Christian DUers: what flavor of your faith do you practice?

[Zhade]

(Note: this is NOT a thread intended to attack, harass, call-out, persecute, or annoy anyone, believer or non. I am posting this today in the spirit of understanding my Christian friends here, and to confirm some suspicions about the amazing variety of believers existant in Christianity.)

What, exactly, makes you Christian, in your mind? What do you believe regarding the stories of the bible? Of Jesus? His teachings? The supernatural elements of the stories?

How did you come to be Christian, and how has it influenced your life? Do you ever come across uncommon forms of Christianity, such as those believers who don't think Jesus was literally divine? How do such interactions go?

In short, what does Christianity mean to you?

Best wishes on this day to all, whatever you do or don't believe!

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. very liberal end of ELCA

sometimes they are too stodgy for me

[LiberalPartisan]

2. Life long Roman Catholic

I did have a short period where I investigated other denominatons but they all struck me as incomplete. I even dated a 'born again' for a period which was a complete disaster but it was very informative to learn how much deliberate misinformation about Catholics certain denominations spread.

[debbierlus]

3. I quit the church, but I like the traditions

Lighting candles...incense....flowers on the alter on Easter Saturday.
I was raised Roman Catholic.

I am now more of a spiritualist.

[H2O Man]

4. Liberation Theology. n/t

[banana republican]

5. Liberal end of the ELCA

Former Divinity student at Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.

[longship]

6. Grew up in the United Church of Christ.

Probably the most liberal Protestant sect (aka Congregational) that is still properly Christian. For the first 13 years of my life my family went to church almost every single Sunday. Then, one Sunday on the drive home from church, the five of us collectively decided that church and religion wasn't a necessary part of our lives. We never went back. I guess I've always been an atheist, but my upbringing was liberal Christian.

[nemo137]

7. Micah 6:8 Christian

Roughly Lutheran by upbringing (Evangelical Covenant Church, Pietist Reformed Lutheran), Episcopalian by attendance, and trying to simplify as much as possible down to "do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God." That last bit is the core of what I believe. I recognize and love the old rabbinical summary of the law and the prophets (love God with your heart, soul, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself), but the command to do justice and love mercy spells it out a bit more for me, and that verse is the one that sticks with me when I'm wondering what my religion is all about.

I believe in a God, I believe that he (forgive me, I'm not trying to be ragingly patriarchal, but as a guy it's easier for me to refer to God as he) is eternal, and moves in the world through the Holy Spirit, although I don't believe in the blab-and-grab intervening God of the megachurches. I believe that Jesus was a teacher, specially blessed by God, although I have doubts that he was literally born of a virgin, and I view the miracle stories as allegories to learn from. I'm still trying to wrap my brain aroung the Passion and Resurrection, and the question of the divinity of Jesus.

I recognize the highly mythological nature of the Bible and traditions, and see it as a rich vein to mine for insights on God, and on us. I believe that God has moved in different ways through the ages.

I pray, usually in intercession (something like, "God, I lift up X to you, your will be done. I ask for your peace for Y.) and thanksgiving. Praying for a movement or prompting in the spirit to help me do justice and love mercy is another common thing I pray for.

I prefer churches with a set liturgy, because that forces me to focus on what I am doing and saying, and clear my mind to think about God.

I spent some time as a fundementalist evangelical, although that didn't really take. I kept trying to reconcile logic with fundementalism, and it didn't work. Often, they didn't really fit with how I read the commandment to love your neighbor, so we parted ways. My father is still very much in the fundementalist mould, so we avoid talking about religion.

That's about it. That's my faith. I try to keep it as uncomplicated as possible.

[WoodrowFan]

8. Rocky Road

:) Presbyterian (PCUSA)

[TallahasseeGrannie]

9. Thanks, Zhade, for the opportunity

My religion, Episcopalian, is cultural. But my personal belief has taken a lifetime to mature. I believe the Bible is mostly myth, some history. But I see myth as much more primal and important to humans than just stories. There is something more, some commonality that we don't understand. Perhaps this is the spirit?

I CHOOSE to believe in Christ, the miracles, even the "irrationality" of it because the story speaks to me on some sort of inner, personal level and absolutely nothing else does. Nothing.

I also harbor the belief that someday all miracles will turn out to have a scientific basis. I honor those folks who are wedded to science. But I think that they might not be seeing the forest for the trees. I believe there is more to our universe than we can access with our senses or our instruments.

There is a schism in my church now because of "new" theologies where Jesus is not divine. I have no problem with anyone believing that. But I don't appreciate it coming from my church, which is basically, let's face it, a club. And I don't like their changing the rules of the club. They should go start their own club and leave ours alone! That sounds rather childish, but I have no illusions about "church." It is very different from faith. And it is a club.

[kwassa]

18. Is this a different schism than the one over gay bishops?

Is this simply for your church.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

10. God is beyond human understanding, so we each find the

religious group that feels right to us.

I don't know how much of the Bible is true, but I mostly view it as allegory, although I do believe that there was a historical Jesus and that whatever happened around his crucifixion impressed his disciples enough that they gave up everything and met mostly terrible deaths rather than deny their experiences.

I was raised middle-of-the-road Lutheran and spent a short time with an evangelical view, but eventually, given all my contacts in Asia, I simply refused to believe that billions of people would be condemned to hell simply for believing the "wrong" thing. (Theologian Marcus Borg, author of Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, discusses this problem at length.)

Culturally, I find the Episcopal Church to be the most comfortable fit. My spirituality requires liturgy and music, and I appreciate the intellectual emphasis as well, and the mostly liberal politics.

The community is also extremely important to me. In the various parishes I have belonged to, I have become close to all kinds of people whom I never would have come to know otherwise.

I know that some DUers have had very bad experiences with religion. I have not. In fact, some of the BEST experiences of my life have been associated with my life in church.

[Zhade]

11. So, no one has run into nontraditional Christians?

Kinda interested on people's take on the "Christian but don't believe in miracles, etc" type - how you converse, find common ground, deal with the contradictions, that kind of thing.

Thanks for the replies, guys! Kicking to read in depth later.

[nemo137]

12. I think many of us here seem to be the "don't believe in miracles" type

I tend to fall into that group. I had a long, although polite, argument with a friend of mine a few weeks ago when I expressed doubt at the divinity of Jesus (my buddy's parents pulled the family out of his church when their bishop expressed either doubt or toleration for that view). He seemed to think that I was wrong (natually, I guess), but did not tell me I was hell-bound. We go back and forth on this kind of thing alot, between me, this friend and another friend of ours.

[H2O Man]

15. I think

that is not accurate. Of course, it may depend upon one's definition of a miracle. I think that every human being is a miracle. The life force than animates all plants and animals is a miracle. But what most people refer to as the "miracles" in the Bible stories are teaching devices. Malcolm X made the blind see, and raised the dead to life.

[Zhade]

16. Ah, and your comments about Malcolm...

...are intended metaphorically. I hear ya.

Yes, I should have clarified that I meant those who do not believe the supernatural parts of the bible to be at all literally true.

[TechBear_Seattle]

13. To do good is my religion n/t

[TreasonousBastard]

14. Quaker, because we take the easy way out...

and don't attempt to insist on definitions or doctrines. Since God is essentially unknowable, there's no point in trying to guess too much about him, her, or it. And even less point in arguing over it. Just take what part of God we can see and deal with that.

Quaker beliefs range from highly Christocentric to agnostic, and occasionally atheist-- each of us has our own relationship with the God we understand.

My own beliefs are that Jesus may or may not have been divine, but most likely had some spark of divinity to be the teacher he became. Perhaps Buddha, Mohammed and other teachers had that same spark of divinity that set them apart from the rest of us. But, I don't know, and really don't care, about the details. Doctrinal arguments about such things as the Trinity are irrelevant to what I consider important-- the paths you take in life and the teachers you learn from and prophets you follow.

Quakers are not terribly worried about the afterlife, either. It's something else unknowable, and we figure that it's the present life that is important, and whatever afterlife ther might or might not be is perfectly capable of taking care of itself. Just like we are not inclined to preach on the nature of God, God not needing our feeble assistance to go on with his business, whatever that may be.

I consider myself Christian primarily because I grew up in a conservative Lutheran church and while I question most creeds and doctrines I grew up with, Christianity is still the most comfortable universe and one that I understand very well. Accepting Christ as a teacher and leader is natural for me. Accepting fully his divinity and the whole dying on the cross to save us is a bit more difficult to swallow as more than metaphor, but who am I to say it's not so. I prefer to leave that sort of thing to others to sort out, if they can.

[Zhade]

17. I'm confused...

...how can someone who believes in a god have "atheist" Quaker beliefs?

That seems a nonsequiter to me.

[TreasonousBastard]

20. Well, it...

confuses us, too. :rofl:

Most Quakers do have some concept of God, and there are some meetings that have even accepted doctrines. The Evangelical Quakers even have paid clergy and their services are not much different than other churches. And, one of our historic beliefs is "There is that of God in all of us." In the past, individual meetings have often been quite strict about the limits of belief, and both the extremely liberal beliefs and "Quaker churches" are fairly modern developments.

But, most of us not having creeds and leaving it up to the individual to figure out what God may or may not be leads to a lot of curious beliefs, including the idea that there may be no God as most people understand it.

Key to this is another fundamental concept in Quaker theology-- "The Light," which is the effect God has on us. It is a unifying thing not unlike trancendentalism. The Light is the temporal manifestation of God and is that part of God we can deal with. The Light, btw, is not entirely a Quaker invention and there are Biblical and early church mentions of light that we have built on.

So, we can live "in the Light" and accept the teachings and testimonies without actually having a traditional faith in any particular god. Whatever it is out there- the God of the Bible, some mysterious cosmic intelligence, or just "something" is incomprehensible to us and therefore largely irrelevant. The Light is what we can understand and live by.

[kwassa]

19. The cork has risen indeed.

The joke I made at yesterday's Easter celebration when the rector and assitant rector popped corks to serve us champagne at communion, rather than the usual sherry or port. No fancy wafers, though. I also worship at an Episcopal church.

I don't know that I qualify as a Christian as the most minimal definition seems to require accepting Christ as The Savior rather than A Savior.

I also see it as mostly allegory and metaphor that has moved billions of people in some way through their own interpretation. I believe Christ existed, but whether he did or not is not important, that his teachings were what mattered and resonated with his followers.

It is difficult to ascertain exactly which things Christ said and did, and those things others injected into the story later for their own purposes, so I don't spend time worrying about doctrinal matters. I also think that God is so much more than we can comprehend that we can only catch glimpses, but that the effort to do so is very important. It has been extremely rewarding in my life.

[polmaven]

21. I am part of the "liberal wing"

of the United Methodist Church. I was raised a Methodist, though Dad didn't attend church at all, and Mum hadn't really gone too often since she was married.

UMs range from pretty far right....Bush.....to very liberal. Once I graduated from high school, I was really much too sophisticated for that church stuff...but a couple of years later I felt like I needed to go back. Isearched for a long time until one day, at the suggestion of my former bro-in-law, I walked intoo my current church and never left.

Our last pastor lead some Bible sutdy classes such as "How to read the Bible". She taught us how to do the exegesis necessary to be able to decide for ourselves what is and is not meant to be taken literally, or meant as a guideline or a "moral of the story" type tale.

Jesus, to me, epitomizes love, peace, equality, inclusiveness. I do, yes, believe in God, but not as a being, necessarily, but maybe an entity...no form...ergo no gender, race, language preference, or country of origin.

My own congregation voted, some years ago, to be known as a Reconciling Congregation. We said, (before the UCC saying it now), that now matter where you are in your journey of faith and/or life. you are most welcome with us for who you are. No need to hide or change. Just be, just belong with us.

I am looking at a small, colorful, hand sewn "stole", if you will, with a button pin from Cambridge Welcoming Ministries. The pin reads..."Religion is a Queer Thing". The stoles and the pins were given away, with our Bishop's full knowledge, at our annual New England Conference last year. A man's or woman's body is his or hers to manage as he or she sees fit. (We are getting closer and closer to schism within the UMC, and that is regretable, but maybe necessary).

The Bishop just lead the N.E UMs in a MA State House lobby day last week, to convince the state law makers to vote yes at a Constitutional Convention next month to declare that healthcare is a basic human right.

I believe Jesus was a liberal....I believe Jesus would weep at the actions of some, done in Jesus name.

OK...I have gone on and on...and probably not really answered your questions. But, as the saying goes...my faith is hard to put into words...harder to prove....and that's why they call it faith. My faith is strong and yet ever evolving(yes, I used the right word there). Each new pastor...The UM clergy are itinerant, with changes every several years.....brings a new perspective to consider and from which to learn, and, therefore, in which to grow.