How do you do it?

[OldChurchGuy]

(Sorry to make so many posts in a row. I hope that's not against the rules or anything.)

Also, one thing that is especially keeping me from converting is fear: I feel a huge, incredible feeling of fear when I even think of converting to Christianity. It's like I'm afraid to even consider doing so. Is this normal, and if so, how do I overcome it?

I get the impression the fear is not so much in adopting Christianity but a fear that adopting Christianity means having to completely abandon many of your core values and beliefs. If that is the case, allow me to share a story:

In my youth (some decades ago), I was pretty much a literalist and wrestiling with various issues of the day. I was struggling to mesh a literalist understanding with some views that were non-literalist. An opportunity came along to teach the High School Sunday School class and I accepted.

The first Sunday I asked the class what they wanted to study and the response was "Revelation". I said this was fine with me because I had never studied it either so we would all have a good learning experience. I then asked how they wanted the information presented; i.e., one viewpoint or a variety of views so they could make up their own minds. They eagerly declared they wanted a variety of views.

The church had a great library so I checked out various commentaries such as Adam Clarke's, Matthew Henry's, J. Vernon McGee's, Haley's Bible Handbook, the Interpreter's Bible, and William Barclay. My simplistic belief was that there would be little difference between them.

Like Paul in the Book of Acts, the scales fell from my eyes as I realized there were multiple interpretations of Revelation and ALL of them could prove or justify their particular interpretation. At first this was frightening but then I found it exhilarating to realize there was room in God's world for multiple views.

At this point, my core theology is summed up in Jesus' description of the greatest commandments: Love God and love your neighbor. The rest (a literal versus non-literal interpretation of the Bible, correlating personal political views with the Bible, which Bible translation is the "best", etc.) is part of a fascinating lifelong journey of discovery and learning.

Heed the advice of RevCowboy and find a church that encourages you to ask questions and embark on your own spiritual journey. Since I agree with him, the man is brilliant.

Finally, at the risk of heresy, I submit the Bible may or may not be the divinely inspired inerrant Word of God. For me, the Bible is a collection of writings written by many people over centuries all striving to explain what it is like to know God.

May you find the courage to explore Christianity and may your journey be a lifetime of discovery and understanding.

Sincerely,

OldChurchGuy

 

[ContentInHim]

How do you make yourself believe that the Bible is true? I've tried doing so before, but I'm such a staunch liberal that I just cannot do it. The parts about abortion being wrong, homosexuality being wrong, and non-Christian religions being wrong especially make me not want to take the entire Bible seriously. And I've tried forcing myself to be a conservative, but that didn't work out well at all. But I do want to be a Christian (or at least I'm pretty sure that I do). So what do I do?

You can't do it in yourself. The Holy Spirit convinces you of it's truth after you become a born-again believer. I believe that becoming born-again is answering God's call on your life. I was where you are for 54 years. All that changed when God regenerated my heart so I could hear his message. And I thank him every day that my faith has grown from the size of a mustard seed to a huge mustard plant!

 

[AllTalkNoAction]

. . .what do I do?

You cannot judge what's wrong until you know what's right.

Get what's right, then you will begin to understand why God says what he does.

You only become "a Christian" by receiving God's Spirit as detailed in the bible - Acts v2:4, 33, 39; Romans 8:9.

 

[Emmy]

Dear SoAmazinglyBlessed. You had many good replies, and if you really want to become a Christian, you must take the plunge. God will not force you, and Jesus has vanquished Satan on Golgotha, he is without power to hurt you, or influence you in any way. Ask Jesus into your heart, tell Him of the secret fear you have, and the you must accept His help and guidance. Keep praying all the time, Nothing can touch you when you show your allegience to the Lord. You will soon feel protected and without fear. Always tell yourself that you belong to Jesus. You will never know the power of our Saviour, unless you ask for it. I say this humbly and with conviction, Hannah, and send greetings. Emmy, sister in Christ.

 

[Lukaris]

If I may add, one way to approach the Bible is to start in the New Testament and read scriptures that outline our human predicament (& also announce Jesus Christ); this can be done with Romans 1 & 2. For a quick overview of the Old Testament & an early Christian who emulated Jesus Christ read St Stephen's account in Acts 7. Next to fully understand the divinity of Jesus Christ, the call of John the Baptist & his baptism of our Lord, Jesus Christ fulfilling John the Baptist & the call to the apostles read (gospel of) John 1. For the core of the Gospel, read Matthew 5, 6, & 7 & also see Matthew 23:34-40. Just notice (esp in Matthew 6) our Saviour outlines 3 basic (but not easy) tasks for living a Christian life: prayer, fasting (save for later & talk to a minister), & alms giving. There is an ancient catechism (about 100 AD) that bears witness of the early Christian faith called the Didache & it is great testimony; it can be found at http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/didache-roberts.html Hope this is beign helpful for perspective at least for a starting point. The Bible is no easy read & the guidance of a minister is valuable. If you feel any spiritual uncertainty, refer to the 1st letter of John 4:1-6 with prayer. God bless you in finding the Lord & let the secular issues be secondary for a while.

 

[Mary_Magdalene]

when i became a Christian at 27, i didnt know where it would lead me either. I thought people who called themselves "born again" were a bunch of wackos...until I became one myself.

i jumped in without looking or worrying about where God would lead me. i jumped in blind because i figured if i really belived that He was God, the Creator of the universe, the Almighty, He would lead me where He wanted me. If i was really going to give my full heart to Him, it wouldnt matter where i went or ended up-as long as I followed Him. i still dont know where the 100% Godly perfect way is, but love the journey to get to that point (when He comes back). I consider myself a big conservative but if God were to lead me to be a big ole' liberal, that is where I would go as I follow His lead.

you can take the bible literally and be a huge conservative without having hate in your heart. i know you probably have heard "hate the sin, love the sinner". well with me (a literal bible beliving conservative) it is not just a fancy catch phrase.

i think too, that we (as believers as a whole) tend to look too much to people and how they are living and what they are doing, etc. to define our faith. I have learned in the past year to stop doing that-only God is perfect. Only He has the correct answers to the questions. I think if we as Christians look to men to guide our path, we are always going to end up in the gutter...

look to God and Christ only-try to drown out the "noise" of the world.

 

[zaksmummy]

Jesus told his disciples to go into the world and make disciples - not converts.

God wants you to have a relationship with him, not with the religion of christianity.

The bible is a excellent book which as many people before has pointed out is where God shows us the best way to live. But at the end of the day we are free to make decisions for ourselves, we are not robots, we werent created to be that way.

Ask God to show you what is right, remember that as a follower of his, it is you who he will give a desire to live his way and to demonstrate this to others.

Most of the problem and the reason that many people are turned off by christianity in the western world is that we are always trying to tell other people how to live and then not doing it ourselves. This is not God way, only God can change a heart to do something different.

Catrin xx