"What's the least you can believe in and [become] a Christian?"

["What's the least I can believe and still be a Christian?" What a great question! Danny's provocative question prompted me to write a new book, using his question as the title. Part one of the book presents 10 things Christians don't need to believe. In short, Christians don't need to believe in closed-minded faith. For example, Christians don't need to believe that:

• God causes cancer, car wrecks and other catastrophes
• Good Christians don't doubt
• True Christians can't believe in evolution
• Woman can't be preachers and must submit to men
• God cares about saving souls but not saving trees
• Bad people will be "left behind" and then fry in hell
• Jews won't make it to heaven
• Everything in the Bible should be taken literally
• God loves straight people but not gay people
• It's OK for Christians to be judgmental and obnoxious

On the other hand, there are things Christians do need to believe, which is the focus of part two of my book. They need to believe in Jesus -- his life, teachings, example, death and resurrection. A great benefit of these beliefs is that they provide promising answers to life's most profound questions including:

• Who is Jesus?
• What matters most?
• Am I accepted?
• Where is God?
• What brings fulfillment?
• What about suffering?
• Is there hope?
• Is the church still relevant?
• Who is the Holy Spirit?
• What is God's dream for the world?]  emphasis added

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/martin-thielen/whats-the-least-you-can-b_b_811353.html

So people wonder why I say I mainly talk to Jesus and not His Daddy nor to Jesus Christ.  Can't really believe in the old, bearded, angry white dude of GREAT wrath.  As for using the term Christ, Jesus never used it in the Gospels to my knowledge.  Tried to convince a Mormon that Jesus also character of God and therefore worshipped as Son of God and The Christ and could only find in the Gospel of John (chapter 11 or 14, Pastor?  {John10:30)} where He tells the Jews that if they have seen him, they've seen the Father, which they deemed as blasphemous.

Besides, see Jesus' role as the forgiving one, although he did preach brimstone as well as peace and love.  But my job, 'tain't judging but doing, trying to become a christian.  Also don't use capital "C" when calling myself 1.  Google spell check also hates MY spelling.

So do prefer Gospel'n' rather than 'Pistl'n and do take the Old T' with a grain of salt'.

peace

Postscript:  OK, Lord,  I do have a kind of problem with judgmental "Christians" who never fail to condemn other humans to Hell yet I try to not judge them--except for the RepubliKKKan ones.  Hey, I'm working on it so don't damn me!  Don't Damn Me

Well, might as well lay my life out on line if not ON the line.

Heck, people at Campus Crusade for Christ gave me a job in the payroll department for 4 years tolerating for a time my progressive side.  As things go, they eventually let me go so filed for unemployment under the laws of my state of FL.

While a top CCC for Christ official testified in front of the Orange County, FL, county commission, on nature of the corporation as a church resourcing organization in hearing to build their new world center out near Lake Nona on donated land in a very rural area, another testified under oath in a FL Dept of Labor hearing that CCC was a church and therefore did not have to pay unemployment.

After prevailing at the Dept. level ,the Unemployment Appeals Commission, and FL 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, they had to pay me a pittance because of, frankly, my failure to file for weeks claimed.

Now, read the "funny" part.

After a number of years, maybe 10, called my old supervisor--sort of on a 6 step program as still drink beer but at least have refrained recently since May '10 from pouring vodka into the hole in my soul--to tell him how much he'd help me learn about life and not just Jesus but his whole knowledge of the Bible and role as parent and person.

His wife answered the phone and refused to even allow me to leave a voice mail msg.

Still wroth me even after a decade, she judged me, "I don't where you are in your walk with the Lord, but you should never have sued Campus Crusade for Christ!," taking me completely aback.

I kind of looked at it from the "render under to Caesar" thing, something which reasonable christians can disagree on and not judge each other.

If he gives me permission, I will publish his name and staff number for contributions to support his ministry because because I think him a good and decent man, husband, and father even though disagreeing with his politics and biblical exegetics.

Lord, forgive me for this, but you can contribute for his family and mission through searching for his staff #, #0109310.