What religion am I? Help?

Question

Hello,
I never really went to church but I'd like to however there are so many denominations that I am lost.
I believe in God. I believe in Jesus Christ not necessarily as God's incarnation... but more as a son of God (like us) who had great leadership skills and showed us God's greatness.
I believe in Heaven/Hell but not in a literal sense and that to reach salvation we don't have to only accept Christ but that the judgment is based on our actions/choices made during life (being a good person, good husband/father, ... making the right decisions) To me our whole life is an interview that will decide what will happen next...
I refuse to believe in the Bible as the word of God in a literal sense. It needs to be interpreted in historical contexts, and also some messages are more picture like than literal meaning. I don't believe in genesis or again not in a literal sense. I definitely believe in the Big Bang and the evolution theory.

What denomination am I?
Thanks for your help..

Answer 1

A Religion is a particular style of worship and beliefs that a person can identify themselves or others with. You do not have to be part of a religion per se to have beliefs. A belief in gods or gods is theism and the belief in one god is monotheism - a category that fits Judaism, Christianity and Islam as well as others such as the Baha'i faith. You are clearly a monotheist. The fact that you respect the teachings of Jesus does not make you Christian as even Islam makes Jesus as a teacher. Christianity sees Jesus as a manifestation of god on earth - which you do not. The literal interpretation of the Bible has nothing to do with faith. While the Bible contains history it also contains poetry, allegory and philosophy of inspired writers (divinely so or not according to faith).
By questioning you are doing more than those either entrenched in religious dogma or those who remain indifferent to greater questions. As much as I have met great religious people I have also met humanist atheists whose life and actions are more in tune with the teachings of Jesus than many church goers I cannot believe in damnation for such people.
If you believe in an afterlife, there are many questions that will not be answered in this lifetime. You can believe in what your own conscience tells you as well as looking for answers in religion, and this is more important that having a label to define what you are.

Vince R you know jack'. While they may concern some people who are, Presbs and Methodists, to pick two of your examples, are not "fundies" I am personally famiiliar with both churches (I'm not sure about Baptists and others).

Answer 2

I don't recognize your denomination. You can't be a Jesus Follower (aka Christian) since you deny the claims that Jesus himself made about who he was.

As for your comment about "bible in a literal sense", there is a common misconception that people who believe that the Bible is true somehow take every word of it literally. This simply is not the case.

The Bible is a complex document. Some parts of it are to be taken quite literally - don't murder, for example. Other parts of it literally applied to people in particular times and particular circumstances that don't apply to us today - don't eat pork, for example. Other parts of the Bible are quite figurative. Still others are prophetic. The Bible is true and accurate, but not every word is to be applied literally to our lives today.

Since you have admitted to being confused, I have a suggestion. Get a decent, modern translation of the Bible (see sources, below) and read Luke and Acts back-to-back. They were written by the same guy. The first tells what Jesus said and did. The second tells how what Jesus said and did affected the people who followed him. This will only take a couple of hours, max, and may bring some clarity to your situation.

Note that you can also read the Bible online at

http://www.biblegateway.com

Answer 3

A "religion" is defined as something that "one is devoted to" - it can be Christianity (devoted to Christ), Athiesm, Sports, Politics, Family, or in your case Self.
You must either take ALL of what the Bible says to be 100% truth, or you take NONE of it. It must be taken literally. You can't "make" God and Chris to be your own interpretation - they are fully interpreted in the Bible, and you either accept that or fully reject it.

You are lost, and need salvation. Seek out Jesus as your savior, not your equal.

Answer 4

faith:- faith is a device of ideals and worships which includes a code of ethics and a philosophy of existence. there are a number of religions interior the worldwide at present. a number of those religions are of contemporary foundation yet maximum of them are very previous. in certainty all of us be attentive to from historic previous that guy has continuously had a faith. Even the primitive adult males residing in caves or jungles had some form of religion. The concepts and rituals in guy's faith have constantly developed and grow to be greater rational and state-of-the-artwork as time went on. The primitive religions of the Cave guy and the Bush guy gave upward push to the fashionable religions of the previous 3 thousand years. at present, the biggest religions of the worldwide contain: worldwide faith ----- Originated in Zoroastrianism ----- Iran Confucianism ----- China Hinduism ------ India Taoism ------ China Jainism ------ India Judaism ------ Neat East Christianity ------ close to East Islam ------ close to East Buddhism ------- India Shinto ------- Japan those are the large religions of the worldwide that are actually not basically in charge for all our accrued wealth of information, philosophy, ethics, and social and ethical codes, yet have stimulated the custom, the language and the ethical attitudes of in simple terms approximately each guy or woman residing at present. difference between non secular and Non non secular Peoples. a million. The non secular people have faith in some thing at the same time as the others do no longer. 2. The non secular people carry out specific acts of worship at the same time as the others do no longer. 3. The non secular people look to stay with a undeniable code for his or her social and ethical behaviour at the same time as the others do no longer. 4. The non secular people hit upon a objective of existence and function a distinct philosophy in the direction of it, at the same time as the others do no longer.

Answer 5

You are an agnostic christian. Sitting on the fence and thats really OK, as nobody knows anything for sure...some just get brainwashed more than others. Keep seeking the truth that is real for YOU. You arent the only one;
http://wilstar.net/christ.htm

Answer 6

In order to be a born again Christian u not only have to believe in Christ but u also have to believe Christ. His teachings His holy Word etc. etc. etc.

Answer 7

Lukewarm Christian or perhaps a Unitarian Universalist. You could also pass as a Baha'i.

However, labels don't really matter. Everybody that believes in those superstitions has their own version of it in their minds. So, in a sense, there are billions of different religions. That's because there really are no gods to straighten anybody out on who's right or not.

Answer 8

Unitarian Universalist might be worth a try. Stay away from the fundies. baptist, presb., methodist, catholic, jw., mormon, church of god, church of christ, etc. are all firebrands who believe that the bible is the literal word of god. They have no proof mind you, but if you disagree with them, they will tell you you are going to hell.

Answer 9

To me you sound more agnostic. However, I would suggest looking into a non-denominational church. They are typically very accepting.

Answer 10

I don't think there is a denomination that would claim you. Is it that important to label yourself? Believe those things for which you have seen sufficient evidence to indicate they are true. If you want to go to church, go to one close to your house and don't worry about whether or not you fit their mold. Your version of truth is as valid as any of theirs.