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Sharing what we believe about Jesus Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5  Next

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Author	Message
joera Frequent Guest Joined: 17 Dec 2004 Posts: 26	Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 1:10 pm    Post subject: patrick, you'll find few russians who will answer that question. First, because of what a russian would term "religious illiteracy" ( religioznaya bezgramotnost). Scientific atheism has been very succesfull in erasing most religious knowledge from three generations. This gives a lot of russians very few material instruments to participate in a religious discussion/conversation. Either they shy away, endulge in slander or simple hand themselves over to anyone who offers them something to fill the void. The latter is the reason for the enormous succes of minor cults, read sects, in Russia. Maybe you can imagine how dangerous it is when some confused people believe anything that is told Second, religion in Russia is a spiritual and private issue, more maybe than in the West. Those who have a deep belief often will not converse about it. I find that quite pious and beautiful.
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Anathema Lounge Lizard Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Posts: 186 Location: Phoenix, Аризона	Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 1:44 pm    Post subject: joera wrote: Scientific atheism has been very succesfull in erasing most religious knowledge from three generations. That's what we need here in the states.
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Patrick01 Frequent Guest Joined: 20 Dec 2004 Posts: 49 Location: Tennessee, USA	Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 2:29 pm    Post subject: joera wrote: patrick, you'll find few russians who will answer that question. Second, religion in Russia is a spiritual and private issue, more maybe than in the West. Those who have a deep belief often will not converse about it. I find that quite pious and beautiful. joera, Petty much the same here in the states. When I was struggeling with my own immortality, with that deep void a felt inside, I did not and would not speak to anyone about the struggle. When someone would come by and want to talk about religion I was always polite and would answer with the usual " I was raised in church and joined at age 11 so I am a Christian". Actually I don't remember anyone questioning my understanding of Christianity or pushing the issue. By culture most of the folks from Tennessee are not pushy but very courteous and never seem to have met a stranger (guests and strangers are treated like family). As I have mentioned before you are expected to wave at passing cars in the countryside. This has changed somewhat as people from other areas of the country have moved in and have a different tradition.
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joera Frequent Guest Joined: 17 Dec 2004 Posts: 26	Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 11:22 pm    Post subject: Anathema, i advice you to knock some wood two times. I'd quess mass deportations and straight executions is not what you want. your avatar seems way to funky for that
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DennisF Lounge Lizard Joined: 05 Nov 2004 Posts: 97 Location: Texas	Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 12:14 am    Post subject: Jesus is the reason! The teachings of Jesus and other teaching in the Bible form the basis for western civilization and western law. Like it or not, our legal system as it was originally conceived relied heavily on Christian principles. Today the legal system in US has been twisted almost beyond recognition by lawyers and politicians who are interested in self promotion at the expense of others. I hope it is not so in Europe but I have heard it is so. In fact I can safely say that almost every conflict in history was caused by people twisting, perverting, or distorting their religious (Christian or other) beliefs and practices from the original intent for ulterior purposes or greed. DennisF
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Camrade VIP Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 516 Location: Санкт-Петербург	Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 1:01 am    Post subject: Soon we'll have to study Quaran I suppose
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Patrick01 Frequent Guest Joined: 20 Dec 2004 Posts: 49 Location: Tennessee, USA	Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 6:22 am    Post subject: Back in 1991 there was talk , speculation, that Christian Religious curriculum was going to be used in some of the Russian public schools. Does anyone know anything about that?
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Jutrzenkapolska VIP Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 534	Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 7:30 am    Post subject: Well, if you care to listen to my story, I was raised strictly Roman Catholic in a church-going immigrant Queens family. I went to Wednesday school at the local Catholic institution for three or so years and received Holy Communion and Baptism out of the sacraments. However, I think my parents completely neglected my and my sister's religious education.I was shockingly ignorant of basic religious doctrines.Can you imagine a kid first learning that Catholics can't divorce from a history lesson about Henry VII in regular school? Well, it's not surprising.Do you know what we did at Catholic school? Threw paper airplanes, played games and drew on the board under the eye of some eighteen-year-old collecting hours of community service credit.In fact, I don't remember any religion being taught at all at St.Mary's. When I was thirteen years old, my parents sent me to summer camp in Poland in this small town with a dominantly Ukrainian population.One day the teacher took us to an Eastern Orthodox church as an attraction, where the Ukrainian priest gave us a tour. I had never heard of the prawoslawny religion before and had no clue where I was.I stunned the Ukrainian priest by first asking if this was maybe a Greek Catholic church and then pointing to their cross and asking what it was .He stared at me amazed and began "American girl...do you know who Jesus Christ was?" and I stared at him and responded "Of course" rather rudely. And the priest went on for like 15 minutes about who Jesus was to my totally mystified face and finished by saying "And for spreading Christian beliefs the Romans executed Him on something that looked like that.It's called a cross...does that answer your question?" Somewhere between ages 10 to 13, I tried being a nonbeliever for while and it didn't work for me. I went through a born again Christian phase, partly to piss off all the self-righteous and pompous Jews, atheists and Church-bashers you find in New York.So yeah it was to be different from everyone but there was something sincere about it. I guess I know too much to blindly believe in God the way I once did.You know what gave me a big ray of hope about the afterlife? Studying science in high school.I was delighted to learn how the Big Bang theory doesn't disaprove God's existence at all as scientists can calculate the birth of the universe up until the moment of creation and then all their equations go wild.A biology teacher, a Catholic who converted to Protestantism after marrying a minister,told the class, during one very sentimental lesson, that she loved biology because the more she knew about how the universe works, the vast complexity of nature and what makes us alive, the closer she felt to God. Folks, you will know for sure when you are dead.There is no undisputable proof evidence of God exists, there is no undisputable proof He doesn't.I believe that's called agnosticism. Last edited by Jutrzenkapolska on Thu Jan 06, 2005 8:21 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Patrick01 Frequent Guest Joined: 20 Dec 2004 Posts: 49 Location: Tennessee, USA	Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 5:35 pm    Post subject: Jutrzenkapolska wrote: Somewhere between ages 10 to 13, I tried being a nonbeliever for while and it didn't work for me. I went through a born again Christian phase, partly to piss off all the self-righteous and pompous Jews, atheists and Church-bashers you find in New York.So yeah it was mostly to be different from everyone but there was something sincere about it. I believe that everyone sincerely must face the problem of their own mortality. I know that there are many that will publicaly disagree and many have convinced themselves that they are ok and don't need to dwell on their mortality. How is this possible? ther is a simple formula that can work for many years , sometimes a lifetime. Here is an example of the though process: "Think of the number 4........ Picture it... draw it....give it a special shape, color and personality. Now that you crowded everything else out and are totally absorbed by the number 4... STOP THINKING ABOUT THE NUMBER 4. you can't do it unless you think about something else. This is how people stop thinking about their own mortality. They think about something else. They become religious, they become a dedicated humanitarian, they become totally absorbed in their work, in self-indulgences, in alcohol or drugs or crime. Again this approach works and sometimes for a lifetime but eventually you face death. So how do I deal with my own mortality? For many years I convinced myself that if I could do more good than bad that God would allow me into heaven after my death. But inside I knew this was a false belief. There was no assurance it would happen. My search went back to where it began as a child to the Bible. W.A. Criswell who is cosidered a great preacher from the states wrote this about the Bible. "The purpose of the Bible is to bring us the answer for the need of our human souls." Patrick01 wrote: I am reposting an edited version of what I have already written about how I became a Christian. Maybe we can discuss who Jesus is in terms of how he has effected my life. There came a point in my life that I realized there was something missing in my life, that there was some kind of void or inner longing that I was unable to fill. This occured after years of trying to be "happy" and "content" and being unable to fill that emptyness for anything except for short periods of time. The Bible describes this void in Acts 17:27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. Here is the full text: From one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him - though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For "in him we live and move and have our being."2 Acts 17:26-28. NIV So my understanding is that God placed within me a void that would compel me to search for Him. Even though I was raised in a Protestant Church and was a baptized member I didn't know what to do about the void so by tradition I begin to look in the Bible for answers. This is in spite of the fact that I had left the church many years before. Also that I had spent the last 15 years reading from the Bible almost daily. The reading didn't really help me or change my behavior. I decided that I would just "turn over a new leaf" and change myself. It didn't work and the void was not filled. I did start back to church but only on Sunday mornings and some changes began to occur. Here is the scripture that describes the experience James 4:8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. NIV God was drawing near to me. As time went on I began to realize that many of my actions were contrary to what God expected of me. I started to feel guilt. The kind you feel when you do something you know is wrong. Again I decide to turn over a new leaf and "be good". Again it did not work. Later the guilty feelings turned to shame. I didn't feel guilty because I had broken laws etc. but because I was doing things that I knew were against God. Romans 6:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. I read one of those little booklets that tell you how to have peace with God. So I prayed that prayer and decided that I must now be a Christian. But I noticed that nothing really changed. The second time I read through the booklet and prayed the prayer I just knew I must be a Christian. So I felt compelled for some reason to ask the pastor of the church I was attending to let me join his church. He consented and on a Wednesday before baptizing me , required for membership, he asked if I had asked Jesus to forgive my wrong doings and enter my heart. I answered in the affirmative and sat down. While I was sitting there I felt this load of guilt lifted from my shoulders and the void I had felt for so long was replaced with joy. In my opinion I had finally become a Christian. The void has never returned and the joy has never left. You need to realize that all during this experience that took place over a period of 4 months that I was doing the following: (1) recognizing that I had a void and could not fill it. (2) excepting the fact that I was doing wrong toward God. (3) discovering that God had made a way for me to have fellowship with Him (through Jesus Christ His son). (4) that this "way" meant that Jesus Christ His son had to die a cruel death before God could forgive me. (5) that Jesus had to prove he has power over death by coming back alive again. (6) and that to replace the void with peace meant I had to believe what Jesus did, ask for forgiveness, and ask for God to fill my heart. Actually it was rather simple in hind sight. Here are the verses that applied to my situation: Romans 2:23 ...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life iin Christ Jesus our Lord. John 3:3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me... Romans 10:9-11 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." 2 Corinthians 5:15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again. Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Jutrzenkapolska wrote: Folks, you will know for sure when you are dead.There is no undisputable proof evidence of God exists, there is no undisputable proof He doesn't.I believe that's called agnosticism. Of course you are right, however when you have had developed a personal relationship with God's son Jesus Christ there will come an assuance that you will live again with him. Thanks for sharing with us.
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Jutrzenkapolska VIP Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 534	Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2005 1:26 am    Post subject: I have to add... The fundamental message in pretty much all religions is tolerance, nonviolence, populism and rejection of materialistic values.The political leaders of the world would greatly benefit from religion. And to be fair to the "teachers" at St.Mary's, all the students might have graduated with "religijna beznajomosc" but they did teach us the principles: kindness, generosity and open-mindedness.
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HdPaul Frequent Guest Joined: 15 Jan 2005 Posts: 24 Location: RF, Moscow	Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2005 1:32 am    Post subject: Sure you can find Russians to talk about faith (2 Patric) Hi! Good place and interesting people, I say I'd like to tell several things on Russian Christianity. Commies didn't manage to entirely wipe Christianity off people's memory. There was a kind of 'wave' in the early 90-th, after the fall of comunist state, when a lot of young men converted to Christianity. I can say that most of my friends who now are good Christians or even priests, had come to Church at this time. Thank God for this! Thank you Patric for telling your story of convertion - I've found some things that happened to myself. The point is - if one wants God to answer, he has to stop doing shameful things. And this is possible, with Lord's help. We only have to not to stop doing good - and this is a difficult part I think that visiting Russia may help to experience Christianity on a more deep level. I believe Eastern Orthodoxy (which is most widespread in Russia) keeps essential traditions of the Early Church - in following Scripture interpretation by early fathers, in Sacraments, in ascetic life. But the main thing is that God's grace is abundant here. I've been to Europe several times - God help you, guys! I think I couldn't stay there even for a year (no offence meant). Sure there is a lot of problems in our Church life but God will not leave us. All that I've written is my personal position - I didnt mean to impose this view on anyone else. With love, Paul
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blaked Lounge Lizard Joined: 29 Dec 2004 Posts: 180 Location: Moscow	Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 6:34 pm    Post subject: Anathema wrote: joera wrote: Scientific atheism has been very succesfull in erasing most religious knowledge from three generations. That's what we need here in the states. I think the methodology should be a little different, though - I mean - when the commies decided to butcher orthodox monks in cold blood, they were making all the same mistakes that the Romans did. If I'd have lived through that, I'd probably be a Christian myself! One of my Russian students was very interested in the Baptists, because in their culture nobody drank too much or left his/her wife/husband. He later concluded that Baptists have their own problems. I guess the same can be said about pretty much anyone. I think that people should be free to explore religious philosophies, but that the schools should teach evolutionary biology rather than creationist fairy tales.
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Jutrzenkapolska VIP Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 534	Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 8:59 pm    Post subject: My school did teach evolutionary biology--as well as The Cosmological and The Teleological Arguments for God's existence.And in the same class, too.
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jbourneID90734 Frequent Guest Joined: 20 Dec 2004 Posts: 18 Location: Pittsburg, CA	Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 9:49 am    Post subject: The Da Vinci Code: Holy Grail of Jesus Christ In Medieval Europe, the widespread of Christianity were prohibited due to the increasing Protestantism, heresy, and other false prophets. Most Roman Catholic priests were charged of money laundering, corruption, orgy, and other sexual favor advances. In Russia, most Barbaric tribes called The Huns occupied the vast territorial land. These nomadic people were barbarians who ruled in Russia during the next 300 years. They practiced paganism, and built the infamous "The Golden Horde" ruled by Mongolian Emperor Genghis Khan's [Temuchin] nephew Kublai Khan to conquer Russia. In Europe, the existence of the infamous "Knights Templar" became known in France later on which the French King denounced their beliefs due to their association with the "Quatars"--who opposed the central beliefs of the Holy Gospels and kept the secret of "San Graal" document that may erode the fundamental beliefs of the Christian faith. In the old Jerusalem, the European English-French Crusaders and the Knight Templars marched across the desert lands of Egypt to ransack Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. The Crusaders planned to capture the infamous relic of all kind: HOLY GRAIL of Jesus Christ. For more proofs, the secret was handed down to the Italian Florence artist in 14th century Leonardo Da Vinci. He painted the infamous "The Last Supper" with Jesus Christ and his 12 disciples. One person in that painting is NOT Jesus' apostles. This person was a FEMALE with special relationship with Jesus Christ...This painting was shrouded with mystery than meets the eye, for over 1000 years ago. Also, why would Mona Lisa mysteriously smile on the portrait? What could Mona Lisa knew about the Holy Grail of Jesus Christ? Most European Chrisitian Westerners believed that Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross for the sins of mankind and that he was the "Son of God" and the "King of the Jews." For the Russian Orthodox, they worshipped the icons and believed in self-mortication and daily suffering [similar to the beliefs of the Opus Dei]. FInally, what does the Holy Grail of Jesus Christ truly symbolizes and represent in the Christian faith? Why would the Knights Templar of Europe traveled to Egypt and ransacked one of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem? What was the "relic" they found in Jerusalem?
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HdPaul Frequent Guest Joined: 15 Jan 2005 Posts: 24 Location: RF, Moscow	Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2005 1:30 am    Post subject: This all is quite funny, thanks. This Holy Graal thing, I mean. It sounds like an echo of old medieval legends (or a NeoNazi interpretation). And BTW take a look at the sources - you're 'out in the left field' in your interpretation on what Russian (and also Byzantine/Greek) Orthodox believe. Just google for Orthodoxy - there is a lot of american sites on the Net.
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