Interview By Kimananda Question One
Kimananda volunteered to accept an interview of five questions. She has a wonderful mind and I enjoy her blog a great deal. This led me to offer her some pretty tough questions. Because of this I felt it only fair that I allow her to interview me in return. The questions that follow are what she would like to know about me. Hope everyone enjoys this read and I apologise for anyone that might get hurt by my words. But I would prefer to be honest.
Also as I answer these they get quite detailed. So I will break it up into multiple posts. I just have a lot to say.
1. It is clear from your writing that you are deeply religious, and that your relationship with your religiousness has changed over time. How do you view yourself as a Christian at this time, and how might you like to see your faith evolve in the future? Truly, I do not like religion as it is evil. Every single one of them. Religion is taking God’s knowledge & ritual and trying to improve upon them or replace them. Man likes to feel good by doing certain things he believes please God, especially if they promote the individual’s personal taboos.
Now I have been religious during my life. There have been times when I attended Baptist Churches, I have been baptized a Mormon, I got scared stiff at a Pentecostol Church during prayer when all hell broke loose, and I have rattled prayer beads chanting to Buddha following the tenets of the Japanese monk Nicheren. All of that time was wasted promoting my personal approbation and the need to feel good emotionally. I saw my errors and remembered the object of my faith. Faith is what God demands and not the works of religion. Faith allows a man to enter heaven. When an individual tries to add to faith then it is no longer faith, but a human work. Human works are weak and meaningless.
Christianity should not have to change. The Bible is a book of absolutes and therefore does not change. Any changes should come from me and me alone. I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior when I was 8 years old, so this is my fortieth year of following the faith. Since then I have had many highs and lows as a Christian. I have been a consistent student for periods of time and at other times I have totally rejected the Christian faith, though God in turn never rejected me.
What is Christianity? Christianity is based on the belief that Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of all mankind. An individual becomes a believer and receives salvation when he or she accepts by faith alone that Christ died for their sins. At that instant the believer receives a Human Spirit and the Holy Spirit may occupy him as the Christian is the sanctuary for God. The believer should then live a spiritual life. This is made possible through consistent study of the Bible as provided under the tutelage of a pastor. To develop a spiritual life requires consistent study. It is not an activity limited to a day or two each week. Personally, I have sermons loaded on my iPod and listen to them as I drive to and from work every day. The study of Bible doctrine allows your soul to develop the ability to think divine thought. Divine thoughts allow you to live a spiritual life. As you become stronger in the spiritual life it insulates your soul and you are able to easily handle all of the troubles that life sends your way.
My current problem is I allow myself too many distractions. Therefore my faith is not as strong as it should be. I recognize this and I need to correct it. My life would be much better if I did focus on spiritual goals but the mundane world lures me from following the proper path.
July 3rd, 2006 at 5:16 pm
CHUP! (post sounds serious, but lemme chup first. now i got chance because LB get jet-lag maybe!)
July 3rd, 2006 at 5:53 pm
SA!! if i have little time i will translate my last post for you.
I miss being here, just finished work and i am going to bed but i wanted to say to you: thanks for always put a smile on my face! MUACKSSSSSSSSSSSSS AND HUGSSSSSSSSSS!
July 3rd, 2006 at 6:07 pm
Misti gets her Blue Ribbon. I hope I don’t add a headache.
Car@ you busy seniorita you. So happy you come by and get this Red Ribbon. Hugs and kisses always for you mi amiga.
July 3rd, 2006 at 8:16 pm
These are the verses from the NIV bible (Proverbs 3:5-6) that I always bear in mind :
Trust in the Lord with all your heart & lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him & He will make your paths straight.
July 3rd, 2006 at 8:38 pm
good write-up about christianity.
although i’m a born chrisitan (catholic), i feel that my faith as a christian is so shallow and superficial. it’s just going to church and pray everyday or getting involved in church activities - nothing else.
you are right about being spiritual, which requires a lot of study - and i admit i find that hard to be. i hate it whenever i tell people i work for the church or i am active in church organisation/activities, they would exclaimed “wow! so holy ah you!” (to them they use ‘holy’ but it is actually ’spiritual’). kind of a silly thinking, right? a person can be as evil as damien (the satan child) and yet works for the church! haha. i remember a joke that goes something like ‘going to church everyday does not makes you so holy as going to the garage everyday will turn you into a car’.
to be a truly spiritual christian i feel is to be kind, helpful, loving to everyone, generous to the poor, helping people in need and so on. even small matters like trying to get along with my sister, whom i always get into a quarrel each time we talk, need some spiritual strength.
July 3rd, 2006 at 8:56 pm
errr… Amen!
July 3rd, 2006 at 9:02 pm
I like those verses Chen. It seems trivial to give you the White Ribbon you earned next to them.
Thank you Lucia. Learning the doctrines of the Bible is important. With that preparation God can use the believer to promote divine intentions. Problem today is a lot of people have no foundation and they go out and scare people away from God.
Really we should just study. God will provide us the opportunities to use the gifts he provides when he knows we are ready. Then we just use his gifts for his glory.
To be a Christian just requires the faith to accept Christ as savior. Once saved you never lose it. Then we must learn so that we can prosper spiritually in this life and then be so recognized by the Lord in the next. You just have to do your best and not someone else’s. Spirituality is not a competition. It is a journey that can be filled with many blessings.
July 3rd, 2006 at 9:03 pm
I did not think this will be your favorite post May. Hug.
July 3rd, 2006 at 9:38 pm
woow… very deep conversation there. But I find it very interesting…
July 3rd, 2006 at 9:57 pm
Yeah Velverse. I’m glad you found it interesting.
July 3rd, 2006 at 10:21 pm
Woh.. If you asked me this question, I’ll probably just have a 1 liner answer.. I can’t go into details like you do. You must be very passionate about the topic.
July 3rd, 2006 at 10:27 pm
I should be more passionate ZM. But honestly I am scared to not answer as accurately as I can. Don’t want to piss off the Lord ya know.
July 4th, 2006 at 12:42 am
errr… yeah, amen too
although angel i am, i ain’t no religious at all… how sad…
*LOL* @ mistiliu! she so cuteliuliu
July 4th, 2006 at 1:31 am
This is a very nice post. It comforts me that I am not the only one with highs and lows in my walk with Christ. My weakness is not staying focused enough.
July 4th, 2006 at 1:45 am
hugs angeliuuuu. xxx
hug SA also. xxx
ahhh-men. eeks. hope i don’t hear thunder after this
July 4th, 2006 at 3:57 am
Happy Independence Day, Simple Yank! God Bless America!
July 4th, 2006 at 4:23 am
happy independence day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 4th, 2006 at 5:09 am
SASASASASASA !!!!!
Happy 4th july to you.
May you Beer,Bacardi,Wild Turkey,Jack Black, Tequila,White Zinfandel ,Peppermint Snapps & XO
*tongues*
July 4th, 2006 at 9:18 am
Good message there, SA!
to me, what constitute a Christian living is to live by the WORD.
And it ain’t easy… those who have gone through will understand. how many times your conscience pricks?
July 4th, 2006 at 9:48 am
You have great well-thought out viewpoints on topics, and I am also surprised (in very positive ways) at the ways in which your views are nuanced.
Thank you for answering this question…it’s not the most polite of questions, or the most sensitive, to ask about religion, but being fundamentally non-religious myself (there’s a blog post in there somewhere, but don’t hold your breath waiting for it or you’ll turn blue and then faint, which isn’t healthy), it’s a topic that really fascinates me. Thank you also for breaking it up into parts, because I am in a hurry, and because it makes me feel that I’ve come up with some questions that have inspired you to write a bit more deeply. In short,
July 4th, 2006 at 9:57 am
happy independence day!
July 4th, 2006 at 11:17 am
I don’t get ribbon today… anyway.. Happy Independent Day!!!
July 4th, 2006 at 11:37 am
“We fire our guns and the British they kept coming,
it wasn’t very long, as it was a while ago
We fire once more and they began running,
From the mighty Mississippi to the Gulf of mexico.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn’t catch them
and they ran to the bushes where the rabbits couldn’t go….”
Ok, I forgot the rest of the song.
July 4th, 2006 at 2:21 pm
I not religious either Angel. I’m strictly a Christian.
So many of us fall Bkworm. We just need to stand up and persevere. Following Christ is a Marathon and not a sprint.
What did you hear misti? Hugs.
Thank you Cocka, Car@, and Winn.
What kind of tongues Winn? *scratches head*
You have to have the Bible. As it holds the information for building the spiritual life.
Oh yeah. Kimananda. I really am having to dig deep on these answers. Definitely got my synapses firing to get written.
Thank you Domesticgoddess and Jane.
I remember that Cocka. The “Ballad of the Battle of New Orleans.” Very fun song that one. Thanks for sparking the memory.