[But I'm also quite curious about your denomination]

Google got it right that I'm a yank. But wrong state. Here's the church's website. www.westpresftc.com

I don't think of myself too much in terms of denomination. I really do like the community in the church, the focus on service that the chuch has, and the sermons. However, I don't count myself as anything outside of Christian.

I've been around a few denominations and my brother in law is a pastor. What I've learned from the denominations is that the basics of being a Christian seem to be the same in the different denominations I've been to. (Nondemonitional, Methodist, Lutherian, Presbyterian). What I've learned from my brother in law is that pastors look after their church community, but they don't always agree with them. (Or visa-versa). But the politics and some beliefs aren't why we get together in church. It's the core beliefs and both worship and fellowship that matter. Teaching from the aspects that bring us closer to God, help us to be better people, or in some churches to teach verse by verse in the bible, while others focus on having the Holy Spirit in our lives.

None of those that I have encountered are enough to say why this is wrong and unchristian in the same way that I can towards other religions that are either wrong or are a rejection of Jesus in one way or another.

I do put quite a bit of faith in the bible as my foundation. So even if my church doesn't believe in a young earth worldview (I don't know if they do or don't), I put it under heavy consideration. I know of a few women pastors that are Presbyterian, and I put that under God's terroritory not mine. There was at least one woman prophet in the old Testiment, so I'm not sold on it being wrong for women to lead in worship.

Hope that helps. I'm interested in your views of God though too. If you don't want to answer that though. That's fine. I won't press it.

//Google got it right that I'm a yank. But wrong state.//

Colorado, eh? I'm afraid just about everything I know about Colorado comes from watching South Park, and I'm not sure that's the most reliable source.

//What I've learned from the denominations is that the basics of being a Christian seem to be the same in the different denominations I've been to.//

It rather depends on which denominations you're comparing. Not too much difference between Catholics and Anglicans from what I've seen, but there is a vast gulf between them and some of the wackier Christian denominations like Pentecostals.

//I do put quite a bit of faith in the bible as my foundation. So even if my church doesn't believe in a young earth worldview (I don't know if they do or don't), I put it under heavy consideration.//

Your Bible is a religious document, not a science textbook.

It may interest you to know that there isn't really any Biblical support for YEC: Genesis never mentions a specific creation date.

That was a later invention by an Irish Archbishop by the name of James Ussher, who in 1658 meticulously added up the ages of the people in the Bible (even the clearly dubious ones like Methuselah's 969 years) to come up with the remarkably precise figure of October 23, 4004 BC. At about 7 o'clock in the morning, MT. No, I am not making this up.

It all makes about as much sense as believing the Earth is flat: nonsense on stilts. I suggest you look into Old Earth Creationism, which still maintains that your God created the Earth and the universe in accordance with the Bible, but which doesn't involve the patently ridiculous idea that the whole shebang is only 6000 years old.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Old_Earth_creationism

//I'm interested in your views of God though too.//

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheism
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pantheism/

To Toni.

[I'm afraid just about everything I know about Colorado comes from watching South Park, and I'm not sure that's the most reliable source.]

It's not reliable but South Park is a real town in Colorado. The simularities between the show and the town are lost to me though. I haven't been to South Park.

For a basic understanding. Colorado is a fairly large state with regard to land mass, and though there are larger cities in it, much of Colorado is spacious and good for enjoying the outdoors. (Don't have to travel far to go camping). There's a mountian range that goes through Colorado that gives it a good number of ski and snowboard parks around the mountian range, as well as cozy towns nestled in the mountians to attract tourist for their natural beauty. Away from the mountain range though, and away from the bigger cities like Denver and Colorado Springs (which house a good number of skyscraper like buildings), a good chunk of Colorado is flat and dry. My home town is a college town and a medium sized city.

Colorado also recently legalized pot. Both medical and recreational use. Changing the dynamics of it a bit to attract those who want to buy or sell pot and unfortunately with more people moving, making the housing market unaffordable.

That's not much to go on but it's a brief picture of my home,

(Continued)

[Not too much difference between Catholics and Anglicans from what I've seen, but there is a vast gulf between them and some of the wackier Christian denominations like Pentecostals.]

I haven't been to a Pentecostal service but someday I mean to. The differences between the denominations many of the times seem to be about how the church is orginized and the culture of the church, more so then the beliefs and theology. At least when it comes to core elements of belief like Jesus's life, teachings, and salvation; God's love and and other qualities, as well as His history with Israel. And the aspect of the Holy Spirit.

Most denominations that I've seen still believe in all of these but with most of them a good amount of focus is theology and understanding, whereas Pentecostal seems to (from what I've heard) focus on having the Holy Spirit and having a spiritual relationship with God. The critism I hear is some Pentecostal churches are growing a fake kind of showiness to them, but even still the element of being close by the Holy Spirit, not just through study and prayer has an interest I hope to look into more some day. The "wackier denomination" holds a lot more trust in spiritual experiences.

(Continued)

[Your Bible is a religious document, not a science textbook.

It may interest you to know that there isn't really any Biblical support for YEC: Genesis never mentions a specific creation date. ]

Though I agree that the bible isn't a science book, it's purpose is more a focus on finding God, knowing what He wants, and learning from the history of Israel, from the prophets, and from Jesus's ministry. However the bible is still authoritive. The difference between the bible and creationism science is that the bible doesn't try to explain how the world works. Creationist science does and I think that is where they error.

When the bible says something though I would put it under a lot of consideration. Including the genology that paints mankind's history as a lot shorter on earth. Having a younger Earth isn't the hardest concept to swallow though. Nor that God created it all. There are a decent number of explainations to these ideas to counter the ideas that the earth is older (or at least man's history in it is younger) and counter that the earth was formed out of a great amount of cosmic luck. The harder element to swallow is the ORDER of which the earth was formed, not the age. If you can trust God and trust the bible, so far this requires a greater amount of faith because so far there are no matching explainations for them. I still trust the bible as authoritive even without an explaination. Not a science book, but an authority regardless.

(Continued)

Regarding the references to pantheism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheism
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pantheism/

Thanks for the reference, but they tell me there are a variety of beliefs in pantheism. Including a view that God is mostly nature (much like nature worshiping religions), or that God is mostly known through human experience and culture (more like the ideology that individualism is important or conversely similar to the idea of a collective conscience in mankind). There are other issues I read besides my own fingering of the concept that God is the universe.

Your beliefs though are what I'm asking about. You've noted a few. That you love God, but God doesn't love you, or can't love you. As well as the defining element in the term pantheism that God is everything. I assume a few things from these statements that would separate your pantheistic view from other pantheistic views. Such as God isn't sentient, but is just a force, or that God is too big to notice each of us. But I don't know if it is a nature focus or a culture focus. When you say you love God, but don't show a love for people this raises a red flag to me of what it means to love God.

Again if this is asking for too much, I'll let it pass. Our beliefs are a personal thing, which we sometimes protect from outside criticisms and mockery of others. I get that. Looking back at the conversations between you me and AJ Phillips, I really do get that. It's your call.