Any Practicing Christians?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think if religion is something really important to you, to the point where you have some threshold for what makes a practicing Christian, you should have your kid in a religious school. I consider myself a practicing Christian, which for me means I haven't gotten it right and I'm in no position to evaluate where anyone else is in their spiritual journey.

Are you people insane? The OP never said that she has some threshold who is really Christian and who is not. She indicated that she describes herself as "born again". All she is trying to do is connect with others at her kid's school who have fully integrated Christianity into their lives - why does she have to move to another school?

Good grief!

[Anonymous]

If I had read DCUM before moving to DC, I would have been scared out of my mind and convinced that most people here were as closed-minded and judgmental as a lot of you folks. Thankfully, I know that's not the case, but reading some of this does give one pause. I am not a born again Christian, but I would MUCH rather hang out with a born-again Christian like the OP than you folks who are suggesting that just because she is curious about other like-minded people, people who identify themselves as she does, she shouldn't even go to your schools? Do you know how mean and crazy that sounds?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if religion is something really important to you, to the point where you have some threshold for what makes a practicing Christian, you should have your kid in a religious school. I consider myself a practicing Christian, which for me means I haven't gotten it right and I'm in no position to evaluate where anyone else is in their spiritual journey.

Are you people insane? The OP never said that she has some threshold who is really Christian and who is not. She indicated that she describes herself as "born again". All she is trying to do is connect with others at her kid's school who have fully integrated Christianity into their lives - why does she have to move to another school?

Good grief!

Yeah, I think I inferred there was a threshold by the comment: "So far, we don't know any other parents at our school who are Christians". She didn't say, "I haven't found any other born-agains at the school" to which I would have taken no offense.

And frankly, I am just as offended (or as you might put it, insane) by your reasoning that it is somehow less offensive to talk about this in terms of how much someone has integrated Christianity into their life.

Why not say things like, "I haven't found anyone interested in starting an after school Bible Study"? Why all these code words for "full" Christians?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All she is trying to do is connect with others at her kid's school who have fully integrated Christianity into their lives

NP on this thread - which I have tried to stay out of.

There are many, many ways to fully integrate Christianity into one's life. By my reading, both you and the OP appear to have a very narrow definition of what that means. A definition that, most commonly, involves an ahistorical and literal interpretation of the Bible and a holier-than-thou view of all other Christians and non-Christians who do not experience the Bible the same way.

As a Christian person who also happens to be a lesbian mother and a wife in a same-sex marital relationship, I have often found myself on the receiving end of such judgmental views. I suspect that many others have as well for any number of similar or different reasons. And there is little more deeply offensive than someone judging whether or not you have a real relationship with God.

Perhaps I am wrong, but I imagine that's the origin of the hostility that many have expressed toward the OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are many, many ways to fully integrate Christianity into one's life. By my reading, both you and the OP appear to have a very narrow definition of what that means.

Amen, sister (and I'm allowed to say that 'cause I'm Christian).

[Anonymous]

I'm not the OP and I'm not born again, but I will venture a guess at what she meant. My guess is that she just meant, are there Christians out there who worship the way that we do, which is go to church and Sunday school and Bible study on a regular basis and talk about Jesus and make it a central part of our lives. This doesn't seem particularly offensive to me, even if I don't fit into what she's looking for, and I don't think it's judging anyone's relationship with their God so much as it's just natural curiosity about finding people with beliefs similar to hers. What is so wrong with that?

Imagine for a second if the topic had been "Any practicing Jews?" and the OP had mentioned in her post that she was looking for fellows Jews who keep kosher, go to synagogue regularly, maybe are Orthodox, etc. Would anyone have dared to suggest that if she's so concerned about such things that she should send her children to a Jewish school? I certainly hope not. That would be beyond the pale, don't you think?

[Anonymous]

Yes, but it would be offensive if she phrased all this with terms like, "I haven't found any Jews at my school" and equally offensive with follow up posts talking about fully integrating Judaism into their lives. There is NOTHING wrong with practicing however you like. Nothing wrong with looking for like minded people. But don't pretend to be more religious.

[Anonymous]

"All she is trying to do is connect with others at her kid's school who have fully integrated Christianity into their lives - why does she have to move to another school? "

How do you know what she means? Define "fully integrated".

[Anonymous]

Op, I am a new poster. I am a Born Again Christain and have two children at the Cathedral schools. It does not sound like you are at one of those schools because I think in one of your earlier posts you said that you were at a K-8 if I am not mistaken. I have identified some others at our school, but as stated by many other posters, it is sort of taboo to openly discuss religious views at school. I have only learned of our shared faiths after developing friendships with them, otherwise I probably would not have known.
I do agree that in getting to know people and having conversations with them, you will eventually be able to tell who shares your faith or as others have stated those share your way of practicing your faith. As a Born Again Christain, I totally understand what you mean and am pleased to see that you have remained above the fray and not stooped to the level of the nastiness on this thread.

I have a friend who is at a private school in PG county (sort of a different culture than the DC privates) and she is part of a Bible Study group where all of the members are parents from that school.

I do understand the void that you feel. It is becoming difficult to maintain my normal friend group (many of whom share my faith) because we are all at different schools and it seems we are spending more time with parents of school friends, since our weekends are filled with sports, birthday parties and other kid activities.

I wish there were a way we would could connect without putting our personal info on here.

[Anonymous]

Poster 17:48 here. I can't speak for the OP I just feel that she is being judged harshly. I don't get how people read from her post that she is saying she is better than everyone else.

BTW I am one of those Christians who goes to church on Sunday and then gets in the car to work on Monday and curses out every crazy driver I see. This is something I need to work on.

Poster 17:55 gets what I mean - whatever religion you identify with, the practice is along a spectrum. And I don't get why it's so upsetting that the OP wants to connect with others who at or near the same place?

And since someone asked what I mean by fully integrate I will take the bait. Consider the following list. This is not an end all list and I don't have some hard and fast threshold but this is what I try to follow.

Go to God in prayer daily.
Read God's word daily.
Obey God moment by moment.
Witness for Christ by your life and words.
Trust God in every detail of your life.
Allow Him to control and empower your daily life.

You can probably add a lot more to this list like, going to church regularly and tithing. But since I am going to get flamed anyway I won't add more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Poster 17:48 here. I can't speak for the OP I just feel that she is being judged harshly. I don't get how people read from her post that she is saying she is better than everyone else.

BTW I am one of those Christians who goes to church on Sunday and then gets in the car to work on Monday and curses out every crazy driver I see. This is something I need to work on.

Poster 17:55 gets what I mean - whatever religion you identify with, the practice is along a spectrum. And I don't get why it's so upsetting that the OP wants to connect with others who at or near the same place?

And since someone asked what I mean by fully integrate I will take the bait. Consider the following list. This is not an end all list and I don't have some hard and fast threshold but this is what I try to follow.

Go to God in prayer daily.
Read God's word daily.
Obey God moment by moment.
Witness for Christ by your life and words.
Trust God in every detail of your life.
Allow Him to control and empower your daily life.

You can probably add a lot more to this list like, going to church regularly and tithing. But since I am going to get flamed anyway I won't add more.

This is exactly the type of self-righteousness to which previous posters have referred. That is what fully integrated means TO YOU. It means different things to other people.

[Anonymous]

She said quite clearly that it's what she means by fully integrate and what she tries to follow, not that's what you should do. I don't get the uproar here. So OP and this PP are more overtly religious than some others, or have different definitions of how to practice -- so what? Neither of them said they think you're a bad Christian or headed to h-e-double-hockey-sticks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, but it would be offensive if she phrased all this with terms like, "I haven't found any Jews at my school" and equally offensive with follow up posts talking about fully integrating Judaism into their lives. There is NOTHING wrong with practicing however you like. Nothing wrong with looking for like minded people. But don't pretend to be more religious.


*****
"All she is trying to do is connect with others at her kid's school who have fully integrated Christianity into their lives - why does she have to move to another school? "

She doesn't have to necessarily leave. But to add to the first PP's point, I have several Jewish friends who send their children to all-Jewish schools for that very same reason. That way, they don't have to SEEK out other like minded individuals. I'm not saying to segregate, but if Christianity (in full force, I might add) is that significant, find a school that's specifically for Born Agains or Evangelicals. They do exist.

[Anonymous]

How does WONDERING if there are like-minded individuals translate into it being such a significant issue that her kids need to attend a different, school? Yes, it's great and fine if people want to send their kids to religious schools for that reason. But if they DON'T want to, for whatever completely acceptable or understandable reason, it is perfectly normal to merely ask, "Hey, anyone else like me in this place?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She said quite clearly that it's what she means by fully integrate and what she tries to follow, not that's what you should do. I don't get the uproar here. So OP and this PP are more overtly religious than some others, or have different definitions of how to practice -- so what? Neither of them said they think you're a bad Christian or headed to h-e-double-hockey-sticks.

Neither has said it overtly in this thread. But it has been implied in many different ways. For instance, the OP could have worded her subject line "Any Other Born Again (or Fundamentalist) Christians?" and followed up with a request to form a Bible study group. Instead, she phrased it the way she did and proceeded with evasively worded judgments about the not-as-Christian-as-her parents at her child's school.

Plus, those types of judgments are made explicitly in many, many forums by other people with the OP's stated belief system. It's a fundamentalist and exclusionary take on Christianity that is unique in its prevalence to this country. And it's precisely that kind of exclusionary view combined with a pseudo-amiable surface presentation that is so repugnant. I'm thinking, for instance, of Rick Warren and his ilk here.

It becomes tiresome to be so judged by those who profess to share your faith - the central tenet of which is to love your neighbor as yourself. What's so hard to understand about that?