A Person of Faith
The topic of
religion has come up many times in my online friendships. Many friends have
assumed I shared their religion; many assumed I was another. Some online
friends have sent me religious photos; some have asked me my opinion of the
bible.
When my online
friends send me religious photos, I thank them for sending them to me. They do
not know that I do not share their religious beliefs; it is easier to thank
someone for sending a photo than offending someone by asking why they sent me
such an image.
There is a
saying in my country-"do not talk about religion or politics between friends." However, I feel that I need to talk about religion, and faith, so that everyone
will understand my point of view.
To talk about
religion, one must first examine the different faiths of the world. Here is a
chart that shows percentages of religions in the world…
33.32 %
Christians, 21.01% Muslims, 14.09% non-religious, 13.26% Hindus, 12.48% other
religions, 5.84% Buddhists
In looking at
this image of religions around the world, I am in the category of Christians. I
grew up in a Protestant religion called Presbyterian. I have two family members
who are ministers in the Presbyterian Church.
.
I grew up in the
church, living the life of a dutiful parishioner. I didn’t question why or how,
I just believed. As I grew older, I began to ask questions of why and how, what
I believed and why. Like many young parishioners, I left the church.
.
I am a religious
person. I am a person of faith. I do not have a definition for my religious point of view. Organized religion does not work for me. I am a Christian; other than that, I
do not subscribe to a title of religion.
.
If you do not
subscribe to a title of religion, what do you believe?
I believe that the Bible is a collection of stories, told by men, passed down through the millennia. I believe that there is a higher power, which I refer to as God. I believe in God. I pray to God every night. I do not go to church.
.
How can you say you are a Christian when you do not go to church?
I practice my faith every day, in my actions towards others. I practice my faith every night, in prayer to God. I do not need to go to a church to pray, nor to connect with God. As I told a friend once, "Just because I do not go to God's house every week does not mean I do not know where he lives."
I believe that the Bible is a collection of stories, told by men, passed down through the millennia. I believe that there is a higher power, which I refer to as God. I believe in God. I pray to God every night. I do not go to church.
.
How can you say you are a Christian when you do not go to church?
I practice my faith every day, in my actions towards others. I practice my faith every night, in prayer to God. I do not need to go to a church to pray, nor to connect with God. As I told a friend once, "Just because I do not go to God's house every week does not mean I do not know where he lives."
.
I believe in
heaven. I do not believe in hell. I believe in God. I do not believe in a
devil.
.
I believe in the
Golden Rule, which states to treat others as you would want to be treated.
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I believe in
doing good deeds for others. I believe that the good of those deeds will come back to
me.
.
I believe that,
regardless of what religion we are, what religious beliefs we hold dear, or even
if we have no religious beliefs at all, we are more alike than we are
different.
.
I believe we are
all here for a common purpose-to find our purpose in life, and to use that
purpose to help as many people as we can.
We are all here for a reason. God does not make mistakes.
We are all here for a reason. God does not make mistakes.
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