Michele, you raise a good point. I think that the way we relate to
-marriage- itself is different at different phases of our lives - and
the impact of 'marrying (or not) within one's faith' will be different
as well.

Ok, so let me get this correct.

Christian A believes that a child should not be baptized until they are
at an age of understanding and so choose to be born again in Christ
through the rite of baptism. At which time there is a ceremony and body
of water in which this person is emersed.

Christian B - believes that one MUST be baptized at birth in order to be
forgiven for the original sin. At the time of this baptism, they become
a member of their faith with words spoken by the parents with promises
to raise the child in the ways of their faith.

So in this scene, both being Christian, both sorta kinda adhereing to,
well at the very least a belief in Christ - this would be a desirable
marriage between like minds?

Please, clue me in - am I on the track here?

Now what about Christian C - C believes that in order to inherit the
kingdom of heaven, you must be able to be evangelical, you must show
proof of having received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Christian C also
believes that when faced with a crisis or a very important question, you
must pray until your receive a sign that will show you the path to take.
They believe this so strongly that even if your child was stricken with
a painful illness, you would not even be able to seek medical treatment
without, prayer and a sign.


Here again, I can definately see why this arrangement with either a or
b would be so much easier than with a non-christian, after all, at least
they have one thing in common, well, I mean besides being human
creations of the God, they also believe that Jesus was Christ.

So am I getting this right?

OH WAIT, I think I've been struck, how foolish am I. I guess it just
didn't occur to me that when you speak of marriage to one of your own,
you are obviously looking within your own church, or at least within
your own sect,

darn, no that's wrong, because some Christians are self proclaimed and
don't adhere to the dogma of any specific sectarian religion. Which
means of course that they could not marry anyone but another
self-proclaimed Christian.

And besides someone here already said that they would marry anyone as
long as they were Christian. Just because it would be easier to - what
was that, to??? mm, well to get along I guess.

Take it over to the other thread.

I don't agree with Christian examples or stereotypes A-C.

sorry not to be rude, I don't like the term "dogma" you get back what
you dish out.

I can type a letter to fill up this post in why many believers choose to
be with another believer. Not only is it in the scriptures, it also
avoids many challenges and disagreements in the future. There may be
value and moral conflicts for SEVERAL situations.

To me, 'dogma' is anything regarding which a person's opinion is
inflexible. It seems to me that everyone posting in these threads has
some sort of dogma...

"Dogma" hmm well it's not meant to be inflexible. When some users post
they need to be aware of the word they choose to convey their message
and HOW THEY WORD THEM.

It can be demeaning and disrespectful. That either makes people ignore
you or not take into consideration in what you say.

I love to learn from others, but don't disrespect what I believe.
There's a way you can avoid crossing that line.

Also some people are so strong in their beliefs that the wrong words are
rude undertones can hint disrespect and their response is anger. To
people who truly put all faith in their beliefs it's very sensitive.

BoredChick,

I agree that when people express their views in a rude or disrespectful
way, it will have consequences for the readers... one of which is that
the reader is less likely to take them seriously.

All I wanted to say about 'dogma', though, is that to me its no
necessarily always a 'negative' word. What does it really mean? To
mean, it just means 'an inflexible belief', and we are all guilty of
that. For example, I'm pretty inflexible in my belief in the laws of
thermodynamics, and I don't think that makes me particularly 'narrow
minded'.

lol well massage welcome to the religion forum where others will call
you close minded for that. This is a touchy place and there are many
misunderstandings

I respect what you believe. Mmm okay and that's fine

It would seem that people in here cannot agree on pretty much anything,
so why would a marriage or relationship be any different? I think it all
boils down to accepting others for what they are or choose to be &
letting it go. I would never try to persuade anyone to walk the path I
have chosen. They have the right to be self informed & choose for
themself & nobody has the right to shove their beliefs at anyone. A
quote I find very appropriate is "Your right to throw your fist ends
where my nose begins." I have dated & been involved in serious
relationships with others who do not believe the way I do & we respected
each other & never tried to convert each other. If I ever would see a
relationship headed toward the other person trying to persuade me into
following their chosen path, I would walk away. I will not change my
values, beliefs or philosophies to suit or please anyone & would never
expect that from someone else.

Peace, love & wisdom

Thankyou for posting Ghost. I respect that and understand
where you are coming from.

I agree with you. You don't want to be in a relationship where someone
constantly tries to push you to agree with them. Who has time for that

What square little universe do you all live in that you perceive that
every Christian lives in the same mind set as you? Anyone?

So when faced with being a hypocrite there is suddenly no logic to be
found. Not even your believe in scripture can help you over this one.

All Christians are NOT the same. All their beliefs will never co-inside
with each other. To insinuate that your's is a faith without flaw and
therefore must be self contained, by mating within the DOGMA of some
Holy ritual for the continuance of some thoroughbred race, is beyond the
worst of every racial bias I have ever encountered.

Of course there is always the possibility that some Christians have a
belief that all of live should be as easy as saying a prayer to Jesus
and being absolved of every wrong doing. In which case WORKING at a
relationship may be beyond their skill, or maybe just beyond their care.

See Red that's what I'm talking about

"What square little universe do you all live in that you perceive that
every Christian lives in the same mind set as you? Anyone?"

I don't even want to read your entire post because you jump to
assumptions from the start. That's a trend HERE.

You already started a negative tone and you get a negative response.
Duh, not all Christians agree. Clearly you can see that here.

Just for the record, the relgions A, B & C are quite real and there are
over 200,000 more just like that.

Just for the record, I'm aware of that and don't really care.

Red the reason I said A-C is because as a Christian myself I am
demonstrating to you that I don't agree 100 % with that.

Your emphasis is on water baptism for salvation rather than the direct
sacrifice of Christ.

See not all Christians agree completely. Next time don't jump to
assumptions in the VERY first sentence.

Yes, I challenge you. I challenge everyone to open their minds. To see
what ignorance has hidden from your view. When the challenge can not be
met, it becomes clear that there is no will to move beyond the
ignorance.

I will try one more time.

WHAT MAKES A MARRIAGE ANY EASIER BETWEEN A BAPTIST AND A CATHOLIC

THAN BETWEEN A CHRISTIAN AND A NON-CHRISTIAN?

Do not fall into the realm of scripture, for in that path you will only
end with hypocrisy.

I have given you a reason why a marriage between a Christian and an
athiest would work, what prevents you from answering in the same
manner?????

I think some good reasons were already given previous in the thread why
inter-faith marriages can present additional challenges to the marriage.
It depends on the individual, how they relate to themself, and how they
relate to their religion and their beliefs.

>> When the challenge can not be met, it becomes clear that there is no will to move beyond the ignorance.

The 'challenge' may be ignored because the challenger is taking an
unpleasantly aggressive stance. Moving into argumentativeness can be
move -into- ignorance.