Am I less of a Christian, or just human?

AggieBrad · Sep 10, 2003

I am a believer in God and Jesus Christ. But I am always plagued by doubts. I don't doubt that there is a God or anything like that. But I find myself doubting if everything I read in the Bible is real or not.

I have never really said this kind of stuff to anyone, but I am being completely honest here. I feel guilty for doubting it at all, but alot of times I can't help it.

Does this make me less of a Christian or am I just human?

wonder111 · Sep 10, 2003

I would say just human. I don't know anyone who hasn't had doubts about their spiritual life. It can help you learn more by contemplating certain issues that might need a different understanding.

Inspired · Sep 10, 2003

AggieBrad said:
I am a believer in God and Jesus Christ. But I am always plagued by doubts. I don't doubt that there is a God or anything like that. But I find myself doubting if everything I read in the Bible is real or not.

I have never really said this kind of stuff to anyone, but I am being completely honest here. I feel guilty for doubting it at all, but alot of times I can't help it.

Does this make me less of a Christian or am I just human?

Human, you were born with free will, and all fall short of his glory. You know where to find the answers, he's the only one who can answer.

Terri · Sep 10, 2003

AggieBrad said:
I am a believer in God and Jesus Christ. But I am always plagued by doubts. I don't doubt that there is a God or anything like that. But I find myself doubting if everything I read in the Bible is real or not.

I have never really said this kind of stuff to anyone, but I am being completely honest here. I feel guilty for doubting it at all, but alot of times I can't help it.

Does this make me less of a Christian or am I just human?

AggieBrad

I believe you just need to learn spiritual warfare. We really are in a spiritual war.

Remember in 1Peter 5:8 (I've printed it out at the bottom of the post for your reference) it tells us that satan roams around like a lion seeking whom he might devour. This happens mostly in the spiritual relm. Satan is the father of lies, so we must learn to replace his lies with the truth of God's Word through spiritual warfare. If you learn to do this you will have more faith and peace than you can even imagine!!

God's Word is the Sword of the Spirit. I find a bible verse that answers my doubt and constantly repeat it to myself. If you do this long enough and consistantly enough your doubt is replaced with the truth of God's Word.

If you want to elaborate on what your doubts are, I can try to help you find verses that answer them--if not you can do it yourself.

An example from my life--
I use to have a lot of anxiety and fear. So, I looked up the bible verses that spoke to that problem. Sometimes I will repeat the whole quote and sometimes I will just quote part of it.

Of course it is better is you can remember the whole verse!

Example of verses I used:
Do not be anxious about anything (PHP 4:6}
Do not worry (MT 6:25)
Fear not for I am with you says the Lord (ISA 43:5)

1PE 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Praying this info helps!!

AggieBrad · Sep 11, 2003

Well, to be honest, the most doubts I have are "Is it all real or are we just being fooled?" Sometimes I have problems being completely faithful. I will sit and wonder "What if this is all just a big hoax or something". God, has done some wonderful things in my life but I sometimes think, did God really do this? Is there really a God. I try to convince myself that , yes there is in fact a God. There is too much happening and too many things that cannot be attributed to just science. But it still doesn't always reassure me that I am in fact worshipping something real.

Grace_Alone4gives · Sep 11, 2003

Aggie - you're a normal human being. In my perspective, if we didn't have doubts, we wouldn't grow. Having questions leads us to prayer and supplication, which leads us for a yearning to hear His voice and study His Word. Through that we grow - even if it takes several years.

justletmein · Sep 11, 2003

My father once told me, "It's better to be safe than sorry." I know that's not really convincing, but it got me to the point that I investigated a lot more. Keep searching for your answers.

Terri · Sep 11, 2003

AggieBrad said:
Well, to be honest, the most doubts I have are "Is it all real or are we just being fooled?" Sometimes I have problems being completely faithful. I will sit and wonder "What if this is all just a big hoax or something". God, has done some wonderful things in my life but I sometimes think, did God really do this? Is there really a God. I try to convince myself that , yes there is in fact a God. There is too much happening and too many things that cannot be attributed to just science. But it still doesn't always reassure me that I am in fact worshipping something real.

I get those thoughts too. I believe they come from our enemy. I don't believe that they come from us. That is why it is so important that we learn to put on the full armor of God as it says in EPH 6:10. I would ask God to give me as much faith as He possibly can--I ask Him that all of the time.

I know the thought of "evil spirits" speaking to us is laughable to some people, but I know I have experienced it. I use to have a lot of emotional problems and was suicidal. Once I learned to put on the armor of God all of these problems disappeared because I learned how to fight back.

When I get these thoughts I ususally just say to myself: "self there is something out there that definitely wants me to think that God isn't real. The fact that something is trying so hard to convince me that God isn't real is proof that He is real." This makes the thoughts go away. Some times I just say "The Lord rebuke you!" That seems to work too. They come back, but I just chase them away again. That is part of being in a spiritual war. And, unfortunately the war is not getting better, it is only getting worse. We all must learn to sharpen our skills now while we can.

The way our bodies and nature is so wonderfully made says to me that God is real. Someone had to design them. A saying I heard once was that to say that someone didn't design everything is like saying a tornado blew through a junk yard, and the result was a 747(airplane).

This is my prayer for you AggieBrad:
EPH 3:14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

HEB 1:10 He also says,

"In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.

GE 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

EPH 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

SavedByGrace3 · Sep 12, 2003

I agree. I too was plagued by doubts about the Bible and many things. I eventually overcame this by developing a deep praise life and by fellowshipping with believers of strong faith. Pray and praise in tongues often and long. Praise God for all things. Dedicate yourself to the analytical study of the word.

Eventually He became so real to me that any doubts I may have had faded away. I can feel His presence.

The Midge · Sep 14, 2003

AggieBrad

You sound like the usual kind of human to me. All of us have doubts. I'm sure those without faith doubt their non-beliefs sometimes.

You have to choices: You can run and hide from them. (Denial) Or you can face up to them head on and investigate the facts around what you doubt. Be sure what the bible means where you struggle with it.

Also be assured God will listen to your prayers whether you doubt Him or not, so it is OK to pray it through.

Serapha · Sep 18, 2003

AggieBrad said:
I am a believer in God and Jesus Christ. But I am always plagued by doubts. I don't doubt that there is a God or anything like that. But I find myself doubting if everything I read in the Bible is real or not.

I have never really said this kind of stuff to anyone, but I am being completely honest here. I feel guilty for doubting it at all, but alot of times I can't help it.

Does this make me less of a Christian or am I just human?

Hello AggieBrad!

That is satan sitting on your shoulder telling you that something in the Bible just can't be true, when in fact it can and is true. All of the Bible is true, every word. There isn't a contradiction in it that isn't clarified when you learn the history of Israel and the traditions of the first-century church.

Don't bother reading those "self-help books" if you are experiencing doubt in the Bible, but read about the history of the land of Israel or the traditions of Judaism so you may better understand the text when you do read the Bible.

It's normal and human to have that small voice exhibit doubts to your mind, but it is another think to embrace those thoughts and allow them to dwell in your mind.

In particular, what part do you doubt? And, it isn't a measure of your christianity that you inquire about the teachings in the Bible, so I do ask in sincerity.

And hey, we are all still learning

~malaka~

TCapp · Sep 18, 2003

You cause me to think of "doubting" Thomas. You know, I think he's gotten a bad rap these days. I don't really think he doubted Jesus, but he just likes to have tangible things, verifiable things, testable things. Maybe he didn't doubt Jesus rose from the dead, but he wanted to stick his fingers in the wounds to make absolutely sure he wasn't being hoodwinked. You sound similar. No one can fault you for that, not one bit.

A cool place you can go to is called Christian Answers Network. It has links to show how some archaelogical discoveries have verified the reliabilty of the Bible. It has a lot of other stuff too, and easy to read and understand.

On a site called Stand To Reason, there is a link to some high impact training areas. Indeed, while you might not want to actually do the studies and the self-tests at this time, there are lessons that show how reliably the Bible was copied and translated to current times that you can look at. But if you do want to do the lessons, it can equip you to be a knowledgable follower of Jesus Christ. I really enjoyed reading the ones about the "Reliabilty of the New Testament" and the "Historical Accuracy of the New Testament". (And when I have the free time... haha

.. I'll actually finish reading all the lessons.)

You don't have to believe blindly. There are some pretty solid reasons for belief, and they don't require you to chuck your brains out the door.

Peace be with you.

-Tammy

La Bonita Zorilla · Sep 22, 2003

AggieBrad said:
Well, to be honest, the most doubts I have are "Is it all real or are we just being fooled?" Sometimes I have problems being completely faithful. I will sit and wonder "What if this is all just a big hoax or something". God, has done some wonderful things in my life but I sometimes think, did God really do this? Is there really a God. I try to convince myself that , yes there is in fact a God. There is too much happening and too many things that cannot be attributed to just science. But it still doesn't always reassure me that I am in fact worshipping something real.

Sounds pretty normal. There's more faith in honest doubt than in cocky certainty, though.

ZiSunka · Sep 23, 2003

AggieBrad said:
I am a believer in God and Jesus Christ. But I am always plagued by doubts. I don't doubt that there is a God or anything like that. But I find myself doubting if everything I read in the Bible is real or not.

I have never really said this kind of stuff to anyone, but I am being completely honest here. I feel guilty for doubting it at all, but alot of times I can't help it.

Does this make me less of a Christian or am I just human?

No, I think it makes you perfectly normal.

You should never just accept that something is true if you don't have reason to believe that it is true. And God isn't afraid of your doubts, He's not going to pound you for doubting Him or His word. He's confident enough in Himself and His word that He welcomes your questions and your genuine doubts. I can't tell you how many times I doubted, then researched, then processed, then came to the conclusion that God's word is right and I was wrong.

Don't fear it-embrace it and grow from it!

Serapha · Sep 23, 2003

AggieBrad said:
Well, to be honest, the most doubts I have are "Is it all real or are we just being fooled?" Sometimes I have problems being completely faithful. I will sit and wonder "What if this is all just a big hoax or something". God, has done some wonderful things in my life but I sometimes think, did God really do this? Is there really a God. I try to convince myself that , yes there is in fact a God. There is too much happening and too many things that cannot be attributed to just science. But it still doesn't always reassure me that I am in fact worshipping something real.

Hi there!

Just what part of the Bible do you doubt? If you come to understand the part that you question, then any of the doubts will be gone.

~malaka~

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