You aren't a Christian... how did you come to be here, Mark? I'm very relieved to have met you here.
Well, the owner of this site and I met at another site dedicated to the modification of the forum software we use here. I publish products for it, and the owner of this site invited me to join and I agreed to help out with some of the technical aspects of the site and to write some code to add to the site.
I am a Christian... but I don't "fit" within most Christian circles, because ...well, you can see, most do not accept me.
The vast majority here don't agree with my world view (I am an atheist), but this doesn't mean I haven't been accepted as part of the community. We have a lot of opposing views here, but a forum is a place to discuss our views and put them alongside the views of others. We can both learn and teach this way.
For me, as someone who has known the depths of evil, it's hard to see the church world so blinded and filthied by it, intermingled, and enmeshed... as if it's normal and innocent. My experiences have caused me to be very passionate about my relationship with God. Quite honestly, I wouldn't be here if He had not rescued me.
Well, we can't change the entire body of Christianity, I suppose the best that can be done is to engage in fellowship and bring to light those areas in which you see a departing from the Scripture, and be open to the Scripture as interpreted by others...either to find new knowledge or to reasonably disagree by backing your claims with more Scripture.
Anyway, I don't feel every teacher is bad... or that every professing Christian is mean, judgmental, cold, and hateful... but my experience for 30 years as a Christian has been that 95% of them are... and not everyone who says they know Christ actually do (else, their hearts would not be so cold).
Yes, I have heard many Christians say that not all who profess Christ are truly Christians...in fact we see evidence for this in the Bible: Matthew 7:21
I think we are called to look at a person's actions rather than their words...as words come much easier than actions.
Btw... I think that if satanists and pagans had another date other than halloween, that was their high holy day... those who call themselves Christians would find an excuse to participate. lol (sorry)
Well, I think that depends largely on a lot of factors. Suppose a day was declared to be solely in honor of Satan. Don't you think virtually all Christians would shun such a notion? We can't apply this to Halloween as it didn't originate explicitly as homage to Satan...
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
Now, I can see how some might argue that such origins, with the spirits of the dead said to be roaming the Earth, is not something a Christian should associate with. But, it has evolved into a largely secular activity with only vestiges of its origins still in place. I also know that some would say, how many drops of raw sewage can I put in your drinking water before you declare it to be unclean. But, I think it has to do with an individual's mindset. If you see all things as either glorifying God or glorifying Satan, with no middle ground, then naturally you will shun Halloween and a great many other things as well.
Mark, I am a person... a mom with children who receives threats to my life, and that of my children because of leaving what I was born in to... who has served God for most of my life... yet, cannot get help, love, compassion, or even a kind word from my supposed brothers and sisters (for the most part). It is a matter of fact... not opinion. I experience it over and over... and over... until I no longer seek a church home. No one wants to know ... it's like the homeless children in the slums who are being sold for sex in places like the Philippines... and rich people go there for vacations, walking past these children... and choose rather to turn a blind eye and go on with their fun. Just cold...
I use that example, because I have a dear friend in the Philippines (one of those rare persons with a true heart for Christ and love for the hurting and the broken) ... he and his wife live in the slums among the homeless, the street kids who have no one to care for them... and they minister to them, not only the Gospel, but practical things like food, clothing, housing, medical needs, etc. But my friend said he talked to an American nurse who came there for a vacation, and he showed her the street kids, and the homeless, and her response was... "Well, they're okay... it's all they know... " ... her heart wasn't even moved to help even one little child. Isn't that sad?
Mark... it's nice to meet you. I'm very grateful for your kindness... I really am. Thank you.
Yes, there are a lot of bad things in this world and most of us feel utterly helpless in the face of it all. But I think as long as we pick our fights according to our abilities, we can and do make a difference. There are also a great deal of positive things happening in this world as well, due to the efforts of people from all walks of life.
I am happy you found us here Joy, and please don't think simply because someone might not see something in the same way you do that this implies you are not accepted. All we can do is present our case on something, and if others disagree we can take that as an opportunity to learn, to add to our own knowledge and to that of others.
