How Christianity works for me! (And how I dig your religion too.)

[toothlesshag]

These are my beliefs: at least - today.
Discussion is welcome, but only if you are very nice and sweet about it (but my few readers always are.)

Comments

[the_smith_e]

Well said. And hats are pretty fly. ;-)

Hail Hats!

[toothlesshag]

I was wondering if you would read this and comment - and I get "hail hats."

Well, good! :)

Additions:
I didn't say that that I believed in the resurrection of Christ, but it's complicated. I haven't quite figured that one out yet. But for now I say - sure I believe it.

JC Superstar is a pretty retelling of the Gospel, I think. I consider it - the Gospel of according to Rice and Webber.

[the_smith_e]

But, hats are FLY! Sorry, I have been rather irreverent in the last few days. I am in this weird Heathen sort of State of Grace and silly.

[toothlesshag]

God likes silly.

[the_smith_e]

You seem almost a Christian Deist with your emphasis on Science, Reason and natural order.

What do you view sin as?

[toothlesshag]

A better deist would probably not believe as frequently as I tend to that God will listen and respond to my prayer. I am pretty good about not asking for nonsense though.

But I prayed that I would get the things I wanted in life, and I believe that God is delivering them. :)

[the_smith_e]

Well, that is very good then. If I may ask:

1) How often do you pray?

2) How long do you pray?

3) Do you have a standard prayer or position?

I am still working on my daily routine.

[toothlesshag]

1) When I remember. But it comes out to a few times a week. I pray very casually. Sometimes it's a quick "God! It is pretty! Thank you!"
2) God knows my attention span is usually no more than 5 minutes, and that would be a long one.
3) Nope. Most common is as I go to sleep, in bed. I used to admonish myself for forgetting I was praying and forgetting to say amen, but now, I think its a nice way to go to sleep.

A routine could be good though.

[zombie_dog]

I appreciate that you point out that atheism is not a religion.

Many atheists -- myself included -- find it very frustrating to hear people saying so (even more frustrating is that the most common perpetrators of this fallacy are, in my experience, agnostics).

I find that your approach to religion is very reasonable and very easy to respect. But I think I've said more or less as much already. :) Religion has never been my enemy; it is more often dogma that I must call on the carpet.

[mediaprophet]

I've pointed out elsewhere that while the idea of not believing in God is not, essentially, a religion, most atheists share a set of core beliefs that are more than a little causal to their (our) disbelief. The one core belief all of us atheists (I'm a soft or agnostic atheist myself) share is the belief that positivism, or some close facsimile of it, is the best way to understand the world.

Positivism is a lot closer to a religion than atheism, though it may still fall short of qualifying for tax exempt status. It is a belief, however well-informed and reflexive (see the motto for my livejournal that I created eons ago). But it is still a belief.

[evcelt]

Atheism isn't a religion, but it can have some parareligious aspects...

[toothlesshag]

Neat, I must look more into Positivism.

Maybe I'm that too.

[twim_reborn]

Fascinating. Thank you. If I were Christian, I would likely be very much aligned to your point of view.

Is it condescending to say that I envy people with faith? I was talking about religion with someone and I mentioned that I wish I could believe and they told me I was being condescending though I couldn't understand how. I think having a faith would be a great comfort to my life and would put a quick end to the nasty existential crisis that has plagued my happiness for over a decade.

For my own part, I hope there is no afterlife, or if there is, it's in the form of reincarnation. To me, eternal happiness would get boring quickly and out of the context of life, would be meaningless. Instead, I hope for quiet oblivion that takes every anxious worry I've ever had and erases it from the universe.

[toothlesshag]

I actually get "I wish I could believe." Like I said - I do not believe every minute, but most of the time I do.

What if you no longer had a mind to be bored with?

Was just saying to David last night that I struggled with the concept of heaven sometimes because I am so connected to my body and my mind.

[toothlesshag]

If you want to believe...I think believing is a choice. Maybe. If you decide you are going to, you will.

[twim_reborn]

I had once hoped this was true for me, but I'm fundamentally flawed in my inability to believe in something I cannot either directly witness or develop a rational explanation for its existence. With regards to religion, I've come close a few times to crossing the threshold by arguing that something always comes before something. . .at first this led me to God but then the wretched question of what comes before God interupted that.

If I ever had the notion, I'd solve this issue by creating my own religion. God would be infinity since, to me at least, infinity is one of the things I know exists and yet also know I don't have the capacity to comprehend. If God were infinity, then God would stretch into and before the future and solve the chicken and egg quandry.

[mediaprophet]

Your kind of Christian is awesome. This is why I appreciate it: You pick the good parts of the religion and reject / dismiss the hateful or mean parts. Evangelicals call people like you "cafeteria Christians" but they're just being assholes. Don't listen to them

[toothlesshag]

You're right, I should think about this more.

I think that will take me some time.

[mediaprophet]

This is a book I keep meaning to read. It's by the Misquoting Jesus guy.

http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Problem-Answer-Important-Question-Why/dp/B003BVK56E/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_6

(Warning: This research actually made him lose his faith.)