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indivisibleman

(482 posts)
9. I was first drawn to Christianity in the late 70s
Fri Sep 12, 2014, 07:01 AM
Sep 2014

because of a strong personal interest in the claimed power being attributed to the scriptures and the apocalyptic narrative. For some time I enjoyed the acceptance of the group and the topics of discussion but didn't understand what all the personal zeal was about nor where it came from.
One Sunday I made a decision to ask Christ to be a part of my life upon invitation of the pastor. I received a sudden understanding of some of the scriptures during the sermon in which it was actually like having my eyes opened. I know this sounds weird but I found myself suddenly outside of my body in a place of total peace but I didn't see anything specific. There was like a diffused light and an intense feeling of security and peace. This lasted but a few minutes at the most. Immediately after this experience my interest in the end days completely left me.
In the years following I saw how the ideas of Christ's imminent return and end times obsession led people into foolish ways of thinking that led more and more toward an irrational approach to every aspect of their life. They could no longer rely upon their own wishes and desires and were always deferring toward what they thought God was telling them to do or what God was doing in their life.
To answer your question I experienced Christ as a living person during that conversion period. After that one moment there were no other encounters. Everything I came to know about Christ, who he supposedly was and how he interacts with the world came to me through church teaching and reading the Bible and various Christian books.
The church itself changed a lot over the next 20 years. It became more and more political in nature and less and less compassionate for people in general. I eventually left the church entirely in about 2001 as it was actually interfering with my ability to live out my "walk with God". I also found that what I had been promised for so many years, an "abundant life" and a "joyous life" were not only absent for me but also for most people around me. So many people were miserable with a big smile on their face and they didn't even know it.
I continue to be a Christian and am quite secure and dedicated to what I see as Christ's directives and cause. Expecting the end of the world is entirely counter-productive to working for the betterment of the world. "thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven" are the words we are given. This speaks to the idea of being Christ's hands and feet on earth now and not looking for someone else to do the work we have been given. Care for the poor, feed the hungry, walk in humility.
Christ's resurrection isn't anything I draw from or rely upon past the moment of my conversion. It is a display of God's unconditional love and his gift to all men. Once received I no longer go back again and again to take what has already become mine.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

If you're asking if my religion informs the way I live, the answer is "yes". Fortinbras Armstrong Aug 2014 #1
Presence. rug Aug 2014 #2
+1 hrmjustin Aug 2014 #3
Presence in spirit. Do not believe in millennial scenarios. northoftheborder Aug 2014 #4
Me either. rug Aug 2014 #5
What is "spirit"? Htom Sirveaux Aug 2014 #7
yes northoftheborder Aug 2014 #8
I almost see a "living Jesus" and the resurrection as two separate experiences. Thav Aug 2014 #6
I was first drawn to Christianity in the late 70s indivisibleman Sep 2014 #9
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