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God's existence

Fish14

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Last year I doubted my salvation a lot. The doubts went away when I believed blindly that I'm saved instead of trying to prove it and reinforcing the OCD.

After I knew I'm saved, I feared that I will start doubting God's existence. That's exactly what happened. It's the same OCD thing but with a different topic. First I doubt that God exists. Then I read proof and evidence about His existence and get relief to my anxiety, but when I encounter arguments for atheism or invent them, it starts again.

I know that if I believed blindly in God, my doubts immediately vanished, but I don't want to live under a delusion! I don't want to be a Christian if God doesn't exist.

Here are some reasons to doubt*:
*I believe evolution and an old earth are atheistic.
 

SkyWriting

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SkyWriting

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I believe evolution and an old earth are atheistic.

Evolution not engineered by God would be.

Habakkuk 3:6 He stood, and shook the earth; he looked, and made Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. ... The
age-old mountains break apart; the ancient hills sink down. ...

Genesis 49:26 Your father's blessings are greater than the ...
... The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the oldest
mountains and the riches of the ancient hills. May these ...

Deuteronomy 33:15 with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains ...
... the finest fruits from the oldest mountains, the best from the ancient hills, .... ...

Isaiah 37:26 "Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days ...
... now I have brought it to effect: and it hath come to pass that hills fighting together ...
Hast thou not heard that long ago I did it, and that from ancient days I ...

Psalm 76:4 You are radiant with light, more majestic than ...
... You shine brightly and reveal your majesty, as you descend from the hills where
you killed your prey. ... You are more majestic than the ancient mountains. ...
 
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MyGivenNameIsKeith

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When I got saved, I didn't just hear it and believe in God blindly. There were elements to the Word, to God, and Jesus Christ that convicted my heart. Using that as my foundation, as my source, I trusted in him. I don't believe blindly. The Lord gives us sight to see. The more we TRUST in him, the clearer it is to see. When you make yourself blind in your belief, you can easily be led astray. "Blind leading the blind".... Pray to the Lord, ask him to help you with your trust. Ask him to increase your faith. Ask him to convict your heart and plant his word in solid ground. Ask him to water the seed which he has planted. Trust that he will do the things he said he would do. Read the bible, not the internet.
 
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Fish14

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Spending too much time on a pro-atheistic site like RationalWiki isn't going to bolster your faith at all...

I need to know the arguments on both sides and them come to a conclusion on God's existence. As I said, I don't want to live under a delusion.
 
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MyGivenNameIsKeith

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I need to know the arguments on both sides and them come to a conclusion on God's existence. As I said, I don't want to live under a delusion.
To tell if the stick is crooked, one only need compare it to a straight one.
Simply put, you would not be here if you did not hear God calling you. You would not be asking if you did not see God in other people's lives. But you do know he exists. I realize sometimes you wish you didn't. It's in our sinful nature to walk away from the God that we love. (Revelation 2:4) All of creation speaks of him and knows he is there. When you draw closer to God, he will draw closer to you. When you read more about why he isn't there, you get further away. One thing that helped me when I had trouble, was embrace the feeling you are getting. Rather than running away from say, the fear of death, turn into it like a wave, and be like "God got me." When you acknowledge that God is who he says he is in the Bible, you are trusting him.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Doubt is an experience common to all people. Even those with faith in God struggle with doubt on occasion and say with the man in Mark 9:24, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”. Some people are hindered greatly by doubt; some see it as a springboard to life; and others see it as an obstacle to be overcome. The Bible has something to say about the cause of doubt and provides examples of people who struggled with it.

Classical humanism says that doubt, while uncomfortable, is absolutely essential for life. René Descartes said, “If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.” This is similar to what the founder of Buddhism said: “Doubt everything. Find your own light.” If we take their advice, we would have to doubt what they said, which seems rather contradictory. Instead of taking the advice of skeptics and false teachers, we will see what the Bible has to say.

A working definition of doubt is “to lack confidence, to consider unlikely.” The very first expression of doubt in the Bible is in Genesis 3, when Satan tempted Eve. God had given a clear command regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and had specified the consequence of disobedience. Satan introduced doubt into Eve’s mind when he asked, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” He wanted her to lack confidence in God’s command. When she affirmed God’s command, including the consequences, Satan replied with a denial, which is a stronger statement of doubt: “You will not surely die.” Doubt is a tool of Satan to make us lack confidence in God’s Word and consider His judgment unlikely.

Lest we think that we can lay all of the blame on Satan, the Bible clearly holds us accountable for our own doubts. When Zechariah was visited by the angel of the Lord and told that he would have a son (Luke 1:11-17), he doubted the word given to him. He logically assumed that he and his wife were too old to have children, and in response to his doubt, the angel said he would be mute until the day God’s promise was fulfilled (Luke 1:18-20). Zechariah doubted God’s ability to overcome natural obstacles – many people today share the same doubt. Any time we allow human reason to overshadow faith in God, sinful doubt is the result. No matter how logical our reasons may seem, God has made foolish the wisdom of the world (1 Corinthians 1:20), and His seemingly foolish plans are far wiser than man’s. Faith is trusting God even when His plan goes against human reason or experience.

Contrary to the humanistic view that doubt is essential to life, the Bible says that doubt is a destroyer of life. James 1:5-8 tells us that when we ask God for wisdom, we are to ask in faith, without doubt. If we doubt God’s ability to respond to our request, what would be the point of asking in the first place? God says that if we doubt while we ask, we will not receive anything from Him, because we are unstable. “He who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6).

The remedy for doubt is faith, and faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). God gave us the Bible as a testimony of His works in the past, so we will have a reason to trust Him in the present. “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago” (Psalm 77:11). In order for us to have faith in God, we must study to know what He has said. Once we have an understanding of what God has done in the past, what He has promised us for the present, and what we can expect from Him in the future, we are able to act in faith instead of doubt.

The most famous doubter in the Bible was Thomas, who declared that he would not believe that the Lord was resurrected unless he could see and touch Jesus himself (John 20:25-28). When he later saw Jesus and believed, he received the gentle rebuke, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” We can have confidence even in the things we cannot see, because God has proven Himself faithful, true, and able.
 
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1am3laine

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You should start on the book of proverbs.
Proverbs 13:2 & Proverbs 18:20-21 paraphrase says are words are food.
example educ(ATE) = we are eating information

We have more than 5 thousands words with ate/eat in our language.
So we truly are eating our words.
ex links
List words containing ate
List words containing ait

List words containing eat
List words containing eet
List words containing eit

ex the readers digest
what are we digesting(eating)? the word just like proverbs says.

another ex: twitter feed
what are we feeding on? the word just like proverbs said!

In Romans 1:20 "being understood by the things that are made" we can prove HE(GOD) exist.
 
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Cat Loaf You

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Faith come by reading Word of God so keep reading more , maybe one chapter of Proverbs every day ( there are 31 so read one depending on calendar date ).

Also if you dubt your salvation every time you just can do this test.

Romans 10:13
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

So remind yourself the time you called on name of YAHWEH and you will feel back on track.

Also we often dubt salvation after we sin .
1 John 1:9-10

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Make sure you understand it , even if you don't feel like asking for forgivness , it's not about you but about his faith . Jesus is faithfull to forgive you so you can go and sin no more , and he will always do that .


Also to boost your confidence watch these :



 
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Mari17

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I would like to point out that with OCD, excessive research often does not help, because your OCD always comes up with another reason to doubt. Because your mind so badly wants not to doubt. It seems you already discovered this with the salvation obsession - the key to overcoming it was to stop trying to seek reassurance. I could give lots more info if you want it, but I'd definitely recommend researching all you can about OCD and how to fight it. ocdandchristianity.com is a good resource. If you're not super familiar with how to overcome OCD (using CBT and ERP therapy techniques!) I'd be happy to provide more advice/resources. I've had OCD for years so I know how you feel. Basically, your mind wants to doubt something, so it will latch onto anything - usually what matters most to you. And it will try to make you unsettled, confused, and afraid. But there is hope for overcoming it by training your mind.
 
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Fish14

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I would like to point out that with OCD, excessive research often does not help, because your OCD always comes up with another reason to doubt. Because your mind so badly wants not to doubt. It seems you already discovered this with the salvation obsession - the key to overcoming it was to stop trying to seek reassurance. I could give lots more info if you want it, but I'd definitely recommend researching all you can about OCD and how to fight it. ocdandchristianity.com is a good resource. If you're not super familiar with how to overcome OCD (using CBT and ERP therapy techniques!) I'd be happy to provide more advice/resources. I've had OCD for years so I know how you feel. Basically, your mind wants to doubt something, so it will latch onto anything - usually what matters most to you. And it will try to make you unsettled, confused, and afraid. But there is hope for overcoming it by training your mind.

A funny thing just happened to me. When I accepted my complete uncertainty on God's existence, I finally believe in Him! OCD is so counter-intuitive. The more reassurance you seek, the less it helps and vice versa. Now the prophecies and miracles of the Bible are enough proof for me and I realized atheism isn't true. Thank you!

John 20:24-29 also helped me a lot.
 
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