If you clicked the link to this page, you're likely one of two types with regard to my beliefs. You either agree emphatically, or you think that I'm a nut case. Regarding the former, I hope so. Regarding the latter, that's fine with me, too. Frankly, I don't care how you feel about my beliefs, whoever you are.
 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I'm a Christian. I was raised in the Catholic church but didn't find God, outside of the Catholic church, until college. I have a positive view of Catholics, but I think they've missed the mark on a few points. Regardless, they are my brothers and sisters in Christ. Regarding Christians in general, I believe there are many who identify with Christianity but are far from a meaningful relationship with God. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to Mexico makes you a Mexican.

LONGER VERSION

I believe there is a God. This much has been obvious, to all but idiots, since the beginning of time. I believe that God is in the business of creating life. He created mine, as a little spirit, and planted it in the body of a little baby, still in a mother's womb, sometime in the late summer or fall of 1962. That young mother, whom I call "mom", gave birth to that baby with my spirit in it, in March 1963. From that point on, me the spirit, and me the body, have been inseparable and virtually indistinguishable. Going forward in this narrative, unless otherwise indicated, references to "me" or "I" mean the both of us. 

So here I was, a little spirit created by God, occupying a little body here on earth. This had to have been very confusing to me. There was so much happening in such a short time - creation by God, implantation in a little body in a dark liquid environment, transition to a dry, bright environment, breathing, and all of those crazy body parts. I was virtually helpless in that little body and didn't know what to do with it, but my mom and dad helped me figure it out. I learned so many things, I developed a sense of right and wrong, and I learned how to interact with others. These thoughts, beliefs, and characteristic behaviors were influenced by my spirit and my body. This is called my soul. The body, the spirit, and the soul became me.    

At first, I assume, I identified more with the spirit part of me than with the body part of me. Initially, my understanding of who, and what, I was, was probably pretty clear. I was a spirit created by God! This changed quickly as I adapted to an environment which was focused on my body in every way. Deep down, perhaps subconsciously, I had to have known that I was like my creator in most ways. On the other hand, I was also so obviously different. One important difference being this - unlike my creator, I had a tendency towards sin from the get-go. I didn't understand, or remember, that God rejects sin like oil rejects water. Unbeknownst to me, with my very first sin I separated myself from God. Even worse, I didn't realize that sin of any kind, even the tiniest sin, comes with the death penalty, every single time. Thus is the nature of being a human. 

At first, thousands of years ago, God allowed people to pass this death penalty for sin on to animals. Later, long before I was born, God provided a better solution. He provided a person who was willing and able to take on the death penalty for anyone's sin, facilitating the restoration of their relationship with God. This becomes critically important when the body, occupied by a spirit and soul for years, finally dies. Of course, the person provided by God, was in fact, God himself. He came to earth, much like me, in the body of a little baby. This baby, unlike me, was conceived by him alone. Given that the consequences of separation from God are really bad, to say the least, God's solution was, easily, the greatest thing of all time. It comes with only one condition. One that is hardly unreasonable - simply recognizing it for what it is and accepting it. 

I made this recognition years ago, while in college. Doing so didn't magically stop me from being a sinner, though. That's always going to be a part of me and I'm guilty of sin on a daily basis. Nevertheless, God forgives me every single time. Why? Because he knows my heart. He knows that I totally understand that I'm a sinner, that I feel bad about it, that I mean to do better, and that I'm so very grateful for the Savior he's sent for me. He knows that I'm looking forward to seeing Him again. He's keenly aware of my thoughts and actions, which are, most often, good. Good thoughts and actions are not the source of my salvation, but they reveal that which is within my mind and my heart. He knows that I get it. 

I'm not in the business of saving souls; only God can do that. However, I do feel the need to tell you, whoever you are, that, sometime in the future, very possibly at a time that you least expect, nothing in your life will be more important than affirming your positive relationship with God. It happened to me twice in 2020. The first time, I woke up in an ambulance after a motorcycle accident. The second time, I woke up in the ICU of a hospital and was told that I'd been in a coma for 2 weeks. Neither incident established my faith - they both confirmed it. I'm not quite ready to go, but I have no fear of death. I'm entirely confident of my relationship with God and what's going to happen when that time comes. It's going to be just fine for me. It could be the same for you. If you don't have this same confidence, or if you think that death is too far away for you to give it much thought, I encourage you to reconsider your situation.     
 

WHY CHRISTIANITY?

Certainly, I'm not a scholar of world religions. I'm hardly a scholar of anything. Moreover, my brain was rattled furiously on the pavement of a public street. I enjoy telling people that the EMTs scraped my brains off the street with a pancake turner and tucked them back into my head with chop sticks, but this makes my wife angry. Apparently, she thinks they used swizzle sticks. 

Regardless, what's remaining of my brain tells me a few important things about Christianity that distinguish it from other belief systems. Chiefly among them is our understanding of Jesus Christ, who is God-come-to-earth as described above. He really lived. You might consider that the world's calendar is based on the year of his crucifixion. Other religions recognize him, but not as God. Unlike any figure of any other religion, Jesus rose from the dead. There were witnesses to this, all of whom testified to this fact, recognized Jesus as God, and chose death over denying that any of that is true. They each took notes which are consistent with each other. 

Christianity values human life more than any other belief system. Christianity stresses love for others. Love is a top priority. It teaches service to others, as demonstrated by Jesus (God himself), washing the dirty feet of others. It values marriage, family relationships, respect for others, giving to the poor, and work ethic. It values women very highly. A person might dig through the Bible and extract specific verses that seem to suggest otherwise, but doing so is a sad distortion of the message. Yes, Christians are to hate sin. Then again, Christians are sinners, too. Without a Savior, any sin separates us from God. In general, we're to turn a cheek when wronged, and love others. If you reflect on these values just a little, you understand that this seems more consistent with your understanding of God than any other system.