My Plight

[Defuret]

I originally posted this elsewhere, but I've figured by now I might as well do it in the "technical" area for this sort of thing. -Defurét

Righto, this may turn out a little odd, but please bear with me. I'm running into problems of faith lately and I really need some help.

1. I'm starting to lose it. Yep, I'm starting to lose my faith in Christianity and in God. This might partially be influenced by the fact that I was forced to read the works of Albert Camus (Alberr Camoo) on existentialism for acedemic reasons. I really don't like what's happening! I'm starting to get depressed and despaired when I think of a Godless world, and worse, a Godless death.

2. I'm functioning in a more or less Athiest school environment, and in fact, world for that matter. It seems that the human population on the whole is beginning to lose its faith just as I am. This scares me. I have basically no problem with any theist- be he/she non-religious, or of another religion. Frankly we seem to be rare enough as it is without dividing ourselves into little groups.

3. I've got a few quirks. Ok let's start: I'm a furry . Go look that up on wikipedia or wherever you please because I'm not going to bother to explain. It may seem all weird, but frankly I see it as a stronger connection with all of God's creatures (animals that is to say), and a connection with one in particular that I identify it. I however, do realise that the human form was the one chosen for us by God, and would never forsake it for another. Furryness does not go much beyond a hobby.

Yeah. And I'm no perfect person really, but I strongly fight existentialism's invasion of my mind and try and contest veiws on the pointlessness of life as much as possible. I'm certainly not amoral- at least not yet. I don't really know what to ask of the readers of this message, but I needed to get this off my neck. I'm consulting councillers and soon my local minister (I'm an Anglican, somewhere between low and high) to deal with some of this.

Again, thanks for bearing with me.

-Defurét (Duh-fee-ooray).

 

[Love22814]

1. I am sorry. Try to just read the Bible and perhaps even read it outloud. Whenever those thoughts start creeping into your head, then just shout outloud that God is your father and your Lord to see if that helps you any.


2. I live in the same type of area. I know very few people outside of here and church who actually have basically the same views as I do. It really scares me that there are that many people of the younger generation who don't believe in The Lord. Just try to find a church and make friends with some people at that church and see if it helps at all.


3. Don't worry, I also have some unique habits myself and we just have to not let that get in the way.

I hope that you find your way and can get back on the path the Lord wants you to be on.

 

[keirberos]

I can, in a way, relate; I was born into a family that was one of that world— existentialism, and it was all I knew. But then I came into a larger family— this one— and knew I could never go back.

I wish I could draw some comfort for you from scriptures or verses, but unfortunately, I don't know them that well. What I do know is that every day, we are constantly being tried and tempted. Standing as strong as I think I can isn't really enough, and hating myself or despairing when I can't isn't exactly healthy, so the one thing I can do in times when my faith falls short is to pray to God.

He gives us faith and strength and hope, and to an atheist or existentialist, it may seem silly or in vain, but often, that's the one thing that brings my faith back to me, and pushes me to strive forward for a time when my faith will be so strong it is unwavering.

I pray for you, and know that should you ask the heavenly Father for strength enough to keep believing in him, he will answer your prayer. Don't lose sight of that, hold on, and, blessed be.

&

 

[Johnnz]

Have a look at these sites
bethinking.org
veritas.org
rzim.org

You need good information from a Christian perspective. We can't fight in a vacuum. The sword of the Spirit, truth, must have content.

John
NZ

 

[wayoutsidethebox]

I know you had to read that book but thats one of the reasons I stay clear of stuff like that. Stuff like that is used a stumbling block by satan.

Also, regarding what you said about the human population and its loss of faith: Check out 2 Tim 4:2-4. The human population was created in sin and generally functions in sin. The unsaved really havent moved away from God.
Those of us who have entered in to a relationship with God may have. Notice the Bible keeps telling us to stay with it. Look up scriptures dealing with endurance.

 

[Anti Existance]

What you need is some faith inspiring reading.

http://www.aleroy.com/Abetway.htm
http://www.aleroy.com/contents.html


And read some of the near death experiences on that website , they are really faith inspiring because even Albert Camus doesn't have a clue about NDE, these people really experienced God for better or worse.

 

[Defuret]

Albert Camus died in a car "accident". Probably didn't even see it coming.

That is a powerful site, and I will bookmark it for future reference. Thanks to all for thier support.

 

[UnitynLove]

Did you know that we are in a war? Everywhere we look we see the casualties. Every day we see people falling from disease, divorce, and tragedy. Looking around at all this suffering, we may think that the battles are being lost in hospitals and divorce courts—but, in reality, we are losing the earlier, more important conflicts on the battlefield of our minds.
Our minds are being bombarded daily with a constant stream of little nagging thoughts, suspicions, doubts, fears, wonderings, and theories. While any one of these can cause defeat and devastation, many of us are plagued by more than one. Our lives have become filled with daily mental battles against a variety of aggressors.
Because we fail to identify the battlefield, we also fail to correctly identify our foe. We tend to believe that men are our problem, or women, the system, money, or religion. In order to defend ourselves, we build up strongholds in our minds. Strongholds are areas of thinking based not on truth but lies. These strongholds, instead of protecting us, actually imprison us and hold us hostage. Because of the presence of these strongholds, we continue to believe lies and make important decisions based on our deception.
Let me give you an example of how strongholds of wrong thinking can destroy a marriage. Mary and her husband, John, are not enjoying a happy marriage. There is strife between them all the time. They are angry, bitter, and resentful. Now their two children are starting to show signs of being affected by all the dissension in the home. One of the kids is even developing stomach problems brought on by all of the conflict.
Mary's problem is that she doesn't know how to let John be the head of their family. She is bossy—she wants to make all the decisions, handle the finances, and discipline the children. She wants to work so she will have her "own" money. She is independent, loud, and demanding. Mary knows that her attitude is wrong, and she wants to change. She's been in counseling, and she is constantly asking for prayer that God would help her with her anger, rebellion, unforgiveness, resentment, and bitterness. But she hasn't seen any improvement. Why?
Over the years, Mary has built up strongholds in her mind. Mary can't control her actions because she can't control her thoughts. She can't control her thoughts because of the strongholds in her mind—strongholds that were built very early in her life.
As a child, Mary had an extremely domineering father. For years she suffered helplessly as her father mistreated her and her mother. He was disrespectful in all his ways except toward Mary's brother who could do no wrong. It seemed as if he was favored just because he was a boy. By the time she was sixteen, the strongholds in Mary's mind were firmly established. The stronghold of lies went like this: "Men really think they're something. They are all alike, and you can't trust any of them. They will hurt you and take advantage of you." As a result, Mary's mind was made up: "When I get away from home, nobody is ever going to push me around again!"
Before Mary can ever have victory in her life and peace in her marriage, she will have to tear down the strongholds that are ruling her thinking. Do you see yourself in Mary's life? Many of us have given in to these deceptions at one time or another. How can these strongholds be torn down? We must be willing to receive the light of TRUTH in our minds. Our search for truth begins in God's Word, which says that the truth will set us free (see John 8:32). This means we can be free from bondage, sin, and the strongholds in our minds. But just searching for truth won't set us free, we must be courageous enough to BELIEVE the truth. Even though truth is revealed, it's sometimes hard to accept. It is a painful process to face our deceptions and deal with them. It's so easy to allow our past and how we were raised to negatively affect us for the rest of our lives. Our past may explain why we're suffering, but we must not use it as an excuse to stay in bondage. You may have some major strongholds in your life that need to be torn down. Let me encourage you by saying, "God is on your side." There is a war going on, and your mind is the battlefield. But the good news is that God is fighting on your side!