Losing Faith

[masterchiefy]

o_o I don't know how to explain, it just seem to be losing faith. I keep thinking "atheistic" (I know its not a word) thoughts.

"What if God wasn't real?"
"What happens if He isn't real and I die?"
"If he is real, which religion is true about Him?"
"How do we know?"
"Am I sure I'm gonna get into Heaven if He is real?"
"If He's the Christian god, then why is the Bible so mixed up?" (Contradictions, world is under 10,000 years old, etc)

among other questions. And I don't know, I guess I've been thinking more like an agnostic person lately. I truly want to believe there is a God, but how am I to know I am praising the right God? It's just a weird feeling...

So, people keep telling me to pray. I did. Nothiiiing. How am I supposed to tell if "God is talking to me"? How can I regain my faith?

(Yeah, you guys are gonna be telling me just to belieeeeve. o_o It's hard to do that and still call yourself a logical thinker is your a strict Christian that believes EVERYTHING the Bible says.)


Pray for me? :o

 

[rahmiyn]

I sooooo relate to exactly where you are!! I too simply could not muster faith in God, and so I feared I was becoming a closet atheist among my Christian brothers and sisters. I even felt I was being dishonest, deceiving even when I sang the songs and prayed the prayers with everyone.

But, God, praise Him, gave me faith not only in His existence but in the race we run every moment of our lives to live in His will.

He literally transformed my unbelief into belief, and afterwards, I remember the Bible opened up to me in a way I'd never been able to receive it.

This faith has never, ever waned, and it has sustained me in my growing desire to walk by this faith (not by sight) for years now.

I will pray for you, as a sister from the same trenches, that He will transform you the way He did me.

Blessings, and keep praying. Those who seek with all their heart, soul, and mind will find Him!!

 

[autumnrose42]

Just beeelieeve! (I am so sorry. I HAD to get that out of my system. It seriously made me laugh when you said that.)

Okay. All seriousness now.

There are points in the lives almost all christians that I know, where we find ourselves questioning. I know exactly what you are going through. Mine was influenced by all of the Wiccans and the atheists that I hung around with at school and called "my best friends".

I didn't want to lose my faith. I wanted to believe, but I couldn't. It is a very hard place to be.

Only God can help you through this. My prayers are most certainly with you. Keep trying. By admitting this problem, you aretrying to work through it. Talk to your minister or an elder in your church. Not only will they be able to pray with you, they will be able to study with you to help you work through some of the things that you are struggling with. That is what helped me. I went to my youth minister and we studied.

I am praying for you.

 

[Andy S. Wright]

This may or may not bring you comfort but you aren't alone in your search. Every Christian on earth, if they are honest, will admit to having the same questions you're posing at one time or another. Thinking these things doesn't make you evil or unChristian. It makes you human. Oh, and by the way, you're in pretty good company (Peter denying Christ, doubting Thomas, Jeremiah, Elijah, just to name a few).

God's a big God and He's not going to crumble into a pile of self-esteem issues because His kids hit a valley in their faith. Life's experiences tend to screw up our preconcieved notions of who God is and how He operates. God knows I've battled and still battle with disillusionment in that area.

That said, it isn't our percieved failings in faith that cause us the most trouble. True trouble comes when when we quit. We all grow weary in well doing. But those that get tired and quit are the ones who pay the steepest price. That's not to say they are kicked out of the family or disowned by God but, like the prodigal son, those that walk out on God tend to find themselves in the pig pen before too much time passes.

So keep seeking, asking and knocking. God said he is a rewarder of those that DILLIGENTLY seek him. That means, "seek without quitting". The reward for your search isn't material things like gold or jewels. The reward is you will find the object of your search. You WILL find Him...just don't give up.

ASW

 

[toolite]

o_o I don't know how to explain, it just seem to be losing faith. I keep thinking "atheistic" (I know its not a word) thoughts.

"What if God wasn't real?"
"What happens if He isn't real and I die?"
"If he is real, which religion is true about Him?"
"How do we know?"
"Am I sure I'm gonna get into Heaven if He is real?"
"If He's the Christian god, then why is the Bible so mixed up?" (Contradictions, world is under 10,000 years old, etc)

among other questions. And I don't know, I guess I've been thinking more like an agnostic person lately. I truly want to believe there is a God, but how am I to know I am praising the right God? It's just a weird feeling...

So, people keep telling me to pray. I did. Nothiiiing. How am I supposed to tell if "God is talking to me"? How can I regain my faith?

(Yeah, you guys are gonna be telling me just to belieeeeve. o_o It's hard to do that and still call yourself a logical thinker is your a strict Christian that believes EVERYTHING the Bible says.)


Pray for me? :o

Excellent Questions in all of which in time God will answer for you will you seek him with an honest heart. You asking God because you want to know for yourself - you want to know in your heart that God is real.

Read your bible. Nothing is better than reading the word by yourself because the word is a living word and helps you as you go and how will you know that unless you read the word and don't stop reading the word then you will find out what I did. That God gives clarification on the word so you can understand it.

Religion- What religion to pick? Which one is the Best. The church is within you- you are the church. A church without people means nothing. So it's based on you and your faith in God. What God has done for you. God is constantly doing things for you to build you up as well as plant questions and thats so you can learn or have the hunger to learn more about him. Don't worry about religion make loving God and Jesus your priority and following the Bible vs what people say. If someone quotes you to educate you then ask where you can find that in the Bible. As long as you love and learn to trust God you will be alright. You or no one else will ever be perfect. But, we can put forth an effort daily.

I would suggest and you don't have to do it but, when you are ready just ask God. Show me that you are real and he will. All I ask is that you be patient so he can show. Stay Blessed!

All The Glory Will Always Be Given To God!

 

[northernyogi]

Most people have or will be where you are now. The best thing I can offer is that you continue to pray and read the Bible daily for "those that seek shall find". Another thing that can really help is to look up a few Christian apologetics sites for answers to some of the questions you are asking. I have found that simple logic helps when your faith is waining. I will pray for you

 

[Elecmech]

Hey Masterchief,

Have you ever met your Lord before? Have you ever been hungry for His manifest presence?
The church that you attend; is His presence made manifest during the services through signs, miracles and wonders? Does your congregation worship? Truly worship the God of heaven and earth 'till His glory comes down? If not, you probably need to go elsewhere.
God is indeed real and tangible. He always wants to heal everyone that is sick or injured. Does your pastor display his faith by the laying on of hands in most of the services? There are always those that are vexed by demons. Does your pastor or other laymen in the church cast out devils from the oppressed at all? Have there been several newcomers that have been born-again in your church during the last year?
If none of this is witnessed to a fair degree in your church then it is best that you grab your family and leave. The church is either unhealthy or dead to Christ and God is not there.
Whatever the case, it does sound to me that you are being spiritually suffocated. There are sheep among many congregations of goats in this country. The world over in truth!
I hope the best for you. You may be in your 'valley of decision'.

 

[Jerrell]

Others before me have responded so I will refer specifically to the biblical contradictions. Brother, The bible NEVER says that the earth is 10,000 years old. Creationist say such things by using a bible verse out of 2 Peter 3:8;however, this is not the point of this verse. Personally I believe there are no contradictions in the Bible. There is alot of unknown history out there and people seem to forget the background behind many biblical passages and interpret them incorrectly. Anyways, I Pray that you will grow stronger in the Lord.

~God Bless.

 

[iamjcs]

o_o I don't know how to explain, it just seem to be losing faith. I keep thinking "atheistic" (I know its not a word) thoughts.

"What if God wasn't real?"
"What happens if He isn't real and I die?"
"If he is real, which religion is true about Him?"
"How do we know?"
"Am I sure I'm gonna get into Heaven if He is real?"
"If He's the Christian god, then why is the Bible so mixed up?" (Contradictions, world is under 10,000 years old, etc)

among other questions. And I don't know, I guess I've been thinking more like an agnostic person lately. I truly want to believe there is a God, but how am I to know I am praising the right God? It's just a weird feeling...

So, people keep telling me to pray. I did. Nothiiiing. How am I supposed to tell if "God is talking to me"? How can I regain my faith?

(Yeah, you guys are gonna be telling me just to belieeeeve. o_o It's hard to do that and still call yourself a logical thinker is your a strict Christian that believes EVERYTHING the Bible says.)


Pray for me? :o

God is real, infact there is more evidence of this than of what inables a big, heavy plane to fly or inables a bumblebee to fly when scientifically impossible.

You will likely die physically either way, but if you believe the one who created you & all the wonderful animals & things on earth & in space, your spirit will NEVER die. Thus, you have something to GAIN.

ALL religions are false!
Christianity is a true relationship with Him, the King.
Plenty can be false in/about a religion, but what can be false about relationship?

As long as you believe Him & have a relationship with Him, no matter how short, you will get into Heaven.

" 'If He's the Christian god, then why is the Bible so mixed up?' (Contradictions, world is under 10,000 years old, etc)"
^Please elaborate on what you mean here.

Don't doubt in the darkness what God has shown you in the light.

 

[masterchiefy]

" 'If He's the Christian god, then why is the Bible so mixed up?' (Contradictions, world is under 10,000 years old, etc)"
^Please elaborate on what you mean here.

Well, I haven't really studied the Bible, but then how old does the Bible say the world is? Surely it does say millions of years old. Then Adam and Eve must have been like cavemen or what... ?

 

[Bryanfromiowa]

Read the bible, talk to a pastor, visit a christian book store you can books that will address your questions, most of all pray talk to god he will guide you to the answers you seek.

 

[WuAgent]

man o' man, praise be to God!!

i've been where the threadstarter is at asking the very same questions, thinking christianity was a bunch of hogwash and boulderdash. then God, in his great mercy, revealed himself to me in a real way(may his name be praised). allow me to share my testimony.

for as long as i can remember i was into inappropriate contentagraphy. many times in my walk with God i tried to get away from it on my own strength. i would delete my hard drive, i would give my computer up to someone else, i did accountability partners. none of it worked. i would either find other ways to get inappropriate content like going to inappropriate contentshops or video stores to rent movies, i would go over someone else house who had the web and watch it there, or i would eventually just get my computer back from whoever i gave it to. when i got my computer back, i would totally crash. i would accumulate twice as much inappropriate content than what i had at first and would find new ways to get inappropriate content and watch inappropriate content. this cycle would go on, and on, and on for me.

while at church some guys where having a convo on spiritual matters and i overheard them mention that verse in matthew 12:43-45:

43"When an evil[f] spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first

i went home that sunday thinking about this verse and how i so badly wanted to get free from inappropriate content. i thought about trying to let my friend keep my computer but i knew that eventually(usually within a week) i would go right back to inappropriate content again. i decided that i was gonna give it another go but instead of trying stop on my own efforts, i was gonna pray and believe in God to step in. i included that scripture about the demons in my prayer saying that when i throw this demon out that when it tries to come back that it would find that the holy spirit was occupying the house, that the holy spirit would fill the vacancy that inappropriate content left. its now been almost 2 months and i have not gone back to watching inappropriate content. and its not like im going around saying to myself "dont look at inappropriate content, dont look at inappropriate content, dont look at inappropriate content" i just dont do it, without thinking about it, without any real effort or struggle.

God has also been dealing with my social isolation. i used to go to church, not talk to anyone, not look at anyone and sit in the back of the church by myself(i had been like this for 10 years). i didnt go to any church functions, had recently decided to totally quit bible study group, and was on the verge of walking away from church altogether. now im talking to everyone, i sit in the front row with people in my bible study group and i'm going to group while not feeling like i suck and dont belong. i've also gotten to the point where i can worship God during praise service, something i had not been able to do for the past decade as well. none of it feels like im doing it by my own effort, its the holy spirit changing my heart and directing my path.

as far as the questions you have(trust me, i've asked the same questions), understand that if God's existence could be proven there would be no need for faith. faith and proof are like night and day, one cant exist if the other is present. i dont need faith to know i have a laptop, i can just look at it sitting in my basement and know its there.

this might sound cliche but im saying this because this is how it happened for me. tell someone who you confide in how you are feeling and have them pray for you. do this as often as you can. and as someone already mentioned pray for God to reveal himself to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened. and above everything else, and this is gonna sound cliche too but its for real...

DO NOT GIVE UP!!!

 

[iamjcs]

Well, I haven't really studied the Bible, but then how old does the Bible say the world is? Surely it does say millions of years old. Then Adam and Eve must have been like cavemen or what... ?

Gensis 1 doesn't specify what year it was BC when things started, but there is another way to look at it.

From Adam to Jesus - there were 58 generations which with current theories of 40 years per generation, would come to about 2360 years in BC.
Then add 2009 years in AD.
You get about 4369 years.

Aethist say the world is a good bit older than this because they don't believe in the flood of the Bible in Noah's time.

 

[brinny]

o_o I don't know how to explain, it just seem to be losing faith. I keep thinking "atheistic" (I know its not a word) thoughts.

"What if God wasn't real?"
"What happens if He isn't real and I die?"
"If he is real, which religion is true about Him?"
"How do we know?"
"Am I sure I'm gonna get into Heaven if He is real?"
"If He's the Christian god, then why is the Bible so mixed up?" (Contradictions, world is under 10,000 years old, etc)

among other questions. And I don't know, I guess I've been thinking more like an agnostic person lately. I truly want to believe there is a God, but how am I to know I am praising the right God? It's just a weird feeling...

So, people keep telling me to pray. I did. Nothiiiing. How am I supposed to tell if "God is talking to me"? How can I regain my faith?

(Yeah, you guys are gonna be telling me just to belieeeeve. o_o It's hard to do that and still call yourself a logical thinker is your a strict Christian that believes EVERYTHING the Bible says.)


Pray for me? :o

Do you love Him?

 

[masterchiefy]

Do you love Him?

Define love, since I cannot do that. No one really can explain it since its not "scientifically proven".

 

[smacarena]

This is an interesting thread, as it's about stuff I've been dealing with lately. It's part of the reason why I thought joining this forum would be a good idea. I think I'm dealing with too much of my own self-centeredness. But I also think that the church has leaned too much on politics and has forgotten compassion. Maybe you're in a spot in your life that God wants you to move from. Or you don't have a decent church. These are only guesses, however.

 

[BrendanMark]

Personally, I found contemplative prayer to be of immense value in this regard.

Every one of us is shadowed by an illusory person: a false self.

This is the man that I want myself to be but who cannot exist, because God does not know anything about him.
Merton, Thomas – New Seeds of Contemplation [NDP 1961 p 34]


All sin starts from the assumption that my false self, the self that exists only in my own egocentric desires, is the fundamental reality of life to which everything else in the universe is ordered. Thus I use up my life in the desire for pleasures and the thirst for experiences, for power, honor, knowledge and love, to clothe this false self and construct its nothingness into something objectively real. And I wind experiences around myself and cover myself with pleasures and glory like bandages in order to make myself perceptible to myself and to the world, as if I were an invisible body that could only become visible when something visible covered its surface.

But there is no substance under the things with which I am clothed. I am hollow, and my structure of pleasures and ambitions has no foundation. I am objectified in them. But they are all destined by their very contingency to be destroyed. And when they are gone there will be nothing left of me but my own nakedness and emptiness and hollowness, to tell me that I am my own mistake.
Merton, Thomas – New Seeds of Contemplation [NDP 1961 p 34-35]


Contemplation is not and cannot be a function of this external self. There is an irreducible opposition between the deep transcendent self that awakens only in contemplation, and the superficial, external self which we commonly identify with the first person singular. We must remember that this superficial “I” is not our real self. It is our “individuality” and our “empirical self” but it is not truly the hidden and mysterious person in whom we subsist before the eyes of God. The “I” that works in the world, that thinks about itself, observes its own reactions and talks about itself is not the true “I” that has been united to God in Christ. It is at best the vesture, the mask, the disguise of that mysterious and unknown “self” whom most of us never discover until we are dead. Our external, superficial self is not eternal, not spiritual. Far from it, this self is doomed to disappear as completely as smoke from a chimney. It is utterly frail and evanescent. Contemplation is precisely the awareness that this “I” is really “not I” and the awakening of the unknown “I” that is beyond observation and reflection and is incapable of commenting upon itself. It cannot even say “I” with the assurance of the other one, for its very nature is to be hidden, unnamed, unidentified in the society where men talk about themselves and about one another.
Merton, Thomas – New Seeds of Contemplation [NDP 1961 p 7-8]

 

[MoNiCa4316]

o_o I don't know how to explain, it just seem to be losing faith. I keep thinking "atheistic" (I know its not a word) thoughts.

"What if God wasn't real?"
"What happens if He isn't real and I die?"
"If he is real, which religion is true about Him?"
"How do we know?"
"Am I sure I'm gonna get into Heaven if He is real?"
"If He's the Christian god, then why is the Bible so mixed up?" (Contradictions, world is under 10,000 years old, etc)

among other questions. And I don't know, I guess I've been thinking more like an agnostic person lately. I truly want to believe there is a God, but how am I to know I am praising the right God? It's just a weird feeling...

So, people keep telling me to pray. I did. Nothiiiing. How am I supposed to tell if "God is talking to me"? How can I regain my faith?

(Yeah, you guys are gonna be telling me just to belieeeeve. o_o It's hard to do that and still call yourself a logical thinker is your a strict Christian that believes EVERYTHING the Bible says.)


Pray for me? :o

try to not rely on feelings so much. Faith is a choice to hold on to what your reason has once accepted, despite your changing moods (CS Lewis). Sometimes we have to just ignore what we feel and just make a choice. Sometimes we also have to learn to trust God.. we only learn to trust when it's difficult to trust, not when it's easy. Yes faith does feel like "jumping off a cliff in the dark", lol, but what if you do that and you find God? He reveals Himself to us when we're willing to have faith, when we are willing to choose to trust Him. He wants us to choose Him with our free will alone. Maybe this time is just God trying to take you further in faith.. try to cooperate with His grace in this.

that is just my honest opinion.

Also, remember there are various interpretations of Genesis. No one says you MUST believe the earth is a certain age. If your current church tells you this, maybe just find a new church. You don't have to leave God over something like this.

God bless.

 

[white dove]

o_o I don't know how to explain, it just seem to be losing faith. I keep thinking "atheistic" (I know its not a word) thoughts.

"What if God wasn't real?"
"What happens if He isn't real and I die?"
"If he is real, which religion is true about Him?"
"How do we know?"
"Am I sure I'm gonna get into Heaven if He is real?"
"If He's the Christian god, then why is the Bible so mixed up?" (Contradictions, world is under 10,000 years old, etc)

Do you belong to a church? If not, is there a church you can go to where someone would be willing to sit down with you to discuss your thoughts and beliefs/spiritual walk? Insomuch as you need to continue seeking the Word and praying on your own, you may also need to speak to someone who has more of a background in apologetics; someone who is much more mature in the faith. I did. I tred that very same path, myself. And as much as I clung to the Bible, the worship music and all of that, it wasn't until I met with someone who could walk me through the basics all over again where I began to, once more, develop and strengthen my faith through questioning and uncovering truth. But, it took time... it was grueling and this battle wasn't won overnight. And, in some ways, it keeps raging on - yet not to the extent that it once had. As much as this might seem like your time in the desert and however discomforting it may feel, press on and continue pressing on. I will pray for you.

 

[Blade]

masterchiefy..

Talking to a pastor.. some church you went.. some christian fourm.. hehe

One your not alone. Ask him to show you .. ask him .. lol see what your doing? Hes.. The GREAT I AM.. is wanting to know you.. wants you to seek him.

Talk to him.. get alone and read the bible.. John maybe.. keep seeking .. trust me he is there.. he will answer you. And tell him how you feel.. what you want. He is listening. And EXPECT him to show you he is VERY much alive.

He LOVES you so much.. more than you can ever know.