Mr Mordon could you please qualitfy and quantify what is a "true christian" and tell me which version of the Bible you have read in its entireity and subscribe to so we can understand your perspective on this matter better.
a sorta vague question, but here goes:
i realize that people will interpret things differently. it happens all the time about everything. theres nothing wrong with that. however, to interpret things so differently that you clearly obscure the true meaning of something cant be right. i struggled for the while with the idea that no one is right or wrong and that everything is subjective. this equlaed out to mean that there was a separate truth to everyone and everything. i found this to be very disconcerting, because this justified pretty much everyone's belief no matter what it was. no matter what they did, they were justified in. because if their is more than one truth, then there are infinite truths. that way i see it is that its either one or infinity, no room for two, three, or four. i realized how political of a viewpoint this was and rediculous as well. i spent some time alone pondering my own beliefes until i came to an opinion completely unbiased of anything i had experienced. i realized that organized religion was and still is, the source of all the world's troubles. when things become organized, "teams" start forming and along comes competition. however, its human nature to organize, and i agree that such things would be hard to avoid, but that doesnt make them right. organized religion obscured my sight of the world around me, and served only to bind me to a mindless ritual of getting up once a week to hear a sermon from the same, bland person. it did nothing for me spiritually, and i could not tell a spiritual uplifting in anyone else either. it seemed had for me to believe that god would magically deliver his message for 30 minutes a week, no more, no less. instead it seemed more like a show than a spiritual experience. im not bashing sermons, only the monotonous tradition of them. if a person feels as if god has something for him to say then say it, if not, then dont make somehting up and claim that it was from god.
by mny own hypocrisy i am claiming that i am right and that millions of others are wrong. this is an arrogant stance i agree, but i cant help but feel the invalidity of organized relgious practice.
a true christian? that hard to define, but i would have to say that a true christian, or in a better title, "perfect" christian, would follow all of jesus's teachings exactly as they were meant to be followed. dont tell me that its to vague to interpret only one way, because from what i see, people use that as an excuse to remain comfortable. for example, jesus tells the rich man to give up all of his money and follow him. rich people today make claims such as "well, he wasnt talking about me, my case is special", and i dont see that as so. i see jesus's invitation to the rich man in the bible as an invitation to people everywhere to not get so cought up in their material possession that they lose sight of their spirituality. it doesn't matter how rich you are, if someone needs help, help them. if that means selling your new car, why hesitate?
im not saying that if you go to church you're not a christian, you may well in fact be, it doesnt hinge on that, but i am saying that you should seek to be spiritually lifted constantly. a true christian would. if your church genuinely lifts you spiritually, then fine, but dont get too comfortable because that when people become duds