What's your view?

[Michael]

Now that's a Christianity I recognise and am familiar with. That's what the term Christian means to me: tolerance and understanding.

The fundamentalist views expressed on this forum always make me feel that something has gone very wrong somewhere.

FYI, a lot of Christians feel the same way.

 

[TheReasoner]

There's an easy fix for all that. Simply don't own those particular belief systems any longer, assuming you ever did in the first place.

Well, I did. As a teen, turned away though.

That's technically all Yeshua ever asked of you in the first place. I don't buy Americanized fundamentalism but I am a "Christian" because I love Jesus and I follow his teachings and I APPLY them to my life.

Aye. That's what I want to do.

YEC fundamentalism is really isn't "Christianity" so much as it is *A* brand of "Christianity" that includes extra dogma unrelated to Christ's teachings. If fundamentalism doesn't suit you, find a "religion/sect" that better suits you in terms of the ENTIRE Christian dogma package. FYI, most of them (in terms of sheer numbers) don't include YEC or an aversion to empirical physics. In terms of the dogma and the percentages of YEC to Christians as a whole, one can get a very skewed view of the actual numbers from forums such as these.

Yes, oh I know. I have plenty of friends on all continents - save antarctica. Theologians, missionaries, atheists, scientists, you name it. Very very few are creationists.

It's just.... I don't know. Where I am at now, especially on these forums, I have found a need to put as much distance as I can between me and that version of christianity. Which - to be 100% honest - I detest.


I am not saying it's THE right choice for everyone. Just that where I am at now, faith wise, intellectually, etc. I chose to do what I did. The fundies on here don't consider me a christian anyway, and by their definition I guess I am not one.

So I don't intend to be... Disrespectful or anything like that. It's just a personal choice manifesting itself in a few bits and bytes on this forum. And in a few words uttered here and there. So far it seems to be good. Less suspicion. Quite a few people pull back into a shell when you say you're a christian, and I can't blame them. Even if Jesus is awesome with cherries on top christians really aren't. Not as often as we/they should be anyway.

So... I don't know. It's following Yeshua I want to do. Labels and group names won't save or love or do any good. He will though, IMO.

 

[Michael]

Well, I did. As a teen, turned away though.

I had a similar experience, although I actually embraced atheism for awhile before returning to theism again.

Aye. That's what I want to do.

I think that's all anyone can really expect of you or me or anyone else.

It's just.... I don't know. Where I am at now, especially on these forums, I have found a need to put as much distance as I can between me and that version of christianity. Which - to be 100% honest - I detest.

Once I realized that it wasn't so much as Christ's actual teachings I rejected as it was the entire dogma package of religion, I carried a big chip on my shoulder toward anything I considered to be 'bad dogma" for a long time. I finally realized it wasn't serving me or anyone else and I adopted a more "live and live" attitude toward it all. I don't 'detest' YEC anymore than I "detest" modern cosmology theories. I "feel sorry" for anyone that has to defend such ideas publicly, that's all.

I am not saying it's THE right choice for everyone. Just that where I am at now, faith wise, intellectually, etc. I chose to do what I did. The fundies on here don't consider me a christian anyway, and by their definition I guess I am not one.

There's really only one Christian who's opinion about you actually matters, and that is Christ himself. I'm pretty sure he wasn't big on 'fundamentalism' since he told us to love even our enemies and judge not lest we be judged. I wouldn't worry about the fundies.

So I don't intend to be... Disrespectful or anything like that. It's just a personal choice manifesting itself in a few bits and bytes on this forum. And in a few words uttered here and there. So far it seems to be good. Less suspicion. Quite a few people pull back into a shell when you say you're a christian, and I can't blame them. Even if Jesus is awesome with cherries on top christians really aren't. Not as often as we/they should be anyway.

I actually think it's pretty sleazy to pretend it's rational to grade someone's "Christianity" based on how well they agree with your personal dogma. There are at least DOZENS, if not more than a hundred sects of "Christianity' to choose from. Which "dogma" is the 'true Christian" dogma anyway? I don't know any Catholics that believe in YEC and that particular sect is "older" than most.

So... I don't know. It's following Yeshua I want to do. Labels and group names won't save or love or do any good. He will though, IMO.

Sure, but only his opinions will matter. We'll all likely be judged based on how loving we were to each other in each moment of our lives, not on a bunch of esoteric dogma unrelated to Christ's core teachings.

 

[Michael]

Just do me a favor and make sure that you are true to yourself and that you "guard" and nourish the "Christianity" within you that should be nourished. Just remember that one *AND ONLY ONE* Christian actually has a right to judge you. The rest of us were taught not to judge one another.

I could personally care less what an atheist or a young earth fundamentalist think of me and my "Christianity" today. I'm entitled to my beliefs, just as they are entitled to theirs. I've walked a mile in those shoes (both pairs) and they just didn't fit me personally.

 

[Doveaman]

You don’t even know my interpretation.

Well, what is it?

I believe Genesis 1 is describing a re-creation of a new earth biosphere on an old earth planet following a global catastrophe(s) which destroyed the previous biosphere, resulting in the extinction of prehistoric species.

This global catastrophe(s) would have also ejected dust and debris into the earth’s atmosphere, blotting out the sun, moon and stars, and covering the earth in the total darkness mentioned in Genesis 1.

This blotting out the sun by dust and debris would have contributed to a significant drop in the earth’s temperatures, eventually leading to a global freeze or ice age.

Over time, as this global ice melted, the earth would have become covered in the waters mentioned in Genesis 1, except, maybe, for the north and south poles which would have remained frozen.

God then re-created, in six days, a new biosphere with new species from this old watery planet, including the creation of the first modern man, Adam.

"Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." (Gen 1:2).

"When You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When You send Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth." (Psa 104:30).

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away”. (Rev 21:1).

These scriptures show what God is capable of doing and will do (renew the earth), which gives support to the idea that He could have done it before and that Genesis 1 could be a description of Him renewing the earth following a global catastrophe(s).