I have lost my faith

[HopeInJesusOnly]

I find it harder and harder to relate to Christ and the Bible. It didn't help that I was abused growing up, and that those I turned to did nothing.

When a Christian says "I'll pray for you," I think, "Why don't you DO something to help." Praying is fine, but if no one does anything, nothing happens.

Why did there HAVE to be a tree with forbidden fruit? And why did we name our phones and computers after them (Macintosh, Apple, Blackberry...lol).

If this is the fallen world, well then, this is hell. Obviously.

Why so many parables? Why not just tell us. Make it clear.

Why must some be damned? Why don't the elect know who they are? More anxiety.

Why do we eat the blood and the body? Does this sound right? Feels vampire-ish?

Why were books left out of the bible?

I lost my faith, and the Bible tells me I wasn't chosen, so I fell away. Not fair.

Why is there possession, but also the Holy Spirit?

Why are there few miracles, but also magic?

If you could move a mountain, wouldn't that be weird for others?

I could go on....but none of this makes sense to me now.

Pre-Corona world was a better one. Maybe we were sent here because we failed in life, and the Bible was given to us to believe and go quietly.

I could go on....I am so lost and numb.

 

[returntosender]

What did you want them to do?
"Why don't you DO something to help." Praying is fine, but if no one does anything, nothing happens.

I lost my faith, and the Bible tells me I wasn't chosen, so I fell away. Not fair.

The bible didn't tell you that.

 

[d taylor]

Can not get any clearer than this.​

John 6:47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.

 

[HopeInJesusOnly]

What did you want them to do?
"Why don't you DO something to help." Praying is fine, but if no one does anything, nothing happens.

I ran from an abusive home to payphones only to be told they couldn't help me but would pray for me. What I wanted? Someone to put an end to sexual and physical abuse. For example.

You can't run away without first having somewhere to go. Homeless is never an easy option.

No Christian wanted to deal with it. It was my problem alone.

 

[HopeInJesusOnly]

Can not get any clearer than this.​

John 6:47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.

But it feels like hell on earth right now, and I did believe.

Thanks for your response.

 

[HopeInJesusOnly]

I lost my faith, and the Bible tells me I wasn't chosen, so I fell away. Not fair.

The bible didn't tell you that.

Yes, it did: 1 John 2:19

 

[d taylor]

But it feels like hell on earth right now, and I did believe.

Thanks for your response.

That can be true but Jesus came to offer anyone who believes in Him the free gift of Gods Eternal Life. He did not promise to the believers, that life would be straighten out when they believe in him. A drunk may still have to deal with the sin of alcoholism, etc..

Try to make better areas of your life that you can control and areas out of your control just seek out the best way to deal with them, pray for help and guidance.

The prince of this world now, is hard at work making life as hard as it can be for believers. Trying to get them ingrained in many of the pagan satanic teachings, he has disguised as fun, helpful, fulfilling etc...

 

[Sketcher]

I find it harder and harder to relate to Christ and the Bible. It didn't help that I was abused growing up, and that those I turned to did nothing.

Sorry to hear that.

When a Christian says "I'll pray for you," I think, "Why don't you DO something to help." Praying is fine, but if no one does anything, nothing happens.

Sometimes that's a very valid question. Sometimes it is beyond my power to do anything to help people, and prayer is all I can do. Not just in the realm of convenience, I mean in the realm of possibility.

Why did there HAVE to be a tree with forbidden fruit? And why did we name our phones and computers after them (Macintosh, Apple, Blackberry...lol).

Steve Jobs wasn't a Christian, so he held that story in contempt. I haven't heard of any interpretations of the forbidden fruit being a blackberry - just the apple or the pomegranite, and both are speculation anyway.

If this is the fallen world, well then, this is hell. Obviously.

I understand that you're having a tough time, but if you're in the UK behind a computer screen there are much worse places in this world, trust me. Did anyone in your family fight in World War I?

Why so many parables? Why not just tell us. Make it clear.

Do you get more out of Revelation or the prophesies of Ezekiel than the parables?

Why must some be damned? Why don't the elect know who they are? More anxiety.

Some of the elect do know who they are.

Why do we eat the blood and the body? Does this sound right? Feels vampire-ish?

No, it doesn't feel vampire-ish to me, nor does it feel cannibalistic. I think you should research what your church believes about communion, whether it's transubstantiation, consubstantiation, or the symbolic view.

Why were books left out of the bible?

None were left out that should have been included.

I lost my faith, and the Bible tells me I wasn't chosen, so I fell away. Not fair.

You could come back like Peter did, in which case you were chosen.

Why is there possession, but also the Holy Spirit?

I have not heard a credible Bible teacher claim that someone who has the Holy Spirit can also be possessed by an evil spirit.

Why are there few miracles, but also magic?

There are quite a few miracles that happen in their time and place. Personally, I haven't seen very much if any magic at work.

If you could move a mountain, wouldn't that be weird for others?

Probably would be. I don't see why this has to do with whether or not Jesus is divine, or whether or not he died and rose from the grave.

 

[SarahsKnight]

and I did believe.

Thanks for your response.

And I think that you will again, Hope. I like to think that in your heart you still do. Unfortunately it seems that life has thrown many things in your way both in the past and right now to cause you to feel doubt or that you do not believe, or were not "chosen".

 

[HopeInJesusOnly]

Sorry to hear that.

Sometimes that's a very valid question. Sometimes it is beyond my power to do anything to help people, and prayer is all I can do. Not just in the realm of convenience, I mean in the realm of possibility.


Steve Jobs wasn't a Christian, so he held that story in contempt. I haven't heard of any interpretations of the forbidden fruit being a blackberry - just the apple or the pomegranite, and both are speculation anyway.

I understand that you're having a tough time, but if you're in the UK behind a computer screen there are much worse places in this world, trust me. Did anyone in your family fight in World War I?


Do you get more out of Revelation or the prophesies of Ezekiel than the parables?

Some of the elect do know who they are.


No, it doesn't feel vampire-ish to me, nor does it feel cannibalistic. I think you should research what your church believes about communion, whether it's transubstantiation, consubstantiation, or the symbolic view.


None were left out that should have been included.


You could come back like Peter did, in which case you were chosen.


I have not heard a credible Bible teacher claim that someone who has the Holy Spirit can also be possessed by an evil spirit.


There are quite a few miracles that happen in their time and place. Personally, I haven't seen very much if any magic at work.


Probably would be. I don't see why this has to do with whether or not Jesus is divine, or whether or not he died and rose from the grave.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I appreciate it.

 

[com7fy8]

Pre-Corona world was a better one. Maybe we were sent here because we failed in life, and the Bible was given to us to believe and go quietly.

The Bible is clear how we are in an evil world . . . no parables about it! And there are things and people who are a sample of how hell will be. But hell will be much more intense.

And Jesus went through all He did, at the hands of evil people. So, He knows what you are going through, more or less out of His own experience, even.

 

[paul1149]

Hi Hope. I've been about where you are, when my first church failed me. It ultimately imploded, though it has come back now.

The church in the West in not in great shape. The devil can attack directly, or he can woo us to sleep spiritually through enticements and compromise. He's had a lot of success with the latter, and we are to the point where we look much like the world, instead of being characterized by truth and love.

It was a big and difficult lesson for me to learn to separate between the Lord, who is always faithful and who cannot fail, and the church, which can miss the mark.

I know it's hard, but don't let the devil rip you off. Instead of drawing away from God during this time of trial, draw near to Him and let Him be your strength. The theological issues - try to put them on the altar for the time being, in faith that in due time you will have answers. But you need faith right now as a protection against all you're going through. Don't go through it without Him.

I doubt there's much I can do, but I do and will pray that the Lord will make a way for you. May you be encouraged in the Holy Spirit. And if there is anything further I can do, let me know.

 

[HopeInJesusOnly]

The Bible is clear how we are in an evil world . . . no parables about it! And there are things and people who are a sample of how hell will be. But hell will be much more intense.

And Jesus went through all He did, at the hands of evil people. So, He knows what you are going through, more or less out of His own experience, even.

You know what seems stranger lately? (Pandemic aside.) The last three years, TV and movies have ramped up "end time" prophecies. Shows like Lucifer, The Good Place, The Remnants...movies like Avengers Endgame.

It feels like a gaslighting of sorts and adds to my anxiety. Doesn't help I was losing my faith before all this.

 

[HopeInJesusOnly]

Hi Hope. I've been about where you are, when my first church failed me. It ultimately imploded, though it has come back now.

The church in the West in not in great shape. The devil can attack directly, or he can woo us to sleep spiritually through enticements and compromise. He's had a lot of success with the latter, and we are to the point where we look much like the world, instead of being characterized by truth and love.

It was a big and difficult lesson for me to learn to separate between the Lord, who is always faithful and who cannot fail, and the church, which can miss the mark.

I know it's hard, but don't let the devil rip you off. Instead of drawing away from God during this time of trial, draw near to Him and let Him be your strength. The theological issues - try to put them on the altar for the time being, in faith that in due time you will have answers. But you need faith right now as a protection against all you're going through. Don't go through it without Him.

I doubt there's much I can do, but I do and will pray that the Lord will make a way for you. May you be encouraged in the Holy Spirit. And if there is anything further I can do, let me know.

Very kind of you, thank you.

 

[Fervent]

From your post it seems you're having some serious issues in your life. I'm reminding of the parable of the soils, especially those sown on the rocky ground. Faith can be a source of strength in those dark moments, a peace that surpasses all understanding. But it must be truly apprehended, grasping that if the Master was not spared why should His disciples expect to be? The life of the Christian is one of rejection and sorrow and pain, but in those things there is a joy to be grasped through union with Christ. In suffering we are joined with the innocent lamb and become partakers of the Divine.

 

[HopeInJesusOnly]

From your post it seems you're having some serious issues in your life. I'm reminding of the parable of the soils, especially those sown on the rocky ground. Faith can be a source of strength in those dark moments, a peace that surpasses all understanding. But it must be truly apprehended, grasping that if the Master was not spared why should His disciples expect to be? The life of the Christian is one of rejection and sorrow and pain, but in those things there is a joy to be grasped through union with Christ. In suffering we are joined with the innocent lamb and become partakers of the Divine.

But many around me are experiencing such joy. So I'm either doing things really wrong, or I am like the rich man speaking to Lazarus who is in Abraham's bosom.

 

[Fervent]

But many around me are experiencing such joy. So I'm either doing things really wrong, or I am like the rich man speaking to Lazarus who is in Abraham's bosom.

Happiness and joy are not the same thing, joy is certainly within your grasp. It can be quite easy to look at horrors visited upon us and question why we were selected for such a terrible fate. Yet it is in that suffering that we have the opportunity to become unified with Christ in a way that is unlike any other. I don't know what it is, but there's a reason for your suffering that is in your best interest somehow and it will be set right one day. But today we have the union with Christ to rejoice in when suffering is upon us, to look to Him not as teacher or rescue but as stepping into the darkness and turning it around. You are not alone in the battle, Christ is with you always.

 

[com7fy8]

You know what seems stranger lately? (Pandemic aside.) The last three years, TV and movies have ramped up "end time" prophecies. Shows like Lucifer, The Good Place, The Remnants...movies like Avengers Endgame.

It feels like a gaslighting of sorts and adds to my anxiety. Doesn't help I was losing my faith before all this.

Well, part of living by faith includes trusting God to take care of things.

"casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

 

[Servus]

I find it harder and harder to relate to Christ and the Bible. It didn't help that I was abused growing up, and that those I turned to did nothing.

When a Christian says "I'll pray for you," I think, "Why don't you DO something to help." Praying is fine, but if no one does anything, nothing happens.

Why did there HAVE to be a tree with forbidden fruit? And why did we name our phones and computers after them (Macintosh, Apple, Blackberry...lol).

If this is the fallen world, well then, this is hell. Obviously.

Why so many parables? Why not just tell us. Make it clear.

Why must some be damned? Why don't the elect know who they are? More anxiety.

Why do we eat the blood and the body? Does this sound right? Feels vampire-ish?

Why were books left out of the bible?

I lost my faith, and the Bible tells me I wasn't chosen, so I fell away. Not fair.

Why is there possession, but also the Holy Spirit?

Why are there few miracles, but also magic?

If you could move a mountain, wouldn't that be weird for others?

I could go on....but none of this makes sense to me now.

Pre-Corona world was a better one. Maybe we were sent here because we failed in life, and the Bible was given to us to believe and go quietly.

I could go on....I am so lost and numb.

I've been pretty frustraited over things that don't seem to make sense and felt totally discoraged. I wrote an angry group email about that once to my paster, a bible teacher and a mentor. I said the Bible makes no sense and so on.
But when it comes to faith, all that matters is what's in your username; hope in Jesus only. My suggestion is to focus on Jesus only when it comes to your faith. What do you believe when it comes to Jesus?

 

[HopeInJesusOnly]

I've been pretty frustraited over things that don't seem to make sense and felt totally discoraged. I wrote an angry group email about that once to my paster, a bible teacher and a mentor. I said the Bible makes no sense and so on.
But when it comes to faith, all that matters is what's in your username; hope in Jesus only. My suggestion is to focus on Jesus only when it comes to your faith. What do you believe when it comes to Jesus?

I believe He forgot about me. He chose my abusers, instead.