Crayon Christianity

[Zeeboe]

I use to be what I thought was a Christian, then I became an atheist. Long story. However, I have been doing some deep thinking lately about God, and have an interest into becoming perhaps a real mature Christian for the first time.

(Now what I am about to ramble about did not just happen overnight. It was a long process, and this rant will be long.)

The thing is, I was a believer of what Dinesh D'Souza calls "crayon Christianity". I believed in God because I was taught to believe, I was in it for the trip to Heaven, I highly underestimated the powers of Satan, and because I assumed you got whatever you wanted and because I never got what I wanted, and because I suffered, I stopped believing. It started as a hate for God, but then soon lead to no belief at all.

On the other end - I think there are literally millions of people who are the same way in a sense, who assume their good gifts come from God, but I don't think God has a plan for everyone, I don't think God knows everything, I think God is capable of punishing as well as rewarding human beings, and I don't think for the most part God interferes much in life, and I don't think there is any set plan. I think that this life here on earth DOES matter, nor do I think overpraying is a good thing and going to church is not always a good thing, especially if it is filled with false converts. I think that above is all apart of "crayon Christianity", and I think life just happens, and it's up to the human race to decide how we all live. To me, all the rules in the bible are there for a reason, and I get them, and living that lifestyle can lead to a happy life. And to me, that is being a Christian. And you follow the Lord not so you can go to Heaven or to get whatever you want, but because following His rules can be Heaven within itself.

Most of the Christians I have been around are not Christians and would be offended that I say they are not, but according to the bible, they are not. They lie, they steal, they get into fist fights, they drink, they do drugs, they watch porno, they enjoy violence, they lust, they take the Lord's name in vain, and more, and they are open about it, and they don't care. They blindly assume God will forgive them because Christ died on a cross. To me, that's like a serial killer killing, but then telling God he is sorry, but then still expecting to get into Heaven. To God, all sins are equally the same according to the bible. A true Christian would have no desire to sin, and would see lusting or lying or physically hurting or mistreating another human the same way they see murdering someone. They'd see it as so horrible, they wouldn't even want to think about it and would be disgusted by it.

If the Devil is indeed real, he is so good at what he does, it is beyong scary because he tricks millions of people into sinning daily, and still makes them think they are Christians who will go to Heaven, and then in the process, is able to turn people like me off from Christianity. Satan is indeed a master of deception. Being around these false converts is what lead to me leaving Christianity because I believed that is how Christianity was, but in all reality, I was not hating God, I was hating a wolf in sheep's closing. i.e. I was hating Satan pretending to be God.

This world is not our's. It belongs to God. However, Satan thinks it's his. You and I are slaves and we're in the middle, and you can either serve God or Satan. Now Satan will convince you that you are free, and your own God, or he convinces you that God approves of you, but the truth is, either way, Satan is really just slowly fattening you up for the kill. However if you serve God, he will provide shelter for you, and more, but you have to openly wear chains, not be ashamed, endure the abuse from the other side, and you are promised a kingdom if you can last and prove yourself worthy.

Since being an atheist, Satan has not provided for me anymore then what I thought God should. He has made me think I am my own god, and I have sinned, and not felt guilt, but that is all apart of the plan to fatten me up for the slaughter. Satan does not need to provide for me. He already has what he wants. And he knows if bad things happen, I would just blame God, or I would assume there is no God, and was just a case of bad luck. Either way, Satan wins unless I change my ways.

Alright, I think that's enough. I hope to get some feedback.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

My advice: forget about Satan. Live your life.

 

[Meow Mix]

You're clearly already not an atheist, why use the atheist symbol and leave your listed religion as atheist? Not that it matters, was just curious. Your post doesn't seem like you're on the fence about this; it seems you readily believe in the existence of gods like the Christian God and Satan.

Disbelieving in the existence of something just because things in your life aren't going the way you want them to isn't a good reason to disbelieve -- in fact, that's the fallacy of belief (or in this case, disbelief) by adverse consequences (http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Argument_from_adverse_consequences). Sounds like you probably believed in gods (or "a" god, I guess Christians don't consider Satan to be a god but he sure sounds like it in their mythology) this whole time but didn't want to because things weren't working out.

In any case if you're exploring what you're going to believe and what's going to affect your life, your morality, your ontology, and your general outlook just don't forget to use critical thought. What do you think you know, and how do you know it? "Because it makes sense to me" or "Because it's comforting to have a big safety net in the sky" aren't very good reasons to believe something: the best reason to believe something is because you have justification/evidence for doing so, not because it seems cool.

Religion isn't needed for morality, quality of life, and meaningful existence. You should of course come to your own decision about these matters but I'm just saying to give skepticism a fair hand when you're weighing positions.

 

[MSI64]

If God doesnt want me because I lust and lie and watch Porno then I am not interested in God.
I give to charity and am a good person. I have done lots of good in my life. I am devoted to my wife and love the very bones of my son.
If God cannot look over the minors and see the Majors then so be it.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

If God doesnt want me because I lust and lie and watch Porno then I am not interested in God.
I give to charity and am a good person. I have done lots of good in my life. I am devoted to my wife and love the very bones of my son.
If God cannot look over the minors and see the Majors then so be it.

That's a curious ultimatum.

But considering how many people watch porn, at least half being religious, I don't think that you really have that much to worry about.

 

[MSI64]

What I was trying to say is some of the commandments are for an age long gone.

 

[MSI64]

Or to put it another way I lead a Christian lifestyle but am not a christian if that makes any sense?

 

[angellous_evangellous]

What I was trying to say is some of the commandments are for an age long gone.

I don't see how porn fits into the mix.

Do you think that there was an ancient commandment against something similar to porn and today it's no longer valid for some reason?

(just hypothetically -- I'm assuming that you don't consider yourself a Christian?)

 

[angellous_evangellous]

Or to put it another way I lead a Christian lifestyle but am not a christian if that makes any sense?

Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

What the heck is a Christian lifestyle?

 

[MSI64]

Im generally good I respect others and there differences, I am charitable. I wont commit Murder or steal or commit adultery.
I like to treat people as I would like to be treated.
I consider this a christian Lifestyle.

 

[javajo]

I believe salvation is a free gift from God, undeserved, unearned, and unmerited. Nobody deserves salvation for one minute before they have it, when they get it, and after they have it. We are all terrible sinners compared to a holy God, we all fall far short of his holiness, without which nobody can see the Lord. We need his holiness. We are saved by God and kept by God. When we sin, which we will as we still have a sinful nature we battle with, God corrects us, in love to help us grow and mature and become more like Christ/God.

If one is depending on themselves and their own goodness to get or keep saved, one is without any hope. But if one depends on God to save and keep them saved, they are on solid ground. We simply trust that God was satisfied with the payment for our sins, which was Christ's death. The penalty of sin is death, so he died. He paid for all the sins of all the world once for all on the cross. When we trust him, we give him our sins and he gives us his righteousness. Our sins are forgiven and God sees Christ's righteousness which was imputed unto us.

We are now sons of God, and every son that comes to him he chastises or corrects as he conforms them to his image. We are sealed unto the day of redemption by the Holy Spirit. We are kept by God, firmly in his hands and nothing can pluck us out for nothing is greater than God. God will in no wise cast out any who come to him, he will never leave us nor forsake us. Anyone who calls on his name will be saved. We are new creations, God's children, children of light.

This so great salvation can never be undone. When we sin we have an advocate, an intercessor, Jesus Christ who is at the right hand of God saying when we sin that it is under the blood. If we continue to sin we will suffer loss, in this life and the next but not loss of salvation, for that is a free gift from God that no man may boast. One who knowingly sins should know they will reap some bad results in the long run. Sin is never worth the cost and when we turn to Christ and trust him to save us we are turning from sin. So it is wrong to sin that grace may abound, that is why many are miserable, sick, die early, and lose reward in heaven.

When we understand these things and have a right attitude about sin, we may have the firm, full assurance of our salvation freely given to us by God who loves us and keeps us forever.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I use to be what I thought was a Christian, then I became an atheist. Long story. However, I have been doing some deep thinking lately about God, and have an interest into becoming perhaps a real mature Christian for the first time........

(.......continuation...........)

.........Since being an atheist, Satan has not provided for me anymore then what I thought God should. He has made me think I am my own god, and I have sinned, and not felt guilt, but that is all apart of the plan to fatten me up for the slaughter. Satan does not need to provide for me. He already has what he wants. And he knows if bad things happen, I would just blame God, or I would assume there is no God, and was just a case of bad luck. Either way, Satan wins unless I change my ways.

Alright, I think that's enough. I hope to get some feedback.

My feedback is for you to dive right back into Christianity since your alluding towards it. Still in your system as you apparently have the need to make sure based on the manner and style of your posting. So shake out the cobwebs one way or another. Good Luck.

 

[MSI64]

Whats the point of trying to attain something that apparently you can never attain???
What your saying is no matter how good we are we will never make the Mark, so when we die we get judged on a scale that has an unobtainable bench mark?

 

[javajo]

Whats the point of trying to attain something that apparently you can never attain???
What your saying is no matter how good we are we will never make the Mark, so when we die we get judged on a scale that has an unobtainable bench mark?

Don't know who that was for, but...

Salvation, unobtainable by human effort, good works, reform, religion, sacraments, traditions, trying not to sin, trying to be good, etc. Salvation is a gift from God because Jesus was good enough. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Jesus paid for our sins, all of them, past, present and future. We give him our sins, and he gives us his righteousness so we can be saved freely.

 

[MSI64]

So now we are saying that whatever I do is covered by the Death of Jesus????
Quality idea, so rampant killing spree for me then, bit of armed robbery on the weekend and a lots of fornication.
It doesnt matter because those sins are already paid for????
Hell must be pretty quiet if everyone gets a free pass to Heaven?

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

I use to be what I thought was a Christian, then I became an atheist. Long story. However, I have been doing some deep thinking lately about God, and have an interest into becoming perhaps a real mature Christian for the first time.

You don't sound like an Atheist.

 

[Zeeboe]

Read some of my other posts if you want proof that I am an atheist.

I believe real Christians have no desire to sin, and behave like Jesus as the bible tells them so. If Jesus is within you, sinning would not be a hard thing to do. You'd never lie or lust for the same reasons you'd never murder someone. Of course, I believe we would all sin sometimes, but it would not be a regular thing. Some Christians lie all the time, and never truly repent.

Watching porn can lead to lusting, and can lead to you acting on your lust, and if you are already married or in a relationship, that would be bad. Or if you're lusting after someone who is not interested in sex, it can lead to sexual abuse, or just doing illegal things in the name of sex such as playing with yourself in public, or being a peeping tom, or spending a little bit of more money then you intended at a strip club or on other forms of sexual entertainment, or having tons of sex with people, which can lead to things such as AIDS or STD's. That is why it is bad in my view.

To me, being a Christian means you follow ALL the rules. Not just the ones you like or suit your own personal needs. Of course it is hard to do that. It's suppose to be. If it wasn't hard, everyone would go to Heaven.

It's funny because so many people seem to think that when you go to Heaven, God just "fixes" you, and all of a sudden.....you don't sin anymore. Incorrect. Heaven would be a wonderful place because sinners would not be allowed there, and no "fixing" would be needed. The people in Heaven would all get along because they would not steal from each other, or hurt each other in other ways. Or if married couples were there, they wouldn't have to worry about someone taking their spouse away because good Christian people would not ever attempt that unlike here on earth where it happens all the time. Truly, Heaven would be a perfect place, and based on what I have read, more people will be in Hell then in Heaven.


The reason why I am not a Christian yet is because I don't know if I have it in me to be one. I am an all or nothing man, and I don't want to be like most Christians who are only Christian because it is socially acceptable in their area, and because I wanna use God to feel better about death, and then just follow the rules I like, but ignore the ones I may disagree with. Then I'd be a typical American Christian. I cannot do that. If God is real, it is better to whip and spit on him directly, then stab him in the back like all the Judas's out there. Cause Jesus forgave those who killed him. Was Judas forgiven?

I am either fully with God, or fully against him. That's a choice I have to make.

 

[Meow Mix]

Read some of my other posts if you want proof that I am an atheist.

I believe real Christians have no desire to sin, and behave like Jesus as the bible tells them so. If Jesus is within you, sinning would not be a hard thing to do. You'd never lie or lust for the same reasons you'd never murder someone. Of course, I believe we would all sin sometimes, but it would not be a regular thing. Some Christians lie all the time, and never truly repent.

If you're an atheist, why do you speak of Jesus as if he's an existent being? That's what confuses me. I mean, I get that he was probably a real person. But you're speaking of him like he's something more.

Watching porn can lead to lusting, and can lead to you acting on your lust, and if you are already married or in a relationship, that would be bad. Or if you're lusting after someone who is not interested in sex, it can lead to sexual abuse, or just doing illegal things in the name of sex such as playing with yourself in public, or being a peeping tom, or spending a little bit of more money then you intended at a strip club or on other forms of sexual entertainment, or having tons of sex with people, which can lead to things such as AIDS or STD's. That is why it is bad in my view.

Isn't this like saying nobody can have steak because a baby can't chew it? Universally stamping something as "bad" just because some idiots abuse it isn't very rational in my opinion.

In fact, I worked my way through my undergraduate studies as a stripper. I had a steady girlfriend the whole time (I certainly hope homosexuality isn't something else you consider "bad," though I suppose it's your right if you do) and never once did anything dishonest behind her back or abusive to her. I knew a lot of girls who were dancers, a few who did adult films, and sure -- some were your "stereotypical" daddy issues face in the mud run down girls, but more than I expected were future lawyers, nurses and doctors.

The reason why I am not a Christian yet is because I don't know if I have it in me to be one. I am an all or nothing man, and I don't want to be like most Christians who are only Christian because it is socially acceptable in their area, and because I wanna use God to feel better about death, and then just follow the rules I like, but ignore the ones I may disagree with. Then I'd be a typical American Christian. I cannot do that. If God is real, it is better to whip and spit on him directly, then stab him in the back like all the Judas's out there. Cause Jesus forgave those who killed him. Was Judas forgiven?

I am either fully with God, or fully against him. That's a choice I have to make.

You are not an atheist if you believe in God, which you clearly do. That doesn't mean you're necessarily a Christian, but you seem to be at least some type of theist. That's not a bad thing by any means (though of course, as an atheist I question its rationality), but I'm just pointing out the strangeness of an atheist speaking of God as if it's an existent thing.

 

[Zeeboe]

I can't respond in full right now, but I guess I am more of an Agnostic, and I switch back and forth through the years. I honestly don't know if there is a God.

 

[Koldo]

I could make this post a very long one. seriously.

But i will just use a few lines that will be more important than a giant post i could make.
Please read this:Authorship of the Bible - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As you can see, the bible had a lot of authors. And the most important of all is that nor God nor Jesus are acknowledged to have written a single line in those texts. So please, do NOT consider anything written on it before doing some research about it. Those are the words of humans, not the words of God.