Christian but not Christian help label me please.

Discuss philosophical questions regarding theism (and atheism), and discuss religion as it relates to philosophy. This includes any philosophical discussions that happen to be about god, gods, or a 'higher power' or the belief of them. This also generally includes philosophical topics about organized or ritualistic mysticism or about organized, common or ritualistic beliefs in the existence of supernatural phenomenon.
Belindi
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Re: Christian but not Christian help label me please.

Post by Belindi »

But this one is from an actual bishop

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/ ... eligion.uk
Prothero
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Re: Christian but not Christian help label me please.

Post by Prothero »

I don't think you should worry about what other people may believe.
The Christian community is large and encompasses a lot of people with widely varying beliefs.
There is no firm consensus on what you must believe to be a Christian. The Atonement?,The Resurrection, The LIfe Everlasting?
I think one who wishes to follow the teachings and example of Christ Jesus, can fairly call themselves a Christian, without needing to accept all (or even any) of the dogma and doctrine developed later by the organized Church.
In fact, just as Jesus rejected the organized of his day (The Temple), I think he would fairly reject the organized Churches of the modern day, who fairly miss the message about action in this world.
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Darksideoftheworld
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Re: Christian but not Christian help label me please.

Post by Darksideoftheworld »

Someone who doesn't understand themselves. This is not meant to be a personal attack or anything of the sort; it is simply what I believe in, personally.


A little about me is I have grown up my entire life going to catholic school, attending church, and even receiving both first communion and confirmation. So I do know what I am talking about when I tell you that the catholic faith not unlike most faiths/all faiths is a laughable excuse people claim as fact as a need to belong to something. Please don't dismiss what I have just said with the belief I have had a bad experience or the like with my time with the faith. In fact, I would say it has helped many people I know find happiness, a sense of belonging, etc. However that doesn't change the fact the Catholic faith especially is a place that people who don't feel like they belong anywhere meet up and believe in something ridiculous to derive a sense of purpose and satiation through the other people there.


Now this being said, I think you situation is unique. I think you are subconsciously unsatisfied with the friends/family you have at the moment and you are seeking companionship through the church. To go beyond that I think the reason you have such a specific set of beliefs in mind is because you have had friends in your life, however you have never had that best go to friend that others might have had that you feel jealous of, or you have had that friend and that friend betrayed you in some way or you just aren't close anymore. Either way you are using this specific set of beliefs to find another person that you can relate to exactly in an attempt to fill that hole in your heart. Again I implore you to really think about what I have said and not dismiss it, and I think if you do you will look back on your life and find truth in what I am saying.


The question then is, is using the catholic faith to find friends ok? I think that is something only you can decide but I suggest you think a little harder about if you truly believe in their story before you seek out them or any other subsects of the faith.


Sincerely,


Darksideoftheworld(no superman reference applicable)
Spectrum
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Re: Christian but not Christian help label me please.

Post by Spectrum »

Belindi wrote:I claim that nobody is a Christian who does not believe that the Resurrection event is historically true.
Therefore, Grotto , if you don't believe that the Resurrection event is historically true you aren't a Christian.

However you may still be a religionist of some other sort. You may be a Muslim, or a Hindu for instance.
One cannot be a Muslim unless one believes Muhammad is the Prophet sent by Allah. It is the same for any of the specific Hindu religion.
Thus if any one who believe Jesus Christ is a chosen agent [or prophet] sent by God and believe in the Gospels, then that person is technically a Christian.

What is more critical of being a good Christian is to use the teachings of Christ as a guide for one's moral and other aspects of life. As long as a Christian do not deny the resurrection of Christ, it is not Imperative that one MUST believe, declare and assert that it is the central determinant to decide whether one is a Christian or not.
Not-a-theist. Religion is a critical necessity for humanity now, but not the FUTURE.
Eduk
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Re: Christian but not Christian help label me please.

Post by Eduk »

But this one is from an actual bishop

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/ ... eligion.uk
But this one is from an actual bishop also

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... rk-minster

We can go around for ever finding people who disagree with each other. Are we achieving anything? Is your Bishop's view worth more than the millions of Christians who don't believe in the Resurrection or is your Bishop's view worth more than my Bishop's view? How would you go about sorting out such a thing? I can think of no way to sort between them based off of evidential or logical means?

Personally if someone says they are a Christian I am prepared to take their word for it. I also think it tells me next to nothing about them. I may think of a few cliches but I'll likely be wrong as often as I am right. I prefer to keep listening to find out what kind of person they are.
Unknown means unknown.
Belindi
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Re: Christian but not Christian help label me please.

Post by Belindi »

Eduk wrote:
But this one is from an actual bishop also

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... rk-minster
You and I are with Jenkins : "a conjuring trick with bones" :)

I guess that the high heid yins of the C of E reckoned that one maverick bishop would not frighten the horses, whereas an actually disruptive one was-

the book that got Anthony Freeman sacked from his vicarage.

The debate is on! Anthony Freeman is a ‘Christian Humanist’ who does not believe in a supernatural God, or Heaven, an afterlife, or the authority of the Bible. For him, Jesus is merely a unique focus for human ideals, and prayer amounts to talking to yourself. As his second we have a sympathetic reviewer, John Mann, who calls himself a ‘Christian Atheist’, who I take to be a follower of Christ who believes there is no God. (See review in Philosophy Now No.10, p.39-49).
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