Hey, guess what, its me again! Sheri, I thought that the title was a great way to get people in to a thread, and I DO LOVE the honesty of most folks.

Emmie, I think thatyou are one of my favorites, as far as honesty and real true openness go. I dont get offended when I read your stuff, I dont feel like you are trying to attack or make excuses for who you are and what you believe in. but are you reallty comparing God and a tree? lol

With that being said, after a post from Xiola last week or so, I was one of the first ones to go in and attack her when she posted something titled "any pagans or wiccans out there". I apologized to her in a PRIVATE forum, and her and i have wonderful chats now. I do not feel that this is the place for a public fight to go on, but I do not feel that stating what I believe in, what gets me through my life, day in and day out, minute by minute, is an arguement and I will continue to post about it if I feel that I need to share something.

For those of you who are angry over the Christian posts, please stop reading them. Don't put yourself into an exacerbation because myself and others here, choose to have conversations,or even debates over something taht we believe in wholeheartedly.

And Carol, i'm sorry but this one is for you..... the Bible, tells us to go and tell all the people the Good News, that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and to share the gospel with people....unfortunately it turns ugly on here and we dont get the chance publically to actually share the gospel...which I will try and work on sharing the gospel and not just defefnding my faith from now on. and Jesus did not have to say a word for people to know who he was...but unforttunatley we live in a world who is trying to hard to deny Him, that we must use whatever forum we can to try and spread the Word. People in todays society believe that if you are a good person, that is all that matters, if you do good things and dont kill somebody, ur doing ok. I believe differently, and if ur interested, message me and I would LOVE to talk to you about it.

Kim

Kim. . .you amaze me!

Hi.. its me...grin... i opened it...rofl... same as Emmie basically.. figured if i had anything worth while to say i would if not ... i would not... so this is me not saying anything...heh heh heh

hugs
heather

I wouldnt call myself a non-believer but I am definately a backslider. My backslide started like a 7 or 8 years ago and I unfortunately feel like Im gonna keep backsliding until I end up in the lake of fire. I dont look forward to spending eternity screaming in pain but Ive gotten to the point where I feel thats what I deserve. I was raised Catholic but then I was born-again and was on fire for the Lord. But then came the enemy's attack and I hate to admit it but the devil won. I used to go to church 3 times a week but now I wouldnt go near a church. God told me that not everyone is going to heaven and I have realized that I am not one of those elect but thru all of my trials I have never cursed God and never will. Maybe I dont walk with him but I do respect him.

oh kim...no I wasn't equating the 2...well I don't maybe I was...b/c for me (a non-believer of christain beliefs and practices) they can be the same. But I guess I was pulling from AA...where they tell people to believe in whatever, god, tree, anything...as long as it is a support to you and helps you to succeed...
at least this is what I have heard from friends.
But ulitmately I just say whatver works for you!
Power on friends!
em

Sherie,

I am not a non-believer, I am just not a traditional Christian. I was raised in a strict Baptist home and I am grateful for it. I am all for the teachings of Christ. I was taught to "walk the walk" though. And also went to a religion based school. If I had EVER criticized anyone for their beliefs though, I would have gotten punished.If anything, I am just a spiritual seeker who wants everyone to respect others.

Hugs,

Wanda

Wanda, I am not a "traditional" Christian either. . .I make mistakes (sin), I get angry, I get discouraged, and yes, I even get mad at God sometimes. But, I know He loves me no matter what I do. I don't practice "Religion" per say. I practice Jesus' teachings. He is after all, the one I have to answer to in the end, and I will be standing alone. No one to make excuses for me. . .just me and Him. I want what you want, mutual respect. I hope that I have never said anything to anyone here that has offended them about their beliefs. That is why God gives us free will, to make our own choices. I have learned so much by these discussions, and I have learned to look deeply into peoples hearts. I believe that is what God wants me to do, to see them as He see's them. He loves us all no matter what we believe, and His will for us is that we all come to the knowledge of Him and His purpose for our lives.
My heart broke when I read freds response. It is so hard for me to see someone who was "on fire" as we say, to lose hope and faith because of what people have done to them, this happened to me too fred, I left the Lord for over ten years, but you know what? He NEVER left me. He carried me through everyday of those ten years, He spared me from committing suicide numerous times, and I believe my purpose is being fulfilled here. I want nothing but to encourage those who are broken hearted. Who need that hope, who need that relationship and reassurance that God is still there, waiting for you to say. . .Lord, I need You. Remember Fred, how it felt to raise your hands and worship Him, to surrender all that you had to Him. To trust in Him, to feel His Spirit move in you. He hasn't left you , He is waiting till you are ready to need Him again. . .and He will wait an eternity. Remember, He tells us in His word. . ."I will never leave you nor forsake you." He is right there, waiting for you to reach out. My prayers are with you fred. Expect a miracle.

I opened it out of curiousity...and I love Jesus with every ounce of my being!!! Great post!!! I'll have to stop in and say hi to ya sometime!

I opened it with the specific intent of hoping to find a fight brewing, so I could jump in. I can't tell you how disappointed I am that there is none of that. What is a troublemaker like me supposed to think?

I have not been shy about being an agnostic/atheist (I waver). I have always admired people that have strong faith. I tried to find it all my life. Maybe that's why I keep looking at forums like this. Maybe I want somebody to convince me with something other than a quote from a book that I am loved by something I cannot see, feel, or touch.

I will be patiently waiting for a forum where I can get under somebody's skin. Until then, be well everybody! John

Hi all...I am not ususlly in these conversation so this is very new to me. But after reading the post, I thought maybe I should respond. I have taken no offense by anything anybody has said and I apolize if my comments offended anyone. That would not be my intention. I believe that everyone should be able to voice your belief's whether it is everyone on this forum who does not believe in God to those who do. My comments such as turning people off from religion or my what my preference is about religion is simply that. My belief's and my preference. Another belief that I hold very dear is that our country is one of the greatest because of its ability to communicate freely. I respect that greatly. Agree to disagree as they say.. I believe that was Covey who initiated that famous quote... so in everything I agree to disagree and move on with helping people who have MS and who are in need. My prayers are always with you all...love Carol

I am a beleiver and always beleived but I know that my faith has grown tremedously since I met you and a few other people here sheri. Lots of Love. KTF kim

John! I am so disappointed you couldn't find something to argue about too! LOL. Keep your eyes open brother of mine!

Well, I want to give an example of something. Not saying anyone here does this, and no offense to the religion i'm about to name. But did you ever wake up, make some coffee, and curl up with the paper on a nice Saturday morning, only to hear the doorbell ring? Yep, you guessed it, the Jehovah's witness are at the door! You try to be polite, you say you already have a religion, but thanks anyways. But no, they continue on saying "That's ok, just read this", You look at the flyer, and feel somewhat insulted because you're not a dummy, you figure you have enough intelligence to know what you believe, right? Well, not in their eyes. They continue on, and listen very little to what you are saying, and you feel like you are becoming almost defensive in your beliefs. You kinda feel like your personal space has been invaded and the mind control and koolaid is next to come! So, I guess sometimes I feel like when someone's talking about jesus, or God, it's their God, it's their jesus, because in my mind I already see him in a certain light, my light. *shrugs* JMHO :)

I'm always looking Sherie. For wherever there is religious injustice, I will be there. Whenever somebody says something I can take totally out of context, I will be there. Whenever I am bored and there is nothing good on TV, I will be here, defending those that need no defense in order to give me something to talk about at dinner.

That makes a lot of sense Lisa. I understand what you are saying. I personally don't think that I am shoving my beliefs down anyones throat. I'm not saying thats what you said. . .don't take that wrong. But honestly, my point exactly! That's why I put WARNING: CHRISTIAN CONTENT. But you still see how many who don't want to hear about it have come on here? It shows that there really is curiosity. And about the Jahovah witnesses. ..I hate to admit my husband told them one time (before we were saved) that he worshipped Satan! Needless to say, they didnt know what to say and never returned. I hate to laugh, but it really was funny!