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Alright, great feedback. I'm really glad some Christians replied to this post. I'll give a brief summary of what I believe and what I don't like about organized religion/Christianity. Then maybe you can clarify some things that I don't understand about it.

I do believe in God, I even believe in Jesus to some extent. Do I believe that Jesus is the the son of God? well yes, I believe that we all are, but the direct "Avatar" of God, defiantly not. I believe that if he did exist, he was probably a spiritual leader trying to spread a message of equality among everyone, in a time when people were taught that their emperor WAS God and they were his property.

I don't believe in the stories of Jesus using magic powers, I know that if he did exist he was just a man. I do however believe in the teachings of Jesus. Whether they are teachings of a single man, or if they are the culmination of wisdom that has been gathering over many years by many people, it doesn't matter to me. Specifically his message of love and having faith in God, which is just another way of telling people to have faith in themselves.

I really love the question "what would Jesus do" I believe that "behaving like Jesus" (you know what I mean) is actually the right path for humans to take and that it is the most direct and "right" path on our course of evolution as individuals and as a species.

When it comes down to it, I don't care if Jesus was really around or not. I only care about the message of Jesus.

From what I know about Christianity so far, if you don't believe that Jesus IS God and that he was nailed to the cross for our sins (I honestly have to Idea what that even means, I believe that if he was crucified then it was because the romans just wanted to shut him up) then you are not a Christian.

I also don't understand why it seems that religion is always trying to make people feel guilty for being human. I will never feel guilty for anything I have done, unless I have wronged someone. Specifically in this case, the problem is SEX. She tells me that Christians aren't supposed to have sex unless they are married, and that when we do have sex she later feels a great deal of guilt. That REALLY bothers me, because I LOVE sex. I will never feel bad for having sex with someone I care about, whether we are married or not. This being an INFP forum, it should be obvious to everyone what sex means to me, and how important a part of my life it is, I think you can all relate.

I know I'm not in love with her yet, but I know I will be if things continue. INFJs have a special place in my heart, there's something about them that makes me feel very safe, secure, and at home. My last relationship was with an INFJ, so I am aware how things can quickly snowball to the point of no return.

Before we started dating I had already borrowed a bible from her just out of my own curiosity. I have also agreed to go to church with her. I have gone to church in the past and I did enjoy myself, like someone previously said, it's not so bad listening to someone talk about how great it is to be nice to people.

But am I correct in assuming that my beliefs are still too different to ever be considered "Christian"?

yeah you are right, and we have had the discussion about my beliefs a few times. Unfortunately I became somewhat defensive because she is rather "fundie" even though we have sex (not sure how to interpret that). I keep shaking my fist at Dann and his damn clothespin smile, because my gut tells me that his post not only hit the bullseye, but it split the arrow... damn you Dann, damn you!.... *sigh*

bromide said:

@EyeEnEffPee you need to talk to her about what your beliefs are. There are many different types of Christians; some are easy going, open-minded and flexible, others are fundamentalists, and I'm talking world-was-made-6000-years-ago-birth-control-is-evil-everyone-but-me-is-going-to-hell fundies. I have no idea where your girlfriend falls into this spectrum, but if sex makes her feel guilty and she thinks your religion not meshing with hers is a deal breaker, there's a good chance that she's more on the conservative side. You need to have an open discussion with her about your differences in beliefs and ask her frankly if that's something that she will be able to adapt to. It's much better to find this out less than two months into a relationship rather than get a divorce over it or whatever.

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