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Lot, I grew up as a Southern Baptist -- I'm guessing that that's the brand of Baptist you mean, since it's by far the larger of the 26 some odd varieties of Baptists. It can be restrictive. But that's one characteristic of all religions, as far as I can see. Restrictions. I'm not thinking...

Methinks I agree, friend Quahom1. John is definitely the right choice of all those who would start the beginning believer with the basics. It sets forth the first principles of what it means to be a Christian. Alas, though, for those who have succumbed to the virus of "thinking," as have I...

First of all, I want to apologize for coming off as vitriolic. I was a fundamentalist evangelical Christian for a long time, and am recovering from that. I still believe in the living Jesus, but not in a rigid, unforgiving way, as so many of my brethren (yes, they are still my siblings in...

"John was written for the Greek Christians of the beginning of the second century. These recent converts were more educated, wealthy, and despised the Diaspora Jews who resided in their cities and who enjoyed the respect of Rome. John removes the offensive references to Jesus as a Jewish Messiah...

Yes, I do love God, as I understand God. It may not be the most traditional understanding of deity, but I use the name, "God." I believe this. All of them? There are many things of this world that I love: Ice cream, foliage in autumn, the exciting bustle of city life, coffee, snow angels...

Interesting thoughts, Chris. I see where you're going, but I need to know how you're defining religion so I can effectively communicate with you. The Wiki says . . . Religion is a system of social coherence based on a common group of beliefs or attitudes concerning an object, person, unseen...

Thank you, Dondi. Well, in part. To be honest, I didn't give it a lot of thought. Just decided to jump into the pond with both feet, and this was the first thread that caught my eye. Thanks, though, for accusing me of more intelligence than I often show! (Oh, I have it, all right; I simply...

Actually those tenets came from a published piece (a pamphlet and probably printed in other places, like magazines) put out by the Southern Baptist denomination. I used to be a Baptist, but am no longer.

Thank you - you, too Alvaro. That, I think, is the reason we have questions such as What defines a Christian? I've had Evangelical Fundamentalist Christians (or EFC's, as I like to call them) become upset with me for statements like this. They think that if you don't subscribe to the Five...

Hello. I was once active here, though only for a bit. I hope to be more regular here now that my life has settled down somewhat. This is probably a simplistic answer to the principal question, What defines a Christian? But it's the answer that seems best to me. A Christian is one who follows...

Friends, I am grateful for your responses to my last post or two. I want to answer, and in a bit of detail, too. But I cannot for the next two days (unless I'm lucky). Work will consume me. Just wanted you to know I wasn't turning a deaf ear to your warmth and responsiveness. Ja ne!* press...

I find this very interesting, Dondi. I started doubting whether there is a God about two years ago, after a lifetime of earnestly believing in God, praying many times a day, and depending on God for my - well, my everything. I've had ups and downs in these two years, but just as many positive...

Thanks for your thoughtful reply, Dondi. It's obvious that you have a deep relationship with God. There is a lot of warmth in the way you describe your prayer life. Are the events you describe coincidences, as you suggest they may be? I don't know. Perhaps they simply are what they are, and it...

No apologies needed. I appreciate the detailed response. I have to tend to errands now (it's 11:16a here), but have saved your post for a thoughtful re-reading and pondering - as I did with your earlier one. I'll respond in due course. peace to all who are working through this thread. press

Dear Q: Logic doesn't state this. Mathematicians, however state that Pi is an infinite decimal, not that a man can calculate it into infinity. Here are exerpts from: http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.pi.html --------------------- Pi is an infinite decimal. Unlike numbers such as 3, 9.876...

As I said in my last post, lunamoth, I don't mean to be harsh, though, to a believer, how else can what I said seem? The thing is, I want, really want, to believe. Really. Wish I could get past my frustrating "faith" in logic . . . press

Is it possible that you got the raise because of hard work or good performance? If God gave you the raise because you started keeping the journal, will he withhold good things if you stop? This sounds like superstition to me. I know this seems harsh. As a matter of fact, I used to think the...

Thank you. I value your thoughts and opinions quite a bit. press

Alcoholics Anonymous is all about the 12-step program. One of the fundamental principles of the 12 steps is that the recovering alcoholic must acknowledge a Higher Power. Does this mean that an atheist cannot be helped by a 12-step program? I'm curious to see how you respond. peace, press

The little dialog between lunamoth and jaiket is interesting. One (luna) seems to reach, the other (jaiket) seems to wait. Luna, are you reaching for what you want to be there? I know I've done that before. Jaiket, are you waiting for evidence? I've done that, too. I wonder if the answer...