but it seems like I'm back to where I was years ago, I'm actually considering the possibility of Christianity again.
Hi m9lc, I actually remember your other threads, and I am quite pleasantly surprised to see you here again. Isn't it weird how all these things can turn full circle sometimes?
It just seems odd, that the subject of Christian apologetics keeps coming up in conversations I have, and at church, and it just seems to be more than a coincidence.
If it's something that is on your mind, then of course a natural steering towards that topic will of course occur.
That's not to say God isn't working in your life, and in fact, that possibility must be rather eerie to consider.
The best advice I could give here, is to take small steps. So many things can break down when we feel we need to do a full instant change, to 100% completion. Some things in life are not like that, sometimes it takes small increments. I found one of the most useful things I did, was change my profile on a social networking site, to say Christian under religion. It was odd, it shouldn't have had any real effect, but it did. Just doing that sort of opened a door that I was furiously holding closed. I'm not saying you should do this of course, for you it could be something much different, but don't feel the need for an instant change if you still have doubts.
There is a good parable in the Bible about sowing seeds, and how they can land in many different places. On rocks where they never take route, in poor soil where they are not nourished and cannot grow properly and are choked by weeds and in good soil, where they flourish and grow. You need a good foundation before you can proceed. Make sure you identify your base doubt, and really find out as much as you can. I attempted to become a Christian years ago, but never really believed in one or two core things, and as a result I couldn't sustain my faith, so it crumbled. This time around, I actively sought out all the things I questioned.
Just the fact that after all this parading I've done against Christianity, I'm again thinking about it, seems like some sort of miracle.
I must agree, that does seem amazing.
I hope you aren't worried about losing face should you pursue Christianity. I know many people who were devout Atheists and when it came around to them facing the situation you are in, their pride wouldn't let them admit there may be another better life for them. Just bear that in mind, make sure you don't fall victim to pride.
But obviously, with all the atheist argument I've done here in just a few weeks, I'm still having doubts.
That's fairly natural I am sure.
I can't get over the fact that the religion I'm considering happens to be the dominant religion of my country
A good imagery of someones Christian faith can be shown like so: Imagine a coal fire. All the coals are hot and glowing, yet if you move one away from the stack, it rapidly loses heat and cools down. The same can be said of Christians, we need to commune with other Christians to keep our faith burning, so in that respect you being in a country where it's the dominant religion will definitely be a factor in it. I can't lie about that, but I would encourage you to see that as an advantage that many do not have, and it will help you more than hinder. Others have far harder struggles ahead of them.
the higher Christian divorce rates
It's rather uncanny you should mention this, as I had an e-mail about it just the other day. Here it is:
This idea speaks to the need for a shared walk with the Lord in marriage.
Question from one of you: If God is so important in our marriages, (which I strongly believe he is), why is the divorce rate the same between non-Christian and Christian marriages?
There are two answers - one statistical, one placing the blame:
Statistical - Unsaved folks are far less likely to marry, and far more likely to live together. If you look at couples who live together, with or without marriage, for more than a year, the breakup rate for the unsaved is far higher than for those who follow Jesus. The rate in the church is still, however, very bad, and should be a matter of great concern.
Blame - Marriage is not important to most churches. They say it is, but if you look at what they teach on, and where they put money, the realty is it's not a priority. If churches really set out to improve the marriages of it's people, we'd see some real changes down the line.
Why don't churches put time and money into marriage? I'd say there are a couple of big reasons
[*]If you deal with marriage, you will offend people. Marriages suffer primarily because of selfishness - and when you confront folks on their selfishness you offend them. Then there is the sex issue - you can't really minister to marriage if you don't openly and honestly deal with sex - and that will offend plenty of people. Doing what it takes to help marriages can cost a church members and money. I think this would be short term, and be followed by an increase of both, but those loses are scary, and for churches on the edge they can be deadly.
[*]You can't teach what you don't live. The sad fact is that pastors have worse marriages then their flocks have. The stress of the job, an inability to connect on a deep level, and the fear of admitting the problem all make marriage very difficult for pastors. Even if the pastor has a good marriage, it's unlikely he is trained to teach the sexual side of what folks need to hear
Of course this is just my cynical view. By the way, YOU can help your pastor's marriage. Be respectful of their time, especially "after hours". Encourage that they be given regular time off, a couple of weeks of vacation plus a few days each quarter at the least. Make sure your pastor is paid enough to not have to work a second job, and to not have regular money worries.
Make of that what you will, but I thought it quite insightful.
all the division and war religion has caused in the world,
Unfortunately this is true, and I don't think God is to blame for this, as man took it upon ourselves to do many of these acts, and they were wrong and in complete contradiction to the Bible's teachings. I think the best way to negate this issue, is see Christianity as a personal relationship with God, and not as the human extension of it that we see portrayed so poorly on occasion. This is a tough nut to crack for sure.
the possibility that I'm simply imagining all of this, and I'd hate the possibility that if I do end up Christian, when I die I might be disappointed.
This made me laugh, and I in no way am laughing at you, but it's the same thing that crossed my mind. Essentially I concluded, "So what?" So what if I die and there actually isn't a God? Surely that means I just die, like everyone else? No big deal. But if there IS a God, then it will be amazing and I
want that with every iota of my being. That is, I should say, the wrong way to think about it, but it did help me realise that the very
worst that can happen, is that I will live a good life, and a rich and fruitful life under the Lord. Which really, isn't so bad afterall.
I'll probably be talking to real-life friends soon, because my friends will be able to do much more than this forum, or my family. But I just wish someone could tell me how I can be sure of this.
Well I guess if we could tell you how you can be sure, then you would have been a Christian ages ago.
The real deal here is that you are
feeling something different, and something no one can argue against, is that all Christians have felt amazing changes in themselves and in their lives. So really, back to my point about, take small steps. When you put them all together, they make a huge step, which is the aim, yet it's far, far easier to tackle many little changes, than it is to exact one large one.
All the best, happy seeking!
God bless.
Digit
