This is a declaration of what I, as a Christian in the UK, believe at this moment. I am new and I think ignorant, but I don’t view that as a hinderance to my faith or believe that my opinions should be discredited on account of it. Jesus instructed us to be like little children. When I think of children, I see them trust without all the facts, they want to understand but accept that they don’t or cannot understand everything, they express their emotions and are authentic. God wants us to be like that. To trust, to be authentic and to accept that we cannot have all the answers.
I haven’t included any references in this blog because these are my beliefs built up throughout my life but considered much more deeply over the last year. I have no firm idea of where I fit within the Christian Church here in Britain and this is the first step towards me trying to figure that out.
I am not trying to upset or discredit anyone directly, but I do wish to state where I sit on the following topics.
Love
God loves us all unconditionally. That means that even though we fall short God loves us. Even when we think someone is not worthy of love, God loves them. What we have is the choice to accept or reject that love. Rejection hurts God just as it hurts us when we are rejected in life. Accepting the offer of that love, acknowledging that we cannot perfectly follow God and need something given by God’s grace to make up the distance leads to salvation. I believe that true love is a beautiful gift from God and that it is perfect between two adults.
Salvation
God bridged the gap between our behaviour and what God expects by being born to a woman as a man named Jesus Christ. Jesus grew up and as a man was baptised and went on to sacrifice himself to redeem us of our sin and allow us to access God’s love and The Kingdom of Heaven.
The Trinity
God exists in three parts but is one being. There is God as The Lord, a parental figure guiding and desiring the best for us acting as both the nurturing and critical parent. There is God as humankind, Jesus the Son of God born by a remarkable woman, Mary, who redeemed us all in the eyes of God. He was able to connect with us on physical level and gave us the Gospels. He taught us how to move past the Old Testament Law so that everyone could come to experience God’s love and grace. Finally, the Holy Spirit, I see this like a child enabling us to be curious, to feel our emotions and God’s presence in the moment. To spur us to action and give us the little push we need to be brave.
Communion
To me the last supper was an invitation for us to remember and thank God for the redemption we were gifted. I think it is a metaphor and that Communion can be celebrated at home with friends over any food or drink not just bread (or wafers) and wine (or grape juice). I think any Christian that believe Jesus came and sacrificed himself through Gods will to save us can lead a ‘communion’ the important part is to thank God for the gifts we have been given.
Organised Religion
Jesus is the head of the Church and any that believe in him have the right to be a member of that Church and spread what is truly fantastic news. We are all priests in that regard. I believe God has gifted some with ability to share the truth of God’s News more effectively than others. I also believe that there is a place for structure particularly as things grow in size. I can’t get away from the fact that Jesus spent a lot of time throwing religious leaders out of their temples though. I think the devil can lay many traps for those in religious authority and that we need to be very careful when considering what is truly important to God and therefore what should be important to us. I do not think anyone should be kept from a position of authority within a Church on grounds of gender identity, sexual orientation, age, race, or any other label. God made all of us in their image. It is ludicrous to pick one label over another. God is the I Am, God is all things, all peoples. To discriminate against a particular label discriminates against a part of God.
That’s all I have in me for now. I really welcome your thoughts, feedback, comments, advice, and most of all your prayers. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I urge you to be polite in your feedback even if you have taken great offence to or been angered by what is written. I am always learning and always willing to listen to those that state their point without hate or malice.
God bless you and keep you,
E.M.
Christianity and Me 