Considering Becoming a Christian

[MeadowRae]

I am considering becoming a Christian again. I have a love for Jesus Christ, though I don't like many aspects of Christianity I do feel close to Jesus. Has anyone considered becoming a Christian or to return to Christianity?

It sounds strange, but I never would have found paganism had it not been for the methodist church I attended years ago. I found spirituality and purpose there. The pastor was amazing and was all about "wherever the Spirit moves you." I grew up in a Baptist church, and I can honestly say that I have more faith in the teachings of Jesus now than I ever did when I was a member of the church. He isn't a part of my practice now, but I do find myself referencing his words specifically at times. I am also honoring Saint Francis at the moment as I feel a pull towards him, as well.

[Jainarayan]

I am considering becoming a Christian again. I have a love for Jesus Christ, though I don't like many aspects of Christianity I do feel close to Jesus. Has anyone considered becoming a Christian or to return to Christianity?

There is something called Jesuism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuism You might also consider the Gospel of Thomas http://gnosis.org/naghamm/nhl_thomas.htm and the Jefferson Bible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Bible All of these focus solely on Jesus, without Paul.

[Bluerose31]

It sounds strange, but I never would have found paganism had it not been for the methodist church I attended years ago. I found spirituality and purpose there. The pastor was amazing and was all about "wherever the Spirit moves you." I grew up in a Baptist church, and I can honestly say that I have more faith in the teachings of Jesus now than I ever did when I was a member of the church. He isn't a part of my practice now, but I do find myself referencing his words specifically at times. I am also honoring Saint Francis at the moment as I feel a pull towards him, as well.

Beautiful

[Bluerose31]

There is something called Jesuism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuism You might also consider the Gospel of Thomas http://gnosis.org/naghamm/nhl_thomas.htm and the Jefferson Bible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Bible All of these focus solely on Jesus, without Paul.

Thank you for sharing this with me.

[Hariti]

Thank you for sharing this with me.

There are many forms of Christianity. Mormonism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and various protestant branches, along with dozens of other forms. There is also Christo-paganism, which sounds like something you might be interested in. I recommend you look around and see if there are any particular elements you want to integrate into your practice.

[Naunau]

Has anyone considered becoming a Christian?

The discordances are too big in too many ways, I'm afraid. Including aesthetics, the idea of monotheism, the focus of the mythology, the idea of revelation of some sort, the tradition of proselitism and what has been done, and so on and on and on... Wouldn't be a return, because I've never been a Christian, but I often see or read Christians and I wonder what they see there.

Then there's also the issue that I either don't have religious experiences or I have exactly that but I feel it's something entirely different which I don't see through a supernatural lens. I don't know which one of the two.

[Naunau]

The discordances are too big in too many ways, I'm afraid.

To be honest, it's kind of weird how I ended up rethinking on this. I thought maybe I just needed to accept what was actually there. But I can't (re)appropiate this and it's a bit cruel.

I recently read a theist (Jewish) saying that we need to respect people's beliefs because there are many reasons people might choose to believe. I don't know how much people actually choose, and it's perfectly possible that there isn't a belief system or cultural environment around that helps. Sometimes you don't have access to such a thing, one way or another. But she made it seem so easy! Maybe because she believed, was Jewish, and knew what she was looking for? I don't know.

[Naunau]

But she made it seem so easy! Maybe because she believed, was Jewish, and knew what she was looking for? I don't know.

...and now I am thinking on the obvious, and the source of some of my troubles: my lack of functional group identity on almost every level, and my general failure at trying to achieve that. Sigh

Sorry about the string of posts, I ended up going in a tangent

[Bluerose31]

There are many forms of Christianity. Mormonism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and various protestant branches, along with dozens of other forms. There is also Christo-paganism, which sounds like something you might be interested in. I recommend you look around and see if there are any particular elements you want to integrate into your practice.

I think Christo-paganism is right up my alley.

[Bluerose31]

The discordances are too big in too many ways, I'm afraid. Including aesthetics, the idea of monotheism, the focus of the mythology, the idea of revelation of some sort, the tradition of proselitism and what has been done, and so on and on and on... Wouldn't be a return, because I've never been a Christian, but I often see or read Christians and I wonder what they see there.

Then there's also the issue that I either don't have religious experiences or I have exactly that but I feel it's something entirely different which I don't see through a supernatural lens. I don't know which one of the two.

I understand. There are many discordances. The idea of monotheism is a hard one too. I see beauty in Christianity but also I have a history of abuse with Christianity( due to Satanism) so some of mine is trauma too.