When it comes to my faith I do my best to study what I hear and not just follow something or someone because they say so. Especially because now a days there is a lot of variety out there. What drives me nuts is when I get put into a box because I share some beliefs with another denomination or movement.
Believing predestination and total depravity doesn’t make me a Calvinist. It makes me a Christian who believes in predestination and total depravity.
As well, aligning myself with much of the reformed movement doesn’t mean I see Martin Luther’s word as gold.
We have to be so careful as to not throw labels on people in the church because of things like this. We criticize each other on many small issues and miss the big one. We are called to make disciples (Matt 28:19), not enemies. We need to seek ways to better work together. If we believe in the Trinity of God, salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone and the inerrancy of scripture we are playing the same team.
So that box over there, put something else in it because I don’t fit!
1 John 1:7 
June 10th, 2012 at 9:07 pm
🙂 Being misunderstood has got to be one of the most frustrating things in life! You stand by your faith and you keep your trust in God. Truth and thought and idea get so muddled and there is so much to take in and defend and think about!
I like this post. I like it very much. 🙂
– Julee
June 10th, 2012 at 9:45 pm
I know what you mean… I think people mix too many things together. Trust and faith in God is not dependent on religion itself. I think God actually wants us to be fearless and curious and to discover different realities, and that doesn’t mean we are not Christians.
October 10th, 2012 at 10:16 am
Ryan,
I truly understand where you are coming from with this blog. In the scripture we are told that true Christian’s are the body of Christ and that, like with our own bodies, different body parts have different functions. There is one place where the scripture gives an example, if the whole body were the eyes, where would be the hearing. Each of us, as the body of Christ, has a function, a design, a purpose and it’s necessary that we remember.
Shakespeare wrote, “Love all, trust a few, do harm to none.”