ChristianGirl_96
Well-Known Member
- Jan 13, 2019
- 1,096
- 1,359
- 29
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Christian
- Marital Status
- In Relationship
Upvote
0
Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
I have been trying so desperately to grow my faith and relationship with God and I’m now more confused then ever. To clarify I am not doubting God existence but I’m just doubting my understanding of God. I used to be so sure about what I believed but now when I’m trying to learn more, I’m not anymore. I also don’t understand why Christianity is so confused about so many things and why we have so many denominations. We all read the same bible but somehow come to drastically different conclusions. Why does the bible seem so contradictory sometimes? I used not to think so but it wasn’t until I debated a Jehovah Witness, who used the scriptures to support his statements that Jesus was created and obviously as someone that believes the trinity I don’t believe that but it’s hard to convince someone else when Jesus is so often in the scriptures referred as the only begotten son. Then I use John 1:1 to show him that the Word was God and Jesus is the word. However then he says that he does believe Jesus is a God but not the almighty God. I say that there is only one God and that God is jealous if we worship other gods. However then he shows me a scriptures that say God even calls us gods ( Psalms 82:6 & John 10:34). I didn’t know of this scripture so how can I refute something that is clearly biblical. I understand that some people will say some of these scriptures are not literal and are figuratively but how can you distinguish what is literal and what is figuratively. It’s things like these that confused my faith the most. I will blame in on my lack of understanding or wisdom but it’s just so hard to understand sometimes.
You are right... there is no "religion" that is perfect. Christ didn't come to bring "religion".But that’s the one thing I don’t want to confuse at all. I don’t believe in religion and that’s why I don’t follow any denomination at all. I want to only know Jesus and God however and I have a desired to preach the gospel to others but it wasn’t until I talked to other people who knew even more than the bible than me that I realized that I really don’t know the bible as much as I thought I did. I don’t understand why the bible says one thing that and then another thing, like I said I will blame it on my lack of understanding. My question is simply how can I understand the word. I also don’t believe in just reading the New Testament and the Old Testament js not as important. I believe both are equally as important. So I want to understand the whole picture of the bible.
The confusion comes because many people rely on their own logic and reason in order to try and work out what the Bible means. To quote a well known British evangelist from the 70's, "It doesn't go like that." The Bible is a spiritual book for spiritual people. How do I know? It says so! That is why it is so important for believers to spend time in the word, praying and seeking reality and truth. It is vital not to get hung up on things that are not clear. No one except God knows the truth about the last days, the rapture, and other controversial parts of the Bible. It's OK not to know. I'm still learning stuff after nearly 50 years. I do know where to go for answers though.I totally agree and the more I read the opinions on the forum the more confused I get. No two people seem to agree on one subject and then they argue with each other. Only causing further confusion. I don't believe people who say the word is easy to understand. Even those persons who believe they know it all fight among themselves, fight for their right to be absolutely right. They say go to the authority, well they don't understand the authority so what good does it do the newbies?
The trouble is that the organisation that claims to have handed the gospel down bears only a passing resemblance to the church that Lord Jesus heads up. I don't have a problem with Catholic people. I'm currently editing a tract that a Catholic young woman has produced. I don't agree with every line, but most of it is fine. I plan to put a link to it on our website. I do have a problem with Rome. The Kingdom of God is not of this world. Roman Catholicism is worldly to the core.The Christian faith is real. The doctrine of Sola Scriptura, however, has often served to undermine the faith, causing much confusion and division because through it each individual reader now becomes the authoritative interpreter and determiner of Christian truth, with little or no regard for the historical understanding and teachings of the church that received, preserved, and proclaimed the faith since the beginning. That same church, that Jesus established, would go on to assemble the canon of Scripture and hammer out the doctrine of the Trinity at council centuries later, which definitively declared the deity of Jesus Christ in the latter case. Going round and round debating Scripture with others, especially with a couple of JW friends incidentally who often had plausible enough arguments for their positions, finally caused me to see through the fallacy of the doctrine of SS.
Anyway, Christianity has never been about bible study as in, "may-the-best-exegete-win"; most believers down through the centuries have arguably been illiterate and the church received and preached the gospel before a word of the New Testament was written. It's always been about a faith received and handed down first and foremost.
The confusion comes because many people rely on their own logic and reason in order to try and work out what the Bible means.
The church necessarily has one foot in this world and one in the next. And the church, itself, is necessary, human foibles and all. Without it and the creeds and teachings that it defined at councils and the overwhelming good that its members and witnesses have done down thorough time along with a handful of rogues, Christianity would look very different than it does now, if it even existed at all as more than a minor footnote in history books.The trouble is that the organisation that claims to have handed the gospel down bears only a passing resemblance to the church that Lord Jesus heads up. I don't have a problem with Catholic people. I'm currently editing a tract that a Catholic young woman has produced. I don't agree with every line, but most of it is fine. I plan to put a link to it on our website. I do have a problem with Rome. The Kingdom of God is not of this world. Roman Catholicism is worldly to the core.
We are in the world, not of it. Lord Jesus is Head of the church that He is building. His church cannot fail. The Church that Lord Jesus is building includes everyone who is born again. Any denomination that claims to be the sole source and interpretation of truth is simply wrong. Any honest appraisal of the Roman Catholic organisation will show that it is of the world. The Vatican is a nation in its own right. It has an army, its own currency and issues passports. Countries have ambassadors to the Vatican. It has its own bank. Doing good is not enough. Rotary and the Lions do good, so do the Red Cross and many other charities. The question has to be, "What is this achieving for the Kingdom of God?" Hint. If it is not glorifying Lord Jesus and spreading the gospel, it is dubious to say the least.The church necessarily has one foot in this world and one in the next. And the church, itself, is necessary, human foibles and all. Without it and the creeds and teachings that it defined at councils and the overwhelming good that its members and witnesses have done down thorough time along with a handful of rogues, Christianity would look very different than it does now, if it even existed at all as more than a minor footnote in history books.
I was in the military (Navy) when I got saved. I travelled a lot, courtesy of the taxpayer and met many Christians from many cultures, including Japan. I was at sea for 3 years. I discovered that Christians generally agree on what matters and argue about trivialities. I also discovered that some people are Christians in name only, the spiritual equivalent of fools gold. I had little choice but to study the Bible for myself. I'm glad. Once I left the Navy (1975) I started reading a lot more Christian books. I especially like Watchman Nee. He can be hard work but worth every sentence. I recommend to new believers "Growing in Christ", which is a Logos publication and "The Normal Christian Life" by Watchman Nee. But the source is the Bible. Every Christian needs to know it.Am I ever in agreement with that comment! It's understandable that an inquirer or seeker or even a new member would be overwhelmed about much that is Christianity if not about the basics of salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. But sending them straight to the Bible is probably not going to resolve all the "gray areas" in their thinking so much as taking some course of study at the hands of people who are qualified to teach will. The "Christianity Explored" course that some congregations (of different denominations) offer comes to mind as one possibility.
God is not the author of confusion. The aforementioned Scripture should Speak to you. The world is lost and the spiritual depravity seems to be increasing. All anyone can do is seek. Christ shall appear a second time to those who look for Him. Please pray on this. I thought I was born again in my early 20’s or possibly my late teens. Christ came to me after God The Father called me. I believe that the only contribution we make towards our own salvation is the simple faith to let God in.I have been trying so desperately to grow my faith and relationship with God and I’m now more confused then ever. To clarify I am not doubting God existence but I’m just doubting my understanding of God. I used to be so sure about what I believed but now when I’m trying to learn more, I’m not anymore. I also don’t understand why Christianity is so confused about so many things and why we have so many denominations. We all read the same bible but somehow come to drastically different conclusions. Why does the bible seem so contradictory sometimes? I used not to think so but it wasn’t until I debated a Jehovah Witness, who used the scriptures to support his statements that Jesus was created and obviously as someone that believes the trinity I don’t believe that but it’s hard to convince someone else when Jesus is so often in the scriptures referred as the only begotten son. Then I use John 1:1 to show him that the Word was God and Jesus is the word. However then he says that he does believe Jesus is a God but not the almighty God. I say that there is only one God and that God is jealous if we worship other gods. However then he shows me a scriptures that say God even calls us gods ( Psalms 82:6 & John 10:34). I didn’t know of this scripture so how can I refute something that is clearly biblical. I understand that some people will say some of these scriptures are not literal and are figuratively but how can you distinguish what is literal and what is figuratively. It’s things like these that confused my faith the most. I will blame in on my lack of understanding or wisdom but it’s just so hard to understand sometimes.
Why does the bible seem so contradictory sometimes? I used not to think so but it wasn’t until I debated a Jehovah Witness, who used the scriptures to support his statements that Jesus was created and obviously as someone that believes the trinity I don’t believe that but it’s hard to convince someone else when Jesus is so often in the scriptures referred as the only begotten son.
In the particular instance of JW I'd recommend either not getting into debate or at least preparing yourself better (there are videos on you tube discussing the problems with JW).I have been trying so desperately to grow my faith and relationship with God and I’m now more confused then ever. To clarify I am not doubting God existence but I’m just doubting my understanding of God. I used to be so sure about what I believed but now when I’m trying to learn more, I’m not anymore. I also don’t understand why Christianity is so confused about so many things and why we have so many denominations. We all read the same bible but somehow come to drastically different conclusions. Why does the bible seem so contradictory sometimes? I used not to think so but it wasn’t until I debated a Jehovah Witness, who used the scriptures to support his statements that Jesus was created and obviously as someone that believes the trinity I don’t believe that but it’s hard to convince someone else when Jesus is so often in the scriptures referred as the only begotten son. Then I use John 1:1 to show him that the Word was God and Jesus is the word. However then he says that he does believe Jesus is a God but not the almighty God. I say that there is only one God and that God is jealous if we worship other gods. However then he shows me a scriptures that say God even calls us gods ( Psalms 82:6 & John 10:34). I didn’t know of this scripture so how can I refute something that is clearly biblical. I understand that some people will say some of these scriptures are not literal and are figuratively but how can you distinguish what is literal and what is figuratively. It’s things like these that confused my faith the most. I will blame in on my lack of understanding or wisdom but it’s just so hard to understand sometimes.
True enough, but we're in the world-and no one personally escapes its influences completely.We are in the world, not of it.
Yes, and it hasn't-that’s a mark of the church in fact.Lord Jesus is Head of the church that He is building. His church cannot fail.
And yet there's only "one Lord, one faith, one baptism". And some who claim to be born again can't agree on whether or not the Lord Jesus is actually God, on what, exactly, the faith consists of as a body of beliefs or how the virtue of faith is defined and is meant to work in our lives- how it justifies- and on the role of Baptism, whether it regenerates or not.The Church that Lord Jesus is building includes everyone who is born again. Any denomination that claims to be the sole source and interpretation of truth is simply wrong.
And it's pure speculation as to how God's church is supposed to look today. It is an establishment, even in the early days, with a unity of some sort such that, for example, it could actually call councils together and make decisions for the whole body. At one time this unity and the authority behind it was such that the decisions of the various churches throughout the east and west as made by their representing bishops spoke for the whole church-and most of those decisions are still recognized, consciously or not, as valid by a great many Christians including Protestants and their denominations.Any honest appraisal of the Roman Catholic organisation will show that it is of the world.
The Vatican is a nation in its own right. It has an army, its own currency and issues passports. Countries have ambassadors to the Vatican. It has its own bank.
We spread the gospel in large part by how we love, how we’ve changed -into something others want-and we tell them why. And another honest look at history, without pop-mythology and beyond abuses that genuinely occurred, largely by church members/leaders not heeding their own church's message, will tell us that:Doing good is not enough. Rotary and the Lions do good, so do the Red Cross and many other charities. The question has to be, "What is this achieving for the Kingdom of God?" Hint. If it is not glorifying Lord Jesus and spreading the gospel, it is dubious to say the least.
TrueTrue enough, but we're in the world-and no one personally escapes its influences completely.
And yet there's only "one Lord, one faith, one baptism". And some who claim to be born again can't agree on whether or not the Lord Jesus is actually God, what, exactly the faith consists of as a body of beliefs or how the virtue of faith is defined and is meant to work in our lives- how it justifies- and on the role of Baptism, whether it regenerates or not.
And it's pure speculation as to how God's church is supposed to look today. It is an establishment, even in the early days, with a unity of some sort such that, for example, it could actually call councils together and make decisions for the whole body. At one time this unity and the authority behind it was such that the decisions of the various churches throughout the east and west as made by their representing bishops spoke for the whole church-and most of those decisions are still recognized, consciously or not, as valid by a great many Christians including Protestants and their denominations.
Yes, God is pleased by faith, and I'd even submit that the faith of Mormons and JWs, as erroneous as they are, still please Him. Presumably no one's faith, especially as individuals, is 100% perfectly informed. And yet knowledge is vital, and the more correct our beliefs and understanding the better of course. And everyone draws their doctrinal line in the sand somewhere, beyond which they believe we cannot step without subverting the gospel completely.Yes, there are all sorts of disagreements... However, the body of Christ, the church, Christ's bride, children of God.... anyone who believes on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.. as their savior.... Period. No denomination has an exclusive right to being saved or having a key to salvation.
The Catholic church, for its part, views all Christians as part of the one Church, some more perfectly united and some less so depending on variations of beliefs but still united, still all part of one fold ultimately. While some non-Catholic Christians may have all kinds of not so positive views of the CC.Christ's church.. is the whole of all believers... We are His arms, legs, feet and mouth... We are in all nations doing His work... Not confined to one denomination.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?