Faith

[superchristian44]

This is my first thread so...Hello!

i was just wondering if anyone else has had servere doubts about their faith. I am recently starting to have a much more cynical approach to my faith, and cannot bring myself to go to church anymore. Has any of you suffered these feelings?

I have recently read the book "everything is illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer. Now I am not usually persuaded by the use of rhetoric etc, but these book really did open me up from my previously narrow-minded viewpoint.

Do you always strongly insist that God is real and with us, or do you sometimes have doubts, like when there is a terrible disaster?

I'm sorry if threads like these are posted often!

 

[HouseApe]

Welcome superchristian44!

Does your moniker imply that you have some sort of super powers, ala superman, or your super, like really cool? And are you the 44'th instance of a superchristian?

I don't really have a lot of problems with my faith, or lack thereof. But I'm probably not the kind of guy you were directing your question towards, so I'll shut up now.

 

[superchristian44]

"I don't really have a lot of problems with my faith, or lack thereof. But I'm probably not the kind of guy you were directing your question towards, so I'll shut up now."

oh, but you are.

Why, then, do you not question your faith?

To be honest, the recent tradegy in Asia has caused me to question my faith more so than ever before. I cannot believe that God would create a world where that kind of thing would happen. In fact, i wouldn't want to believe in a God that would.

 

[HouseApe]

oh, but you are.

Why, then, do you not question your faith?

Well, you know being an atheist, I just don't have faith in any God or gods. But I am certainly open to one being around. I just haven't been contacted yet. Or maybe I have, and didn't realize it. Who knows?

To be honest, the recent tradegy in Asia has caused me to question my faith more so than ever before. I cannot believe that God would create a world where that kind of thing would happen. In fact, i wouldn't want to believe in a God that would.

I am not aware that the Christian God has made a direct appearance in the last couple of thousand years. So it is hard to really define exactly who or what this God is. That leaves every Christian with the opportunity to define God to be who you want Him to be. So you just need a good justification of why your God created the world, but didn't want it to be perfect. He wanted to allow for tragedies, even though He hates them as much as you do.

I really can't come up with a decent justification for you, but maybe others on this board can.

 

[morningstar2651]

Super Christian, have you ever attempted to read the bible from beginning to end?

 

[levi501]

Why don't you start with telling us why you have faith in the first place?
Is it simply what you've been taught your whole life?

 

[superchristian44]

Yes I was brought up with christianity and have neverb really questioned it until now.

 

[superchristian44]

And no, I've never read the whole bible. Your point being...

 

[flicka]

I think all Christians doubt at some time. At least they should.

There is a saying that there can be no faith without doubt. I agree.

Many Christians, especially young people, etc. jump into their faith not knowing much and take everything at face value. They believe everything because they want to and because they are told that they should. They are eager to be the as perfect a Christian as they can be...ready to take on the world with their new found 'truths' that they haven't actually proven to themselves yet. As people grow (either in age or faith) it's natural to question things and wonder about this or that. Periods of doubt are common. Working through these doubts will either strengthen your faith or make you realize that it's not working for you afterall.

This is why we have both mature strong Christians and and mature strong people who deconvert.

 

[HouseApe]

Yes I was brought up with christianity and have neverb really questioned it until now.

A good chunk of the atheists on this board were brought up as Christians and lost their faith. I am one of them. I went on a roller-coaster ride faith wise for a long time. I reached a point in my life about 10 years ago where I really wanted to understand my reasons for faith.

An atheist friend of mine asked me "how would the world be different if God didn't exist?". A profound question for me at that stage in my life. I thought about that for a long time, and the answers I came up with set me on the path of atheism.

Everyone's path is unique. Enjoy the opportunity to question. Where it leads you no one knows.

 

[morningstar2651]

http://www.religioustolerance.org <-- descriptions of world religions
http://selectsmart.com/RELIGION/ <-- useful quiz, though not always accurate

Time to ask yourself what you believe and if it matches with any world religions.

If not, thats no problem, it just means your beliefs have no title.