Help me become a christian

[Sesjus_22]

Hello. I am unsure as to whether this is the appropriate place to post this. Let me introduce you to my problem: while i have been baptised, and raised as a christian, i am finding difficulties coming to terms with my religion. Simply put, i am having problems justifying the feasability of roman catholicism in my head. Now this worries me a lot, and i am in dire need of substaintiating evidence that can help me convince myself that i believe in god. You see, the teachings that they give me in school seem, to me, to conflict with everything i learn in church, from my parents, etc. Dinosaurs? The universe's expansion? Big bang? Evolution? They all seem to conflict with the core ideas of my religion, and thus i have come here to request that someone explain to me how such ideas can be incorporated into my religion.

Please help me restore faith in god.

 

[Dondi]

There are varying opinions even among Christians concerning how God created the world. Some are Genesis 6-day literalists, some are day-age proponents, soem see genesis as an allegory explaiing God relationship with His creation and His relationship with man. There is a board here in CF that is devoted to talking about origins theology here:

http://www.christianforums.com/f143-origins-theology.html

For people who believe in literal creation, there is are seperate threads here:

http://www.christianforums.com/f425-creationism.html

Then there are Christian folks who believe in what's called theistic eveolution here:

http://www.christianforums.com/f426-theistic-evolution.html

The point is I don't think you need to compromise you faith in God due to a lack of understanding about how God created the world. there are many of us who deal with this issue, but it doesn't greatly affect our faith in God.

I believe God because of what He has done in my life and the lives of others.

 

[ChildOfGod20]

all of us have different theories about those things and it may seem to challenge your faith but you just have to know that we as humans can't know everything. our minds aren't capable of understanding. that is why God tells us to have faith. I know that God is real because of the things I have experienced. if you really study your Bible and make it a point to have a 2 way conversation with God every day then i believe you will start to get the mind of God and understand things better. the farther you get from God the more these things will challenge your faith so make sure that you stay close to God.

 

[Sesjus_22]

God didn't create the world. God is a social construct. Let me ask you something. If i told you i was abducted by gigantic alien catfish who claimed to have created the earth, would you believe me? Believing in god is beliving in information substantiated by a text that is several thousand years old that was created by people with a limited lack of scientific knowledge. The first thing is, that no one has ever seen god. By beliving in what Jesus presumably said, your taking his word for it. Its the equivalent of taking my word that the gigantic catfish created the earth. How is it that you can be sure that i'm not right? My abduction theory is equally valid and feasible as God existing. So people "apparently" seen Jesus walk again after he died. They can make that up. So you find love a month after praying to it for god. Its called probability. So millions believe in god. So what? How should this serve to reinforce the fact that this invisible, non physical, non corporeal exists?

 

[abbasdaughter]

Sesjus...the very fact that you are asking these questions suggests that there is a place in you that desperately needs answers. Before we know Christ - there is a fear in us that suggests that all of our arguments for God may be wrong. The way of Christ is all about faith. Do you test every chair, checking it for screws and balance and sufficient comfort before you sit in it? Do you wait at the traffic light through 4 or 5 times, checking to make sure the lights are working properly before you venture across on your turn? Do you ask the people around you every five minutes if they still like or love you when you've lived with them all of your life? These are all acts of faith. We choose to believe the chair will hold, the light will turn and that people love us. We don't analyze those things to death in hopes of understanding them - we accept them. Such is the faith of God. We simply bow - it would take much more faith for me to believe that "bang" - the world came into existence and everything works together in some grand scientific scheme by accident. Creation alone is reason to believe there must be a Creator. "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that me are without excuse." (Romans 1:20) You can hang out all day at the apologetics thread and get all of the theology in the world - without faith, it won't matter if you have the answers. We can't recognize truth without the eyes of faith - we can't know God without accepting His death and resurrection by faith as His gift to us. The plan is so simple, that those of us who reason to the inth degree, miss Him in the details. Praying for you. God bless.

 

[firenz]

sesjus, have you tried asking God about it. It is possible to have a personal relationship with Christ. that is the whole reason that Jesus died on the Cross. you can ask God to reveal his answers to you. but you have to be willing to listen, and you may have to wait for a little while.

Just because a text is old does not mean that it is invalidated. How do you know that nobody has seen God. in order to say that then you must know everybody that has ever walked on the face of this planet. The bible is not a scientific document, it is a historical one. Just like any other historical docuement except this one holds the key to mankinds salvation.

you could argue Gods existance till we are blue in the face, we could argue creationism verses evolutionism and many other points. But you will need to be willing to submit yourself to God in order for you to ge the answers you are seeking. Take a risk, Jesus Christ came and died for you, he rose again 3 days later there is plenty of historical prof. just because it was 2000 years ago does not mean that it is any less relevant to our lives today.

I will be praying for you, but you need to try praying. just like having a conversation with a friend. It may feel silly until you get used to it but you need to keep asking him to show you his grace and the reality of Christ.

God Bless

 

[handmaiden97]

hey, I would recomend dr. dino .com (I aint sure the exact address) but put dr. dino in your search engine and it will come up. Their are a lot of scientist that teach creation....unfortunatly we dont ge tto here about them in school. but look into it for yourself, there is scientific evidence to supprt the creation story of the bible!!! Dont give up....

When I look at creation, how beautiful it is and how awesomly it all fitst toghether and I cant help but see that our world and us people were designed! If we are designes so perfectly their is a great and wide designer out there.

evolution teaches that by some cosmic accident life began and has evolved form there...well thats hogwas....you are no accident! You were created with a purpose!

 

[Valentine]

MOD HAT ON

This is a wonderful thread, but since this is the Teaching Forum and is designed for teachers to seek advice, exchange ideas and discuss teaching technique, I'm moving this thread to the Christian Advice Forum where there are those who can offer advice and suggestions regarding the Christian questions being posed here.

MOD HAT OFF.

 

[wonderwaleye]

Dear Sesjus_22


I'm 62 years old and I to wondered about many things concerning the world.



But after tasting a good bit of life I found I had a feeling I couldn't touch. I was also Catholic at the time.


I knew there had to be more in life than what I had been seeing but I put GOD'S WORD off because while I thought it was a good book, I just couldn't live it.



Well the time came when I thought maybe it's time to see whats inside. I read the NEW TESTIMENT and seen a lot of advise that if I would of used earlier would of saved me a lot of hide.



Well I had done things my way and it wasn't cutting it so I decided to go GOD'S WAY. I said the hardest prayer in my life and committed my life to GOD and HIS WILL.


Three days latter the HOLY SPIRIT descended upon me and gave me the number 7 and told me what I would be doing in the future. I questioned it because it did not seem to fall in my talents.


Well it took 7 years to come true. When I ask GOD to bestow this talent upon me I started doing something I was incapable of doing. There is more to this but I'm trying to keep it as short and to the point.


Now the big bang didn't do this for me. Early creation didn't do this for me. Only GOD would have been capable of this MIRCALE.


So I put all those unknown questions where GOD'S WORD tells me to:


" DO NOT DWELL INTO THINGS THAT ARE NOT YOURS "


This took all those questions and laid them to rest. I've never been sorry.


Now one morning the HOLY SPIRT gave me a message to write:


" Church can be a wonderful nest, but unless you venture out of your nest and use your Bible for wings, you will never soar, with destruction most probable. "



Things just don't happen for no reason. I hope you will really look around at others and think about life. Then look at what the other side offers.



YOU WILL NEVER BE SORRY IF YOU REMEMBER:




[FONT=WST_Swed][/FONT]
XEven though you can't see Him, GOD is there!O
( click on the X and drag to the O ) ( then feel who is around you ) steven

 

[Treasurer]

I really love my mom, and I was raised Christian- to believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Now in school they do teach lots of varying things and during my stent in school, they took prayer out of the classroom, and forbade us to carry bibles into school. Now if you ask me it was a mistake because pretty soon the morals followed.

Now it really didnt take me too long to come to the realization, and even as a youth the magic word that followed each and every one of the those teachings in the classroom- theory. Know what that means? It isnt a fact- or truth, it cannot be proven to be truthful. So therefore I can choose to believe what they tell me in that classroom or not, of course I have to remember it long enough to pass my class, but that doesnt mean I have to be dumb enough to swallow that hogwash now does it!

The other thing I found out over the course of time, was test stuff, find out if really is true. Dont believe every thing you are told (or taught to believe- as the case may be). There is so much going on today, in history, archeology all kinds of stuff. I am like so loving it! Biblically speaking there is so much to support the bible as fact, than fantisy. These people really exhisted, as families, as nations, even crazy stuff like remember reading about things like brimstone, well I got to actually see some of that stuff and it burns! It was used for fuel, can you imagine that! Or I got to see frankinsense and it is still used today, and they have traced the roots of that stuff for the queen of sheba- and I believe they have found her territory and a new language. I mean this stuff is exciting.

But you know school doesnt really teach you that kind of stuff because that would well I guess prove the reality of God and the bible being true now wouldnt it. It would booster our faith, and hey they dont want that. They want you to believe in flesh and blood stuff, not the unseen God, not the promises- why? Because if that is true, well it doesnt look too good for the world now does it? That might mean they have to repent and turn back to God.

And well...they have never wanted to do that, now have they.

But these are just my two cents, for what they are worth.

Go forth and be blessed

 

[rivergirl]

Dinosaurs? The universe's expansion? Big bang? Evolution? They all seem to conflict with the core ideas of my religion, and thus i have come here to request that someone explain to me how such ideas can be incorporated into my religion.
Please help me restore faith in god.

try answers in genesis . org, lots of good answers there
try carm . org for answers in apologetics
try just calling out to God and asking Him for grace, which is ultimately the answer you need for your doubt.

 

[Harlan Norris]

Hello. I am unsure as to whether this is the appropriate place to post this. Let me introduce you to my problem: while i have been baptised, and raised as a christian, i am finding difficulties coming to terms with my religion. Simply put, i am having problems justifying the feasability of roman catholicism in my head. Now this worries me a lot, and i am in dire need of substaintiating evidence that can help me convince myself that i believe in god. You see, the teachings that they give me in school seem, to me, to conflict with everything i learn in church, from my parents, etc. Dinosaurs? The universe's expansion? Big bang? Evolution? They all seem to conflict with the core ideas of my religion, and thus i have come here to request that someone explain to me how such ideas can be incorporated into my religion.

Please help me restore faith in god.

Look we're all just as aware as you are, that there are things present in the world that seem to prove the Bible false.If it were not for the existance of God I would agree. We believe that science knows it all.With the possible exception of dinosaurs,we have no real proof of any of the theories that are accepted as fact by most.Even dinosaurs,who's bones we have, may be part of the pre flood era.Things we think took millions of years may in fact have happened quickly.With God all things are possible.So, it's just a matter of where one places one's faith. In God or in science. When I became a Christian, it was because I had become aware of the incredible similarity to prophesy, current events were taking. In my rational mind, it makes no sense that Isreal can be the vortex around which the problems of the world revolve. But it is. That tiny little nation,smaller than Rhode Island. As Rodney King says, why can't we all just get along.The only answer I have for this question is,because God will not allow it.So,if we believe in God,then we can read our instruction manual,the Bible,and find a way through, that leads to everlasting life.If not, we chase our theories down the drain.

 

[Daninchrist]

God didn't create the world. God is a social construct. Let me ask you something. If i told you i was abducted by gigantic alien catfish who claimed to have created the earth, would you believe me? Believing in god is beliving in information substantiated by a text that is several thousand years old that was created by people with a limited lack of scientific knowledge. The first thing is, that no one has ever seen god. By beliving in what Jesus presumably said, your taking his word for it. Its the equivalent of taking my word that the gigantic catfish created the earth. How is it that you can be sure that i'm not right? My abduction theory is equally valid and feasible as God existing. So people "apparently" seen Jesus walk again after he died. They can make that up. So you find love a month after praying to it for god. Its called probability. So millions believe in god. So what? How should this serve to reinforce the fact that this invisible, non physical, non corporeal exists?

Sesjus_22

It sounds to me you’ve made up your mind about God. Personally I’ve found that as a Christian I can’t argue you, or any other non believer into the Kingdom of Christ, and I am comforted in the idea that I don’t have to.

I’ve been in your intellectual shoes. I once thought that all of mans discoveries where far too superior to a silly notion of God and blah, blah, blah. Been there, heard it all, said it; it’s an old and worthless argument that I have since settled for myself, and I suppose you’ll have to do the same.

This life is your journey and one thing is quite certain about you and I; we will one day be dead. So, between now and then you may want to decide what your values are. I’m sure you can agree with the question that something had to create all this? Why not God? What is believing in a God that created the universe going to do to you? Could God have set a proton and a neutron atom on a collision course to create an ever expanding universe? And, what about the bible? What of the bible is figurative speech and what of it is hard fact? Why does it say what it says?
Many billions of people have walked this earth before you. Great men have documented the words of God. Wars have been fought for it, counties have been established based on it, and people have died as martyrs for it, but yet a few people come along now and again and just don’t believe it, you among them. How smart is that?

We can’t wrap up God and Christ in a nice little package for you. No one can. That’s part of having faith. If you want to find God, then you’ll have to step out in faith. If you want to start really living then you’ll have to give your life away. Why don’t you start like I did? Just say to God that you don’t believe, but you want to. Give him one tiny speck of faith if you have it and see what happens. I dare you.

 

[nattsie]

All i can say is that you shouldn't need to EVIDENCE to believe in God. It's something in your heart, just a feeling there and in the end that's what it comes down to for me.

 

[wayfaring man]

Greetings Sesjus_22 , and welcome to CF ,

Our true need is not filled by an association with an institution of religion alone .

What we all need is the Gift of God's Holy Spirit , which Jesus encourages us to ask for in Luke Chapter 11 .

Once we accept that we are sinners by nature , are in need of God's Forgiveness , and that Jesus suffered bled and died , to Atone for our sins , demonstrating that God's Love for us is Greater than any other . Then we call upon the Name of The Lord , Jesus , asking God to fill us with His Holy Spirit ; and He does just that !

Then we have the Greatest Comforter / Teacher right inside of us .

What generally comes to mind regarding hard questions , some of which are purposely designed to confuse and discourage , is that we should dwell on the things we do understand , not on the things we don't ; for that's where the profitting is ... yet , it's not wrong to question , or wonder ; we just don't want to be stuck thinking about what is rather incomprehensible .

Another admonition received , was for us to keep in mind the principles of godliness , and commit the details , in trust to God .

For example : I can't tell much about what happened long ago ; or even a lot about what will happen in the future ; but , I know that when my life honors God , by keeping the godly principles in His Word , near and dear to my heart , then I've a Peace , a Joy , and an Assurance which no one else can take away : for I know in myself , that The Lord is making a Distinct Difference in my Life , by His Spirit in me , and this confirms that my life is effectually in His Hands , and He is molding and shaping me , into that which I need to be , in order to fit right into God's Splenderous , Everlasting Kingdom ; where all of our questions and wondering will be satisfied , And Then Some !!!.


And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? <-----> Luke 9:11-13

I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. <-----> John 16:12+13

Peace and Joy In Christ's Spirit ,

wm

 

[Kehaar]

MOD HAT ON

Thread moved from Christian Advice to Questions by non-christians following faith icon change.



MOD HAT OFF​

 

[kdenised]

God didn't create the world. God is a social construct. Let me ask you something. If i told you i was abducted by gigantic alien catfish who claimed to have created the earth, would you believe me? Believing in god is beliving in information substantiated by a text that is several thousand years old that was created by people with a limited lack of scientific knowledge. The first thing is, that no one has ever seen god. By beliving in what Jesus presumably said, your taking his word for it. Its the equivalent of taking my word that the gigantic catfish created the earth. How is it that you can be sure that i'm not right? My abduction theory is equally valid and feasible as God existing. So people "apparently" seen Jesus walk again after he died. They can make that up. So you find love a month after praying to it for god. Its called probability. So millions believe in god. So what? How should this serve to reinforce the fact that this invisible, non physical, non corporeal exists?

I would take the advice of the post that suggested you talk to God and tell Him that you dont really believe, but you would like to.

And there are plenty of things you can't see or touch.. doesnt mean they're not there.. I know it's cliche but,
You cant see or touch love, and you know it's there because once you come to know it, there is no question in your heart that it's real. God is the same way.. Heck, God IS Love in its purest form and through Him, we have the ability to know and experience love. With love, you can't see it, but you can see the effects of it. The same is with God, you cant see Him, but you can see the effects of Him, through His creation of this universe and man.

 

[Key]

Anyone else waiting for this to go to GA?

God Bless

Key

 

[seebs]

Hello. I am unsure as to whether this is the appropriate place to post this. Let me introduce you to my problem: while i have been baptised, and raised as a christian, i am finding difficulties coming to terms with my religion. Simply put, i am having problems justifying the feasability of roman catholicism in my head. Now this worries me a lot, and i am in dire need of substaintiating evidence that can help me convince myself that i believe in god. You see, the teachings that they give me in school seem, to me, to conflict with everything i learn in church, from my parents, etc. Dinosaurs? The universe's expansion? Big bang? Evolution? They all seem to conflict with the core ideas of my religion, and thus i have come here to request that someone explain to me how such ideas can be incorporated into my religion.

Please help me restore faith in god.

How do they conflict with any of the core ideas of your religion? The Catholic Church has accepted evolution as a workable scientific answer to scientific questions for years, probably even decades. No conflict here.

 

[Calminian]

All i can say is that you shouldn't need to EVIDENCE to believe in God. It's something in your heart, just a feeling there and in the end that's what it comes down to for me.

I'm not sure who told you this, but classical theologians from Augustine, to Luther to Calvin and all other historical theologians until about the time of Philosopher David Hume have disagreed with you. It was about this time that fideism took root, but things have definitely turned around since then. This idea of belief apart from evidence is no where in the Bible. I only say this for the sake of those seeking by the grace of God. Fideism and modern presuppositionalism have no christian historical roots at all, and no biblical support that I can see.

But I would agree that the desire to seek must come from God. If you are coming from the calvinist side of the isle, I would strongly recommend a book by R.C. Sproul, John H. Gerstner, Mr. Arthur W. Lindsley.

Classical Apologetics
A rational defense of the christian faith and a critique of presuppositional apologetics

This is not to say reasons save, only that God can use them. For a good understanding of the biblical term faith, I suggest this article:

Fallacious Faith
Correcting an All-too-Common Misconception