OT -- What is a Stay At Home Christian?

[Allison]

As someone who I guess is now called a "stay at home Christian" I am appalled by some of the posts that are on here. Honestly, isn't judging others against most Christian doctrine? I always thought as Christians we welcome everyone into the church with open arms whenever they want to come. Churches should be more than just about finances and tithes.

I am a Christian and I believe that believing in Christ is much more than going to church every Sunday to mark a pew. I think it is more about how you behave and treat others every day of the week. It is about giving of yourself and beleiving...not judging others and complaining because someone took your pew!!!

Boy, I just started reading this and haven't gotten past your post but I totally agree so far.

 

[deedeetoo]

Wow. I just read through this thread and I love it.

Dh and I were both raised Catholic. We both broke away from the catholic church long ago for different reasons but bottom line is neither of us wants to go there anymore.

For the past 5 years we have been attending a Baptist church. A Baptist church in our part of MA is really an odd thing. We didn't even know it was Baptist until after we had been going there several months. Its not in the name of the church or in any of the handouts they give visitors. We really liked the church when we started attending and dd and I have gone through believers baptism even though we were both baptized catholic as babies.

But we have become less comfortable with the church lately. My dh has actually stopped going altogether because one thing after another has led to an intense dislike of the pastor. I still take the kids on an irregular basis. The kids program is really, really good and they love it, but it just seems there are more and more things said during the services that I disagree with.

I don't want to become a stay at home Christian but it seems that's where we are headed. Dh and I are both very religious and want the kids to have the experience of weekly church worship but are feeling more and more frustrated in this effort. I think it may be time for us to start exploring new churches again but its really hard to get going on this.

 

[crisi]

I don't want to become a stay at home Christian but it seems that's where we are headed. Dh and I are both very religious and want the kids to have the experience of weekly church worship but are feeling more and more frustrated in this effort. I think it may be time for us to start exploring new churches again but its really hard to get going on this.

Have you tried this? - its far from complete going into more broad areas than digging into the specifics of each denomination - and then within the denomination you still need to find a congregation that is comfortable for you - but its kind of fun even when your result is "what the?????!"

http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx

 

[EpcotSweetHrts0512]

Have you tried this? - its far from complete going into more broad areas than digging into the specifics of each denomination - and then within the denomination you still need to find a congregation that is comfortable for you - but its kind of fun even when your result is "what the?????!"

http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx

Cool and very eye-opening website!

 

[crisi]

Cool and very eye-opening website!

Another pretty good one for "what do Baptists/Buddhists believe?" is http://www.religioustolerance.org/

It lacks the fun little quiz - but there is a lot more depth there. Including an essay on why they use a very inclusive definition of the word 'Christian.'

 

[Aristomommy]

Have you tried this? - its far from complete going into more broad areas than digging into the specifics of each denomination - and then within the denomination you still need to find a congregation that is comfortable for you - but its kind of fun even when your result is "what the?????!"

http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx

Wow, not sure how accurate this is, but I was surprised. I don't agree with some of the Mormon beliefs, but this gave me 100% for their faith. Thanks for the link

 

[Keara'sMom]

Have you tried this? - its far from complete going into more broad areas than digging into the specifics of each denomination - and then within the denomination you still need to find a congregation that is comfortable for you - but its kind of fun even when your result is "what the?????!"

http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx

This was fascinating and pretty accurate for me! Thanks for sharing!

 

[mrsklamc]

Crisi-

I appreciate your respect for other faiths, but I would like to say that the fundamental belief of the Christianity that I practice is a bit different.

You mentioned two parts, 1) believing that Jesus is the Son of God, and 2) trying to live the way he did.

My faith teaches that the important parts are 1)believing that Jesus is the Son of God, and 2)believing that he died to pay the penalty for our sins, that we could not pay ourselves.

In my religious tradition, the rest of the 'obedience' things, including tithing or attending church on Sunday, have nothing to do with whether or not you are saved. They are simply acts of love. If you really truly believe that someone died because of what you did, just because they loved you, don't you want to do things that will honor or please that person?

It's not what everyone who calls themselves a Christian believes, but IMHO it was different enough that I wanted to make a distinction.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Any other thoughts or viewpoints before this thread quietly fades away?

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for posting in a respectful manner, and basically carrying on a productive discussion.

I got my answer, but I also got alot of information and new perspectives, so that was awesome!

Thanks!
Maria OP