What are you if you don't believe in some of the things in a christian church but you believe in most of them?

ok...I go to a christian church called Rock Harbor and we all just went over this question...and every pastor in this church said that they believe that the only important thing is that you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins. and everything else you do has to come from the good of your heart....god knows your feelings and if you are doing something that you know is wrong then THAT is what may be called a sin. You can be religious on your own term because its YOUR relationship with god. You dont HAVE to go to church....you dont HAVE to dress up all nice, you dont HAVE to do what the priest make you do as a practice...as long as god knows your heart is true to him and good.

A Christian is defined as one who believes in Jesus Christ. From there, Christianity is divided into denominations, each with a different interpretation of the Bible as well as different doctrines, structure, churches, etc.

In order to be saved, you do not have to be a member of any particular existing Christian denomination. You can make your own "denomination", even if you're the only member. A denomination is comparable to a "club" in the sense that a denomination is a group of people that have similar beliefs.

No other belief can define whether or not you are a Christian. If you think that gay people are not sinners and that it is OK, you can still be a Christian and you can still be saved.

It doesn't matter what other people say about whether or not you can be saved. They do not make the final decision, it is God who does. Therefore, the best way to be assured that you can be saved is to believe in God (which by the way, you do not have to be Christian, since Islam, Judaism, and a great variety of other religions believe in the same God) and not commit sin.

Now, if you wan't to know what is considered a "sin", you may want to look at the ten commandments.

It depends on what those things are that you disagree with. There are some issues within the Christian family that make for interesting discussion, but have no bearing on your eternal fate. And then there are the doctrinal issues upon which the very Church is grounded. To disagree with those things would mean that a person might not be a Christian to begin with.

You mention the gay lifestyle issue, and that some folks think it a sin while you do not. What I'd like for you to consider is that it doesn't really matter what your attitude or my attitude concerning a gay lifestyle is. What matters is God's attitude toward that lifestyle. And He is pretty clear in Leviticus 18 and Romans 1 what He thinks about it. I guess His opinion ought to be good enough for both of us.

I think you can still consider yourself a Christian. Look at the people who constantly fornicate, violating God's teachings. They still consider themselves Christian even though what they are doing is wrong. You should logically analyze the teachings of the church and keep an open mind in order to improve your knowledge. If after that, you find something in the church that you don't think is right, then don't follow that specific part. That doesn't mean that you are wrong, and that doesn't mean that you aren't a Christian, because those areas are not the main parts of the Christian faith. If you violate the main parts of the Christian faith (e.g. Jesus Christ, etc.), then you should start questioning whether you are a Christian anymore, but that's for you to decide.

Well we must realize that not all churches preach the truth. A Church of truth will never have homosexuality as a standard issue. Not to say they would not be welcomed in the church, but they will be thought about why homosexuality is a sin, (which it is). Christians love the sinner not the sin.

Anyone who makes up a God that fits them is committing idolotry.

Find a Church that practices truth, read the bible and ask for Wisdom, the book of james says that good is quick to give anyone wisdom if he asks for it.

Good Luck

I went to a church when I was young where the minister said God gave you a brain and you should question everything when it came to organized religion. He said the true answers were in your heart. My father's job transferred us to another location so I do not know if that minister got in trouble for being so honest.

With the many new towns and new churches I got exposed to different views on religion. Sadly, too many groups who were suppose to be Christians fought over interpretations of Christianity and dogma like children who wanted the same toy. There was no compromise or respect for any opposite view. Being a Christian is not believing in church rules designed by men. Believing in the teachings of Christ is Christianity such as "love one another as I have loved you".

Part of the idea of religion is the idea that prophets communicate with God to then communicate to the church what God's will is. The biggest problem, then, is that people have certain ideas and want God to agree with them. It should be vice versa - in other words, you need to find a church you feel is the true church, and that has inspired leaders, then accept what they say about God. The idea is to learn what God's will is and accept it, even if you don't agree, because God is all knowledgable and you may be convinced in your opinions, but you have to trust that God's will is correct and you may not necessarily know why.

Intelligent! You must believe in Christ to be a christian. No, you won't go to hell. Everyone has a chance to make it to the place christians call heaven. It is more of a spiritual level than an actual place. Most people who call themselves christians are kept in the dark about what heaven truly is by their church leaders because ignorant masses are easier to control. And before any of our christian readers try to tell me I don't know what I'm talking about, I have 40+ years of religious study; christian as well as many others.

If you are an Atheist, then yes, Christians believe that you will go to hell, because they do believe in God and Atheism is the decision to not believe in him. Hell is separation from God in the afterlife. You have chosen to separate yourself from God's love, and he will respect your decision to not love him and you will not go to Heaven to live with him, you will go to Hell.

Christians do believe that the act of homosexuality is a sin, because homosexuality goes against how God created male and female to complete each other and to procreate. Now, that is not to say that the Church hates homosexuals. Homosexuals are welcomed, but the act of homosexuality is discouraged. Just because something feels good, dosen't make it right in God's eyes.

Think you have to beleive in the fundamentals: Jesus was the Son of God, sacrificed his life for your salvation or you can't really claim to be a Christian. To me, if you beleive that God created the earth and man then the words that God put forth governing man should also apply. And God did not approve of same gender relationships.