World’s Longest Blog 
I wrote part of this post on Anna’s site in a comment log…. and thought it was good stuff for here… so…. umm… HERE! Post 2.0 (Now with more content! Colors don’t fade!!!)
I was raised Catholic and am now a Christian… I’ve been Christian for 12 years now… I’m actually on staff at a christian church! The point is, many of my relatives are still hardcore catholics… I KNOW that a few of them are saved… they’ve accepted Christ as their savior and believe that he was God in the flesh and died on the cross for their sins… they believe he was risen in the flesh and now is in heaven… So yeah… some of their doctrine is screwy… some of their traditions are twisted… but the core beliefs remain intact. THAT is what is vital in the end. HECK, look at all the denominations of Christianity! Protestant, Baptist, Methodist, Penticostal… SO FAR APART in rules and regulations… but the core belief in Jesus alone remains intact.
Yeah… I think the Catholic church started pure… but Satan can easily take something like that and twist it JUST far enough from the truth to make people follow blindly and worship other Gods apart from Jesus… I know of some Catholics that pray to Mary and the “saints” more than they pray to God! I say “saints” becuase the Bible tells us that all who follow Christ are deemed “Saints.” Mary and the saints were just people… God used them… in amazing ways… but they’re dead and with Him now… just as we will be someday… Mary doesn’t have Godly powers to hear prayers…. Only God. Mary can’t “intercess” with Christ since she’s his mother…. Only God. But if Satan can get people buying into those beliefs… If people stop talking to God and put their faith in dead people…. EVEN if we start confessing to LIVING people (i.e. confession to priests)… …. Satan has won.
The very REASON God came in the form of Christ was to break the barriers between God and Man. He tossed the old covenant of ONLY priests talking with God…. Only Priests asking for forgiveness… The AMAZINGLY HUGE temple curtain was ripped in two the instant Christ died on the cross…. WHY? TO SYMBOLIZE THAT WE DON’T NEED IT ANYMORE! No longer were common men and women forbidden to commune with God. We are ALL able to now. Yet the Catholic church holds to confession…. …. to salvation by works… … “Say 4 hail mary’s and 2 our fathers and you are forgiven!” CRAP! How can blind repetitious rambling be the true aching desire of your heart crying out to God???? Man it’s so ironic…. What we’ve turned prayer into…
Matthew 6… 5″And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Then it goes on to give the example of the Lord’s Prayer… a passionate cry of the heart to know God and to have Him guide our steps… yet where do we hear this now? Repeated…. blindly… every week… by millions of people in churches around the world who don’t listen to the words they are speaking, yet think they are doing as God asked…. pathetic. This is AN EXAMPLE people…. The words aren’t what is important! The MEANING is what matters… Where is your heart? THAT is what God is after.
::Sigh:: It’s frustrating… I recently attended a catholic funeral of an old schoolmate… The whole funeral was lead in 4 repetitions of the Lord’s Prayer and Hail Mary’s… … I sat in awe and shock of the scene before me. I prayed alone….. “God…. is this what you desired of your people? Where’s the zeal? Where are the hearts of passion? WHO IN THIS CROWD IS REALLY SPEAKING TO YOU? IS ANYONE SINCERE?” I’m not doubting those prayers CAN be prayed in honest sincerity… but I guarantee they aren’t 99.9% of the time.
Man… I don’t know what more to say… I’ve talked to my family members… multiple times… I’ve tried to explain to them what the Bible says… that they are blatantly following doctrines made by man and not in the Bible… but they just smile and tell themselves that they are comfortable with their beliefs… They believe that Mary has magical healing powers…
There is a “Shrine to Mary the Holy Mother of God” thing in my hometown now… It’s been there a few years… It was made by a rich old woman who claimed to be a “Visionary” and she says that Mary appears to her regularly and thus she build this shrine to her… Catholics come from around the country… no exaggeration… to see this shrine. My own mother has gone to it and tells me that it’s “Ok becuase they have a shrine to Jesus too…” Granted… it’s smaller… and off to the side… but… hey… who’s counting?
SO anyway, this visionary claims that Mary visits her the first monday of every month or something like that… except NOT in the winter months because it’s too cold for us to be outside… … … Yeah… that sounds like Mary and not some reasoning of the 80 year old lady.. … … and nobody can see Mary… just this lady…. So my grandparents are hooked… My grandpa claims to have had really bad pain in his back and one sunday he was praying at this shrine and his pain moved up his body and left him… Let’s think… If YOU were Satan… and your goal was to twist truth JUST enough to get people worshipping things other than Jesus Christ… or God… say for example…. ohhh…. Mary. Wouldn’t it be EASY to cause physical pain and then take it away just at the right time to make someone think that Mary did it? … think about THAT for a while…
My cousin says that she is sure she’s getting into heaven now because this statue of Mary “signed her hand to keep her out of purgatory”…. but that only lasts until you wash your hand… … … (COME ON PEOPLE!?!?!??!) So my relatives and such have donated so much money to this shrine that there are now two angel statues at the front of the driveway…. they are the “Pirolli Angels” now… (My last name is Pirolli)… joy… I’m so happy to be part of this shrine… may it keep me out of purgatory… … (can ya smell the sarcasm yet?)
Not to mention that NONE …. I repeat… NONE of the afformentioned “Purgatory”, “Worshipping Mary”, or “Visions of Mary” are in the Bible…. … or even backed by Biblical stories… and what the crap is the “Signing my hand” crap???? COME ON!!!! IF YOU WANT TO KNOW GOD, SEEK HIM! HE IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!!! “Behold I stand at the door and knock, anyone who hears can open the door and I will eat with him and he with me.” God is not hidden in a shrine somewhere… God is not revealed by visions of Mary to old ladies which no one else can see or hear… God is there… with you NOW! JUST FREAKIN TALK!
I guess the biggest shock to me is that in my lifetime… My short 20 years so far… I’ve seen SO MUCH FRUIT come from the lives of those who truly seek God…. There have been SO many miracles and good works… and Christ-like actions come from people who live out their faith EVERY DAY… They aren’t perfect… but they strive to be… in speech… in action… in thought…. THOSE people are the ones who show God working in their lives! Yet I watch Catholics every day… my relatives… my friends… who swear up a storm… curse everybody… go to church on Sunday… and live their own agendas the rest of the week… (I’m not saying there can’t be Christians who do this too… I know some…) But the main difference… I’ve yet to see God working in the lives of my Catholic family members… I’ve yet to see them pour out Agape love on others… to transform their lives… their very personalities and actions based on Christ-like principles in ways that only God can change you… No…. they just keep on living their lives….. and I wonder…. “How can you do that? How can you NOT have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ… the creator of our universe…. The God that wants to be your friend and father… to talk to you regularly… to transform you….. How can you justify your actions and go to your confessionals… say your repetitive prayers with NO feeling… and still think that you aren’t missing something?” My God…. Thank you for showing me who you really are…. My Best Friend… My Father… My Guide… Thank you.
Ignorance and blind faith… bother me…. a lot.
Mood: Frustrated with the world… But knowing I’m here for a reason. 
Music: An old worship song “I stand in awe of you”
22 Comments
you mentioned above that they are just comfortable with their beliefs… despite the fact that you tell them otherwise. and that’s just it… it’s not that they don’t think you are right or wrong, nor doubt that you “just may be on to something”… it’s just because they are comfortable. i’ve been in the same situation before. people are comfortable with what they have and don’t want to deviate from that because it is outside of their comfort zone. once someone steps outside of their comfort zone they become vunerable… and noone wants to be vunerable.
ps… nice site
~nate
Very interesting. I’ll be the first to admit to not knowing alot about the differences in relegions. I like how you will admit that thier core values are intact and that is what is important.
I look forward to reading your blogs and do read with an open mind. That being said, What I wrote specifically to Anna yesterday was genuine. Both blogs. Take the time to really read them. I truly found the blog from Heather to be enlightning. I try to learn as much as I can from whomever I can.
I hope we can have some interesting coversations even with differing opionions.
Hrm. I just e-mailed you… I think I need to again. Maybe tomorrow. ((LoL!!))
“Ignorance and blind faith… bother me…. a lot.”
Yup. Me too.
hmm maybe ill come back and read this later… no hard feelings
~NaTz
I must say that I am extremely thankful that our church thought it important to study what other denominations and other religions believe. What really amazes me is how close some denominations/cults/religions are to the truth, while missing it completely. For example, a classmate of mine gave me a list of verses describing their beliefs. They were listed in categories to help define the different areas of their doctrinal beliefs. What did I do? I looked up each of the passages listed on the full sheet (front and back, if memory serves) that night and became truly dismayed that they would have a strong doctrinal stance if only they would have looked at the verses in context – only one or two verses on either end of the passage they had listed would have refuted their claims and given them the full picture.
On the other hand, it is often the groups that are close to the truth without possessing it that show the most zeal… When was the last time I truly shared Christ with a lost friend? I’d be embarrassed to say. In fact, I’m embarrassed to even think about it…
Ok, it’s been a few days, so I can do this with ((hopes)) that it’s not going to attract attention. Have enough trouble right now over Catholicism.
I love you, I appreciate where you come from… but you’re wrong. There’s no way a person can be a Catholic and a Christian at the same time. The core is NOT the same.
Core Christianity is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, come to earth to live the only sinless life, and to die on a cross for forgiveness of sins once for all. He raised from the grave, becoming the ultimate sacrifice for sin, and is now seated on the right hand of the Father, sole mediator for our sins.
Catholic doctrine statest that Jesus was not the only sinless person – the Pope and Mary are both infallible, as well. It states that the cross was not sufficient for salvation, as they must also participate in the sacrements in order to be ‘saved’… and as if that wasn’t enough, the Catachesm statest that every time they partake of the Euchrist, Christ comes down and literally becomes the elements, and they sacrifice Him again and again. They mandate confession to priests (thus deeming Christ insufficient as mediator).
There’s no way a person can hold both of these ‘cores’ at the same time. And that’s not touching the divine ascention of Mary and her pending status as Co-Mediatrix, pergatory, or praying at the feet of statues of the blessed mother and the saints (idolatry)… which are, in actuality, statues adopted from Roman paganism, simply given different names. Even the letters on the Communion wafers (IHS) is in honor of the unholy trinity of false religion.
Sorry to disagree with you, but having dealt with these two ‘cores’ in-depth for three years, I’ve come face to face with the glaring false doctrines of the Catholic church… not that anyone believes me (or my family). But I have to speak the truth with great patience and careful instruction… so there it is.
Hey Milkboy, I enjoyed your blog. I wanted to add a few ideas, and get your thoughts on them. I am a catholic (and as such blocked from Anna’s site), I respect your Christianity – as I can see you respect (some) of mine. I want to remind you to beware of false prophets (as Anna proclaims herself a prophet). I see none of Christ’s love, just OT fire, brimstone and damnation in her blogs. Anna believes that Catholics believe that Mary is part of the “godhead” (trinity to you and me), she also believes we are “resacrificing” Jesus christ when we partake in the Eucharist, again, I tried to correct her with scripture, but got blocked… Does she not know the Nicene creed? Council of Catholic bishops, the first ecumenical council (325 AD?)….
The Catholic church is the living church of a living god. Only five apostles wrote any part of the bible (Matthew, john, James, peter and Jude) and like Paul, Luke and mark they wrote whenever problems came up, to assist people’s memories or to address specific questions, as the catholic church pronounces doctrine today. (I am happy to provide links to where these problems were addressed in the bible). Also, the Apostles claim divine authority when they speak (Acts 2:14-18, 4:19-20, etc.) but they do not claim divine authority when they write. The living Church, as Paul wrote (1 tm 3:15), is the pillar and mainstay of the Truth”, not anything written. None of the Apostles intended to produce a complete written account of Christ’s teachings; as this is not possible, given the nature of living Sacred Tradition and the extent of what Christ did and said. (jn 21:25)
I know Catholics that pray to mary and saints asking them to interceed on thier behaf. I believe they are asking Mary or whomever to also pray to god for them. An example is that I have a friend who’s nephew is having brain surgery. She has asked me to pray for him, and I am. That is what praying to Mary or another saint would equal. I’m sorry your family doesn’t feel the prayers that they are saying to God. I for one, am not in a position to know anothers relationship with God. It is a shame if they do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I sadly know many people who call themselves Christian, but do not live as a christian. I am by no means sinless, I swear, I have things I must work on, but I am constantly working on them, and one day – through my faith and works I hope to recieve salvation. Take care!
oh, yeah, sorry about the worlds longest comment to the worlds longest blog 🙂
Blessed:
I appreciate the comments… and as far as your beef with anna goes… I must say that I agree with anna more than I do your viewpoints here… I’ve read through quite a bit of Catholic Doctrine and I’ve seen nothing but some really whacked out practices based on nothing but CCC documents with NO scripture to back them up…. I do think that most Catholics and MOST CHRISTIANS even live their faith blindly and don’t research or live it out daily…. and I have a large amount of respect for your knowledge of the subject matter alone… You’ve obviously been around this in some detail… good stuff.
My major cringe factor with your comment was in this line:
“I am by no means sinless, I swear, I have things I must work on, but I am constantly working on them, and one day – through my faith and works I hope to recieve salvation.”
I’m glad you know you aren’t faultless…. and I know I’m not either… but to say that you hope that your faith AND WORKS will lead you to salvation??? The Bible is extremely clear on that topic of works… Our best deeds compared to the glory of God…. are filthy rags… how bold can we be as to say that something of OUR doing is even remotely comparable to God’s standards or glory??? It’s just not possible… which makes the GRACE of God SO MUCH MORE compelling… that he loves us despite our iniquities… that Christ died to take away our faults…. even Christ himself did not consider equality with God something to be grasped… yet we are to rely FULLY on God’s grace… not on our works…. Yes… faith without works is dead… but that is just describing that if we aren’t SHOWING love and faith in our actions…. then the “faith” we say we have probably isn’t existant…. we need to act on our faith for it to truly be faith… but in no way do our works gain us favor with God…. rather NOT doing them is a sin! “For anyone who knows the good they ought to do, but doesn’t do it, sins.” So… that’s my two cents worth on that…
Anna:
I don’t feel bad that you disagree with me… heck upon closer examination, I only agree with your statements more! You’ve been closer to this than I’ve been so I can totally see that evident in your statements… I appreciate the enlightenment.
As far as MY family goes… they don’t stick to the core beliefs you used to describe Catholicism… they are rather ignorant to most of the foundational facts of the eucharist and stuff… so…. misled… yes… but wrong in their own heads… I don’t think they are as different as it can seem… They believe that the pope is human… he sins… the think that Mary was human and sinned… but they are wrong in praying to her now…. so… it’s a big mess….. they’ve made their own religious beliefs out of combining two others…. bah…. anywho… thanks for the input. I appreciate the studious background of your knowledge on the subject!
-Brent
Hi Brent. Just so you know… I am the “e-mailed blocked blogger” from Anna’s blog. I think that you hit the nail on the head with your comment about faith and works. If you aren’t acting on your faith, it probably doesn’t really exist. I wanted to share an excerpt from my e-mail to Anna, just so you can see where I am coming from on the works issue Anna wrote in her patchwork blog “it took her AN HOUR to get them to admit that salvation is by faith alone”
I wrote to her, What do you think of James 2:14-16? That Salvation is through Faith and
works?
Christ’s own words from the Sermon on the Mount, for example (Mt 7:24-27, LK
6:46-49), and his account of the process of judgment shows that everybody
facing judgment has plenty of faith (they all say, “Lord,”), but the
sheep who did the right thing are saved while the goats who didn’t aren’t
(Mt 25:31-46), and in the account of the Apocalypse, the returning Christ
Says, “Behold, I come quickly! And my reward is with me, to render unto each
one according to his works” (Rv 22:12). That’s why Christianity (er, um… Catholicism?) teaches
that “faith without works is dead”, as St. James put it in (Jas 2:17, 26). Anna didn’t agree, which doesn’t bother me in the least – I tried 🙂 I have taken scripture (which doesn’t contradict itself, right?) and shown that Jesus said you need both. Either way I was just sharing my view as a Catholic. I don’t think we are all so different. I think Anna may be carrying a personal issue into her distain for Catholics. I enjoy reading Christian blogs (even Anna’s – much to her chagrin), it helps me to understand things I didn’t, and have a new view on other things (I do check to see if it is true, if I find it interesting). I don’t use a “catholic” bible I use the nkjv (distinctly protestant, no?) but I do occasionally check my verses online at http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/index.htm if I have a question about continuity. I’m not trying to convert anyone, just share the truth (again, as I know it, backed by scripture – which I do check, I only use the ccc as a kind of study guide to help me if I don’t know where to find something). Again, I enjoyed your blog and my interest is piqued.
Blessed, I don’t disagree that you need both… but we must define “need” in this discussion…. You say that they are both equally important… that we must have faith in Christ AND good deeds to boot…. that those deeds show our faith in Christ… I agree… BUT, what I say is that we are SAVED by FAITH ALONE…. and as outward evidence of said faith… we act on it. THOSE are the deeds…. giving away your possessions to aid those in need when you don’t know how you’ll provide for yourself… giving financially till it hurts… and then some… and trusting God to make up the difference… Even sharing the gospel with a friend and hoping they don’t reject it…. and possibly your friendship… THOSE are the “deeds” we need…. not for our salvation… but to SHOW our faith is genuine!
Our faith is the only thing that saves us…. God freely hands us this gift of salvation if we so choose to accept it… Christianity is the ONLY religion where there are NO works required for salvation…. Muslim’s believe that you must have faith… then live according to the “5 pillars of their faith” which are all deeds…. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that you are saved by faith… then must share with others for a minimum number of hours to even HOPE to attain a spot in heaven… Mormons believe that you are saved by faith… but then must earn your way into salvation by being a good person… and even if you ARE saved, it was pre-destined anyway and on top of that you still have to fight for a “level” of heaven depending on your good works…(none of which is Biblical) I could go on and on here… but the point is… NOTHING we can do…. no amount of work… can EARN our way to God…. We are inately born with sin. No amount of good deeds can take that out of us. The ONLY thing that can bridge that gap is the Grace of God….
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast.”
-Ephesians 2:8-9(NIV)
The only reason the “faith without deeds is dead” thing appears is becuase it states that unless you are living out deeds… you probably DON’T HAVE FAITH! I can tell you a million times that I’m not afraid of roller coasters… but when I go to a theme park and don’t ride any of them… and go out of my way to avoid them… and all my friends are riding them…. and I’m sittin there…. like a dork… you’re gonna think… “PSSSHhhhh… He’s scared outta his wits!” (I’m not by the way
I love roller coasters! 
) Do ya see what I’m sayin here though? The “deeds” it mentions have zero currency on the scales of God’s saving grace…. the gift is free… “But the GIFT of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus…” – Romans 6:23 What is a gift? It isn’t something you work for… that is a wage… A gift is undeserved… unmeritted…. A gift is expecting NOTHING in return….
Romans 4 talks about Abraham being justified to God NOT by his actions in willing to sacrifice his son… but by his FAITH to actually DO SO! It then says in verse 4, “Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.” God sent Jesus as a gift… all we must do is accept it… THEN we are saved… and the “deeds” come after that.
Blessed… I know 100% that if I die tonight…. If I don’t wake tomorrow… I know I’m going to heaven…. The Bible promises me that. My salvation is secure. It is by God’s grace alone that I am saved… not by my works…. so that I cannot boast… But what about John Q. Nobody…. if he accepts Christ and dies 2 seconds later… is he gonig to heaven? YES!!! He never had time to commit “deeds”…. but that isn’t what’s important for salvation…. only for LIVING OUT the faith that you already have… Make sense?
And as far as Rev. 22:12 goes… that’s a totally different subject. Revelations tells us that in heaven there will be crowns for us…. that God will shower us with his Glory and the whole place will be lit not with light but with the radiance of God… The mormons have taken this further and assessed “levels” of heaven… the Bible never backs that… it says that we will have treasures and crowns according to our lives and deeds on earth… God will reward us for our service… but the hardest concept to grasp is that even the SMALLEST spot in heaven is beyond what we can imagine here…. There is no “bad spot” in heaven… next to the noisy ice machine… that wakes you up every 15 minutes… for eternity…. See… this verse tells us that God is coming back, and with him will be the rewards (wages) for either our good OR bad… (read the preceeding verse, it talks about good AND bad) The reward for those who are saved and are doing good deeds, treasures in heaven… where moths and rust do not destroy and thieves do not steal… The reward for those who haven’t accepted Christ? Well…. it’s not pretty. Thus the “But I did good works in your name Lord….” and “I never knew you…” stuff…
ok… hope this makes sense… it’s past 1am and I’m sick… so… i’m kinda out of it….
-Brent
Brent, I got to tell you – I am so impressed with you! You really know your stuff, you are a pleasure to read 🙂
I can’t say that I disagree with your core point here. Without Faith, there is no salvation. With works alone, there is no salvation. We are taught that you need Faith, and you need to act on that faith – or the faith isn’t really there ~Hence, the Faith and Works. The thing is that Adam and Eve had perfect Faith in God, and Satan has faith in God, but their acts keep them from salvation. I think between you and me This is an issue of semantics.
Have a great day!
Yeah… maybe we are at am impass and must agree to disagree… but I believe that Adam and Eve are saved…. that they had faith and communed with God…. their sin seperated them on earth… but I don’t think it was the end-all to their relationship. How could they know God personally…. like… REALLY personally… talking face-to-face… then forget him completely? They are OT too… so Jesus wasn’t around yet… so the saved by faith thing wasn’t even the covenant of the time… They had to offer sacrifices to attone for sins… totally new subject.
And as far as Satan… there is a difference between knowing God exists and trusting him as King… Satan knows he exists… but that’s not an issue of “faith.” Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” The point of it is that you don’t KNOW God’s there… but you trust and have faith in Him… THEN he reveals himself in ways we never expect. (Sidenote: I love 1Peter 1:8-9, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”)Satan KNEW God existed… but got power hungry…. He thought he could overthrow God and thust God put the smack down on him and cast him down to earth… So…. no… Satan never had faith in God… He put his faith and trust in his own abilities…. and look where that got him…. …. … look where he’ll end up when Christ returns… forever… So if Satan has faith in himself alone…. where are his deeds focused? In evil… in his own interests…. thus showing his faith in himself….
hmmm… interesting topic though… I never looked at it this way until now…. thanks for the questions! You’re makin me learn!
-Brent
Interesting stuff you have going on here. I for one believe in God and Jesus, but do not attend any church. Everything is so twisted and people just don’t get it. I can’t stand being with people who act one way at church then go about the rest of their time being rude, mean, spiteful, self consummed… arhhh, the list is too long, but you get the point!
My basic creed is to do no harm! I do good deeds and enjoy the good feeling it gives me. I don’t go running about saying ‘I do this good stuff cause God will like it!’ I don’t understand what is so hard to understand about all of this religous stuff. Why does the Bible have to come in and dictate all our moves, and be ripped to shreds to try and get our point across?
Since most of the church holidays and ideas are based in Pagan beliefs doesn’t that make us all still Pagan to some extent? I’ve know Christians that have been head over heels about the Christmas season, but then as soon as they found out about the Pagan aspects of it, they totally dropped the holiday altogether! And what about Easter? The bunny’s the eggs? All part of fertility rituals! Some Christians try to act all high and mighty, but they do so much back stepping on their own words and deeds. I just can’t see being a part of what they are.
Basically my question is, what am I? I don’t think I belong in the Christian category, but I do believe in Jesus. Friends have called me everything from Pagan to Buddist! I don’t get all the hub bub. Why do we have to be placed into a category based on our beliefs, and what if our beliefs meld with a different religion? Then we are never truly accepted on either side, but some say we will still get into heaven and some say not! But really it’s Gods call so why are we still going around and around with different people from different beliefs?
And one more thing… when someone you know dies, and they are basically a good person, is the first question on your lips ‘did they recieve Jesus so they can get into heaven?’ No. You want to believe since they lived a good, moral, decent life, and that they were kind, and good, that they are in heaven with God, right?
I think it’s all much simpler than we make it, but people just like to hide behind their faiths! It’s like a buffer between them and the rest of the world.
Well, my head is spinning and the wee ones are begging for attention so I must run. But I’d like to hear your thoughts either in e-mail or on here. Will be checking back soon.
Best Wishes,
Hey Crackers… that’s a lot of stuff! ok… lets start with point numero uno…
Yeah… Christians (or any religious affiliated group) who act one way on sunday and differently the rest of the week are definitely NOT living out their faith. They are hypocritical and are the source of 99.9% of athiesm in the world today. People look at them and say, “they’re supposed to have a relationship with God… yet they don’t act any different than me… why bother….. obviously God isn’t real enough to make a difference in their lives, they’re only doing this to feel good about themselves… blah blah blah…” etc. Personally I totally understand those remarks… I see hypocracy daily… Understand that I myself am NOT perfect… I screw up constantly.. But I will do all I can in my power to make people realize that this “Jesus thing” isn’t just a hobby. This is a way of life. Romans tells us we are to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds…” once we accept Christ. 2Cor. 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” God DOES change our thoughts… our standards… but if we don’t commit ourselves wholeheartedly and LET HIM DO IT, he won’t. God uses people who are willing. ONLY people who are willing. If God wanted to, he could make an entire army of drones who worhip him 24/7, but instead he gave us freewill… a choice… do we love him with our minds? with our actions? 24/7 or just Sundays? Those who DO act on this calling 24/7 are doing as God desires… those who don’t… well… they give Christianity a bad name….. They turn people away from God…. They hurt us all.
I’m sorry you have had such bad experiences with Christianity. I hope you understand that those people who’ve shown you such hypocracy and duality of standards…. they aren’t serving my God the way He asks us to. They’re looking for a spiritual Santa Claus that’ll give them what they want when they are in need without them ever inconveniencing themselves or stepping out on faith in the slightest.
SPEAKING of Santa Claus… on to point two… (lol… how’s that for a transition?) RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS! OK… so the majority of holiday traditions originated from pagan holidays… TRUE. But we (speaking from a Christian viewpoint) don’t have any reason to distance ourselves from them due to that! As long as our mind and hearts are in alignment with God’s will and commands… we are in no way in the wrong. Holidays are SO commercialized that it litteraly is pathetic. When stores have easter stuff for sale in January… something is wrong… We have rabbits and eggs…. candy galore… for Jesus’ death and ressurection? odd…. but ok… we chalk it up to consumerism and commercialism… When you celebrate Easter, where is your heart? That is what matters…. are you tied up in the gifts you got for Christmas, or are you thankful for your community of friends, family, neighbors…. Are you thankful for Christ dying and giving us a second chance, or are you wondering where your chocolate rabbit is? Nothing about holidays is “evil”…. but we must be sure we keep our focus on the reality of the event.
THIRD point… What are you? Well… I don’t know you. LOL…. But sources say you’re about 80% water like the rest of us… ok ok… seriously. Whatever you choose to follow is your choice. Understand I am coming from a Christian perspective. I was raised in the Catholic church, but when I really started researching this stuff… I looked into Muslim, Catholicism, Buhdism, Christianity, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses… just about anything you can think of…. I was curious what they believed…. Christianity is the only religion that uses the original Bible alone! Every other religion utilizes their own versions, their own additions or books… it’s nuts. I decided that I’d go with the source material before it was twisted by man… ANYWAY, my advice to you is to answer a few basic questions. Do you believe the Bible is the word of God written to us long ago? If not… look into some apoligetics studies… The facts of the Bible’s origin is INSANE. Written by a lot of authors over HUNDREDS of years… never once contradicting itself…. by men who’ve never met… never talked to each other… it’s crazy. ANYWAY, if you believe the Bible as fact, and you understand Jesus was the Son of God… that he died to bridge the gap between you and God… to be the final sacrifice to attone for our sins… If you’ve accepted that and understand that… and you ask God into your life… you say, “Hey God…. life sucks. I want to see what you can do through me…. use me….. I accept that you died for me…. now live in my life and show me what you have for me…” (give or take a few words… lol) Then you are a Christian. NOW HOLD UP…. Christian is a broad term…. we have Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Evangelical, Penticostal, etc…. ok ok… they all have their own quirks… own discrepencies in doctrine… but at the CORE, they believe Christ died for our sins and we can have a personal relationship with him…. the end. They are all Christian. Yes. There are hypocrites… Yes… there is scandal… but what do you expect form a bunch of sinners coming together in mass numbers????? It’s not justified… nor is it right. But don’t let the “human” side of Christianity hinder you from seeking out God in your life. Personally, I’m non-denominational. I don’t side with any denomination of Christianity for this very reason… the small discrepencies aren’t worth fighting over…. we’ll find those answers when we are in heaven.
OK… last point…
And one more thing… when someone you know dies, and they are basically a good person, is the first question on your lips ‘did they recieve Jesus so they can get into heaven?’ No. You want to believe since they lived a good, moral, decent life, and that they were kind, and good, that they are in heaven with God, right?
Honestly…. no. The sad Biblical truth is, that Salvation is through Christ alone. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” So no number of good works can get you into heaven if you don’t accept Christ as your savior on earth…. See…. Just because they lived a good life… doesn’t earn them the right to be in heaven with God…. God is SO PERFECT, that our pathetic attempts at being “good” can never earn our way there. (enter Jesus here) We tend to wishy washy our thoughts and HOPE they accepted Christ… we tend to not want to think of them being anywhere BUT heaven…. …. but the Bible is so clear on this topic that it isn’t even debateable….
Religion is simpler than we make it… we screw it up all the time… all it needs to be is a PERSONAL relationship with Christ… then a FELLOWSHIP of love and support for others…. the end. But alas… we’re human….. that’s what we’re best at… defining our lives by suffering and misery…. by fighting… by being “better” that each other…. bah.
I hope this helps… I gotta run… thanks for posting and I hope to hear back soon.
-Brent
oh yeah… P.S. for those of you who are interested, check out http://www.biblegateway.com It is a free online Bible resource…you can look up verses from keywords in pretty much any translation that is good…. like… 14 of them…. it’s cool…
-Brent
Thanks for all that work you put into replying! I just knew there were likeminded Christians out there somewhere! All the hypocrisy is what has kept me away from the church. I believe I am a Christian because I do accept Christ, but when you hear from so many people that the way I go about my life seems more Budist like, or even more new age like, it just tends to wear on a soul. I really hate commercialism and try to live a very simple life. Most Christians I know wish they too could live like me (truth is they could, but they choose not to), but then tell me since I’m not like them, it must be something else I’m following. I don’t know if this is making sense… I guess you’d just have to know me better to understand. But I don’t think living a simple should mean I’m a bad Christian.
We do celebrate the holidays here, keeping God and giving to others our focus. But lately it seems like Christians around here are just damning everything that even remotely has to do with anything pagan. Some have even been offended by my recent hobby of spinning, because they say there are links to witchcraft in spinning threads and yarn! *sigh* So you can see what I’m up against! Not to mention that I meditate daily! *gasp!*
Thanks again for taking the time to set me straight again. Sometimes I just think too much, and lose my focus (which is Jesus)!
Wow! Not only did you have the longest blog, but the longest string of comments I’ve seen, especially considering the number of comments…
Anyway, just wanted to throw a different spin on the salvation topic: that of eternal security. Let us suppose that salvation is, in fact, based on a combination of faith and works. If this is the case, it would seem reasonable to me that if my works don’t cut the mustard, then I can lose my salvation. However, Christ said that His sheep “know His voice” and He calls them by name, and that NO MAN can pluck them out of His hand. As I see it, that leaves no possibility for me to lose my salvation, even by anything I can do.
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would come and go as the righteous worked for God. As a result, the OT saints never had the assurance that the Spirit would stay with them, hence Psalm 53 requesting that God not remove His Spirit from David… However, Christ stated that He would “never leave [us], nor forsake [us],” implying that either He or His Spirit would remain with us for the rest of our lives after salvation.
To clarify the difference between OT and NT, not to mention between periods in the OT, I am going to briefly include a survey of what some have called “dispensationalism.” This simply states that God has dealt with humanity in a number of different ways throughout the course of history. Does this mean that God changed? No. God does not change. He may appear to from our perspective, but our perspective is very limited. In fact, if we were to try to understand His perspective, it would be like someone explaining quantum physics to a gerbil. The only difference is that the gerbil really doesn’t give a rip about quantum physics…
Anyway, dispensations: Innocence, Conscience, Human government, Promise, Law, Church/Grace, Kingdom.
Innocence: in the garden of Eden, pre-fall. God dealt with man based on man’s innocence (Gen. 1-2).
Conscience: post-fall, pre-flood. Man was ruled by conscience; didn’t work, as man was focused on “only evil continually” Gen. 6:5 (Gen. 3-6).
Human government: post-flood. God worked with man through human government, also instituting capital punishment at this time (Gen. 9:6) (starting in Gen. 9).
Promise: God called Abraham to “a land I will show you.” (Gen. 12:1). This dispensation was selective, dealing strictly with Abraham and his descendents (Gen. 12-Ex. 20[?]).
Law: the best-known of this dispensation is the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, but this is only one portion of the law given to the children of Israel. The law is actually described in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. This dispensation was strictly for Jews and proselytes.
Grace: Enter Christ. His sacrifice was enough for us to no longer need animal sacrifices to cover our sins. This dispensation has also been called the “church age” and is available to anyone, including both Jew and Gentile.
Kingdom: After Christ returns to earth (still future), He will establish a kingdom on earth where He rules. Several prophetic books deal with this period, both in Old and New Testament books. This event is still in the future and will involve both Jews and Gentiles.
[End dispensational outline.]
While this suggests that God works with humans in different ways, this does not mean that God has changed or that He will change. It simply shows that, from our perspective, He’s doing things a bit differently. Again, for us to grasp this concept is about like a gerbil understanding quantum physics: I can’t say that I fully understand it either, but I know that it makes enough sense to me for me to believe it.
I wanted to address the topic of pagan elements of holidays, too. The meaning of Christmas is religious, otherwise there wouldn’t be so much of a push to eliminate Christmas concerts, etc. from public schools. That fat guy at the North Pole is a commercialization tool, but can still be a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. While I do not endorse Santa, I do feel that he can be a reminder of the wise men, bearing precious gifts to Christ soon after His birth (it was not, as many believe, immediately after His birth). Christ wants us to bring Him the greatest gift we can give: ourselves. While a gift exchange may seem like a buy-in to all the commercialization of Christmas, it is not necessarily so. It can simply be an expression of our love for each other, reflecting Christ’s expression of love for us. As far as Easter, with all its candy, I have to say I do enjoy a lot of the candy, but I don’t connect that at all to my celebration of Easter. Easter is simply a time to remember Christ’s sacrifice and His victory over death.
We, as humans, tend to want to classify things neatly as right/wrong, godly/pagan, etc. Often, there is no easy answer to whether or not something is right or wrong, godly or pagan, spiritual or secular. Many times the answer is more clear when the attitude of the actor is examined, but even then what is evident on the outside may not reflect what is going on inside.
Nothing like adding a long comment to a long string of comments, huh? Hope this helps!
By the way, in regard to hypocrites: there have always been, and always will be hypocrites. However, do you stop going to the store because you got sick ONE TIME from a bad item you purchased there? Do you stop going to a restaurant because you had poor service once? Do you stop breathing because you caught an airborne virus? Of course not! You continue to go to the store because it carries items you need. You continue going to the restaurant because it was only one employee out of the entire company. You keep breathing because you have to.
The point is, if there were such a thing as a perfect church, none of us would qualify. Each denomination, each individual church, each person within that church, has his own flaws. We are imperfect beings trying to reflect a perfect Saviour. We’re going to make mistakes. In some cases, we will fall flat on our faces, with only the grace of God allowing us to get back on our feet.
So, while each church has its own flaws, find one that you can live with and get involved, recognizing that it is an imperfect organization of imperfect people.
Hey, this is Brent (Milkboy31) on Sarah’s (Shocktart787) name…
Good stuff Shaun… thanks. Yeah… long entries are fun…
anywho…
Crackers… as far as that spinning class goes… … yeah… that’s kinda far fetched… HAHAHA… people like that would HATE my church! We’d seem so evil to them I’m sure… check out our website if ya want… (CedarCreek) All of our crazy multimedia and evil secular cover songs…
So anyway, as far as the eternal salvation thing goes, that’s a WHOLE new can of worms… although I DO agree with you… I DON’T believe you can lose it… it’s eternal and unconditional… but as I said, I’d rather not start a discussion for that issue HERE…. this is long enough! LOL… AND as far as holidays go… I’m all about celebrating them as everyone else does, but I keep in mind the focus of Christ… so with that, unless anyone has something profound to say…. I shall call this BLOG “dismissed!” HAHAHA…. thanks for all your input everyone!
-Brent
I got a snake man. One time I fed it some beer.