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You need to find out where the truth lies, NOT where you feel most comfortable because many times the truth is very uncomfortable, but we must seek it anyway.
That's only the case if a person believes that life is meant to be a struggle and a misery and a hardship. Others believe that life is filled with joy and happiness, a sense of belonging and peace and harmony. Each will seek and find their own level of comfort, or discomfort, to match what they believe life is "really" about.
We go to a fairly small church, maybe about 500-600 members, Sunday morning will probably see about 200.
Holey moley!
Small church to me is about 20-40 in attendance on a Sunday morning!
Largest church i ever attended had around 150-180 on a Sunday morning!
WOW!
Holey moley!
Small church to me is about 20-40 in attendance on a Sunday morning!
Largest church i ever attended had around 150-180 on a Sunday morning!
WOW!
Whoops!! that was badly worded. We have several churches in our area that are large in the sense that they have a couple thousands in ADULT membership. The attendance may be only a couple of hundred. A membership of about 600, including CHILDREN, would be considered small. I don't know what our adult membership would be.
You could take the belief net's belief o matic quiz to see what percentage of various denominations agree with your beliefs. That would give you a place to start visiting more like minded churches.
You could take the belief net's belief o matic quiz to see what percentage of various denominations agree with your beliefs. That would give you a place to start visiting more like minded churches.
Since when does it matter what YOU believe? Since when does moral truth change over time? Is that why there's 32,000+ varieties of Protestant churches? Does this fluid gray faith allow you to believe and bail from one church and start a new one when you believe something new or stop believing something else? Does this chaos allow you to replace your old preacher when YOU decide his beliefs don't jive with yours? Is that what they mean by PERSONAL savior? Since when do lay folk get to make the rules? Is God in charge or are YOU in charge?
I am starting a new religion where I just believe in God, but I can do whatever I want and still get to heaven. Hey if you don't agree with me, tough. That's what I believe. Why have have your religion challenge you when you can come to my new church and do whatever the heck you want. It's just a big party......wooooooo hoooooooo!
So Protestants can just pick and choose what they want to believe? I just don't get you folks.
Since when does it matter what YOU believe? Does this allow you to bail from one church when you believe something new or stop believing something else? Does this chaos allow you to replace your old preacher when YOU decide his beliefs don't jive with yours?
Of course! Why not?
I am the only one who knows what is right for me, so I get to pick! And as I grow and mature and evolve and expand in understanding, yes for me that does = change = improvement. God wants me to grow into my best self, to grow strong and competent in living my life and making decisions.
I am the only one who knows what is right for me, so I get to pick! And as I grow and mature and evolve and expand in understanding, yes for me that does = change = improvement. God wants me to grow into my best self, to grow strong and competent in living my life and making decisions.
God wants you to grow in knowledge of him. He want you to change for the better to fully understand his purpose for you. Yes, you change, but that doesn't mean the rules change. You just understand more.
The culmination of your thinking and dare I say, Protestantism, is that man is not made in the image of God, but rather, God is made in the image of man. Because afterall, He is whatever you believe He is and the rules are whatever you think they should be.
I am not wise enough to be 100% sure of what God wants.
It's nice to know that there are people who are so close to Him that they have no problem with knowing exactly what He means or wants. I guess they have a right to be proud.
Location: Comunistafornia, and working to get out ASAP!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maia160
For a long time I've been very hostile towards religon. Without going into too much detail, I grew up in a fundamentalist Baptist home and was very turned off by the way the Bible was used for control. There wasn't alot of conversation about issues; we only heard you can't do this or this is the way it is, "because the Bible said so." Needless to say, I grew up in an angry and cold home. I now know this isn't what Christianity is about but is has colored my perception.
Recently, I've become interested in religion again as I want that influence in my life. I believe I have lost my way and need the moral guidance and community religion can offer. However, I don't want to go to a church that preaches "evolution is evil" and that "the earth is 6,000 years old". I personally believe that God and evolution are not mutually exclusive ideas.
I've searched for a church that aligns with my beliefs but cannot find one. Unitarianism seemed to be promising but the more I read about it the more I felt this is not for me. Does anybody know of any church's or groups that fit within this belief system? Is anybody out there searching for something similar to me?
I don't know of any. May I suggest you forget religion and just get rid of all those preconceived ideas about religion or Christianity. Take up your Bible and start to read. The best way to be taught by God is to pray and listen to Him through the Bible. Let Him teach you and speak to you through the Bible. I guarantee you will find yourself changing some of the ideas you previously had.
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We have several churches in our area that are large in the sense that they have a couple thousands in ADULT membership. The attendance may be only a couple of hundred. A membership of about 600, including CHILDREN, would be considered small. I don't know what our adult membership would be.
Chaos Theory
