Challenging God

[num_me_vexo]

i need help, i think im turning away from God. i challenged him to prove to me that he exists and that the bible is true. im so confused, there are so many different versions of the bible and so many different interpretations, how do i know which one is true? logically God dosnt even make sense.
ive been saved for 6 years but now things arnt so smooth. Any christians out there, advice will be most appreciated.

 

[Rafael]

Well, the translations all don't change the meaning of the words. They just make it easier to read in modern terms. The King James Version is accurate, but not many speak in old English.
Now what is not logical about God? We stand right in the middle of creation and cannot make even one cell of life live. We have no power over time, although we can measure it and see that it is affected by the speed of light and mass. The more I study science, the closer I see man draw near to the truth about our living and breathing inside of God, as the scriptures tell us. The Bible tells us that all things are made of the unseen in Hebrews 11:3, and indeed, the atomic structure is just now starting to reveal dimensions that ancient Jewish writers spoke of that God created the world with ten dimensions.
There are several scientific Christian web-sites you could visit, and if you have a fast modem, they even have MP3 files to listen to.
Look around. Not one man can make a living thing, yet this one planet is teeming with life from the microscopic to the leviathan. We see God everywhere and have no excuse for saying there is no God.
Close study of the Bible shows it to be remarkable in itelf, being written over thousands of years by people from the poorest to the richest - yet, their agreement and prophecies are tight and even the ones that have been fulfilled about Israel today after 2,500 years are astounding.
Nothing can prove God to you except for that small child that once knew in his heart that God was real and gave him consciousness. Don't fall for the lies as most men do as they grow out of that childlike faith and grow into arrogantly speaking over God's creation as if it all were easily explained when it cannot be duplicated by man even at the simplest level. Pray to God to help you and to give you a spirit after Himself. Base your research on the foundation on God being a fact, and branchout and see how He has done all these wonderful things. Humble yourself to Him and someday you could help Him create a new heavens and earth, as family.

Here are a couple of sites and a verse or two.

http://www.godandscience.org/

http://www.theevidence.org/episodes/episode15.php

http://www.carm.org/

http://www.icr.org/

Chuck Misslar's MP3 tapes on Genesis are good. He is a computer scientist:
http://www.firefighters.org/

Ac 17:28 "for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

Romans 18:18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves.
19 For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts.
20 From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead.

 

[lovespeace]

I too am a scientest and I also have trouble with doubts. I am a logical person, so as you can imagine I have trouble with illogical things. What helps me is I can observe that the abilities and thoughts of man are way ahead of the animals, why such a large gap between the primate and man? Second, I can feel God with my soul, I believe for that reason. Third, read my other posts. I was the one who asked about miracles because several have happened to me, and I have no way of explaining them. Fourth, in my backsliding, doubt filled times I did enough and experienced enough of the phychic to say that there is something beyond us. PM me if you like.

 

[rogsr]

Everyone has had doubts. I have had doubts. But we make it through those rough spots because we have faith. Sometimes I get into rough spots and I ask God questions, and tell Him that I am lost in doubt, but I always remember the good times with Him when I have no doubts and I know that soon I will be there again. Except with a little bit more insight. Just keep your chin tucked and work through it with faith and you will get through it if you want to get through it.

 

[kbean]

The beautiful thing is, even through times of doubt, God will never abandon you! He gives you your whole lifetime to build a relationship with him (albiet some lives are shorter than others ) and there is a season for everything. You will see beautiful things at the end of those doubting periods and they will have been for a purpose, your faith will be stronger than ever. Try to think of life without God if the doubts get really bad. Can you imagine? I don't even want to think of it. It simply couldn't be possible (and I have had my doubting times too!)...I am a very practical logical soul too.
Also, the great thing is, doubts are so easily eliminated by turning to His word, your favourite passages etc. and really listening, the Bible is God's voice, not just a literary masterpiece.

 

[rainbowprism]

It is hard in today's world. Our 21st century western worldview is governed by materialism (the only things that are real are the things we can touch, taste, feels, or see), naturalism (there belief ther is no real interaction between the spirtual world and the material world), and rationalism (every cause and effect can be logically explained by natural factors). These unspoken worldviews complicate and prevent even Bible-believing Christians from seeing and interacting with spiritual world in the way in which the Lord desires.
It is not our wills that lead to these faulty conclusions, but cultural conditioning. We must re-condition to see reality in a Biblical model. The first step is indentifying the problem, i.e, understanding the need to change worldview. The second step is to repent, i.e., to turn around and change our minds, to choose to see reality in a Biblical mode. The third step is to act on the basis of a truly Biblical worldview-this includes for example praying for the sick.

All cultures have certain blind spots that arise from conflicting worldviews. Even for people in the Bible (see Acts 28:1-6 and Mark 8:32). You can learn (in light of biblical principles and assumptions about spiritual reality) to incorporate different views in your current, Biblically deficient worldview. The first and most important step is to realize that people do have problems seeing reality in the way that Jesus did. This doesn't happen in a day or even a week. It takes time to learn to think differently and see things differently. Keep at it though--it will pay off!

 

[Yitzchak]

Being a Christian is about having a relationship with a living God.........As important as the bible is and working things out logically, it matters even more that you really Meet with the Lord personally.......Without that, you will always be just dealing with human's "spin job" on God.
I am not sure if you have ever been in romantic love with someone but a comparison here is in order in the sense that analyzing a relationship is not the same as being in a relationship. Analze all you want, but when it is all said and done, our opinions of God do not matter so much. What matters is our relationship with Him or lack thereof.

 

[num_me_vexo]

thank u so much for the advice and encouragement, i really needed that. im still struggling but i'll look at this as a great learning experience for me and i think it will make my faith stronger. i'll try not to analyse the bible too much and just believe.
i can feel him, i know he is real but logically my mind wont accept him. This is after 6 years of being a christian, kind of sad...
thanks again

 

[Glaz]

I think we've all been confused like that sometimes. Hang in there buddy, listen to your heart and tell your mind to shut up, God defies the logic of man and this world, He is far too powerful for us to fully comprehend at least in this life. Remember, God may just want things to seem so illogical to force us to rely more on our faith and what is in our hearts rather than what we read.

 

[rainbowprism]

Also you might feel far away from God but really you aren't...you're blessed all the time.

Did you wake up today?
Could you walk?
Were you able to worship freely?
Did you eat today?
Did someone give you a smile? ( I just did!)

You are blessed. Sometimes it's easy to get caught in a mentality of "What is God doing FOR me?" attitude, when really it's the other way around.

Another contrast or something to think about it is this--when you're a Christain you get character development and meaning from bucking up and going forward. Secular psychology is backwards, they think you get meaning from look back and analyzing every detail of what went 'wrong'. I'll take the Christian way anyday of the week!

Check out Psalm 73, or any of the other psalms for that matter. The blessings of the psalms is that thoughts, feeling and DOUBTS are expressed in them. You aren't the first person in 2000 years to be having these feelings and you won't be the last!

HUGS

 

[num_me_vexo]

Check out Psalm 73, or any of the other psalms for that matter. The blessings of the psalms is that thoughts, feeling and DOUBTS are expressed in them. You aren't the first person in 2000 years to be having these feelings and you won't be the last!

i will check out psalms, its good to know im not the first one to doubt, i am very blessed thank you for reminding me

I think we've all been confused like that sometimes. Hang in there buddy, listen to your heart and tell your mind to shut up, God defies the logic of man and this world, He is far too powerful for us to fully comprehend at least in this life. Remember, God may just want things to seem so illogical to force us to rely more on our faith and what is in our hearts rather than what we read.

perhaps ur right, i never thought of it like that before. its hard but im sure he has a purpose in all of this, i think i will learn a lot about trusting in him even though logically it might not make sense.

 

[sweetsarge]

It sounds like you might be growing up a bit. You might be moving into the "walking" stage. When we are first born Christians, like a baby we get carried around by our parents until we reach the walking stage. I remember seeing a baby that crawled and when the mother let the baby hold on to her finger, he could walk perfectly without pulling on the finger. The mother knew the baby could walk on his own but the baby did not know that. As soon as the mother released his hand from her fingers, he immediately dropped down on the floor until she picked him up. To convince the baby that he could walk without her support, she put a piece of rolled up paper in her hand. Holding the one end of the paper, she then let the baby hold the other end of the paper like he used to do with her finger. She then walked with him and when he wasn't paying attention, she simply let go of the paper and the baby continued to walk with the paper in his hand. He took several steps when he realized the mother wasn't beside him! That jolted him and he immediately plopped down on the floor. But it also made him realized that he could walk without his mother's help. After that he was walking on his own but now with his mother behind him instead of carrying him. Your Heavenly Father is letting your Faith grow ( your legs are stronger now) and he is letting you walk without carrying you like before. But he is still right behind you so keep on walking and don't let doubt make you plop down. At six years old you are doing fine. AMEN!

sweet

 

[kaeti]

i need help, i think im turning away from God. i challenged him to prove to me that he exists and that the bible is true. im so confused, there are so many different versions of the bible and so many different interpretations, how do i know which one is true? logically God dosnt even make sense.
ive been saved for 6 years but now things arnt so smooth. Any christians out there, advice will be most appreciated.

It's funny because I'm reading the NIV version of The Bible now [and actually reading it; I've read it before in Catholic school, but I wasn't interested] and it's one of the only things that makes sense to me anymore. I'm beginning to think it's more illogical to look around at this amazing world we've become desensitized to and deny a creator.

Maybe when you're doubtful, you should just read over your favorite excerpts. I think the greatest weapon against doubt is remembering what truth is in His word!

 

[TheMainException]

A christian's life is never smooth. It is really quite rough. Satan just wants to eat us up and turn us into crunched poop. All the Christian bibles should be the same, just different translations and ways of saying the same thing. Hope that helps.

 

[Rage4Christ]

num_me_vexo. I've been there too. I was a skeptic for along time. Some the most rewarding and happiest times of my life was when I was full of doubt and denial of God. As long as you're approaching the mystery of life with full honest passion, with love for yourself, and respect for yourself-- you are doing the right thing.

God is not afraid of logical analysis. If that takes you away from God that is ok, as long as you're being honest and work hard at these issues of life.

So many just blindly follow the teachings of Christ out of fear or "herd" think-- this is not the path of Christ. There is no struggle or work in obedience. There is no growth in merely doing what you're told to do, even if your mind and emotions tell you otherwise.

Christ loves you unconditionally.. Even if you are exploring the philosophical and spiritual mysteries of existence. Do not fear questions or investigations, logical analysis or reason. You should never fear these things, or think God or Christ is something other than an honest and forthright exploration into consciousness.

If you are interested in reading up on these things, let me know-- i can suggest a few books that I read on my path from Christ and back again.

Remember, Christ loves you unconditionally. As long as you're doing what is best for you-- you have nothing to fear.