Where can I find the Christian church for me?

Hi everyone,

I've been a Unitarian Universalist for over a decade. These days I'm leaning toward Christianity, partly because I've recently started believing in a personal God, and I'm trying to strengthen my faith. Consequently, most of my friends, these days, are Christians. But I would not be a conventional Christian. For instance, I do not believe that the bible is the "word of God"; I do not believe in hell. I don't believe a loving God sends people to hell; I'm skeptical about the resurrection; I'm very accepting of diversity, including homosexuality.
It sounds like I'm a Restoration Christian, but I don't think there are any churches like that here in Orange County, California. So as a second choice, I'm looking for the most liberal kind of Christianity possible. Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks,
Mel

United Church of Christ

If you're sceptical about the Resurrection, then why would you say you are leaning towards Christianity?

Most of the rest of what you said is up for theological debate to be honest. I don't believe in hell, and while I think the Bible is the Word of God in that it is man's best attempt to explain and reveal the mystery of God, I do not think you have to literally believe all of the stories to still accept it as a divine message about the Truth. Jesus used parables, I believe much of the Bible is the same - stories to help us understand that which is beyond human understanding.

But you need to get your head around the Resurrection if you want to be a Christian.

I totally disagree with you. If I have a relationship with God and have faith and follow Jesus' teachings, I can call myself a Christian. You cannot define Christianity for me. You admit that you don't take all biblical stories literally, so why do you feel you have to take the resurrection literally?

Jesus' resurrection is the focal point of Christianity. If you don't believe that Jesus was the Son of God and was resurrected after crucifixion, there is not a single mainstream church that would consider you to be a Christian.

I am happy that you are exploring Christianity. If you want to become a Christian, you should really try to understand the resurrection.

Below is the Apostle's Creed.

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

Allegorical stories were very common during that period of time. What makes you think the resurrection is not a allegory? By the way, I know quite a few people who call themselves Christians who do not believe in the resurrection.

The resurrection is not allegory.

I think Unitarian Universalism might be a fit for you.

You seem to think you have the right to tell me what religion I should choose. You don't have that right. How on earth would you know whether or not the resurrection took place. Get real. This is something you have no way of knowing. You're brainwashed or afraid of going to hell. That's the kind of Christianity I don't want!

Please don't misunderstand me, my friend. I am not judging you. I am glad you are feeling drawn to Christianity and I hope you explore it further.

We are Christians because of the sacrifice of Jesus and his resurrection. There was a historical Jesus, and he was certainly executed by the Romans, so if you don't believe he rose, then he was either a liar or a crazy person. You should take a look at some of CS Lewis' writings, mainly "Liar, Lunatic, or Lord." It explains why the "Jesus was a good moral teacher" position is a difficult one to square with what Jesus actually said about himself.

The problem is, I believe, that the bible has been tampered with by the church in order to scare and manipulate people. That's why I don't believe in hell. Neither does Bishop Shelby Spong. Go to youtube and enter "Shelby Spong" and "hell" and you can see an interview with him explaining how religion has always been in the control business. The fact the bible has been manipulated is one of the reasons why I can't be certain if the resurrection happened. No one can be certain of it. It may have or it may have not happened. We can't be certain if Jesus ever claimed to have risen or not.