Christianity

I'm Christian, and actually proud to say so, though many seem offended as soon as that word hits their ears. I'm not one to push anyone away for what they want to believe, because I know the hurt it creates. In my mind, I see everything as a story, deeply written into history, and known, yet unwritten parts, are still to be seen, but as an author, God knows the eventual outcome. Many things seem to differ from the normal views, as many cannot combine evolution with creation, yet to me, I feel that things were made, and perhaps forgotten, or mistranslated, even. I also believe that human error can cause certain parts to be misread. Still, I find reincarnation plausible, as well as a payback for those who deserve it. I've searched everywhere for reasons to believe something, well, believable. I think that I should be able to take from my own experiences, the ideas that others wouldn't dare combine. Many may not consider certain miracles "divine," though I see them all very differently. I don't see my breathing as an uncontrollable pattern. I see it as a gift, that I can do it at all. I see living as a gift to beings of the earth, though every living creature is undeserving. I question how humans are built into such an intelligence to make them wonder, or how they can form ideas for storybooks, and have complex emotions from the workings of a few electrical impulses. Sure, science can say "this point is activated by the stimulation of this point," but it isn't enough for me. I have to ask why the point is there, and how only space would form the love, the hatred, and the simple pleasures of life at all. I was raised believing simple Christianity. Basically, you don't repent, there's hell. That's it. I did change religions along the way. I was all into regular Christianity, didn't think about evolution without feeling guilty, and tried to be good. I then dealt with the aches of depression and thought that God couldn't exist. It took me a couple of years, but the warmth of religion reminded me that it wasn't what hurt me, though I treated it like it was. Turning back to it, I realized that I felt differently about it, though not negatively. My ideals aren't what normal Christians take in happily, though it keeps my heart in a good place. I can calm down and not worry about every little thing as if someone's trying to scold me for all that I do. I thought you might want one of these views, but if you don't, that's alright too. [No, it's perfectly welcome!]

- Jen, 20, OK