So, lately in the past couple of months, I've had some pretty serious issues with my faith. And over time, I had more and more trouble believing, until one day I woke up and I found I had no faith left. I'm reading the Bible, I'm going to church, I'm trying to stop my long-term sins, but nothing's helping. What I really want to do is to talk to my parents or my youth minister about it. The problem is, I have no idea how to breach the subject. I don't want to ruin my parent's Christmas by telling them I'm not sure what I believe, but at the same time I'm so miserable I don't think I can go on living like this without talking to somebody. I miss God, and I miss believing in God, and I want my parents to tell me that it's okay and they'll help me, but I'm so scared to say these words out loud because then there's no going back. What should I do? What should I say?
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Problem in Faith- Please Help!
- Thread starter 10o.o01
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Wedjat
Spirited Apostate
First off welcome to the forums.
Loosing your faith is like walking through a storm, I know the feeling, you don't know what to think, how to act, how to talk to other people. Everyone else seems normal and happy and you have a battle raging inside you.
You have a choice, you can either push through and come to terms with unbelief or you can turn back. I assure you though, the weather is calm on both sides, but you can't stay in this storm forever, you need to make a choice.
The choice that you seem to have made is to stay in your faith, I do not know how I can help as a) that is not the path I chose, and b) I don't know what's causing the crisis of faith.
I don't know how much talking to your pastor could help. It's worth a try at least, though depending on where the issue lies it might be difficult for him to relate.
The one piece of advice that I have to give is stay true to yourself. Don't force yourself into any position you are uncomfortable with. If it isn't you, it's not worth saving.
I know that my advice is perhaps unwelcome, being that I stand on the opposite side of the storm that you wish to be on, but I wanted to let you know that if you need someone to talk to who understands the perspective of a non-believer, my door is always open, don't feel shy to pm me.
Loosing your faith is like walking through a storm, I know the feeling, you don't know what to think, how to act, how to talk to other people. Everyone else seems normal and happy and you have a battle raging inside you.
You have a choice, you can either push through and come to terms with unbelief or you can turn back. I assure you though, the weather is calm on both sides, but you can't stay in this storm forever, you need to make a choice.
The choice that you seem to have made is to stay in your faith, I do not know how I can help as a) that is not the path I chose, and b) I don't know what's causing the crisis of faith.
I don't know how much talking to your pastor could help. It's worth a try at least, though depending on where the issue lies it might be difficult for him to relate.
The one piece of advice that I have to give is stay true to yourself. Don't force yourself into any position you are uncomfortable with. If it isn't you, it's not worth saving.
I know that my advice is perhaps unwelcome, being that I stand on the opposite side of the storm that you wish to be on, but I wanted to let you know that if you need someone to talk to who understands the perspective of a non-believer, my door is always open, don't feel shy to pm me.
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I've been through some wobbly times, I would recommend to sincerely pray to God to restore your faith, it is after all a gift from Him (Ephesians 2:8). Prayer is key, you can't do this on your own, pray before reading your Bible too, sometimes all it takes is asking (this counts for anything else too 
), things won't usually occur to you straight away, answers and understandings take time but they will come. Also interesting how it is referred to as a storm, maybe read Matthew 14:22-36 and see how it was Jesus who pulled Peter out of the stormy water, he couldn't pull himself out. Praying for you.
), things won't usually occur to you straight away, answers and understandings take time but they will come. Also interesting how it is referred to as a storm, maybe read Matthew 14:22-36 and see how it was Jesus who pulled Peter out of the stormy water, he couldn't pull himself out. Praying for you.
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HarborOrange
I am a sieve.
When I was going through rough times last year, I thought He had left me. I thought that my Father was gone... I almost lost my brother to a disease, and I almost lost my life myself... However, I found, that the Father was always there, I just wasn't looking. I was too busy worrying about things, I didn't take the time to try and develop my relationship with Yhwh. It's hard to try and become close to Him at times when you feel like you've departed from Him altogether. The fact that you miss Him is evidence of faith though, it's evidence of a yearning for Yhwh. So, you should at least know that it's good you want to be with Him. My advice is to simply develop a relationship with him, the faith will then come. Look at Him as your Father, because that's what He is. Even in your deepest sorrow and greatest pains, He is there. It's hard to see through the fog that is this life though, sometimes you have to push away the focuses this earth instills in you, and you have to just sit alone, and talk to Yhwh. Talking to your parents, as you have suggested, is a good method to get some support. Just tell them that you're feeling a lack of faith in the Father, and that you need some help building it back up again. I'm sure they'll understand. Besides, one of the most important tasks parents have is to build their child's faith. I recommend talking to them.
God bless.
God bless.
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Tarvarno
Newbie
If it's doubts that are bothering you, then I can relate. I had an awful time with doubts a few years ago, and God answered my prayers by leading me to the study of apologetics, dealing with the historical accuracy of the bible (specifically the new testament,) the origin of life, the origin of the universe, and so on. If it helps, check out these websites:
Reasonable Faith:
Stand to Reason: Stand to Reason: Equipping Christian Ambassadors with Knowledge, Wisdom, and Character.
Recent Articles - Evangelical Philosophical Society
Hope that helps!
H.
Reasonable Faith:
Stand to Reason: Stand to Reason: Equipping Christian Ambassadors with Knowledge, Wisdom, and Character.
Recent Articles - Evangelical Philosophical Society
Hope that helps!
H.
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I think Wedjat hit the spot with his message. The most important thing you need to do right now is to do something, and not to stay alone struggling with your problems. Talk to your pastor - he surely has some good advice for you concerning your doubts and talk to your parents, they'll support you and understand you; I bet they've had their doubts as well. Pray, read the Bible and above all, don't be afraid to ask questions, inform yourself about things you're interested in and make up your mind. God bless!
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rhwoqmzbxksm
Le sabreur
Well, the thing is that doubting =/= not having faith. Having faith is voicing your doubts to God.
Check Psalm 13: it's a whole SONG about doubt and it's in the Bible. It can be a part of worship and is definitely a part of our faith. I can't really type everything that my pastor said in the sermon on the psalm (it's 1.34 in the morning here in Hong Kong) so i'll just scan my barely legible notes in my bible. if you don't understand my handwriting (which is completely normal), just reply to this post. I'll try my best to write the thing out. or ask my pastor if he's still got his notes on the sermon in his computer. =]
and I couldn't insert it so I uploaded it.
Photoshop.com - ps13.jpg
oh and the photo might be a bit worse than the original. if you want the original scan, ask me to send it to you (vince.themoniker@gmail.com)
oh and yeah, about being afraid, don't be. Anyone who's been a believer for any substantial amount of time and was serious about it will have doubts. like what I wrote in my margins: the most imporant thing is to voice them to God and then to others.
Check Psalm 13: it's a whole SONG about doubt and it's in the Bible. It can be a part of worship and is definitely a part of our faith. I can't really type everything that my pastor said in the sermon on the psalm (it's 1.34 in the morning here in Hong Kong) so i'll just scan my barely legible notes in my bible. if you don't understand my handwriting (which is completely normal), just reply to this post. I'll try my best to write the thing out. or ask my pastor if he's still got his notes on the sermon in his computer. =]
oh and the photo might be a bit worse than the original. if you want the original scan, ask me to send it to you (vince.themoniker@gmail.com)
oh and yeah, about being afraid, don't be. Anyone who's been a believer for any substantial amount of time and was serious about it will have doubts. like what I wrote in my margins: the most imporant thing is to voice them to God and then to others.
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S
solarwave
Guest
I have been going through the same thing for the last year, though I think I have come through the other side, on the side of keeping faith now.
I think you should talk to someone, maybe a few people. Your pastor, youth leader, parents; people you trust. Simply tell them you are having doubts about your faith and try to explain why. They will understand.
Just to let you know your not the only person who goes through this. That it feels like a battle for your mind and being scared you might lose God. Just keep faith while you figure things out.
I think you should talk to someone, maybe a few people. Your pastor, youth leader, parents; people you trust. Simply tell them you are having doubts about your faith and try to explain why. They will understand.
Just to let you know your not the only person who goes through this. That it feels like a battle for your mind and being scared you might lose God. Just keep faith while you figure things out.
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Garrett V. F.
Student
I'm praying for you. What you said in the OP sounds like intellectual doubt. If you really want to come back to God, and if the intellectual part of the faith is where you're having trouble, then I humbly suggest that you set aside all of your spare time to read some apologetics. Apologetics comes from the Greek word "apologos" which means "defense". Apologetics is a reasoned defense of the faith, based on evidence that comes from logic, linguisitics and archeology. There's actually an apologetics subforum in the Theology section of this site.
Someone has already pointed you to Greg Koukl's Stand to Reason. There are some great articles there under the "Resources" section. The website is Stand to Reason: Stand to Reason: Equipping Christian Ambassadors with Knowledge, Wisdom, and Character.. There's a new student website where you can submit a question about the Bible that's bothering you and get answered. STR Place: Just Think. Well, actually, the guy there sorts through all the questions and answers certain ones that he believes would be most helpful to the most people, so your question, in particular, might not be directly answered. If you have any specific apologetic or theological questions, go to the theology section of this site. There are some smart people there.
Another website that I'd recommend is Evidence for God from Science. This guy explains why God and Science are not at odds. He's a biologist. In college, he decided evolution was a mess and that it failed at explaining life's origin. He then became an agnostic, and stayed that way for... 15 years? I think that was the number. You can read his biography/testimony for yourself, if you want. It's on the site.
For an over-arching apologetic handbook, I'd recommend Josh McDowell's Evidence That Demands a Verdict. He's written other stuff, too.
Norman L. Geisler wrote a book called When Critics Ask, which addresses several hundred alleged contradictions in the Bible. I think it's out of print, now, but you should be able to find a used copy online somewhere.
Also, read C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. His arguments are actually rather strong. He's so concise, though, that you might find yourself having to slow down to make sure that you get each point before you move on to the next. You'll probably be reading this book sentence by sentence, but the slower pace is worth it. You'll find his intellect to be clearly laudable.
I hope that helps, and I hope that it isn't a few months too late. Remember, I'm praying for you.
Someone has already pointed you to Greg Koukl's Stand to Reason. There are some great articles there under the "Resources" section. The website is Stand to Reason: Stand to Reason: Equipping Christian Ambassadors with Knowledge, Wisdom, and Character.. There's a new student website where you can submit a question about the Bible that's bothering you and get answered. STR Place: Just Think. Well, actually, the guy there sorts through all the questions and answers certain ones that he believes would be most helpful to the most people, so your question, in particular, might not be directly answered. If you have any specific apologetic or theological questions, go to the theology section of this site. There are some smart people there.
Another website that I'd recommend is Evidence for God from Science. This guy explains why God and Science are not at odds. He's a biologist. In college, he decided evolution was a mess and that it failed at explaining life's origin. He then became an agnostic, and stayed that way for... 15 years? I think that was the number. You can read his biography/testimony for yourself, if you want. It's on the site.
For an over-arching apologetic handbook, I'd recommend Josh McDowell's Evidence That Demands a Verdict. He's written other stuff, too.
Norman L. Geisler wrote a book called When Critics Ask, which addresses several hundred alleged contradictions in the Bible. I think it's out of print, now, but you should be able to find a used copy online somewhere.
Also, read C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. His arguments are actually rather strong. He's so concise, though, that you might find yourself having to slow down to make sure that you get each point before you move on to the next. You'll probably be reading this book sentence by sentence, but the slower pace is worth it. You'll find his intellect to be clearly laudable.
I hope that helps, and I hope that it isn't a few months too late. Remember, I'm praying for you.
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