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mexico mission trip
ive been a christian my entire life up until now, jsut before my whole life i gew up in the church, and thats how i was taught. now that im older i started to look into spirituality a little deeping and ive found that what i belive isnt really christianity. im going on a mexico missions trip with my youth group in a few weeks, we're goign to tijuana to build houses and work with teh kids. i've been twice, and its always a erally spiritual experience, i guess im kind of scared that i will fall back into how i was before, just because of all the pressure from everyone else, how do i stay clear from this, without not going on the trip?
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Want to answer more questions in the Miscellaneous category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Spirituality?
Alright, lets lay some ground for this answer. What I believe in is raw morality. No spirituality. You do the right thing because you believe in your heart that it's right, not because god say's it is, or any other deity you so choose to follow. Murder is wrong because it's an awful thing to do, as decreed by common sense, not by god. If god came down all of a sudden and said that murder was acceptable, what would you believe? You'd lose some faith in your all merciful deity now wouldn't you? That's because the law is the law regardless of what god says. You're being given an opportunity to go and build houses for people in tijuana, and they're a beautiful people, I happen to know people that go on these trips. Don't go on the trips to preach, go on them because helping these people is the right thing to do. And hey, if you ever find yourself in Tijuana, running from the cops, you've got a friend in the Mexicans. If you want more on the whole morality bit, give me an email, and I can reccomend some more columnists that can point you in the right direction. I don't know why when you asked this question people felt the need to educate you on Islamic and Christian beliefs. Being a missionary I'm sure you already knew, and I'm hoping that I helped.
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Maybe it's what you're *supposed* to fall back into. If it's really what you are supposed to do you shouldn't try to avoid it. Go with an open heart and an open mind. Allow God to work in your heart and if you still believe the way you do then move on and don't involve yourself in any more trips such as those. Good luck.
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I notice you don't really mention what you do believe, nor do you mention what you don't like about Christianity.
Some people are taught that certain things are Christian, and because they don't like those things, they don't like Christianity. Some of those things, when examined against what the Bible actually says, end up not being Christian at all.
If you would like to write to me and let me know, what you do believe, and what you dislike about Christianity, maybe you can make a more informed decision, then you won't have to worry about pressure and such. My email is DangerWench@gmail.com
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Yea i was raised christain and i don't believe in it either. I don't think there is a way, if you go back to the old way that's how it was meant. I've never gone back to believing in it but maybe some kid will help you see the light and believe in a different religion or something.
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You said that as you were looking into spirituality deeper, you found that what you believed ended up not really being Christianity. I'm curious....what were you taught?
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well there are 3 MAIN religions that beleive in god and this is what they are......christianity is a religion that says that jesus is the son of God and that he died on the cross to save ppl from sins...Islam(muslims) is a religion that says that there is only one god and he is the creator of heavens and earth and that noone helped him creat this and that he has no sons no wife or anything like that and prophet mohamed(ppbuh) is his messenger, islma has five pillars,which are things you have to do to become a muslim...1) is bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah(god)and that mohamed is the messenger of Allah.2)prayer....this is a very important one if you want to be muslim,muslims pray 5 times a day thanking God for all of the things he has bestowed upon them.3) is giving money to the poor in the month of ramadan.4) is fasting in the holy month of ramadan....ramadan is a month that comes each year and muslims dont eat from like 4 am till 5 pm and god made them do this so they can thank him and be happy that they have food and to feel the hunger of most ppl that dont have any food.5) last thing(this isnt a must if you dont have money) is going to hajj(pilgrimage) its a place you go to to pray and go walk around the ka'bah to ask god for anything you want and to be forgiven....thoes who go there are forgiven from all their sins......muslims are very decent people that shouldnt curse stuff like that(and NO islam is not a terrorist religion....osama bin laden can be a terrorrist but muslims arent...they dont even agree to whats been hapening in iraq and all)muslims also believe in the day of judgment which is a day where everyone will come alive from the dead to be judged about their doings and only Allah creator of this world will judge them.from that day there will be either going to heaven or hell depending on your doings.Allah is very merciful and forgiving like for example if you done something like REALLY bad and you regret it and ask Allah for forgivness he will forgive you,muslims also have signs that prove that the day of judgment is coming closer and that they should start becoming better muslims and scary thing is that most of them have already happened...all i want you to do is visit this website about the miracles of islam the word allah is written in arabic in most places ....[Link](Mouse over link to see full location) and another thing is that muslims are NOT allowed to make fun of christianity or jewish religion its totally sinfull because God said in the holy quran that muslims should have respect for others....even muslim girls....if you have seen that most of them cover their hair it is because Allah wants the muslim woman to be protected by not exposing her body to other men and being a prey of sexuall stuff.well please visit the website i told you about by just cliking on it and on that website you might not get the miracle of the mosque....a mosque is a place where muslims pray....please visit it and if you have any other questions about islam my email is written in my profile marilyn_monroe_4_arabs@hotmail.com (thats also my msn)........
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You can support the others in thier beliefs and still respect them without being pressured into something you don't believe. Just keep an open mind while on this trip and believe what feels right. Hope I helped!
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That shouldn't be too hard. I was raised a Christian too. One thing that I have figured out is that Christ was not starting a new religion. He was trying to reform Judaism. He was a devout Jew and saw his people wandering from their faith and disrespecting their traditions. He was also one of the first women's libbists. He believed that women should be treated equally. So to get to your question; I'm sure that what you and your fellow Christians do believe is that there IS a higher power. There is a Creator of this magnificent life experience we have been granted. In every spiritual belief on this planet that is the core belief. Each religion, in my opinion, was inspired by God to reach each culture and speak to each culture. If you look at all of them they have the same basic core truths. Since Christianity has the same basic core truth as everyone else then it will be no problem to participate and enjoy their views while you are among them, just like it would not be a problem to enjoy and practice Judaism, Muslim, or Hindi if you were visiting w/them. There is a book you might want to p/u sometime called "The Lost Years of Jesus". It tells of Christ traveling to India and studying in a monastery there. They even have record of it. This is a fact that most Christians don't want to acknowledge. Remember, he disappeared when he was 12 after he went to temple and asked questions of his Rabbi there. He reappears when he goes to John the Baptist and is Baptized. My point here is there is a lot to learn from everyone. Something else that you can learn here is that the Mexicans have a beautiful and devout interpretation to Christianity. This is a really excellent opportunity for you to see Christianity from another cultures view. Now that you've investigated other beliefs and learned, you can carry what you learn with you and observe the similarities rather than the differences between Christianity and other roads to God including the Mexicans views. Relax and have fun.
Namaste!
LULABELLE
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