A few questions about Christianity

[questionsquestions]

Hi,
A few years ago I became very interested in religion and spirituality and would like to ask some questions about Christianity. I've been looking for somewhere to get succinct, objective and calm answers because my questions, although they are not difficult to understand, have many times been difficult for Christians to answer. My reasons for asking are only to try to understand and I am in no way here to try to offend anyone.​

I am a person who has the absence of belief that any deities exist, as opposed to belief that deities do not exist. So for example if I was asked 'Do you believe in God?' my quick answer would be 'No' and if I was asked 'Do you think God might exist?' my quick answer would be 'I don't know, but probably not'. My long answer would be to first ask 'What do you mean by God?’ I would ask this question because it appears that God means different things to different people. I have found some people use God as a name for life and the universe as we experience it which seems more of a spiritual approach as opposed to a religious approach to the answer.​

It appears to me the devil of religious discussion is in the detail and the detail is where a lot of the arguments for theism come unstuck. I have Christian friends, have met other Christians and have listened to religious discussions on the TV and radio with respected religious leaders, but the same questions repeatedly arise and the responses have always been cagey at best. Questions regarding homosexuality, atheism and marriage from what I have seen and heard all cause believers in God difficulty. I would like to start with some not so controversial questions though and hopefully the discussion can grow from there. Please feel free to ask me questions that might help you understand where I'm coming from.​

A Christian once said to me that praying works. How do Christians know that praying works? What evidence is there to support this? If I'm a believer, what do I have to do to pray? Is it just a thought in my head or do I have to hold my hands together or be in a church to be praying?
​

Why do Christians believe that Jesus was anything other than an ordinary man with some good ideas? Is it simply because it says so in the bible? Isn't the bible simply a book that has been written and translated many times by ordinary humans with flaws and agendas? If so how can it be representative of the truth?

Thanks.

 

[ViaCrucis]

... A Christian once said to me that praying works. How do Christians know that praying works? What evidence is there to support this? If I'm a believer, what do I have to do to pray? Is it just a thought in my head or do I have to hold my hands together or be in a church to be praying?

I'm actually not sure how the phrase "praying works" makes sense. But my understanding of prayer is something like the Jewish view:

"The Hebrew word for prayer is tefilah. It is derived from the root Pe-Lamed-Lamed and the word l'hitpalel, meaning to judge oneself. This surprising word origin provides insight into the purpose of Jewish prayer. The most important part of any Jewish prayer, whether it be a prayer of petition, of thanksgiving, of praise of G-d, or of confession, is the introspection it provides, the moment that we spend looking inside ourselves, seeing our role in the universe and our relationship to G-d." - Judaism 101

When I say that the phrase "prayer works" doesn't make a whole lot of sense, I mean it in that I don't view prayer as a form of magick, whereby I can exert my will upon the universe and affect change. Rather, prayer is about drawing myself under the will of God. When I pray for someone, e.g. that they be made well from a sickness, it is that I am bringing the situation before God, and offering it, that no matter what may come, God's will be done. When Jesus gave us the archetypal prayer in the Our Father, He prayed, "Your will be done," and I think that's essential to a proper understanding of prayer.

Why do Christians believe that Jesus was anything other than an ordinary man with some good ideas? Is it simply because it says so in the bible?

Because the Jesus that history records and which the Church receives and confesses is the Jesus presented in the Gospel narratives. It's not simply "The Bible says so", but rather that this is the Christian confession handed down through the centuries. It's quite difficult when reading the earliest Christian texts (the letters of Paul and the Gospels) to conclude that the earliest Christians believed Jesus was just somebody with a few good ideas. Even from the first, one need consider the term "Christian", it comes from the Greek "Christianos", a "Christ-person" or "follower of the Christ". The very basic confession is that Jesus is the Christos, the Messiah, the promised restorer of the world. This, and the basic Christian witness in the earliest layers of Christian thought, refined over the years until the theology became far more robust and well articulated. That theology can be found summarized in the basic Christian confession of faith, the Nicene Creed.

It's entirely possible that the Christian confession is in error, or even that no Jesus existed (true of any person in recorded history), but obviously Christians confess that these things are true, as we have received them down through the last two thousand years.

Isn't the bible simply a book that has been written and translated many times by ordinary humans with flaws and agendas? If so how can it be representative of the truth?

Thanks.

It's a common misconception that the Bible has went through several translations until the present. In fact when you crack open your every day English Bible (nearly any translation) what you have is an English translation produced from critical editions of original language texts.

A critical edition is a scholarly composite, drawing from a wealth of manuscripts, which is considered to represent well the original autographs. Since out of the literally thousands of manuscripts which exist, some going back to less than 50 years after the original would have been written, have variances (some more significant than others) it is necessary to draw out from these a critical, scholarly, edition of the source material with which to make a translation. Some of the earliest critical editions were produced in the 16th century, the King James Version drew from several critical editions, three from Erasmus, and additionally from Stephanus and Beza (all were significant scholars of their time), the result of these is known as the Textus Receptus, which is still an important critical text today. There are, however, other critical editions of the New Testament text, because there have been thousands of manuscripts discovered in the last 400+ years.

It is true that some translations (into English) have been produced from the Latin Vulgata, itself a translation (based on St. Jerome's work in the 5th century), but this is more true of earlier translations (such as John Wycliffe's, in the 14th century) than anything produced in the modern era.

In the end, we can be pretty confident that what we read in the text is what was written by the original author. When discrepancies and variances are there, we're pretty familiar with them, and there is a large scholarly community that considers these things. Such discrepancies hardly involve the significant points being made in the texts, for example, that Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead.

Whether or not it represents reality, well that's an issue of faith now isn't it?

-CryptoLutheran

 

[GrowingSmaller]

I cant really fault much of that. As far as knowledge of that i am pretty ignorant. I am not saying you are right but i dont have the quals to answer. I have felt in extraordinary circumstances that prayer was answered in an extraordinary way but cant tell you now of the details. As for what is God i think a consciousness with "terravolt" affirmation and power in ' i am...'. But properly beyond the human reach.

 

[questionsquestions]

Thank you these are great answers and are just what I have been looking for. I will ponder them and probably come back with more questions.

 

[GrowingSmaller]

Oliver - please sir i want some more - YouTube

 

[drich0150]

A Christian once said to me that praying works. How do Christians know that praying works?​

Because once you understand what praying is (Not a formal wishing cermony nor an oppertunity for one to leverage good deeds for things he or she thinks they are entitled to) Then one understands it is designed to never fail.

What evidence is there to support this?

The simple outline of the Prayer Christ left for us to pray.

If I'm a believer, what do I have to do to pray?

Christ explains this in luke 11:1-4 Luke 11 NKJV - The Model Prayer - Now it came to pass, - Bible Gateway

Is it just a thought in my head or do I have to hold my hands together or be in a church to be praying?

Neither/both​

Why do Christians believe that Jesus was anything other than an ordinary man with some good ideas?

Because the Idea He has was that He was God.

Is it simply because it says so in the bible? Isn't the bible simply a book that has been written and translated many times by ordinary humans with flaws and agendas? If so how can it be representative of the truth?

No. We have Several sets of the bible written in the orginal Greek, and it is from this orginal greek that all legitmate versions are translated.

 

[motherprayer]

I saw my prayers change another person's personality. I will never turn away from the faith after seeing that.

For clarification, it was not my prayers but God answering them that did it.

 

[questionsquestions]

Thanks again for all your answers. I do have further questions on your responses though.


"The most important part of any Jewish prayer, whether it be a prayer of petition, of thanksgiving, of praise of G-d, or of confession, is the introspection it provides, the moment that we spend looking inside ourselves, seeing our role in the universe and our relationship to G-d"

"...prayer is about drawing myself under the will of God. When I pray for someone, e.g. that they be made well from a sickness, it is that I am bringing the situation before God, and offering it, that no matter what may come, God's will be done"

"Because once you understand what praying is (Not a formal wishing ceremony nor an opportunity for one to leverage good deeds for things he or she thinks they are entitled to) Then one understands it is designed to never fail."

So from the above quotes is the purpose of prayer not to actually affect a direct physical change but to bring about an awareness of the surroundings and place in the universe of the prayer maker and therefore effect how the prayer maker interacts with their surroundings? Have I misunderstood?

"I saw my prayers change another person's personality. I will never turn away from the faith after seeing that. For clarification, it was not my prayers but God answering them that did it"

Do you think that if you hadn't prayed, God would not have answered and this person's personality would not have changed? And what do you think of the possibility that it may have been something else other than God answering your prayers that caused this person's personality to change? The reason I ask this is because it is the first question that would enter my mind if I had prayed for something then a change occurred. I understand that I may be interpreting your reply too literally and if I am could you expand on it bit?

"Because the Jesus that history records and which the Church receives and confesses is the Jesus presented in the Gospel narratives. It's not simply "The Bible says so", but rather that this is the Christian confession handed down through the centuries. It's quite difficult when reading the earliest Christian texts (the letters of Paul and the Gospels) to conclude that the earliest Christians believed Jesus was just somebody with a few good ideas."

So the old texts written by the earliest Christians describe Jesus as being more than just a man and that it is belief in this is what drives Christian faith practices?

"Because the Idea He has was that He was God."

...or, as this statement suggests to me, he was just a man who realised he was God, for example in the sense that he was part of everything the same way that you and I are part of everything?

"Whether or not it represents reality, well that's an issue of faith now isn't it?"

Please correct me if wrong, but I'm beginning to see a pattern where the answers to my questions are all based upon faith, in other words the confident belief in the truth of an idea. A Christian friend of mine once said to me:

"Every time you look in a mirror you see it. You see the mighty move of God, right there. You are God's workmanship created for good works in Christ. So Christian I say move! Move your mouth, move your heart, move your hands and move your feet, right in the very place you stand. Whatever the situation, move. Move for God, take the step and those around you will see it for themselves."

I like this because it appears to be saying that once you realise there is nothing to fear, even death, then you will become free to say and do the right things without prejudice, and as a result people around you will see and follow the same behaviour.

In the past I have had certain physical experiences and have equated them to the ideas of duality and the ego, which seem to match perfectly. This idea makes me interpret my friend’s statement as containing truth. The trouble is for many non-believers in God is that his statement is full of references to a thing that cannot be understood. The difference I see here is that the idea of duality is based only on what we physically can experience and not from texts written by others.

Another issue for non-believers like me is that we see what appear to be fundamental contradictions in religious practice. We hear talk of non-judgement and acceptance then hear that other people’s beliefs such as homosexuality and sex before marriage are wrong. If there is no evidence to suggest that these things have a negative effect on community then how can they be wrong? I have met gay Christians before, so how can they be Christians?

Obviously these topics are a bit controversial and I don't wish to stir up any bad emotions. I just wanted to share the difficulty that non-believers have with religious belief and how it is impossible to actually take the step to believe in something without experiencing it.​

 

[ViaCrucis]

So from the above quotes is the purpose of prayer not to actually affect a direct physical change but to bring about an awareness of the surroundings and place in the universe of the prayer maker and therefore effect how the prayer maker interacts with their surroundings? Have I misunderstood?

That would be pretty close to how I conceive of prayer. Scripture in some cases describes prayer as incense, rising from the earth to God. In some sense one can even say it is "sacrificial", an offering made to God. A bringing of ourselves, our whole life, all our worries, problems, all the people we care about (etc) and bringing it before God and to say, "Do with this as you will."

So the old texts written by the earliest Christians describe Jesus as being more than just a man and that it is belief in this is what drives Christian faith practices?

More-or-less. The Christian community has always been a living, breathing organism (and fundamentally this is what the meaning of "church" or "ekklesia" is, a gathered community). As such it's involved reflecting and making sense of the unique experience of Jesus. And this community has, from the first, confessed that this Jesus is the Christ, that He is Lord, and that He rose bodily from the dead. These things alone, obviously mean something more than that Jesus was just a philosopher or some such. Again, just in what we have called ourselves--Christian--contains the basic confession that Jesus is the Christ. Our theology matured and expanded in order to meet the needs of the community to better put into words some of the less concrete elements of our confession.

In the earliest literature--Paul's epistles--we see Jesus being in some way identified with Israel's God, that is, with YHWH. This is done in subtle and implicit ways, as well as in more explicit ways. In some of the subtle and more implicit ways involves taking passages from the Hebrew Scriptures which are about YHWH and identifying them with Jesus. In more explicit ways it involves outright declarations of Jesus' divinity, "In whom the fullness of Deity dwelt in bodily form", or "the appearing of our God and Savior Jesus Christ."

By the time we get to John's Gospel later in the first century, we have the famous Johanine prologue where Jesus is identified as the Divine Logos who is simultaneously God and with God.

These confessions and theological affirmations are what would eventually evolve into the Christian doctrines of the Trinity and Hypostatic Union in the 2nd through 5th centuries.

Please correct me if wrong, but I'm beginning to see a pattern where the answers to my questions are all based upon faith, in other words the confident belief in the truth of an idea. A Christian friend of mine once said to me:

"Every time you look in a mirror you see it. You see the mighty move of God, right there. You are God's workmanship created for good works in Christ. So Christian I say move! Move your mouth, move your heart, move your hands and move your feet, right in the very place you stand. Whatever the situation, move. Move for God, take the step and those around you will see it for themselves."

I like this because it appears to be saying that once you realise there is nothing to fear, even death, then you will become free to say and do the right things without prejudice, and as a result people around you will see and follow the same behaviour.

In the past I have had certain physical experiences and have equated them to the ideas of duality and the ego, which seem to match perfectly. This idea makes me interpret my friend’s statement as containing truth. The trouble is for many non-believers in God is that his statement is full of references to a thing that cannot be understood. The difference I see here is that the idea of duality is based only on what we physically can experience and not from texts written by others.

Another issue for non-believers like me is that we see what appear to be fundamental contradictions in religious practice. We hear talk of non-judgement and acceptance then hear that other people’s beliefs such as homosexuality and sex before marriage are wrong. If there is no evidence to suggest that these things have a negative effect on community then how can they be wrong? I have met gay Christians before, so how can they be Christians?

Obviously these topics are a bit controversial and I don't wish to stir up any bad emotions. I just wanted to share the difficulty that non-believers have with religious belief and how it is impossible to actually take the step to believe in something without experiencing it.

Unfortunately the rules of this forum do not permit those of us with views which differ from the official forum position to discuss our views. As such I won't be of much help to you or discuss it as I might otherwise be willing.

As far as premarital sex goes--and I'll no doubt get a lot of heat for this--I've never seen anything in Scripture which indicates that sex before marriage is verboten. What I do see is the importance of spousal fidelity. I also see Scripture offering important teachings concerning sexual ethics and sexual moral teaching; but it seems far less to do with modern post-Victorian mores, and more to do with the consistent and general thrust of biblical ethical teaching--the right and just treatment of others.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[questionsquestions]

Thanks ViaCrucis. I find your answers to my questions fascinating and even though I'm sure we have only scratched the surface of Christianity they go a long way to helping me gain an understanding.

 

[motherprayer]

"I saw my prayers change another person's personality. I will never turn away from the faith after seeing that. For clarification, it was not my prayers but God answering them that did it"

Do you think that if you hadn't prayed, God would not have answered and this person's personality would not have changed? And what do you think of the possibility that it may have been something else other than God answering your prayers that caused this person's personality to change? The reason I ask this is because it is the first question that would enter my mind if I had prayed for something then a change occurred. I understand that I may be interpreting your reply too literally and if I am could you expand on it bit?

I believe if I hadn't been prayerful, I wouldn't have understood the need for me to step back and stop trying to change the person myself. God can only work with a willing subject.
My situation was a bit unique, actually, in that I was dealing with forces that were well beyond this world. My efforts to help were actually hindering, and for the change to come, I had to listen to His direction in order for me to step back, and therefore allow Him to do the work I had been hampering.

Does that make any sense?

 

[motherprayer]

staff edit

I don't believe in predestination. I believe God chooses to allow us our freedom. But hey, I'm a weird Christian lol

 

[PureDose]

A Christian once said to me that praying works. How do Christians know that praying works? What evidence is there to support this?​

People pray and get their prayers answered.

If I'm a believer, what do I have to do to pray? Is it just a thought in my head or do I have to hold my hands together or be in a church to be praying?

Depends on your faith.

God hears everyone's thoughts and knows everyone's hearts. If you could believe that you could just think something to him and get an answer. But, that is very hard to believe.


​

Why do Christians believe that Jesus was anything other than an ordinary man with some good ideas?

Because Jesus lives in their hearts.

Because Jesus spoke and acted as no one else has.

Because they recognize what Jesus said was true.

And they are able to keep that and believe it by the power of God.

It is actually something which is hard to believe. It is actually impossible to believe without the power of God. It is not, however, possible to know the truth, as even devils know the truth.

But it is impossible to truly believe the trust. It is supremely elegant in design and execution.


I sometimes hear from Atheists things like, "Jesus did not say anything Hillel did not say", or "a lot of what Jesus said came from pagans".

I am not saying you say this, but you have probably run across this if you watch any of the critical documentaries.


Problem is, Jesus owns the concept of belief. The idea someone can believe something and accomplish something by belief? That is Jesus.

That does not just apply to miracles or trusting God. The concepts Jesus taught on belief have effected every field.

It is, though, impossible to escape in a society deeply steep in Christianity as the West is, and as I would presume you live in.

Because the concepts of belief Jesus taught are just taken for granted.


Jesus also owns the concept of being non-judgmental.

Hard to believe from what one sees from some Christians, but then "hard to believe" is part of the set up so that faith as a virtue could be the main virtue.


Jesus owns the concept of immortality and promising people to become "like God".



Jesus owns the concept of love.


Jesus owns the concept of condemning people not by some moral code, but by their own moral code. The concept of condemning people by proving they are hypocrites.

Jesus owns the concept of condemning people by proving they are self-righteous.


The list goes on and on.

And yet, really, the record of his actual words and actions are very, very short.

I do think it takes a strong stretch to go, "this does not have a ring of truth to it" despite the miracles.

I am very familiar with other religions, and it is not like that at all.


Not that Jesus is not reflected in other religions, as he is reflected in modern fiction, just saying.

Which, speaking of... Hollywood runs on Jesus. Our modern music runs on Jesus. Our concept of virtue today is run by the concepts of virtue Jesus taught us.

Our fiction runs on Jesus.


Now there may be a lot of bad "Christians" out there, but everybody knows they are the vocal ones and that as much as they claim to "do as Jesus would do" they most surely do not.

But, then who does not understand that? Even atheist comedians understand that.


The truth though is that the 'the road to destruction is wide, but the road to truth is narrow and hard to find'.

Is it simply because it says so in the bible?

No.

Can you put yourself in that place and imagine how someone would believe something just because it is written somewhere?

You know, I am very empathic. I spend a lot of time trying to understand people. I find I can understand just about everyone. Serial killers are the hardest. Tyrants, no. Thieves, no.

It is really a great ability to have, to be able to figure out people's motives, because then you can see what they will do next.

It really also helps one's self, too, because in trying to understand others we learn more about our own selves.

Isn't the bible simply a book that has been written and translated many times by ordinary humans with flaws and agendas? If so how can it be representative of the truth?

Thanks.

Because we have ancient sources and tracking back to the original languages is easy to do. And it remains seamless and extremely well written.

Which is why it remains so powerful, so influential, across the planet.


The Bible is constantly quoted all over the world, but especially in predominately Christian nations.

Even atheists do it all the time.

Even if one did not believe, I find it hard to believe they could dismiss it as though it were some second rate work.

It clearly is a supremely elegant and profound piece of work.

 

[Tnmusicman]

I don't believe in predestination. I believe God chooses to allow us our freedom. But hey, I'm a weird Christian lol

Then I be weird along with you. O.°

 

[hedrick]

Questions regarding homosexuality, atheism and marriage from what I have seen and heard all cause believers in God difficulty.

I'm not sure they cause difficulty so much as they are controversial. I don't find any of these questions particularly difficult. My answers just don't agree with those of most other Christians.

A Christian once said to me that praying works. How do Christians know that praying works? What evidence is there to support this? If I'm a believer, what do I have to do to pray? Is it just a thought in my head or do I have to hold my hands together or be in a church to be praying?

The problem with "prayer works" is that it is quite clear that prayer is not magic, i.e. not a way to get what we want. In the Bible even Jesus and Paul prayed for things that weren't granted.

My feeling is that God seldom removes problems. It does happen. I've seen some "low-probability events" in response to prayer, but only seldom. My observation is that God normally does not remove difficulties. He is much more likely to work with us to bring good out of them. This is entirely consistent with a God who would deal with evil by joining us, and experiencing it himself through his Son, and then bringing good out of it.

However there are exceptions. Why? I simply don't know. In many cases, probably most cases, the good results are produced by normal human action. In fact I think praying for something should be understood as volunteering to be part of the solution. But on fairly rare occasions there are results that seem, shall we say, unexpected. My personal examples involve other people, so I'm reluctant to give them here.

I've asked by pastor about this. Since his theological orientation (liberal) is fairly near mine, and he has experience with a wider variety of situations, I'll tell you some of what he said. He says he's never known of a situation where someone persists in prayer over a period of time and the situation isn't eventually resolved. But he's talking about situations where the person is directly involved. I don't say that praying for world peace is useless. But prayer for a situation where you're involved is more likely to be helpful.

It's also worth noting that asking for things is only a small part of the purpose of prayer. Christians should be reviewing their lives with God on a regular basis. Prayer should be the basis for our ongoing Christian lives.

Why do Christians believe that Jesus was anything other than an ordinary man with some good ideas? Is it simply because it says so in the bible? Isn't the bible simply a book that has been written and translated many times by ordinary humans with flaws and agendas? If so how can it be representative of the truth?

The only thing we know about Jesus is from the Bible. It would be odd to accept his ideas, which we could only get from the Bible, while ignoring what the Bible says about the context of those ideas.

Translation is surely not the problem. We've got fairly well-established texts in the original languages. Lots of people have looked at them. There are a few passages where there are questions about translation, but that's surely the least of our problems. More of a problem is that fact that we're living 2000 years later, in a culture that's fairly different from 1st Cent. Judaism. We're missing some of the original context. But we've learned a lot about 1st Cent Judaism in the latter half of the 20th Cent. Commentaries and other tools can help non-scholars understand how that impacts our understanding of the text. (That assumes that you follow current critical scholarship, of course.)

Via Crucis has given you one reasonable answer to your more serious question, from someone with a strong commitment to one major Christian tradition. I tend to be a bit more focused on what can be established from the Bible, and a bit more skeptical of tradition.

Jesus' teachings make no sense if he wasn't at the very least commissioned by God as something like a combination of prophet and anointed king (messiah). His teachings are all set in the context of his mission to establish God's rule. He teaches, as the Gospels say several times, like one with authority. His death and resurrection are also an important part of the picture. He said that he was dying to establish the new covenant on which the Kingdom of God would be based. These things all push him beyond simply a guy with good ideas. Whether that actually establishes him as the incarnation of God is complex, because I think a lot of people misunderstand just what that means. But at the very least, it seems that Jesus acted for God (or as God, but that's a matter of faith, which I'm avoiding here), and that much of what he says is based on that role.

 

[questionsquestions]

Thanks again. There are some great answers to my questions here.

 

[ViaCrucis]

If prayer works, wouldn't that go against god? Isn't everything pre determined? So what's the point in asking or praying?

Most Christians aren't determinists/fatalists. The only Determinists might be certain aberrant, hyper-Calvinists.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[elman]

If prayer works, wouldn't that go against god? Isn't everything pre determined? So what's the point in asking or praying?

No everything is not predetermined.

 

[Radagast]

How do Christians know that praying works?

As ViaCrucis said, prayer is primarily about communication.

Why do Christians believe that Jesus was anything other than an ordinary man with some good ideas? Is it simply because it says so in the bible?

Yes. And because when you look at what Jesus said, there are claims to divinity there. As C.S. Lewis once said, that means that Jesus was either crazy, or deceitful, or telling the truth.

Isn't the bible simply a book that has been written and translated many times by ordinary humans with flaws and agendas?

I'm not sure what you mean by "translated many times." The New Testament was written in Greek. We have so many ancient copies that we can (by comparing them) be almost certain of what the original said. Then we translate the reconstructed original once into English.

 

[TheyCallMeDave]

Hi,​

A few years ago I became very interested in religion and spirituality and would like to ask some questions about Christianity. I've been looking for somewhere to get succinct, objective and calm answers because my questions, although they are not difficult to understand, have many times been difficult for Christians to answer. My reasons for asking are only to try to understand and I am in no way here to try to offend anyone.​

I am a person who has the absence of belief that any deities exist, as opposed to belief that deities do not exist. So for example if I was asked 'Do you believe in God?' my quick answer would be 'No' and if I was asked 'Do you think God might exist?' my quick answer would be 'I don't know, but probably not'. My long answer would be to first ask 'What do you mean by God?’ I would ask this question because it appears that God means different things to different people. I have found some people use God as a name for life and the universe as we experience it which seems more of a spiritual approach as opposed to a religious approach to the answer.​

It appears to me the devil of religious discussion is in the detail and the detail is where a lot of the arguments for theism come unstuck. I have Christian friends, have met other Christians and have listened to religious discussions on the TV and radio with respected religious leaders, but the same questions repeatedly arise and the responses have always been cagey at best. Questions regarding homosexuality, atheism and marriage from what I have seen and heard all cause believers in God difficulty. I would like to start with some not so controversial questions though and hopefully the discussion can grow from there. Please feel free to ask me questions that might help you understand where I'm coming from.​

A Christian once said to me that praying works. How do Christians know that praying works? What evidence is there to support this? If I'm a believer, what do I have to do to pray? Is it just a thought in my head or do I have to hold my hands together or be in a church to be praying?​

Why do Christians believe that Jesus was anything other than an ordinary man with some good ideas? Is it simply because it says so in the bible? Isn't the bible simply a book that has been written and translated many times by ordinary humans with flaws and agendas? If so how can it be representative of the truth?

Thanks.

Hi. This site is one of the best ive found for categorical questions and answers often raised by Seeker/Skeptics and it will be very useful to you if you spend some time with it. http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/answers.html

God made us all with a Spirit and a Soul for a purposed personal relationship with him...it is hardwired into our DNA . He also gave us FREEWILL because he didnt want to make us robotic in nature ; so, its up to us just HOW FAR we want to go with God in relationship...if, at all. But it is our personal choice. Prayer is one important instrument by how we commune with our Creator as well as reading the Bible allowing the Holy Spirit of God to turn the lightbulb on regarding what we read and digest. ALso, the general physical Creation around us is yet another means where we can know what God IS like by nature and character...and how creation glorifies his supreme awesome power . Finally, the person of Jesus Christ...the second person of the Trinity... coming to Earth to die for our sins so we could be reconciled to God forever..., is THE WAY that you approach God based on what Christ DID for you personally on the cross and how you can actually have CHrist living IN YOU to guide and mold your CHristian life and walk., which culminates in an incredible place called Heaven for eternity with God .

The CHristian Life is like no other. It is and should be filled with wonder, excitement, purpose, meaning, real hope, real joy, and a huge priveldge to serve the Creator of the Universe who is also the Creator of our Souls.

So, as you embark on your Journey, remember that the more you surrender yourself to God and go examining him thru the means i listed above, the more he promises to reveal himself to you. He has for me and for countless millions over the centuries and he is faithful in showing his love toward us. Jump in with both feet and have the greatest experience specifically and specially designed for Man.

See you on the other side .....................Regards.