What are your thoughts on Jesus?

[Thinkalot]

We were watching a documentary last night, an ancient Rome and so on, and it covered part of the life of Jesus, during his time as a prophet and his death on the cross.

 

I used to be a regular church goer. In the past 10 years though, I've become more spiritual, with my beliefs coming from a variety of sources, including Eastern religions, and not just Christianity. I believe in reincarnation and a spirit world.

 

I believe in God, or a higher power. I believe Jesus existed. I don't know anymore if I believe he died to save our sins and rose from the dead. This is quite challenging and confronting for me, as I used to have absolute faith in this.

 

What is your belief?

[msrealdoll]

I was raised strict Southern Baptist. I rebelled in my teens, and haven't been involved with a church since.

 

I do believe that Jesus lived. I, too, have doubts about him rising from the dead. I also kind of doubt the immaculate conception part. I don't believe you have to be baptized to go to heaven.

 

I'm not really sure about heaven sometimes. I think there is something after this life, but what, I'm not sure of. I can't believe in a God that would send a good person to hell just because they weren't 'saved'. I'm not so sure there is a hell-or maybe it's here on earth.

 

I have been craving some spirituality in my life lately. But the fear of getting involved with Baptists keeps me out of church. Living in the deep south, it's hard to find other people that believe as I do. And there certainly aren't any churches that liberal.

 

I would love to be able to go to one of those non-denominational churches. But there's not one in my area. I have taken an online test that said my beliefs are most suited to Reform Judaism. Have you ever heard of that?

[faux]

At present my thoughts on Jesus are as follows:

 

I certainly wish I could find him, or that he would come and find me. I could certainly use his help, support, and love right now in my life.

[HokeyReligions]

Oooh, a religion topic!

 

I'm not going to be mean! I respect other peoples beliefs. Who knows, one of the planets religions may be right!

 

I believe that Man created God, and all godly things. I think that what may have happened, is someone with some charisma led a lot of people to worship and believe and when the stories were finally written down, we got the Bible. (or the Koran, or whatever religious tome one happens to hold sacred)

 

I think religion stems from human-kinds progress and evolution of thought and communication and fear of the unknown and of death.

 

Thunder isn't the echo of a celestial bowling game, and I don't believe that any diety created us. It would be nice to believe that someday we will all see our loved ones again. But I don't believe it. This is it. Someday it will be over for all of us and there will be nothing left but an electrical impulse in someone's living brain (aka a memory) and a photograph (that's all I've left you... --- to borrow an old S&G song)

[little lamb]

I am a faithful believer that Jesus was the son of God, that he died for our sins, and rose again on the third day. I believe the only way to heaven is through the belief that Jesus is teh song of God, and died for our sins, as the only perfect sacrifice.

 

Sounds like you've heard before huh? Sounds cliche? Well i've gone through my time of searching, and time of struggling. I've asked questions, i've doubted, i've cried. Heaven and Hell, Immaculate conception, and so forth, there are questions, how, when, why, where....some have straight forward answers, others require faith. I would encourage you to read 1 John chapter 5, Yes in the bible. I am not that great with words, but i love this thread, and would love to encourage you all if i can. I would love to pass on my knowledge of Christianity, why i have chosen it as my own faith.

 

Please ask away ... i would love to answer any questions you have, and if i don't know the answer i'd love to find out along side of you!

[HokeyReligions]

The problem with that, little lamb, is why would I read a book that I do not believe in and accept it as fact? I could just as easily read Homer and believe in Mount Olympus.

 

I respect that you have faith -- but I don't like it to be foisted on me. My husband and mother both proclaim themselves to be Christian. I accept their belief as part of who they are and I love them, and they accept my belief as part of who I am and they love me.

 

PS: My handle "HokeyReligions" is from the line of a movie (Star Wars) and not because I'm putting down religion.

[packersgirl]

I was raised Christian.. went to christian elementary schools, that was the only place I learned about God and Jesus. I Jr High, I went to public schools and fell away from the whole church thing. I got mixed up with the wrong crowd, but still lived by my morals. It wasn't till my senior year of high school that I realized I needed to find something to fully put my faith in and actually live it. For 7 years I had been trusting in myself, friends and just believing that everything would work out for the best. I've believed that God exsisted, I have since I was 6, but not until about 4 years ago did I start living it.

 

I believe that heaven is a free gift and that we can't earn or deserve it. That we as humans are sinners and that we can't save ourselves. I believe that God is all powerful, the creator of the universe, and still cares about people like us. He is both merciful and just, punishing what we do, our sin, not us as a person. That he sent his only Son into this world to save us from ourselves. I believe in Jesus Christ, that he was fully man and fully God. That he came into this world, lived a perfect life, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay the penalty for our sin to purchase a place for us in heaven. I believe that the only way to heaven is through saving faith, and that is believing Jesus is the Son of God, believing in what he did for us on the cross, and placing your trust in him for eternal life.

[capitald]

Jesus won a victory for all of us.

He pushed the argument for civility forward.

[dyermaker]

Originally posted by capitald

Jesus won a victory for all of us.

He pushed the argument for civility forward.

When you look at the number of people who argue JUST about different interpretations of his word, you have to think that perhaps we didn't quite get the argument.

 

As far as civility goes, I think it's generous to grant Jesus the stalemate, let alone a victory.

[Thinkalot]

Thanks for all the responses so far. I have friends who are still regular churchgoers, and look at me as though I have fallen away. But I don't feel I have. I've just discovered by own beliefs, and my own way.

[Fancy]

Originally posted by Thinkalot

What is your belief?

 

I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, sent to earth in human form to pay the price for all our sins. I believe that by His stripes I'm healed and by the acceptance of Him as my Savior I have an eternal home awaiting me in Heaven. God has helped me through so much that I'd be here all night listing it all. I'm proud to say I'm a Christian; I just wish I could have been a better one than I've been in the past.

[tiki]

I believe

[Fayebelle]

Originally posted by Thinkalot

 

I believe in God, or a higher power. I believe Jesus existed. I don't know anymore if I believe he died to save our sins and rose from the dead. This is quite challenging and confronting for me, as I used to have absolute faith in this.

 

What is your belief?

 

 

Like you I form my faith from many sources. Belief is half of being so-Yes I believe in Jesus's resurection. I believe that when he died he truly believed in his God and that he was dying for our sins and that is one of the greatest gifts I've ever received. I believe in Spirits, Angels, ghosts whatever you want to call them- and I believe Jesus definately came back to spread his message of love.

 

Those who pray do more for the world than those who fight;

and if the world goes from bad to worse, it is because there

are more battles than prayers.

--George S. Patton, said prior to the Battle of the Bulge

 

I believe too

[little lamb]

I had to look up the word foist, just to make sure i had a clear understanding of where you were coming from, HokeyReligions, when you said:

but I don't like it to be foisted on me.

 

from Merriam-Webster : http://www.m-w.com it says this is the definition:

 

1 a : to introduce or insert surreptitiously or without warrant b : to force another to accept especially by stealth or deceit

2 : to pass off as genuine or worthy

 

I would greatly understand the discomfort of having someone "FORCE" you to accept it ESPECIALLY by stealth or deceit. In many cases there are the radicial christians, you know the ones that stand on street corners yelling "Youre Going to Hell" or over-zealous maybe husbands, you want you to hear the goodness in their lives, as they want you to experience it as well. I too have unsaved family members. From my point of view its tough, because i have found a deeper meaning, a greater love, and an eternal home, and i of course want to share that with my loved ones. Not ot say that by "forcing" or "foisting it" onto someone is heathly; actually foisted sounds a bit harsh - but i am not judging you just asking. I agree with you, adn I likewise respect the fact that we can agree to disagree. It just bewilders me that most people can talk of politics, upto war, have a suitable disagreement, even debate at best, and still leave feeling a little wiser. Yet when religion comes in, so many people (not saying you, just making a statement i've realized) fight it themselves, making it twice as hard for themselves.

 

For me, I want to tell otehrs about this great love, this salvation in Jesus that ihave. I want to because for me, my eternal life in Jesus, conquers death and brings me to an eternal paradise. For me, its like having a pill for cancer, i have a cure for cleaning out the sin in my life, as well as yours. Its not that i am foisting it on people, to be honest not a big fan of "jesus t-shirts" and those things, but i am excited, and i want to share this AMAZING thing. And marital wise, and dating wise, i want to be intimate with my SO spiritually. How can i share the joy of answered prayer, or share the joy of reading scripture and having it touch me such a powerful way, if they are not on that same road with me? Its not fair to them, and its not fair to me. I think your husband, though i might be very much off base since i know neither of you, might just want to share with you all the goodness that he's feeling, and learning.

 

I am not in anyway saying my life is perfect, you can read other threads of mine. I have issues, and I have struggles, and i have heartache. Yet i have a Father who knows, and a father who calms my fears so i can sleep at night, helps me personally break through the pain the world brings, and sometimes i foolishly cause myself. He is mericiful. He does love, and he is not wanting someone to shove his love down your throat. Trust me. All he wants, and perhaps your husband and mother might be over-zealous, is foryour eternal happiness, and a reason worth living for. He has a purpose for you! Okay i won't preach any more, i just want to help you see your husbands and mothers side, they may not be perfect but they have a God who is willing to work with their less than perfect lives, as with mine, and help us grow towards joy, because he loves us.

 

I hope i haven't been forceful, i am just trying to share why i feel this way, So all smiles okay?

[little lamb]

Fayebelle just out of curiously, or more of clarification what is the other half of your belief or the other sources you say?

 

Like you I form my faith from many sources. Belief is half of being so-Yes I believe in Jesus's resurection. I believe that when he died he truly believed in his God and that he was dying for our sins and that is one of the greatest gifts I've ever received. I believe in Spirits, Angels, ghosts whatever you want to call them- and I believe Jesus definately came back to spread his message of love.

 

 

you say that you believe that Jesus died, and gave his life for ours sins. But do you believe he was the son of God? you say "his god" so does that mean that his god is nto your god? I am just curious that is all, or do you believe in angels, ghosts etcera as the higher beings? as gods? I also believe in Angels, ghosts is a controversial issue, but even so I don't deny they can exist. Angels are God's messangers, protectors, adn greeters as you enter heaven, they are active in teh Kingdom of God.

 

But to receive

one of the greatest gifts I've ever received

means to believe.

 

I am not in anyway trying to upset you, i am just bad with words, i am just curious....what exactly do you believe IN?

[quankanne]

what strikes me most about Christ is that here was this guy who radically changed how people viewed their faith by just boiling it down to two simple rules: love God, and love one another.

 

no thou shalts or shalt nots, no finger pointing, now gloating about "my God is bigger than your God," just a simple bit of advice about love. and then he put it into practice!

 

he mingled with the tax collectors and the prostitutes and the unclean and those people identified as the riff-raff of the society and made them see that they belonged to God, that they were as important as the richest, most powerful men of their time were.

 

it's kind of eye-opening to realize that all the things man has held up throughout the ages as something to work toward (wealth, power, position) means nothing in the end; that the simple gifts of love, of caring for one another, of kindness and mercy are the true markers of greatness when the playing field is leveled ...

 

it's humbling to realize that that such a simple guy from a simple background preached the most powerful message in a simple way: just love.

[HokeyReligions]

I was raised in Baptist, Methodist, and Protestants churches. Lutheran too. I was baptized, attended church and Sunday school, and was indoctrinated into so-called Christian beliefs. I say indoctrinated because that is what I honestly believe happened. I have talked to Christians who said they felt sorry for me and prayed for me, and I have to just smile because it does not make any difference. There is no God, there is no after-life, there is no outside force guiding or punishing us. That is my belief.

 

I have talked to Christians that believe that all people are heathens and lawless and immoral unless they believe in the Christian god and they claim that those who, like me, live a decent, compassionate, law-abiding, civilized life -- must have some latent belief and just need to be "saved". I do not need an outside force for me to be a good person. I conduct my life in a way that would be considered Christian. The "10 commandments" existed in human behaviors and morals long before they were ever put in writing and attributed to any God.

 

I think it is sweet that so many people do have faith in a god, whether it is Christian or not. There are many books and studies on human psychology and instinct and sociology about this issue and explaining many possibilities and theories about how and why the human race created gods (so many different cultures all over the planet created gods---different gods, but the premise of creating a god and worshipping that god is a very interesting study in human development) and I won't even attempt to summarize what I have learned because my summary would be 20 pages long!

 

I do not think that belief in a god is the only thing worth living for though. I do not think god is necessary for a happy, healthy, moral, and just life. As far as sharing with my husband - we do just fine in that regard. He does not presume to be an agent for his God to anyone but himself. We are getting a divorce right now (after over 20 years together) because of many reasons mostly to do with the deaths of our children and nothing at all to do with religion, or even politics--and we have some slightly different beliefs there too! I still consider our marriage a complete success and am fairly certain we will get back together again.

 

Anyway, he does not attribute any of what happens in our life to Jesus (whom he also believes was the son of god and died for "our" sins) or God Himself, because he believes that his god gave him free will and does not actively guide him, but only serves as a sign-post for him to use when making his life decisions (the "What Would Jesus Do" effect). The choices and responsibility are entirely up to him. That in no way interferes (negatively or positively) with our relationship.

 

My mother is somewhat different and chooses to pray and plead, but her health is horrible (she lives with us and we have hospice care for her) and I can understand her differences. She claims to be very, very devout and does not believe that a person who was not baptized (full immersion) will get into heaven, and yet she was never baptized as an adult for several reasons that have to do with her, not her belief. She believes the baptism, as an infant, will suffice. When we discussed this years ago I began to question. I went to many churches, asked questions, and received so many different answers that I began searching for answers outside of church beliefs.

 

In medical, sociological, and scientific fields, I found answers that satisfied me. They could be proven with hard evidence and calculation. The choice is whether I believed in the methods used to establish the evidence and I do. Some things I think are still being developed and my "faith" in them is not 100%--but certainly higher than belief in something for which there is very little proof/evidence and a lot of speculation and is solely faith-based.

 

The reason I consider myself an agnostic and not an atheist is that I allow that there may be a germ of fact or fact-based truth in religion (not just Christianity, but in all faith-based religions) for which there is no existing, acceptable, or understandable proof. I allow that there might exist a common link to all faiths and no faiths and we simply are not advanced enough to have found that commonality.

 

Was Jesus a real person? yes, I think a man named Jesus did exist and I think he was a leader. Was he the son of God? I would have to believe in God to believe that, so no. He was just a man.

[lnichols]

I, too was raised as a Southern Baptist, (I like to think that I'm over that.) I am a Christian, in that I am not Jewish or Muslim or Hindu... That is my heritage. I believe that Jesus lead the ultimate example for people to follow and that we could all do well to lead a more Christ-like life. It is something good to aspire toward. Not that I always do that! But I do also believe that God is with us in everything, even when we screw up, and that Jesus is the ultimate example of forgiveness. But I also think - and I don't really know if this is a contradiction, that things happen they way they are supposed to happen. Even really bad things, like 911 because it is all a part of the larger picture leading to some sort of greater good. I'm not happy when people die and leave behind their loved ones to wonder why, and I question why. But everything has to be like a link in a chain. Sometimes that is the only way I can accept really bad things that happen. Like it is all a part of a larger plan that will all come together someday - maybe not in our lifetimes. And all faiths have a part in it. I definitely don't believe that only Christians, or whomever, are the true faith. We are the creation of a higher being. I sure do wish we could all be nicer to each other, though!

 

This is also what I try to teach my children. Just a thought, for what it is worth!

[Fayebelle]

I have talked to Christians that believe that all people are heathens and lawless and immoral unless they believe in the Christian god and they claim that those who, like me, live a decent, compassionate, law-abiding, civilized life -- must have some latent belief and just need to be "saved".

 

My God is a loving God- he loves me and he loves you. You don't have to believe in Him b/c he believes in you.

[HokeyReligions]

Originally posted by Fayebelle

I have talked to Christians that believe that all people are heathens and lawless and immoral unless they believe in the Christian god and they claim that those who, like me, live a decent, compassionate, law-abiding, civilized life -- must have some latent belief and just need to be "saved".

 

My God is a loving God- he loves me and he loves you. You don't have to believe in Him b/c he believes in you.

 

??? What ???

[Fayebelle]

I mean- I don't think anyone would go to hell for not believing the same things I do. I believe in a merciful God who loves All people even if you don't believe. That's what I meant by He believes in you.

[PurpleMonkey]

I believe that Christ was (and is) a wonderful man who made the ultimate sacrifice for us....

 

I just wish that anyone who doesn't have faith is Christ could look at it like this:

Even if there is no God or Christ isn't it nice to be able to live your life in a way that you know that someone loves you so much that they sent their only son here to die for you? Even if I die today and I find that there is no God or Christ I won't be angry...I will be happy that I was raised to have something to believe in...I will be happy that because of my church and the beliefs that I have been raised around I am a better person because of that...

 

I'm not saying that if you don't believe in Christ or God for that matter that your a bad person..because your not..I'm just saying that why go through life believing that were here to live and to die? To me that would get a little too depressing at times...

 

Be happy! And just remember that you are loved!

~Amber

[msrealdoll]

Purple, is this something that one feels, or can you just decide to believe it?

 

I envy people that have strong religious beliefs. I wish I could feel that God will take care of everything. I want that comfort. But I don't feel it.

 

Is it an intellectual decision, or soemthing that you feel?

[quankanne]

Is it an intellectual decision, or something that you feel?

 

it's pretty much a visceral thing, something you innately feel/know/believe.

 

it's possible to intellectualize a spiritual belief, but IMHO, you'd drive yourself nuts trying to make the equation balance!

 

I couldn't sit down and intelligently explain to someone why I believe, because I don't feel I've got the vocabulary to fully explain it. But I can tell you that I am a believer, that I operate knowing I've got that faith in Someone bigger than just me and what I know, and I take comfort in that belief ... it's about taking that leap of faith and trusting in it without trying to intellectualize it.

 

do you remember the movie "Contact," with Jody Foster? how the seminarian character in the film tried to explain God and faith, but she just couldn't fathom it because she was an intellectual? then later in the movie, when she was before a government sub-committee to explain her experience "meeting" an extra-terrestrial life form and how they felt it was impossible because people didn't believe there were such things as alien life forms.

 

Her answer was, "I can't explain it, but that doesn't mean that it isn't real, that they don't exist ... I believe they exist even though I can't prove it to you." And the seminarian, who was by then a well-known theologian, understood that Jody finally "got" it: that even though you couldn't explain something (like God) didn't mean that it didn't exist, because you had the faith needed to believe in that something.

[shortbus74]

I was raised Catholic.... which was confusing to me in every way shape and form.... My ex was Jewish and I asked him about the religion.. He gave me a book about the religion and I read it. I really liked the views so I converted.. Jews believe that Jesus was a great rabbi of his time... So in that aspect I believe in him, but I find it harder to accept the Christian view on Jesus..

 

I do have a question that is kinda off the topic?

Do you think that Jeses would be mad that people have used his name in marketing (WWJD items)?

Just wondering?