Can you force beliefs on yourselves?

[Mo_HH_ljc]

Hi!
I am a fairly new Christian (well I think or hope I am, for 2 months now).
I am very enthusiastic when it comes to bible reading. But the more I read, the more questions are there and it all doesn't make sense.

I read in Genesis I think that the people these days became 800 years old.
Now thats confusing!
I lived my whole life holding on to the "normal rules of life" I would say. Which means: I know that poeple can only get up to 100 years old (even with professionell health care).
My question is: Can you force a belief on yourselve? Because that a men can get 800 years old, just won't get in my head...
This is just an example. I think there are lots of things I would have the same problems with.

And if you can force an belief on yourselve, I am not a real Christian if I question things that stand in the Bible? Is that wrong?

Thank you
Mo

 

[spirit_of_purity]

Hi!
I am a fairly new Christian (well I think or hope I am, for 2 months now).
I am very enthusiastic when it comes to bible reading. But the more I read, the more questions are there and it all doesn't make sense.

I read in Genesis I think that the people these days became 800 years old.
Now thats confusing!
I lived my whole life holding on to the "normal rules of life" I would say. Which means: I know that poeple can only get up to 100 years old (even with professionell health care).
My question is: Can you force a belief on yourselve? Because that a men can get 800 years old, just won't get in my head...
This is just an example. I think there are lots of things I would have the same problems with.

And if you can force an belief on yourselve, I am not a real Christian if I question things that stand in the Bible? Is that wrong?

Thank you
Mo

you are a Christian if you believe in Jesus Christ and have accepted him into your life as your Lord and Saviour, there is nothing wrong with questioning God or anything in the bible it gives you better understanding of God and get to know God better, sometimes its confusing i know but if you seek God you find a great source of knowledge and wisdom, dont be afraid to ask ever thats a good thing

 

[spirit_of_purity]

My question is: Can you force a belief on yourselve? Because that a men can get 800 years old, just won't get in my head...
This is just an example. I think there are lots of things I would have the same problems with.

And if you can force an belief on yourselve, I am not a real Christian if I question things that stand in the Bible? Is that wrong?

Thank you
Mo

you cant "force" beliefs on yourself, its your choice to believe it or not one of the things of freewill, the bible was written by many authors guided by God, it is God's word and will revealed to us in scriptures, you are reading old testament stuff we are dealing with new testament well most of us, not saying the the old testament is "worthless" or anything but a lot of it doesnt apply to us Christians tho we must read it, learn it and aswell believe and follow, for begginner Christians to start reading id say go on and start reading the following books from the bible: John, Proverbs, Psalms, Matthew, Mark, Luke and Romans

 

[Sketcher]

Passages like that are simply things which we take by faith. You don't know everything, but you do know the Author of our faith. And because of that, you can trust what He has given to us in writing.

People obviously no longer live to 800 uears anymore; God became fed up with our ways and greatly reduced the length of the human life in Genesis 6:3.

 

[Donny_B]

Many things described in the Bible are symbolic in nature and many of the numbers in the Bible may have hidden or double meanings. A good rule to follow is to take the Bible literally whenever possible, but if symbolic language is used, look for the literal truth it intends to convey.

 

[Mo_HH_ljc]

I still have to learn which is literal and which is symbolic.
Thank you for help

 

[Tangnefedd]

You can't force yourself to believe something you don't believe, that will screw you up. You have to question to gain knowledge, I don't think one should ever think they have the absolute truth, because that is unlikely. You have to seek until the day you turn up your toes.

 

[PetraFan007]

Well, about those verses that say men lived 800+ years old--- that is because God allowed them to live that long. After a while, God said, "Alright, no more living that long----the length of a human life will be 120 years." The oldest person to live in OUR records is 122. I'd have to say that is most likely an average, so yeah, it makes sense now.

 

[artybloke]

I still have to learn which is literal and which is symbolic.
Thank you for help

You'll probably spend your whole life doing that. In a sense, it's all symbolic, in that it is all talking about someone who we can't really put into words (God) and about a relationship which is literally beyond our ken. That doesn't mean that it isn't real; just that no set of words is the absolute last word on the subject.

Watch out for those who try to force their theology on you, wherever they come from. Test the spirits, and don't be afraid to use your brain. God gave it to you to use, not to simply follow whatever piffle the fundamentalists put out as being supposedly "biblical."

Never think you, or your church, or this or that pastor or priest or preacher, has somehow got everything right. Even the one who converted you is still imperfect.

And it's not neccessary to take the ages of people in the OT literally. It won't affect your salvation if you don't accept a creationist view of the world.

 

[Blessed-one]

who knows what happened thousands of years ago?..
anything 'is' possible.

 

[givethanks]

im sure its allready been said, but you better start reading the new testament first. i also began with reading the old testament though when i finally got myself opening the book a while ago.

about the forcing thing, sure thats no good to force yourself. just pray to God that he may help you understanding His words and sure He will give you knowledge. mark my words

ps: i know a good book for you which is called "the power of positive thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale. it really helped me out in different situations, and with understanding "God" himself.. good luck! I'll pray for you!

 

[Deadbeat]

You know how long it would take to populate the whole earth from 2 people, Adam and Eve? That's probably why they lived to 800+ years back then.

 

[TylerHerrin99]

I tell you my friend, the Lord on high can do as he pleases! If you had never seen a tree before and they told you about it in the old test. would you not question it? My friend the Lord is in control! The wind that blows in your face you cannot see but you know its there, the oxygen you breath you cannot see but you know its there! And the same with the Lord on high, although seeing all of his glory, the trees, grass, colors, shapes, sizes , and much much more we still are attacked with disbelief but i tell you friend, he is there, we can not see him, but when you doubt, look around at his glory!
If you find a watch in the middle of the forest, do you not asume there is a watch maker? The same for the world! look around friend, all of this life in the middle of the galaxy. Dont you asume there is a maker?
Bless you friend
TylerHerrin

 

[givethanks]

dude, that is one of the best posts that i read since i got here (isnt that long but okay.. )!!

God Bless you all

 

[J.A.I]

You can also take in the fact that they didn't have the things we do now... the foods, pollution, cigarettes, alcohol, environments.. and so on. A lot of the things we surround ourselves with nowadays, and the things we allow our bodies to consume, cut off our lifespan.

God did decide however, as someone else stated, to make our lifespans shorter, as demonstrated in Genesis 6:3. However, 120 years is not even the norm today. I think the norm is now somewhere between 80 and 100.

And I have to lovingly disagree with givethanks about starting w/the NT 1st. I think you should read the gospel of John, then start at Genesis and read from Genesis to Revelation. You have to understand certain things about the history before you get into the legacy of Jesus Christ.

If you do not read the OT, you will become confused about Jesus' lineage and the 'Faith Hall of Fame' which is in Hebrews 11. You need to know the background before you get into the 'now'.

And no, you can't force yourself to believe. I had a HUGE problem with that when I first became saved... but that is where faith steps in. Ask God to open your heart to receive what He and ONLY He has for you. Ask him to open the eyes and ears of your Spirit so that you can properly receive and digest His Word. And He will do it for you, you must believe that He will. It is only natural to question the validity of some things, but that is when we put ourselves to the side and ask God to come in and work with us..

 

[givethanks]

I have to admit that you are quite right there. its better to know a part of the history before reading about Jesus. Though i got quite confused when reading the old testiment.. things cleared up when i started to read the new testiment.

though i wont mix up in this discussion because i REALLY got to read more.. much more.. i know less ..

 

[Mo_HH_ljc]

but read not too fast as I do sometimes. Then I forget what I just read and i have to read it all over again.