Do you have genuine questions about Christianity that you'd like to discuss in a non-church environment?

There's an international project (169 countries, 112 languages) called "Alpha" that provides a non-threatening environment for people to question what its all about. It's typically offered in coffee shops, churches, bars (yes, bars), sports clubs etc. and usually involves a meal and a discussion. It's definitely not "churchy" or "religious", and nothing is off-topic as long as it's authentic. One of the local churches (not mine) is offering this opportunity on Tuesday nights from 5 May to any English speaker who genuinely wants to know more.

If you want more information, PM me. Happy to respond to any public comments below! Note that this post is aimed at you hairy-butted expats, not our Khmer friends. You regular readers of Leviticus are especially welcome.

Deleted - troll interaction. The following comment by AE is also in response to the troll.

I thought his intentions where plenty clear...?

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Ok, my question would be this: Which one should I subscribe to? It's all too confusing to me. Much as I respect other people's beliefs I really don't get what actually constitutes a Christian. There seem to be thousands of different denominations amongst them, all claiming to be the only ones who know the truth. Should I believe the Seventh Day Adventists, Baptists, Roman Catholics, Pentecostals, Mormons, Quakers, Coptics, Rastafarians, Evangelicals or what? Some of these groups seem to have fairly benevolent beliefs, but many seem to be quite nasty and exclusive.

why can't Christian groups be together if they believe in the same God? What is the point of division? I heard people said Jesus is not God there is another God. Jesus is only the son of God. Is it true? If it is true, please prove it.

John Bingham wrote:Ok, my question would be this: Which one should I subscribe to? It's all too confusing to me. Much as I respect other people's beliefs I really don't get what actually constitutes a Christian. There seem to be thousands of different denominations amongst them, all claiming to be the only ones who know the truth. Should I believe the Seventh Day Adventists, Baptists, Roman Catholics, Pentecostals, Mormons, Coptics, Rastafarians, Evangelicals or what?

That's actually a really valid question John. To me (and some scholars) there is a basic set of principles that Christians - regardless of denomination ("faction" if you like) - should agree on to consider themselves Christians. This includes Christ as part of the Trinity, virgin birth, atonement etc. that you're probably familiar with. This is sometimes referred to as 'foundational theology' and even though (say) a Coptic Christian might express their understanding of those core beliefs differently to (say) a Pentecostal Christian, the core belief should be the same. The difference in expression comes down to social and historical differences.

Where we Christians need to be really, really careful - and where we so often fail - is that it's the non-core stuff that's more open to interpretation that we will often get vicious over and start wars between ourselves. Our insistence on being 100% right about everything is what leads to religion, which has got nothing to do with faith or Christ, and often to new denominations.

Historically, a number of denominations have come about because of a better understanding of the Bible (e.g. Calvin and Luther) - but bare in mind that until recent decades (and indeed still in some religions) the congregation has been taught to never read or understand the Bible for themselves but instead to take everything the priest or pastor says as (ahem) gospel. In some cases the monarch had been declared the head of the church and the only voice of God, and I'm sure you can list other examples. What an absolute recipe for manipulation on a massive scale!

It's this humanity in "the church" - or often simply evil bastards hiding behind the church - that had caused many people here, myself included, a lot of pain. Often in childhood or other vulnerable times.

What I like about the Alpha project is that it focuses on the faith, not the failings of people.

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Samouth wrote:Is it true? If it is true, please prove it.

Is Buddhism true? If it is true, please prove it.

Ohhhhhhh..........

Come on guys, let him have his belief. He's welcoming people to talk to him and there is no need to push him around for that.