[MOVED]Christians; why are you a Christian? Instead of..?

[ObamaChristian]

Why are you a Christian instead of...

1) Muslim
2) Buddhist
3) Jewish
4) Hindu
5) Other religions.

Hopefully I won't get any circular answers like, "I'm Christian because I believe in Jesus" = "I'm Christian because I'm Christian"

1) I'm not Muslim because in part I don't believe God would require such specific requirements. Muslims in part remind me of Catholics, they have a very structured system that functions very differently from protestants.

I also find Christianity is more able to justify away it's violent passages found throughout the old testament, than Islam is able to justify its. This is mainly because of the New Testament.

2) As far as I understand, there are many different sects and beliefs in Buddism, some ranging from kings in the sky that dominate the heavens in imperial fashions, to princes who abandon all worldly possessions to achieve true understanding of life's sufferings. In my opinion, buddhism, is too unresponsible for the worries of this world. It's main focus is on escaping reincarnation and to escape life's sufferings. I simply don't view life as all pain and suffering.

3) I need the New Testament to make sense of God, if it's the God in the old testament.

4) There are certain aspects of Hinduism that revolves around the idea that everything is God. Which I simply do not agree with.

 

[TillICollapse]

I rarely apply labels and terms to myself, as I'm not a fan of drawing lines in the sand for one thing. However I've been called "Christian" before by some, because I believe Jesus is actually real. I am one of those who would say that I've had revelations, epiphanies, "supernatural" (although I dislike that term because of it's implications) experiences, etc ... all of which, when taken in context and pieced together to form a bigger picture, generally point into alignment with some aspects of "God" mentioned in the Judaeo-Christian scriptures as well as to Jesus and many of the attributes associated with Him (i.e. the Christ, Son of God, etc), as well as being in alignment with those from those same scriptures who claim to have witnessed and/or experienced the "supernatural". Although I do not point to scripture in order to justify my stance, I see the similarities however to my own experiences and some of those scriptures, which would probably give people further cause to label me "Christian" if that's what they concluded. Though to be fair, I've been called many things lol, including atheist. All in all, I also simply do have faith in Jesus. For me it's almost instinctual and natural, and I do not have a religious background that was shoved down my throat ... to the contrary. The times when I question my faith concerning Jesus, it's not so much about "Are there gods ?" rather ... "What are these entities ?" is the question. If I'm being honest with myself, that's when I can look back over my own experiences and draw from them and it still seems to point to Jesus, even further so when compared with the aforementioned scriptures.

 

[football5680]

1. Islam-Muhammad brought nothing new to the table and did nothing to prove that he was a prophet. His version of Jesus is anti-historical and anti-biblical.

2. Buddhism- Useless religion. If I am wrong about Christianity I can just try again in the next life.

3. Judaism-Jesus is clearly the Messiah.

4. Hinduism-Same reason as Buddhism but Hinduism has no structure and the beliefs are not clear.

 

[TheyCallMeDavid]

Why are you a Christian instead of...

1) Muslim
2) Buddhist
3) Jewish
4) Hindu
5) Other religions.

Hopefully I won't get any circular answers like, "I'm Christian because I believe in Jesus" = "I'm Christian because I'm Christian"

1) I'm not Muslim because in part I don't believe God would require such specific requirements. Muslims in part remind me of Catholics, they have a very structured system that functions very differently from protestants.

I also find Christianity is more able to justify away it's violent passages found throughout the old testament, than Islam is able to justify its. This is mainly because of the New Testament.

2) As far as I understand, there are many different sects and beliefs in Buddism, some ranging from kings in the sky that dominate the heavens in imperial fashions, to princes who abandon all worldly possessions to achieve true understanding of life's sufferings. In my opinion, buddhism, is too unresponsible for the worries of this world. It's main focus is on escaping reincarnation and to escape life's sufferings. I simply don't view life as all pain and suffering.

3) I need the New Testament to make sense of God, if it's the God in the old testament.

4) There are certain aspects of Hinduism that revolves around the idea that everything is God. Which I simply do not agree with.

Im a Christian because of the scientific evidence for a personal theistic Creator needing to exist based on the leftover effects we have from the creation event , and, because of the historical evidence for Jesus' resurrection which fulfilled many Prophecies made about him hundreds of years prior including crucifixion which wasn't even invented yet ... and because the New Testament of the Bible can be shown to be very accurate and credible. Since I became a Christian, I also have the evidence of seeing how my inward Character and Temperment has changed because of asking Christ to come into my Soul and to change me to be more like him.

None of the other Worlds Religions or Religious Leaders have done any of the above ; this is why I am certain I have the correct Way to God which is thru Jesus only...and why I have great meaning, purpose, and fulfillment to life and true genuine realistic Hope for an incredible eternity with God (all of which I am undeserving of but which was provided because of my simple trust in Christ dying for my sins and surrendering my life to him) .

 

[ananda]

2) As far as I understand, there are many different sects and beliefs in Buddism, some ranging from kings in the sky that dominate the heavens in imperial fashions, to princes who abandon all worldly possessions to achieve true understanding of life's sufferings. In my opinion, buddhism, is too unresponsible for the worries of this world. It's main focus is on escaping reincarnation and to escape life's sufferings. I simply don't view life as all pain and suffering.

Early Buddhism teaches the importance of caring for one another, for expressing loving-kindness to all, for practicing morality, peacefulness, and living the path of wisdom. Buddhism sees life as pain and suffering because things are either directly painful or pleasure which eventually ends (thus causing pain).

 

[Brandonspapa]

I am a Christian because of the way my life has turned out because I submit, follow, and obey the Word of GOD. Now, I was introduced to Christianity by my parents. I probably got saved because I was afraid of going to hell. I didn't live my life according to The Way for most of my life. In fact, I pretty much did the opposite. I forgot about GOD. I lived my life in sin, doing drugs and living the lifestyle. All through this time, even though I didn't know it, GOD was taking the bad that I was doing and using it for good, as the Bible teaches. When I hit rock bottom, HE was there. So were the things of this world I needed to survive. The normal things that I had lost or had to endure as the consequences of my actions while living in sin. HE had provided health care and a good income for me when I became sick and could no longer work; through my military service (health care) and my job (I had a high paying job) which gave me a large disability benefit. HE gave me a good wife (my first died of a heroin overdose), 2 wonderful, Christ filled children, and grandchildren. So, in summary, GOD took care of me and came after me as a shepherd finds a lost lamb, brought me back and has given me a life that is satisfying and a peace beyond all my understanding. My life was miserable while I was away. It is great now that I have returned. THAT is why I am a follower of Jesus The Christ!!

 

[Archivist]

I think the odds are very good that your religion will be the faith in whiuch you are raised. I was raised in a nation where Christians are the majority. My parents were Christians and I grew up in the Lutheran (LCA/ELCA) Church. I remain a member of that church today.

Had I been born in India to Hindu parents or in Turkey to Muslim parents the outcome might have been much different.

 

[TheyCallMeDavid]

That would be an interesting discussion, which I would join. But it should be a separate thread.

If you desire, start a new thread with the PreQualifer Questions and let me know when its up n running. Id love to tag along. Dave

 

[ViaCrucis]

I really have no idea how to answer the OP and follow the stipulations of the OP. How is saying "I'm a Christian because I don't believe everything else" different than "I'm a Christian because I believe in Christian things"?

I was raised a Christian, but I was raised with a very different kind of Christianity than I practice now, much to the point that much of what my younger self would have regarded as "just Christianity" now seems alien, foreign, and nearly unrecognizable. But at the end of the day I'm a Christian because I believe Christian things. I believe everything written in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, therefore I'm a Christian.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Strathos]

I have prayed and studied the Bible and had personal spiritual experiences with God that, for me, confirm my faith.

 

[RileyG]

1. Islam-Muhammad brought nothing new to the table and did nothing to prove that he was a prophet. His version of Jesus is anti-historical and anti-biblical.

2. Buddhism- Useless religion. If I am wrong about Christianity I can just try again in the next life.

3. Judaism-Jesus is clearly the Messiah.

4. Hinduism-Same reason as Buddhism but Hinduism has no structure and the beliefs are not clear.

Well said, and I agree.

I will also God revealed himself to me- I do not expect a non-Christian to agree with me. I will also add religion is not about "fuzzy feelings", it's about a covenant relationship with God, who exists outside of time.

 

[Inkfingers]

Why are you a Christian instead of...

1) Muslim
2) Buddhist
3) Jewish
4) Hindu
5) Other religions.

Short answer - I'm Christian because God chose to make me one.

 

[Paul of Eugene OR]

I have prayed and studied the Bible and had personal spiritual experiences with God that, for me, confirm my faith.

That is precisely my situation.

 

[NannaNae]

when I was 7 I had my first dream. it was about three little girls.
and all three little girls were me..well the other two looked like me too.

anyway there was this horrible monster where we lived.. and everyone hated him and he was 'sooooo mean ' my family told us.. the strange part of the dream was it was just my female side of the family that kept telling me that that monster was mean.

so anyway this mean monster would slit their eyes so that if their eyes were open or closed they could still see.. and my family hated it because they couldn't sleep, they were always seeing and couldn't rest .

so in the dream they told me it was my time to get my eyes cut, so the three little girls ran as fast as they could up and down the halls of the schools to stay away from the great big mean monster. who was mean and wouldn't let people sleep.
after running up and down miles and miles of school house corridors , the three little girls went and hid in the girls bathroom.. behind the toilets..
then all of a sudden we heard the squeaking of the door and I heard the monster call my name and so I got brave and went to confront the mean monster and it gave me a bouquet of flowers and said " my dear I won't cut your eyes if you just watch and learn what you see.. I will not hurt you if you do that. if you watch for me , then you will know who I am " .
so I spent the first 45 year of my life not saying much of anything just watching and reading and studying and seeing who God really is. he demanded that I see and observe him.. he is not scary and he is mean! he is kind and he is loving.
at 7 my dream taught me that I guess if people refuse to see maybe he does things they will never understand to try and help them..... but they will never understand it as help .

 

[RileyG]

That is precisely my situation.

I agree. To those who have not experienced God, there is no way of "explaining".

 

[com7fy8]

Why am I a Christian?

Because God sees fit.

On my own, I got nowhere about knowing which way to go. I have considered that God is the One who really knows, if there is God. So, I got to openly seeing what God would do with me. And things have been adding up.

What really helped me get started was to consider how the "thief on the cross" simply came to know who Jesus is and that he needed Jesus and so he gave himself to Jesus. And I understood that Jesus knows what He wants to do with me; so I did not need to try to straighten myself out first, in order to trust in Jesus. So, I simply offered myself to Him . . . and things have been adding up, since The Bible presents what I keep finding that God does with me and others > everything He commands and describes is all He does with us, in us especially . . . better than any humans or books have told me.

Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam do not match with what I find in the Bible, and with my actual experience of how God is with me and others. They just do not have the good that I find the Bible guarantees and discover God to be doing . . . better than what I would have tried and hoped.

Other groups don't seem to have real personal sharing with God, as one of their basic things; but I find is very plain in the Bible and in my experience, that our Father shares and relates and communicates personally with each of His children . . . all the time, by means of grace or His resistance (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5) or His personal correction bringing His love's perfection > Hebrews 12:6-11, 1 John 4:17.

So much correction has been coming; I am not so great! And that's another thing > Hebrews 12:6-11 is very clear how our Father personally corrects each of His children, and I hear nothing about this from non-Christian groups and even with groups who claim to be by the Bible.

They make it like God is distant and not personal with His children, even. But He is personal and caring with each of us, personally correcting us how to love, and how He is with us is our example of how to be in love . . . in each of us this example >

"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:5)

 

[TillICollapse]

Yep. As I said though, you'd be a rarity. The overwhelming evidence is that people adopt the religion of those they live with. Not only that, they tend to adopt the particular sect of that religion. So, Mormons beget Mormons, JW's beget JW's etc. Examples such as your own are very much the outliers.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it? Christians tell us that their God wants us very much to believe in him. And yet, he only seems to convey that message to a certain section of the planet, whereas a whole bunch of other gods give out the same message to different sections!

Is it really that "rare" ? What is "rare" ? IOW, what percentage are there of those who choose a certain set of beliefs different from their environment they were raised and influenced in ? Do you have numbers to show why this is rare ?

Maybe I lived in a bubble and didn't realize it ... but my father was an atheist/agnostic, my mother couldn't stand religions or people telling her what to think, yet I took to obsession with all things relating to the ideas of "God" and the supernatural at an early age, to the confusion of my own parents. I had friends who went similar routes ... their parents and environment were quite liberal, yet they ended up going into strict sects that their family never saw coming, etc. And I lived in the Southern US, the "Bible Belt", where things like that "aren't supposed to happen", yet it was relatively a common thing. And I was not pressured by any religious around me, to the contrary, I had parents who let me be exposed to pretty much whatever I wanted in those regards. Perhaps it's somewhat generational as well as cultural.

 

[dayhiker]

The reason I'm a Christian is because I really like the relationships I have with God as in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

[stellalunaCW]

I was raised a Christian, but I was raised with a very different kind of Christianity than I practice now, much to the point that much of what my younger self would have regarded as "just Christianity" now seems alien, foreign, and nearly unrecognizable. But at the end of the day I'm a Christian because I believe Christian things. I believe everything written in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, therefore I'm a Christian.

-CryptoLutheran

This describes me quite well. However, geography has a great deal to do with why I am a Christian. If I'd been born somewhere else, I would likely have been raised in a different religion and evolved in that belief system.

 

[agua]

Bonjour

I wasn't speaking specifically to any manner of Revelation of Yahweh to people on earth in general, rather I was speaking to the idea that there weren't any preferences for certain sections of the globe to be found in the scriptures, when it would appear there clearly are (for various reasons, which I wasn't speaking to). Although those sections of the globe may not be preferred for their geography (idk if they are or aren't), at least the choice of singling out specific people's, in general, seems to carry over to specific sections of the globe (at least from my own basic reading of those scriptures and what would seem glaringly obvious). I was further pointing out the ideas I've heard of spiritual entities (i.e. Sons of God, for those who take the stance those are spiritual entities and not humans) being in proportion to the other nations, etc.

So I wasn't speaking to whether or not Yahweh revealed Himself to all mankind or not, rather, I was speaking to the concepts of certain sections of the globe/people's being singled out in the narrative.

Yes ok. I think I addressed any concerns of partiality in the previous post.

The Sons of God subject is way interesting and very controvesial inside Chistianity. We should chat about it sometime I enjoy the subject ( and I watched the movie Eli last night which had a not so subtle dig at the Angel/Nephilim idea, as Hollywood does )