The Category of a Misunderstood Faith

I am a Christian. This is convenient, given my name, but that's the way it actually is. I have, throughout my life, come across countless people who totally misunderstand the fundamental concepts of this faith, including those who are "practicing". It somewhat frustrates me, because many people will challenge aspects of my faith, thinking they have hit on an excellent point, and thinking there is no answer. I know that people believe different things, but I would expect those who know me and respect me to trust that anything I claim to believe, I have some sort of good reason for. I'm not crazy.

Maybe it is because I do not think that any one religion gets it totally correct. Maybe it's because I think that religion and faith should make sense and be intuitive, instead of something you need to be totally convinced of. This could all be due to my moral upbringing, but regardless of the reason, I know that there is something good to what I believe. People making broad claims about the total falsity about either aspects of the faith that barely matter, or making challenges so simple they are barely worth addressing, tires me. I should be happy to talk about religion, but too often I see people not actually asking for their own knowledge, but in an attempt to trip me up; they care little for the answer, they just hope it won't be quick enough.

I am a Christian, which means that I am a follower of Christ. I do not believe that the Muslims, and Buddhists, and Jews got it wrong, and I'm right. I think I have certain information and evidence that supports my belief and understanding, and they have alternate understandings. What really matters in a religion is what it wants from its followers, and why it wants it. These, in my opinion, are all that truly matter. I have faith in my religion which tells me to love God and love others. EVERYTHING I believe stems from this important life philosophy. So if you want to challenge my faith, just hold up your question to that philosophy, and that's what I believe.

Christianity is not evil for the evils of the church, or the people who abuse power. That speaks badly about human nature. If you look closely, it was the church that called for crusades, not the Bible. It was always people using religion for some evil purpose, never the actual religion itself. I follow a faith that is based in love, forgiveness, and morality. There is nothing wrong with this, and it is strange that people would like to prove to me otherwise. I would enjoy a friendly debate over the origins of the faiths, or the main figures, or whatever, but that is not what I believe matters. What matters is that religion is a guiding force to better your own life, and the lives of those around you. Some people seem so angry at religious people, and think they must be insane, living in a romantic fantasy about the afterlife. Some people are crazy about religion, yes, but not all of us are without logic.

I would like to clarify that I don't really believe anything that doesn't make sense. For example, I would be a creationist, based on the story in the Bible alone, until I found out about evolution. Now I have a better understanding of what sort of physical system God put into play to allow things to happen. Science has never proven anything that does not make sense with religion, and how could it? Science doesn't even claim to prove any aspects of an immaterial, non-physical, infinite existence. It's not equipped to. It is aware that you couldn't use physical senses and physical tests to conclude anything about things that don't follow those rules. Science has yet to reach a point where it can conclude anything about religion; all it can do is make religion more clear.

Maybe I'm an oddity, and not too many people hold the same beliefs. If someone asked me, does your religion say homosexuality is wrong? I would answer yes. But I would hope they would pursue the topic instead of making judgement on the religion I hold. Other relevant questions would include "Do you think gay people are bad people?" (No) "Do you think they are going to hell?" (No way of knowing who is or isn't) "Would you treat them differently?" (No). Yes, I believe certain things are a sin that other people don't, but I also believe in love and non-judgement about people on the whole. Every single person sins, and one sin does not make you any worse than any other sinner. We all do it, so we can't point fingers.

This post went longer than expected, but the main message is that I believe the parts of the world religions that got it right, are the ones that tell us there is something more to existence than the physical world, but that the other people in the world are just as important as ourselves. The goal of this idea is to create a happy, fulfilling world for everyone, which truly is a noble goal. It is important to identify, when choosing a religion, the similarities that all religions hold, like love, morality, truth, and the rejection of temptation and evil. For example, all religions would say that zombies are bad, and we should destroy them. Nothing wrong with that claim.