Should I renounce Christianity?

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What's that?

The politics philosophy and religion subforum.

You know...the one where we argue about Politics, Philosophy and Religion!

Oh. I never paid any attention to the separate forums.

I've made the same mistake in the past.

I technically would not be allowed to mention Scripture unless the OP had allowed for Christian or religious discussion first, as was the case for this thread. Technically, of the OP still did not like what I said, he could have a moderator remove my posts from this thread or even have me blocked from it.

It's pretty "air tight" on what can be discussed here in the Haven.

But yeah, on the PPR threads, pretty much anything goes... as we all know.

OK, sorry.

I was raised Christian (all stripes of Baptist with a little Methodist and Church of Christ thrown in); at one point I did choose to renounce it because I heavily questioned the whole Jesus story and had major disagreements with the Christian position on Magic/miracles/supernatural stuff in general.

I became a Pagan because it seemed as if that's where my understanding of the Divine fit. Turned out, not so much. Apparently you can't believe any part of the Christian mythology and have Pagandom be OK with that.

I ended up coming back (sort of) because I do, in fact, believe (more or less, my belief is somewhat non-canonical) in the Jesus story, and apparently if you accept that you gotta be a Christian. So now I count myself a Christian mystic and stay the hell out of church.

Point?? The only reason, IMO, to renounce your religion is if you have serious and fundamental disagreements with the core points of doctrine. There's lots of diversity within every religion (and a few nuts in every one).

My understanding is that Jesus came to destroy the Church (organized religion), anyway. No more priests as intermediaries between the people and God.

Only because in his day, the "church" (temple) had been taken over by the occupying force of the Romans.

I think I've said all I can for this thread.

Alrighty then. I'll be praying for you. I hope at some point you find Jesus to be your first love. And that you experience the joy and wonder of His presence. That is my hope for you.

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
Ephesians 6:24 NIV

Much love and grace,
marcb0t

I am a Christian and conservative (orthodox) in my beliefs. But I renounce a lot of the "Christian subculture", some of which is highlighted in the media from time to time. I reject extremist actions and the bad treatment of others in any way. We are to love all people, even our enemies. This is what Jesus taught.

My husband is a pastor, and we try to live out our beliefs as an example to others as well as teach FROM THE SCRIPTURE, not some twisted interpretation of it that leads to a kind of superiority complex that allows so much misapplied judgment.

That being said, I think Kraftie nailed it when he said if you believe in Jesus, you're a Christian. What he taught (including his interpretations of the Old Testament) are the foundation of the Christian faith. Jesus = Christianity.

There's no such thing as an untwisted interpretation.

I renounced Judaism officially last year, when I determined that God was evil or at the very least flawed.

To be a Jew, one must follow at least some of the instructions.

I don't love God, and that is one huge requirement. How do you be a part of a religion if you don't like God?

I combine milk and meat on a DAILY basis. It doesn't make me constipated, and I don't see why this is even a rule. They define it in the Torah as a "chok" (throat chhhhhh sound on the "ch") - meaning "a law that does not have an explanation, you just have to follow it anyway.

There are way too many chok's in the religion, and I criticize it for that.

The old testament was a bloodbath cover to cover. Fun read, when you're a kid into action movies and violent videogames. Read it. Read commentaries on it. Watched countless sermons, both in person and on TV, and this is for both the old and new testament.

I'm more of a general believer in the Occult, that encompasses the entire spectrum of gods, ghosts, aliens, demons, angels, and other otherworldy creatures and practices.

The "big 3" Semitic religions were spread by the sword in the early days - a direct violation of "Thou shalt not kill." The 10 commandments spell it out perfectly, yet there are still grey areas. There should have been a footnote on the bottom or something or at the back of the tablets, explaining that.

All religions have been completely changed from their original teachings. Also, no one has ever seen or spoke to God, Himself.

Religion is pointless this day and age. If it brings you happiness and a sense of community, then that's wonderful, keep it. If it brings you misery and is a pointless waste of your time, drop it.

I do however, have an interest in the STUDY of religion, and what makes it tick. Try taking a step back, and just studying some of this stuff. It is still fascinating, what people believe. Religion is like politics, but with non-human entities running the show.

that too.

The guy who did the Orlando thing wasn't even Christian so he shouldn't factor into your decision at all. Just because someone belongs to a religion and does something bad that doesn't make the religion itself bad. Unless one of the religion's core beliefs is to do something bad.