Information Related to "How to Explain Your Beliefs Without Losing Your Friends"
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If
you are part of the Church of God, you've probably already heard these
questions many times. They simply reflect others' astonishment at the
beliefs we hold. As most of us realize, our beliefs aren't very popular.
Frankly, these beliefs make us quite different!
Many people who claim to be Christian don't believe in absolute truth.
They assume that there are "many roads" to salvation (heaven, as they
would say) and that one shouldn't proclaim any particular way as the only way.
On the opposite extreme are the nonreligious—atheists and agnostics
who have no religion and think of religious people as ignorant. We often
come into contact with all of these types of people when we are at school
or out with our friends.
When people hear that we hold strong moral convictions (and even call it "truth"), we can suddenly become the odd ones out. People will then want to know why we believe what we do.
Eventually, it seems, all of us have to explain our beliefs. How can we best do so without losing our friends? Should we debate the truth? What approach should we take? This article will attempt to answer these questions.
Simply put, how can you defend what you do if you don't know why you do it? Many teens in the Church of God over the years have faithfully kept the Sabbath and Holy Days, tithed on their allowance or paycheck and kept away from worldly holidays—but did not understand why they did the things they did. They just did it because that's what their parents said to do.
So how do you gain a good understanding of your beliefs? One obvious answer is by reading your Bible. Though it is true that teens often have very busy schedules, it is wise to set aside time each day to read the Bible. The Bible is the source for all doctrine in the Church of God (2 Timothy 3:16) and is the best place to start to get an understanding of what God wants us to do.
Related Information on UCG Sites:
Table of Contents that includes "How to Explain Your Beliefs Without Losing Your Friends"
Other Articles by Erik Jones
Teens and religion: