"In religion and politics people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing."
- Mark Twain
I don’t believe that heaven waits for only those who congregate.
I like to think of God as love he’s down below he’s up above
He’s watchin’ people everywhere he knows who does and doesn’t care
And I’m an ordinary man sometimes I wonder who I am
But I believe in love. I believe in music. I believe in magic and I believe in you.
Well I know with all my certainty what’s going on with you and me is a good thing.
It’s true I believe in you.
Well I don’t believe virginity is as common as it used to be
In working days and sleeping nights that black is black and white is white.
That Superman and Robin Hood are still alive in Hollywood
That gasoline’s in short supply the rising cost of gettin’ by
But I believe in love I believe in old folks I believe in children and I believe in you.
—Don Williams
I tack that on to orthodox Christianity.
The Bible
For a long time I took, and still take, solace in this.
I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God,begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father; through Him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried.
On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,and His kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
How I hope you can have an open dicussion without flames. This is what I have longed to see here!
If the people on this forum don’t know that I am Catholic, then they haven’t been around very long.
If anyone would like to be on the Daily Readings Ping List, please Freepmail me with a private message.
Here’s “some grist for the mill” that appeared this weekend.
I think Peter Hitchens and his brother Christopher are emblematic
of the general state of belief in the modern world. (also nicely
covered in the book “The Question of God” by Armand Nicolosi).
Oh, as for myself...most days I relate to Peter Hitchens, others
I’ll see the world as Christopher does a bit.
“God Is Not Great” - Book Review: Peter Hitchens vs Christopher Hitchens
Daily Mail - UK ^ | 2nd June 2007 | PETER HITCHENS
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843927/posts
“Hitchens vs Hitchens”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/newscomment.html?in_article_id=459427&in_page_id=1787&in_a_source=
HungarianGypsy, do you mind if I talk in the context of a story? That's really the only way my my journey really makes sense. I started typing, and it's getting fairly lengthy, and I don't want to be a thread-hog.
“I could just study World Religions, but I like to have a personal aspect on things. What do you believe?”
Well, I’m a Christian pastor-to-be, so I’m not impartial by any means. Your question is loaded. How to sum up a life of a relationship in a few sentences? It’s like asking a married couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, “What’s it like to be married?” It can be answered... but how many things left unsaid!
HungarianGypsy, Jesus isn’t a religion to me. He’s my friend. He isn’t a theology or a theory or some feel-good concept. He’s the one I can turn to when I have no where else to turn.
For example, today was one of the roughest days in years for me. I’m going through a very difficult time, and today the stress was so high I thought I was losing my mind. My prayers weren’t the peaceful feel-good “Bless me, bless us, us four no more” kind of prayers. Praying, to me, is life and death. I need Jesus to be strength to me when I don’t have anything left. Skeptics will say that my faith is a sign of weakness. But I’ll tell you, that those terrible moments that I’m in the most desperate need of my life, those times of the deepest sorrows and fears, are the times when Jesus rescues me out of them. I’ve seen things that could not happen, happen, because I prayed.
Doubts? Yes, I’m full of them! Just before I saw this thread I emailed a friend asking her to pray for me, telling her I was having so much fear. Ministers feel it, too! But doubts about Jesus... no. My life can turn into pure torment, and I will know that Jesus will never leave me. He’s seen me through so much. It’s not a religion, it’s a relationship. Like marriage.
So, HungarianGypsy, your question is so large that only a simple response can answer it. Jesus is the nicest Person you could ever meet. I love Jesus, and He most definitely loves me. And, believe me, it’s not because of anything I was or ever did. He loves me because of who He is, not because of who I am. It’s grace. I can’t earn His love or forgiveness, but can ask for them and I have them. In the worst times of my life. Let this blow your mind... Jesus is closer to me than my future wife will ever be. She’ll be beside me; Jesus is *inside* me.
So you ask why I believe. It’s like asking me if I believe in my arm. Or my breathing. Yes. He is my dearest friend, my very life. And like that couple married 50 years, there’s no way to explain that relationship in a few sentences.
Tonight, if you don’t mind, I’ll say a prayer for you... that you’ll find Him, too.
Your fellow FReeper,
PastorBooks
That is a question that can be answered at many levels. At the core would come the Nicean and Apostle’s Creeds. For a more specific answer, one of the historic Confessions - Westminster, or Belgic, and the Catechisms, Westminster or Heidelberg. Or do you want a systematic theology?
Links to those Creeds and Confessions, and others, here:
http://www.reformed.org/documents/
That said, I am Catholic, a convert from fallen away Epicopalianism.When I was confirmed at the age of 12 I had to learn the Nicene Creed(seen here in another reply) and recite it to the Bishop. Many years later I decided after going to several Novena nights with my wife that the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Christ. Nothing else makes sense to me.
Jesus founded a Church, His Church, which still is here today not because it is filled with sinless people but because He said it would endure. And I choose to believe Him
Jesus I trust in You!
I’m Catholic, born into a Catholic family of converts from Lutheranism with Jewish roots.
At one time I considered converting to Judaism mainly because at that time I was intensely identified with my grandparents. I even went through instruction at a local synagogue.
God allowed me to see and experience a lot in the world, some good, some bad and some horrible, and I came back to the Roman Catholic Church because He showed me it is absolutely and unequivocally Truth. I’m not saying that to provoke discussion. This is my experience.
I am and will always be Catholic by the Grace of God.
I believe in the old rugged cross,
I believe there my sins were all lost,
I believe Jesus lives,
I believe Jesus died,
I believe that He rose from the dead.
I believe He lives by His Father's side,
and His Spirit lives in me.
I believe from an old rugged cross
Comes a call to every heart
I believe Jesus died
I believe Jesus lives
I believe that He's coming again
I believe He lives by His Father's side
And His Spirit lives in me.
I believe on an old rugged cross
Jesus paid for my sin.
I believe He lives by His Father's side
and His Spirit lives in me.
Yes, His Spirit lives in me.