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I believe in the Trinity, that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one. I believe God cares what you call him, at least to an extent. I don't think he cares if you call him God, Father, Jesus, Friend or even Daddy. I think God would care if you called him Buddha, Zeus or Allah because those gods represent religions that are distinctly different from the God Christianity is all about.

I believe in the basic teachings of the Bible with nothing added and nothing taken away. And I believe in the Bible's literal truth. That means I believe God actually parted the Red Sea, and Jonah was swallowed by a real fish. Because I believe in this literal interpretation, I believe that people who are saved go to heaven and people who are not saved go to hell. I believe God loves every human unconditionally, and I don't believe he "sends" us to hell. We send ourselves. The Bible says if we sincerely believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose again on the third day, and if we repent of our sins, then that's it! We're saved!

(But even though I believe that what the Bible says is 100 percent true, I don't think that makes me any better than non-Christians. It makes me sad that some Christians stick to having only Christian friends and act like non-Christians are scum.)

I don't believe you have to do "good works" or give all your money away or do anything but believe. But I think it's common sense that if you sincerely believe the Jesus story and love God, then you should try your hardest to live as Jesus would and do everything so that it honors God.

I believe there are no "deadly" sins except rejecting God's free unconditional love. I believe lust, greed, pride and little white lies are all on the same level. Yeah, that means I don't think I'm any better than a rapist because we all have the tendency to sin and do bad things.

And finally, I don't believe going to church saves you, but I do believe it is something God wants Christians to do. And because God wants us to be involved in a church, I believe that's a good enough reason to go. But there are other reasons, too. Church is a great place to learn from others who share your beliefs and can support you. It's a place where together we can worship and pray. I think that's a huge part of growing as a Christian.

Rachel, 18, enjoys punk concerts, hanging out with her boyfriend Luke and zine-ing. She also likes e-mail. You can send her some at rachel@angelfire.com.

Rachel definitely isn't the first Christian to write a summary of her beliefs. In fact, centuries ago, the early leaders of the church came up with a brief overview of what a person ought to believe to call themselves a Christian. It became known as the Apostles' Creed, and it's still widely used in church worship services. This statement of faith isn't just something to recite on Sunday mornings; it's a guide that can help you think through your beliefs. It can also be a guard, as you sift through ideas that might not line up with Christianity. If you don't have it memorized already, you might want to consider it. Then when someone asks you what you believe, you'll have a great place to start!

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