non-denominational Christianity

[McCulloch]

Many Christians now identify themselves as non-denominational.

What does this mean?
Is it a good thing? Should Christians abandon their denominational divisions? How could this be done? Is there anything more authentic about being non-denominational?

Or is your particular denomination the one that really gets it right?

[realthinker]

That's the idea, isn't it? Our church doesn't have a particular understanding of Christianity (other than those issues we've all agreed on). Did I mention we were nondenominational?

So if you're not beholden to a denomination or driven by any authority t conform, why do you not look beyond Christianity for spiritual satisfaction? I'm not challenging, just wondering if you've ever considered it, and if you could describe why you haven't if that's the case.

Because I'm convinced of it. Check this post. I'm not bragging, I'm just saying this is my experience as a Christian. Even in times when I've hit a slump and reverted to my old ways, I've known that what I was doing was the wrong thing and seen consequences from it. I'm not a sadist, I knew what I was putting myself through, and after, I knew I was compelled by Satan to sin.

I've never, since becoming "born again", have completely abandoned Christianity. My faith has often been tested, especially since I've been coming to forums like these, and I've been tempted to give up, but I never have. And because of that, because of perservering through the doubts, I've been given answers, and shared them.

To say I've never doubted Christianity would be a lie.

I'm going on a tangent here, and I'm not at all intending to slight you in any fashion. Your reply was entirely sufficient.

I want to point out something about the nature of your reply. What you've done is stated your condition, not given a reason. You've given the conclusion, not the factors of the argument. It's a common way that we often find ourselves going back and forth on a topic. One side believes that stating the condition is enough, while the other wants to know why that condition is legitimate.

In this case, to understand your condition, I'd really have to know to what your conviction pertains and the factors of Christianity that lead to that conviction.

I believe that you are convinced that Christianity is the most proper way to achieve spiritual satisfaction. I believe you are also convinced that any other route to spiritual satisfaction is not genuine. Beyond that, though, I cannot venture a guess as to the reasons behind your conviction or the process by which you reached your conviction.

For what it's worth, I don't think I'm entitled to that understanding. It's not really even my place to suggest you need it for yourself. But in this environment, that's where discussion often leads.

[realthinker]

That's the idea, isn't it? Our church doesn't have a particular understanding of Christianity (other than those issues we've all agreed on). Did I mention we were nondenominational?

So if you're not beholden to a denomination or driven by any authority t conform, why do you not look beyond Christianity for spiritual satisfaction? I'm not challenging, just wondering if you've ever considered it, and if you could describe why you haven't if that's the case.

Because I'm convinced of it. Check this post. I'm not bragging, I'm just saying this is my experience as a Christian. Even in times when I've hit a slump and reverted to my old ways, I've known that what I was doing was the wrong thing and seen consequences from it. I'm not a sadist, I knew what I was putting myself through, and after, I knew I was compelled by Satan to sin.

I've never, since becoming "born again", have completely abandoned Christianity. My faith has often been tested, especially since I've been coming to forums like these, and I've been tempted to give up, but I never have. And because of that, because of perservering through the doubts, I've been given answers, and shared them.

To say I've never doubted Christianity would be a lie.

I'm going on a tangent here, and I'm not at all intending to slight you in any fashion. Your reply was entirely sufficient.

I want to point out something about the nature of your reply. What you've done is stated your condition, not given a reason. You've given the conclusion, not the factors of the argument. It's a common way that we often find ourselves going back and forth on a topic. One side believes that stating the condition is enough, while the other wants to know why that condition is legitimate.

In this case, to understand your condition, I'd really have to know to what your conviction pertains and the factors of Christianity that lead to that conviction.

I believe that you are convinced that Christianity is the most proper way to achieve spiritual satisfaction. I believe you are also convinced that any other route to spiritual satisfaction is not genuine. Beyond that, though, I cannot venture a guess as to the reasons behind your conviction or the process by which you reached your conviction.

For what it's worth, I don't think I'm entitled to that understanding. It's not really even my place to suggest you need it for yourself. But in this environment, that's where discussion often leads.

[chibiq]

That's the idea, isn't it? Our church doesn't have a particular understanding of Christianity (other than those issues we've all agreed on). Did I mention we were nondenominational?

So if you're not beholden to a denomination or driven by any authority t conform, why do you not look beyond Christianity for spiritual satisfaction? I'm not challenging, just wondering if you've ever considered it, and if you could describe why you haven't if that's the case.

Because I'm convinced of it. Check this post. I'm not bragging, I'm just saying this is my experience as a Christian. Even in times when I've hit a slump and reverted to my old ways, I've known that what I was doing was the wrong thing and seen consequences from it. I'm not a sadist, I knew what I was putting myself through, and after, I knew I was compelled by Satan to sin.

I've never, since becoming "born again", have completely abandoned Christianity. My faith has often been tested, especially since I've been coming to forums like these, and I've been tempted to give up, but I never have. And because of that, because of perservering through the doubts, I've been given answers, and shared them.

To say I've never doubted Christianity would be a lie.

I'm going on a tangent here, and I'm not at all intending to slight you in any fashion. Your reply was entirely sufficient.

I want to point out something about the nature of your reply. What you've done is stated your condition, not given a reason. You've given the conclusion, not the factors of the argument. It's a common way that we often find ourselves going back and forth on a topic. One side believes that stating the condition is enough, while the other wants to know why that condition is legitimate.

In this case, to understand your condition, I'd really have to know to what your conviction pertains and the factors of Christianity that lead to that conviction.

I believe that you are convinced that Christianity is the most proper way to achieve spiritual satisfaction. I believe you are also convinced that any other route to spiritual satisfaction is not genuine. Beyond that, though, I cannot venture a guess as to the reasons behind your conviction or the process by which you reached your conviction.

For what it's worth, I don't think I'm entitled to that understanding. It's not really even my place to suggest you need it for yourself. But in this environment, that's where discussion often leads.

My reason... well, to explain it right would mean going into some really personal information about myself. Ok, I'll take a couple examples. Here's one..

About a month ago, I was on the job with a coworker who is a bit of a womanizer, and he was checking out women and getting me to agree with him on how fine they were. I started doing the same, and it got down to us saying what we would do to certain women with the chance. So after a long day, we finally got back to the office, punched the clock, and I tried to start my car but it wouldn't start.

It was out of gas. Now, that morning I had prayed, not to get to work or to have enough gas, but an all-encompassing prayer I try to get through every morning before work that always cheers me up throughout the day.

I got to work with absolutely no indication that I would run out of gas (other than the needle that was making friends with the E, that I usually ignore anyway). I must've had just enough to sit in the parking lot for 2 minutes, listening to the rest of a song while I finished my breakfast. After that, there wasn't enough to allow the engine to start.

You can call it a coincidence, but I have things like this happen to me all the time. I sin, and something goes wrong, whether it be monetary or just inconveniences. When I don't sin, everything is right.

To push my point further, here's one more that I wasn't going to share. I recently stopped going to church, and missed a whole month, just because it was inconvenient. It only took a week and a half for me to go back to before I became a Christian (old habits). On the third week I believe, we received a call from an out-of-state aunt saying my uncle was in the hospital and it's possible that he might not make it.

Being the only male of the family that has a nice enough boss to let him off for a week, I was basically volunteered to take the trip, with no pay for those three days, plus the expenses that came out of my bank account for the trip. I would never complain about it, but to say it wasn't inconvenient would be a lie.

As soon as I got there, I went straight to the chapel in the hospital and prayed, first repenting, then for my uncle (visiting hours were over, my uncle was asleep). After that, my uncle started recovering and was ready to go home the next day (they had to keep him under observation, but other than that, he was fine).

The hospital he was at before referred him to the hospital he was in at that time, because it was a more advanced facility and had more experienced personnel, and they said that a blood clot the size that he had in his leg usually doesn't go away that fast. In his doctor's words: "someone must've been praying". I almost rolled my eyes when he said it because like most people, when I hear something like that, my natural reaction is like "Oh please. You're a doctor, you don't mean that.". But I just nodded instead. It felt good, regardless if he was sincere or not.

Completely true stories, and I have hundreds of them, because they happen quite often. It sounds like karma, but it's what the Bible said to expect.