struggling with beliefs

[cabsmom]

I have been a Christian for many years, but now find myself questioning a lot of the basic Christian tenets if you will.

I don't like to read the Bible--too many confusing things there and stuff that doesn't make sense.

I still believe there is a God and I still believe in Jesus. I am just wondering if I will be able to hang onto belief. If I can't believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible word of God, how can I know what to believe.

Anyway, I fell like I am in a spiritual limbo- not unbelieving, yet not totally believing. I don't even repeat certain phrases in church when it comes to the Bible.

 

[BFine]

Could you expound on what is causing you problems and or doubts?

You can PM me if you like.

 

[LilLamb219]

I have been a Christian for many years, but now find myself questioning a lot of the basic Christian tenets if you will.

I don't like to read the Bible--too many confusing things there and stuff that doesn't make sense.

I still believe there is a God and I still believe in Jesus. I am just wondering if I will be able to hang onto belief. If I can't believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible word of God, how can I know what to believe.

Anyway, I fell like I am in a spiritual limbo- not unbelieving, yet not totally believing. I don't even repeat certain phrases in church when it comes to the Bible.

You really need to schedule a visit with your pastor and go over things...using the Bible. In the Bible is where we find God's Word that strengthens our faith. It's sounds to me like you've been starving yourself from the food we greatly need.

 

[wmpratt]

I have been a Christian for many years, but now find myself questioning a lot of the basic Christian tenets if you will.

I don't like to read the Bible--too many confusing things there and stuff that doesn't make sense.

I still believe there is a God and I still believe in Jesus. I am just wondering if I will be able to hang onto belief. If I can't believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible word of God, how can I know what to believe.

Anyway, I fell like I am in a spiritual limbo- not unbelieving, yet not totally believing. I don't even repeat certain phrases in church when it comes to the Bible.

I too had an epiphany 25 years ago when I realized that some of the traditional beliefs were wrong.

I'm gonna say some things I'm sure some will disagree with but I think there's a mistake in elevating the Bible to a level of perfection. As I tell some atheists friends of mine, Christianity exists outside of the Bible. The Bible is only a tool. Also some "facts" people believe the Bible says it really doesn't say. For example the Bible does not say the age of the earth. Then there's lack of understanding in culture, context and loss in translations. The "Sea of Reeds" is not the Red sea. I could go on and on.


Seek the relationship with God and the truth will be reveled.

 

[The Fire Rises]

I too had an epiphany 25 years ago when I realized that some of the traditional beliefs were wrong.

I'm gonna say some things I'm sure some will disagree with but I think there's a mistake in elevating the Bible to a level of perfection. As I tell some atheists friends of mine, Christianity exists outside of the Bible. The Bible is only a tool. Also some "facts" people believe the Bible says it really doesn't say. For example the Bible does not say the age of the earth. Then there's lack of understanding in culture, context and loss in translations. The "Sea of Reeds" is not the Red sea. I could go on and on.


Seek the relationship with God and the truth will be reveled.

I'm inclined to agree with you. The Bible is ABOUT God and was inspired BY God, but was it actually, physically written by Him? Well, no.

It was written by imperfect beings, so by default it will itself be imperfect. There are also plenty of oppurtunities to misinterpret what it says, such as the age of the earth.

As Christians, we SHOULD read the Bible. It has been the most valuable tool in my life as a Christian. But you are right, some people elevate it to the point of perfection. Some people even elevate it above their personal relationship with Christ.

There ARE some parts of the Bible that really have nothing to do with us and does not apply to our lives at all. Such as the long genologies: "Bob was the son of Tom, Tom was the son of Chuck, Chuck was the son of..." Or the passages about which tribes Israel conquered and how many people they slaughtered...those are really just history lessons

But I'd say the vast majority of the Bible is a sheer gold-mine of valuable information for our lives and our relationship with God

 

[wmpratt]

I'm inclined to agree with you. The Bible is ABOUT God and was inspired BY God, but was it actually, physically written by Him? Well, no.

It was written by imperfect beings, so by default it will itself be imperfect. There are also plenty of oppurtunities to misinterpret what it says, such as the age of the earth.

As Christians, we SHOULD read the Bible. It has been the most valuable tool in my life as a Christian. But you are right, some people elevate it to the point of perfection. Some people even elevate it above their personal relationship with Christ.

There ARE some parts of the Bible that really have nothing to do with us and does not apply to our lives at all. Such as the long genologies: "Bob was the son of Tom, Tom was the son of Chuck, Chuck was the son of..." Or the passages about which tribes Israel conquered and how many people they slaughtered...those are really just history lessons

But I'd say the vast majority of the Bible is a sheer gold-mine of valuable information for our lives and our relationship with God

That I have no doubt.

 

[mommy2mybabies]

I agree that the Bible should be considered a tool rather than an idol itself, but it is important (In my opinion) for one to read the Bible in order to grow spiritually. For a very long time, I considered myself a Christian. However, picking up a Bible didn't interest me at all. It seemed boring, confusing, and sometimes downright frustrating. I eventually fell far away from God. Within the past few years, I've started trying to renew my relationship with Christ and the Bible has become a new habit for me. It can be hard to understand sometimes, but the benefits certainly outweigh the difficulties. My advice would be finding a Bible reading partner. One in which you can bounce thoughts and ideas off of. One that can encourage you to keep reading and vice versa. My mother and my aunt are my Bible reading partners. We're reading the Bible in chronological order together and anytime one of us has a question that arise; we'll draw up what resources we have to try and answer our questions. There are many different resources online to help you understand the Bible as well; though that can be a bit scary just because of the many different viewpoints out there about the Bible. I do fully believe that reading the Bible is important when it comes to spiritual growth. The Bible was written for the purpose of encouraging and teaching us while we walk with Christ. Trying to have a relationship with Christ without reading the word of God would probably be like trying to teach a history class without ever actually reading anything about history. I used to think that the Bible wasn't important when it came to being a Christian, but I feel very differently about that now.

 

[Leonfrost]

I too had an epiphany 25 years ago when I realized that some of the traditional beliefs were wrong.

I'm gonna say some things I'm sure some will disagree with but I think there's a mistake in elevating the Bible to a level of perfection. As I tell some atheists friends of mine, Christianity exists outside of the Bible. The Bible is only a tool. Also some "facts" people believe the Bible says it really doesn't say. For example the Bible does not say the age of the earth. Then there's lack of understanding in culture, context and loss in translations. The "Sea of Reeds" is not the Red sea. I could go on and on.


Seek the relationship with God and the truth will be reveled.

This is so very true. At least half of Genesis is entirely metaphorical. Most of what the church teaches is a "sin," is in fact only thought of as such because of poor translation. What matters at the end of the day, is God's love, and our love for everyone.

You're not struggling, OP. You're coming to the truth.

 

[Tigger45]

2 Timothy 3:16-17

English Standard Version (ESV)

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God[a] may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The original manuscripts were inspired i.e., breathed out by God. Now you have to take in account who it's taking to or about and what that meant with-in that culture but through out evan the OT we can gleen out truth for today. True we don't have the original manuscripts but with just a little research you will find how pain stakenly the scriptures were kept to our benefit. It only makes sense that God would after giving mankind His Word that He would be able to keep it.

 

[The Fire Rises]

This is so very true. At least half of Genesis is entirely metaphorical. Most of what the church teaches is a "sin," is in fact only thought of as such because of poor translation. What matters at the end of the day, is God's love, and our love for everyone.

You're not struggling, OP. You're coming to the truth.

What do you mean when you say that what the church teaches is "sin"?

 

[stormdancer0]

Sorry, gotta blip in here - the Bible is the 100% inerrant word of God. If you could just pick and choose the parts that you believe are relevant, then we have nothing we can depend on for legitimate info on God.

I see little about Genesis that is metaphorical.

Keep struggling, OP. You have gotten past the surface level of truth, and a deeper truth is waiting for you. You just have to dig for it.

I know that there are translations, etc. and people involved in the workings of the scripture. But if God can create the world with a word, He can keep the truths He wants us to know in that book.

 

[cabsmom]

You really need to schedule a visit with your pastor and go over things...using the Bible. In the Bible is where we find God's Word that strengthens our faith. It's sounds to me like you've been starving yourself from the food we greatly need.

This is where my problem lies. There are many things in the Bible that do comfort me and cause me to see God as loving and kind-great. There are other things that scare me to death. I don't understand how God could command people to slaughter all people women, children included. Yes, I have heard some explanations of those passages and I am sure my pastor would do his best, but I am also willing to bet that he would use the same or similar explanations.

Years ago I struggled with the fact that Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son. I struggled so much, I just left religion alone for quite a while. I cannot accept pat answers and repeated explanations. I just don't work that way. I got over this eventually, but I still don't like to hear that passage.

I may or may not talk to my pastor. I really believe I will hear what I have already read. I am also concerned that he will think I wasn't walking close enough to God. I won't say I was a sold out selfless Christian, but I would share with people I worked with and my son and I often read the Bible together (we stayed in the NT). Could I have worked harder? Yes, but I don't think it would help in this case. I really only think it would have caused me to be confused earlier.

I am not being rude, but I stay away from the Bible at this point in time. I still believe there is a God, but I am not sure if I am right about who He is and all.

 

[cabsmom]

Sorry, gotta blip in here - the Bible is the 100% inerrant word of God. If you could just pick and choose the parts that you believe are relevant, then we have nothing we can depend on for legitimate info on God.

I see little about Genesis that is metaphorical.

Keep struggling, OP. You have gotten past the surface level of truth, and a deeper truth is waiting for you. You just have to dig for it.

I know that there are translations, etc. and people involved in the workings of the scripture. But if God can create the world with a word, He can keep the truths He wants us to know in that book.

I really want to know why God would ask a group of people to kill all of another group including women and children. I am not being a trouble maker by bringing this up, I really find it disturbing.

I also want to know why in the OT if a woman is found not to be a virgin, they are to stone her. What happened to "Whoever is free of sin, cast the first stone."

These passages cause me a lot of grief and confusion and even tears. I feel that I am heretical even questioning the Bible, but on the other hand I feel saddened and confused as to why many people just accept it as it is and don't feel grief and confusion.

 

[The Fire Rises]

I really want to know why God would ask a group of people to kill all of another group including women and children. I am not being a trouble maker by bringing this up, I really find it disturbing.

I also want to know why in the OT if a woman is found not to be a virgin, they are to stone her. What happened to "Whoever is free of sin, cast the first stone."

These passages cause me a lot of grief and confusion and even tears. I feel that I am heretical even questioning the Bible, but on the other hand I feel saddened and confused as to why many people just accept it as it is and don't feel grief and confusion.

You are not a heretic in any sense of the word.

God never said we're not allowed to question things and use our reasoning. He didn't create us to be mindless drones. He created a powerful, complex machine that we call the brain, something scientists still don't fully understand and likely never will.

I agree with you in that the slaughter of women and children seems not only unncessary but almost hypocritical as well. Supposedly, it's fine to murder people back then as long as God gave you the green light. Ironic how terrorists today are claiming the same right: killing "infidels" because "Allah" told them to. Now I don't say this out of disrespect for God, but again, He never said we can't speak our minds and be honest with Him.

Regarding how old the earth is, I used to take everything in Genesis at face value. But it's hard to ignore the scientific investigations on this topic. Though I'm always skeptical of science due to evolutionists, I simply cannot argue against actual, physical evidence about the age of the earth. I forget exactly what they did, maybe they took samples of ancients rocks and tested the carbon footprint on it?

In any case, the evidence was basically irrefutable from what I heard about it. I should probably do some more research though. How can we just ignore the facts that are right in front of us and say: "That's just a hoax, there's no WAY the earth is that old." It's our word versus the expertise of proffessional experts...

So unfortunately, I must agree with you in that many of the "truths" I was taught about Christianity and God back in Kindergarten bible club has been shattered by reality.

 

[cabsmom]

I really don't think I will ever resolve these issues. I am not as worried as I was a 1 1/2 years ago when I started thinking about this stuff, but the worry is still underlying.

I have come to a point in my life to where I think like this:

I believe in Jesus the Savior and I hope my questioning of the Bible and lack of faith in some parts of it can be forgiven. I really hope that on the other side of this life I find real relief for these questions I have.

 

[LilLamb219]

I see it's mostly the Old Testament stuff that is bothering you. Have you read the OT in its entirety? And better yet as a part of a bible study where the pastor explains it? If not, you definitely should because you'll get a better grasp at God's plan to bring forth the Savior that was promised in Genesis. God had to keep putting His people on track because they kept straying and the world wasn't a great place, it was vile and evil which is something that needs to be understood. We tend to want to think that everyone is so good and deserving, but we ignore how undeserving we truly are which is why a Savior is needed and thankfully God brought forth the unblemished lamb to die in our place and our sins are forgiven.

 

[Eloy]

I have been a Christian for many years, but now find myself questioning a lot of the basic Christian tenets if you will.

I don't like to read the Bible--too many confusing things there and stuff that doesn't make sense.

I still believe there is a God and I still believe in Jesus. I am just wondering if I will be able to hang onto belief. If I can't believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible word of God, how can I know what to believe.

Anyway, I fell like I am in a spiritual limbo- not unbelieving, yet not totally believing. I don't even repeat certain phrases in church when it comes to the Bible.

Why is it that you don't believe that Holy Bible is God's words of truth? Study to show yourself approved. If you study the Holy Bible and you have a question about that what is written, then you can look it up in the Hebrew and Greek to get a clearer definition of that scripture. But since you say that you don't like to read the Bible, then how do you know what is written in it if you don't open it and read it? It is easy to put down something that you don't partake of, but if you partake of it then you should find that it is rich and that it is food to the bones, and to the joints and marrow, and gives life and light and wisdom. There's an old saying, "You only get out of something that what you put into it." If you put forth half-effort, or worse no effort: then you will reap half benefit, or worse reap nothing. So I encourage you to give it your all, and you will not be disappointed with the returns and the blessings that you will receive. Amen? Amen.

 

[damascusroad]

"Most of what the church teaches is a "sin," is in fact only thought of as such because of poor translation."

Please site each instance of that, including the proper translation in each instance.

Thanks.

 

[MyLordMySavior]

I have been a Christian for many years, but now find myself questioning a lot of the basic Christian tenets if you will.

I don't like to read the Bible--too many confusing things there and stuff that doesn't make sense.

I still believe there is a God and I still believe in Jesus. I am just wondering if I will be able to hang onto belief. If I can't believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible word of God, how can I know what to believe.

Anyway, I fell like I am in a spiritual limbo- not unbelieving, yet not totally believing. I don't even repeat certain phrases in church when it comes to the Bible.

I used to not want to read the Bible. I had the thought in my mind that it was boring, verbouse, and confusing. It was probably the Devil that was putting these thoughts in my head because when I finally really wanted a relationship with God and asked for Him to help lead me through the Bible I read it with more clarity and found it interesting and exciting! I'm reading the New Testament over again just because I love it and it is just so awesome to read all the amazing things Jesus actually did!!! I understand how it is hard to pick it up and just read it when you don't know where to begin, well I got this Bible App on my phone and it is great! It really helps me. Every night I meditate on what I read through Mark, maybe 2-3 pages. Then I'll read 4 Proverbs(Just finished all of Psalms yay! ) Then I'll go through these plans that you can do. It's like devotionals that you can download. Some last 2 weeks others can last months. I have one where it is "Walking with Jesus through the New Testament" and it is more reading and highlights points. I recommend it for sure! I also have this Teen study Bible which comments through the Bible to get you thinking and that's good too.


For the "limbo" part. God doesn't like half faith or half heartedness towards Him. He wants all of your heart and faith! READ THE BIBLE. I know it is what you don't want to do, but if you want to understand God more on a personal level and truly grow spiritually then reading the Bible will do that! It's God's way of communicating to you, through His Word! When you say you don't understand it, pray to God to fill you with the Holy Spirit and to give you Wisdom and Understanding as you read it and He will help you! He WANTS you to have a close relationship with Him! He has his Word for you so you can grow deeper and closer in a relationship with Him! God has placed the door right in front of you, you have to take the initiative to open it!


If you REALLY want a closer relationship with God, then no doubt in my mind you will do anything to get it. And you know that reading the Bible will help. It helped me LOTS! I feel closer to God now then I ever have, more then ever I did when I didn't read the Bible or go to Church! If you get confused while reading it, well we are here to help you! You could start at the New Testament if you want, that is where I started! Good luck and God bless you my friend!

 

[amandatea]

Regarding how old the earth is, I used to take everything in Genesis at face value. But it's hard to ignore the scientific investigations on this topic. Though I'm always skeptical of science due to evolutionists, I simply cannot argue against actual, physical evidence about the age of the earth. I forget exactly what they did, maybe they took samples of ancients rocks and tested the carbon footprint on it?

In any case, the evidence was basically irrefutable from what I heard about it. I should probably do some more research though. How can we just ignore the facts that are right in front of us and say: "That's just a hoax, there's no WAY the earth is that old." It's our word versus the expertise of proffessional experts...

So unfortunately, I must agree with you in that many of the "truths" I was taught about Christianity and God back in Kindergarten bible club has been shattered by reality.

Browse Media - The Genesis Conflict - English - Amazing Discoveries TV

I suggest watching those - The speaker was a well respected evolution professor for many years before becoming a Christian