The other day I was taking part in a discussion about the resurrection on a forum called h2g2 - this is the discussion thread - and I found my beliefs being, not exactly ridiculed, but I did feel I was being patronised.
I’ve always considered myself to be a Christian simply because that was the religion I was brought up with and because I find Christ’s teachings provide a sound ethical base to live by. I am very aware that what Christ preached was not especially “original” and that you can find similar teachings in other religions and myths, but as Christ is who I am most familiar with it has always felt comfortable to identify myself with this particular religion.
Having said that, I consider myself to be more spiritual than religious. I don’t believe the Bible is meant to be taken literally, I don’t attend church anymore and I feel no need to join any organised Christian group. Does this mean I’m not really a Christian? This was the attitude on the previously mentioned discussion thread. That because I don’t believe in the resurrection as a literal happening then I wasn’t a “true Christian” and thus could consider myself to be “normal”. And I was told that no offence was meant by this.
Is there a clear definition that describes what a Christian is? It seems to me that there are more “flavours” of Christians than Ben & Jerry’s has icecream, with often one faction claiming they are the only true Christians. I have no time for this sort of nonsense and I am actually appalled at what is going on in the world these days (and what has gone on in the past) “in the name of Christianity”.
I only started this blog yesterday and I am still feeling my way around the place. But I’ve found that one good way of finding interesting blogs is to check out the “Today’s Hot Blogs” and “Hot Posts” lists, and this morning I came across this very interesting blog called de-conversion, which addresses issues about religious ideologies, but in a respectful and intelligent manner. I think I’ll be spending a good part of the afternoon browsing through their site.