Originally posted by nunya13
Just don't try to say that I am not close to God because I don't believe in God the same way you do.

I DO find that insulting.

AMEN and pass the mashed potatoes! I also find the term 'Heathen' (unless used jokingly) and the assumption that I must be an atheist if I don't believe Christian beliefs equally insulting!

I am a Christian, but probably the most open minded one you may ever find.

Church is a racket, they guilt trip you into feeling like you need to go every Sunday, and get as many others as possible to go, and of course they are going to want your money. It wouldn't be so bad except you have these huge chruch groups, like the Catholic Church that are uber rich, and actually have the means to push their twisted agenda on everyone. I think the Catholic Church is the most corrupt and evil institution the world has ever seen. The Souther Baptist convention, formerly known as the Baptist church is where my wife goes, and I go sometimes. They openly support military operations that kill innocent kids. I tell them that Jesus would be appalled by this sort of thing, but their only reply is that we have to defend Israel at all costs, because they are God's chosen people. Needless to say I don't give them any money.

1-Jesus's crucifixion saved all of Human kind for the rest of time. So no one goes to hell, but then again there is no Hell. You see, I feel that you must apply a healthy dose of common sense to all things. God is love. So if God is love, and he created us, he loves us all. There are a few things that I love, and I can promise that I would never subject any of them to eternal fire torture. God wouldn't create something, and love it, and then torture it forever if it didn't love him back. That would be a "fail" in today's terminology.

2-I don't attempt to convert anyone to Christianity because everyone gets to decide whether or not they go to Heaven after they die. The Church has done a good job of keeping this secret. Did you ever wonder why there is a secret library at the Vatican?

3-The Bible isn't the true un-cut word of God. It has been meddled with so that it meshes with the church/enslavement paradigm. And there have been a lot of things that were just flat left out. However it does have some lessons that can be applied on generally how to act, in order to have a happy successful life.

4-I don't like when people try to convert me to their religion, so I don't try to convert people to mine.

I believe in God, the Almighty Creator of the Universe which I perceive. I believe Jesus was sent here by God, to teach us about love. I believe that if you in fact love your neighbors, and do your best, you will be right with God, and move to the next level when you die.
God is unfathomable in this dimension, and we will have to move up the food chain a long way before we can understand him.

When we die, our soul does get judged. By two entities. 1 is an Angel that is a higher being, the other is yourself. Your life is played out in front of you, and you get to feel what each and every other person felt when they interacted with you, good and bad. This is where you learn the mistakes of your ways. Then the Angel will have your next assignment for you, it may be coming back to Earth to learn more, or it could be some R&R in "Heaven" or it could be some other realm or planet. One way or another we are re-united with family in that dimension, including your family that is from far reaches of the galaxy.

That is my take.

Originally posted by Water-tastes-good
The path to true enlightenment is through the Bible only. That, we as Christians, can say.

It is your opinion, not established fact. (I am in no way trying to come off condescending by that.) I have been lead down a different path to the Divine. I was raised Christian, and attended 9 years of Christian School. It left me empty and unfulfilled. It just never fit. If it fills your heart and soul, then it is a good fit for you, but it never was for me. After many years of soul searching and studying, I did find my connection to the Divine (I refrain from using the term 'God' due to the preconceptions it carries) and have never felt closer to the Source of all, and it only grows by the day now. I never felt that way when I was a practicing Christian. Just empty, hallow and living a lie. There are many roads leading to the Divine, only the traveler can choose his or her own path to get there. I am also of the belief that all roads lead to the Divine, even the path of the atheist. Some are just rockier than others.

We will just have to agree to disagree.

[edit on 27-8-2009 by JaxonRoberts]

deleted...can't let them get the best of you, Anya.

[edit on 27-8-2009 by nunya13]