Struggling with my Christian belief

Thanks Riverwalk.

Anniebach, I have never disrespected Mary. I have said that she can't be the insipid woman that the Church portrays her as. She must have been a strong woman to deal with all that life threw at her.

I don't disrespect anyone's faith. I have no problem with anyone choosing to believe in a God or Gods. Just as I have no problem with someone not choosing to believe in a God or Gods.

Questioning why someone believes something or a church teaching/tradition is not the same as disrespecting someone's faith. Open discussion is the best way to learn from and understand each other.

I am a practising Catholic but also go to the CoE (I'm a convert from there). My grown up children are believers but don't go to church very often (busy lives, working full time etc). But they are good people and will do anything to help DH and me. Many of my friends are not church goers but they are all good people and I do not believe that any of them will go to hell. We don't know what happens after death, the church has come up with teachings about it. I think that the Catholic church tries to put God in a box that it has made. God is bigger than the church. God loves us whatever we do, nothing we do can make him love us more or love us less.

thatbags, why is not possible to respect the fact that a persons faith can be the core of their life , surely to say I have no faith or I have no respect for the church is enough, but no, we get - believing in God is the same as believing in the tooth fairy. Why the need to ridicule faith puzzles me. There are good and bad people of faith and good and bad atheists, discussing is fine but ridiculing ?

A post earlier in the thread described confession as going to church and saying a few prayers, I cannot speak for the RC church but as an Anglican I attend confession, one can talk it through with the priest without judgement and often would good advice. I don't need to attend confession to say - so sorry I have been naughty , please forgive me, I can do that anytime, any place. Confession is different and is more thsn uttering a few prayers.

Hmm, Annie, I have thought hard about this. I don't think beliefs should be respected just because they are beliefs and central to a persons life. After all some people believe quite appalling things in terms of the way they treat other people. All my life I have hoped to find a belief that I could respect both in terms of its central tenets and in the way in which those who said they believed in them lived their lives. Sadly I haven't found one yet.
Some had founding principles which seemed good and wise but the practice of that religion seemed at odds with how it had started.
Some had adherents whose way of life I greatly respected but frankly their founding beliefs seemed to me to be ridiculous.
I'm afraid for me it actually has to work in practice.

Jays be, you are confusing respect for a belief with respect for the person who holds the belief , quite usual with atheists

As contempt for others peoples sincere thoughts and struggles seems to be with some Christians.

Wonder what Jesus thinks of your last little spiteful comment?

Christians too hsve struggles Janeanne

Annie you didn't respond to my post of yesterday, as is your right, but I'm wondering if you did go back and re-read Vampire's post about Mary.

If you did you would see that she (also a Christian) did not mock Mary, but in your haste to be offended you misinterpreted what she wrote.

You also put words in her mouth - she never mentioned a donkey but you've twice said she did.

Vampire can speak for herself but I think you owe her an apology.

Riverwalk, I assure you I was in no haste,

"Not seen one person of faith mock the atheists." Anniebach?
Well there's you for a start.
You even have a go at other Christians. Sadly it doesn't encourage anyone to incline to the Christian faith.

And I may have made a mistake and Mary travelling whilst pregnant may have been by train. And you are so right, it is was right not to respond to your post regarding this, I replied to Vampirequeen.

The god in the Old Testament was a really nasty god saying unbelievably awful things to keep you controlled. Then Jesus came along and all of a sudden he was a loving god, but still all about control.
I would love to believe in an hereafter but think the dust to dust and ashes to ashes bit is true and all we do when we die is replenish the earth.
There are lots of beliefs in the bible I think are good and probably the most important is love thy neighbour as thyself.

No donkey in the Bible.

So right Jsyanne, I stand corrected, should have said ass

Mum was 98 when she died. She was a RC. She kept her sense of humour to the end. Once I asked her if she thought she would go to heaven. She jokingly said " I don't mind where I go ...heaven or hell....I've got friends in both places."

No ass either. Do you ever read it?

There's a strange story in Numbers 22 about Balaam and the ass, or she-donkey . And Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac on a similar animal. It depend how you translate the hebrew words aton and chamor.

Oh yes, didn't mean the bible as a whole. Just Annie's reference to Mary's form of transport!

Do enlighten me Jayanne, how would they have travelled at that time ? Yes I do know they could walk, is it that important to the fact they travelled?

Thought you were the one who was getting uptight about donkeys and trains. Makes no difference to me.

I couldn't care less how they travelled, it is you who insisted on no mention of a donkey and supported by Riverwalk who is equally concerned

"Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but only he who does the will of my Father in heaven."
"Love is patient, love is kind. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. If I have faith that can move mountains and have not love, I have nothing."
??????????

I have always had problems with Paul, always thought he had a dislike or fear of women

Just pick and choose the bit that make you feel superior then. That's an easy faith to follow. But is it the Christian faith?