Please No Debate Just wondering, How Many......

[pete lynch]

Raised an Independent Fundamentalist.

[Rick]

Interesting how vastly different we all are and still play well together. Even share our toys.

[wareagle69]

raised roman catholic, a very rich and priveldge lifestyle that i saw and see as nothing but hypocrysy.
been saved a couple of times, once in the youth ranch i spent the rest of my teen yrs at and again when i rode bulls with cody custer, cowboys for christ(i wonder how many times one needs or can be saved) the mountains of arizona cured what ails me(for the most part)
in my core i believ in something. what i don't believe is that i need to go to church on sunday be fake and look at my watch while saying all the right things. what i do is lead by example(will people know i am a christian if they look at me or say" really you are one"
The reason i am so passionate about the fire dept and search and rescue is i think it is a responsible thing to do to help people selflessly and aslo my penance(long story)

[2dumb2kwit]

Many years ago, I saw several things done by respected members of a couple of different churchs, that turned me off from going to church. I haven't been in many years. I still consider myself a Christian, but to me, it is a personal thing and not about visiting a certian building on a certain day. It's more about living right, and treating others as you/I wish to be treated.

This may be overly simplistic, but I'm a simple guy.

[welderguy]

I believe in God, I believe in his word ( the bible), I'm not a church goer , but I consider myself a christen

[huskymill]

i was raised Roman Catholic, and still am Catholic. in the Christan organization i am in up at school, Campus Crusade for Christ, i am one of only about 3 catholics in the group of 100 some people. i find that most non-catholics don't think catholics are Christian at all, so i find myself constantly defending my faith. catholics are most definitely Christians.

[Sarge47]

i was raised Roman Catholic, and still am Catholic. in the Christan organization i am in up at school, Campus Crusade for Christ, i am one of only about 3 catholics in the group of 100 some people. i find that most non-catholics don't think catholics are Christian at all, so i find myself constantly defending my faith. catholics are most definitely Christians.

MPHHHH!

[Swamprat1958]

I was raised Baptist, married in a Presbyterian church and am currently a member of a Methodist church.

IMHO, too many church congregations seem to be out to impress the world with a bigger is better attitude and lose sight of what religion is all about.

[SARKY]

Well I guess i'm a pagan/unitarian. I don't really care about religion as much as I do about spiritualality. Some horrific things have been done in the name of religion, pretty much every religion, but not in the name of spirituality. It also matters not to me which path you choose to take, just so long as you don't tr and force your path onto to me or anyone else.

[huskymill]

MPHHHH!

I'm not saying that the catholic church is perfect, far from it. i see hypocrisy in the church the same as everyone else does, and sure it annoys me, but the faith is what is important here. there is hypocrisy everywhere. i see alot of people that don't go to church and just think that reading the bible is enough, but it can be very badly taken out of context when you are interpreting the word on your own. having the structure of the church is an attempt to keep the word from being misinterpreted. knowing the word is important but living it is more important. i didn't mention this in my earlier post, but i respect other's believes. i have many friends that are non catholics. I'm not out to convert any of them to Catholicism. i just want people to respect my faith, and i believe that the only way any group of people can get past their differences is to listen to others point of view and respect it even if it is not your own.

(i hope this doesn't come off as too preachy)

[rwc1969]

Not too preachy for me. That's the hardest part about religion or lack there of. Many people feel strongly one way or the other and that's probably why it's so taboo on forums and the like.

I am real impressed that no one has gone off the deep end yet.

[Sarge47]

. (i hope this doesn't come off as too preachy)

No, but I'm going to have to take away your soap box.

Actually I do agree with you...in part. This is one of those things that would be great being discussed face-to-face as opposed to posting by written word only; say around a campfire, for example. My Dad was Roman Catholic & his two greatest idols in life were Adolph Hitler & Al Capone. He'd even poked a pencil into his ear and punctured his ear-drum to stay out of WWII. He was also a bigot. His brother-in-law, my uncle, was Roman Catholic & was "connected." (That's Chicago for you.) On the flip side I've met some really cool "Born-again" Catholics, and yes, I do believe that Christianity does exist within the Catholic structure. So I wasn't condemning your viewpoint, just wishing we were able to meet and talk. It would make for an interesting discussion.

[crashdive123]

Let's all remember what the OP was asking for. He was polite enough to also include the "no debate" in the title of the thread. Lets try and keep it that way. Thanks.

[owl_girl]

i am christian but i dont like most churches. one i went to the preacher was praying while the donation plate was being passed around and said" lord bless the peoples who pay offerings in our church today...and those who dont too since they cant afford it." another one was saying if you dont spank your children your not christian. i know not all churches are bad but ive seen a lot

[Ole WV Coot]

Baptist, from a long, long line of them. Practice my faith daily and try to live it.

[Aurelius95]

I grew up Baptist, but now attend a Vineyard church. I agree with what others have said. It's not the church that makes you a Christian, but the relationship.

[rudyumans]

I grew up Baptist, but now attend a Vineyard church. I agree with what others have said. It's not the church that makes you a Christian, but the relationship.

I feel the same way. It is not what one says, but what one does.

[Batch]

Do unto others as you would have done to you.

That sums it up for me.

[Trabitha]

I'm what you call a "recovering Catholic". Born and raised in the Roman Catholic church has made me rather faithful...but not religious. Regardless of the fact that I no longer associate with an organized religion, I still consider myself a very faithful Christian.

[preachtheWORD]

I don't always get it right, but the Lord knows I am trying my best to live by the Book, glorify Him in all I do, and share the Love of Jesus with everyone I meet.

I've been a Christian for 20 years, preaching for 10 years, and I've been a full time Pastor of a Baptist Church for 5 1/2 years. Living "the life" ain't easy, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. The Lord has delivered me from huge issues, and has given me strength to do things that I never could apart from Him.

I'm never going to force my faith on anyone - it doesn't work that way, anyhow - one must freely choose to believe. However, I try to never miss an opportunity say a word for the Lord or tell what the Lord has done for me and can do for others. My life has been powerfully changed, and I will tell anyone so. He can do the same for anyone.

I can see a pattern here that many people get discouraged with "Christianity" and "religion" in general because of all the seeming inconsistency in the lives of those who claim to believe. This is to be expected. There are many people in the world who have "got religion" but don't really have a Biblical relationship with Jesus. In other words, a great many people may claim to be Christians, but aren't the "real deal" as far as the Bible is concerned. What can you expect but hyporisy when people aren't what they claim to be? That is the very definition of hypocrisy. It is also quite true that people who really are the "real deal" can do some very foolish and sinful things. But if you are the "real deal" you can't continue in sin without being convicted over it.

If I may humbly offer any advice to those who who are contemplating Christ and Christianity, it is this:
(1) Study the Bible every day and ask God to help you understand it. Not everything that is associated with Christianity is actually Biblical - there is a LOT of tradition, etc., that is not rooted in the commands of God.
(2) Seek out people who seem to be doing their best to live by the Bible. This may be very difficult. Even among Christians who are the "real deal" it is really hard to find someone who is 100% sold out to Jesus. When you find such a person, learn all you can from them.
(3) Be honest and objective and totally open your heart to God. The Bible says if you seek Him you will find Him.


I know this forum is not about religion. I hope I haven't gone too far with my post. I'm not trying to debate anyone; just trying to explain where I stand. If I can be helpful in any way, I will be glad to answer a PM.