Shouldn't Christianity be easier? (doctrine, preaching, believe, ritual)
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Location: Somewhere along the path to where I'd like to be.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oakback
I'm "sacramental". Meaning that I find a benefit from the sacraments of the Church. As a human being that experiences GOD spiritually, intellectually, emotionally and physically, the more senses I can get involved in the process, the better for me. The rituals etc, I willingly yeild to, and am in fact, grateful for.
It's different if you willingly embrace them because you find them to be beneficial for yourself, but when they become a requirement for being a good Christian, they can become a burden - or a "law", if you will, that simply pushes aside (and possibly replaces) an old set of rules, regulations and laws that were never able to save men. When they are performed out of a sense of duty, like "this is what I'm supposed to do", they may as well be meaningless.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blue62
What is so hard about believing in a loving God and following his guidelines
That's my whole point. There shouldn't be anything hard about it.
Last edited by Pathwalker; 09-12-2007 at 07:01 PM..
What is so hard about believing in a loving God and following his guidelines
Which god? If you're talking christianity, once again, which god, the nasty old guy who laid down those old laws or Jesus who may or may not have given you a pass on that stuff (depending on your interpretation)?
It's different if you willingly embrace them because you find them to be beneficial for yourself, but when they become a requirement for being a good Christian, they can become a burden - or a "law", if you will, that simply pushes aside an old set of rules, regulations and laws that were never able to save men. When they are performed out of a sense of duty, like "this is what I'm supposed to do", they may as well be meaningless.
That's my whole point. There shouldn't be anything hard about it.
The only requirement is you ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and repent from those sins, accept Him as your Savior, as you pray and read your Bible you develop a relationship that grows stronger and you begin to realize how much God really loves you and you love him. It really is not hard.
And there isn't anything hard about it. It's really quite easy.
I am sure you have read all the various arguments here on this forum as to what God wants. But what it boils down to is that we really can't read His mind. We don't know. Some of us are very, very, sure, and others of us disagree. Who's correct? One side thinks that they hold the one and only key to Christianity. Others disagree. One side thinks the bible is 100% true. Others disagree.
So you see, you are free to agree or disagree with either side. You only have to be honest with yourself and God will read the rest in your heart.
Not all churches have sacraments or rites. Those that do find them useful for directing the thoughts of the congregation. People's thoughts tend to wander, certain things refocus their thoughts. Those rites also make some feel more comfortable.
If they need that comfort, (and not everyone does) it's good that it's there for them. That's one reason we have all the denominations. People have different needs. If you don't feel the need, if they don't give you a sense of peace, then you don't need them and you shouldn't worry about it.
Location: Somewhere along the path to where I'd like to be.
2,180 posts, read 5,422,155 times
Reputation: 829
The fact that there are so many different denominations and interpretations just goes to show that Christianity is being made harder than it should be. Otherwise there would be no need for the differences in beliefs.
See, my thoughts are also that it is supposed to be easy to understand. After all, Jesus told us to be as little children....that of such was the Kingdom of God. When it starts getting bogged down with all these additional rules, regulations, rituals, lengthy creeds and complex statements of faith about how one should believe, it becomes a burden, does it not?
I see what you're getting at and you're totally right. I think society has made Christianity out to be a lot harder than it should be! Jesus didn't mean for you to endure a complicated and confused life. Jesus didn't intend for you to feel burdened by believing in Him. You're right...Jesus said to be as little children:
Matthew 18:2-4
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Rob, don't worry about feeling burdened to measure up to everyone's standards. The only standards you have to meet up to is God's! Pray and ask Him to reveal Himself to you...Seek HIS will...Christianity is not meant to be a burden...Jesus carried the burden for us!
Jesus preached two Commandments. "These commandments already existed in Hebrew scripture, but Jesus gave them new emphasis by reducing all laws to the law of love: Love God and love your neighbor"
Matthew 18:2-4
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
So the question is: how do children learn?
Children learn by imitating their parents. They trust their parents implicitly because the parents already shield their child against physical harm. This way children are totally depended upon their parents. Not only do children learn from their parents because parents teach their children what to do and what not to do, children also learn from the behaviour of their parents. Since communication in general is for 90% non-oral (body language) and only 5% oral (words) what you say is not as important as what you do. Whenever a child receives conflicting messages that what you do is more important than what you say.
The problem with being a Christian and wanting to learn is that it is hard to ‘adopt’ a parent from which to learn. There are so many churches that say different things about the same thing. As a child I was confronted with the different church’s behaviour. Even as a 10 year old I’ve read the story where Jesus said let the children come to me. And even then I already understood that Jesus meant all children, not just the Jewish children, or the Catholic children or the Protestant Children etc.
My father is a Catholic and my mother is a Protestant. As a child I could never understand the difference because they get along so well. I never noticed my father caring about symbolism or rituals, so as far as I was concerned there was no difference between a Catholic and a Protestant. Until at age around age 11 when cold hard reality slapped me in the face.
My father’s youngest brother is a Catholic priest in Indonesia and when he visited his mother in Holland we always go to his services. So when everyone went up to him to accept the Body of Christ I went up too and that is when my uncle refused to give me the Body of Christ. Merely because I did not undergo some Catholic ritual (= I am no Catholic). After the service I saw how distraught my mother was about all this. I never really cared about rituals and such but when I saw my mother like that I asked myself if Jesus would have refused me. Then I remembered the story when Jesus told his apostles to let the children come to him and I understood that Jesus never said let the Catholic children come to me, or the Protestant, or the Buddhist, or the atheist. If my father and mother can live together why can’t the churches do the same?
Would Jesus really refuse to give me his blessing because I'm not a Catholic like my father? My father doesn't care if I was a Catholic, a Protestant or a Buddhist. He accepted me the way I was. Could God or Jesus really be any different?
I think not.
From that moment on I vowed never to become part of any church. Why would God need a church anyway? Sometimes I even believe that the church is more concerned about the church than it’s people.
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So the question is: how do children learn? 
Could God or Jesus really be any different?
Sometimes I even believe that the church is more concerned about the church than it’s people.
