A question

Eishiba · May 15, 2015

Its hard to grow closer to him when he no longer talks to me. I still ask him to reveal to me what the truth is, if he exists. I still hear nothing. He either doesn't care or doesn't exist. It is commonly said that you are to talk to God as if he is your best friend. Well, with my best friend, I constantly talk to him. We have long conversations and when one of us asks a question, the other answers it. With God however, he quit talking to me. He abandoned me when I needed him most. It doesn't make sense. I pray and I hear nothing. I have asked, begged, demanded, and cried out, wanting to know what is right and I hear nothing. I think he needs to "come out of his hiding spot". If he is waiting to see how I act on my own, without him, then he has his answer. I get serious doubt from his own word. He needs to come back and help me but he wont. He does not seem to care. If I die and go to hell and he says depart from me, I'm going to look at him and say, "I asked everyday and you did nothing." I don't understand this at all.

Sketcher · May 15, 2015

Eishiba said:
Its hard to grow closer to him when he no longer talks to me. I still ask him to reveal to me what the truth is, if he exists. I still hear nothing. He either doesn't care or doesn't exist. It is commonly said that you are to talk to God as if he is your best friend. Well, with my best friend, I constantly talk to him. We have long conversations and when one of us asks a question, the other answers it. With God however, he quit talking to me. He abandoned me when I needed him most. It doesn't make sense. I pray and I hear nothing. I have asked, begged, demanded, and cried out, wanting to know what is right and I hear nothing. I think he needs to "come out of his hiding spot". If he is waiting to see how I act on my own, without him, then he has his answer. I get serious doubt from his own word. He needs to come back and help me but he wont. He does not seem to care. If I die and go to hell and he says depart from me, I'm going to look at him and say, "I asked everyday and you did nothing." I don't understand this at all.

Please review the creed:

The Nicene Creed(with scriptural references)

We believe in (Romans 10:8-10; 1John 4:15)
ONE God, (Deuteronomy 6:4, Ephesians 4:6)
the Father (Matthew 6:9)
Almighty, (Exodus 6:3)
Maker of Heaven and Earth, (Genesis 1:1)
and of all things visible and invisible. (Colossians 1:15-16)

And in ONE Lord Jesus Christ, (Acts 11:17)
the Son of God, (Mathew 14:33; 16:16)
the Only-Begotten, (John 1:18; 3:16)
Begotten of the Father before all ages. (John 1:2)
Light of Light; (Psalm 27:1; John 8:12; Matthew 17:2,5)
True God of True God; (John 17:1-5)
Begotten, not made; (John 1:18)
of one essence with the Father (John 10:30)
by whom all things were made; (Hebrews 1:1-2)
Who for us men and for our salvation (1Timothy 2:4-5)
came down from Heaven, (John 6:33,35)
and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, (Luke 1:35)
and became man. (John 1:14)
And was crucified for us (Mark 15:25; 1Cointhians 15:3)
under Pontius Pilate, (John 19:6)
and suffered, (Mark 8:31)
and was buried. (Luke 23:53; 1Corinthians 15:4)
And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures. (Luke 24:1 1Corinthians 15:4)
And ascended into Heaven, (Luke 24:51; Acts 1:10)
and sits at the right hand of the Father. (Mark 16:19; Acts 7:55)
And He shall come again with glory (Matthew 24:27)
to judge the living and the dead; (Acts 10:42; 2Timothy 4:1)
whose Kingdom shall have no end. (2 Peter 1:11)

And in the Holy Spirit, (John 14:26)
the Lord, (Acts 5:3-4)v
the Giver of Life, (Genesis 1:2)
Who proceeds from the Father; (John 15:26)
Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; (Matthew 3:16-17)
Who spoke through the prophets. (1 Samuel 19:20 ; Ezekiel 11:5,13)

In one, (Matthew 16: 18)
holy, (1 Peter 2:5,9)
catholic*, (Mark 16:15)
and apostolic Church. (Acts 2:42; Ephesians 2:19-22)

I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins**. (Ephesians 4:5; Acts 2:38)
I look for the resurrection of the dead, (John 11:24; 1Corinthians 15:12-49; Hebrews 6:2; Revelation 20:5)
and the life of the world to come. (Mark 10:29-30)
AMEN. (Psalm 106:48)

*The word "catholic" (literally, "complete," "universal," or "according to the whole") refers to the universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ and not necessarily or exclusively to any particular visible denomination, institution, or doctrine.

**May be interpreted as baptism is a matter of obedience and not a requirement for salvation or as a regenerating ordinance.

Which of these theological points does your experience contradict?

christopher morgan · May 16, 2015

Eishiba said:
Its hard to grow closer to him when he no longer talks to me. I still ask him to reveal to me what the truth is, if he exists. I still hear nothing. He either doesn't care or doesn't exist. It is commonly said that you are to talk to God as if he is your best friend. Well, with my best friend, I constantly talk to him. We have long conversations and when one of us asks a question, the other answers it. With God however, he quit talking to me. He abandoned me when I needed him most. It doesn't make sense. I pray and I hear nothing. I have asked, begged, demanded, and cried out, wanting to know what is right and I hear nothing. I think he needs to "come out of his hiding spot". If he is waiting to see how I act on my own, without him, then he has his answer. I get serious doubt from his own word. He needs to come back and help me but he wont. He does not seem to care. If I die and go to hell and he says depart from me, I'm going to look at him and say, "I asked everyday and you did nothing." I don't understand this at all.

Eishiba I really feel for you. Even Jesus cried out on the cross when he needed him most, 'My God, my God why have you forsaken me?' But he also said, "Father forgive them for they do not know what they do." So even in great mental despair, physical pain and feeling cut off from God, Jesus still followed the spiritual way of forgiveness and Love. Regretfully we all encounter suffering in this material world, it is imperfect and we all need a spiritual way to deal with it. While you may feel God is not talking to you still remember Jesus gave us very wonderful teachings on how to act and think to develop our spirit. And as God is spirit then it really is important to still try and practice the spiritual way in life that Jesus gave us. He gave us those instructions to protect our spirit and help it grow closer to God. I think we can all say we feel alone at times cut off from belief in God. Our physical body and situations are always changing but a kind, loving spirit is always the same. This is how we establish our future life in Heaven through growing spiritually but it is hard to do in this material world. That is why we need to support each other when we feel low or lost. While I turn to Our Lord and God everyday in prayer it doesn't reduce my physical pain from a serious neck injury but it reminds me I am spirit not just blood and bones. Am I behaving today in a way that is spiritual according to Our Lord's instructions is more important to me now. Then my belief in life after death and being in the presence of God and Our Lord becomes stronger as my faith and spiritual practice deepens. I wish God would lift me out of this pain I am in or tell me how to stop it but instead He has told me how to stop sinning through Jesus and at the end of our life that is more important.

You are not alone, the people here obviously care about you, as I do. So although what I have said may not resonate with you as an answer to why your not feeling God's love in your life at the moment, at least think about your own spiritual practice and growth and I certainly hope you receive good guidance and inspiration to restore your faith in a spiritual God of Love who is waiting for us to join Him. Do you attend a Christian congregation who can inspire and talk about this? All the best christopher

FutureAndAHope · Jun 28, 2015

Hi,

Just a quick note on slavery in the bible, it is my opinion that the laws regarding slavery were to guide the practice that already existed in the land. It was not that God desired slavery. As we can see from the New Testament. Which says:

1Co 7:21 Are you a slave? Don't let that bother you. But if you can win your freedom, you should.

and

1Co 7:23 God paid a great price for you. So don't become slaves of anyone else.

God through the apostles said it was better for salves to win their freedom than to remain slaves, and to try not to become slaves of others.

ToBeLoved · Jul 1, 2015

Eishiba said:
I know this is going to sound totally stupid but...could one be a Christian, believing that Jesus died for us, while not agreeing with, or understanding a vast majority of the bible? If not, how do you change your own opinion on subjects in the Bible?

Hi Eishiba,

Just curious, have you read the Bible?

illuminatorofevil · Jul 6, 2015

Eishiba said:
I know this is going to sound totally stupid but...could one be a Christian, believing that Jesus died for us, while not agreeing with, or understanding a vast majority of the bible? If not, how do you change your own opinion on subjects in the Bible?

Eishiba said:
I'm not a really a beginner. I was a Christian for a while but the more I read about the Bible, the less I understand it. There are so many different things that turn me off. For example, Luke 14:26. If I don't hate basically everyone, then I cannot be a disciple? This makes no sense. If God meant to say you area to put God first above everyone else, then he should have stated it that way. But this sounds terrible. This is where I struggle. Am I supposed to believe that this is right and my opinion is wrong?

Eishiba said:
Its one of the many Bible verses that push me away from the Bible. People can make guesses but ranging from what you said, all the way to, it was a translation issue. What you said does make some sense though.

Another disturbing verse for me is Exodus 21:7-9 If a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to go free as the male slaves do. "If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his unfairness to her. If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters.

1. I would never sell my daughter as a slave.

2. In God's eyes, women are not equals with men.

Eishiba said:
I agree that it is irrelevant to America today, but if thats something that went on...one can't help but think about it. God was pro-slavery. When you say the female was sold into slavery was to repay debts. Do you mean debts that the father owed or the daughter owed?

I have been dealing with this for three years and I have only grown apart. He no longer speaks to me. I pray for him to give me some answers but nothing. I can't help my skeptical mind. If he created me, then he knows I have a skeptical mind and if its true that only God can give me the understanding I need, I don't see why he chooses to wait.

confusing indeed this holy bible is but you actually thinking about what is going on here and seeing it for what it is, is a great start. there are way to many attrocities in the bible and tying oneself blindly/ignorantly into that sort of thing will bring you to disaster. there are plenty of other religions out there that are more intune with nature and existing and also consider femals equal. or rather the greater of the two forces shakti(femal) and shiva(male) the forces are equal in the sens that they cannot exist without the other but the one that holds more power is actually the female as it is the side that creates. i know this may be a huge frightening step but please proceed with an opened unbiased mind and you will begin to see the truth. in short dont be afraid to dig, i highly recomend reading through this http://see_the_truth.webs.com/ many questions will be answerd here and more attrocities exposed. stay strong and be fearless you are strong you are wise and only getting stronger and wiser.

illuminatorofevil · Jul 6, 2015

christopher morgan said:
Hi Eisheba,the bible certainly is a mixture of many different views concerning God and his way for us to live. For me the new testament with the teachings of Jesus is what I must try to understand and follow. I don't spend much time with the old testament although there are specific parts that back the way that Jesus taught to live. And then you see Jesus even contradicting the old testament ways to some extent as when he said "you have heard it said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth but I say to you Love your enemies etc." So I personally concentrate on his instructions which essentially cover, Unconditional Love, Compassion, Equanimity, Forgiveness, Non-violence and Helping those in need. This for me is the way to live our life and it takes all our effort to achieve with the challenges that life gives us. And I believe this is the way to heaven.There may be some translations that seem odd, as some others have explained here but their true meaning that Jesus will always intend will be to lead us to true Love. The only thing Jesus wants us to hate is sin. So I recommend continuing developing this unconditional Love that Jesus has given us the example of. Then over time the other spiritual aspects of your nature will grow and the bible may gradually become a greater source of clear support with guidance from the Holy Spirit or a fellow Christian with deeper understanding. But if we all stay close to the basic way of life that Jesus gave us then any parts of the bible that seem out of step with Jesus' teachings we can put to one side for now. Concentrate on the foundations first then you will be guided by the Holy Spirit I am sure. May the Love of Our Lord be with you always,christopher

here are some other things jesus said

Matthew 5: 29-30
29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Matthew 5: 11
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Matthew 8:21-22
21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead

Mark 11:12-14, 20-22
12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

and here is the whole saying in which you say you follow

Matthew 5: 38-44
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

following this kind of gives a slave mentality if you ask me and thats being kind

ArmenianJohn · Jul 7, 2015

What seems off about your predicament to me is that you choose to believe the Bible about certain things but have decided not to believe other things.

Also, if you are asking God for wisdom and he is not speaking to you then something is certainly wrong, because He says:

James 1:5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Either the Bible is wrong or you are wrong... Very often people are not honest even with themselves.

FutureAndAHope · Jul 7, 2015

Eishiba said:
Its hard to grow closer to him when he no longer talks to me. I still ask him to reveal to me what the truth is, if he exists. I still hear nothing. He either doesn't care or doesn't exist. It is commonly said that you are to talk to God as if he is your best friend. Well, with my best friend, I constantly talk to him. We have long conversations and when one of us asks a question, the other answers it. With God however, he quit talking to me. He abandoned me when I needed him most. It doesn't make sense. I pray and I hear nothing. I have asked, begged, demanded, and cried out, wanting to know what is right and I hear nothing. I think he needs to "come out of his hiding spot". If he is waiting to see how I act on my own, without him, then he has his answer. I get serious doubt from his own word. He needs to come back and help me but he wont. He does not seem to care. If I die and go to hell and he says depart from me, I'm going to look at him and say, "I asked everyday and you did nothing." I don't understand this at all.

Hi Eishiba,

I know that you would like to be able to talk to God in the same way you can to a person. But it is my experience that God rarely speaks. I have had him speak to me around 10 times, but when you consider how long your life is that is only a small number of times.

God is looking for people who will work with the small nudges that he gives us, the small light that he provides. You have to hang on to the things that do give you faith, not focus on those things that are doubtful.

Aidan K · Jul 7, 2015

Eishiba said:
I know this is going to sound totally stupid but...could one be a Christian, believing that Jesus died for us, while not agreeing with, or understanding a vast majority of the bible? If not, how do you change your own opinion on subjects in the Bible?

I don't think it's possible,in this life, to fully understand scripture

BabylonWeary · Jul 7, 2015

christopher morgan said:
Hi Eisheba,the bible certainly is a mixture of many different views concerning God and his way for us to live. For me the new testament with the teachings of Jesus is what I must try to understand and follow. I don't spend much time with the old testament although there are specific parts that back the way that Jesus taught to live. And then you see Jesus even contradicting the old testament ways to some extent as when he said "you have heard it said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth but I say to you Love your enemies etc." So I personally concentrate on his instructions which essentially cover, Unconditional Love, Compassion, Equanimity, Forgiveness, Non-violence and Helping those in need. This for me is the way to live our life and it takes all our effort to achieve with the challenges that life gives us. And I believe this is the way to heaven.There may be some translations that seem odd, as some others have explained here but their true meaning that Jesus will always intend will be to lead us to true Love. The only thing Jesus wants us to hate is sin. So I recommend continuing developing this unconditional Love that Jesus has given us the example of. Then over time the other spiritual aspects of your nature will grow and the bible may gradually become a greater source of clear support with guidance from the Holy Spirit or a fellow Christian with deeper understanding. But if we all stay close to the basic way of life that Jesus gave us then any parts of the bible that seem out of step with Jesus' teachings we can put to one side for now. Concentrate on the foundations first then you will be guided by the Holy Spirit I am sure. May the Love of Our Lord be with you always,christopher

an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, or, love your enemy... I don't believe Jesus contradicted the old testament, but was putting a higher priority on the commandment of love thy neighbor because the enemy is a neighbor, and would not have been an enemy in the first place had there been compassion and forgiveness. Also, in matters of justice, to be compassionate without a mind for vengeance, what is the bare minimum damage necessary to resolve a conflict. I believe that was the original idea for "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" because it is that and not "kill 'em all for any offense", but the written old testament was lacking in emphasis for compassion, and the oral tradition was vulnerable to the whims of an angry priesthood, that Jesus had to resolve the dilemma by resetting the priority. Everything Jesus said and taught conforms to the old testament, and all his sayings and parables reflect the goodness of the oral traditions while overruling or dismissing the corruptions that had developed over time. The people had turned the laws of Moses into a means to entrap each other on technicalities instead of applying it as source of knowledge and wisdom in their teachings. Isaiah 59 might be an example of that, a situation where things get out of hand.

illuminatorofevil · Jul 7, 2015

ArmenianJohn said:
What seems off about your predicament to me is that you choose to believe the Bible about certain things but have decided not to believe other things.

Also, if you are asking God for wisdom and he is not speaking to you then something is certainly wrong, because He says:

James 1:5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Either the Bible is wrong or you are wrong... Very often people are not honest even with themselves.

im guessing this is towards me...well lets not forget what caused adam and eve to get kicked out of the garden of eden and that was eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge. please do not project your way of doing things as if they are mine as i did not overlook anything

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die (Genesis 2:17).

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die (Genesis 3:3).

so god kicks adam and eve out of eden for gaining knowledge but will then give it to someone else?

yeshuaslavejeff · Jul 2, 2018

Eishiba said:
I know this is going to sound totally stupid but...could one be a Christian, believing that Jesus died for us, while not agreeing with, or understanding a vast majority of the bible? If not, how do you change your own opinion on subjects in the Bible?

I think Jesus said that if anyone rejects His Father's Word, he rejects Jesus.
Understanding of The Father's Word is given freely and generously by the Father to little children as this is the Father's Great Pleasure so to do, as Jesus Says in the New Testament.
Without the revelation from the Father in heaven, no one understands - i.e. revelation is required.
Our own opinions are neither needed nor important, yet can keep us from believing if we don't repent,
and the penalty for unbelief is judgment, final total judgment.
Faith is a gift, so if needed ask the Father for faith - He is the Giver of Life, and of every good thing.

AservantofGodandthelordJC · Jul 2, 2018

Eishiba said:
I know this is going to sound totally stupid but...could one be a Christian, believing that Jesus died for us, while not agreeing with, or understanding a vast majority of the bible? If not, how do you change your own opinion on subjects in the Bible?

Thinking you understand is much more dangerous than knowing you don't until you do without doubt. Titles of religion are meaningless there is solid ground, facts, laws to be found. Seek to be doubtless. I understand the entirety of the bible and this knowledge came instantly. The truth is simple, so simple that you constantly overlook it. It's like studying each breath you take, thinking it is much more complex than just taking a breath. Why would God make anything hard? No, the truth is, it's too easy.

Steven Wood · Aug 26, 2018

Eishiba said:
I know this is going to sound totally stupid but...could one be a Christian, believing that Jesus died for us, while not agreeing with, or understanding a vast majority of the bible? If not, how do you change your own opinion on subjects in the Bible?

It doesn't sound stupid at all. Honestly I think this is the problem that most Christians have today. I felt the same way for many years to the point that I didn't believe in God, at least the way people said I was supposed to. The only thing I can say is to study, study, study. Don't take a single persons word for anything and draw your own conclusions. Get study guides and aids as a concordance. Having a concordance actually proved to me that what many translations of the Bible said was wrong and contradictory to what the true bible says. The final but most important piece of advise that I can give is to constantly pray for wisdom from the Holy Spirit and for God to open your eyes. I have gotten many answers because of this and actually have found things in the bible that were "hidden" if you will. I've read some thing over and over but with that prayer and by God's will, in his time, he reveled things to me that seemingly, jumped off the page when i had never noticed it before.

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