I’m curious about how the term "Christian" is defined. I’ve been told by Christians that in order to be a Christian one must believe in God and in the divinity of Christ. I’m agnostic in the sense that I have no personal belief as to whether there is or is not a God in the traditional sense of the word, but I respect religion as an important aspect of human civilization. I also believe that Jesus was worshipped as God, and to me, by my definition of Divinity, I would say Jesus was Divine, if anything was or is. I do not reject or condemn his death on the cross, but I also consider it a myth. I am not sure if it is historically accurate or not.
I do not claim to have the answers, nor do I explicitly deny any of the essential doctrines of the Church. My views are not very sophisticated or based on rigorous study. I’m open to other perspectives, even beyond the question of whether or not I am a Christian.
I am not a follower of Christ, because I’m not sure that it’s possible to be one, but I admire his life and message. I acknowledge that Christianity has been used for both good and evil throughout history; I am influenced by Christian Democracy as a political philosophy to be clear, and for me, Christianity as it has developed seems to have deeply humanist views, at least comparatively.
Christianity is a beautiful and complex religion that I do not fully understand, but respect.
I believe that religion is a deeply rooted aspect of human civilization, and that our very understanding of the world itself as well as relation to others depends on it. A system of beliefs and practices, worship, adoration, beauty. community, and virtue; there seems to me a deep human need for these things at least in some capacity. Christianity stands out to me because of Jesus; his death on the cross for our sins, and his call for us to repent and turn away from the evil in the world - the evil that we stare at in the mirror, and the evil that has plagued every empire, every region, every city, and every person since the beginning of human civilization. I strongly condemn this evil as I admit I have no choose but to try and fight it within myself and within the world, I cannot choose not to speak out against things like the humanitarian crisis in North Korea.
I cannot sit idly by when I know that members of my extended human family are suffering because of our own sinfulness.
Please, whatever responses I receive, no matter how critical and no matter how honest and serious, please respect me and yourself as a result of extending such grace and profound understanding, thank you, my friend.
I do not claim to have the answers, nor do I explicitly deny any of the essential doctrines of the Church. My views are not very sophisticated or based on rigorous study. I’m open to other perspectives, even beyond the question of whether or not I am a Christian.
I am not a follower of Christ, because I’m not sure that it’s possible to be one, but I admire his life and message. I acknowledge that Christianity has been used for both good and evil throughout history; I am influenced by Christian Democracy as a political philosophy to be clear, and for me, Christianity as it has developed seems to have deeply humanist views, at least comparatively.
Christianity is a beautiful and complex religion that I do not fully understand, but respect.
I believe that religion is a deeply rooted aspect of human civilization, and that our very understanding of the world itself as well as relation to others depends on it. A system of beliefs and practices, worship, adoration, beauty. community, and virtue; there seems to me a deep human need for these things at least in some capacity. Christianity stands out to me because of Jesus; his death on the cross for our sins, and his call for us to repent and turn away from the evil in the world - the evil that we stare at in the mirror, and the evil that has plagued every empire, every region, every city, and every person since the beginning of human civilization. I strongly condemn this evil as I admit I have no choose but to try and fight it within myself and within the world, I cannot choose not to speak out against things like the humanitarian crisis in North Korea.
I cannot sit idly by when I know that members of my extended human family are suffering because of our own sinfulness.
Please, whatever responses I receive, no matter how critical and no matter how honest and serious, please respect me and yourself as a result of extending such grace and profound understanding, thank you, my friend.