The Official Religion Thread

[masong]

Discuss all religion/religious based topics here. Please treat one another with respect.

[CaboChris]

[Hurricane Halen]

Discuss all religion/religious based topics here. Please treat one another with respect.

Everyone will treat each other with respect, all the way to the point to which they won't. Probably will start trending around page 4, which is my guess. It's gonna get hot as hell in here, (not a satanist either, just a figure of speech).
Politics and religion always get nasty, so just expect it. Trigger words may be, "Muslim", "radical Muslims", "Satan", "Catholics", "TV evangelicals", and the scientific arenas of God and Space, galaxies and the universe.

Should be fun! The post I look forward to is from the Linker, Jesus H. Christ! He may have answers to the questions!

HH <---- as for me, I love Jesus's style! I'm a believer-------

[Raldo]

I was Catholic until 2001 when I converted to Lutheran also known as 'Catholic Light'.

[Metal Marc]

I was Catholic until 2001 when I converted to Lutheran also known as 'Catholic Light'.

I, too, am a Lutheran. Diaper Lutheran, though...have never been anything else.

--- --- ---

Yeah, I'm just gonna sit back and watch this thread. Some of you will definitely make this one interesting.

[cfimages]

Back in the 1930's my grandfather's eldest brother got engaged. My grandfather's family were nominally Catholic, although not practicing, and the woman he was engaged to was Protestant. And both the local Catholic church and local Protestant church in Sydney, Australia refused to marry them without conversion. So they walked away from religion. By the time I was born, I became the third generation atheist in the family.

These days I don't call myself an atheist though, I just say I'm not religious. Growing up, atheist simply meant that one didn't go to church, but didn't look down upon people who did. We had the occasional scripture class at school. It was optional with parental permission - you'd just sit in the library for half hour in that case, but for elementary school, my parents figured it was no harm to go as it was probably more concerned with the cultural part - Christmas, Easter etc. And it was only 30 mins once a month or so. I also played junior sport in a churches competition mainly because most of my friends happened to play in that particular competition.

These days, atheist seems to mean endlessly criticize people who are religious / believers, and call them ignorant or stupid or brainwashed. That doesn't sit right with me, I've always been an each to their own, live and let live kind of person. I'm met and known incredibly wonderful, generous people from all the main religions and non-religions, and I've met and known assholes from all of them.

[ziggysmalls]

I was diaper Lutheran but since have evolved to Crisis Christian. I must admit my view on religion is a bit non traditional. I don't think there is "one" religion but do believe in a higher power.

Anyway its nice being raised Lutheran because you can kind of blend in with any service. I can go to Catholic Mass and feel at home and go to a Baptist church as well. Power to the Luths

[bsbll4]

Born and raised Catholic. Doing the same with my children. I wouldn't consider myself overly religious, but I've taken a Pascal's Wager approach to it and in the end I think it brings me joy.

[VH122]

Deacon Jones he just past away about a month or so ago.

[weesfreewheelin]

Half Irish, Half Pissed

[Dave's Dreidel]

I'm Lutheran because it's the closest church and I like playing in the band, that's how much I care about denominations.

[Wruff_ajax]

Baptized and raised Methodist (loosely, as I had a very secular upbringing).
Late teens through my 20's I wandered far away from Christ, exploring the religions of the world, searching, participating, studying texts (Bhagavad Ghita, Koran, Buddhist texts, Srimad Bhagavatam, etc, etc...). All of that eventually and inevitably brought me full circle back to holy scripture and CHRIST.
Still non-denominational Christian though through my 30's as I viewed denominations as man-made nonsense (and still do). Still, I knew that the one actual Church which Christ himself instituted must still exist somewhere, that it must have become lost in all the noise (I was still pretty ignorant at that time of all the dirty details of the reformation and such). Never a "member" of any church, until doing an extensive study of the history of Christianity and its origins, that 2000 year old body of believers which had only 500 years ago began splintering into thousands upon thousands of denominations.
These studies of the Church's origins, the Great Schism, the Protestant reformation, etc.. were a big eye-opener for me which led me over and over and over again to the church's origins which I found were in the Apostolic Catholic Church; that ancient institution which Christ himself instituted. For me then after this realization then there simply could be no other. Nothing that came along 1500 years after out of protest of what had been established would do, nor any of the literally tens of thousands of denominations which have sprung up out of that protest, each teaching their own "truth" which is always different one from the next.

Being Catholic has never been easy for me, per se, and more often than not is a great challenge which goes against my human and terribly sinful nature. It requires of me a degree of surrender/abandonment and a discipline to something which I was never accustom to in my life, and with which I struggle still to this day. But it is also so great and awesome that I cannot put into words its wonderful power and benefits.
Christ's visible Church. His blessed sacraments, and their validity in the apostolic succession from the time of Christ. The unbroken succession of apostles from Peter to the bishops of this same Church today. This Catholic Church which gave us the canon of holy scripture we all know today (more or less, depending on whether or not your version of the Bible is a Catholic one or one which Luther later edited just a few hundred years ago in order to conform sacred scripture to his personal ideas/teachings/theology).

I am Catholic, forever. Member of that One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
Working out my salvation through fear and trembling, when I'm doing it right that is. Praise Christ, and praise Him in the sacraments of His Church, especially the Most Blessed Sacrament (Eucharist) where he is truly present, body, blood, soul, and divinity (His real flesh and blood, and not a mere symbol of it. Even Martin Luther testified to this Catholic Christian truth and many other such truth's too until his death.)

Dudes, I'm not preaching. That's just how it went, in a nutshell, for me. These realizations. This small testimony. I believe (and the Church teaches) that Christ's salvation is also for the Christians of the many protestant denominations. and non-Christians too who are judged not in their ignorance of Christian teaching but rather by their hearts (willful ignorance of Christ's teaching though is another matter altogether). Christ meets all of us where we are at, but it's up to us to respond to Him. I simply could not live in denial of what I had learned, what I believe that HE showed me, and so now cannot turn away from. It's been a long and winding road, and I'm glad to be home.

Peace

[CaboChris]

I suppose I'm the worst kind of Catholic. From the cradle and know the truth. Everything about The Catholic Church is beautiful and right. I defend it against all heresies/attacks because It's the true Church...the one founded by Christ himself.

Pretty sure there Chris huh? So why haven't I surrendered to God's will? Why at 45 am I still acting against his wishes? Why haven't I put down my cup of sins/vices? I guess I'm afraid to live a "boring" life. I'm afraid to let go of those things that have been a comfort but also severely damaging to my soul. I know and can FEEL I'm out of alignment with the Almighty yet I keep putting him off. I flirt with the idea of it all but can't seem to pull the trigger.

Why won't The Evil One just let me be? I'm too old to keep this up?

[James in New York]

Sounds like The Prodigal son, brother Chris.
Someday you'll surrender and go within.
When you're ready to let go, you'll let go.

[Brody VH]

I was raised in a Methodist church. Now I am Assembly of God at home, and go to a nondenominational church while at school. Denominations aren't too important to me either, so long as the main message is correct. I just love leading worship via guitar playing.