Greetings! 38 year old former Christian here. Started examining my faith seriously about 5 years ago. Now I’m intrigued by what people believe and how they arrive at those beliefs. If we are to understand one another, civil discourse that truly seeks to meet the other where they are is one of the best ways to move forward. I’m open to any and all questions.
1 Peter 3:15 -Beginning of the End
- Thread starter MarkusAurelius
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I believe for a very simple reason. It is true. I did not come to an intellectual understanding about God, so I cannot have a change of mind. I have the wonderful joy of knowing God as a real, living, Person who is vitally involved in my life. It is so deep that Jesus is my Life. Without Him, I am nothing. I know God and Jesus spiritually.
You can read all you like about a person and come to an opinion about them. But if you meet that person, it is different. You can come to know them, not just have an opinion. No one can talk me out of my Christian beliefs because I know whom I have believed.
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@Aussie Pete
Thanks for your response! I wouldn’t want to talk you or anyone out of their Christian beliefs as I know there’s much truth to be found within them. I’m trying to understand other’s spiritual views and journeys and want to be respectful in doing so. Could you explain what you mean by you know God as a real, living, Person? How can I do the same?
Thanks for your response! I wouldn’t want to talk you or anyone out of their Christian beliefs as I know there’s much truth to be found within them. I’m trying to understand other’s spiritual views and journeys and want to be respectful in doing so. Could you explain what you mean by you know God as a real, living, Person? How can I do the same?
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klutedavid
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Hello Markus.
I came to Christianity from a secular background which is probably the opposite of your journey.
I investigated Christianity in a more formal manner, the New Testament was merely an ancient text to be examined.
Eventually, I arrived at a point on that journey where I realized that no living person, could actually prove, either way, whether the Christ.
Had, in fact, undergone an actual crucifixion and the resurrection as the text had testified to.
This is the critical problem that anyone who bothers to do the research on the New Testament will arrive at. Not whether one or more of the New Testament letters are authentic or not.
This question, did Jesus overcome death itself, is the central axiom on which Christianity is based. Unfortunately for everyone there is not a person on earth who really knows the answer to that question. That is, in the end, the line in the sand.
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Markus, I did not mean to imply that you were trying to talk me out of my belief. I was trying to make a point that there is another realm that we can enter into. It is beyond emotion and intellect.
I do not remember a time when I did not believe that God was real. I certainly wanted nothing to do with God. My dad was an atheist and from time to time would rant about the evils of Christianity, by which he meant Catholicism. He was brought up in a Catholic family.
I was taught both evolution and the creation story as in Genesis. I was unable to swallow the evolution myth so creation by God seemed to be the alternative. I accepted the basic facts of Christianity - Jesus lived, died, rose again - but I had no idea why. It was just history. Then someone I worked for told me the "why" of the "what". I had a vague idea that I would face God with a bunch of good works and another bunch of not so good works. I hoped that the good would outweigh the bad. He convinced me otherwise.
I realised that I was not going to make it into heaven. I'd never thought about hell. He did not bring it up. No, I just knew that I was not fit for heaven. He then gave me the good news, that Jesus died and rose again so that I could be saved. I accepted that Jesus died for me and rose again for me. As I did that, I sensed a great relief come over me. I did not realise that I'd felt guilty for most of my life. At that moment the guilt lifted. I also had a sense of being fulfilled for the first time ever.
I now know that I got born again at that time. This meant that I had a spirit from God and Jesus cam to live in my new heart. It was as if my eyes had been blinded and I received my sight. People say that seeing is believing. It is true. I saw Jesus on the cross, dying for me. I saw Him rising from the dead so that I could have new life. There is vastly more, but space is limited.
If you really want a relationship with God, ask Him to reveal Himself to you. He will. Perhaps some of the responses here will help you. By the way, Jesus really did rise from the dead. It's history, verified by eyewitnesses.
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Welcome Markus! I'm confident you'll have an undepletable resource here by which to drawn upon countless points of views regarding why any one individual Christian "believes." So, c'mon in, mosey around and you'll find some of us here who will be happy to provide you with some civil discourse about our faith.
2PhiloVoid
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