基督徒

我非常害怕改變我的宗教，你們可以給我一些建議嗎？

Question:

我是一個傳統的台灣人，我不太敢改變我的信仰和風俗習慣。
在一些特定的節日，如農曆年…等，我會和我的家人一起到寺廟去，有時候我也會祭拜祖先，
但是，我不認為自己信仰那樣的宗教。
因為，我從小就受到這樣子的教導，現在，我非常害怕改變我的宗教。
針對我現在的狀況，你們可以給我一些建議嗎？

Question:

i am a traditional common Taiwanese.
i am afraid to change my religion and my habits. i do not really
believe. i go to temple with my family some special days of the year (Chinese new year etc...) sometimes i worship ancestors because they teach me this. i am afraid to change religion. what you suggest?

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Answer in Chinese:

我們的建議如下：

1、首先，你要對自己誠實，如果你追隨某個宗教，完全是因為以往的風俗習慣， 而不是真的信仰，
那麼，我可以想見，你在生活中的許多事務上，都無法誠實的面對自己。
舉個例來說，如果你不是真的愛你的妻子（或丈夫），那個，你一定是一位非常平凡的先生(或妻子)。
因為，你的婚姻只不過追隨了社會的風俗習慣，而不是真愛。
等到你死的時候，你卻依然不知道怎麼回事，因為，你已經死了，你沒有自己的人格，你只是盲目的跟著風俗走，
然而，風俗卻不會為你帶來任何的恩惠！！

這些社會的風俗習慣只會給你一個識別證，一個身份證字號，沒有感覺，也沒有感情，更沒有任何的快樂可言。
你所有的是一個沒有目標的生活，因為，你只是在欺騙自己。

2、如果你成為一名正教的基督徒，你不會失去你的根，甚至，你還會更加深入你中國文化的根。
你不再害怕那些已經死亡的祖先，你會更愛他們，而且，你還會比以前更常為了他們向神祈禱。
你不再為他們燒紙錢，因為，你的內心深處已經知道，他們不無法收到這些錢，而且他們也不需要錢。
你送給他們的，不僅僅是你的愛，還有神的恩典，這對他們的助益更大，遠遠超過那些紙錢，
而你的祖先，也會很高興和你在一起。
接下來，你不會再前往寺廟去和那些昔日的英雄或名人打交道、談條件
（因為你已經知道他們並不是真正的神，他們就像你一樣，只是一個人類），
而現在的你可以到教會來崇拜真正的神，對他表達你的感激，並為整個世界祈禱，當然也為你自己祈禱。
除此之外，你還會與神合為一體，因為，神已經成為了「人」，而你和神就是一家人。
當然，你仍然可以對你心目中的英雄表達敬意，然而，你將非常清楚的知道，他們並不是真正的神。

是的，你可以這麼說，我死去的父母親正在幫助我。
每一個正教會的基督徒都會這麼說。
我的母親，也常常提到我的祖父。
然而，你卻不能說，他們之所以幫助你，是因為他們已經變成神了。
事實上不是這樣子的，而是他們非常的愛你，如果你的父母是好人的話，他們一定會為你向真正的神祈禱。

3、 你將遠離恐懼，當人們相信聖三位一體的神之後，絕不可能害怕靈魂以及惡靈…等。
事實上，如果一個人相信聖三位一體的神，這些惡靈反而會害怕他，
因為，一個相信聖三位一體的人，心中必定感到平安、喜樂，
甚至，他們會覺得自己所受的一切苦，也都是有意義的。
他們會為這個世界，承擔起痛苦。

所以，成為一位正教會的基督徒，將會使你更像一名中國人，對於這個問題，我們往後還會有更多的討論。

Answer in English:

we suggest

1. to be honest to yourself. if you follow some religion just because you are used to follow, not because you really believe, you will be like this in all activities of your life. so you will not really love your wife, but you will be a common husband or wife, not really loving but just following the social habits. You will die and you will not really understand because you are already dead, you do not have your own personality, you just follow the habits. But the habits will not have mercy for you!!!

they will make you only a number , your id card, no feelings no emotions, NO HAPPINESS. you will have a life without purpose, just because you are cheating yourself.

2. if you become orthodox , you will not give up your roots. indeed you
will be deeper in your Chinese traditions. instead to be afraid of the dead ancestors, you will love them, and you must pray to God, for them, more than before. and instead to burn for them papers -you already know inside your mind, they can not receive them and they do not need money- you will sent them not only your little love but the grace of God, which will help them a lot , much more than your papers. and they will be happy with you. and instead to go to temple to make deals with just some heroes and famous persons from the past (you already know that they are not really
gods, they were like you , you will come to the church to worship the real god, to express your gratitude to Him, to pray for all the world, and of course for you , and besides you will have some union with God, because he become human, and you can have union, be his family. you still can respect your heroes but of course they are not gods.

yes, you can still say , my dead mother or father help me. Every orthodox says this, my mother was saying this for my grandfather. but of course you do not say this because your ancestor is god, but because he really cares for you, if he is a good person, and he PRAYS FOR YOU to the real god.

3. you will not leave in fear. the people who believe to the Holy trinity, do not afraid the spirits , the devil etc... indeed the devil afraid them. they feel peace and joy in their hearts , even they suffer their sufferings have meaning, to curry the pain of the world.

so to become orthodox is to become more Chinese. we will say more thing about this.