Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is a good question kawpgz. Unfortunately I think there are far too many people that do not take their religion seriously at all and don't really care what religion they belong to. I think many people are born into a religion and just stay that way either because of apathy or to try to appease parents. It's sad how many Sunday Christians there are. Well not even Sunday but like twice a year!
What you said reminds me of (now don't laugh) a little house of the prairie episode where Nellie (a Christian) marrys Percival (a jew). They had twins and declared the boy to be a jew and the girl to be a Christian. How retarded!!
I am just as confused as you are kawpgz!
Yeah, I remember that episode...I had forgotten all about that, but yes you are right! lol I agree!
God is forgiving, so even if the jews don't have it exactly right, he will still get to go to heaven, if there is one. So why not convert? It makes his wife to be happy, means that he has to go to temple once in a while on Saturdays vs church occasionaly on Sundays. No big deal.
Just wanted to clarify something, stretch. Christians also believe in forgiveness if we don't get it "right". But we do have to believe in God...and for us Jesus IS God wrapped in human flesh.
But what Christians don't understand is how you can believe in Jesus and then suddenly deny His existence. I suppose those who convert were never really convinced to begin with.
I just know this. I'm happy to live in an area where Jews and Christians get along so well. You wouldn't think it, this being the Bible Belt-but it's awesome how they respect eachother! Either that, or I live in a bubble with some really great people!
The definition of a religion holds that a mythical deity is involved i.e a God. Religion is thought of as a belief in a supreme being to whom one prays for redemption, security, favors or relief from suffering, therfore Buddhism for example, is not technically a religion.
Buddhists (my mother is one) pray to the Buddha, the Bodhisattva of Mercy, and various other god-like figures. I assure you, it is quite its own religion. It just puts more emphasis on how one lives by the Buddhist virtues and less emphasis on glorification, worship, and "handing your life over to the hands of Buddha" as many Christians do to the Christian God.
Just wanted to clarify something, stretch. Christians also believe in forgiveness if we don't get it "right". But we do have to believe in God...and for us Jesus IS God wrapped in human flesh.
and
Quote:
Originally Posted by dreameyes
Yes it is a big deal a very big deal If that person is Christian.
I know what you believe. Just because I do not agree with you does not mean that I do not understand. And I doubt very much that either of you would convert to your spouse's non-christian religion.
My post, which obviously was not clear enough, had a hypothetical situation included. Let me try again.
If a person is not fundamentalist in their viewpoint, but more of a go-to-church-on-christmas-and-easter, try-to-live-a-good-life type of christian, then that person may not be as hung up on the divinity of JC as you are. In that case, for that person, conversion to another religion makes sense.
You may not have considered that person to be a christian in the first place, but I will bet you that that person would check off the box marked christian on a census form. In other words, they self identify as christian, despite what you may consider them.
Buddhists (my mother is one) pray to the Buddha, the Bodhisattva of Mercy, and various other god-like figures. I assure you, it is quite its own religion. It just puts more emphasis on how one lives by the Buddhist virtues and less emphasis on glorification, worship, and "handing your life over to the hands of Buddha" as many Christians do to the Christian God.
Buddhism is a philosophy, not a religion, as defined below:
"A common misconception among Westerners views is the Buddha as the Buddhist counterpart to “God”; Buddhism, however, is non-theistic (i.e., in general it does not teach the existence of a supreme creator god or depend on any supreme being for enlightenment; the Buddha is a guide and teacher who points the way to nirvana). The commonly accepted definition of the term "God" describes a being that not only rules but actually created the universe. Such ideas and concepts are disputed by the Buddha and Buddhists in many Buddhist discourses. In Buddhism, the supreme origin and creator of the universe is not a god, but rather causes and conditions obscured by time"
Bottom line is that they ALL believe in the same God!
Is this really true though? The Bible states that the only way to the Father is through Jesus Christ. This is the tenet that followers of Christ hold to. Do those who believe in God from other beliefs follow that idea? So it begs the question, if the others do not believe that Jesus is the only Way, then what of Jesus? Do we make Him a liar?
Others believe that a core belief in a "god" or "god(s)" is all that is required and no mediator is necessary. With a close examination of other beliefs, we may find that it is not necessarily true that the God of the Bible is who is believed in other religions. In the last days, it is written that virtually all of the world religions will coalesce into one belief system which is occuring today. In essence, we fall away from the belief in the one true God and create a god that transcends all the world religions.
You may not have considered that person to be a christian in the first place, but I will bet you that that person would check off the box marked christian on a census form. In other words, they self identify as christian, despite what you may consider them.
Well, I don't generally make it my business to judge who is a Christian and who is not. But I did get your point. That's why I said in a conversion situation, the "Christian" would probably never have been convinced to begin with.
It just seemed in your previous post that you were insinuating that Jews are the only ones who believe that they will get to heaven even if they make mistakes. If I was wrong, I apologize.
Aren't there Jews that believe in Jesus as the messiah (Jews for Jesus)? I think they would tell you that you can be Jewish (and all that means) and still believe in Jesus as Christ. So converting to Judaism for a "true" Christian may not be as offending to the senses as it appears on the surface. Could it be they would convert because they wish to identify with Judaism, as a Jew, but still retain their belief in Jesus?
It just seemed in your previous post that you were insinuating that Jews are the only ones who believe that they will get to heaven even if they make mistakes. If I was wrong, I apologize.
No, I did not mean to imply that. Not a big deal though, and no apology necessary. I think that every religion thinks that you can get to heaven even if you are less than perfect. At that point, religious opinions will vary between grace (and how that is achieved) and works (and what counts as good and bad).
Budaism. LOL!!! Hah. I know that was a typo, but it still struck me as funny.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
