The Work Involved.

[AVG-JOE]

As a litmus test for being a genuine Christian? I would think so!

You're being silly!

weren't you the one complaining about it?.....

Complaining?


I'm just trying to discuss religious ritual on an open forum from the only viewpoint I have any experience in.

And I've gotten some interesting answers.

 

[PostmodernProph]

Yes.

So what, in your humble opinion, are the action steps involved in "believing in Him"?

????....uh, believing in him?......

That's it? Believe that Jesus of Nazareth was a real boy and that 2,000 odd years ago he existed?

Hell, that means I'm still a Christian! ​

I can be silly too.

but do you believe in him?.....do you just accept the fact that he was a Jewish kid or do you accept the fact he's God?.....the way you answered tells me you don't in fact believe in him.....

 

[AVG-JOE]

Oh, I don't! I apologize if I ever gave that impression.

I believe that nobody knows a damn thing and that anything's possible.

That said, I'm extremely skeptical with regards to the possibility that there's any traction to the ancient stories that describe The God of Abraham and the three pathways to worship Him.

As far as I'm concerned, The Torah, The New Testament, and The Koran are just dusty old Arab stories that still have an AMAZING influence on the semi-Sentient Monkeys on this planet, especially all things considered through our checkered history.

But hey... in the grand scheme of things, looking at the big picture, our evolution toward Sentience and the Stars is actually looking pretty good.

 

[The Irish Ram]

Joe, then keep listening.
What you lack is faith. A Christian believes that Christ is who He says He is.
It has nothing to do with Abraham. Faith in Abraham has nothing to do with the relationship between you and your Father. You are His baby boy, and He loves you just as you are. He thinks you merit His favor.
So talk to Him. Tell Him you lack the faith to believe that Christ is who He says He is.
Then listen.
^
Because if you do that this will be the result:

Romans 10:16-17 For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?"
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Hearing is a verb. It shows action. It continues to hear.

All you have to do is open the lines of communication. He'll do the rest.

 

[PostmodernProph]

Oh, I don't! I apologize if I ever gave that impression.

so, the purpose of the thread was?......trolling?......

 

[AVG-JOE]

The purpose of the thread is to compare the steps to conversion among different faiths.

So far we have my recollections on Christianity, a few individualistic attitudes, and Avatar gave us a nice, brief post on some of the LDS rituals.

I'm still kind of hoping one of our Muslim members will share the steps to joining that faith. It would also be cool to get a few more Christians sharing - I seriously doubt that my musings on the subject are the last word.

 

[Hollie]

the obviously contradictory claims you've made are enough to befuddle anyone.....by the way, have you found any evidence yet that a single celled organism ever evolved into a multicelled organism?.....

Evidence? Yes.

really?....what is it?.....the fact that multicelled organisms exist?.....sorry, that's my evidence God created them.....

Be sure to thank your gawds for the creation of the cancer cell. A master stroke of "design".

 

[Hollie]

Maybe you should investigate further sometime. You might be surprised.

I have investigated. You should take a look at some obvious demographics. It seems you're blinded by dogma.

Demographics have little to nothing to do with eternal truth.

The truth doesn't make us blind. It helps us see clearly. If you were open to experimenting on the principles of the gospel, you could see what I mean

Actually, demographics has everything to do with it. Your "eternal truth" is very different from that of the Hindu or the Buddhist being raised in a very different social, familial circumstance. How do make the case that your religion, eternal truth is more accurate, better, "real" than any other?

People overwhelmingly accept the religious beliefs of their families and social circumstances and rarely do they apply very hard standards to the veracity of the belief system. The reasons for belief tend to be cultural (i.e., you grew up in a social environment that preferred one belief over another), or anecdotal (you believe in certain events that for you define a specific belief, like a Hindu may have examples of "reincarnation" whereas a Catholic will "see visions of Mary", etc.).

I could similarly suggest that if you could put aside your cultural biases and were open to experimenting with the principles of other (many) gods / religions, you could see what I mean.