lure of other beliefs

[harpy.of.the.storm.swift]

i grew up attending a christian church (baptist), but the message never seemed to sink in. i have always been drawn into things that were 'dark', but i've kept going to church and trying to believe. in the last year i've met friends of different religions and been exposed to their ideas, especially wicca. i've started studying these different beliefs, and while none of them seem 100% true they all seem believable to me. i've started to have a lot more doubts about what i believe. my mom is very accepting; she likes to have me learn and make choices, but my dad is convinced what i'm doing is evil. what do you think? is it good to explore and ask questions? i don't feel i'd be able to accept anything without a lot of study..and i've lost whatever blind faith i ever had.

 

[got2be]

As a general observation....there are a few statements in your message that I believe are very telling. You use words such as 'lure' and 'evil' and statements like "i have always been drawn into things that were 'dark'". Do these answer your own question? You express truth and wisdom about the crossroads you are at in your own message....where do you think that is coming from? There is discernment and conviction...even as you struggle with your faith.

As for the specifics...should we ask questions...absolutely. Should we study and seek the truth...everyday! The only warning I would raise is to be sure you know what Christianity is before you start trying to explore/blend in other religions. I would spend some time exploring Christianity's truth claims (apologetics) before exploring alternative religions. This way you will be equipped to easily pick out the differences and see how they fit into what you believe. Remember, attending a Church on Sunday and studying are two different activities...although Church is a start, you will need to go much deeper to seek the knowledge and wisdom.

May God guide your pilgrimage.

 

[Mr.Cheese]

Ditto that.
Church. For me church is the one thing that will make you walk away from religion. That's a long story though. Got2be said it all well enough.
Read the word. See who Jesus is. As God's revelation to the world, see who he is. Can you trust him? Is this man worth your investment of faith? Or is there something else out there that is better?
I believe that there is power in other religions so I don't dismiss them all as false. But I have found that they all end up in the same darkness they started in. I walked away from God, but now I'm back and I'm here to stay.

 

[GodOwnsMe]

um. well I think it'd be goodl if you'd just keep talking to God over that stuff...ask him to answer your questions, let you find the truth & completely protect you..
I guess it's hard for me to really relate
but I'd say take care & stay in pray

 

[Bruno]

Originally posted by harpy.of.the.storm.swift
is it good to explore and ask questions? i don't feel i'd be able to accept anything without a lot of study..

It is great to study and ask questions! There are good things and evil things all over this world. It helps to know both. Satan is the king of lies, so be very careful whenever anything appears like it might be bad, but seems good. You could be lied to and swayed towards things that will hurt you and those around you. Seek Truth and Love and you WILL succeed.

Study the New Testament of the Holy Bible. If anything in it is unclear to you, come back to this forum and ask away.

 

[seebs]

Study and ask questions, definitely. I had a multi-year ongoing discussion with my wife about darkness and evil; I have come to believe that they are *not* the same thing, necessarily. Storm clouds are dark, but not evil. There is also evil which is not dark.

Ask questions. Explore. It's a big world.

Remember: There are arguments against all those other beliefs, too. We can debate everything forever, if we want. Sometimes, a new belief sounds tempting because you haven't heard the problems with it, or encountered them yet.

 

[Blessed-one]

i agree, study the bible and also see what other religions are like. You may be coming up with an answer sooner than you think; but think about it, how much of the bible do you really know? do you know Jesus as much as you think you know? ("The Jesus I never knew" by Philip Yancey)

May God guide you.

 

[Susan]

Great post Blessed-one. Amen.

 

[Susan]

And one other thing I would like to mention: if your church seems like a place where you get more condemnation or anger than anything else, or where there is no teaching on the basic issues of the faith, but rather always on secondary issues (of the left wing or right wing), find another church.

Many times, sadly, the actions of some Christians can lead to doubt of the faith itself.

 

[feral]

f - it's always good to explore and ask questions. without that study you're not making an informed choice. but what's that one quote.."if you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything"..keep that in mind as well and don't displace beliefs you know to be true. sounds funny coming from an agnostic, doesn't it? but it's easy to get lost if you don't stay on some path. however, learn, by all means..

 

[Mr.Cheese]

That was a good post. I'll let it stand.

 

[KnightCross]

Harpy, I feel for your confusion and searching, and will pray for your soul-seeking. However, I have several things to mention:

I will certainly not say that you should not research other religions. To me, that is almost a necessity in a sense, you should know what you're up against. I can say with all feeling in my soul that the truth of the Lord is self-evident, and I hope that you will be able to see that as well.

However, beware the evil powers...they can make the dark to seem light, and the light to seem dark. It it their mission to insure you are ensnared in the darkness, all their power is bent to that end. As others have stated, you should know what the "Light" is all about before you make your judgements.

As well, as some others have alluded to: do not judge others as your basis for God and his Promise.

Romans 3:22-24 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Therefore, what that is saying is you cannot judge God by his human followers here on earth. We can speak of his love and compassion, but we can never completely live it. If maybe some of God's promises have seemed false before, it could have been the weakness of the humans behind it, not God being untrustworthy.

I hope this helps.

Cheers and God Bless!

 

[Blade]

Originally posted by harpy.of.the.storm.swift
i grew up attending a christian church (baptist), but the message never seemed to sink in. i have always been drawn into things that were 'dark', but i've kept going to church and trying to believe. in the last year i've met friends of different religions and been exposed to their ideas, especially wicca. i've started studying these different beliefs, and while none of them seem 100% true they all seem believable to me. i've started to have a lot more doubts about what i believe. my mom is very accepting; she likes to have me learn and make choices, but my dad is convinced what i'm doing is evil. what do you think? is it good to explore and ask questions? i don't feel i'd be able to accept anything without a lot of study..and i've lost whatever blind faith i ever had.

You know it's real simple. It's real or not. Some churchs are dried up. And I don't mean Baptist. Find a WORD church where they believe all of the WORD. The dark side (not starwars) is very much alive. It will always be fun at 1st but watch out it only has a down side and when it bits it will hurt. It will only hurt you in the end. Simple, just ask, Jesus if your real show me? In Jesus he will show you more things that will just BLOW you away. For me if all there  was is reading the Bible and going to church I would stop. But when I fould out JESUS is so real so much alive and loves ME. You see the Bible is not just a book. It's ALIVE. So study the bible and ask him to show himself to you and he will. He comes to you just as you are.

 

[Snowdrift]

Originally posted by harpy.of.the.storm.swift
i grew up attending a christian church (baptist), but the message never seemed to sink in. i have always been drawn into things that were 'dark', but i've kept going to church and trying to believe. in the last year i've met friends of different religions and been exposed to their ideas, especially wicca. i've started studying these different beliefs, and while none of them seem 100% true they all seem believable to me. i've started to have a lot more doubts about what i believe. my mom is very accepting; she likes to have me learn and make choices, but my dad is convinced what i'm doing is evil. what do you think? is it good to explore and ask questions? i don't feel i'd be able to accept anything without a lot of study..and i've lost whatever blind faith i ever had.

You and I have a lot in common my friend. I too was brought up in a christian church where nothing really seemed to sink in. As I grew into my high school years I had totally disregarded christianity altogether. I fell into the dark world of drugs and played with the occult for many years. All through college I walked in the path of darkness and my feelings of fear and guilt grew stronger and stronger. I've always known the difference between right and wrong but have always made the wrong choices. Now at 25 years old I am beginning to realize my true identity in Christ. I had reached a point where I could not sleep at night and everything seemed hopeless. I cried to God for help like I had many times before but this time my heart was true and I began to feel peace for the first time since my childhood. This is all very recent for me and I am still struggling with my worldly desires. It seems that I have one foot in and one foot out and it can be degrading on the soul. If you truly put your heart in Christ he will show you the truth behind his word and there will be no need ot look anywhere else for meaning....Its not easy but if I can do it....So can you......Ill be praying for you......

 

[DaveKerwin]

wicca is lame, I don't see what is believable about it.

read God's word more to understand the truth.
Trust me, you will NEVER find anything in the universe more true than God's word. If you see nice things about other religions, then consider that the bible may teach a similar thing. For example, Religion X might say to be nice to people, well, so does the Bible, no confliction there. But what those other religions do not preach is Jesus Christ. Stay far away from that, it is darkness and it is false. We serve the living God, be close to him only!!

 

[Mr.Cheese]

Haven't seen harpy in a while.

It's ok to ask questions. I don't think God commands us to be drooling idiots who will swallow everything we hear. If you have a question, look for an answer.
Jesus is my savior. Growing up in church didn't help me figure that out.

 

[GREG]

read the bible and go talk to someone. have faith in God and he will lead you........

 

[jillybeans]

Hello!  I also grew up in a Christian church/home, and a lot didn't sink in. I moved away, had some negative things go on in my life, and ended up meeting some people who were so incredibly nice and supportive of what I was feeling....unfortunately, they were also into a lot of nature religions.  At the time, I was so thankful for acceptance that I didn't question how those beliefs were effecting my shrinking relationship with God.  But there was never real peace about the beliefs or the relationship with the non-believers.  They were nice to me, but there was also something I couldn't really define that wasn't 'good'...still don't know the exact word.  At any rate, I started to reexamine my Christian beliefs, and had an incredible reconnection with the Lord.  When I grew up, my beliefs/faith were as sincere as I knew to be- but a lot was also based on a feeling of familiarity and habit....not obedience (for the sake of obedience) to One who gave me Himself.  Once I understood that obedience was so much more freeing than anything I'd heard about, I was really eager to learn more about things I'd grown up basically taking for granted.  He has shown me so much, and I have so much more to learn!  Something that helped during the times of wandering was to think of standing before Jesus one day, and having to answer His question (how I imagined it)- "what did they give you that I didn't", and looking at the cross, there was no comparison.

 

[harpy.of.the.storm.swift]

mr cheese - i have been busy with school and all these clubs i'm in!

well, i have been taking a class in wicca for about a month now, and i really enjoy it, especially the people that i meet. i am not 100% convinced but i like how wicca accepts all people. there is no judgement. i haven't decided what i am going to do really. i am still praying to god sometimes but i don't feel answered or certain of anything. bleh, i need prayer and i wish i could prove the truth somehow.

 

[Loki]

Read and question.  Check out other churches; get a friend to take you to some of the services you're not accoustomed to. 

I really recommend reading the Upanishads.  They're Hindu texts, written for the end of the vedas, and they're gorgeous.  And ifyou change some of the names:  Atman to God the Father, for instance, I think that it many would mistake them for christian documents. 

Whatever you do, make sure it's right for you and doesn't lead to destructive behavior, ie, if I hear you get into hardcore drug use, I'll be disappointed

Do you keep a journal?  I find that's very helpful for sorting out thoughts.

Take care

Loki