As a Christian, I am not anti-religion, although I am definitely more consumed by the relationship that I share with Christ than following rules. You see, when Christ died, he took on the FULL WRATH of our God, and to me, well, that’s just incredible to think about. When he did this, the law of the Old Testament was wiped away. We were no longer required to follow a law, Christ FULLFILLED the law!!! (amazing!!!)

this being said, it doesn’t mean that we are now free to sin and live in sin without a second thought. As a Christian I feel conviction when I sin. Therefore i LONG to quit sinning. I know this will never happen, but our goal as Christians is to strive towards this. To seek sanctification through Christ… for him to give us the desire to want to stop sinning.

this is why many Christians say we dont have a strict set of rules that we MUST abide by. because, well, really we don’t. although i hesitate in saying that because we are most definitely called to work on ridding our lives of sin because we are to work towards being Christ-like.

i don’t know how well I’ve articulated my thoughts. considering I’ve got one eye on the computer and the other on a 1 1/2 yr, 5 yr, 9 yr, and 11 yr old!! haha

Firstly and most importantly:
@Marla: if you want to offend a serious non-christian, tell him/her that he’s “missing something but he’s not aware of it”. “we” are not “faulty” nor “missing” and not by any means unhappy. It’s a Christian belief that “man is born with sin”. I totally refuse this fact, the fact that God is such “bad” to create us with sin.
So, please, don’t consider me faulty. I just followed a different paht. Thansk, much appreciated.

@Tim: man you put so many arguements. Let’s go in order.
- Political views: I do understand that America is different but…we are comparing things to learn differences and what’s wrong with that? Does comparison disturb you?
When you say “people should be allowed to rise and fall by they own merits and not propped or supported” basically means “if you can’t do, good, if you can’t, just die, it’s not my business”. That means no equality and not help for the poor. But that’s a point of view.
- “being forced to rent an house”: well, I ask you to think about this, to put your shoes in this situation: you have to move to France, with no way to go back to USA. You look for a job or a house because you’re American and Christian. What would you feel about that? Do you understand that someone is discriminating you by a STATUS and not by an ACTION? You can’t change your nationality or religion, and so you can’t have a job and an house. Would you STILL say “oh, the State should not force someone to rent me an house or give me a job”?

- Climate change: I think you’re on a wrong side of the “informations”. Almost ALL global organizations, the majority of scientists agrees that we are too many, we are consuming too much and we are one of the major impacts (direct or indirect) of climate change. Just think about this: going “green” is more expensive, for any country. Since countries have an economy and they normally go for lowest cost, why ALL major countries are moving towards green energy? It’s just a hype, a trend, a new-age myth? I refuse the idea that goverments are doing this just for having research scientists to spare.
First of all the climate change is happening, and has been proven by many independent sources (by the way, I live near the Alps and glaciers are reducing, has been PROVEN and it’s actually VISIBLE by eye). We could debate on “has been caused by humans”, but even here the proofs are so many that are overwhelming.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/03/0331_050330_unenvironment.html
The earth has not “at least 10.000 years”, but its 4.5BILLIONS years. Just a little longer.
So the amount of data is MUCH MUCH less that the 1% you say:does this invalidate them? No, because we have scientific data.

But I guess that you don’t believe in Climate Change because it’s not “written in the bible”, is it? Well, let me say that frankly: you (not specifically “you Tim”) can believe ANYTHING you like, unless it does not harm others. Unfortunately the belief that “earth is a God’s present to humanity and we should use it, no climate change because God has not written it” IS causing harm to other people.
Also, Americans are BY FAR the largest USERS of Earth resources, the biggest waste producers and the ones with the biggest CO2 impact.
http://www.thestoryofstuff.com

- Religion/Relationship thing: first of all these are not in contradiction. Saying that Christianity is not a “religion” is just a grammatical false, because a religion is a set of beliefs, and Christianity IS that. So let’s first say that, and then talk about, if you like, a “special” religion, one based on relationship. I’ve been through the words you used again in the past with Gabe and I came to this conclusion which is OBVIOUS if you were looking it from the outside: if you can’t do ANYTHING to reach God, in Christian Religion, I have to assume that it’s a religion of luck. If you have been chosen, good, you’re a lucky man, if not…well..sorry for you. How can you say that, the fact that there is NO WAY you can reach God? It’s just lottery??? At least other religions relies on personal committment!

@Lisa: yours are wise words. Unfortunately there are A LOT of Christians who would not rent an house to a homosexual, or would vote a president just by the fact that he’s not against abortion.

@Steve: you’ve been very clear. And very Intelligent, in my opinion. I agree on your idea that we are “spiritual beings” regardless of religion. And I agree on the fact that 99% of the wars were caused by religions.

@Lisa again, in response to Steve: you’re saying that “the Bible was written for those people, in those years, and clearly has the rules of that era”. Then, so why you’re applying it literally now, 2.000 years later?

The New Testament is very clear in its message that certain behaviors lead to safety, peace, joy, and blessing, and others have long-standing (and even eternal) negative implications. Remember, the apostle Paul was talking to some pretty depraved people in some of these cities. They had no idea how to locate their moral compasses, much less follow them. When a child is being raised, parents do a WHOLE lot of hand-holding, simply because their kids just don’t know any better. These were young churches, and as such, they needed a CLEAR direction to go. I truly believe this is why so many view the Bible as strict and even dictatorial.

I will not speak in much detail on the issue of homosexuality because frankly, I am not educated enough on the genetic aspect of it, nor am I nearly educated enough on its prevalence in the animal kingdom. I would ask you to keep in mind that many of the exhortations on avoiding homosexuality in the Bible were given to people who were known for being depraved in their treatment of themselves and others. They abused and misused MANY things that God intended for blessing and good. They needed some serious hand-holding. In the same way, don’t we (as parents, family members, or caretakers) do our best to keep our loved ones from harm? Sometimes it means strictly limiting their access to certain things.

I will be honest and say that I believe that sex is something that is designed and created to be enjoyed between loving, consenting partners within the covenant of marriage. I believe this for Scriptural and biological reasons. However, I do not judge homosexuals. I also believe smoking is harmful but I do not judge smokers. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:12, “Everything is permissible for me — but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me — but I will not be mastered by anything.” Many of these churches, from Corinth to Ephesus to Galatia, were primarily ruled by carnal lust. Simply put, they just took things too far. And I personally can’t think of one activity done to excess that ends up turning out well for anyone.

Well, I’ve prattled on too long. I’m coming dangerously close to stepping on a soapbox. I will humbly step back. Thank you for the time you took to share your thoughts with all of us! Marla’s been so wonderfully gracious to give us this forum to do so.

Some pet peeves – this “word of God” thingie – words are HUMAN INVENTIONS, NOT those of some omnipotent being. HUMANS wrote all these “sacred” words – and then subsequent humans BUTCHERED THE TRANSLATION, of course, as humans are oh so good at doing. In the beginning, MAN created GOD, and in his image created he / him (notice how GENDER-BIASED my writing has become in just a few short parapgraphs? That’s because ALL RELIGION since the advent of AGRICULTURE is paternalistic – as against how it was PRE-AGRICULTURE (largely) – MATernalistic – thanks to humans having not a CLUE how life really happened – the MAN was irrelevant – only the FEMALE gave birth. And so, women remain, at this pathetically late date in human history, largely CHATTEL around the planet. SICK SICK – and religion and politics are almost TOTALLY responsible.

So WHY in the world would Man create a god? or gods? It’s so simple, it’s almost absurd – stating the obvious. Humans are genetically programmed to “fill in the blanks” – ie. if they don’t know the answer, the INVENT ONE to fill the void. Religion did a MASTERFUL job of that, and over the past several thousand years, also served as a means to control human lives POLITICALLY and ECONOMICALLY as well – cool! a Three-fer!! hehe

Evolution – the DREADED E-word – I am FLABBERGHASTED when I ask a “Christian” if they believe they are a primate and they INSTANTLY say no, they are NOT a primate. Huh? What PLANET are they living on? Is this a MELTDOWN of our educational system? HOW IN THE WORLD can we have multi-million dollar MUSEUMS that spew garbage about humans living alongside dinosaurs, just to CRAM the bible’s 6,000 year absurdity into a belief system? Sheesh – we really have NOT advanced as a species much in 8,000 years at all, have we?

Tolerance – boy, do religions hate (and I mean HATE HATE) this T word – it’s the old high school CLIQUE all over again – IGOG – In Group Out Group – if you aren’t with us, then you must be BAD, EVIL, ROTTEN, DEVILISH or whatever. morons. primitive thinking. very very sad. hazard of media, and video games, and NOBODY READING ANYTHING ANYMORE – which leads to NOBODY THINKING CRITICALLY anymore either.

Homosexuality – largely the same moronic and TOTAL LACK OF THINKING and OBSERVATION inherent in the Evolution discussion above. All you have to do is VIEW THE ANIMAL KINGDOM to see how widespread and COMMON homosexual behavior is. It’s normal. It’s natural. It is HARDLY an aberration. It is CERTAINLY NOT a choice. Or a sin. HOW LONG HAVE WE KNOWN THIS? amazing – billions of morons, planet-wide who have NO CLUE the reality that is the GENETICS of homosexuality. And so we heap tremendous abuse, and mistrust, and neglect and crazy behavior on them. And RELIGION is largely to blame. Religious leadership could turn this round in a WEEK if they chose to. But NO!!! God doesn’t LIKE that pesky behavior, right? It’s in the bible that it’s BAAAAAD stuff. (makes me puke) – and I’m STRAIGHT! I shudder to think what I’d be doing if I were born gay…

Anyway – I do NOT expect this post to last, but I had fun writing it – I’m 55 yrs old – born a presbyterian, and then “got religion” (or maybe LOST it is a better way to put it) just like MANY GREAT AMERICANS did – Thomas Paine, Mark Twain, George Carlin, Bill Maher – I’m a huge fan of them all, and I’ll go to my grave that way. Like it or not, I AM a spiritual being – just not what most humans would recognize as such – I BELIEVE in infinite intelligence and what I refer to as the “law of conservation of spirit.” But I don’t expect other humans to have a clue in hell (which I don’t believe in either) to understand my beliefs – at least not many.

Note: my site isn’t up just yet – should be controversial, don’t you think?

@Marla,Tim,Lisa: there is so much “meat on the grill”, as we say in Italy, and it’s late. I will answer you tomorrow or…next week, when I’ll be back from holiday. Especially to you, Tim, about the Climate Change. You made very bold sentences and I’m very towards “saving the planet”. You challenged me to prove that you, in this case, are wrong. Because these are scientific facts, not religion.

Night!

32″If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. (Luke 6:32-35)

I am not a Christian because of what I will get back. I am a Christian because the God of all creation has made it abundantly clear to me, in many ways and over much time, that I am worth it to him. I can’t explain it, can’t define it, and certainly can’t understand it. But His presence in my life has been unmistakable.

It’s simply not in our human nature to give and love without thought of how we will benefit or be rewarded. The fact that I can now love another, believer or not, is not of my own capacity, but it is my honor and privilege. Human beings are simply not naturally inclined to do so. Something greater must be at work for it to occur.

I am a Christian because I recognize that the universe in its entirety was perfectly and precisely created to sustain my little life at this very point in time. Nothing that happens is an accident. I say this not only by faith, but also by the tiniest bit of sight I possess. God’s fingerprint on my life is indelible and more and more apparent as time goes on.

I will never, and I mean NEVER, force my beliefs on anyone, and if I ever do, I hope I will be swiftly and sharply rebuked for it. I would dishonor another if I tried to cram my beliefs down her throat. That is never my intention. But Andrea, since you graciously and open-mindedly encouraged me to continue, I freely share what I can with as much humility as I can muster. I love you because of who you are, not because of what you believe or don’t believe. I love you because you share this mystery called life with me. I can’t love you intimately because I don’t know you intimately, but with my whole heart, soul, and mind, I want for you more than I want for myself, simply because I have been given so much. I have no choice but to share it because I’m so filled to the brim with blessing after blessing. If this means you never come to know Christ, I won’t wish for you one ounce less than everything I can possibly wish. And I say that not out of arrogance, but out of love. You are a gift to all who know you, and I hope you remember that. Our views may differ, but they make us no less equals in the grand scheme.

Thank you for wanting to know me better, as I want to know you better. What a gift it is to be able to dialogue back and forth.

Getting into specific issues, while I like the idea of every person being able to get the health care and benefits that they want/need, government is not the way to accomplish that. Let the private industry provide this. Individuals of conscience and compassion will provide this. To force anyone to provide this is theft and slavery. While I hate the idea of someone being rejected from housing or jobs because of something they do in their “private life” having the government tell anyone that they must give their private property to another is theft. There may be good or bad reasons to reject renting to or hiring or serving an individual, but it is a choice of a private individual and only that individual can make that choice. The American government has no right to take that choice away. I may be harmed in some way because someone chooses not to hire me, but I have no right to force them to hire me. It is their money, their job, they can hire whom they choose and their choice will have consequences.

Now, I want to take a moment and address global climate change. There are two general issues to address in this bigger issue. First, is there actual climate change happening and that is up for debate. No one, and I mean NO ONE, can prove definitively that global climate change is happening that is not a part of a natural cycle of change. The minimal amount of data that is available is non-conclusive to either answer. This planet is at least 10,000 years old and at best we have 100 years of somewhat accurate data, but truthfully we only have at best 30-40 years of data accurate enough to measure the changes that are claimed. This means that at best we can measure 1% of our history somewhat accurately. Other than that all data is anecdotal. Having said all that, let’s assume, that there is some form of global climate change occurring. The next question is what is causing the change? Is the change being caused by humans or by natural forces that we have no control over? To this point there is absolutely no evidence that what humans do causes any global climate change. In fact the changes in the suns patterns, volcanic eruptions and other natural forces cause more harm than anything man has or can do. So, all that to say before we agree to willy nilly hand over all of our rights and responsibilities to some group of individuals who want to “save the planet” I want to know that the planet actually needs saving and that there is actually something that can be done. I wouldn’t by a pair of shoes based on the amount of evidence presented by global climate change experts let alone give up control of my life, family, country and property.

To this point I have made an assumption that those involved in this discussion understand that, the regulations and laws that have been passed and are being passed in recent years dictate to us everything from who we must support, what kinds of vehicles we must drive, what foods we can eat, what our houses must look like, and any number of other decisions we can make. Many of these decisions may be what most of us would choose anyway, but does not mean that that choice should be taken away.

I know this post is way tooo long. So, I will conclude with these thoughts for now. When talking about Christian and Catholic they are not the same. One is a religion, the other a relationship. Why do I make the distinction? Because it is vital to an understanding of what a religion is versus what a relationship is. Catholicism like every other religion in the world is man’s attempt to get to God. With religion, people must do something to get to God, God never comes to the person. Christianity is the complete opposite, it is God coming to people and drawing them to himself. There is no way possible for me to get to God through my own efforts. Only by God making a way and offering that way to me (all people) can I or anyone else hope to get to God. Christianity is not about rules, it is about accepting the gift of eternal life that is given by God. Any actions, attitudes, or activities that I do or do not engage in are not a result of rules and regulations promulgated by a a human organization, but rather as a result of my thankfulness to God and a desire to know God and to follow his direction for my life. As my creator he knows what is best and only God can fulfill me.