Interesting responses so far everyone, thanks. I did kind of wonder about individuals who follow a different sect of a belief system (like Christianity) than the one their parents did; I see there are a few such people here. As to whether or not the current sect/denomination is so fundamentally different from the old one as to constitute a wholly new religion, well... I leave that for you to decide.
Well, my faith differs in that while I believe Jesus as the central figure of my faith, I consider Jewish Mystics, Sufi Mystics, Buddhists and Hindus to be correct in many things, also, and that God is one God but with many facets. Mysticism also involves direct communication with God. Church is not required, neither is many other traditions held today in Mainstream Christianity. I meditate on the spirit, which is a little different than what others may do. I believe that the universe is an extension of God's awareness, and that we can affect this universe by connecting with God.
J.
I too have a very open-minded view of Christianity and a bit of an unexpected 're-awakening' of that faith in the past year.
Church may not be necessary but, it can be useful for social contacts. That's why I started going to one last summer. However, I quit going there in January. It was a very left-leaning church and they went too far one Sunday. Having some useless petition to impeach George Bush was something I could ignore. Having guest speakers from the ACLU one week allowed me the opportunity to see an issue (in this case, the 'Driving while Black' problem in some rural Louisiana communities) from someone else's view. However, the MLK sermon on the Sunday before MLK day was too much.
The reverend was a woman who grew up in the 1960's and took part in the Civil Rights movement. One would think she'd like to leave the differences between Whites and Blacks in the past. She's not willing or able. She actually said (albiet politely) that we White people need to 'deal with our Whiteness' and that we can't see things from the Black man's point of view.
I call B.S. on that for 3 reasons.
1.) Despite being White, I can see things from the Black man's point of view.
It's the same view that anyone in their place would have and I haven't always been Mr. Popular. I can imagine just how angry some of them are because I have had that anger myself. I know what it's like for everyone to have pre-concieved notions about you and distrust/hate you. Trust me, it sucks.
2.) I don't need to 'deal with my Whiteness', she needs to deal with her misplaced White Guilt.
She is not responsible for Slavery, Jim Crow or Apartheid. She also took part in dismantling both Jim Crow and Apartheid. There's no reason for her to feel guilty about anything at all.
3.) The current-day problems of the Black Community are problems they created on their own without Whitey's help.
Lord knows that if I had sway over them they wouldn't have 70% of their kids
out of wedlock.
Me and my Whiteness are just peachy.
Frankly,
that church didn't talk about Jesus enough anyway...
EDIT TO ADD: I was brought-up in a Non-denominational church that we quit attending when I was 12. The pastor wanted more money and my Father didn't agree with that proposition.
