Which word should I choose to define my beliefs?

Question

I believe in God, there is no doubt there. On the paper I'm a Christian, I call myself a Christian. On the other hand, I think it 'may' be true that whole religion thing is made up and nothing different than people believing in various Gods during Greek mythology years. I don't believe pre-martial s*x or homosexuality are a sin or Bible says anything about that, I don't think being from a different religion is a bad thing or non-Christians, atheists will go to h**l.

But when I think about religions as philosophies, if it makes sense - I love Jesus, but as a philosophy I'm much closer to Buddhism (as a philosophy, I don't see it as a religion). Sometimes I pray but with my own words, not like reading parts from the holy books.

Am I a theist or a realistic Christian who has some questions? Please don't answer based on your own beliefs but your mind. Thank you :-)

Answer 1

Hmm, thats an interesting question. And when you say you pray but with your own words- to me thats much more personal and it actually draws you closer to God than reading lines from the Bible. And I don't agree with your views on pre-martial s*x, homosexuality, or that non-Christians won't go to h**l. Because to me all those things are clearly laid out in the Bible... :) and if you don't believe that the Bible is accurate then that means we can change allt he rules. I believe that the Bible is 100% accurate and theres nothing false about it. (Aside from like the stuff int he old testament because alot of that stuff wasn't in context with Christ and crucifiction..)  

Answer 2

"Choice"

Adopting ANY  kind of mental state, of which the adoption of a "Religion" is obviously one is simply a matter of choice.

After all today I can choose to be a Christian, tomorrow a Bhuddist, next day a Muslim and the next an Atheist!

Just think of the amount of time energy and money spent by those participating in all of the worlds religions.

I believe if the whole of it was re-directed to world betterment in every way instead of being wasted in competing with each other, then each of them would actually witness the mystical power of betterment they have spent centuries believing can come through ONE PERSON in the form of their figurehead be it "God" or "Allah".

Oh when will everyone apart from me wake up and realise that it is WE who run (and ruin)the world and our lives, not some fantastic figment of our imagination?

Answer 3

I would say an open-minded Christian or a self believer.

Well Im Catholic which is slighlty different from Christianity...don't ask me why...I wouldn't know lol.

But....I totally agree with you anthis is a problem not many people seem to understand here.  I used to be an alter server but slowly I kind of detatched myself from the church, I still say I believe in God but I do not pray or believe he is there to save me etc....

When it comes to the bible, I believe that most of it is made up, however I like to the think of the bible, like you say, as a philosophy. Take the feeding of the 5000, I dont believe this, however I believe that if this situation were to occur, the Catholic/Christian thing to do is to share it, even if every person gets one crumb and one fish scale, its better than 4999 watching one person eat.

I then took philosophy and ethics as part of my A-Levels and I found it very interesting, but it opened up my mind more than my faith, I like to think that Im not a bad person for embracing my sins, but when the time comes, I will do the right thing.

I also believe this about Satanism (and I have yet to read the satanic bible) but this too is a philosophy which was also quoted by the creator of the church of satan and the satanic bible.  Its not about demons and rituals and sacrifice, thats all made up, its about a way of life that puts yourself before others, so you can live a more endulged life, but not in an evil way.  Just like eating your last sweet instead of sharing it lol.

But people here think that because they believe in one religion, nothing else counts, hense the timely arguments between atheists and christians.  Neither one will say that they respect eachothers views and move on, it has to be about whos right.

Point being, as long as you are a good person, noting else matters, I like my sins, I like not going to church, I dont believe in afterlife, but I wouldnt kill anyone!

Answer 4

I'm in kind of the same situation,i have been brought up a christian but i do not believe in god although some of the things that the bible says i do believe. I'm more of a Buddhist as well but am not aloud to be according to my parents.

personally i think you are a realistic cristian because you still believe in some of the bible but because the bible was written years ago peoples thoughts have changed.

sorry that did not really help but that's all i could think of. :)

Answer 5

If you believe that Jesus died to save you from sin, that makes you a Christian.

You don't have to conform to any of the orthodox Churches. Jesus didn't.

Answer 6

Many people call themselves Christians without actually following Christianity in any real way. I used to be like this and I believe you do the same thing. Therefore I would not call you a Christian.

If you believe that God exists, created the world and watches over us then you are a theist. (A Monotheist believes in one god (example: Christianity) and a polytheist believes in multiple Gods (example: Hinduism))

If you believe that God exists and created the world but does not watch over us or care in any way once he had finished creating then you are a Deist.

If you are undecided for whatever reason then you are agnostic.

If you are agnostic and leaning strongly towards the non-existence of God then you are atheist. Many people don't realise that atheism actually just means 'not theist' (technically an atheist can also be a deist but this doesn't happen often anymore) and that most atheists are actually agnostic. (Think of it in terms of being "Agnostic in regards to God as you are agnostic in regards to fairies at the bottom of the garden" and that is atheism)

There's a basic description of different religion standings and only you know which category you fit into. All I can suggest from what you've said is that you're not a Christian. The only way to really find out where you are is to look into each individually and decide from there. Research Buddhism and talk to some Buddhists if you feel this might be for you. Oh and you'll find a lot of intelligent people regard this as a life philosophy rather than a religion as well, so you're not alone.

If you want to explore Atheism or being an agnostic further I recommend The God Delusion.

Answer 7

There are no real world set parameters that you have to stay with in to be a believer.    

Structured religion institutions are important and their advice can help but beyond that each persons belief is a personal thing.  You can structure your beliefs how ever you like.

Answer 8

You sound like a United Methodist. That's pretty much their creed. My mother is one.

Answer 9

I'd call you an Agnostic but in the realm of Christianity, and without prejudice; you'd best be defined as a heretic.

Answer 10

Frankly, you are a good human being and there has to be no label for what you are or your beliefs.

Answer 11

OMG... you love Jesus? Do you read the Bible at all?

According to the Bible, ONE SUREST SIGN of Jesus coming back and the Rapture™ is the slaughter of innocent children in the end of days! Some Christian preachers explain away this gross fact in the Bible… The Bible writers made it into a pattern that before any major event in Bible stories innocent children get slaughtered! This is a primitive trick to scare the heck out of religious people to catch their attention! When Israel was liberated from Egypt God had ALL the innocent first born children of Egyptian parents slaughtered on the spot! When Jesus was born ALL the innocent male children 2 years of age and under were slaughtered in a way that not even God the Holy Ghost could possibly comfort the grieving mothers! (Mat 2:18)  So it will be when Jesus comes back a lot of liberal Churches will loose ALL their CHILDREN… Jesus will have them slaughtered not in Iraq, but in the Churches!

Revelation 2:23 (NIV) (Jesus says in his REVELATION for the last days) I WILL STRIKE HER CHILDREN DEAD* (*Just for the heck of it! Hey, No abortionist can beat Jesus at killing babies… AMEN???... Jesus is doing the killing of the innocent children to announce his return and at the same time teach everybody a lesson on WHO IS THE BOSS! In our society today Christians are very selective in what they preach from the Bible! Their PRO-LIFE bit is an afford to dissociate themselves from this kind of Jesus REVELATION…!) Then ALL THE CHURCHES WILL KNOW that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.* (*I’m the BOSS says Jesus Christ the LORD and I take it on the kids in the Churches to pay for the deeds of their parents! Not even the Mafia measures up to Jesus! Jesus’ infanticide mania comes from way back when God the Father highly favored anyone killing the innocent children of his enemies… because the Bible God has many enemies!)

Psalm 137:8-9 (NIV) O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us- he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

Jesus knows that the enemies of God ought to be killed in their infancy when it is easier to get rid of them! In Bible times hardly anybody practiced abortions because it was easier and much safer to “dash the infants against the rocks” after they are born like God suggests in his Holy Word the Bible! Unwanted children were put out without any accountability right after they were born like it was done in Egypt to the willing Hebrew ladies. Christianity is not much of a civilized religion at all! Today, it is pure Christian PRO-LIFE bigotry of the worst kind that makes Christianity acceptable in our religious oriented society…!

Luke 19:27 (NIV) (Jesus is very excited telling this story… most Christians prefer to ignore!) But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them–bring them here and kill them in front of me.

Jesus Christ suggested the slaughter by drowning of anybody causing a Christian who is weak in the Faith to stumble… He also suggested the shedding of body parts, including male castration to make it into the Kingdom of Heaven!  Most Christians today don’t pay attention to Jesus’ gory suggestions, but throughout Christian history many people paid with their lives for disobeying the Clergy, including the witches and slaves that were killed here in America ONE NATION UNDER GOD!  

BTW… another sure sign of the impending Biblical “end of times” that hardly any Christian talks about is the FULL RESTORATION OF SODOM…!!!

Ezekiel 16:48-49,53,55 (NIV) As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD* (*The LORD God Jehovah won’t lie!), your sister Sodom and her daughters NEVER DID what you* (*Jerusalem! --The dishonest preachers and clergy in general won’t tell you that according to the Bible writers JERUSALEM IS MUCH WORSE THAN SODOM...!!!) and your daughters have done. ”Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom* (*PLEASE NOTICE! It is not homosexuality at all!!!): She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy...* (*Neither God Almighty in Fairy Heaven nor God the Son Jesus Christ EVER MENTIONED THAT THE SIN OF SODOM was homosexuality!) [53] "However, I* (*God) will restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them… [55] And your sisters, SODOM WITH HER DAUGHTERS and Samaria with her daughters, WILL RETURN TO WHAT THEY WERE BEFORE; and you and your daughters will return to what you were before.

Some of the most important Bible writers de facto admit that the destruction of Sodom was a mistake because Jerusalem turned out to be much worse than Sodom. According to the Bible God, Sodom and Gomorrah will be FULLY RESTORED to what they were BEFORE THEIR DESTRUCTION… Praise the LORD! Sweet Jesus! And this must be taking place right now before the 2nd coming of Jesus!  It is already getting fulfilled with the same s*x marriages going on in our very days…!!! You must know that the Sodomites were holier than Righteous Lot. Lot’s virgin daughters were engaged to be married to Sodomites who believed in virgin “purity” until marriage…!!! It was Righteous Lot who delivered his own virgin daughters for the unrestricted pleasure of some Sodomite g**s who were looking for the “strange” male visitors who wanted to spend the night outside in the main street of Sodom not at Lot’s pad! The Sodomites REFUSED TO HAVE s*x WITH LOT’S YOUNG VIRGIN AND INNOCENT DAUGHTERS, but Holy Lot got real drunk and had s*x with them until he got them pregnant! Christian dishonesty telling the Sodom and Gomorrah story is so disgusting!  A lot of innocent, but Bible ignorant and clergy obedient Christian bigots are actually preventing the fulfillment of Bible prophecies!  Hey, let’s give the Bible God a chance!  It is all in the BIBLE! It won’t be long before Clergy will wise up to monitor the morality of same s*x marriages and of the ladies in desperate need of a decent abortion!

Answer 12

If you love Jesus as you say you do, you must come to terms with the Word of God as Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh.

Otherwise, you might as well call Him a fraud.

Answer 13

If you want the religious route, why don't you try a Unitarian church.

They seem to be open to all types.

You won't have to use the bible in a literal sense, but your own judgment.

Answer 14

You're possibly starting to wake up, all you need to do now is continue your research of religions to include a little science in there and hopefully with your thought processes you will see that there is in fact no god at all thus making all religion(s) false.  Good luck.

Answer 15

on paper u r not christian u can not be a beliver in christ if u believe that it may be true it is made up either u believe or u dont

to say u believe but it may be made up is to say i am partly pregnant u r either pregnant with the word of God or u r not either u believe all of the bible or u r not of God u can not take things out because they don't suit your needs such as i will jst throw out lev18:22 where it says homosexuals are an abomination if u dont believe homosexuality is against God's word then u believe He is a liar

if u r not completely with God u r automatically against Him there are only 2 types of people with Him or against Him this is biblical not an interpretation by man of a verse they don't want to believe in

Answer 16

if you believe in god...the LAST thing you are is atheist.

but it shows that you are using your brain if you have at least some doubts about god.

Answer 17

smart christian

Answer 18

You're sensible.