[SolarCross]

This is an invitation to @Victoribus Spolia,@Albert, @colliric, @One Degree, @noemon, @Hong Wu, and any other sincere Christians or semi-christians to unheathen me. By unheathen me I mean orientate me or guide into Christianity. Why I am asking this? Because as some of you may have noticed from many of my recent posts I have come to the startling conclusion that evil gods actually exist contrary to how I have always believed as a scientifically literate heathen. If evil gods exist then so must good gods. So I have a straight choice between good and evil (or well perhaps neutrality is also an option maybe) so with that choice I choose good. Now I ask where are the good gods and how do I ally with them? If I look around particularly in my part of the world only Christianity really stands out as a good religion of the good gods for good people. Maybe in other times in history the old Nordic religion would suit or in other places now Hinduism, Shinto or Buddhism would suit but here in the UK now in the 21st century Christianity is the prime choice. So tell me sincere Christians where do I go from here?

[Heisenberg]

Repent and accept Christ into your heart.

In all seriousness, if you're interested in learning about Christianity I recommend reading CS Lewis' Mere Christianity. It's a very easy-to-read introductory text that explains the fundamentals of the religion, and is deliberately non-sectarian (Lewis himself was a high-church Anglican).

[SolarCross]

Repent and accept Christ into your heart.

In all seriousness, if you're interested in learning about Christianity I recommend reading CS Lewis' Mere Christianity. It's a very easy-to-read introductory text that explains the fundamentals of the religion, and is deliberately non-sectarian (Lewis himself was a high-church Anglican).

I do repent but I don't quite know how to accept Christ into my heart, I am sorry to say. Mere Christianity does sound like a good book from its wiki page I'll give it a go. Thanks.

[noemon]

I am not sure I can do what you ask but I will simply tell you what are my basic thoughts on religion:

a)The Political, as a member of the Greek Orthodox Church I have been raised to subscribe to this religion. Such a subscription implies ethnic and political connotations which go beyond the point of spirituality. My maternal grandfather's family are refugees from Anatolia, the family originates from Cappadokia but they had moved to Smyrna the years before their deportation, they were given the option by the Turks to turn Muslim and keep their rights and properties or remain Greek Orthodox, lose it all and get deported, they consciously chose the second. Who am I to spit on their legacy?

b) The personal, I believe in God, truly and honestly. I believe that God hears my prayers, protects me from evil and shows me the way when I am unsure. As I believe in God since a very young age I believe that now I have fine-tuned my prayers and fine-tuning has all to do with humility. The more humble, honest and confident(not arrogant) one is, the more chances God will take you seriously. Good and evil are 2 sides of the same coin, when you are on the side of evil it requires a conscious effort to flip the coin on the other side, it does not happen automatically.

c) The social, I believe that the church as a social institution is good for society. Yes it has its weirdos but so does every other organisation that is composed of human beings. The church can enhance ones social circle and friendships, your priest can act as free-of-charge psychologist and the buildings are more awesome and sublime than anything else out there.

d) The philosophical, the history of the world, of the mind, of philosophy and of science makes no sense without theology. It simply does not. In fact the entire history of philosophy and science is a search for the divine.

[Victoribus Spolia]

I will relay what God Himself would have you do from His own Word. That is the best place to start in my opinion.

Faith, Baptism, and Obedience should be your first three points of focus and meditation on this journey.

I do repent but I don't quite know how to accept Christ into my heart, I am sorry to say. Mere Christianity does sound like a good book from its wiki page I'll give it a go. Thanks.

"if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
Romans 10:9

Christians do not believe this is a joke, its not a myth, its not false or fictional. We believe and Confess Christ and Him Crucified and His Resurrection. The Apostles Creed and The Nicene Creed are the Confessions accepted by all true Christians.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/bibles ... reeds.html

Yet also remember that Faith without works is dead and that the life of True Faith requires obedience to commandments of God. Properly understanding the Ten Commandments is very important in this regard.

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

(James 2:1-19)

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

(Matthew 5:17-19)

Also you must be baptized in the name of the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit in a Confessional and Theologically Orthodox church. If you want my opinion as to what this includes, please let me know.

Realize that Christianity calls a man to reject the wickedness of false religions and ideologies and that all things are to be brought subject to Christ and His authority.

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
One Lord, one faith, one baptism, (Ephesians 4:4-5)

God's works in baptism to change a man and the baptism itself represents your union with Christ and your call to a changed life of obedience to His Word and Laws. You are no longer merely a citizen of the City of Man, but of the City of God.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:1-4

I also agree with others on here that C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity is a very good place to start.

[Albert]

I think the bible is the best place to start.

[Decky]

Only for Prods. Sola scriptura is bollocks.

[Albert]

Well where else will you have him learn about Christ if not from the gospel?

[Decky]

His Church, he founded it for a reason. Publishing the bible in languages other than Latin was a mistake.

[Victoribus Spolia]

Only for Prods. Sola scriptura is bollocks.

No one has even brought up Sola Scriptura and that is not relevant at this point. I also highly doubt you could sincerely encourage anyone into true belief when you yourself are denier of the truth of Christ's work and the real existence of Almighty God. I don't really care if you think atheism is compatible with Catholicism or not.

[Decky]

Aww the Prody is feeling insecure. If you ever decide to try Christianity the church will always be open; even to your sort.

[Victoribus Spolia]

If you ever decide to try Christianity the church will always be open;

Says the Atheist...

[Decky]

Says the person who worships Martin Luther rather than God.

[Victoribus Spolia]

Says the person who worships Martin Luther rather than God.

Dumb.

I doubt you have any real or quality knowledge of Reformation theology, and I also doubt you care, so lets cast aside the pretenses and just admit that you really have no standing to advise anyone curious about becoming a Christian on Christianity. The True Faith.

This thread is meant to be for Christians, not atheists, and the entire subforum is supposed to be free from atheist trolls, it is for people with religious belief. You don't have any, you are a self-avowed atheist.

[Decky]

Aww poor baby. Go back to your plain church with no art or beauty. You people are far closer to Islam than you are to Christ.

[Victoribus Spolia]

Go back to your plain church with no art or beauty.

orthodox Lutherans follow a classic western liturgy...I think you have me confused with Calvinists that follow the regulative principle of worship.

[One Degree]

I was surprised to be included, but thank you. I strongly believe most people are not capable of maintaining civilization without a belief in an higher power. I believe many of those who believe they have replaced religion with humanitarianism are fooling themselves. Even if it works for them, promulgating that lack of belief is ultimately disastrous because there are too many who can not remain civilized without it.
Personally, the closest I have come to belief is God is the all encompassing energy in all life. It is manifested through us by our honesty with ourselves. Good and evil locally and universally is determined by how many are putting out honesty vibes. We control all our destinies by how honestly we look into ourselves. We influence ‘God’ as he influences us. Free will is the freedom to decide to be honest with yourself and not be manipulated or self manipulated. The energy I speak of is the feeling we get when we see a stranger and we want to talk to them or we have a feeling of wanting to get away and we know the feelings are not from visual clues.
Weird I know, but that is as close as I come.

Sorry @SolarCross that I could not be more helpful.

[Pants-of-dog]

Help the poor. Be kind to strangers. Protect the widow and the orphan. Be kind. Forgive. Love your neighbour as you love yourself. Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.

God is a magnificent being who is responsible for all of creation. It is hard to imagine that such an infinite being would care if you follow this particular theology or that. At most, god might care that we love each other. The Christian mythology contains many good ways to treat others with love.

[Zamuel]

So tell me sincere Christians where do I go from here?

Jesus told the rich man when he asked the same question - "Sell all you own and give the $$$ to the poor, then follow me." When you get that done P.M. me if you still need guidance.

God speaks ceaselessly to those with ears to listen (not a lot of us around tho). If you follow Christ, you will eventually hear him. Until then he will provide guides for you. But beware those who deceive, follow your heart - it knows the truth when it hears it.

And keep in mind God created and empowered those "evil gods" you perceive ... and he did it for a reason ... Good Luck!

Zam

[colliric]

I think the bible is the best place to start.

This is correct.

Reading the Bible is the best place to start.

Read it cover-to-cover.

If you must go to Church, do a course in basic Christianity. An introductory Bible study is usually a good place to go. Or an RCIA or Alpha course.

Catholic Church runs these groups as well.