To: Christian newsgroup, (AOL)
From: tyagi nagasiva ('ElvenMage')
Subj: Christianity (9410.chrstty.tn)
Date: 49910xxx
Quoting: |"SteveJ"


|Do you, Elvenmage, believe that Jesus is the lord God almighty, who was 
|born of a virgin and died, as a blood payment, for all mankinds 
|transgressions against God? 
|
|Have you, Elvenmage, before God and the host of heaven repented of your 
|sins and enter into covenant with the lord God almighty? 
|
|Have you, Elvenmage, renounced all claims to godhood and turned your back 
|on the gods of this world and faced the one true God, YahWeh?
|
|You see its Jesus who is my lord and master now. I'm about to embark on a 
|marvelous journey of unimaginable delights, for I am seeking the deeper 
|meanings of God as revealed in the Bible. 
|
|You claim to be a brother in Jesus, if so walk with me and learn with me. 
|With God there are no limits to what he has in store for those who obey him.

Hmmmmmmmm.  Well this may be very difficult to make clear, but here goes...

I'm aware of no way that anyone can evaluate another's faith through 
writings alone.  I could type anything I wanted and you would have no clue 
regarding my soul or the state of its salvation.

I think the same can be said for actions.  The form of the actions say 
absolutely nothing about the relationship I may have with God. There are 
Christians who say exactly what you asked me to say in your posting and are 
headed straight to Hell right now.  They either don't mean what they are 
saying or they don't understand it.

Those qualifications expressed...

I think that Christianity is more a tradition of the Heart than of the Mind.  
Belief, therefore, is largely irrelevant and has become a tool of the 
political, used to enslave the minds and bodies of those who would walk the 
virtuous path.  When you ask me what I believe, please know that I don't 
claim beliefs.   

Christianity involves a faith in God that transcends belief or concepts 
generally, regardless of their supposed 'accuracy'.

I DO, however, feel that there is much truth in the ideas you asked about.  
That Jesus and God are One inseparable Truth.  That Mary was Virgin.  That 
Jesus's death was a Sacrifice in response to sin.  AND that Jesus rose 
again, was reborn unto Earth and Heaven (which you didn't seem to mention).

While I don't think I believe these things as you do, I do find value and 
truth in them as ideas.  Now it gets tricky.  

In September, 1991 I'll be taking monastic vows.  At that time I will 
formally make a covenant to God.  Yet I feel as though I'm living them 
already.  My actions often conform to the vows.  I'm learning more and more 
about how to perfect them. Obedience, Charity, Chastity and Humility 
before God are tricky orders to fill.

That last question of yours is the most difficult.  I tend to dislike 
sectarianism in all its forms.  I have a hard time understanding what you 
mean by 'the one true God, Yahweh'.  I've been told that Satan masks Himself 
as a Creator-god and lords his dominion over all those who don't seek the 
One.  I've experienced God AS love.  The way you state your question I'm 
unsure regarding my answer.

Since I don't know what godhood IS, then I don't have any claims to it.  
Since I don't often see the 'gods of this world' then I don't need to 
'turn my back on them'.  As long as by Yahweh you don't mean some evil, 
twisted torturer of lost souls; you mean that God Who loves All, Who is 
the Self of selves, then yes, I face that God as much as possible.  In 
fact I love Him dearly.

Does this make us brothers now?  
If so, I caution your use of the words you used in your posting.  Most 
people don't understand them and you may sin if you condemn them when they 
misunderstand you.  I shall continue to ask questions so as to make 
evident the Truth that God has placed before us.

Blessed Be, my brother.  May She that protects and comforts grace the 
difficult roads you may tread...

tyagi