Seeking guidance

[Jonathan Angelo]

I wasn't born into a religious family and I haven't really thought about my own ideas and beliefs. I have a few christian friends who have tried to convert me but they don't offer any reasons or in depth points about their religion. Please tell me what I should be thinking about in a way I can organise my thoughts. A lot of people just refuse to make any sense when talking about any religion. They just say if I do this or don't do that I will go to hell, you can be saved. I'm not going to be threatened into anything but people keep coming up with these threats.

 

[Sketcher]

Please tell me what I should be thinking about in a way I can organise my thoughts.

What questions do you have?

A lot of people just refuse to make any sense when talking about any religion. They just say if I do this or don't do that I will go to hell, you can be saved. I'm not going to be threatened into anything but people keep coming up with these threats.

People are threatening you? Christians generally don't threaten people, so if anyone is truly threatening you - as in "Convert, or I will do X to you" - that's pretty serious.

 

[unkern]

Sounds like you got some hellfire friends, Who say if you dont turn now you'll burn in hell.

Dont listen to anyone hellfire, I spend most of my time trying to fix what their religion does.

The truth is Jesus is not a religion in fact he doesnt like religion. Every religion: hinduism, budism, muslim, etc. believe in Jesus but they believe in him as just a prophet or a good man, there are also early records from rome and the Jews about him.

True christianity is messy, but beautiful. Its a bunch of people that are hurting and just dont have it together (the very few that will admit it), the un-perfect, but have the burden of life lifted off of them because of the love that God has for them. The bible says his thoughts about us are more numerous than the sand on the seashore. We are people that have been forgiven for all the terrible things we've done. We are blessed abundantly and dont deserve it. God is the God of second chance.

We are made perfect in him, thats what christianity is.

 

[Flibbertigibbet]

I wasn't born into a religious family and I haven't really thought about my own ideas and beliefs. I have a few christian friends who have tried to convert me but they don't offer any reasons or in depth points about their religion. Please tell me what I should be thinking about in a way I can organise my thoughts. A lot of people just refuse to make any sense when talking about any religion. They just say if I do this or don't do that I will go to hell, you can be saved. I'm not going to be threatened into anything but people keep coming up with these threats.

Hello, Jonathan Angelo. I'm a fairly new Christian, having been an atheist/agnostic for the first 43 years of my life.

My 24 year old son, having been raised by me, is also an agnostic. He and I were having a conversation the other evening about what Christians believe, in a nutshell, and I shared with him the basics of my own belief. I'll share it with you as well:

Those who believe in Christ and try to follow his commands want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to hear the basics of the gospel. God is holy (set apart) and as such finds all sin (missing the mark) to be offensive. Not just sexual sin, or any other number of so-called "major" sins - all sin. The penalty for sin is spiritual death (eternal separation from God) Because we humans are unable to be holy on our own (none of us. Even on our best day, best behavior, doing all the good we can think of to do, the Bible says our good works are as "filthy rags"), God sent a part of himself, his Son Jesus, to live a sinless life and die on our behalf, paying the debt for our sin - past, present and future. This was a gift, given because of God's love for us, that has only to be accepted. You don't have to be sinless to accept it and be forgiven of any wrongdoing. You don't have to live a perfect life thereafter (as nobody is capable of that) in order to continue to have the gift of eternal life. You just have to confess your sins to be cleansed of them and seen by God as clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

Confession = agreement with God that whatever you are confessing is sin in the eyes of God, and your earnest vow to turn from it (repent). It doesn't mean that if you agree that something is sin and you repent that you will never again have the urge to commit that particular sin, or even that you won't commit it again. It's called "grace" for a reason. We shouldn't deliberately choose to sin knowing that we can yell "grace" like yelling "uncle!". But those who tell you, or have told you, that once you believe in Christ you should live a morally perfect life are, imo, misguided and twisting the entire meaning of the gospel.

Because people still have sinful thoughts and/or actions does not mean they haven't been "saved." Sanctification (growing closer to God and less like the world) is a process. The closer you become to God, through learning his Word and through prayer, the more your desires in life change. It's not a "force of will" kind of thing, as that is rarely successful and certainly not enjoyable.

Regardless of how you feel about God at this time, he loves you. There is nothing you could do that would cause him not to love you or that would cause you to be unable to claim the gift that is freely offered. Should you choose not to accept said gift, God is not pleased and rubbing his metaphorical hands together gleefully in anticipation of destroying you. He is grieved and saddened.

Hope this answers some of your questions.

 

[salida]

Well, christianity shouldn't be full of threats - they don't seem to be painting the comprehensive picture of it all. And threats isn't the love of Christ in any case if they are threats.

I'm a christian spiritually and second intellectually. These arn't just my opinions - but when one does their research and homework they will find that christianity (Bible) is the most true book in the world. No kidding. I have studied other religions. The Bible could only be written by God since its characteristics show this. Its the only book that has hundreds of detailed prophesies in it that have been fulfilled and more to be fulfilled. Also, for a start is The Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell (this evidence would stand up in a court of law). And Examine the Evidence by Muncaster (a former athiest). For science and belief (www.reasons.org) for a start. Other religions try to make imperfect man better using ethics and working your way into heaven. Christianity recognizes that man needs a redeemer - the only spiritual remedy to save us. Just like if a doctor only had one cure to save you from a physical condition. Its the gift of salvation and once we choose Christ our personal Lord and Savior - then we act upon it - its all a byproduct of true saving grace as works alone can't accomplish this. Why? Because no one can keep the 10 Commandments all by themselves except Christ could. If one law is broken - this isn't acceptable to God so we need Jesus as our mediator. Through Christ we are made righteous.

Biblical Evidence – This is a very small amount of information
out of large amounts of information out there.

Internal Evidences-Prophesies that are confirmed with Bible;

mentioning only a few – but there are hundreds.

Life of Christ
The Tribe of Judah, Gen. 49:10, Luke 3:23-28
(Genesis was written 4004 BC to 1689 BC)
(Luke’s time period is 60-70 AD)

Royal Line of David, Jer 23:5, Matt 1:1
(Jeremiah 760 to 698 BC)/(Matthew 60-70 AD)

Born of a Virgin, Isaiah 7:14/Matt 1:18-23
(Isaiah 760 to 698 BC)/(60-70 AD)

Rise of Empires
In the book of Daniel, Chapter 2 – four kingdoms are described in the interpretation
of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greek – Daniel 8:21, 10:20/ and a fourth great kingdom to follow which was part iron and clay – which is the
Roman Empire – during this empire, Christ came and the church was established – Daniel 2:44.

Historical Accuracy

The Bible is loaded with historical statements concerning events of hundreds of years ago, yet
none of them has been proven to be incorrect.
(Bible compared to other ancient documents)
New Testament – starts at 25 years – between the original and surviving copies
Homer- starts at 500 years/Demosthenes – at 1400 years/Plato – at 1200 years/
Caesar – at 1000 years

Number of Manuscript Copies

New Testament – 5,686/Homer – 643/Demosthenes – 200/Plato – 7/Caesar – 10

Consistency – Written by 40 men over a period of time exceeding 1400 years, and has no
Internal inconsistencies.



Claim of Inspiration- It claims to be spoken by God, 2 Tim 3:16-17). No other religious book makes such claims.


External Evidences

(Prophesies Outside the Bible)
These cities were prophesied to be destroyed and never to be built again- and they haven’t.
Niveveh – Nahum 1:10, 3:7, 15, Zephaniah 2:13-14
Babylon – Isaiah 13:1-22
Tyre -Ezekiel 26:1-28

Bible before Science

He hangs the earth on nothing – Job 26:7
(Job was written at least 1000 years ago – some scholars think it could have been even 3000
years ago)
Note: Man only knew the above for 350 years.
Earth is a sphere – Isaiah 40:22/Air has weight – Job 28:25/
Gravity – Job 26:7, Job 38: 31-33/Winds blow in cyclones, Eccl 1:6

Documents that Prove Bible is True

Gilgamesh Epic, The Sumerian King List, Mari Tablets, Babylonian Chronicles

Archealogical Evidence (Still adding to this list today- it hasn’t stopped)
Excavations of Ur, Location of Zoar, Ziggurats and the foundation of Tower of Babel

 

[Criada]

It is interesting that you are asking the question - perhaps a sign that God is stirring something in you..

I don't think that anyone comes to faith through being threatened with hell... nor through reasoning things out. I spent a long time trying to intellectualise God.. and it really doesn't work.
If God is real, He has to be far beyond our understanding... otherwise He can't truly be God.
My suggestion would be to read the New testament and ask God, if He is there, to reveal the truth. If you honestly want that, He will.
And, to satisfy the intellectual side, I recommend "Mere Christianity" by C S Lewis.

I am praying for you, and if you have any questions, please ask

God bless you.

 

[Bain_Adaneth]

Don’t be threatened, they’re just trying to share with you. And you may not know this, but it’s probably because they love you. The only time I try really hard to share with nonbelievers who don’t want to hear about the Gospel is when I love them too much to not tell them. Christians believe in God and that men have sin. Only those who do not have any sin can go to be with God. Since everyone has sin….the penalty is death in hell. And there’s only one place we were God wants us to go..it’s to be with Him in heaven...sin everyone has sin, we all deserve the punishment for sin which is Hell. Hell’s official name in the Bible is the Lake of Fire. But God loved the world so much, He sent His only Son to die for us, in our place, in order so that we can be saved from hell. His Son suffered for us, so that we can go to heaven to be with God instead. So that’s why if we believe in God, confess our sins and believe that His Son has died for us, and we take His Son Jesus as our Savior and the Lord of our lives…we can have that salvation for free…and we would be free from our sins and instead of ending up in hell….we will be with God after we die. And we will praise Him there. That’s a short summary of believing in God and Salvation.

 

[plmarquette]

how did all this happen .... no big band and random selection could do all this... complexity and design... must be a designer.....; plans and provision ... must be a planner; things in motion, what is the first mover....

St. Anselem's theory ...

 

[Lukaris]

A way to approach the Bible in establishing some framework can be found in probably many examples. One I have found is to get a quick intro to Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour and an explanation of our human condition in sin is found in Romans 1 & 2. Next read Acts 7 for a quick overview of the Old Testament as St. Stephen convicts the sanhedrin of failure to follow God and is martyred. For the core of the Gospel one can read Matthew 5, 6, & 7 (the sermon on the mount). To fully understand Jesus Christ as God, the call of St. John the Baptist, & the selection of the apostles, read John 1. For the final judgement read Matthew 25:31-46. Note from Romans 2 & the Beatitudes (Matthew 5) as Jesus Christ has authority over all flesh, it appears that he likely has certain non Christians somewhere in His plan of salvation. To understand what love is read 1 Corinthians 13. A good basic outline of Christian faith can be found in the apostles' creed http://www.creeds.net/ancient/apostles.htm & can serve as a checklist against heretical concepts (like denial of the virgin birth etc.). Also understanding the 10 commandments is a tool for daily living. Hope this is helpful. God bless.

 

[The-Doctor]

Jonathan you talk about religion and belief. You need to seperate those out. Religion could be viewed as how to worship...what is accepted as worship where as in my view belief is what you personally believe.
I dont think anyone can be forcibly converted since that would not be true belief just "I'll go along to appease X" True faith comes from you and cannot be imposed. The fact that you are thinking about these things is good. Go with that and make your own mind up on what you believe.

 

[The-Doctor]

Jonathan you talk about religion and belief. You need to seperate those out. Religion could be viewed as how to worship...what is accepted as worship where as in my view belief is what you personally believe.
I dont think anyone can be forcibly converted since that would not be true belief just "I'll go along to appease X" True faith comes from you and cannot be imposed. The fact that you are thinking about these things is good. Go with that and make your own mind up on what you believe.