What are your reasons for believing whatever you may believe about Christianity?

[SWAT One]

Religion always has been intended to be and should remain a choice. Religion is not a business, it should not be tailored to be spread as much as possible. Don't compromise your beliefs for popularity is what I'm saying.

Yes it is a choice, but the longevity of a religion is contingent on how well a culture or specific people receive the religion, and its "success" so to speak* could be measured by how well it fits among diverse peoples.  I don't see how you derived some argument of compromising beliefs because of popularity.  My point was to discuss the feasibility of any religious text to be written to revolve around contemporary ideals.

^{*Success isn't the right word, but it's the best I could really use at the moment.}

[Ad Bot]

[Ipquarx]

There's no way I or anyone can know the answer to those questions, just as there is no way I or anyone can truly comprehend the complex nature of God. Personally, I'd assume if someone has no way of hearing about Christ, acknowledging the existence of a creator and praising him for one's life would be fine.

Then we come back to the fact that if someone is not exposed to religion at all, they have more ways of being saved than someone who has been exposed to it. If your goal is to save as many people as possible then your best option is to not tell them! A bit paradoxical, no? Not saying this is a reason to not believe, but it is quite counter-intuitive

[Path]

What about the people that believe in God and Jesus but don't follow up on the whole 'eternal salvation/damnation' concept? Like, I read the bible occasionally but I don't go to church or believe in the whole rest of what the Bible offers. Instead I believe that God created a set number of 'souls' and every human is the manifestation of one of two hundred and thirty two souls, which defines their personality and goals in life.

Am I going to hell for not listening to the church? I follow the Ten Commandments (I think) to every single detail.

[McJob]

In before I get ex-communicated but,

• If there is a God, I can't distinguish if it would be a being or a force.
• I do believe in an afterlife, but not a hell.
• I think the argument of if Jesus was real or not is irrelevant since (as he forgetin' preached in the goddam book) it's not the person that's important but the values they live by.
• Pro-Abortion (provided it's not some skank who likes sleeping around), Pro-Gay Marriage so on forth. If it doesn't affect me, I don't give a stuff.
• Going to Church is irrelevant and the majority of the bible is just fable-like (story with a moral at the end of it).
• Only person in my family who is close to being overly religious is my Grandma, but everybody else is pretty lax about their faith.
• Was one of the only 3 people in a Catholic school who actually was Catholic. Made the religious debates much more entertaining.
• Not focusing on an "eternal reward"; just living life for the fun of it while hoping to make other people's lives better as well (for their sake, not the sake of old beardy).

That's the summary of my faith. I also think it's extremely embarrassing to go around and preach your bullstuff to people who don't care and I also find a lot of Christian writing to be painful to read.

[Wesley Williams]

I also think it's extremely embarrassing to go around and preach your bullstuff to people who don't care and I also find a lot of Christian writing to be painful to read.

"How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?"
-Penn Jillette (from Penn & Teller)

You seem to have a number of misconceptions about Christianity. I hate on the Catholic church a lot, but this is another perfect example of the Catholic church sending ambiguous messages about what they truly believe. The New Testament, if its writers truly did walk with Jesus or receive divine understanding, clearly outlines Christianity. Christians should be reading the Bible for themselves, not counting on preachers and the like to inform them of what they should believe.

So, let's do this.

• If there is a God, I can't distinguish if it would be a being or a force.
  God is clearly defined as a being. He created physics, so he cannot be something physical like a force.
• I do believe in an afterlife, but not a hell.
  How can there be an afterlife without God?
• I think the argument of if Jesus was real or not is irrelevant since (as he forgetin' preached in the goddam book) it's not the person that's important but the values they live by.
  Here are some writings from Jewish scholars from within 100 years of Jesus' death that provide evidence for his existence.
  Jesus constantly says that he is the way, the truth, and the life. Believing that he is irrelevant is the same as believing Christianity is irrelevant.
• Going to Church is irrelevant and the majority of the bible is just fable-like (story with a moral at the end of it).
  The gospels (first four books of the New Testament) are all eye witness accounts of Jesus' life. Try reading anything by Paul (e.g. Ephesians, Acts, Romans). As far as the Old Testament, Psalms, Proverbs and many others do not focus on story telling. The Bible is a collection of documents and letters that record the history of God's people. And of course, since God, the all powerful creator of the universe, is involved, it will be fable-like.
• Only person in my family who is close to being overly religious is my Grandma, but everybody else is pretty lax about their faith.
  That's a very common trend these days. Here's what the Bible says about these so-called "Christians".
• Not focusing on an "eternal reward"; just living life for the fun of it while hoping to make other people's lives better as well (for their sake, not the sake of old beardy).
  Life is short, an eternal reward is pretty cool to consider. You're completely right though, loving those around us and making lives better is the most important thing in life, especially for Christians. The eternal reward is an awesome bonus provided by a gracious God.

Some extra Q&A:
1) Why doesn't God reveal himself to me?
If he did what would the point of faith be? We would all be forced into following him.
2) Why does God allow evil to exist?
He gave us free will. Otherwise we'd all be robots and this would all be pointless.
3) Do you have to go to church/be in a church to be Christian? Do I have to always do good things and follow God's commandments to be Christian?
No, being Christian is based purely on faith in Christ. Of course, if that faith is present, good works and wanting to be together with brothers and sisters in Christ follows.
4) Is it possible everyone is right, and whatever you want to believe is the truth?
No.

I apologize for being rather lengthy and hope I don't come across as being argumentative.

[shitlord]

if there is a god why does he allow people to suffer and allow his creation to destroy the earth

[Wesley Williams]

if there is a god why does he allow people to suffer and allow his creation to destroy the earth

2) Why does God allow evil to exist?
He gave us free will. Otherwise we'd all be robots and this would all be pointless.

[Ipquarx]

"How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?"
-Penn Jillette (from Penn & Teller)

As much as I love Penn & Teller, this is still an appeal to celebrity. It's no more valid an argument than pointing out Jenny McCarthy said vaccines cause autism.

[SlayerZ99]

Why would God give us freewill but also put evil in our lives.

Wouldn't "evil" or "sin" begun once the knowledge of good and evil, or the distinction between each, once Adam and Eve ate the fruit?

Wouldn't it have been an evil thought/act to disobey and eat the fruit? So evil and sin began before Adam and Eve even ate the fruit so why would God create evil in the first place?

[shitlord]

when people die before they are old enough to grasp the concept of faith because of violence caused by other people what happens

[Frontrox]

when people die before they are old enough to grasp the concept of faith because of violence caused by other people what happens

Not sure how to explain it...

You pretty much pass everything and just go to heaven... At least that's what we believe.

[devildogelite]

-"The LGBT movement is not for marriage equality because they do not accept child enthusiasts marrying young teenage/pre-teenage kids. They have left those people out so far."

lol That is a horrible argument. How are child enthusiasm and homoloveuality the same thing? One is abuse, while the other is two consenting people.

[Wesley Williams]

As much as I love Penn & Teller, this is still an appeal to celebrity. It's no more valid an argument than pointing out Jenny McCarthy said vaccines cause autism.

The main point is that he's an atheist, but still acknowledges that Christians evangelize out of their love for others. In any case, it doesn't matter who said it, the statement is still correct.

Why would God give us freewill but also put evil in our lives.

Wouldn't "evil" or "sin" begun once the knowledge of good and evil, or the distinction between each, once Adam and Eve ate the fruit?

Wouldn't it have been an evil thought/act to disobey and eat the fruit? So evil and sin began before Adam and Eve even ate the fruit so why would God create evil in the first place?

Fair point. I guess the question then is what is evil? In Christian terms, evil is anything that goes against God's design. If his creation is given free will, can't they choose to go against his design? It's not that God created evil, it's that it arose out of free will.

when people die before they are old enough to grasp the concept of faith because of violence caused by other people what happens

Some Christians argue that you always have a chance to find God, even in an isolated place. General revelation (the world around us) is the main way God reveals himself aside from Biblical revelation. I'm not well versed in the subject but I'd assume tribes in Africa usually worship some sort of higher power? They may not quite know what it is but at least they acknowledge it.

As for children, read this (especially the last paragraph).

[Snoop Da Dogg]

if there is a god why did he make roosterroaches

[Ipquarx]

The main point is that he's an atheist, but still acknowledges that Christians evangelize out of their love for others. In any case, it doesn't matter who said it, the statement is still correct.

It wasn't even a statement though, it was a question.

I'd argue that since someone whose not been exposed to religion at all has a better chance of getting saved than someone who has been, it IS better to not tell anyone. Unfortunately that wouldn't be the case in western society because we have huge figureheads like the pope promoting it and over 70% of the US population being christian it's basically impossible, and whether or not it's good to evangelize (If by "good" we mean helping to save more people) would ultimately boil down to the probabilities of the average person being drawn further away or towards a given faith when talked to about it. I don't even know if there are any statistics on the matter.