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Opinions on religion
Opinions on religion .
Alright , Ive been scared to
post this because I don't know how it's going to be perceived .. but it's
something I'm really interested in hearing your opinions on . I'm a
Christian , if you didn't all already know .. but I don't really know
what you all are . I'm pretty sure most of us live in America , but if
you don't , I'd love to hear about your culture / religous practices (
as goes for us Americans as well !) .
Now , this is NOT a
debate . Please
NO bad mouthing other religions or denomimations . It's okay to state your opinion but please , don't speak ugly . And if someone tries to come at YOU , be MATURE about it please . Thanks everyone .
( Whether or not you agree with someone's beliefs , please read their statement all the way . It's only fair Thanks . )
Ok . So here is what I believe . I belive that Christianity is not a religion ; it's a relationship with God . There is only one True God , and He is the God of Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob . I believe without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ died on the cross a HORRIBLE death ( see John 3:16 ) so we don't have to , in Hell . He saved us from the eternal fire and torment in Hades . Jesus was Perfect . He was Sinless . He was the Son of God , sent down to this earth through Mary , the Virgin . Jesus was a human man . He truly walked the Earth . He really did face temptations ( see Mark 4 ). I believe in sowing and reaping . If you sow money , you will reap money . If you sow time , you will reap time . If you sow hate , you will reap hate . If you sow love , you will reap love , and so on .
As humans , we are tempted . We all have bad habits , issues , and so on . No one is perfect , that was Jesus' job . BUT , as Christians we are to live in LOVE , we are to obey the BIBLE , we are to PREACH the Gospel message ,and we are to try and live our lives as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ lived His . I beleive that even the worst of the worst people can be sinless through Christ . The Bible says that no sin is greater than the next . So the serial killer on death row can have the exact same Grace that the teenager who said a cuss word can have .
Now , don't think for a SECOND that because I'm a Christian my life is perfect , that I don't have drama , I don't have temptations , and I'm a Saint . Because Lord knows , I am NOT and neither are any of my friends . Sometimes , it's even harder for us because we KNOW there is a God . We KNOW when we are doing something wrong . But trust me , I am not perfect . Heeeck no . I sometimes cuss . I've done stuff that no teenager should've done . I've turned my back on God before . BUT , I've repented . And now , I KNOW that I will go to Heaven . I KNOW that I will meet my dead loved ones and I have peace that if I die , I am not really dead because I will be in the Presence of my KING , and that I will meet all the GREAT people in the Bible and the people that many have been saved because of them . And He will do the same for you . You may say there is no God , or God would never love you . But baby let me tell you something . The THIEF comes to STEAL , KILL and DESTROY , but JESUS has come to give you life , and life more abundantly ( see John 10:10 ) . All you gotta do is talk to Him .
Alright . There you have it everyone ! That is what I believe . It's my own words , it's not copied and I didn't steal it from some preacher . So now you've heard what I have to say , I'd like to hear what YOU have to say . Go for it .
( if you have any questions about what I believe , just comment below. ) 
submitted by Vida, age Finally 14
(January 15, 2014 - 3:53 pm)
(January 15, 2014 - 3:53 pm)
Amen. Just, amen. That is exactly what I believe, being a Christian myself. But I can never seem to explain it right. What you said was perfect.
(January 15, 2014 - 5:58 pm)
My father was brought up as a Christian. My grandfather is a Christian minister. However, although Butterfly and I used to go to Christian or Unification Universalist church, our family's religion is Unificationist.
As Unificationist my family believes in the teachings of Reverend Sun Myung Moon, whom we call True Father. We do not believe that Jesus died on the cross to save us, but that because of the fall of Adam and Eve (a lot of vocabulary that I am unsure if people will understand.) people were not ready to listen to Jesus. We sometimes refer to Jesus as the "Second Adam" and to True Father as the "Third Adam."
In our Sunday School, we are taught about the Bible, and the basic understanding of our religion. However, in Sung Wah, which is the older kid's Sunday school, after the service, I think that we start to study the teachings of True Father, and the other points of the religion.
I know that True Father is well known, to people outside of the religion, for his mass weddings/blessing ceremonies. My mother and father, from Japan and America, were blessed in one of the ceremonies, in a sport's field in Korea. Since he was about eight years old, True Father was able to just look at a photograph of a couple who were about to marry, and say "This match will work out," or if it would not. He was always correct.
The Easter of True Father's sixteenth year, her went on a hill to pray, and there he saw an angel, who told him what to do, in serving God. He set his whole life to the task, and lived for it, until his death a few years ago.
Our prayers are unlike other people's prayers. In them, we do not ask God anything, but report to God what we have been doing, and give our thanks. We end our prayers "in the name of True S., daughter of a blessed family, Aju."
Got to go, dinner!
(January 15, 2014 - 7:29 pm)
Wow ! That's an ..... interesting belief !
Thanks for sharing .
(January 16, 2014 - 12:57 pm)
You're welcome. I find it to be complicated, and though I don't understand it completely, I believe in what True Father says.
I can go on about different topics of the religion, but I'l spare you. ;) I'll just add one thing on Christianity.
My family's church is about an hour's drive away, so we don't go every Sunday. My family is the only Unificationist family in the town. All the people I know, I think are mainly Christian. I associate with Christians, and most of my friends are Christians. Some of them know my religion, some don't, but we are friends. I can remember once proudly saying to a kid my age, when I was about five, "I'm not a Christian."
However, I used to carry a sort of grudge. I used to think that they were all wrong in their faith. When someone ended a prayer "In the name of Jesus," I would think oppositely in my mind. It's worn off now, and I can see the similarities and the good things in Christianity. I remember what my father once tried to explain the religion to me. "We are part of everything." I took this to mean that we are not really one religion, but try to bring unity between all of the religions. To make a "kindgdom of God on Earth and in heaven, by centering on True Love."
(January 16, 2014 - 8:51 pm)
As a Catholic, I believe in everything about Jesus Christ. We fully participate in the Mass, and our school is so faithful and I love it so much. We believe that Jesus saved the world from sin, and we understand that prayer is powerful!
If you are Catholic you know and understand our beliefs of our Catholic faith. If you are not a Catholic, but still a Christian (Baptist, Episcopalian, etc.) I am very curious in the knowing differences of your faiths. I ask my parents all the time but they don't know the answers sometimes. If you do not share a faith in Jesus Christ I am curious with that too. I will respect everything you have to say!
If you have questions about what Catholics believe, please be sure to ask! :)
The Episcopal church is very similar to the Roman Catholic church in many ways. The main differences are that:
Episcopalians do not accept the authority of the Pope.
Episcopal priests may marry. Both men and women may be ordained to the priesthood.
An Episcopal Eucharist contains a general confesssion. There is no required individual confession.
Divorced people may be married in the church.
Admin
(January 15, 2014 - 7:38 pm)
Wow, that's a lot of things to think about for the Episcopalian church for me. I have some classmates at school who are Episcopalian (even though it's a Catholic school) and I've always wanted to know what the differences were. I did know before that the Episcopalian church is very similar to the Catholic church.
(January 15, 2014 - 9:53 pm)
Wasn't the Episcopalian church started by King Henry the Eighth because he wanted to divorce his wife and marry someone else, but the Pope said no?
Yes, however in England it was called the Anglican church (and still is today). The Episcopal church, I believe, is just the name of the Anglican church in the USA, it is a part of the worldwide Anglican communion.
Admin
(January 16, 2014 - 3:57 pm)
Almost everyone I know is a Roman Cathloic. But I am a Baptist Christian. My parents believe it is my choice to believe what I want, and I chose to be a Baptist, but they are too. I believe that Jesus died on the cross to save me from my sins, that it doesn't matter if you do everything perfect and live a good life. That doesn't mean that nothing bad will happen! In school, my teacher said we can't talk about Santa Claus, but I am ridiculed for not being Catholic. It isn't fair.
(January 16, 2014 - 8:47 pm)
Why are you ridiculed for not being Catholic? Do you go to a Catholic school? And do the students ridicule you, or the teachers?
Coral :)
(January 25, 2014 - 6:15 pm)
What exactly is the Christian definition of a sin?
(This relates to nothing at all but I had nothing to eat today and then dinner was ribeye steaks. I was doing so well D: )
(January 15, 2014 - 8:01 pm)
To Christians, a sin is a bad action or thought that takes us away from God's love. There are two types of sin: mortal and venial. Mortal is a very bad sin, like killing. In order for something to be a mortal sin, you have to know the action you are to do is very bad but you choose do it anyway. Venial is a smaller kind of sin, such as disrespect or lying.
The Ten Commandments is a good way to know what God wants you to do. If we disobey the Ten Commandments, otherwise known as God's laws, we are committing a sin. If we commit a sin we must confess it in confession as soon as we can. Having a pure soul is what gets us to Heaven, which is eternal happiness!
(January 15, 2014 - 9:28 pm)
Oh! I've been wondering this for a while. What exactly is the original sin? I mean, what's sinful about it? I understand why sins are considered bad, but I don't know what the original sin is to be bad. Does that make any sense?
(January 15, 2014 - 9:42 pm)
Well, when God created the world everything was perfect. There was no discord or sadness, only bliss and true joy. When God created Adam and Eve he told them not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge that was in the Garden of Eden, the place where Adam and Eve lived. At first Adam and Eve, obeyed, trusting fully in The Lord. Then, Satan, who was in the form of a serpent, talked to Eve and convinced her that God did not want them to eat from the tree because he did not want them to become all powerful like He was. In other words, he tempted her and she caved in to Satan's temptations. She ate from the from the tree and shared it with Adam. When God came, Adam and Eve hid because they were ashamed, but God still found them. Then, when asked why they ate the fruit, Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the Satan. Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden.
So, original sin is the first sin committed. It is sinful because Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Adam and Eve did gain knowledge, the knowledge of good and bad. With that comes responsibility for our actions. We all have consciences that help us determine whether something is right or wrong, and of course we do not always listen to it.
(January 16, 2014 - 3:51 pm)
I just realized that if I believed in an afterlife, I would not be going to heaven. I don't know why I find this so amusing.
(January 15, 2014 - 10:16 pm)
@ Maggie ; that's a good question .
Okay so the Bible says in James 2:10-11 "For
whoever keeps the whole law yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of
breaking all of it." Then verse 11 gives you examples.
All sin is equal . There's no one sin that's greater than the next . If you murder , if you lie, if you covet , it's all
equal and reason to die . But because Jesus died on the Cross , we can have eternal life EVEN THOUGH we've sinned .
Sin is anything that separates you from God . Even though we're not under the law , we still need to obey it .
Lying , adultary , envy , strife , bad thoughts , they're all sin . And the crazy thing is , if you look at a man ( or woman ) with lust , you've already commited aldultery with them in your heart .
Listening to un-Christian music ( not like Classical , I mean like Rihanna or Lil Wayne or Chris Brown or all them ) is a sin . This is something I really struggle with . Like , listening to a Cinderella song from the Disney movie isn't a sin , it's just not glorifying God .
But remember . Lying to your parents about something ( like say you were talking to a boy you're not supposed to talk to , and when your parents asked you about it you said no ) is the same as murdering someone , it separates you from God . Every sin is one brick . So soon enough , there's a wall right ?
And , when you die , you WILL BE JUDGED ACCORDING TO YOUR SINS . I will be judged , you will be , so will every other human . But , if your name is written in the Book of Life , then you musn't fear .
I hope I answered your question !
(January 16, 2014 - 1:16 pm)