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Location: Somewhere along the path to where I'd like to be.
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Christianity is too hard. It's too complex. It seems like when it comes to knowing the faith, there is simply too much to remember. Too much to know. Anyone else agree with me on this?
How can simple people possibly keep up? I just want to believe in God and Jesus. I'm so sick of trying to figure out this religion.
It seems like people went from one system of laws in the Old Testament, and jumped right into a whole new system of rules and regulations in the New Testament. I thought the whole point of Jesus dying for us was to be our SAVIOR?? Didn't He take on all our sins and pay the penalty for all of them? Didn't He die because we couldn't possibly keep a system of rules in order to be saved? So why is it so hard?
Why is it every time I turn around, I'm seeing all this deep stuff about what it means to truly be spiritual, and how a true Christian will be this or that, and will strive to attain this or that level of such and such because the great essence of love and faith is to be here or there doing this and that while avoiding so and so, in the hopes of maintaining a pure heart and spirit so that his inner self can truly be free to love in such and such way, leading to blah blah blah. I read something tonight which basically parallels the following:
Man has an integral part in this process because society cannot, even by God, be established from a place outside of creation by force, but can only be grown from within by those who love. It doesn't, however, have to be begun by us. It is the kingdom of God which has already been established on earth in the man Christ Jesus. We can enter it here and now by the surrender of faith, obedience and commitment to him. To the great extent in which we do, he can use us as the instruments through whom he grants his love to others. Such a surrender involves the gift of the complete and whole personality with all its abilities. Therefore, obedience isn't achieved or fulfilled in a passive acceptance and execution of other's instructions, but rather means accepting your full part in the growth of the ordinary life, adding not only one's talents and capacities, but also one's striving desire to oversee the creation of a society of love, both within that community and in the surrounding world. And so that all may make their honest and sincere contribution, those in charge and indeed ALL believers must bear in mind that all other people, whether clergy or lay person as well as those interested in becoming either are gifted with a responsibility to themselves, community and the Holy Lord and God, which they singly and without outside influence can understand and commence.
Huh???
Seriously, reading all that was like reading through a 20 page, fine-print contract. I don't understand a word that is being said.
Honestly, does ANYONE actually GET it? And if so, how do you possibly remember it all on a daily basis? How does one consciously keep all that stuff in mind?
Oh, and please, mods - if this should be in the Christianity sub-forum, by all means move it.
Christianity is too hard. It's too complex. It seems like when it comes to knowing the faith, there is simply too much to remember. Too much to know. Anyone else agree with me on this?
How can simple people possibly keep up? I just want to believe in God and Jesus. I'm so sick of trying to figure out this religion.
It seems like people went from one system of laws in the Old Testament, and jumped right into a whole new system of rules and regulations in the New Testament. I thought the whole point of Jesus dying for us was to be our SAVIOR?? Didn't He take on all our sins and pay the penalty for all of them? Didn't He die because we couldn't possibly keep a system of rules in order to be saved? So why is it so hard?
Why is it every time I turn around, I'm seeing all this deep stuff about what it means to truly be spiritual, and how a true Christian will be this or that, and will strive to attain this or that level of such and such because the great essence of love and faith is to be here or there doing this and that while avoiding so and so, in the hopes of maintaining a pure heart and spirit so that his inner self can truly be free to love in such and such way, leading to blah blah blah. I read something tonight which basically parallels the following:
Man has an integral part in this process because society cannot, even by God, be established from a place outside of creation by force, but can only be grown from within by those who love. It doesn't, however, have to be begun by us. It is the kingdom of God which has already been established on earth in the man Christ Jesus. We can enter it here and now by the surrender of faith, obedience and commitment to him. To the great extent in which we do, he can use us as the instruments through whom he grants his love to others. Such a surrender involves the gift of the complete and whole personality with all its abilities. Therefore, obedience isn't achieved or fulfilled in a passive acceptance and execution of other's instructions, but rather means accepting your full part in the growth of the ordinary life, adding not only one's talents and capacities, but also one's striving desire to oversee the creation of a society of love, both within that community and in the surrounding world. And so that all may make their honest and sincere contribution, those in charge and indeed ALL believers must bear in mind that all other people, whether clergy or lay person as well as those interested in becoming either are gifted with a responsibility to themselves, community and the Holy Lord and God, which they singly and without outside influence can understand and commence.
Huh???
Seriously, reading all that was like reading through a 20 page, fine-print contract. I don't understand a word that is being said.
Honestly, does ANYONE actually GET it? And if so, how do you possibly remember it all on a daily basis? How does one consciously keep all that stuff in mind?
Oh, and please, mods - if this should be in the Christianity sub-forum, by all means move it.
It is about having the love of the Lord in your heart and having a personal relationship with Him that makes Christians faithful.Sure there is a lot to remember and to read ,but if we give our all to the the Lord and stay focused on Him and in the word along with being obedient, things become much clearer and easier to understand. Jesus Christ,Son of God,has made it easier for our salvation by dying on the cross and atoning for our sins.
We still as Christians keep the commandments from the Old Testament,but have Jesus Christ for our Redeemer and Savior,whereby we accept Him as Lord and Savior with a repenting heart, we gain access to His Kingdom.It is our responsibility as Christians to share and spread the Gospel with others, so others can attain the Kingdom of Heaven.
Last edited by noland123; 09-11-2007 at 11:03 PM..
Location: land of quail, bunnies, and red tail hawks
1,513 posts, read 3,387,565 times
Reputation: 3539
Quote:
Originally Posted by wesacat
Hmmm...kinda makes you wonder how a bunch of sheep herders, fishermen and prostitutes were able to "get it" but most people today can't.
This is a good point!
Using Wesacat's observation, I would like to offer two reasons:
1) The shepherds, fishermen, and prostitutes that "got it" lived in Israel. They grew up observing the law of Moses. They largely had the same religious background and knew the Old Testament stories, so they "knew" the language of Jesus and the disciples. Peter was able to convert 3000 with one sermon because he was talking to a group of people that understood what he was talking about. Let's compare that to Paul who was only able to convert a few men in Athens. The people of Athens did not know the law of Moses nor the Old Testament stories. Paul had to lay the groundwork, then tell them about Jesus. Paul's task was much harder than Peter's.
Most of today's society no longer speak the same language as Christians. Christians can talk about Jesus until they're blue in the face, but if the people don't understand the background and don't speak the same language, the message is much harder to get across. The Bible no longer holds a prominent place in society, and most people don't know the Bible stories and customs and don't understand them even if they do know them. Christians also have a lingo that most people don't understand; the words Christians use often have a different meaning to non-Christians. So, the Bible will often appear difficult to understand to people who don't have a firm foundation of Biblical knowledge.
2) The human mind can be compared to a huge filing cabinet. Everything an individual encounters goes into the filing cabinet, even if it's relegated to some back corner and promptly forgotten. The contents of our "filing cabinet" will determine how easily we can discern Biblical truths. The world is filled with lots of philosophies, teachings, ideas, and facts--many of which are opposed to Biblical concepts. Society is bombarded with worldly ideas from TV, movies, magazines, newspapers, music, education, the co-worker at the water fountain, etc. If these ideas aren't scrutinized, most of them will take residence in our file cabinets. Pretty soon, the file cabinet is full of ideas that are opposed to Biblical concepts.
Have you ever tried to squeeze a single piece of paper into a packed file cabinet? How about a file folder? You've got to make an effort to get the new information into the cabinet; often you have to take something out in order to put something new in. Tightly packed paper and folders don't give way very easily. It takes a proactive cabinet manager to keep things in order.
The same thing happens with our minds. They get often get filled with nonsense and lies. The more untruth we hear, the harder it is to recognize or understand the truth. (Studies have even confirmed this.) Our minds are easily filled with worldly knowledge and philosophies, some of which sound so good yet are still so wrong. Because our minds are filled with wrong ideas, it is often hard to recognize truth. Even if it's recognized, we're not really sure we want to put it in our file cabinets; after all, it disagrees with everything we've already put in there. Our cabinets are already full, so we'll have to take something out in order to put something new in. We usually don't want to make the painful decisions of what to give up. So, we discard the good in order to retain the wrong. Why? It's so much easier! However, if we start to declutter our minds and concentrate on what we know is true, it becomes easier to sort truth from fiction. Again, this is a painful process. It might mean giving up our favorite television show. It might mean challenging dearly held beliefs. It might mean disassociating with certain people. Our comfortable lives will most likely be turned upside down and rearranged, just like we do with a filing cabinet when it's time for a good purging. No one wants to do it, but life is so much easier once we tackle the job.
Well the devil is in the details. So he can trick you in writing away your soul to him by accident. Personally I don't think God works this way.
Originally Posted wesacat
Quote:
Hmmm...kinda makes you wonder how a bunch of sheep herders, fishermen and prostitutes were able to "get it" but most people today can't.
They 'got it' because Jesus went to them and spoke in 'their' language. He used 'simple' and 'easy' to understand stories.
And he truly cared about them and wanted to stop their suffering (here on earth).
I think we do often tend to over complicate things. The Gospel should be very plain and simple. Repent of past sins, accept Jesus' atonement and try to live with him as your example. If you mess up and do something wrong - repent again and accept forgiveness. I think that's the basics.
Christianity is too hard. It's too complex. It seems like when it comes to knowing the faith, there is simply too much to remember. Too much to know. Anyone else agree with me on this?
How can simple people possibly keep up? I just want to believe in God and Jesus. I'm so sick of trying to figure out this religion.
It seems like people went from one system of laws in the Old Testament, and jumped right into a whole new system of rules and regulations in the New Testament. I thought the whole point of Jesus dying for us was to be our SAVIOR?? Didn't He take on all our sins and pay the penalty for all of them? Didn't He die because we couldn't possibly keep a system of rules in order to be saved? So why is it so hard?
Why is it every time I turn around, I'm seeing all this deep stuff about what it means to truly be spiritual, and how a true Christian will be this or that, and will strive to attain this or that level of such and such because the great essence of love and faith is to be here or there doing this and that while avoiding so and so, in the hopes of maintaining a pure heart and spirit so that his inner self can truly be free to love in such and such way, leading to blah blah blah. I read something tonight which basically parallels the following:
Man has an integral part in this process because society cannot, even by God, be established from a place outside of creation by force, but can only be grown from within by those who love. It doesn't, however, have to be begun by us. It is the kingdom of God which has already been established on earth in the man Christ Jesus. We can enter it here and now by the surrender of faith, obedience and commitment to him. To the great extent in which we do, he can use us as the instruments through whom he grants his love to others. Such a surrender involves the gift of the complete and whole personality with all its abilities. Therefore, obedience isn't achieved or fulfilled in a passive acceptance and execution of other's instructions, but rather means accepting your full part in the growth of the ordinary life, adding not only one's talents and capacities, but also one's striving desire to oversee the creation of a society of love, both within that community and in the surrounding world. And so that all may make their honest and sincere contribution, those in charge and indeed ALL believers must bear in mind that all other people, whether clergy or lay person as well as those interested in becoming either are gifted with a responsibility to themselves, community and the Holy Lord and God, which they singly and without outside influence can understand and commence.
Huh???
Seriously, reading all that was like reading through a 20 page, fine-print contract. I don't understand a word that is being said.
Honestly, does ANYONE actually GET it? And if so, how do you possibly remember it all on a daily basis? How does one consciously keep all that stuff in mind?
Oh, and please, mods - if this should be in the Christianity sub-forum, by all means move it.
I was helping in our Church with some folks who were looking into converting, and a young women asked essentially the same thing you did to the crusty old Jesuit who was leading the "class"
Suddenly he turned soft, leaned over to this young women, and asked her if she loved JESUS. Did she believe he was born, was crucified for our sins, and rose again. She asnwered, in the affirmative.
He then told her that is our belief too. And the rest is pretty much filler.
People have made it complex. It's really quite simple. It's about Love. Loving others as much as you love yourself. Everything else you can add on as you are ready to understand.
Some people will tell you so many things about what's the "Correct" way, but unless you know in your heart that it's important, then, for you, it isn't.
I think we do often tend to over complicate things. The Gospel should be very plain and simple. Repent of past sins, accept Jesus' atonement and try to live with him as your example. If you mess up and do something wrong - repent again and accept forgiveness. I think that's the basics.
Good example. We can make Christian life WAY too complicated, and forget the things that really matter... to be free before God, and to allow Him to lead us by His Spirit.
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Boy, that'd be a scary thought wouldn't it 
Personally I don't think God works this way.
