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yeap you said you are Preist.
He's Anglican.
yeap you said you are Preist.
The question is "Which Christian church? Where is this church? Does it have a web link?"
These are breathtakingly stupid questions, given that what has been under discussion is "one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church"--the universal Church.
As has already also been discussed, this Church is the entire Body of Christ, not buildings or websites.
I hope that this partial answer is "real" enough for you.
The question is "Which Christian church? Where is this church? Does it have a web link?"
These are breathtakingly stupid questions, given that what has been under discussion is "one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church"--the universal Church.
As has already also been discussed, this Church is the entire Body of Christ, not buildings or websites.
I hope that this partial answer is "real" enough for you.
We have 2000 years of history and writing on the subject, it is ours for the reading.
I am sure Joel Osteen has the best of intentions, but I think he is mistaken if it's Christianity he is attempting to preach. You can be right and still not be Christian.
I know Christians all over the world, Christianity is not all that different, it's what people are willing to call Christianity that's different.
Why can't you just say the Catholic Church, Methodist Church, Baptist Church or whatever?
No, Vodou was the native religion of continental Africa prior to the arrival of European Christianity. Still is, actually.
Haitian Vodou is a different variety. They were a slave nation and had to take on aspects of Christianity in order to save face with the slave masters while continuing their true traditions in private. That's why you see Haitian Vodou being mixed with Christian Saints. They ceremonially put the voodoo spirits into the saint statues and worshipped their deities in concealment.
Vodou is definitely NOT from Christianity. It existed in Africa as many different offshoots before Christianity ever arrived, though it does use Christianity to conceal itself.
You are hitting on my points for me. We do have quite a long time on this subject, with plenty of supporting writing and interpretation. My point on what is and is not Christianity (from a position of someone being an authority) is the wide range of interpretation. There are over 20,000 different denominations of Christianity, and it would be a real misrepresentation to suggest they all agree on biblical interpretations.
Now it stands to reason that you perhaps would claim authority on the subject, or even go so far as to judge what is and is not Christianity. My main point, and that of others in this thread that agree with me, is we really have no honest black or white standard of Christianity to suggest you must totally agree with this standard, or otherwise it is not Christianity.
The claim isn't that Voodoo is from Christianity, but that since it incorporates Christian beliefs the association is legit. Just as Japan's religion was originally Shinto, it later incorporated aspects of Buddhism and Taoism and there was a syncretism of beliefs.
It only did that superficially, to appease the colonizers so they wouldn't kill them.
Vodou has nothing to do with Christianity in an actual fact.
Whatever the original reason, Voodoo does in fact incorporate aspects of Christianity and practitioners worship the same God. Not sure how you can say it has nothing to do with Christianity.
Ok You're free to believe whatever you wish about it.
I'm not trying to be difficult. I just don't see how worshiping the same God, under the same Christian denomination, disqualifies you from being associated with Christianity. I don't want to believe something that's not true, so if you or anyone has a contrary argument, I'm listening.
They don't worship the same God. Just because you googled "Voodoo" and read a Wikipedia entry doesn't mean your knowledge is accurate. West African Vodun was taking place long before Christianity ever entered the picture, and contains elements of many different regional belief systems. When Christianity arrived, it became incorporated.
I find it interesting that you chastised me and then confirmed my assertion in the same paragraph.
You can keep asserting that Vodun = Christian but you'll be wrong. Have a nice day.