Christians are Christian because they believe in Jesus Christ, and God.
Now in your non literal way:
I'm Roman Catholic, but in a very loose way.
I hate to put money in the basket when it comes around, because I know a portion of my hard earned money will eventually be put toward buying the Pope another solid gold cross, or other meaningless purpose.
I hate the fact that they don't consider the bible "open to interpretation". There is no other way to understand it than how they do.
I could go on and on with other meaningless rants too, but I'm not trying to convert anyone, so...
I honestly think the Freemasons got it right.
Beyond acknowledging a belief in what they refer to as the "Great Architect of the Universe" (which you refer to in your first post as the Supreme Diety), they don't care what practices/religion you follow, nor do they want to. Belief in a power greater than oneself has numberous benefits. In a Godless world, chaos would be inevitable. Without fear of retribution later, the world's leaders would have no limits. Without the looming threat of being reincarnated as a bug, or burning in hell, what's to keep Bush from saying "Aww why not" and launching some nukes. How can the families of the victims not fight back if they cannot find peace in the fact that he will be punished for the rest of eternity? Humans are a stupid, imperfect, and strong willed creatures. Their need for revenge and penance and lack of self control or (for many) common sense can't be overcome by any other means.
Freemason Christopher Haffner said:
Now imagine me standing in lodge with my head bowed in prayer between Brother Mohammed Bokhary and Brother Arjun Melwani. To neither of them is the Great Architect of the Universe perceived as the Holy Trinity. To Brother Bokhary He has been revealed as Allah; to Brother Melwani He is probably perceived as Vishnu. Since I believe that there is only one God, I am confronted with three possibilities:
They are praying to the devil whilst I am praying to God;
They are praying to nothing, as their gods do not exist;
They are praying to the same God as I, yet their understanding of His nature is partly incomplete (as indeed is mine).
It is without hesitation that I accept the third possibility.
Finding Forrester was recently aired on cable. I thought one scene reflects my thoughts pretty well.
Finding Forrester said:
Jamal: Why are your socks inside out?
Forrester: Socks are badly designed. The seams are on the inside. They hurt the toes. You know, in some cultures it's good luck to be wearing something inside-out.
Jamal: And you believe that?
Forrester: No, but it's like praying; what do you risk?
If people pray in school ad you don't want to, out of differing faith or a lack thereof, then let them have their fun. You don't need to get your mommy to sue. If you don't want to say "Under God" in the Pledge, then don't. If you don't like "Under God" on a coin, then ignore it. People that force schools to not offer prayers, or the country to remove words are hippocrits. They complain about the government violating their 1st Amendment rights. What they don't realize is that by removing God from everything, they force a majority to conform to their religion - none.
Thomas Jefferson said:
I never told my own religion nor scrutinized that of another. I never attempted to make a convert, nor wished to change another's creed. I am satisfied that yours must be an excellent religion to have produced a life of such exemplary virtue and correctness. For it is in our lives, and not from our words, that our religion must be judged.
