Confused and Not Sure

Hello!!

I'm Sarah and am obviously new here. I was raised Christian, have gone to two different religious grade schools(once was Non-Denominational and the other was Lutheran), I also went a Lutheran high school and have always viewed myself as Non-Denominational. But of late, I'm questioning if I really am completely Christian plus I haven't gone to church in 6 years.

I have found that there are alot of aspects of the Bible I have a hard time accepting or believing, some of those are: homosexuality is a sin, premarital sex is a sin, I have a hard time accepting a lot of the stories in the Bible, I don't think we should fear God either. I also don't like the 'fire and brimstone' way alot of pastors preach.

I believe in Jesus, I don't view him as God but instead as more of a teacher I guess; as he himself said more than once that he is the son of man and not the son of God. I feel that one can get to Heaven by believing in God, but I also think that can't be the only way. I think that God is loving and is accepting of everyone. I do believe there is an afterlife, just not sure that I think it is divided into a section for believers and a section for non believers.

I'm looking for a religion that fits me but I don't want to give up Christianity completely. There are certain aspects of it I still accept/believe. I guess what I am looking for is a religion where I can combine what I believe from Christianity with a religion that fits me. Sorry if this doesn't make sense or seems jumbled, I sometimes have a hard time writing down my thoughts.

you sound like a jw i thinkith maybe peg could help you out

Iti oj said:

you sound like a jw i thinkith maybe peg could help you out

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Huh? Have you ever talked to JWs about doctrine irl?

Storm said:

Huh? Have you ever talked to JWs about doctrine irl?

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lol no never got the knock. lol
what did i get wrong?

Iti oj said:

lol no never got the knock. lol
what did i get wrong?

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She doesn't believe in LIteralism or that homosexuality and premarital sex are sins. Those are pretty big!

Storm said:

She doesn't believe in LIteralism or that homosexuality and premarital sex are sins. Those are pretty big!

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:foot: i should have read the op better or a second time

Rocky S said:

^Deleted Post^

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Thank you for your concern. I realize now that I completely forgot to mention that I have gone to religious schools my whole life, until college actually. I went a religious, Lutheran actually, high school for 4 of the last 6 years which I think is part of the reason why I haven't gone to church in such a long time. I mean I was getting a chapel service 3 times a week, with a once a day religion class also so I didn't see the point in going to church.

In grade school I went to church because I had to, it was part of our grade; at least it was at my second grade school. To be honest, that got tiresome after awhile, as I wasn't going because I wanted too but because I had too. At my first grade school, part of our grade didn't include whether we went to church or not and I liked that.

I guess part of the reason my faith isn't all there is because of the fact that Christians say we live by the New Testament, what Jesus taught and said while he was alive but then we turn around and condemn or judge others using the Old Testament, not the New Testament. I've never understood why that is... to me it seems that if we truly lived by the New Testament we wouldn't be judging or condemning others, after all didn't Jesus say to love the sinner not the sin, to do unto others as you would have done unto yourself and to love thy neighbor? Doesn't seem to me that is being done alot. Note: *I hope none of this offends anyone, it is something I have noticed that bothers me.*

I do believe that Jesus died for peoples sins and that he came back afterwards, it's just there have to be other things you can do to get to heaven along with believing in him.

sounds like you could belong to my religion LOVE

Hi Sarah, welcome to RF.

Why don't you believe that homosexuality and pre-marital sex are sins? Have you inquired about these views to try and better understand why the Bible labels them sinful?

If you accept Jesus peace be upon him as a teacher/prophet and not God or the son of God then you sound like a Muslim and/or a Messianic Jew. However, in both of those faiths homosexuality and pre-marital sex are also viewed as sins.

If you haven't inquired about the 2, then I suggest you do so in this forum, I'm sure many would be willing to explain.

Seekers DIR.

Just sayin'.

Did I say anything wrong?

eselam said:

Did I say anything wrong?

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Just had a sense that the DIR had gone unnoticed in general.
But don't let me stop anyone from pushing their own.. ummm...thing...

eselam said:

Hi Sarah, welcome to RF.

Why don't you believe that homosexuality and pre-marital sex are sins? Have you inquired about these views to try and better understand why the Bible labels them sinful?

If you accept Jesus peace be upon him as a teacher/prophet and not God or the son of God then you sound like a Muslim and/or a Messianic Jew. However, in both of those faiths homosexuality and pre-marital sex are also viewed as sins.

If you haven't inquired about the 2, then I suggest you do so in this forum, I'm sure many would be willing to explain.

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Thank you! Everyone has been very welcoming.

I see nothing wrong with homosexuality as love is love and it knows no race or gender, people are free to love who they love regardless of gender or race. The Bible labels homosexuality as wrong in the Old Testament, where it mentions people being put to death for it as well as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

If you tell someone not to do something without giving them a reason for why they shouldn't, it's likely that they're going to do it to see why they shouldn't. Having gone to religious schools until college, I was told constantly not to have sex outside marriage; there are probably people who in that position would go have sex. Whether it was due to peer pressure or because they wanted to see why they were told to wait, is hard to say. But with pre-marital sex, it's going to happen and there is no real good way of stopping it from happening. The Bible says that women who have pre-marital sex are stoned to death, yet that isn't done today instead they insulted by being called rude names.

Well, I view Jesus as the son of God spiritually but not physically. I feel that Jesus, God and the Holy Ghost are the same spiritually. I will go look into them.

ShadowhunterStar said:

I believe in Jesus, I don't view him as God but instead as more of a teacher I guess; as he himself said more than once that he is the son of man and not the son of God. I feel that one can get to Heaven by believing in God, but I also think that can't be the only way. I think that God is loving and is accepting of everyone. I do believe there is an afterlife, just not sure that I think it is divided into a section for believers and a section for non believers.

I'm looking for a religion that fits me but I don't want to give up Christianity completely. There are certain aspects of it I still accept/believe. I guess what I am looking for is a religion where I can combine what I believe from Christianity with a religion that fits me. Sorry if this doesn't make sense or seems jumbled, I sometimes have a hard time writing down my thoughts.

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Hi Sarah,

Have you considered visiting a Unitarian Universalist church? I think it would definitely be worth visiting. We have a lot of UUs here whom you could ask if you wish to know more.

You could look at the other religions suggested, like JWs, Islam, and Messianic Judaism, but you may have to take things with a rather large difference of opinion, so I don't know how well it would work out for you that way, unfortunately. I suppose if push comes to shove, you could believe that they may be seen as sins by others, but not by you, and it is not your job to judge, and God will ultimately forgive everyone? I'm not sure, just throwing a few possibilities out there.

Why is it you don't want to give up on Christianity completely? Is it because you're familiar with it, or because you believe in, ultimately, its message? Have you looked into other denominations of Christianity? You mention believing that the three are the same spiritually. Have you considered looking into Swedenborgianism or LDS? Still, the homosexuality view with the latter... difficult.

In addition, welcome to RF.

ShadowhunterStar said:

I'm looking for a religion that fits me but I don't want to give up Christianity completely. There are certain aspects of it I still accept/believe. I guess what I am looking for is a religion where I can combine what I believe from Christianity with a religion that fits me. Sorry if this doesn't make sense or seems jumbled, I sometimes have a hard time writing down my thoughts.

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Why do you need a specific religion? I doubt you'll find anything that completely fits your personal world view (if people really think about it, I doubt anyone does) so if you do associate yourself with any religion, there will be an some element of compromise.

Lots of people get along just fine without being in a religion (or having such a vague association that they may as well not) so there's no reason why you can't do the same. It wouldn't mean you couldn't continue to believe in God and Jesus in whatever form or that you can't follow the moral principals you already hold. It's entirely up to you of course, and there may be aspects to belonging to a religion that you're seeking but I don't think you should approach the question from the position of having to find a religion that fits and leave "none" open as an option too.

HonestJoe said:

Why do you need a specific religion?

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Probably the same reason I wanted one: community, shared history, culture, and friends with people who hold a spiritual similarity, and something that transcends the individual.

Odion said:

Probably the same reason I wanted one: community, shared history, culture, and friends with people who hold a spiritual similarity, and something that transcends the individual.

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Quite likely, but it's possible to get all of that without identifying with a specific religion and it's possible to identify with a religion that fails to give you those things.

My suggestion is only that you don't need a specific religion to be a "good" Christian (or a "good" person in general) and that Sarah might be better able to find a satisfactory answer for herself by looking wider than the question of "which religion".

Odion said:

Hi Sarah,

Have you considered visiting a Unitarian Universalist church? I think it would definitely be worth visiting. We have a lot of UUs here whom you could ask if you wish to know more.

You could look at the other religions suggested, like JWs, Islam, and Messianic Judaism, but you may have to take things with a rather large difference of opinion, so I don't know how well it would work out for you that way, unfortunately. I suppose if push comes to shove, you could believe that they may be seen as sins by others, but not by you, and it is not your job to judge, and God will ultimately forgive everyone? I'm not sure, just throwing a few possibilities out there.

Why is it you don't want to give up on Christianity completely? Is it because you're familiar with it, or because you believe in, ultimately, its message? Have you looked into other denominations of Christianity? You mention believing that the three are the same spiritually. Have you considered looking into Swedenborgianism or LDS? Still, the homosexuality view with the latter... difficult.

In addition, welcome to RF.

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Thanks

No I haven't considered it before, it might be difficult to find a Unitarian Universalist church to go to as I live in small suburban town but I can look online and see if there is one in my area.

I believe part of it is because I'm familiar with it but also because I believe in Jesus' message. I know about the Lutheran denomination as I went to a Lutheran grade school and high school, but beyond that I, admittedly, don't know too much about the other denominations. I haven't considered that but I will look at them. I do know that my view of homosexuality will make it difficult.

HonestJoe said:

Why do you need a specific religion? I doubt you'll find anything that completely fits your personal world view (if people really think about it, I doubt anyone does) so if you do associate yourself with any religion, there will be an some element of compromise.

Lots of people get along just fine without being in a religion (or having such a vague association that they may as well not) so there's no reason why you can't do the same. It wouldn't mean you couldn't continue to believe in God and Jesus in whatever form or that you can't follow the moral principals you already hold. It's entirely up to you of course, and there may be aspects to belonging to a religion that you're seeking but I don't think you should approach the question from the position of having to find a religion that fits and leave "none" open as an option too.

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Odion said:

Probably the same reason I wanted one: community, shared history, culture, and friends with people who hold a spiritual similarity, and something that transcends the individual.

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What Odion said actually answers your question for me, HonestJoe as it's why I want one. I do know that there are people who follow a religion that has elements of two or more religions, maybe that's an option for me. It would be a way to find one that fits without closing off all options, if that makes sense.

ShadowhunterStar said:

I haven't considered that but I will look at them. I do know that my view of homosexuality will make it difficult.

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Not really. I've yet to meet the UU who thought homosexuality was a sin.

Storm said:

Not really. I've yet to meet the UU who thought homosexuality was a sin.

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I guess I should have put that I was refering to the recommendation to look into Swedenborgianism and LDS. I did look at a description of UU though and it said that they don't have a problem with it.