Other religions II - Some Experiences ...

Thursday, Feb 18, 2010. What experiences with other religions so you have? Have you been a believer of one religion and then started to believe in another? Have you ever had a real conversion experience?

One of the key figures of the New Testament, the apostle Paul, was a Jew who became a Christian. He moved from the Jewish faith to the Christian faith. Other people today often come from atheism, until they discover Christ. Or they have been Muslims and then come to faith in Jesus. There are many ways in which we can find the love and grace of God in Christ.

Migration background

It is not bad to have a migration background. Many of us come from one country or culture and grow up in another culture. Or our jobs lead us around the globe. In Britain, in Germany, in France, etc. there are large minorities of people from different countries. The Chinese are usually strong, or in Germany the Turkish people. In France those from northern Africa. Every country has its particular situation. In all of these you have people with different faith backgrounds - and there is the chance to learn something new - for example to discover Christ! Or to loose Christ and move to another religion.

The New Testament invites us to Christ on the background of our particular culture. People from all nations are invited - in fact the Christian faith grew in a very multi-cultural environment. Even in the first church there were dozen of different nations. It was a great festival of the nations - just in this little church which grew in Jerusalem 2000 years ago. And it is still today. Where ever true Christians meet each other, there is a lot of community - regardless of the ethnic background!

Convert to Christ

Christianity will invite people to give up their faith and come to faith in Christ. This invitation is not a threat. On the contrary, it is a sign of love and appreciation. Everyone is very valuable to the eternal Lord - so evaluable that his son Jesus died for him or her. The Christian message is that God loves you and that this love does not stop if you have different ideas about your life than God has.

Some religions do not allow conversions. They punish people or even threat their life if they change their faith. That is of course a big problem - and it should not happen in a Christian environment (though some people call themselves Christan but ignore the commands of Christ). But the Christian message includes the point that there is eternal life in Christ and nowhere else - and thus the invitation to the love of God in Jesus is crucial. Eternal life and the forgiveness of sins is given in Jesus. Conversion by free will is important, freedom is important to God! Why not consider to go the steps to faith in Jesus today? ... more texts