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archarios said:

(i'd rather sneak in to the forums without introducing myself because i'm a coward.)

i'm supposedly a Christian. i got baptized in 2014, and within months went back to all my sins, all of which i keep commiting to this day, even though i spend so much of every day listening to sermons/the Bible/other Christian audiobooks hoping that my corrupt and sin-riddled mind might start to learn something about sanctification. sometimes i may go a few hours or even overnight without doing something too overt or deliberate, but it seems inevitable that a sin will be commited willfully. i don't understand when Christians say to "stop trying", and then 10 minutes later say that we need to "keep trying" not to sin.

i'm supposedly a Lutheran, but mostly because it seemed it would be "Catholicism-Lite" without a year or more waiting period to become a member. Threw away all my catholic books and rosaries in a fit of zealotry only to calm down and find i don't have a connection to lutheranism/protestantism either.

should stop before "i" write 40 more "i" statements. hope my sharp corners and rough edges can be ground down a good bit by actually speaking with Christians for a change.

Click to expand...

Hello and welcome to CF.

The problem of how we stop sinning (overtly, so much, to a degree) is an old one.

Some Christians think they never sin, because they don't recognize what sin is. Others may get crushed a bit because of being overly-scrupulous. It takes time to really understand the nature of sin, and how we are basically being transformed to be more like Christ (and thus sin less, at which time we usually become aware of finer degrees of sin, and begin to progress on overcoming those).

The degree and nature of the struggle varies very much between persons.

What I can tell you is that there is much written by the Church fathers, some Saints, and so on. I'm not saying you should convert, but just letting you know that if you haven't run across it, there is much writing within Orthodoxy on this topic. You might like to explore it. (Just be careful that if you're reading something written by monks for monks, for example, that the principles can be good but the details might be too strict for a layperson.) I've found much that has been tremendously useful to me though. If you want suggestions or to discuss it, feel free to drop by The Ancient Way (the Eastern Orthodox forum here) for a visit. Just wanted to mention it.

Again, welcome to CF!

The Ancient Way - Eastern Orthodox

Αδελφέ αρχάριε, καλώς όρισες!

Welcome to the forums.

You need to find an older gentleman in the faith who can mentor/disciple you into the person God would have you to be.

archarios said:

(i'd rather sneak in to the forums without introducing myself because i'm a coward.)

i'm supposedly a Christian. i got baptized in 2014, and within months went back to all my sins, all of which i keep commiting to this day, even though i spend so much of every day listening to sermons/the Bible/other Christian audiobooks hoping that my corrupt and sin-riddled mind might start to learn something about sanctification. sometimes i may go a few hours or even overnight without doing something too overt or deliberate, but it seems inevitable that a sin will be commited willfully. i don't understand when Christians say to "stop trying", and then 10 minutes later say that we need to "keep trying" not to sin.

i'm supposedly a Lutheran, but mostly because it seemed it would be "Catholicism-Lite" without a year or more waiting period to become a member. Threw away all my catholic books and rosaries in a fit of zealotry only to calm down and find i don't have a connection to lutheranism/protestantism either.

should stop before "i" write 40 more "i" statements. hope my sharp corners and rough edges can be ground down a good bit by actually speaking with Christians for a change.

Click to expand...

We all sin every day. Becoming a Christian is not like waving a magic wand and poof all our sinful desires are gone. I struggled (and still do) with my temper. Over the years, since I rededicated my life to Christ, I am in more control of my temper. Perhaps a church with more support programs such as adult Bible studies,Celebrate Recovery, or a mid-week service will help. We have to surround ourselves with Christians to be able to maintain our walk with Christ. If you are like most of us, we work in a non-Christian atmosphere which does not help us stay on the path. Resisting the evil one requires Christian support. My husband and I generally seek out non-denominational Bible churches. Seek a church that has programs and that on Sunday morning the Pastor correctly quotes scripture. (the verse they quote is the same as what the Bible says). Some Pastors will say Matthew 6 says Blah Blah Blah and if you look in Matthew 6, it doesn't say that at all. Stay away from those churches.