My belief is my belief...

[katie4evrr1]

Okay so I guess Im sick and tired of this one girl ragging on me for HOW I believe. I was raised in a mixed religious home, lutheran and catholic. So because of this I was never baptised (and I do not plan on being). As I have gotten older I have basically formed my own beliefs..
-Believe in god
-Believe in Jesus
-Believe in hell/Lucifer
-Believe Gays do have right to marraige and to be together
-I dont believe in Purgatory
-Dont believe I will go to hell if I am not baptised
-I believe if God feels he wants you to return to earth he will allow you to do so!
-Believe in Karma... what goes around comes around

So there is this one girl and she is very religious and she is always trying to start something. She actually told me I was going to hell because I refused to get baptised!! This upset me.. I have devoted my self to god and I dont feel i need to be bound to a church for this. Also, she feels gays are wrong. This upset me again and caused me to point out that the bible contradicts itself. It claims god made everyone the way they are, but then that marriage is only sacred between a man and woman. I feel the bible has been messed with by humans to much to honestly listen too it. Also, people will say everyday that being gay/lesbian/bi/ect. is a choice that you can change but,
1. you can't change what you are attracted to
2. if god made us this way then it is not a choice
I am straight, but I get that it is a prejudice and that we are created equal and thats how we should act.

Give me your opinions on the matter! I want to know, feel free to contradict me. It gives me something to think about..

[Xujhan]

If you believe that hell exists, who do you believe is there?

[Invert]

Baptism isn't to bind yourself to a church. If a church is teaching that, you dont want to go there anyway. If you are able to be baptised, Jesus has asked you to do so. But in his name, not as a bidning to any specific place. But as slavation is through faith, lack of baptism will not send you to hell. I also feel the Bible hasn't greatly been messed with, the issue is more, the interperation has been messed with. Many Christians are more likely to believe what they are taught, than what the Bible actually says.

[Sythan]

Wow, she is seriously misguided. I wouldn't pay her any attention, bigots like that are the ones going to hell, not the ones who lives their life in peace. Organized religion like the Church is incredibly corrupt and actively working to impede on other people's free will to choose what they believe. If it is her wish to work against the common good of other people, then let Karma get her.

Like I've said before, the Bible was not written by Gods own hand, it was written by men, men who are wrong and men who sin.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

She sounds like the stereotypical Christian: hateful, doesn't fully understand their belief nor the bible and sticks with it because it's what she was taught. When it comes to gays, the whole issue occurs because of mistranslations starting back from the Greek texts to when they were translated into the King James Version. That said, most of the bible through countless translations does keep its meaning fairly well intact but the problem arises with how it is interpreted and acknowledgement that the bible was written in a completely different sociopolitical time with different norms. The part of the baptism I don't know much about but I never consider it anything binding to the church.

As for your belief, I have a few questions. First, do you believe in Satan being a because you specifically mentioned "hell/Lucifer"? Second, who goes to hell and heaven? Third, what is your view on freewill because you said god determines if you return to Earth? Many view that god doesn't directly affect people. Fourth, does karma result from the Christian god? If not, then what does it result from?

[Kate*]

If pressed I would say I'm Catholic because I was baptized as a baby, but otherwise I'll tell you I'm not religious, but most of my beliefs are similar to yours. We all have the right to believe as we choose whether it follows a specific religion or not. As for the gay issue, and this can apply to different things. In my opinion prejudice of any kind is wrong and using religion as an excuse to discriminate is even worse. Things like "love thy neighbor as thyself" unless their gay or suicidal (since some say that suicide is a sin) never made sense to me. With my extremely limited knowlede of the Bible, I also seem to remember something about not judging. So, don't judge people unless it's in the name of religion? Again this makes no sense to me.

[John 6:29]

Originally Posted by SaVeMeFrOmMySeLf96

So there is this one girl and she is very religious and she is always trying to start something. She actually told me I was going to hell because I refused to get baptised!! This upset me..

I am a Christian, I'll give you my perspective on some of what you said.

First of all, I find man's religion funny. That is, man always wants to DO something to be saved, when God's religion, you do nothing. Christ does the doing.

You are not saved by baptism, and more than you are saved by plucking out your eyes, cutting off your hands, or selling all your possessions and giving to the poor (See Matt. 18:9, Matthew 5:30, Luke 12:33).

It's funny to me that all these people want to force rules and regulations on Christianity, when they don't even follow them themselves. I mean, really. Consider for a second, if we are to be baptized, because Christ said that to one guy, or if Christ said to be born again to one guy, so we must be baptized and born again, are we not also required to cut off our hands, sell all our possessions, pluck out our eyes, etc.? Because He said that to people as well, did He not? Whenever someone tells me to do something because I HAVE to, I just ask them when the last time they lusted after a person was and when they did if they plucked out their eye. They usually don't respond.

The point of all of Christ's teachings are to point to Himself. They are to show us that we are helpless. That we need a Savior. Take for example Nicodemus, Christ told Nicodemus that unless we are born again we cannot enter the Kingdom of God. What did Nicodemus say? "How can a man re-enter his mother's womb when he is old?" Obviously, we can't. We can't force ourselves to be born again, because being born again is just as anti-freewill as our first birth. We had no choice in it. Thus Christ always shows that the cost for entering into Heaven is impossible. It points us to Christ. Should you get baptized? Absolutely. Will it save you? No. Why should you? If you love Christ, shouldn't you want to obey?

Originally Posted by SaVeMeFrOmMySeLf96

I have devoted my self to god and I dont feel i need to be bound to a church for this.

The Church are Christians, not a building. The established church was not set up until several hundred years after Christ by a pagan guy named Alexander, who was a gnostic and worshiped many false god's while claiming all the while to be a Christian. However, in Hebrews, it tells us that we need the enouragement of other Christians. So, if you're not in a church, where are you getting this encouragment from? Are you taking communion, as we are also commanded? You see, I don't think church is a requirement, but I believe following the Bible is, so, we need to be doing this. Not because some old preacher who doesn't know what he is talking about tells us to. But because it was established ordinances by the One who loved us and gave Himself for us. Should we not at least follow Him in the littlest regard? I believe it was Gandhi who said, "I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians for they are so unlike your Christ." I guess my point is, don't be another hypocrite -- like myself and many other Christians.

Originally Posted by SaVeMeFrOmMySeLf96

It claims god made everyone the way they are,

I'm going to stop you right here. This argument, though I do not believe homosexuality itself is a sin, the act is, I am going to reverse this argument towards you. In Romans 3 we find that all mankind has hatred in their hearts. Christ told us that we murder in our hearts, that we commit adultery in our hearts. Are you saying that God made us to commit murder? That He gave us the desires to commit adultery? Or are these results of a fallen nature?

Originally Posted by SaVeMeFrOmMySeLf96

I feel the bible has been messed with by humans to much to honestly listen too it.

This has been disproven so many times. The Bible has virtually remained the same in it's original language. It's the translations you have to look for. The KJV remains the most accurate and has not removed any texts that other versions have. The reason is that the KJV uses the Byzantine textus receptus, which is how the older Bibles would have been used -- thus the most accurate amongst Bibles. While the newer versions, i.e. NIV, NRSV, NAB, NASB, ESV, RSV, etc. all use the Alexandrian textus receptus. The same guy who established the Christian religion into another building, as forementioned. In fact, he even placed the Christian worship day (Sunday) in honor the sun god.

Originally Posted by SaVeMeFrOmMySeLf96

Also, people will say everyday that being gay/lesbian/bi/ect. is a choice that you can change but,1. you can't change what you are attracted to 2. if god made us this way then it is not a choice

No, but acting on those feelings are. I am a sexual person. That does not mean I have the right to lust or sleep with every person I am physically attracted to. The Bible teaches that there were some born eunuchs for the kingdom of God. Is it not likely this is a reference to homosexuals? The thing I find tiring about this argument, and the reason why I never talk about homosexuality much, is because I am just as much a sinner as the homosexual. I mean, honestly, forget our sexual orientation. We're still all under sin. We've still all fallen short of the glory of God. We still are all enemies of God by nature. My personal idea on this is to just share the Gospel. If homosexuality is wrong, God will deal with them once their saved. Not because their saved. As it is, they're not going to hell because they're homosexuals. They're going to hell because their sinners. The same reason I would be going to hell if it were not for Christ.

[katie4evrr1]

okay i respect everyones opinions and understand what everyone is saying. Actually all the comments are giving me alot to think about. I want people to keep commenting because i feel there is so much to religion that is interpretated differently and doing this allows us to see everyones point of veiw. i really wrote this because the girl angers me so much with how to speaks to people about religion. As if it is only her beliefs that are true. please keep sharing opinions and own beliefs. better to be open minded then closed off

[John 6:29]

Originally Posted by SaVeMeFrOmMySeLf96

okay i respect everyones opinions and understand what everyone is saying. Actually all the comments are giving me alot to think about. I want people to keep commenting because i feel there is so much to religion that is interpretated differently and doing this allows us to see everyones point of veiw. i really wrote this because the girl angers me so much with how to speaks to people about religion. As if it is only her beliefs that are true. please keep sharing opinions and own beliefs. better to be open minded then closed off

Well, someone's beliefs are most likely right, and only right. In fact, you're implying that your beliefs about her beliefs are right, and likely to be just as high-minded. I'm not saying that to anger you, but just to keep from hypocrisy. Even if you don't agree with me. I find whenever we judge someone, or get angry at them, we're generally doing the same exact thing we accuse them of.