Am I a "creationist"? I believe the Old Testament is the inspired Word of God. Jesus referred to it numerous times (and therefore validated it). Exactly HOW God created the world, I do not know. I'm content in knowing He created all things. By what means He chose to do this, I may never know this side of heaven, and that is fine. I have only 24 hrs. in a day with much to do, I simply don't have the time to spend researching a subject which doesn't interest me very much (sorry, but, I must confess my general apathy on the subject!). I am not personally an evolutionist, but I do not believe that being an evolutionist disqualifies a person from being a genuine christian.

Am I a "calvinist" or "arminian"? Neither. I'm balanced somewhere in the middle because I see scripture supporting both views. I used to observe debates going on between the two camps, and while I admit those debates can be fascinating, I try not to let myself get drawn in so much anymore simply because I'm under the conviction that life is too short to waste time arguing about the "mechanics" of salvation. Doing so robs me of precious time and there is much work to be done!

What denomination am I? I have always been "nondenominational" and most of my years have been spent at large churches but I'm ready to leave the large church scene in favor of a more "at home" type of environment. I am currently attending a very small independent baptist church as a frequent visitor. It is a very sweet fellowship with mostly senior citizens. I desire to learn from them but they are not going out of their way to offer me advice. They are forcing me to "mine for gold" so I've been finding myself going to them asking their perspective on a number of things. :) That is just what I intend to do because seniors are such a treasure, especially those who have known Christ for 50-70 yrs or more.

Which bible version do I use? NKJV, NASB and NIV (in that order)

What do I think about homosexuality? The bible says its a sin, but then, so are a number of other things. I'm grateful it is not something I struggle with and my heart goes out to those who do. We all have our struggles and heterosexual sin is just as much sin as homosexual sin. Those of us who have never commited adultery ought not feel prideful or look down our noses at others because even to look at someone lustfully is sin....we all are guilty of sins of the mind and none of us are any better than the next person.

What do I think about abortion? Heartbreaking subject. I am adamantly pro-life, so much so, that one of the factors contributing to my decision to have a tubal ligation was that if I were to be one of those very few cases of women who became pregnant due to rape I could never abort, even in that difficult circumstance, so, once I knew I didn't want any more children, I wanted to exclude that from ever being a possibility. The only time I personally would consider an abortion would be if it meant to save my own life, and even then I would first pray very earnestly for God to give me a miscarriage first so that I wouldn't be burdened with guilt. Am I an abortion clinic protester type? NO, thats not my thing. I have no problem with others doing peaceful protests but its not my thing. I'm strongly opposed to abortion clinic violence. I urge women not to abort and I would vote pro-life, but that is where my involvement stops.

Do I believe in the Trinity? Yes, I sure do. A good resource to explain the Trinity can be found at carm.org. I do not doubt the divinity of Jesus and I have no problem understanding the Holy Spirit being God because the Holy Spirit possesses attributes of Personhood (i.e. He "loves", "speaks", "wills", "knows", "grieves", can be "lied to", etc.)

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Here's a typical assumption from an atheist:

"Michelle, the reason you became a Christian is that your parents, and the society you live in, indoctrinated you from birth. That is the most important factor in determining religious belief. Personal crisis, social pressure, fear of death, lack of education - these are all secondary factors."

Actually, no!! NONE of these factors applied to me when I became a Christian at age 19.

parents? atheist
society? secular
indoctrination? materialist
personal crisis? nope, all was well at that time
social pressure? lol, no, everyone else was partying
fear of death? not on my mind
lack of education? almost straight A's in high school and college

Why did I become a christian? I never needed to be convinced God exists. I don't remember a time when I wasn't theist. I came to the realization that I had sinned against this Holy God who I knew existed but did not know personally. When I learned what the cross was all about, that is when I became a Christian.