Aloha

[LaMont Cranston]

I have just joined this forum, and I am excited about being here. I believe in God, I love Jesus and I consider myself to be a seeker of information. I've also got to say that some of my ideas about God, Jesus and other concepts related to spirituality might be a bit different from other folks, but we'll see.

Recently, somebody asked me if I was "a born again Christian," and I had to think about it. I realized that the answer was "no," because I didn't start out as a Christian. I grew up in a not very religious Jewish family, and, for most of my life, if somebody had asked if I believed in God, I would have said "yes," but, in truth, I'd never thought about the subject much..

At some point in my life, I became much more interested in such things as history, religion, spirituality, philosophy, the nature of consciousness, love and utopian communities. I knew virtually nothing about Jesus, but, because I was interested in finding out what love was about, I started to study his teachings. I was blown away, and I still am. I came to the conclusion that Jesus was a very righteous being who had some amazing things to say. I also think that many people are much more fixated on how he died and don't pay enough attention to how he lived.

I've also got to say that I have a life-long love of science. As a young man, I was something of a science, particularly chemistry, and math whiz, but I decided to pass on a career in the sciences. I do not see that there has to be any conflict between loving God and appreciating science and other things for what they are.

OK, enough for now. I'm looking forward to meeting the people here, and I'll be looking around the list of threads for topics that interest me.

PS: I live in Hawaii, thus the "Aloha."

 

[Mike]

Welcome to CFnet! :waving

Glad you joined!

 

[Caroline H]

Welcome to the site

 

[PouringRain]

Welcome to the forum.

You might be surprised to know that being "born again" has nothing to do with how one was raised. The term refers to a spiritual rebirth. In John 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus "You must be born again." (Nicodemus was a Jewish ruler.) So, like you, Nicodemus had a Jewish background. Here, you can just read the story: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?se ... rsion=NKJV

In light of that, would you still say that you are not a "born again Christian"?

Christians use a lot of terminology that even many Christians do not understand.

I hope to hear more about your beliefs.

 

[LaMont Cranston]

Pouring Rain, Thank you for the welcome. Perhaps it's just me, but I don't feel completely comfortable with using the term "born again" in reference to myself. Maybe I will get over that, but, to tell you the truth, it doesn't feel all that important at this moment. What does feel important is that I have found that Jesus was truly incredible teacher who had amazing things to say.

In regard to my particular set of beliefs, I don't have any particular problem with believing that the Big Bang happened and so did evolution. If God created everything, and I do believe that, then God could have created the evolutionary process and all those other things that exist. I did not join this forum because I'm looking to do battle with people who believe other things. In fact, I think that others are entitled to believe what they believe based on the best information they can find. I just have a real problem with believing that the Earth is 6,000 years old in light of the fossil record and other evidence.

I also have a bit of a problem with those people, Christians or otherwise, who insist on trying to convert others. In my case, I had to find out for myself that love is better than hate, kindness is better than meanness, forgiveness is better than vengeance and so on. I had to find these things out for myself despite the fact that my parents and many others told me that it was so. I must admit, in many ways, I'm a slow learner, but having finally learned those things, I'm extremely grateful.

Take care...

 

[Mike]

I also have a bit of a problem with those people, Christians or otherwise, who insist on trying to convert others. In my case, I had to find out for myself that love is better than hate, kindness is better than meanness, forgiveness is better than vengeance and so on. I had to find these things out for myself despite the fact that my parents and many others told me that it was so. I must admit, in many ways, I'm a slow learner, but having finally learned those things, I'm extremely grateful.

Not sure I understand. We are told that faith comes from hearing the Word.

Romans 10:17 "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."

It is incumbent on Christians to share the hope they have with love and compassion.

1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,"

Maybe you're saying you don't like to see people hammer it home and make people feel guilty. That, I agree with. We need to invite people to know Christ. We do need to share the Gospel - "try to convert others" as you put it, because as a Christian we believe there is One Road; not many. Always with hope and love, not with fear and guilt. I don't usually get into discussions here on the intro board, but this stood out to me.

Again, welcome to our community. I look forward to chatting with you in other areas.

 

[LaMont Cranston]

Mike, Thank you for your post. I guess it comes down to how we interpret the words of Jesus, and it does seem to me that there is room for interpretation in this area.

I suspect that we pretty much agree. In my experience, the "hammer it home and make people feel guilty" types are often not treating others with gentleness and respect. It seems to me that the best advertisement for what Jesus was teaching is to live our own lives with love and joy. I'm not saying it's always easy, because it often isn't. As much as I know that it is much better to be kind and loving, there are times that I have to sit in my favorite spot and remind myself that I have promised myself, my wife and my God that I will not act in anger or be vengeful. Sometimes, I have to sit there for quite awhile.

I also agree that it is incumbent on Christians to share the hope they have with love and compassion. Once again, I have seen some people who are so eager to share that hope that, in my opinion, they are not being particularly loving or compassionate. Besides love and compassion, I also have a great deal going on being humble, and, admittedly, I often have to remind myself to act with humility.

One of the lines that I constantly remind myself of is from Romans where it talks about "rejoicing in hope, being patient in tribulation." I do rejoice in hope, but I also find that there is great virtue in exercising patience and understanding with those who are still finding their way.

I do get it that some of this may not be appropriate for an introductory thread. If this topic should be moved to a separate thread, it's fine by me. Thank you for the kind welcome!

 

[PouringRain]

.
I also have a bit of a problem with those people, Christians or otherwise, who insist on trying to convert others. In my case, I had to find out for myself that love is better than hate, kindness is better than meanness, forgiveness is better than vengeance and so on. I had to find these things out for myself despite the fact that my parents and many others told me that it was so. I must admit, in many ways, I'm a slow learner, but having finally learned those things, I'm extremely grateful.

Take care...

I agree with you here. Thanks for your post and explanations.

Can I ask a question based upon vibes I am getting from your posts? Do you believe Jesus is God? Do you believe he is the moshiach/ messiah? Do you believe he was a prophet? A great teacher?

Please do not read into my questions too much. LOL There have been a couple of recent debates on the forum regarding similar issues. I know that you are not here to debate, and I have no intention to drag you into one. I am just curious where you stand.

 

[LaMont Cranston]

Pouring Rain, Thank you for your interest. To tell you the truth, there are parts of the Jesus story that I have not completely made up my mind about. I have a good friend who is a pastor of the United Church of Christ, and we are in a writer's group that meets every two weeks. We drive to the group together and talk about issues related to God, Jesus, the Bible, free will, turning the other cheek and so on.

At the very minimum, I think that Jesus was an incredible teacher who was coming from a very high place. Considering what he did, I can think of no reason that a relatively unknown being who came from a remote part of the Roman Empire would have the impact on history that he had unless he was the real deal. At the time of his death, there were other would-be messiahs and religions that had larger followings than Christianity, but Christianity made it, and the others didn't.

I've had some atheist friends (Yes, I do have atheist friends) tell me that Christianity caught a lucky break or that Constantine or some others concocted the entire story. I'm happy to say that I don't buy it. I think that the teachings that Jesus brought were that powerful, those teachings are still very much with us today and they are every bit as relevant and important now as any other time in human history.

As far as Jesus being God, I'm still working on that one. On some level, I believe that we are part of God, and God is part of us. I also think quite a bit about that thing that says we are all created in God's image. I'm curious to know how others on this forum interpret those words.

I'm not sure I've answered all of your questions, but, if I didn't, I'm willing to give it another shot.

 

[PouringRain]

Thank you for your response, LaMont.

A writer's group! How interesting. What types of things do you write?

I used to live in Hawaii also.

There are other things we have in common also. Hahaha. I don't tend to share much about myself though.

 

[LaMont Cranston]

Pouring Rain, Generally speaking, I also do not give out a lot of personal information on the internet. Once it is out there, it is available to everybody with a computer. I'm more than willing to believe that 99 per cent of people are good folks with no bad intentions, but it only takes one nut case to cause problems.

I am currently working on two books, a novel, set in present time, about a young man's spiritual journey. The character is kind of an amalgam of Holden Caulfield, Siddhartha and Paul/Saul of Tarses. In the story, the character finds out about God, Jesus, love and his purpose in life. I'm about 15 chapters into it, and it is the most challenging thing I've ever attempted to write. I just have to keep reminding myself that things are moving at the right speed.

The other book is non-fiction, and I'm writing it on-line with an atheist friend who lives in North Carolina. I am presenting the case that God exists, and he is presenting the case that God doesn't. I think that there is a market for what, hopefully, is an intelligent, readable book on this subject that will include our life experiences, science, philosophy and everything else.

I will tell you this much...I live on the North Shore of Oahu, and my wife and I have lived there for going on 21 years. If you are not revealing too many secrets, where did you live in Hawaii?

 

[jasoncran]

you could pm her and share the info without fear of the net and world knowing.

 

[PouringRain]

Hickam AFB.

Interesting books you are writing. Good providence in writing them and in getting them published.


Jasoncran, very true.

I am more of skeptic. I tend to believe that 99% are evil out there. Okay, not that bad. I am joking. Well, maybe. :eyebrow

 

[jasoncran]

lol, i wondered if you were near an installation. you know servicemembers too well.

 

[LaMont Cranston]

jasoncran, Do you mean a military installation? If that's what you're asking, the answer is "yes," I live about 20 minutes away from Schofield Barracks. I have a good friend who is a retired Navy guy, and I go with him to the PX about once or twice a month. I like going there because I really do hold our guys who are serving their country in high esteem. Besides, I married into a military family; my wife's father was a Marine pilot in WW II and Korea. Semper Fi!

 

[Pard]

Aloha! ...boy that takes me back to "Lilo and Stitch"!

You know, I used to want to write books. My dream was to concoct a world as deep and beautiful as Tolkien's...

Anyways, welcome. I hope you enjoy yourself

(Doesn't aloha mean goodbye also?)

 

[LaMont Cranston]

Pard, Yes, "Aloha" can mean both hello and good-bye. In my case, it definitely means "hello." It looks like there are a lot of nice people on this forum, and I think I'm going to like it here.

 

[jasoncran]

jasoncran, Do you mean a military installation? If that's what you're asking, the answer is "yes," I live about 20 minutes away from Schofield Barracks. I have a good friend who is a retired Navy guy, and I go with him to the PX about once or twice a month. I like going there because I really do hold our guys who are serving their country in high esteem. Besides, I married into a military family; my wife's father was a Marine pilot in WW II and Korea. Semper Fi!

yes, when pouring rain mentioned hickham, i assumed that you were near either pearl harbor or schofield, i served with the 25th id in afghanistan and i am a guardsmen, btw welcome.

 

[Logos57]

Howdy Aloha , and welcome to ChristianForums.net, may you learn more of the Love of God thru Christ here at the sight. When I was a little kid of about 3 years old, I lived in Schofield Barracks, but that was a very long time ago. But it sure is a beautiful place.

 

[Mike]

I suspect that we pretty much agree. In my experience, the "hammer it home and make people feel guilty" types are often not treating others with gentleness and respect. It seems to me that the best advertisement for what Jesus was teaching is to live our own lives with love and joy.

I suspect we do agree as well. Just a note; since we are all sinners, if we only try to witness with our walks, we will undoubtedly fail at some point and cause confusion in the eyes of those who watch us, in my opinion. Yes, we show people Christ by our love, but to the extent that we are imperfect, there comes a time to tell someone about His perfect love which we have the inability to show...perfectly. And as you say and scripture states, with gentleness and respect. Invite them; don't threaten them with, "or else...".