Why am I a Christian?

Hey there, dearie. By the last couple of paragraphs, I found out that I wasn't breathing. [LOL] I know how you feel. Not everyone who was brought up in Christianity remains there. There are a lot of people like that. They fall away and be deceived till their hearts are only filled with what they "feel", when they should have "known". That's because they've rejected the love, and if any one of them reads this piece right now, they would say how empty these words are. But to those who have received the love in grace, this truly touches them, because it is TRUE.

The second last paragraphs shows real compassion. It reminded me why I am in the ministry. Please do tweak this to perfection. Your grammar is good, and plain, and I like it that way. So it's easy to understand. When you edit this, I hope you don't make it into an article. I think this should be a poem instead. I do hope that you intend it to be a real piece, not a flow of thoughts like this. [LOL]

I'm glad you've gotten more than 30 likes. Yay you! But I can see that you've liked it yourself... When my piece gets to five or eight likes, I like it myself, too! C'mon! Why wouldn't we take advantage of being featured and getting all the reviews we can get to improve, right? It isn't a crime. *wink* Plus, YWS lets us.

Forever in Yeshuah HaMashiach,
Jash ♥

Yes! Amen, I'm tired of people making stereotypes about Christians. Finally someone wrote something like this, I love it. This made me reflect on my faith, and I'm glad you wrote this, I love being a Christian, yes, sometimes people make fun of you, or call you names, but in the end, once I die, I know that I'm going to a place where I won't hear that stuff anymore. Thank you so much for this. It was written very well and I can tell you are a great Christian and you're not one of the ones that make us look bad. Thank you again. Good luck writing more in the future. I hope to see more of your writings on here. May you be shielded form Writer's Block.

To put it in short, this is mediocre, to be honest. The simple inclusion of a religion should not preclude writing quality. This does not necessarily say anything about your skill as a writer, as clearly you focused more on the inclusion of your religion than other aspects. However, this is not a review, per se. This is a heartfelt warning.

Because Christians are people who intentionally search out the worst part of their city they can find, and they walk down streets that have been deserted for fear of murder and rape and hospital visits, and they are not harmed, because they see the gang walking towards them and they don't run in fear, but walk forward saying "I love you. Can we pray together?"

And I apologize about this double post, but do not like your own work. That is shameful. I wish people were not allowed to do this, or just didn't do it in general.

We talked about your writing before and I told you my thoughts in detail.

Right now this is entirely self centric and hardly steps out of the "animepup" world; the words are hollow to me, the identity behind them puts me off, and is otherwise not interesting and particularly boring.

It would be a great sign of progress if a year from now you can look back and realize what this piece is really saying and what you could have said. As of now this is basically an op-ed someone would send into a tiny Oklahoma village newspaper and pin on their wall in the kitchen before dinner of cold beans and chicken with mashed potatoes. That interesting.

You have to remove yourself from your writing and then insert what you learn about yourself, not the other way around. Otherwise we can't even begin to start in writing, much less live in the world.

Amen! You really hit the nail on the head! I hope God uses you and this document to witness to people. It was really good! God bless you!

This is so beautiful! It's like what I've been trying to get across to everyone who looks at me strangely because of my beliefs, except spelled out on the screen. (I was going to say 'on paper' there, but it wouldn't have been entirely accurate, so ...)
An awesome, absolutely true 'rant' that I wish I could say out loud to a lot of people!
God bless you a thousand times over!
- Ignis

Why am I not a Christian?

This is awesome! And so true! I love it!

this is pretty amazing. Im not exactly sure what "Christianese" is but i think that i pretty much think that all the "Christians" around me are fluent in it. thanks for this post, you made my day.

This is one of the best piece of writing I've seen today!!! I LOVED IT! There aren't words to describe how true this is. And, the even greater thing, is that there are millions and millions, and an infinite amount of reasons why people are Christians. The list goes on and on, and NEVER EVER stops!!! I really believe, nothing really big that needs changing at all. Although, I do agree with this statement from Formslipper:
"RELIGION, as it is, is Man's way of trying to reach God, but Christianity is different. Christianity is God's way of reaching man."

I think, you maybe should show us how GOD is the one in your heart, He made you like this, and THAT'S why you want to show kindness.
My favorite stanza in this entire thing was when you talked about Christians being fearless to walk down any road, filled with murderers, rapists, gangs, etc. And saying, "I love you." WOW, that describes us perfectly!! Although, I think you should definitely give ALL the credit to Jesus. That's the difference between our religion, (Christianity) and a lot of others!
Don't take it to heart what the other reviewers who can't stand your work have to say. They're just stating their personal opinion......it's different for everyone!
Thank you again for your fabulous work!!

This just really moved me. I just feel like you've given me a whole new view of the world and our society. Thank you so much for writing this.

Everything you said, you spoke from my mouth. Love it.

Hey there, whoever posted this! Nice job; great connection!

Listen up, though. I love the Lord with my whole being, and I love to proclaim his salvation, but I strongly believe that you have done this in the wrong way.

Here it goes-
You described Christianity as being spiritual highs, worshipful singing, and sisterliness/brotherliness between believers, which is great! However, most religions of the world describe this sort of happiness as being their ultimate goal, which takes away from the fact that Christ is the only way to the Father.

RELIGION, as it is, is Man's way of trying to reach God, but Christianity is different. Christianity is God's way of reaching man.

When we leave it up to works and connection and spiritual highs, then we forget Jesus (it becomes about us). Jesus was a human who obeyed in perfect accordance to the moral law, which we could never hope to do through works. You, however, related our following of Christ to community service, which anyone could do:

Why am I a Christian?

Because Christians are people who intentionally search out the worst part of their city they can find, and they walk down streets that have been deserted for fear of murder and rape and hospital visits, and they are not harmed, because they see the gang walking towards them and they don't run in fear, but walk forward saying "I love you. Can we pray together?"

Why am I a Christian?

Because I know people who can look at you and say just what you've been needing to hear, even if you've only known each other for all of five minutes.

Why am I a Christian?

Because when the music starts playing and people start singing and shouting and dancing I can't help but smile. Because when I let myself go, there is an euphoria waiting that's better than any drug (not that I'd know, because I hate drugs) and there's no worrying about self-harm or memory blanks or morning afters because this is a spiritual high, and because the people around you will catch you if you fall to the ground and cover you with a blanket.

The thing is, this could apply to any religion. I understand the frustration with the Christian-hating -- I used to be Christian, and felt the same way you do. However, now that I've tried out different religions, I've found that there's love and understanding and companionship in many of them. I'm currently Buddhist, and I believe this is where I will stay. I feel like I could quote most of your piece to my parents, who are not okay with me not being Christian.

This piece can more broadly cover any personal belief -- "This is why I believe what I do." And that is the beautiful thing. Religion is intensely personal, and when you find what fits you, magic occurs.

*sigh*....I really hate these pieces...I really do. For two reasons. One they generally use EXTREMELY simple language and require EXTREMELY little thought to write. Second it implies that Christians are somehow being attacked. I'm sorry. You're christian and you live in Texas. You are not going to be discriminated against because you are a christian. For god's sake you live in a state where the governor told it's citizens to PRAY for the drought to end. But I can't keep raving on about the absolute ridiculousness of this paper's topic, time to get to business! *cracks knuckles*

First of all in your spoiler, what the hell is christianese? I have never heard that in my life. And as a former christian who went to church every sunday I'm sure I would've heard at least once or twice. You do give a link to it but to be honest i find alot of these sayings spot on. Though I do disagree with some things, I've heard Christians, especially very passionate ones, use phrases like "I need to pray", "I don't mean to judge but...", and several others on the list. Once again you live in Texas so you probably don't realize how limited your worldview is in terms of different kinds of people. Mark Waltz lives in Maine and he gets experience with alot more groups of people then the average white, christian, flag-waving, texan-american does. You also say in the spoiler that

We need real words! We need plain language! We need people looking us in the face and saying things so fiercely and passionately that we can't help but pay attention.

Why am I a Christian?

Because when the music starts playing and people start singing and shouting and dancing I can't help but smile. Because when I let myself go, there is an euphoria waiting that's better than any drug (not that I'd know, because I hate drugs) and there's no worrying about self-harm or memory blanks or morning afters because this is a spiritual high, and because the people around you will catch you if you fall to the ground and cover you with a blanket.

Why am I a Hindu?

Because when the music starts playing and people start singing and shouting and dancing I can't help but smile. Because when I let myself go, there is an euphoria waiting that's better than any drug (not that I'd know, because I hate drugs) and there's no worrying about self-harm or memory blanks or morning afters because this is a spiritual high, and because the people around you will catch you if you fall to the ground and cover you with a blanket.

Why am I a Atheist?

Because when the music starts playing and people start singing and shouting and dancing I can't help but smile. Because when I let myself go, there is an euphoria waiting that's better than any drug (not that I'd know, because I hate drugs) and there's no worrying about self-harm or memory blanks or morning afters because this is a spiritual high, and because the people around you will catch you if you fall to the ground and cover you with a blanket.

YES.

This is what it's all about.

Grabbed me. Amazing.

I've never had what people would call a conventional strong faith. I haven't been to church in years because my parents speak "Christianese" and my mom has been critized many times by churches and people claiming to be true "Christians".
But I've been through so much in my life I have to believe in God. I believe in Heaven, and in miracles (My sisters and I are called "the miracle babies"). I love that I'll never be expected to bite off more than I can chew, and that there is someone always looking out for me. I've read this several times and I like it more each time. It's different and refreshing. Good for you! You're starting to change my view of church.

This is a good piece, don't get me wrong. But I have to say that it's absurd to me. I mean, I spent 12 years believing in god. I spent 12 years reading the bible over and over, always trying to be better, always trying to reach out to a god I couldn't see. Not once did I ever feel like I was enough. I always felt like my sins were so overwhelming. Each time I lied, or did somethng I shouldn't, I felt terrible. And even though I knew I was doing good at times, I always had this nagging feeling that I could never say, stand up to a gang, or really "give myself" to god the way I was supposed to. Now, I am an athiest. and I have never felt like a better person before. I feel like I can do good. I feel so much less selfish, and I trust myself to do the right thing. there were alot of good morals in Christianity, and they certianly had a lasting effect on me, but there was always too much pressure of being perfect. there was always what we could and could not do. now I am free to do whatevr I want. and in that freedom, I can Choose good, and not feel like I have to do it. I feel like I'm doing it because I am a good person, not because some man who created the earth told me I should be.

"It is ironic how we spend our entire life hating what we are forced to do, but when given a choice to be free, we choose what we have known all our lives."

another thing.... I don't think that anyone in thier right mind would go up to a gang and say "I love you. Let's pray."

miracles happen everywhere, that doesn't mean that God was the one who had to have made them happen. My father died three times. his heart literally stopped beating. and he came back, each time. You mean to tell me it was God's will that he survived? do you mean that it was also God's will that he nearly died in the first place?

a friend once said to me, "IS it God who made the gangs?" is it god who made guns? it was not god, you will say. you will say that these people lost thier way from the word of god. but, God supposedly created us. he knew very well that giving us intelligence would lead us to things he did not want. maybe he believed he had enough influence to keep everyone in the right place. well, he didn't. he Couldn't stop Osama Bin Laden, he couldn't stop Hitler, he couldn't stop every single rapist and murderer and every single insane person who raged and hurt and engulfed themselves in vanity and greed.

this is mostly just a personal rant. I do thin that the way you set this up is good, and I can tell you strongly believe in what you say. all i can say is make sure you dont say that is for everyone. because it's not. some people just don't have the will to believe. the will to have faith.

great job on being featured, and Im glad you can put YOUR belief out there without having your head ripped off about it. Congrats, honestly.

I like it. This shows the better side of religion.

Okay so when I read the title I was totally ready for something for anti-Christian and anti-religion, so I was pleasantly surprised. While I myself am not overly religious I do have faith and beliefs. Basically: Your title draws people in. Kudos!

First my little literary tips!

"Because Christians are people who intentionally search out the worst part of their city they can find, and they walk down streets that have been deserted for fear of murder and rape and hospital visits, and they are not harmed, because they see the gang walking towards them and they don't run in fear, but walk forward saying "I love you. Can we pray together?""

To make this flow better you could break it up into more than one sentence, I stumbled over this part

Also the part about the bird and the black and white really threw me off and confused me. Maybe you could re-word it or go a little more in depth.

Anywho!
I totally agree with you about the "Christianese" thing. There are a lot of people who have mad hate and claim to be Christian (ex. groups who say God hates gays or the groups that protest soldier's funerals-it's more than just Christians I know) I'm always hearing about the Christians who hate, which is backwards to me because God loves everyone so why would followers of Christ hate anyone? Being a Christian myself-for the most part at least, I was raised Mormon actually-I'm used to getting weird looks or comments when I tell people my faith-ESPECIALLY in college.

I like that you wrote this because it made me think "THAT is what faith is about, people who love each other and love God and just LOVE."

Snaps for you:)

I liked the rhythm you had going with the "Why am I a Christian?" followed by a paragraph or a few sentences. This almost felt like a free style poem to me just because it lacks the tradition story elements of a character, setting, beginning, middle, end, blah blah blah. But writing is whatever you want it to be so it doesn't really matter. I guess my point is it was somewhat poetic, which I liked!

I think if you just clean up some of the confusing parts it would help. And you can tell it is very stream-of-consiouness because it all seems to be in one breath and almost rambling. It's not bad, just somewhat overwhelming when reading. When you edit try slowing it down, imagine how you would read it out loud, what parts of the sentence you want to have impact. Pick out the main point of the paragraph and emphasize it.

Swell job!

-RL

Great piece! I enjoyed reading it! I don't know if anyone caught this because I didn't read their reviews, but anyway, Morning afters should say Mornings After. I know how confusing it can be for things like that, but you make the object plural.

Well, hello there, beautiful.
Someone said that "Christian" is actually derogatory, and I think that's quite true. Saying instead that you are a "follower of Christ" is more descriptive and doesn't have the bad connotations that "Christian" does. I always forget, though, so...
You write good stuff about your faith, I've found. It's refreshing.
I can't say I've ever been where you are in my faith; I'm more of a curl-up-in-a-ball-and-cry sorta guy and while I've heard of people having visions I've not put much into it. That being said, I'm sure there are people who have visions, and I'm definitely certain there are demons about.
I can attest to having people tell me things that apply directly to what I'm going through, I am never short of tissues, either, for some reason.
Anyway, I liked this. It was hard to read, but part of that's because I'm still lying to myself.
Keep it up.

Jesus power! I felt it all the way through, best thing I've read today! Keep Writing!

Yes, yes, YES. I love it! Sometimes, people make an opinion about Christians before even getting to know us. But we're more than just soft-spoken people who walk around saying, "God bless." I mean, sure, there's that, but Christianity is so much more! I love how you came across in this, and I thought your words were true. This was upbeat and honest, and I liked how you said what needed to be said- forget what non- Christians think (thought) about our faith! Does that make any sense? Probably not in the way I intended... but maybe you got the point. Good. This was a fresh new way to speak about why we believe. Thanks for writing this! Oh, and a *like* and *follow* for you.

HaydenSmith wrote:One word:

AMEN!

Hey, hey Ani.

I love you so much right now that it's not even funny, and this won't be much of a review, but I felt inclined to say something about it. xD Starting with: I adored this piece, and of course, since I'm a Christian, I agree with it. oo" (That's more than natural, right?)

My very, very favorite part was this:

Because when the music starts playing and people start singing and shouting and dancing I can't help but smile. Because when I let myself go, there is an euphoria waiting that's better than any drug (not that I'd know, because I hate drugs) and there's no worrying about self-harm or memory blanks or morning afters because this is a spiritual high, and because the people around you will catch you if you fall to the ground and cover you with a blanket.

I liked it a lot. It really strung a chord with me, even if I am not a Christian. We all should be proud of our religion and be real instead of giving up these false words. We should comfort people with reality and be passionate instead of passiveness. I like it a lot. Stay strong.

I love it.

One word:

AMEN!

Er, this may just be me being dumb, but what exactly is Christianese anyway? I have never heard of it before.

I am not quite certain of this... this may be because I am a horrible, skeptical person, but I never really considered being Christian as having visions and the like, so while I was reading this, I was a bit confused and I wondered, "What exactly do these visions have to do with the identity as a Christian?" And then the euphoric highs and everything. I mean, I can how the love part has to do with being a Christian because being a Christian means that you are commanded to love, despite everything. But, I am not quite sure with how losing yourself to music in euphoria, for example, is Christian... I play music in concerts frequently and I am lost in the music, but some of the music is secular and has no real basis in Christianity -- I just love to play it and my love leaks out for it, lol. So, I guess my question is, you have all these images about -- what makes them distinctively Christian? How does following Christ (and not just Christ's followers!) do this? Explain this, and I think you'll have a stronger piece.

*HUGS*

LOVE IT! I can relate in big ways to what you say here!

Spoiler

So I'm sick and tired of people spouting "Christianese" because I've heard it all my life, and it's not real. It sounds fake, it feels fake and I hate it. I honestly do.

Why am I a Christian?

Because Christians are crazy! They sing and dance to worship music as though they are drunk. They do things that defy reality and know things they have no way of knowing and have no fear, because God is love, and there Is no fear in love, so they are fearless. And they know it sounds crazy because they've been in the slums or the churches that tell them "You're demonized!" but they know how wonderful it is. And they can't be stopped, even in death, because they are more than their physical bodies and they know it, so they walk in power.

I was raised in a fire-tongued hallelujah Pentecostal household, so I understood every last bit of this from start to finish. I've been pushed to the ground a few times, and a few pastors (and a televangelist) have told me to my face that I'm supposed to preach or something.

Anyway, whether I agree or not is not important; I’m reviewing your writing, and I really just want to point out one major thing that I hit along the way and tie up some loose ends for you.

When you get to your vision in the middle of the piece—the pool table, woman with deformed legs, and the birds—you get very bogged down with your flow. The rest of the piece is overwhelmingly peppy and quick, but these two paragraphs just drag on and on. Try to cut back on details if you can, or maybe even cut out the vision of the birds. I think that’s particularly slow.

It was funny when you mentioned the folks walking up to a gang to pray because a friend of mine did that when I was probably…fifteen. We were in Charleston, SC, and she walked into the middle of the roughest looking people you’ve ever seen and just smiled at them. I was scared breathless and all that jazz, but she was just so happy about it. And I think her attitude kept her safe.

Anyway, your grammar/punctuation/syntax is fairly decent—other than your starting most sentences with “because” incorrectly or that jazz, you’re fine; however, don’t worry about that because it’s a stylistic choice—totally acceptable in creative writing.

I don’t like “too-short leg”. It’s weird phrasing. Describe it better.

Best wishes, and let me know if you need anything.

-Lumi

So... *wise Alec* why is it that girls are "beautiful" but boys are "hawt"? Honestly...
After reading your lyrics, by the way, I wonder why more people can't be more honest about these things. And why, in most cases, you'll never hear of a woman abusing a man... We men aren't evil.

This is a wonderful piece, and I wish someone'd put it up sooner.

heey anime!!
This an awesome write and I loved it and I'm really glad you posted it! *hugs*
Yup that was all XD It's just awesome!

This gave me chills. Its beautiful and I think that any real Christian can relate to this. There are literally tears in my eyes. I'm so glad there are people like you out there who know why they are Christian. I am really inspired and I feel so uplifted, thank you so very much for posting this. God bless you.

I love you. I loved this. It was wonderful, thank you for writing it. It's really hard when some people give Christians a bad rep, I want to say, "But that's not what being a Christian is really about!" You described this beautifully, and I really enjoyed it.
God bless you, and I'm estatic to have proof that there are people like this out there. It's really comforting, you know?
-Dai