Christians in skating | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Christians in skating

STL_Blues_fan

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 24, 2004
Vash01 said:
I feel uncomfortable about this topic. Majority of people in this country were brought up as Christians (other religions are in the minority), so it is not unusual to see many US skaters with Christian beliefs. With the number of immigrants increasing you see some other religions in the country. Why should that be a factor for a skater? I see religious practice as something personal/private and I don't feel comfortable discussing those practices for skaters. Some eastern religions are very tolerant of other religions, and some practices are even inclusive/universal, so it does not really matter what label one chooses (or no label). Many non-Christians celebrate Christmas, and have a Christmas tree, so that alone would not be a criterion to determine one's religion (I only mentioned this because it was mentioned by someone).

Vash

Vash, you expressed my view perfectly. It was late last night and I couldn't come up with proper words to describe my point of view. Thank you!
 

Piel

On Edge
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
then, depending on what you believe/have been taught, there are many catholics in skating as well (I put them under the Christian label, but I know there are some that don't consider them under that heading)

Here is an explanation...

There are many denominations, types of churches that would be classified "Christian," such as Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran and so on. But obviously there are members in each one who genuinely have a relationship with Christ, and those who don't.
The word "Christian" means "Christ in one," or "Christ inside of one." So, the real issue isn't what church a person belongs to, but whether the person individually has Jesus Christ living inside of him or her...if they really have a personal relationship with God.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Thank you, Piel... :) so many get into the protestant vs Catholic debate that they forget we're all serving/worshiping the same God.
 

SingAlto

On the Ice
Joined
Jun 21, 2004
Tonichelle said:
then, depending on what you believe/have been taught, there are many catholics in skating as well (I put them under the Christian label, but I know there are some that don't consider them under that heading) Timothy Goebel

Catholics are Christians regardless of what folks from any other denomination believe in their biggoted, self-righteous, little minds.
 

ranjake

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 19, 2005
SingAlto said:
Catholics are Christians regardless of what folks from any other denomination believe in their biggoted, self-righteous, little minds.
who does not consider catholicism a christian religion?
 

CzarinaAnya

Medalist
Joined
Aug 29, 2003
ranjake said:
who does not consider catholicism a christian religion?

I'm a born again Christian. If you're Catholic and have Jesus in your heart, you're just as much saved as I am.
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The subject is, "who is Christian in this sport?", so that she can encourage them in their walk with God. There is nothing wrong with that.

This shouldn't be a debate or "I'm offended", thread, because that was obviously not the intent of SwizzleTwizzle. She didn't mean anything malicious by it. So, it's not fair of anyone to accuse her of anything. I'm sincere when I say it breaks my heart to see someone getting put down for something they weren't trying to do.
 
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ranjake

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 19, 2005
Joesitz said:
Many, many, many.
really?????who???????HOW?????????.......and i do think you're right re:le cafe...i'm just really curious. what is this based on?
 

attyfan

Custom Title
Medalist
Joined
Mar 1, 2004
Just so you know -- since I'm Jewish, I leave the definition of "who is a Christian" to the Christians. I usually define a Christian in terms of those who are not defined as anything else, unless they have done something so far beyond what I have read about in the New Testament that they "disqualified themselves" (Nazis, for example, may have said that they were Christian while they were in the process of murdering people, but I don't call them so).
 

swizzletwizzle

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 2, 2003
Actually, I believe that Catholics can be Christians. It all depends on if you have Jesus in your heart.

Secondly, I started this thread hoping to encourage skaters in their faith, so they would know that they had fans praying for them. I did not mean to offend anyone. I am a musician, & sometimes I feel there are no other Christians around when I am performing somewhere. When someone tells me that they're praying for me, it helps me grow stronger in my faith.

I sincerely hope this answered anyone's questions, & I hope this thread doesn't get out of hand.
 

ranjake

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 19, 2005
swizzletwizzle said:
Actually, I believe that Catholics can be Christians. It all depends on if you have Jesus in your heart.

Secondly, I started this thread hoping to encourage skaters in their faith, so they would know that they had fans praying for them. I did not mean to offend anyone. I am a musician, & sometimes I feel there are no other Christians around when I am performing somewhere. When someone tells me that they're praying for me, it helps me grow stronger in my faith.

I sincerely hope this answered anyone's questions, & I hope this thread doesn't get out of hand.
you didn't offend me....i'm just puzzled...."catholics can be christians".....what are they if not christians? i guess i need to do a little research into this elsewhere; and i certainly mean no offense to anyone either.
 

Grgranny

Da' Spellin' Homegirl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
This is what I know. You are a Christian if you believe in Jesus Christ. If there is a reason for the differentation it is Protestant or Catholic.
 

swizzletwizzle

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 2, 2003
What I mean by that is there are Catholics & Protestants who claim to be Christians, but they don't have Jesus in their heart. Without that, you really can't be a Christian. So, there are Catholics & Protestants who aren't Christians.
 

swannanoa54

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
swizzletwizzle said:
What I mean by that is there are Catholics & Protestants who claim to be Christians, but they don't have Jesus in their heart. Without that, you really can't be a Christian. So, there are Catholics & Protestants who aren't Christians.

Actually the definition is quite different:

[QUOTEChristian
9 entries found for Christian.
To select an entry, click on it.
Christian[1,noun]Christian[2,adjective]Christian BrotherChristian eraChristian nameChristian ScienceJudeo-Christianpre-ChristianChristian X

Main Entry: 1Chris·tian
Pronunciation: 'kris-ch&n, 'krish-
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin christianus, adjective & n., from Greek christianos, from Christos
1 a : one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ b (1) : DISCIPLE 2 (2) : a member of one of the Churches of Christ separating from the Disciples of Christ in 1906 (3) : a member of the Christian denomination having part in the union of the United Church of Christ concluded in 1961
2 : the hero in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress
][/QUOTE]

And in the Methodist religion, I was raised to believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ which makes me a Christian.

I don't think, swizzle, that you had anything other than good intentions in your heart. You certainly didn't offend me. However I would think that since those who broke away from the Catholic church were called Christians because they followed Christ and believed in his teachings, that it would make me wonder if Catholics would call themselves "Christians". The majority of Catholics that I know refer to themselves as "Catholics". Oh well, just something to stew on since I'm home with strep throat.
 

IDLERACER

Medalist
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
swizzletwizzle said:
As a Christian, I like to write famous Christians and encourage them. Which figure skaters are known to be Christians?
If you are talking about skaters who are extremely vocal about their religious beliefs, I believe that Paul Wylie, Janet Lynn and Roz Sumners are the only three (to my knowledge) who have actually appeared on Christian television stations to discuss their faith.

As for the current crop of amateurs, Bebe Liang attends a Baptist parochial school, but is not the sort of person who is in everyone's face about it. My guess is that the majority of skaters (like the majority of Americans) are either of some protestant denomination, Catholic or Mormon, but aren't into evangelizing. The vast majority of both moderately and devoutly religious Christians prefer to practice their faith quietly and with dignity, rather than hollering out some uncalled for fire and brimstone monologues on a street corner at passers by.
 

doug_log

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
1. All Catholics are Christians.

2. Michelle's family is from Hong Kong; NOT China.

3. I am alarmed at the racism and ignorance that are rampant in this thread. I respectfully ask the moderators to remove this thread.

"Plushenko is a religious orthodox." An orthodox WHAT?

The use of the word "oriental" has been debunked uniformly - and with great research and rationale - in both academic and popular discourses.

"Many many many" do not consider Catholicism a Christian religion? Well, at least no theologian, academic, or religious leader is part of this "many many many."

Again, I ask the moderators to remove this thread. I ask posters to research the terms and ideas incorporated in their statements: religion is far too sticky a topic to handle lightly. The integrity of this site and its posters depends on informed comments on skating. When subjects like religion are raised, then the stakes become higher and the resulting posts magnify the knowledge/ignorance of the posters. New media like blogs and web forums are useful because of their abilities to bring together diverse opinions. However, this aggregation and its proliferation necessitate responsible participants, which includes both the posters and the moderators who negotiate - in other words, maintain and create - the forum's identity.

Let religion be a topic. But let's keep it well informed. Here's a general rule. If you think you know what you're talking about, then you probably don't. Stop reading these posts and head to the library.
 
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swannanoa54

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Well, that's kinda rude, doug. No one here is ignorant except by your standard. I happen to know quite a bit about "religion", Catholicism, Mormons and Protestants. The subject interests me in learning how different beliefs are actually the same just stated differently. But to come here and call posters ignorant is really debasing THEIR beliefs and THEIR opinions.

Anyhow, I believe the idea behind the thread was for swizzle to be able to encourage a figure skater who shares the same beliefs as she/he. That's not so bad at all. Matter of fact, that's pretty nice.:agree:
 
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