Why?

[TomtomtomMoo]

So you probably get a bunch of people coming on like me. I've read and read and read and thought and thought and thought. But I can't come up with a single logical reason why anyone is Christian and beleive in a God?

 

[united4Peace]

I believe in a God because I need to believe that something loves me...

I believe in a God because I need to believe that Im not alone, that there is an afterlife, that there is a purpose to my life whatever that may be, that Im not just here for the sake of being here.
I believe in God because I see God whenever I look outside and see a snowflake, a new flower in the spring, when Im playing in a creek(or whereever) with my family I see God in them and I feel God in the moment.
When Im sad I feel God in the tear running down my cheek, I feel God's embrass around me.
So many reasons why I believe in God.
Mostly when I look at my children late at night and see them sleeping (something about the peacefulness )

 

[TomtomtomMoo]

Believing in something because you want to beleive in it doesn't make it truer?

 

[Faith In God]

So you probably get a bunch of people coming on like me. I've read and read and read and thought and thought and thought. But I can't come up with a single logical reason why anyone is Christian and beleive in a God?

Because it's true.

(Simplest way of putting it. That brings up other questions, to be sure, but I'm not going to pretend like one post can conquer the world. )

 

[Tavita]

Well, all I can say is that I didn't go looking for him (Jesus), he came looking for me, just like it says in the gospel of John. He kept reaching out to me through people and events that kept turning my mind towards him, and then one day I met him full on (or should I say he met me full on.. same same I guess) and my life has never been the same since.

After twenty eight years I can still look back and KNOW 'Who' I met that day, and I can see how I've got to know him more and more down through the years, just like two people who live together get to know each other over time.

It's not primarily about being logical, it's about meeting someone and having a relationship with them.

He lives.

 

[united4Peace]

Believing in something because you want to beleive in it doesn't make it truer?

No...your right...
that is why I said..."because I need"...not because someone else said I needed to...
I believe in God because I need that believe in my life, without it Im empty, others dont...I know others who dont believe and they get along just fine...but you asked about why we believed.

 

[JustAVessel]

I'm not going to try to "argue you into heaven" because I simply can't, but I believe Christianity because it's true. It makes sense. It fits. Here is some of the information that has convinced me. I've placed this elsewhere on the site, and others have benefitted from it, so I pray that it might help you as well. Also, if you WANT to find a reason to believe, pray (tell God) that He will give you what you need to believe.

What is a Worldview?

• What is real? What is outside the physical?
• What is man?
• What is the future?
• What is man’s purpose?
• What is the source of man’s morals? What is right and wrong?
• What is the origin and limits of knowledge?

What confirms the Christian worldview?

• The origin of the universe
• The design of the universe
• The desire for meaning
• The moral sense of duty
• The uniqueness of Scripture
• The Person and work of Jesus Christ

1) The origin of the universe.
I'm going to talk about some probabilities here, concerning an "unintentional universe." Keep in mind that the French scientist Emile Borel and other theoretical mathematicians that deal with probabilities have said that anything above 10^50 will never occur no matter how much time is given.

• The probability of the universe, solar system, and the earth is one in 10^10^123 (Ten to the tenth power taken to the 123rd power)
• The probability of protein molecules is one in 10^160
• Probability of human cells: 1 in 10^119,000
• Probability of the simplest form of life: 1 in 10^137,915

Since it is incredibly improbable for the universe to come about on its own by chance, this seems to point that there was a Creator who put it all into place.

2) The Design of the Universe

• There is a delicate balance in the way living organisms are arranged in such a way as to keep a check and balance in the world.
• The nature of DNA is so complex, that each human DNA strand contains enough specific information to fill 600,000 pages. Some simple amoebas have as much information in their DNA as 1000 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
• There is an irreducible complexity of sells. Each cell consists of complex systems that will not function unless all the systems are functioning. A cell could not evolve step by sstep through successive modifications because it would be useless without all the systems functioning. (Check out Michael Behe's book, Darwin's Black Box for more info on this.
• The human body is intricate. Check out a physiology book for more info here.
• There is an elaborateness in nature. Even the smallest creatures exhibit complexity. Go to a garden and have a look.

3) The meaning of life

• The Christian worldview provides a reasonable explanation for the cry in man's heart for significance and purpose. Why does man search for meaning? Animals and fish exist, but man is not satisfied with mere survival. The irony is that, in the naturalistic worldview, man has evolved to a point where he is now unsatisfied with mere existence. He has "evolved" to despair.
• Can a naturalist have real dignity with his/ her worldview? Not really. In naturalism, everything is simply matter or matter in motion. When a person dies (according to naturalism), that person merely becomes fertilizer and then cosmic dust.
• Can a naturalist have real meaning or purpose in life? Sartre, in Nausea wrote that the answer to life is absurdity- the lack of any rational reason for existence. No wonder he was nauseated.
• Can a naturalist live out the belief that he/ she is simply matter in motion? Can a person really embrace the pointlessness as described by Sartre? Sartre was quoted as saying, "Man is absurd, but he must grimly act as if he were not." Is that any way to live? To believe one thing but pretend that you don't?

4) Moral sense of duty

• Within a person, there is a moral law that is intuitively known: the knowledge of justice, fairness, honesty, and respect for human life.
• Morals didn't come from evolution. The strongest instinct (self preservation) can be overriden in order to do something else (like save a drowning child in a turbulent ocean). This shows that there is a moral sense of duty that preempts instinct. Also, if a person is the product of evolution, why would a society enact moral laws that hinder the survival of the fittest?
• Morals didn't originate with humans. If so, this leads to moral relativism, the belief that there are no absolute, eternal morals. If this is true, what morals should be embraced and what would the justification of that choice be? If there are no standards, then whose system is right? How can one culture judge another culture's morals if each culture creates its own?

Morals orriginateing through evolution or through society (humans) raise quite a few questions and contradictions. Therefore, I personally believe that morals in humanity are a reflection of God's character when He made us.
5) The Bible...

• has a rational doctrine about man. It captures both man's nobility and wretchedness, documenting the origin of both. It says that man has spiritual and psychological needs because he was created to have fellowship with his Creator. Man's dignity comes from God and his depravity comes from sin.
• answers hard questions, such as the origin of the universe, the meaning of life, and the character of God.
• has unity among diversity. Although the Bible is composed of 66 books written in 3 different languages, uses 6 literary forms, and was written by 40 authors over a period of 1500 years in countries on 3 continents, the Bible still has doctrinal and structural unity.
• is historical and accurate. It has an evidential foundation. Instead of being based on philosophy, it is based on fact. Its historicity is confirmed by archaeology. Sir William Ramsay, the famous Oxford archaeologist, who was once a skeptic said, "Christianity is the religion of truth; it is founded on truth, absolute and perfect truth."
• is simple and profound. It can communicate, encourage, comfort, convict, and challenge the simple minded and the learned.
• is relavant, even today.
• has endured. Many have tried to wipe the Bible from the face of the Earth, and many have attacked its claims. Well, the Bible's still around. It is estimated that only one half of one percent of all books published survive even seven years, but th eBible's popularity has steadily grown throughout history.
• has a high ethical standard. Jesus taught that purity starts with the heart and then outflows to behavior. Good deeds without a changed heart is only cold legalism. The Bible emphasizes the need for a right attitude and possesses a moral uniqueness that far surpasses the flashes of high moral teaching in other books.
• has proven prophecy. It has repeatedly and accurately foretold many events. One example: Ezekiel 26 prophesied the destruction of Tyre, and in 586 BC Nebuchadnezzar attacked and destroyed the mainland. Daniel 2 describes another attack, and in 332BC, Alexander the Great attacked and destroyed the island.

6) Jesus Christ...

• was a historical figure. This is confirmed by the writings of Christians, Jews who opposed Christians, and Roman historians.
• has worked in my personal life and the lives of countless other people.

What I have listed above confirms the Christian worldview to me. I found these points helpful, but maybe you won't, and that's OK. Just feel free to PM me if you have any questions or if you want to discuss anything in further detail I will be praying for you.

I want to encourage you to continue studying Christianity and keep asking questions until you get the answers. Some good books to read might be The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, and The Case for a Creator. All are by Lee Strobel, a former atheist. He wanted to disprove Christianity once and for all, so, as a journalist, he started doing some digging. After finding out all the information he could...he became a Christian.

 

[Lincoln0010]

So you probably get a bunch of people coming on like me. I've read and read and read and thought and thought and thought. But I can't come up with a single logical reason why anyone is Christian and beleive in a God?

Have you come up with a single logical reason why anyone shouldn't be a Christian and believe in God?

 

[ebia]

So you probably get a bunch of people coming on like me. I've read and read and read and thought and thought and thought. But I can't come up with a single logical reason why anyone is Christian and beleive in a God?

Formal logic isn't the only, or even the predominant, reason why people believe things to be true.

Mostly we believe stuff because either:
a. we've experienced it to be true
or
b. someone we trust has told us it's true

 

[Rafael]

Even the things we see are made of the unseen, yet we seem to think all should be visible before it can exist. The Bible told us this long before the science of men.
Also standing in the very midst of a creation that shows forth incredible and excellent intelligent design, that they have never figured out how to reverse engineer, speaks volumes about our Creator.
From the time we are children,we start to either know the Creator or exchange deep truths for lies. Standing in the midst of this awesome creation demands a creator, but ise asily disbelieved by making an elaborate set of millions of uncountable millions of accidents somehow put together what could have only been planned out, becomes the standard answer for those that reject God as Creator. Even death and the neverending sin and evil that men do is witnessed by us in this life and world that lives under the curse of death every single day as testimony to God's word given to us because of His love. Life speaks volumes to us about God and His natiure, yet when do we start to listen to wisdom?

Romans 1:19 ¶ They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.
20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities––his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.
22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.

 

[CASEY82]

So you probably get a bunch of people coming on like me. I've read and read and read and thought and thought and thought. But I can't come up with a single logical reason why anyone is Christian and beleive in a God?

Truthfully, most of us have felt this way...we have each questioned and doubted. But the defining moment that turns the corner for you is when your heart takes over from your head...human logic cannot describe or define god...god is not in our heads, he's in our hearts...he is bigger than anything we can possibly fathom. It starts with a hunger in your heart to know more..you sense there is something out there and you decided that no matter what you will seek it with everything you have. Its kind of like blind faith...your leading with you heart..even though it defys logic. it took about three months before i met god..before he actually spoke with me...since then every day i learn more...seeking god and being a christian isnt a destination...its a journey. A path we chose to walk hand in hand with god...and alot of the time we are walking blind and yes we doubt and wonder...and i've just come to the end of one of the hardest times..when i was completely blind...my problem seemed beyond god...LOL what a silly thought that was...i decided to put my entire faith and trust in gods plan for me...and you know what...he saw me through..and he has just blessed my life so much since then. We cant always ask him for joy and blessing...sometimes he is asking us for faith...asking us to seek him. Keep praying..seek him with all your heart and you will never look back.