religion???.....omg

[IllinoisDave]

My wife says she's too practical to believe in/need religion or gods. We are in complete agreement.

[IllinoisDave]

good to see you back Ken

Ditto.

Edited September 7, 2008 by IllinoisDave (see edit history)

[MikeXiao]

My wife is Bhuddist and I am Christian. Her first weekend here, I took her to a Chinese Baptist church. They took her into a prayer meeting, and someone there was praying for God to give them money. That turned my wife right off. We discussed it, and have left the religion and beliefs of each other, with each other. Things have been great. We talked about what is right and wrong, and we agree about most everything.

[NewDay2006]

I'm a Christian. My wife has accepted Christ, before me, she only went at Christmas time. She was Baptized Easter 2007. We pray together, but she will only pray with me in Chinese.. She goes to church every Sunday. So do I. Her son doesn't go to church, but he will when he comes here. I plan to spend some time at the Chinese church in the Atlanta area to help faciltitate thier learning of Christ, but of coure I no there are no guarentees for my son. But I do say, "for me and my house, we will serve the Lord".

 

I guess I saw too many hypocrites in church to want to be a part of it.

 

Don, I understand your feelings. I have felt the same in the past, maybe even sometimes now. But my feelings are that I know why I'm there and it is to be fed the Word.

 

Does one have to go to church to be a Christian? No!

 

I would also say a Christian is not perfect, never will be perfect... I know I'm not,.. far from it. I make mistakes everyday of my life. But I would also say that because of my faith in God, I'm always trying to be a better Christian.... it is not easy.

 

If the church was for people without sin,....I'm afraid it would be an empty building.... without a preacher.

 

As Jesus said to an angry crowd..."he who is without sin, let them cast the 1st stone"..... it is my understanding the crowd disbursed.

[chilton747]

Definitely Christian here...........My wife has a strong belief in God but she knew little if any of Jesus. Funny thing, the very first time I saw her on webcam, she was wearing a t-shirt that said "Jesus is Lord." She had no idea what the shirt said as she said she did not understand English. Coincidence? I think not.

 

no coincidence!!!!! i know exactly what you mean.

I am Christian,also,My wifes mother is christian,my wife,she knows a

little about it,but doesn't speak much about it,when the conversation comes up, she will answer in a vague way,doesn't elaborate too much on the subject.But is open,has no problem,with the christian concept.My step daughter on the other hand,always asking questions about God(the Christian faith).Which i think is always the case,the more possessions you get in this world,the more success,it seems the less happier you are,the more you feel empty.So the thought"is this all there is to life"?

 

peace out

jimi

 

As I have learned, the greatest possessions we have are the heart and the soul. Anything else is temporary. We can't take it with us! My wife has helped me understand this as well.

Edited September 8, 2008 by chilton747 (see edit history)

[Sebastian]

Is yer lass in the USA ? I won't knock one religion vs the other, but - there's a lot of networking going on at most Chinese Churches here in the USA. There is also factionalism between the Taiwan and PRC 'delegations' as well.

 

If you both decide to go, it's a great place to meet people and make new connections. Many also have some kind of outreach program that seems to be useful, some also have legal-aid folks available.

 

I always enjoyed the meals after the service!! Not only was good food, but was excellent time to make new friends.

 

So at least I will say, regardless of your religious background and yer wife's religious background, getting to a Chinese Church within the first few weeks of her arrival, IMO, can be useful if you focus solely on the social aspects .

Edited September 8, 2008 by Darnell (see edit history)

[chilton747]

Is yer lass in the USA ? I won't knock one religion vs the other, but - there's a lot of networking going on at most Chinese Churches here in the USA. There is also factionalism between the Taiwan and PRC 'delegations' as well.

 

If you both decide to go, it's a great place to meet people and make new connections. Many also have some kind of outreach program that seems to be useful, some also have legal-aid folks available.

 

I always enjoyed the meals after the service!! Not only was good food, but was excellent time to make new friends.

 

So at least I will say, regardless of your religious background and yer wife's religious background, getting to a Chinese Church within the first few weeks of her arrival, IMO, can be useful if you focus solely on the social aspects .

 

She is still in China. Thanks for the info Darnell.

[Dennis143]

Is yer lass in the USA ? I won't knock one religion vs the other, but - there's a lot of networking going on at most Chinese Churches here in the USA. There is also factionalism between the Taiwan and PRC 'delegations' as well.

 

If you both decide to go, it's a great place to meet people and make new connections. Many also have some kind of outreach program that seems to be useful, some also have legal-aid folks available.

 

I always enjoyed the meals after the service!! Not only was good food, but was excellent time to make new friends.

 

So at least I will say, regardless of your religious background and yer wife's religious background, getting to a Chinese Church within the first few weeks of her arrival, IMO, can be useful if you focus solely on the social aspects .

A hearty AMEN to that, brother Darnell...wish I had said it that well.

[rogerluli]

We have a family of Chinese friends here in our little burg who are very religious and tried to get laopo to get interested but after observing them and hearing about the other people in their church she came to the conclusion that they were absolutely no better or no worse than anyone else with the same kind of issues and problems that every other human faces...just 10% poorer...

 

We both just say NO...

[izus]

I'm a Christian. My wife has accepted Christ, before me, she only went at Christmas time. She was Baptized Easter 2007. We pray together, but she will only pray with me in Chinese.. She goes to church every Sunday. So do I. Her son doesn't go to church, but he will when he comes here. I plan to spend some time at the Chinese church in the Atlanta area to help faciltitate thier learning of Christ, but of coure I no there are no guarentees for my son. But I do say, "for me and my house, we will serve the Lord".

 

I guess I saw too many hypocrites in church to want to be a part of it.

 

Don, I understand your feelings. I have felt the same in the past, maybe even sometimes now. But my feelings are that I know why I'm there and it is to be fed the Word.

 

Does one have to go to church to be a Christian? No!

 

I would also say a Christian is not perfect, never will be perfect... I know I'm not,.. far from it. I make mistakes everyday of my life. But I would also say that because of my faith in God, I'm always trying to be a better Christian.... it is not easy.

 

If the church was for people without sin,....I'm afraid it would be an empty building.... without a preacher.

 

As Jesus said to an angry crowd..."he who is without sin, let them cast the 1st stone"..... it is my understanding the crowd disbursed.

 

well said !!

my wife came over from China believing in one supreme God.

we just recently found a decent church that we feel comfortable in with great music and decent messages.

 

she really enjoys it, i try not to peek at her too often...

im so proud of her.

 

[chilton747]

I'm a Christian. My wife has accepted Christ, before me, she only went at Christmas time. She was Baptized Easter 2007. We pray together, but she will only pray with me in Chinese.. She goes to church every Sunday. So do I. Her son doesn't go to church, but he will when he comes here. I plan to spend some time at the Chinese church in the Atlanta area to help faciltitate thier learning of Christ, but of coure I no there are no guarentees for my son. But I do say, "for me and my house, we will serve the Lord".

 

I guess I saw too many hypocrites in church to want to be a part of it.

 

Don, I understand your feelings. I have felt the same in the past, maybe even sometimes now. But my feelings are that I know why I'm there and it is to be fed the Word.

 

Does one have to go to church to be a Christian? No!

 

I would also say a Christian is not perfect, never will be perfect... I know I'm not,.. far from it. I make mistakes everyday of my life. But I would also say that because of my faith in God, I'm always trying to be a better Christian.... it is not easy.

 

If the church was for people without sin,....I'm afraid it would be an empty building.... without a preacher.

 

As Jesus said to an angry crowd..."he who is without sin, let them cast the 1st stone"..... it is my understanding the crowd disbursed.

 

Excellent brother C!

[usaRichard]

Good topic, one that I thought would go south quickly, but I am glad it has not. very early in our relationship my then girlfriend added "God Bless You" to the end of one of her emails (No I hadn't sneezed). That caught me off guard, she has since said when she comes to the US she might want to attend church. We'll see...

 

Richard

[shushuweiwei]

Very interesting thread. Many of you who have Christian/Buddhist mixes may enjoy Thich Nhat Hahn's book, Jesus and Buddha as Brothers.

 

We are both Buddhist so that makes for a point of understanding and connection. I am a non-theistic Buddhist, while she has more theistic leanings but that hasn't been a problem. She likes to worship and I'll do it with her even if our focus is different. Pusa is still something we have in common, although I'm sure even she gets tired of my pusa stories when we face a challenge.

 

Of course, I've also had to get used to calling the Buddha pusa!

 

I was raised Catholic and I am very sympathetic to Walter Wink's views on the importance of challenging the "powers" in Jesus' ministry. It seems that the tables have turned and the faith that bears his name (well, not his name actually but his title Christos) has become one of the powers rather than the antidote. But that is just my very humble opinion.

 

It's also interesting in the post how often our cultural assumptions creep in (not excluding myself) when we say things like she believed in a god even though never introduced to Christianity. Whatever story we've decided to go with we treat in our mind as truth, while we can recognize that other religions/cultures made up a story. As someone also interested in the neuroscience of the subject it is remarkable to me how easily our mind smooths over that contradiction.

 

Pusa stressed that he was not a supernatural being although many have chosen to forget that. He also had the best system (in my opinion) to insure that no one ever claimed to be the second coming, "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him." As I've posted elsewhere the essence of Buddhism for me is compassion and this quote from the Buddha:

 

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.

 

So I take my Buddhism lite, no supernatural beings included. B)

[SheLikesME?]

My wife started out liking me because I was Christian and would say this to family and friends as if this meant something very good.

 

She went to my church in Beijing, but was scared to go when I was gone or have discussions with the missionaries to learn what I believe in. Scared because of her older sisters bad experience with an exiled preacher from china now living in the USA who apparently is blamed for having some people kill themselves. Now that sister is Buddhist and tries to push this on all her family. This scared feeling my wife has of religions has caused some tension for her.

 

I have tried to be very patient with her, however in America, even if you are completely against religion, there are certain moral expectations we have culturally and legally with our spouse. My wife needs some religious training just to get along better at work and socially in this country I feel. She recognizes this too. After all she is working in a very Southern city where Baptists rule and even their Governor ran for Pres this time.

 

So, she has turned from getting mad at me if I go to church to going with me now. We went to a 4th of July flag raising breakfast at Pinnacle Mountain park my church had and she met a lady that she sees something in and feels something from her. It feels very good and she sees peace in this woman. A kind of peace she desires. So now this lady and her husband come over and visit her, with or without me there. Sometimes they bring others. She is always so overwhelmed by what she feels and just has a hard time understanding or believing the source.

 

Anyway she has always referred to "The God" but other times she either says she does not believe in a God, or that we can simply study at home and apply the rules of living to our own life. Why go to church? She asks. But then here they come again and she wants to go to church.

 

I leave all of this up to her, though I encourage some reading which she seldom does, and some basic learning if for no other reason than to understand our thinking better.

 

The biggest thing that amazes her is the number of people going to church and smart people believing in my religion. She is very surprised that folks with a PhD would believe considering how she thinks it conflicts with science, but there a PhD grad is teaching the Gospel Essentials class. It has her puzzled and gives her pause. She now wants this man to come teach her at home. Frankly I am not sure she will accept this and be baptised a member. But knowing all I know about her tendencies and thinking it will help her in the USA, legally if nothing else.

[amanda1969]

Good topic, one that I thought would go south quickly, but I am glad it has not. very early in our relationship my then girlfriend added "God Bless You" to the end of one of her emails (No I hadn't sneezed). That caught me off guard, she has since said when she comes to the US she might want to attend church. We'll see...

 

Richard

Good topic and also good comment, I am interested in religion even though I was not taught any knowledge about this in China. I believe a belief is very important to a person but right now in China we have not a strong belief in oue lives for most of Chinese.Since my husband is a person who has strong religion in his heart and his mind, I would like to learn more about it.

BTW,thanks my husband for his catching off guard on me...

 

Amanda