because the catholic church does not promote free thinking. which is one reason why if my daughter does not want to go to church i will not make her, i will leave that choice up to her.
man, you really made my day with that one. :hihi: religion is the copout, generally, the default. particularly christianity with its lazy convenience. at least with most other religions you have to do something. then again, i guess if you really dont believe but are just going with the flow, like i believe most are, its easy to fake effort but not easy to fake faith. like martin saying that he could believe in jesus if he tried. me too, i tried real hard for a long time.
Brother, if God actually came into my house and told me to do something, I would assume that I have no choice. Not exactly. Belief in God = deism. Organized worship of God = religion. I was railroaded into the Baptist Church as a young boy by well-meaning people. I'd sit in Sunday School and ask the blue haired-ladies. "Why can't we see God?" or "Why don't miracles happen today?" or "Why would God choose the Jews and not the Vikings?" or "Why must my dog go to hell just because he can't accept Jesus?". I was told repeatedly and with some emphasis that "God works in mysterious ways" and that I clearly "did not understand how the Holy Spirit works". Hell surely awaits those who apply logic to the affairs of God, young man. Somehow it affected me and at age 13 I realized that nobody understands how the Holy Spirit works! How could they possibly understand? I stopped going to the magic shows after that.
Sounds like you guys just had bad teachers, who tried to get you guys to buy into something they didnt really understand themselves. I pray everyday and I have seen alot of preachers who really dont know what the hell they are talking about. But I took upon myself to study the Bible and other religions and I can say I believe in Jesus. Because I have an understanding of what he stands for and how it impacts my life. And if that makes me crazy in some of you guys eyes, then oh well. I probably seemed crazy before this post.
I'm pretty sure I'm a believer, but if I think about it too much I get confused. My wife is a true Catholic and tells me that "Faith" must be acquired and we all have "Free Will" and things like that that have no objective meaning to me. My sister is a Baptist and thinks I'm a heathen. She says she's "saved" and will go straight to heaven without passing "GO" but I unfortunately am doomed for eternity. As I understand it, though, for a mere 10% of my gross income, I can get "saved" and not have to worry about it.
I think, if I understand you, I am very similar. I don't believe in institutionalized religion. I worship in my house of the lord. To me, any house that accepts our lord and savior is his house. My children do go to Sunday School, but this is only so they can have a deeper comprehension of the lords word. It will be their choice as to whether or not to attend church.
Would you care to elaborate or are you content with generalizing an entire religion which you admit to not be a part of. Maybe you could make a follow-up post explaining how the insurance industry works to SF.
i dont think trying real hard to believe something because everyone says you should makes you agnostic. i understand agnostic to mean that you just think these spiritual questions cannot be known (which i do certainly believe, and i dont understand how anyone cannot be agnostic in that sence), but i am not an agnostic that believes in god which is what i think the general use of the term is today see, god is a tax and spend liberal :hihi: i imagine i know and understand more about christianity than the average christian. but please dont think that my comments are intended to disparage christians--they are intended to challenge. i understand how a reasonable person is a follower of christ. looking back at my last post, i really said a lot. what exactly would you like me to elaborate on?
