I'm doing well. I have spent several hours a week talking with my friend from work (the minister and graduate from our local Bible college). I downloaded the audio bible from LibriVox
https://catalog.librivox.org/search.php?title=bible&author=&status=all&action=Search and listen to it while driving so I'm about 12 hours into it. I read the God Delusion by Richard Dawkins first and I have to say so far Dawkins made a lot of sense and the Bible is so hard to believe.
Great stuff! Yes the Bible certainly is hard to believe, that is what makes a person's faith become strong. Don't forget though that Jesus' life is the center of the Christian faith, it requires some special thought before you decide to disbelieve what He stood for. There's no second chances once you've made that decision so don't go closing doors too swiftly. Dr Dawkin's is known to be very reliable for what he teaches, but he doesn't confess a personal knowledge of God. Jesus' teaching on the other hand is reliable for having faith in God but it doesn't teach science. The tricky part is how to reconcile both into a personal belief, that will blow your mind and maybe you'll enjoy that
Keep at it, keep your mind open, and pray to God for help with all this, it is tricky to walk the narrow path especially since you are relatively new to it. Allow me to pray with you now, and if you agree with what I say just say "yes Lord" in agreement as you read:
Dear God Almighty, we know you to be the one who creates such an amazing universe, taking interest in even the most miniature details yet being so vast and powerful that we cannot fathom it's greatness. Lord we know that the world you have given us can be confusing and hard to understand, but you have given us curios minds so we can learn all about the life you gave us and praise you for everything that we come to love. Heavenly father, as I pray with Jimtem here, I ask for your Holy Spirit to work on his heart and mind, preparing him to receive information in an honest and sincere manner and without prejudice, that he will both grow to be strong in faith as well as strong in his understanding of the world we live in. We pray for Dr Dawkins too, Lord how such an intelligent person can spend so much time admiring your work and still be devoid of your reality, we pray that you'll call Dr Dawkins toward the light and help him with any contention that has developed through his experience with ignorant believers. We know that nothing is too hard for you. Jesus we plead to you for the sake of Jimtem, be constantly in his thoughts that he may know how to satisfy you that he may have the faith to know his life is safe in your hands, that he will give his life over to you and contribute his works to the glory of God. Heavenly father, we hope for a world wide revival of faith, but we know that many are called and few are chosen. Lord we pray most earnestly today that you'll make abundantly clear to Jimtem the criteria to be chosen, and stir within him sufficient tenacity to discover and grow in faith. When we pray these things we address the Lord God who is most high and we know that when we pray in Jesus' name the prayer is always heard. We agree to what is said by saying amen.
Well Jimtem, you are listening to people who have prejudices and bias'. I would urge you to be cautious in your travels and look toward what Jesus would want for you. Would He want you to turn your ears off at Dr Dawkin's information? No. Would He want you to give respect to God? Yes. Jesus is the only one who has proven He will go as far as possible for your sake, so stick with Him. Also, if you are listening from the beginning of the Bible it is a long ride with quite a few bumps. I would encourage you to listen to one of the gospels and then listen to acts, because that will show you how the church of Jesus Christ got established.
All the best, and please bring any questions to discussion here there are a lot of people who hang around these forums for that purpose - to learn by discussion with each other.
