Why Are You a Christian?

lesliedellow said:

It you look at the home page it says "christians only" at the top of the theology section. I don't know the reason for that stipulation, but I can easily guess. It is to stop this site degenerating into a slanging match like very many others on the internet. This one for instance:

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Again, I interpreted the section to mean Christian Theology Only, not Christians only. The religious forum I come from allows people of all religions to post anywhere, so I assumed this would be the same - guess not.

There's a seperate section which fills what you are looking for.

And I'd PM you, Walter, but I'm afraid I'm not allowed. Not enough posts.

Well, post some more, if you feel so led. Always up for a nice chat about these things. Try the ' exploring christianity,' board.

We all know that some Christians need the company of other Christians to reinforce what it is they believe, I don't because I know what I believe and for me other Christians only serve to confuse because I also know that very few of us believe the same things even when it comes to the basics.

Having Christian only sections is like openly admitting that some Christians beliefs are fragile and can easily be swayed and even changed by the wrong comments or words, it's like saying, they were talked into it so they can be talked out of it, but I'm just a cynic.

Tabletform said:

We all know that some Christians need the company of other Christians to reinforce what it is they believe, I don't because I know what I believe and for me other Christians only serve to confuse because I also know that very few of us believe the same things even when it comes to the basics.

Having Christian only sections is like openly admitting that some Christians beliefs are fragile and can easily be swayed and even changed by the wrong comments or words, it's like saying, they were talked into it so they can be talked out of it, but I'm just a cynic.

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We do need "Christian only" sections. If you want serious answers to difficult or vexing issues, it doesn't help if you have a lot of ego driven non believers trying to show you how silly you are by being a believer.

A friend showed me an atheist forum that he frequents. The only area on the atheist forum where a Christian can post is an area called "Fantasy Island" and an introductory message you get explains why all the arguments you can raise have already been heard and dismissed.

Tabletform said:

We all know that some Christians need the company of other Christians to reinforce what it is they believe, I don't because I know what I believe and for me other Christians only serve to confuse because I also know that very few of us believe the same things even when it comes to the basics.

Having Christian only sections is like openly admitting that some Christians beliefs are fragile and can easily be swayed and even changed by the wrong comments or words, it's like saying, they were talked into it so they can be talked out of it, but I'm just a cynic.

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General Apologetics was closed down for exactly that reason - the forum authorities were concerned it was doing more harm than good to the faith of readers and contributers.

nhoj said:

We do need "Christian only" sections. If you want serious answers to difficult or vexing issues, it doesn't help if you have a lot of ego driven non believers trying to show you how silly you are by being a believer.

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I know we need a "Christian only" sections for the very reasons I have stated, and forgive me for saying but do you honestly think you will get "serious answers to difficult or vexing issues" from other Christians? each and every one of us has their own beliefs and ideas on how their Christianity should be read and applied, if your beliefs can be swayed and changed by other Christians at your age then your beliefs are at best hanging by a thread, change should only happen when we are young.

How are ego driven non believers any worse than ego driven believers? I know what I believe and I am the only one who can change what I believe, are you afraid that what you believe might not be true?

Non believers can only show you how silly you are for believing as you do if you already think you are silly for believing as you do, are you not standing on firm ground? is your faith not founded in truth?

There is nothing any believer or non believer can say to me that would make me change my mind, we already know that what we believe is not of this world because we believe in the supernatural, we believe in God and God is not of this world.

I do not believe in the power of prayer so I do not pray, the reasons why are many and varied, prayer asks us to believe in many contradictory things, I believe that God has a plan for us, I would not expect God to change his plans just because I asked him to, I wouldn't respect a God that changed everything just because someone asked him to, I think prayer is there for self comfort and can only do harm to the believer.

Is my way of looking at my religion different from yours? I very much suspect that it is, are you going to change and think like me? I very much doubt it.

If my God is real (and I believe that he is) he will know me inside out and will need no prompting from me to do what's best.

Tabletform said:

I know we need a "Christian only" sections for the very reasons I have stated, and forgive me for saying but do you honestly think you will get "serious answers to difficult or vexing issues" from other Christians? each and every one of us has their own beliefs and ideas on how their Christianity should be read and applied, if your beliefs can be swayed and changed by other Christians at your age then your beliefs are at best hanging by a thread, change should only happen when we are young.

How are ego driven non believers any worse than ego driven believers? I know what I believe and I am the only one who can change what I believe, are you afraid that what you believe might not be true?

Non believers can only show you how silly you are for believing as you do if you already think you are silly for believing as you do, are you not standing on firm ground? is your faith not founded in truth?

There is nothing any believer or non believer can say to me that would make me change my mind, we already know that what we believe is not of this world because we believe in the supernatural, we believe in God and God is not of this world.

I do not believe in the power of prayer so I do not pray, the reasons why are many and varied, prayer asks us to believe in many contradictory things, I believe that God has a plan for us, I would not expect God to change his plans just because I asked him to, I wouldn't respect a God that changed everything just because someone asked him to, I think prayer is there for self comfort and can only do harm to the believer.

Is my way of looking at my religion different from yours? I very much suspect that it is, are you going to change and think like me? I very much doubt it.

If my God is real (and I believe that he is) he will know me inside out and will need no prompting from me to do what's best.

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Time for me to turn the other cheek.

Tabletform said:

We all know that some Christians need the company of other Christians to reinforce what it is they believe, I don't because I know what I believe and for me other Christians only serve to confuse because I also know that very few of us believe the same things even when it comes to the basics.

Having Christian only sections is like openly admitting that some Christians beliefs are fragile and can easily be swayed and even changed by the wrong comments or words, it's like saying, they were talked into it so they can be talked out of it, but I'm just a cynic.

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If you doubt the wisdom of Christians only sections, go and spend some time on Yahoo Answers' Religion & Spirituality section. The web is full of sites with pi$$ taking atheists, and we don't need another one.

Someone who doesn't believe in the power of prayer. Guess there's a first time for everything.

Walter Kovacs said:

Someone who doesn't believe in the power of prayer. Guess there's a first time for everything.

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I used to not believe in the power of prayer, but then God got my attention--sort of like the farmer beating the mule.

StupidUserName said:

But some of you just tell me that you believe, not WHY. For example:

Q: Why are you a Christian (why do you believe in Christianity)?
A: Because I believe Christianity.

What?

I'm asking WHY do you believe? Why do you have faith in Christ and the Bible and not something like Allah and the Quran?

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I'm pretty sure being born and growing up in a Christian home played a large role, at least insofar as it established a basic foundation for my ultimate quest to discover what exactly I believe and why I believe it.

That quest started a little over a decade ago while I was still in high school, and it went through some interesting phases initially (at various points I flirted with Modalism and Messianic Judaism).

Before that however I had an experience which I found personally profound on many levels, something I could only describe then--as I would describe it now--as an encounter with Christ. I've had lots of experiences which I would describe as spiritual and/or mystical, moments of "aha!", moments of unexpected euphoria. Some of these I would probably chalk up to emotionalism or something of that nature, others I think probably were something more divine in nature. But none of these were like the experience I had when I was 16. It caught me completely off guard, there was very little emotionality about it, or that is, there was no specific "feeling" about it, there weren't any visions or voices or anything of that nature. The only way I can really describe it is as an encounter, and that it was Christ. It was the same who I had addressed prayers to since childhood, read about in my Bible, heard preached to me at church and my school.

That experience made Jesus real to me, and in many ways that experience still leaves me struggling for words to try and describe it--it's still in a big sense completely ineffable to me.

Up until that moment my Christianity had been something I took for granted, it was just who I was, what I had been raised with. I believed it because it's what I just happened to believe. But after that I wanted something more, a lot more, I wanted to follow that Jesus. I wanted to dedicate myself to following Him no matter what.

Years later and my want to follow Him has never lessened.

For all the hypocrisy, for all the irritating hateful, un-Christlike people in the Christian Church I am always, and totally, and completely compelled by Jesus--the Jesus I meet when I read the four Gospels.

I want to follow that Jesus, I want to believe what He said, I want to trust that He is true and real and so to that I am willing to fling myself in faith to trust in that Jesus and that this Christianity thing, as carried by Christians throughout history, is ultimately worth it. Not for heaven's reward or fear of hellfire; but for the sake of Jesus Christ Himself, because He's the treasure I long for.

It's not particularly rational why I follow Jesus, and I'm okay with that. Much of the absurdity, mystery and paradox of the Christian faith is what makes the whole thing exciting.

-CryptoLutheran

ThatWhichIsnt said:

I am a Christian because God made me so.

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Ditto

"It was He who conditioned all that conditioned me in my early life. But then it was He also who conditioned everything that conditioned you in your early life. God, the God of Christianity, is the All-Conditioner!" - C. Van Til from "Why I Believe in God."

Because I don't like any of the alternatives.

Apologetic_Warrior said:

Ditto

"It was He who conditioned all that conditioned me in my early life. But then it was He also who conditioned everything that conditioned you in your early life. God, the God of Christianity, is the All-Conditioner!" - C. Van Til from "Why I Believe in God."

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Why do you think God does not make some people Christian?

I am a christian for so many reasons! What made my life change around was when I saw the transforming power of Christ in the lives of people that I loved.

Not only does the historical, philosophical, and scientific evidence supports the existence of Christ as creator and savior of the world, but scripture directly corresponds to the reality that all humans experience here in this world today..To believe in Christ is to have the holy spirit take residence in ones heart and as a result produce fulfillment and completion in a believers life...Only Christ can do that in a holistic and historical sense..Thats why in him I trust..

stealthsparx said:

Not only does the historical, philosophical, and scientific evidence supports the existence of Christ as creator and savior of the world, but scripture directly corresponds to the reality that all humans experience here in this world today..To believe in Christ is to have the holy spirit take residence in ones heart and as a result produce fulfillment and completion in a believers life...Only Christ can do that in a holistic and historical sense..Thats why in him I trust..

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Faith without love is worthless. 1 Cor 13:2

elman said:

Why do you think God does not make some people Christian?

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Good question, perhaps since you have a loving relationship with our inerrant Lord Jesus Christ, maybe if you ask Him, He will give you an answer. Other than the mysteries of the will of God, I do not have a satisfying answer to that question, it is a mystery to me.