Question for the Christians

[Viseux]

Are you a Christian Literalist?
Meaning that you believe in a historical Jesus who walked the earth in flesh and blood and that the Bible is literally the "Word of God"?
If so, please explain why this is your belief.

Or

Are you a Gnostic Christian?
Meaning that you believe that the Bible is a mythos story intended to help teach us lessons so that we may achieve "Godhood." We are Christ. And, Jesus was a mythical figure.
If so, please explain why this is your belief.

Or

Are you somewhere in the middle?
If so, please explain what exactly it is you believe...
and why this is your belief.

I ask this not to debate, but out of curiosity.

I myself am a Gnostic Pagan. I do not believe in the God/dess as physical entities. I practice my "Spirituality" in the hope of attaining Gnosis. I search for "God in me." And...
I know that I do not know.

Blessings,
Viseux

[LadyCelt]

I am chrsitian but have more faith than reliogn. I know the bible has been altered and translated through time too. I also feel Mary Magdelene was a disciple and am against the conservative way that feminism such as female priests and women giving homilies in the Cahtolic faith is horrible. I think that's utter nonsense. Though I don't think I'll become a praticing druid or pagan, I do admire how paganism reveres and admires women. The Earth Goddess as a women and having priestesses and so forth. I also like the pagan respect for nature more than how many (sadly myself too) live.


I was wondering, is there a pagan belief of something called "the creator?"

I've also heard to not take the bible completely literally. I feel there is a God. I've heard of a book when God was a woman too.

I feel it is a henotheist world. My God (yahweh or Father God I prefer) is the crator of everything. But, maybe a "big bang" made him through particles? i dunno maybe I'm too confused to know.

I do feel there is one supreme God and all other Gods and goddesses are under. I feel tehre is probably a tree and/or nature spirit and animals ahve souls and there is a earth goddess and greenman etc. But, I also feel God and Satan may be a yin and yang and God splitting in half in a way. Or Stan was always there as was God and it happened htat way.

I'm into reseraching druidry and other paganism but myself probably wouldn't do anything with magic or chants or spells. I also wouldn't pray to or worship other gods. But, the Bible never said others don't exist though. My professor in religon (an anglican priest at that) even said the Bible never said other deities don't exist, just not to worship them or praise them above God.


I also consider Chrsitianity, espeically Catholocism somewhat pagan. Things like statues of saints and relics and chpalets and rosaries of them And, praying ot the archangel St. Michael for protection too. I admit it is similar though. I think some Christians get too defensive and won't admit it is.



I'm not quite sure whta gnosticism is exactly so what is it?

[Protagonist]

I believe Jesus was the Son of God and a literal, living breathing man who died on the cross for my sins, etc. But I don't consider all of the Bible to be literally true, while I believe most of it has a basis in fact at some point. For instance, look at the story of Jonah. I believe there existed a real-life Jonah whom God had a plan for. But, was he really swallowed by a whale? *shrugs*

I try and remember that the people who wrote that sort of thing were both 1) prone to exaggeration (we all are,) and 2) primitive people who did not understand certain things. In that way, I'm not sure if I consider certain parts of the Bible to be mythos, really, so much as I consider them to be grossly exaggerated in the telling.

[EponaCapaill]

I believe Jesus was the Son of God and a literal, living breathing man who died on the cross for my sins, etc. But I don't consider all of the Bible to be literally true, while I believe most of it has a basis in fact at some point. For instance, look at the story of Jonah. I believe there existed a real-life Jonah whom God had a plan for. But, was he really swallowed by a whale? *shrugs*

I try and remember that the people who wrote that sort of thing were both 1) prone to exaggeration (we all are,) and 2) primitive people who did not understand certain things. In that way, I'm not sure if I consider certain parts of the Bible to be mythos, really, so much as I consider them to be grossly exaggerated in the telling.
I agree with Protagonist. I can quite vividly recall my very Catholic mother telling me that the Book of Genesis is a story, that it isn't to be taken literally. The rest of the OT has many of these stories and undoubtedly they have a some basis in fact, but as Protagonist pointed out, they were written by falible beings. I do consider the Gospels and the letters of the Apsotles to be fairly accurate, but they were written from different points of view and with whatever "agenda" the writer was trying to get across.

[BlackMagicalCat]

Im a christian and believe the bible is the inspired word of God,preserved through the ages for us,maybe a few changes over time,but the mesage has remained the same,I believe Jesus is the Son of the Most high God,and he died for our sins and rose from the dead.

I also know God personally,he lives in me and we walk together throughout life,God is faithfull to stand by those who have put thier trust in him,even if we are not faithfull,he is.It is not to hard to hear the Holy Spirit inside you if you listen,you will hear a little small voice within,thats God.

Do I know everything about God or do I have all the answers?Not even close.Im still wondering about the woman in the bible called wisdom,she is called a tree of life to those who embrace her,heck,she sounds like a Goddess to me,but maybe im wrong,either way,God loves me,and I know it.I dont have to figure everything out to be loved by God,he loves me freely.

Am I answering the question?Ohwell

[Lady Valkyrie]

I am a Christian Wiccan, Kitchen witch, one who also blends aspects of Buddhist Philosophies and Native American Spirituality into my religious/spiritual path. I believe Diety has many faces and the face that each of us sees in our spiritual/religious path varies. I see Diety as Father God of the Judeo/Christian belief. I see Diety as Mother Goddess which to me is The Holy Spirit of the Christian belief. I see Diety as Jesus, the son that Father God and Mother Goddess bore together through the womb of the virgin Mary. I have also been drawn to Sophia and Mary Magdelene at times and have sought after them. These are my personal beliefs and I do not look down upon anyone who would happen to have differing views on Diety, the Trinity, etc. As for the Bible being literal. I believe that some things in the Bible are meant to be literal. There are many things in the Bible that are meant to be symbolic. It is, for me, a matter of taking it all in the context that it is presented, taking the original language it was written in under consideration, the fact that it has been translated by mere men who have had their own selfish agenda, and the fact that there are other Christian/Gnostic textxs out there that I do take into consideration.

[Ninjakitten]

I'm a Christian witch, and I think some parts of the Bible are literal (the Gospel accounts, for the most part, some of the laws that were given to the Jews but those had a time and a purpose, maybe a few other things), but a lot is symbolic or meant to teach lessons, kind of like how Jesus sometimes taught when he was on Earth.
I believe that other accounts that weren't included in the Bible are important to learn about prayerfully, and that some things should have been included but weren't, like the Apocrypha for example. I do feel the equivalent of a Goddess is mentioned as Wisdom, and that the Holy Spirit was in the feminine form in the original languages for a reason. I believe Jesus died as a representative of the Divne, appointed by the Divine for the purpose of reconciling our imperfections ("sins" if you will) so that we can justly come to harmony with a perfect Diety (male and female) without ignoring the evils, imperfections, and injustices we pull as a natural part of being human. I also feel that Jesus was connected fully both to Creation (as accounted for by some of the ways he healed and ministered to the people around him), and to Diety (or his death couldn't be any more sufficient to have paid for all of man's sins and imperfections), and that his death on the cross bridged the gap between us and Diety if we take him into our hearts (conciously or not) and try to be the best people we can be... meaning we don't have to say some sort of incantation about Jesus being our Lord and Saviour in order to be "saved" and be worthy of eternal Divine presence but to tap the Divine breath within us (spirit) and let that guide us to compassion, love, respect, tolerance, acceptance of others as worthy of love, and the desire to see justice and peace in the world. I see an awful lot of these qualities in the Pagan communities, more than in a lot of Christian communities, and so I believe many Pagans are just as blessed by the cross as a lot of Christians think they themselves are.

[LightDancer]

I believe that the Bible is the Word of God, with some parts lost in translation, or taken out by people who thought they were doing God's work, but were only doing so for selfish reasons (eg. Martin Luther). I also believe that some parts of the Bible aren't meant to be taken literally. If any of that makes sense :crazy:

I believe that Jesus was born into flesh to bridge the gap between us and God, and that He died and rose again to atone for the world's sins, past, present and future. I believe He is the Saviour of mankind.

Jamie

Edit: I voted on the first one, I meant the last answer.

[Sybill]

I belive Jesus lived as a real man in chair and flair but I don't take the bible litterealy, I think that during traslations men made errors and change sometimes the sens of the text or adapted to be read easier... The Bible can be an historical book but in the same time is full of secondary meaning and metaphores. I belive that it exist a Mother Earth spirit as an aspect of the creator and I belive also in reincarnation ...