khaosworks | A heretic's credo

The following is not a complete statement of belief. To do that would take much more space and time than I have available.

I call myself a Christian. Whether you consider me one or not makes little difference to me, because that is between me and my God.

Calling myself a Christian means I consider myself a follower of the teachings of Yeshua ben Joseph, or Jesus, the Christ. That also means I attempt to emulate Him in my own, imperfect, human way.

I believe He was God in human form, that He died to redeem the world for its sins, and that three days later, He arose from the dead.

(I also believe - and this is important for me - that even if the previous sentence is a complete and utter lie, I would still believe in His teachings, because I still believe they are good and wise.)

I believe that God inspired the Bible, but that it was also written by man. Therefore, it must be as imperfect as man is, and subject to analysis and criticism to arrive at the truths it wants to express as any other historical document. It is a document of its time, and for all times, but we should not be trapped by its words.

I believe the Bible guides us to God. It is not God, nor should we confuse it with God or treat it as an authority unto itself. In particular, Paul's letters to the Churches - whether or not you accept Paul's conversion as genuine or not - are advisories, reflecting the mores and the beliefs of his time and should not be confused with Christ's own teachings and should not hold the same primacy.

I believe that the laws of Old Testament were right for their times, but were not intended to trap us for all time, either. I note that as lamb's blood was shed at the first Passover to mark the old covenant between Israel and Jehovah, so was the blood of Christ shed to establish a new covenant.

I believe in the Greatest Commandment. And that is, "Love the Lord with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind." And the second, "To love your neighbor as yourself." And on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets - and these two commandments supersede all others.

I believe judgment and vengeance is reserved to God, but that He is not a judgmental nor vengeful God.

I believe God gave us free wills and minds, and we should exercise both freely. God made our bodies, but He also let us choose who to love.

I believe that whatever a person's relationship with God is, is their own business.

I believe that God is great, but religion has caused a lot of damage. The church is a good place for a lot of people, but it is not necessary for having a relationship with God or Christ, and at this time, it is not for me.

If I have a church, it is the world around me, that I look at and constantly marvel at what a great cook God is. And I believe that God has much more imagination and poetry - not to mention time and patience - than to make the world in six days and try to fool us with fossils. "Subtle is the Lord, but malicious he is not."

I believe in following Christ's example, and try to treat people with love, kindness, respect, forgiveness and tolerance. That also means I sometimes fail. I am not proud of these lapses, but I do the best I can to avoid them.

While tolerance is my goal, to paraphrase Voltaire, "I will defend to the death your right to say whatever you want, but I can also still say it's a load of horse hockey."

I do not believe in a gospel of hate, or death, or eternal damnation. An all-forgiving God does not do these things.

I believe that God answers prayers, but that the answer sometimes is, "No." I also believe that God may not always give us what we want, but He always gives us what we need.

I believe there is a right thing and a wrong thing in the universe, and that the two are not difficult to distinguish. Most of the time.

Finally: Certum est, quia impossibile est. I believe, because it is impossible.