Spiritual Crisis

I grew up outside of the church. When I was five I spent a month and a half in bed with E-Coli from Jack-in-the-Box. When I was seven my appendix burst and wasn't operated on until a week later. When I was twelve a desk lamp blew up in my face and I got a shard of glass in my eye.

I'm telling you all this because these three events resulted in a deep personal belief in God, and a major spiritual search beginning in high school that involved Wicca, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Theosophy. I'm in a bit of a crisis right now spiritually, because I feel like God is calling me to the Christian church, to the ministry possibly, but I'm not sure I'd even be accepted. Theosophy, Buddhism and Hinduism, as well as the teachings of Jesus have had a huge impact on my personal theology. I believe in Loving God and your neighbor as yourself, which Y'shua himself said was his most important teaching, but I don't believe in Original Sin, and I follow the law of Karma, not the Dogma of Sin. I do believe in Heaven and Hell, but that they are only short stops between one life and the next. I believe in reincarnation, but that its a waste of time to spend time contemplating possible previous and future lives, and better to live in the here and now. I can go into more detail on my personal theological views if anyone is interested, but essentially what I'm asking is can I be a Christian and still continue believing these things?

You might want to try a Unitarian Universalist Church and also look at unprogrammed Quakers and see if either of those is the right fit for you. You can also go to belief.net and they have a quiz that asks you questions about what you believe and then tells you which religions or denominations you match most closely.

I'd like to second the suggestion of the UU possibility. I know of a UU minister who practices Zen Buddhism and never mentions original sin. One of the beauties of the UU affiliated churches is that each one can have its own emphasis, its own bent. Some might more Christian-leaning than others, but as long as that church is all-welcoming the UU network accepts it.

If I went to a religious institution of any kind on a regular basis, it would be UU.

Rather than suggest where you should go, I would like to touch on your question " essentially what I'm asking is can I be a Christian and still continue believing these things?"
I was raised Southern Baptist and was told that those other religions you mentioned were not true, wrong stay away from them ECT. When I was 33, I decided to go to college and minor in Religion. I struggled with my upbringing when confronted with these concepts (Wicca, Hinduism, Buddhism, Theosophy, and many others) during my education, not that I thought they could not be true but because of the phobia of them being ingrained in my head long before. I came to the simple realization that God, being the infinite powerful entity can and does use all religions to fulfill his or her will. (Yes, even Wicca). To limit God to one religion or another is to figuartvely place God in a box of human creation. I am not a Baptist any longer; in fact, I do not claim one denomination… I am open-minded and chose to practice Christianity, but I do not close off the knowledge that God can and does work in all faiths and in all doctrines to accomplish His or Her will. (I also believe God has no sex, but that is for another discussion) I do not believe in only one way to reach or serve God. One of the foundations of Christianity is original sin; it is the sole reason for the death of Christ otherwise what would have been the point. It will be difficult to work in the confines of Christianity without that belief, not impossible but difficult.

DeusExLibris, lived Christianity (thank God!) is far broader than the "official" positions defined by institutional churches. There are Christians within many of the mainstream denominations (or perhaps on the fringes of those denominations) who believe a wide spectrum of things. And there are many who believe that the Christian faith must be informed by other spiritual traditions, all of which come from the same God. So you will probably find a home in Christianity if you look around and find the right community, regardless of denomination.

Whether the authorities would admit you to the official ministry is another matter - that's one of the areas where they can control you. But there are many ministries, some official, some not, and in the right community you may find your ministry.

But is UU a Christian church?

I've asked that question when I visited UU congregations and they gave an unequivacle "no". (They have Christian roots, of course.)

However, the way he described himself, UU seems like abetter fit than a Christian church. The UUs certainly allow that kind of religious mash-up.

If he specifically wants Christian, I think the unprogrammed Friends/Quaker is probably a better suggestion. Another suggestion would be a liberal local congregation of a mainstream or liberal Christian denomination.

I attend an Episcopalian church and and a guy like this would be very welcome -- and not very unusual. (I can't say if he could become clergy - I don't know that much about it. ) I've attend Methodist churches that seemed the same.

Belief in original sin has certainly been seen as an essential part of Christianity by many people, but I don't think that it is necessary for living a Christian life. As a believer in the evolution of humanity from earlier creatures, I cannot see a single, suddenly created person who "creates" sin which then curses all humanity for all time. I think we all develop a sense of right and wrong so that as we grow up we come to recognize that we sometimes do things which are not right and it is not always easy to choose to do right. I see this as an aspect of our ability to choose what we do (as opposed to simply acting on instinctual impulses).

As for original sin being the sole reason for Jesus to die, try finding some information about Christus Victor as a theological explanation for the meaning of Jesus' crucifixion which does not depend upon the vicarious atonement of our sins through Jesus' death. I find this a much more satisfying way to think about it. After all, if Jesus had to die to pay for our sins, to whom is the payment made? Does God have to pay God's self for debts people owe to God? How does that make any sense? Where is grace if forgiveness has to be bought/earned?

I agree with JoKerR that the doctrine of original sin would not be a strict requirement for Christian orthodoxy.

Where, for example, is it it in the Nicean Creed?

However, the concept of sin is important for the concept of grace, forgiveness, redemption, and a whole bunch of Christian doctrines.

As for me personally, I like the Christian doctrine of sin. It acknowledges sin/suffering/evil/etc but offers a solution and hope. It's a very helpful balance, IMHO.