Believe!

Before we move on, let me describe the lay of the land.  The number of Christian denominations is so vast that experts cannot agree on exactly how many there are.  Sadly, each of them believes that they alone are doctrinally correct and, conversely, that all the others fail to measure up. What that means is that, no matter what I write here, there are folks who will disagree with me. I have neither the desire nor the educational background to address those disagreements. What I am writing here, is a description of my personal experience; this is strictly a layman’s effort to authenticate what I have learned throughout my lifetime; with much of that insight having been developed very recently.  I am recording my experience, in hopes that it will assist you in deciding that Christianity is the sole (valid) means of having a personal relationship with a creator, redeemer, and eternal God.

Before we look at the following paragraph (it is actually a list), I would like to ask those of you who doubt, or just outright disbelieve, to indulge me; to stick with me.  Exercise enough curiosity to see where I am going with this.  I will try to remain on point; to be both brief and concise.  This list defines the core beliefs of Christianity, as I understand them. Looking ahead at what I have written, I notice that the very concept of Christianity is complex. That reminds me of C.S. Lewis, who made the same observation and concluded that anything as complex as Christianity is unlikely to have been simply “made up”; especially considering that the details of Christianity, as we know it, unfolded over thousands of years. I am not using that complexity as an argument for authenticity, I am simply pointing it out. I found that it helped me to keep that idea in the back of my mind as I attempted to unwind the Christian faith.

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