>I think the main issue that
>people have with Christianity is
>the religion and not the
>spirituality behind it.
>
>By that I mean that people
>get caught up with the
>religious dogma that they have
>came in contact with in
>society and in their own
>lives.
>


>My church, West Angeles, is part
>of the Church of God
>in Christ.
>
>This denomination says that women cannot
>wear pants to church, cannot
>wear too much makeup, and
>cannot be ordained as bishops.
>
>
>Bull defecation.
>
>When I get to heaven, God
>isn't gonna be like, "Did
>you wear a skirt in
>the sanctuary?"
>
>He's going to ask, "Did you
>worship me in spirit and
>in truth? Did you show
>the love of Christ to
>all you meet? Did you
>live as a living sacrifice,
>holy and acceptable?"
>
>Whether or not I wore a
>skirt is invalid when it
>comes to God's purpose for
>our lives. He looks at
>our hearts. Religion looks on
>the outward man.

your reply illustrates some of the issues that i have...
see the thing is, a lot of the "dogma" can be traced straight from the bible. if you are a Christian, and believe the bible is the word of God, then aren't you supposed to have the kind of faith in the word where you accept what it says even though it does not make any sense in your every day life?

your church, for example, says that women can't wear pants. my grandma doesn't wear pants because she can point out in the bible where it says a woman should not wear the clothes of a man. so how is it that you can be a Christian and say your not being able to wear pants is "bull defacation" if it's in the bible? if you really do believe that the bible is God's word, then He meant it. who are you to say that God won't ask you why you wore pants when you get to heaven? just because that's you're opinion, as a Christian aren't you supposed to have that much faith in His word?

i know that there is the argument that interpretation has a lot to do with it, and there are a lot of things that are just out dated. but if you can say that about the way you dress, what's to say that key principles about Chirstianity aren't a matter of interpretation too? does that mean that where it says non-Christians are essentially going to hell is another thing that can be argued down too? if you really sit down and read the bible, there is a lot of stuff in there that seems kind of far out when applied to life today. but if you are a true Christian, you should be following it shouldn't you? who gets to say what is truth in the bible and what is not?

i also don't like how organized religion is manipulated to control peoples' lives. and that can be applied to religions other than Christianity. we're only having this discussion about Christianity because we're in the united states. if we were in afghanistan it would be a whole different discussion.
whoa, i sort of got off track there. but i hope you understand what i'm asking.

another thing i wanted to ask you is that don't you think you're being spiritually hindered if you think that some of the practices of your church are bull? i respect your spirituality and because of that, i think that maybe you might want to find another church where you wouldn't feel that way. it might be better for you.

>I leave you with this:
>
>"For we wrestle not against flesh
>and blood but against principalities,
>against powers, against rulers of
>the darkness of this world,
>against spiritual wickedness in high
>places"--Ephesians 6: 12
>
good verse. applicable in a lot of areas.

peace
kaya

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I have died and dreamed
myself into your arms where
what I died for sleeps - Sonia Sanchez