Dear Believer –
Do you like tough questions? What do I do when presented with tough questions? How do I respond when presented with tough questions? Where is worship in tough questions?
A “Secret Santa Worship Blog Day” Appetiser
If you were presented with this post of tough questions … what would you say … what would you think … how would you respond:
Nan’s Notebook: “Dear Believer”
In this safe-place for all, this place to be nurtured (not neutered) – how would you respond?
and Nan is warmly invited to any conversation in the comments.
Thank you –
Paul
(My own thoughts? Check back here in a day or two – I will update this post and include them)
Church Set Free 
Interesting…
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Commented to Nan, but to extend my thoughts, we have to stop condemning, have to stop wearing blinders, being “stiff-necked” isolationists. We must reach out. We must embrace. I believe God appears to each of us uniquely.
Call me a heretic, but if that’s so, your Jesus may be pale-skinned, serious, thin, blonde and blue-eyed. Someone else’s may be yellow-skinned, fat, laughing, bald and black-eyed.
Who knows?
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So many problems with this, so little space… the “Dear Believer” video voice spoke with such seeming sincerity, as though it was a given we would accept all his statements as accurate, all his opinions about world religions as truth, accept all his assumptions about how those adherents feel and think about their own faith. But some of his statements are NOT accurate, some of his opinions are only opinions and NOT truth, and some of his assumptions are FALSE. It’s toxic thinking. Religions fear / worship / adore / reverence / obey some person or thing that is not a living person. Christianity is not a religion. It is an intimate relationship with a living person – a dynamic, present-tense, ongoing relationship with that person, who you can meet for yourself and get to know. This person pursued us, we didn’t pursue him. He wooed us, we didn’t woo him. He loved us before we knew he existed and he never gives up on us. For those of us who accepted his invitation to join him, he inhabited us. Creator and sustainer of the universe, living in us.
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Bette, with all due respect … I think you’re missing the point of the video.
You have provided reasons for why you believe as you do. But why do you not believe in the various other gods/faiths/religions that the narrator mentions? You say it’s because you were “pursued” by the person of Christianity. What about those who have no knowledge of this “living person” that you speak of?
While you may feel your relationship with the Leader of Christianity puts you in a different place, in reality, religion (and yes, Christianity IS a religion) is nothing more than a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers.
Further, the core purpose of religion (Christianity included) is to form and maintain a relationship. People throughout the world form this relationship in many different ways. Some with a God or Goddess, others with gods or goddesses, others with their ancestors, or some even with the spirits of nature. THIS is the point of the video.
IOW, people believe for many different reasons.
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No, I didn’t miss the point. I just think it was a point based on faulty facts, perhaps purposely. Why do you care? That’s not a sarcastic inquiry. Why DO you care? Other people have addressed the question of Christianity vs. religion and the person of Jesus over the years, here are a couple of links. My own vivid encounter with the actual living person, Jesus, persuaded me of the truth of his claims.
http://www.gotquestions.org/Christianity-religion-relationship.html
http://y-jesus.com/wwrj/3-is-jesus-god/
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