Christian

[Begram]

How do I know if deep down I'm Christian?

[sithlord]

If you can't resist the urge to stick a fish motif on you're Honda Civic!

[Begram]

lol. very good.

[dot.hawkes]

too deep for me, can we talk about history myth and the meaning of life pretty please/

[jno]

you believe in God, you believe Jesus was his son. The requirements are a bit vague these days - I'm not sure you have to believe in the more fairytale elements like Adam and Eve - but i think those two are the minimum.

[Lonnie]

Quite simply, you wouldn't have doubts and question it, if you want to be one, and aren't sure, go and speak to a priest or minister.

[Begram]

I tried that, but he just kept asking me what I didn't like about myself.

[johnlambert]

you wont need to ask the question on AB you'll just know, its like knowing your in love, it feels so right.

[Begram]

Will plastic surgery be required?

[brionon]

If you can believe at least three impossible things before breakfast, you are on the way.

[Shipstabber]

The fact that you've asked this in 'History and Myths' isn't a good sign!

[Lonnie]

The thing about Christinity, Judaism and Islam, is that its 'Blind Faith', If you think you believe in God, but are not sure about your religion, have a look at some of the others, its possible that even a fringe religion might be the one for you. Shop around, you never know.

[Clanad]

With all due respect, Christianity and Judaism are not blind faiths, thought that is a common accusation. Isaiah 1:18 says, and I paraphrase..."Come let us reason together"... after this invitation, the Lord lays out His case. As well, Acts 16:31 declares, �Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your house as well. Simply stated, you are Christian (and by extension a Jew) if you've called on the Name (Ha Shem) of the Lord (Romans 10:13). Chrsitianity is not a religion as such... it's a relationship. It's power and peace is not dependant on you... it's dependant on the absolutely free saving grace provided by Elohim for no other reason than that He loves you...

[Lonnie]

Clanad, I beg to differ, if you'll bear with me, I say 'blind', because apart from the written word, there's no visual proof, and by that, I mean no-one today, has personally seen Jesus, and only Moses has seen God, and that was his back parts.

I appreciate what you've written, and agree that in Theological matters your probably much more learned than I, but we only have, as i've said, the 'written word'.

Yes we can look around and see the natural wonders of the world, but we have either read that God created the world, or have been told it, then its up to the person himself what he wants to believe.

I, by birth and religion am Jewish, i'm not a Rabbi, but I don't believe for one instance that God is a loving, Peaceful God, God, in the Old Testament and Torah, was, in my view, a God of war, and inflicted the most terrible punishments on those that displeased him, he was then also, a selfish God.

shalom alechem.

Shalom Alechem.

[Clanad]

But... but... Lonnie, isn't somewhere near 90 percent of all information we study in the written form? Any ancient or not so ancient history is mostly in written form. There are fewer and fewer people alive today that knew Churchill or Einstein or other such historical figures, yet we truly believe they existed and accomplished certain things... not from our own interchange with them but with our study of the words (and pictures in these examples) they and those that wrote about them left behind. The only difference is that much of the Tanakh speaks of somethings that are supernatural... but I assure you, many people alive today believe E=mcsquared to be as equally supernatural. Only difference is other people, whom we consider learned, attest to the truthfullness of Einsteins theory.
You are certainly welcome to believe what you will regarding Elohim Adonai. But the fact is had He been who you think He is, there would be no living human since we are all as equally guilty before Him. His actions were to preserve the Hebrew people. But that's an entirely different debate...

Sha-Alu Shalom Yirushalayim!

[Lonnie]

Clanad, i'd love to get into a real debate with you, but unfortunately, this isn't the place, maybe if I ever come to the States--------------------------------------.

[Begram]

so if there's written form I can believe it? How do I choose, then, between Islam and Christianity? One is obviously completely wrong.

[vivaldi]

Begram, thanks for your questions. You are right to be skeptical, because certainly not everything that is written in the world is true. Many things are not. In terms of knowing whether or not you can believe what Christians and what Jesus says to be true, I would invite you to go right to the source and read the words of the gospel accounts of Jesus' life--Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John in the Bible (New Testament). Read them with your own heart, take them as evidence, and decide whether or not they point to something true. Jesus claims to be the son of God, and has backed up his claim by performing miracles, and, most of all, by fulfilling Old Testament Hebrew scripture, predicting and following through with his own death and resurrection--a historical event which is backed up by both Christian and non-Christian sources. If Christ was indeed who He said He was, Islam cannot be true. A major difference between Christianity and other religions is that the Christian God claims to justify His people BEFORE performance--it is based on God's grace and love for every person, proven to us by Christ's sacrifice on the cross--rather than the other way around, with performance coming before justification. This is opposite to the way the world works. No wonder it is so difficult to understand with our minds. Christ longs for everyone in the entire world to come to Him and believe in Him--He does not separate by language, race, gender, etc. Keep asking questions. Keep seeking, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

[kags]

You have to ask yourself some difficult questions

- is my skin the colour of a 3 week old tangerine?

- do I lust after my best friend's wife?

- do I own a Bang and Olufson?

- am I partial to mirror sunglasses?

- do I like to wear tight black pants, and shirts that are tight enough to show off my pecs (but also show off my slight paunch)?

- was I once married to a small Australian girk with a hot older sister?

- does my bum hurt when I do a number 2?

That should give you your answer mirror boy.

[Lonnie]

Begram, I can fully understand your dilemma, a lot of people go through the same period of questioning their faith, thats why some fall by the wayside, some change their religion, and some stay with the one they have. As I said earlier, and regardless of what Clanad said, (and I fully respect his views), I still believe that you have to believe without seeing, (blind faith), look around, you may find one your comfortable with, and as long as you believe in God, it doesn't matter which one it is.

[Clanad]

Lonnie, as a bonafide member of the People of the Covenant, you certainly must know that the Law (which you must keep for rightousness) declares there is only one God and that is Yaweh... further, John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me, excludes anyother way. Nobody has ever made claims like that before and backed them, but Yeshua did through his love, balanced life, and miracles. If Yeshua is who He said He was and as vivaldi attests, for example, then your error has eternal consequences. I fully understand that this issue, probably above all, is the most contentious and causes the most "heartburn" and can't as you've stated, be resovled in this (or probably any other) forum.