Why?

[Dondi]

I'm at a crossroad. I grew up in a Baptist church and became a believer in Christ having been saved at the age of 13. Of course in my formative teen years I seriously drifted away and got to the point of being nominally agnostic in my early teens. At the age of 22, I have a change of heart and a revival in my life as I reached from a depressed state toward God. I cannot deny that felt a relief over my depressed state and a feeling of forgiveness in me. I credit God for helping me. (I had even found the strength to quit smoking, which I credit God). I found refuge in an Apostolic church. They believe that to be saved one must be baptised in Jesus' name (as opposed being baptised in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and have the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Anyone that did not have these prerequisites was lost. So know I'm thinking that I have to get my family saved again 'cause they are Baptist. It certainly radically narrowed the way to Heaven. But I soon found that the Apostolic church was too shepherdish. They expected me to attend every meeting and if I missed a meeting, they made it out like I committed the sin of adultery. Needless to say, I left this church for a Charismatic Baptist church, if that makes any sense.

When I got married, we joined a regular Baptist church (mostly Filipinos like my wife) in San Diego we felt comfortable with and had a sense of satisfaction serving God through fellowship, prayer, studying the Bible, and spreading the Gospel. Yes, sir, I was one of those who knocked at your door Saturday morning asking if you are sure you are going to heaven and presenting Jesus as the only way. When I left the Navy in 2003, we moved to Southern Maryland and joined a Baptist church there. But we deeply missed our fellow churchmembers in San Diego and never really connected with our current church members for some reason. Probably because their weren't really any Filipinos attending there (Filipinos tend to be Catholic). So we stopped going not soon after joining.

So now not having gone to church for awhile, I have done some soul searching. I started thinking about lost souls.

There are 6 billion+ people in this world. Current estimates put about 2.1 billion in Christianity. But this includes people who profess in name only, and not in practice. It also includes cults and abherrent Christian groups that fall outside mainline Christianity. And people in mainline Christianity who attend church, but never got saved. So it would'nt be a stretch of the imagine if, for the sake of arguement, in my Baptist thinking, that out of 2.1 billion, maybe only 1 billion are true Christians. That leaves some 5 billion people who are lost and going to hell. 5 billion!! That's a lot of souls, lots of souls. That is unfathomable to me. If God is supposed to be victorious and means to have His Name glorified among the nations of the world, He sure doesn't seem to have a good track record.

Currently, I've begun a re-evaulation of my beliefs. I see too many people in other faiths and beliefs that seem to have a bonifide, faith in God. If I am going to keep a Christian perspective, I'd either have to believe that somehow Jesus saves those who have a faith in God albeit a different religion, or abandon the Christian religion in favor of a more tolerant belief. This is a major step for me. What I'm doing now is researching Judiasm since Christianity came out of it. I want to find out why the Jews don't believe Jesus is not the Messiah and finding some really interesting facts. I'm also I'm testing the New Testament with the Old Testament and finding some eye-opening discepancies between the two. In essence, I'm thinking like a Jew. I'd never in a million year imagine I would be exploring Judiasm as a source of faith. Who knew? And no, my wife and kids don't know.

So I'm kinda inbetween religions, hence my avatar of the Star of David with a cross in it.

[arthra]

Originally Posted by neon_sheep

Hello everyone!

I was just thinking that it would be interesting to hear why everyone chose the certain religion they chose. Also, why their religion or, perhaps, their lack of religion, is "more correct" or whathaveyou than the rest. I don't mean this in a way where religions and beliefs are put down, of course!
--Taryn

When I was twenty five i was looking for something that i could accept without rejecting other religions.... It seemed at the time that the churches and religious organizations I looked into spent a lot of energy dumping on other groups and i found this very inattractive and from a spiritual standpoint rather deadening and stultifying.

Then i discovered some Baha'i books in the local library and read them feeling that if i ever met a Baha'i i would have to declare..or become a Baha'i.

I was also drawn by the progressive principles of the Baha'i Faith.

- Art

[Awaiting_the_fifth]

I was an atheist for a long time, but I had a vague sense that human beings were capable of being infinately greater than we are at the moment.

A couple of years ago I saw the film, "7 years in tibet" and I realised then that I knew absolutely nothing about the Buddhist faith, which seemed like a serious oversight in these modern times. I borrowed some books from a friend and then went to speak with a buddhist monk at a (sort of) local buddhist centre.

I found that Buddhist teachings fitted perfectly with my own feleings, and the rest is history.

[Nogodnomasters]

Ah Dondi, you forgot why "bad things happen to good people" and why are "innocent children born with birth defects."

Maybe God isn't that nice a guy after all. It seems he has no power over nature.

Can we petition God with prayer? Or is his mind already made up?

What is the basic essence of God? What is God made of? What does God look like?

I suggest reading HarperCollins "Bible Commentary" for starters, if you really want to learn about the Bible from professionals and not snake oil salesmen.

[Abogado del Diablo]

Originally Posted by Nogodnomasters

What is the basic essence of God? What is God made of? What does God look like?

Look in the mirror. What you see is what you get.

[Dondi]

Originally Posted by Nogodnomasters

Ah Dondi, you forgot why "bad things happen to good people" and why are "innocent children born with birth defects."

Maybe God isn't that nice a guy after all. It seems he has no power over nature.

Can we petition God with prayer? Or is his mind already made up?

What is the basic essence of God? What is God made of? What does God look like?

I suggest reading HarperCollins "Bible Commentary" for starters, if you really want to learn about the Bible from professionals and not snake oil salesmen.

I know why bad things happen to good people and why innocent children are born with defects. We live in an imperfect world, a cursed world. But I think God will change all that. One day, He will set everything right, that I have no doubt.

But see, we live such a short time here compared to eternity. Whenever someone dies, they are not really dead. In fact, I think they, in most cases, are better off than we are.

Are we to blame and curse God on tragedies in our lives? We could, but what is the point. Job learned it doesn't do any good to curse God. He simply accepted his predicament. God rains on the righteous and the unrighteous.

I believe in randomness, to a certain point. I believe this randomness is monitored by God and that nothing escapes His will. I think at times, God honors prayer and responds by causing or changing events. I also think that He is most concerned with our character and therefore His answer is not always what we want, but according to His wisdom. I believe that God is in control and has an overall plan for humanity.

BTW I have HarperCollin's "Bible Commentary". I'm also deep in study with the Old Testament and using all kinds of resourses at my disposal. I'm determined form my own opinion about the Bible and filter other's opinions through the reason of my own mind, thank you.