my present viewpoint. But, for example, he worries about our future as a couple, potentially (and very possibly) a married couple with children. He wants, and I also want, our children to be raised in a Christian home. For them to go to church and learn about God and become better people for it.
While I do not presently believe in God myself, I do see the character and morals that believing in Him has given me. At the same time, this effect could have come from my parents. Again, not sure. But to make him (Corey) happy and to give our kids a chance to be happy, I do want them to go to church and figure out what they believe. Yes, I want them to find their own religion/beliefs, like I have. If their father is a Baptist Christian and their mother is nonreligious, I think they should have a good chance of learning for themselves. They don't have both parents influencing them one way or the other like Corey and I both have had.
Either way, for our future and for our kids, I am willing to go through the motions. I can go to church every Sunday. I can pray with them at the dinner table. I can participate in whatever family Bible studies we have. And if my kids ask me what I believe, I will not lie to them. And one day, perhaps I will even tell them the whole story of what happened, what became of what happened, and why things are the way they would be then.
Would this be lying to them their entire lives? If so, it's only to protect them. To give them their own choice.
Feedback please: do you think this will work the way I'm saying it? Will they have free choice? Should they have free choice?
Maybe I'll make a post later on a better description of what I believe. We'll see.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Me 101
First thing to know about me: I'm stubborn.
I'm also secretly approaching agnosticism, if I haven't gotten there already. And I don't want to change that, not right now at least.
Wow, this is the first time I've been able to really talk about this openly. My parents are both die-hard Baptist Christians, my siblings too, and I go to a Baptist church filled almost entirely with sickeningly fake Christians, the kind that cause non-Christians to hate God and the church before they even get a chance to experience it.
And that's not even considering those who've been in the church all their life, like myself. Though, to be truthful, they're not the ones who started this for me. God did this Himself, in my case.
I lost 2 of my best friends within a month or two of each other, both of them ditching me one way or another. It was a very very low and dark time for me, to say the least. It didn't help that this was the time God decided to stab me in the back. I was looking for comfort, for love, for someone to care about me, and He gave me the last verses I ever read. Psalms 88, for the curious ones. Yes, I've opened the Bible since then and read the words on the pages, but they've meant nothing to me since then. God has meant nothing to me since then. I haven't prayed, I prefer to sleep through church when possible. I would skip church entirely, but my good Christian parents would have a fit if I did that. I have no excuse good enough to get out of it either. So I'm stuck in a church that I hate with a God that I dislike.
I do not want to be dissuaded from this, in case you were wondering. Like I said, I'm stubborn, and this is the path I've chosen, for now at least.
This is one of the big parts of my life right now. It feels so good to finally write it all out.
Until next time.
I'm also secretly approaching agnosticism, if I haven't gotten there already. And I don't want to change that, not right now at least.
Wow, this is the first time I've been able to really talk about this openly. My parents are both die-hard Baptist Christians, my siblings too, and I go to a Baptist church filled almost entirely with sickeningly fake Christians, the kind that cause non-Christians to hate God and the church before they even get a chance to experience it.
And that's not even considering those who've been in the church all their life, like myself. Though, to be truthful, they're not the ones who started this for me. God did this Himself, in my case.
I lost 2 of my best friends within a month or two of each other, both of them ditching me one way or another. It was a very very low and dark time for me, to say the least. It didn't help that this was the time God decided to stab me in the back. I was looking for comfort, for love, for someone to care about me, and He gave me the last verses I ever read. Psalms 88, for the curious ones. Yes, I've opened the Bible since then and read the words on the pages, but they've meant nothing to me since then. God has meant nothing to me since then. I haven't prayed, I prefer to sleep through church when possible. I would skip church entirely, but my good Christian parents would have a fit if I did that. I have no excuse good enough to get out of it either. So I'm stuck in a church that I hate with a God that I dislike.
I do not want to be dissuaded from this, in case you were wondering. Like I said, I'm stubborn, and this is the path I've chosen, for now at least.
This is one of the big parts of my life right now. It feels so good to finally write it all out.
Until next time.
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