CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

PostPosted: **Sun Sep 17, 2006 10:24 am**

This may be a bit confusing >D; hold on tight!

I was born a Christian; maybe. I could have been Catholic...er, let me explain. My parents were of two different faiths, my mother a Christian, my father a Catholic... they liked to argue over what their children would be.

All I remember is that until the age of 10 years old, I went to church regularly and girl scouts and all of that, and I believed in God and everything about him.

Then, my parents got divorced.

Then I was 'left out' of Faith, as my father could no longer take me to church. I lived with my mum, who was about as Christian as...an athiest. The only 'christianly' things I got were presents from my aunts and uncles on my fathers side, who sent me books for 'young women in faith' and various other things like that.

In the end I only tossed them aside because I wanted to read something more 'interesting'.

By now, I've almost completely lost the girl I used to be; but I still believe that there is only one god. So...what does this make me? Christian, Faithless or what?

_very_ confused.

PostPosted: **Sun Sep 17, 2006 10:42 am**

One thing, and I think this is actually a good thing, is that no one is actually "born" a Christian. We make a decision to follow Christ. The book of Romans, in chapter 10, verse 9 says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved."

If you want something "interesting" to read on the subject, I suggest picking up a Bible (why not go right to the source?) and read one of the Gospels. They chronicle the life, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. In it, you will find a story of mercy, love, kindness, grace, and sacrifice where Jesus comes from heaven to live among men...and then, He is crucified to bear all of our sin so that we would be saved.

I'd say that being cognizant of there being a one, true, God puts you on the right track. There's a verse in the Bible that says that if you seek God with your whole heart, He will reveal Himself to you. I think you're very much on the right track. There are a lot of people here who would be glad to talk to you on this subject, as well, who are far more knowledgeable than I.

Ultimately, though, whether you are a Christian, a follower of Christ, has nothing to do with how you were born or anything like that. It has nothing to do with what your parents did or did not do. It has nothing to do with how you were raised. The decision to follow Christ is yours, and yours alone.

PostPosted: **Sun Sep 17, 2006 12:06 pm**

You can't be born a Christian. You can be born into a Christian family, but that doesn't mean you're going to heaven. You have to make a decision for yourself.

PostPosted: **Sun Sep 17, 2006 12:43 pm**

What exactly do you believe now? That would go to a long ways of telling what you are.

PostPosted: **Sun Sep 17, 2006 3:12 pm**

I'm going to post the first part of John chapter three below, where Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to Jesus in the night to talk to Him. One of the main questions that Jesus answers in this passage is the difference between being born, and born again. (This selection is in the NIV. The bold printed emphasis was put there by me though.)

John 3:1-21 wrote:
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

3In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

4"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

9"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.

10"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? 11I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe] 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.[e]

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[f] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.[g] 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."[h]

So, there's a big difference between being born and being born again. Being born again is the only kind of birth that results in salvation, and depends on whether or not you will ". . . confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead . . ."as Kkun quoted from Romans 10:9 earlier. You said that you acknowledge that there is only one God, and that's good, but it's not enough. After all, the demons themselves believe in the existence of God, and they're certainly not saved. You have to confess and believe. So, I guess the best question for you to ask yourself at this point is, have you done that? If you haven't, there's no time like the present. You just need to talk to God, tell Him that you know you've sinned and that your sin seperates you from Him eternally, but that you also know that Christ died to save you from that seperation. Tell him that you accept that gift of salvation that he freely offers to you in Christ. If you have already done that, then it's time to really start living it!

Sorry that this was sooo long, but I hope it helps some.

PostPosted: **Sun Sep 17, 2006 7:27 pm**

You are you! o.o/
What you belive makes up your religion, not your family tree o.o/
So what is it?
The question is...
Christ?
Yes or No? o.o/)))

PostPosted: **Mon Sep 18, 2006 3:52 am**

Welcome to the CAA!

You are someone loved by God! And I think if you believe in God then you are a theist.

The others have answered regarding what makes a person Christian, so I won't elaborate on that. I hope you enjoy your stay.

CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Soo...what am I?

Soo...what am I?