am i a christian?

hi,

alright the question of who is and isn't a christian is a good one. most christian sects would have you believe you are only if you accept their specific way of looking at things. i mean official catholic doctrine still states that the pope is infallible, ie he cannot make a mistake. yeah right!

my personal opinion is that if you believe Jesus is who he said he is (the Son of the Living God), you actively cultivate a relationship with the heavenly Father, and you attempt to put the teachings of Christ into practice, then you are a Christian. period. everything else is frosting. all of the "belief system" and doctrine questions are interesting but not necessarily vital.

then we have hell. oh boy, my favorite question, just kidding. i do believe in hellish realms where some souls go after this life to learn the lessons they didn't learn in this lifetime. if a child raping murderer dies never having repented, does he go to heaven? i don't think so. he goes somewhere where what he did to others will be done to him.

HOWEVER i do not personally believe that any hellish realm lasts eternally, without end. i just don't. i don't care how many bibile verses you throw at me. no God of love is compatible with eternal torment. i just don't believe it. sooner or late, whether it is ten years or ten billion years, all hellish realms resolve themselves.

i also don't believe that your destination after this lifetime is based on your belief system. in Jesus' parable of the sheep and the goats the two groups are divided NOT by their belief system, but by how they treated their fellow man. those who showed care and compassion went to a good place, those who demonstarted cruelty and coldness went ot a not so good place. i tend to be a gospel oriented, Jesus centered believer who takes Jesus at his word. so my impression is that the way we treat each other is profoundly more important than what our specific belief system is.

now again i am aware that by views are not shared by all and even scoffed at by some, but they have come to me by years and years of contemplation and consideration, not to mention experience.

i truly hope you find some value in these comments.

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