Words from a non beliver

[Foolishness]

Good evening people. First of all exuse my bad english since I am from sweden it is not my spoken tongue.

I do not belive in god or any other godly power for that matter.
I came to this forum to ask how you people can belive in such a thing?. I am not saying this to make people mad or anything. I fully respect your opinions and such though I do not share them.
Here in Sweden it is very common for people to say. "Well I am not christian but I belive that there is something else you know..."
So give me your reasons for being of what ever religion you are of.

/// Foolishness

 

[Angelicshadow]

Hey,
I'm 15 and a Christian. Christianity isn't just something to believe in and stand by. It's the knowledge of a God, a father in Heaven looking down on you, a God so loving and caring, that he sacrificed his only son on the cross. For your sins, that we could live a better, less hurtful life.

God loves you, even if you don't personally know it. You might not feel like he's there, but how do you think this great huge galaxy and earth was created. The creation of life is so crafted and detailed, it could never have been made by anything, like the big bang. only God.

 

[ezeric]

Dear Foolishness

You are right, because GOD did say that to those people perishing (dying in their sins) the cross is foolishness to them!

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" 1 Corinthians 1:18

But, I feel bad for you, because you have grown up with only hearing about a religious Jesus - which is all about man's religious rules and laws that were forced on you in your younger years.

Unfortunately, that is not the true GOD - but simply man made religion.

The truth is simply knowing that you are a sinner - you've done bad things that you know they are wrong, and you are powerless to 'get better, for change'.
You feel the emptyness inside, and the questions never get answered.

Only knowing that you are a sinner before a GOD that loves you, that has taken away all your sins and forgiven you, then can you receive the power to believe.

But you are afraid, afraid to take GOD on!
To try HIM out, and see how good GOD is.

Stop trusting in silly man made thoughts, that don't give you any power
and trust yourself to the ONE that made you, and came to rescue you and deliver you from all your burdens and sins.

BTW: although I am in Canada, I have a Finnish back ground (and have visted your fine country before).

My friend, call on JESUS and tell HIM to prove HIMSELF to you.

HE will! and you never will be the same again.

-eric

 

[Robin Shawn]

Often God hasn't worked in my life as I wanted Him to, but I just can't say, "There is no God." Because the world is clearly and miraculously designed, and just looking at another person and how intricately God created them, I know God exists. So despite my sometimes disappointment in God, I still know that He exists by the proof of His creation, and I want a relationship with Him. I want to know Him.

The Bible says, "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:" (Romans 1:19-20). This passage of the Bible is saying that we have no excuse not to believe in God because He is evident in His creation; clearly God designed everything and created the world.

I want a relationship with God because I hope in Him. It is impossible to live a happy life without hope. God gives me that hope, and I want to know Him.

 

[sbbqb7n16]

I grew up believing that the world was created by God. So it's kinda always been with me.

But something that makes it easier for me to hold onto my belief was, one day after I had been praying for a couple weeks about an issue, I literally heard a voice answer me. There was no one else in my room, although it sounded so clear that I turned around to look. It was only 3 words, but I've never experienced anything like that before or since. When I heard them, there was a rush to mind of several Bible verses, a crazy feeling of peace, and a sense that everything about my problem made perfect sense with His answer... and somehow I just knew it was God - the moment I heard Him, I knew.

Hearing from God is something I'll never forget.

 

[ezeric]

Hey brother sbbqb7n16

Get ready for MORE!

That is so great, to hear HIS voice! That is the WORD, the LIVING WORD, that comes to us and teaches, and comforts and helps us!

(In the beginning was the WORD...John 1:1 and following)

Get a note pad, and pen beside your bed - and get ready for more!

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me...
John 10:27

Thanks for sharing that with us!

-eric

 

[heron]

If you look at the intricacy of physiology, ecosystems, cell structure, molecular structure... the odds of all these things coming together to work so perfectly are almost impossible.

Even if we allowed for 50 trillion years for everything to reach this form of development, then where did the chemicals come from to make this happen?

There was no prehistoric chemical trading port, where the world could buy a thousand tons of oxygen and two thousand tons of hydrogen.

Then where did molecules and chemical elements come from?

 

[sb81]

There is substantial evidence to at the very least, give Jesus Christ a chance. Once you make an honest effort to seek out God the father and change your ways, he will respond to you. It's really that simple.

At that point, it is insanity to try to convince an "experienced" believer that God does not exist.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. - Hebrews 11:6

 

[Thankful For Grace]

Foolishness,

sb81 is absolutely correct. Once you have personally known Jesus Christ, you will never question His existance. It would be like saying to a child holding his father's hand, "Your daddy isn't real."

Prayers that you will seek and find Him.

There is substantial evidence to at the very least, give Jesus Christ a chance. Once you make an honest effort to seek out God the father and change your ways, he will respond to you. It's really that simple.

At that point, it is insanity to try to convince an "experienced" believer that God does not exist.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. - Hebrews 11:6

 

[Andrea4501]

“I don’t know whether he [Jesus Christ] is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” (John 9:25)

This pretty much sums up how I feel about the issue.

 

[Peripatetic]

"How do you know?" is the hardest question to answer because each Christian believer has a kind of proof that is very real to them, but they can't transfer it to you. You see, if God were provable, then He would be proven and all would believe. But God wants people to come to Him on their own to accept this sort of gift called Grace, and to have faith that allows us to believe without scientific proof. The process can only start when you let down your defenses and let Him in though. He won't come uninvited.

 

[wayfaring man]

Greeting -ishness , and a warm welcome to this forum ,

There are presently many reasons why I now choose to embrace faith . But it started some time ago , when my life seemed rather vain and empty , and I began to search for something more than the material world seemed to be offering - and so I looked here and there , and then came across The Bible .

When I read The Gospels , I became intrigued by the testimony of Jesus - miraculously healing the sick , giving sight to the blind , causing the maimed to be whole , raising the dead , and all the while being frowned upon by the majority of " the establishment " ... and that really resonated within my being , as being highly inspirational ... but was it true , or was it some cleaver tale , meant to entertain , or even possibly deceive ?!

So , I considered The Gospel's claims , and weighed the possibilities .

Of which there are basically 4 .

1. I believe the Gospel of Christ , and it is true .

2, I believe the Gospel of Christ , and it is not true .

3. I disbelieve the Gospel of Christ , and it's not true .

4. I disbelieve the Gospel of Christ , and it is true .

Of these four -

# 1 is full of promise .

# 2 is likely a relatively harmless fantasy .

# 3 is no harm , no foul .

# 4 is it getting hot in here , or what !

So I decided to give # 1 a try . And this is how I was led to do that - I said a kind of a prayer - saying something like - God , I don't know if you are real , and can't tell if The Gospel of Jesus is true , but if you are real , and The Gospel is true , then please help me to believe , so I can experience the wonder of it all .

Well , I'm not sure what I expected - but things started happening like never before , and long story short , God's been giving me reasons to believe ever since .

My advice - do as I have done , and see what happens ?

Sincerely ,

wm

 

[AlexBP]

I entirely agree with VertigoAge that every Christian has a different story of how they were found by Jesus. Ask any twenty and you'll get twenty completely different stories. What follows is only my personal story.

I was not raised in a Christian household. My father was an atheist and my mother was not sure quite what she believed, at least not while I was growing up. Nobody in my family specifically gave me any religious instruction, positive or negative, so I mainly picked up cues from popular culture and decided that Christianity was an old-fashioned, worthless system of beliefs. By the time that I went to college I was sure that I was a member of the small, intellectual elite that was smart enough to see that God didn't exist and that organized religion was merely a type of manipulation.

As I went through college and later graduate school, I started to notice problems. Everybody around me talked about holding certain values, yet it was clear that none of these people actually practiced what they said. Furthermore, it seemed like nearly everyone was unhappy. There was only one small group of people who seemed to have a type of inner peace that was lacking in my own life. So, very reluctantly at first, I began exploring Christianity. The more books I read and people I talked to, the more things seemed to make sense both logically and emotionally.

Finally I was ready to read the Gospels, and as soon as I did so I knew that I would follow Jesus for the rest of my life because I agreed with the things he said. Jesus tells us to love everybody; I believe that we should love everybody. Jesus tells us that greed and selfishness are bad; I believe that greed and selfishness are bad. Jesus tells us to reach out to others in dramatic demonstrations of love; I believe that we should. Jesus tells us to assist the sick and injured and disabled, children, widows, and victims of oppression. I believe that we should. And Jesus says a great many other things, all of which I agreed with.

Before that time, I had believed certain things, but could never reconcile them with the fact that the world was so full of suffering and cruelty. Once I read the Gospels I realized that God Himself, the creator of the world, understood the problem of suffering and cruelty and came down to earth to fight against it. Ever since then, I have understood that my purpose in life is to serve Him and help Him defeat those problems, and that if we do so eventually the problems will be overcome and all of humanity will dwell together in God's Kingdom.

 

[Peripatetic]

1. I believe the Gospel of Christ , and it is true .
2, I believe the Gospel of Christ , and it is not true .
3. I disbelieve the Gospel of Christ , and it's not true .
4. I disbelieve the Gospel of Christ , and it is true .

While this isn't a basis for my faith, I've always appreciated being on the "Good or Neutral" side of that logical matrix rather than the "Neutral or Bad".

Even if #2 was the case, there are still advantages that Christianity brings to our lives. More contentment, peace, and joy. Less anxiety, pride, and emptiness. Many believe that a life of Christianity is one of sacrifice and giving up all the fun in life. What you soon learn is that much of the world's idea of "fun" is shallow, empty, short-lived, and causes you to become depressed and unsatisfied. So... a life in Christ is pretty much a win-win proposition.

 

[Zebra1552]

MOD HAT ON

This thread has been moved from Christian Advice.

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[98cwitr]

see sig

 

[UnionJack]

It takes more faith to believe that there is no God than that there is a God.

Have you ever wondered why your heart beats without you telling it too? Or why your lungs inhale without you telling them to? And how they work in sync with all the other organs in your body? It's almost as if it was work of an intelligent Creator.

Anyways if you don't believe in God, where do you believe the universe came from?

What do you believe happens after you die?

The invention of the potato chip was an accident. The universe? Not the same....

 

[lucaspa]

Good evening people. First of all exuse my bad english since I am from sweden it is not my spoken tongue.

I do not belive in god or any other godly power for that matter.
I came to this forum to ask how you people can belive in such a thing?. I am not saying this to make people mad or anything. I fully respect your opinions and such though I do not share them.
Here in Sweden it is very common for people to say. "Well I am not christian but I belive that there is something else you know..."
So give me your reasons for being of what ever religion you are of.

/// Foolishness

People believe in God for the same reason we believe in anything (even that there is no godly power): personal experience.

I am going to post to you about that personal experience. If you do not have it, then you will not share the opinion. But if you have personal experience of God, then that evidence will convince you.

"Therefore, before proceeding further, we shall give the floor temporarily to those who claim they have experiential evidence of God, and allow them to clarify what they mean by such evidence. ... However, when it comes to the nature of experience of the presence of God, there is an astounding degree of consensus. The following statements, in order to keep us as close to the source as possible, come not from the past but from our contemporaries, from persons with whom I have spoken directly. They are, however, echoed throughout the history and literature of religion.
"The experience is usually not 'spooky'. It sometimes, though definitely not always, might be termed 'mystical'. It doesn't for the most part consist of events which by their nature overturn or challenge the laws of science. (I've heard only one first-hand account of an event which, if it really happened, would be very difficult to explain by any process presently known to science.) The experience doesn't establish a hot-line to God, by which all questions are answered, all doubts set aside, and complete understanding is reached. ... People are quick to point out that, though they think their experience really is of God, it is, even at its clearest and best, only a partial, human, inadequate view of what God really is and what God is really doing. Experiential evidence sometimes comes in a flash, but it's more often the accumulation of more subtle experiences over a period of time.
"John S. Spong .... 'I do not mean to suggest that I have arrived at some mystical plateau where my search has ended, where doubts are no more, or that I now possess some unearthly peace of mind. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have only arrived at a point where the search has a validity because I have tasted the reality of this presence, if ever so slightly.'
"As to finding God initially, some say they came rather gradually to a realization that the God they'd learned about in books, songs, and from other people, is real. Others on the contrary battered the gates of heaven .. with very sceptical demands for answers, IF such a heaven existed. Their uncompromising intellectuality led them to try to pin God to the wall in ways that might be expected to elicit a lightning bolt rather than blessing. Their requirements for evidence and proofs were seldom met exactly as specified, but there was a moment in the process when they realized to their astonishment that they were wrestling with a real being who couldn't be contained in human descriptions or standards, not a concept or an abstraction. This God was something out of their control, something not fashioned in the image they had formed in their mind ...
"The testimony is of God's leadership being requested and and received at turning points where human foresight and knowledge were inadequate, and of God's leadership turning out to be exactly on target, though perhaps not in the direction one would have preferred. ... God has stopped some persons dead, when they did not want to be stopped, on the brink of serious mistakes. God has changes some in ways human beings can't change themselves even with allthe help of psychotherapy. God has made it possible for them to love the unlovable, forgive the unforgiveable. ... Has all this been 'spritual' help? Not according to these witnesses. God is a powerful and active God, interveining wherever, whenever, and through whatever avenue he pleases. The phrase 'the insidiousness of God' comes from a woman Episcopal priest. God's intervention is not always kind, gentle, or pleasurable. He refuses to play by human rules or indulge our desire to plan ahead. ... God does not always come at our calling, give us what we want, or even shield us from terrible pain or grief ... but God's forgiveness and love know no limits whatsoever.
"Some direct quotes: 'My relationship with God has been by far and away the most demanding relationship in my life." "The Lord has been my strongest support, but also my most frustrating opponent." 'If I didn't absolutely know this is the only game in town, I'd sure as hell get out of it!' ''The best evidence isn't some 'wonder' or 'miracle', and it certainly isn't success, happiness, or the peace of having my prayers answered in ways which suit me. It's the extraordinary, topsy-turvy, interesting course my life has taken since I've engaged in this -- once begun, virtually inescapable -- dialogue with God." Kitty Ferguson's The Fire in the Equations, pp 248- 251.

 

[berachah]

I do not belive in god or any other godly power for that matter.
I came to this forum to ask how you people can belive in such a thing?. I am not saying this to make people mad or anything. I fully respect your opinions and such though I do not share them.
Here in Sweden it is very common for people to say. "Well I am not christian but I belive that there is something else you know..."
So give me your reasons for being of what ever religion you are of.
/// Foolishness

No one is born a Christian...each one of us had to make the decision to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.

Some make this decison because they get to the end of their strength and need someone stronger and smarter than they were.

Other's because they have accumulated all the wealth and treasures of the world and still they have no inner peace and rest. They came to realize life is not about self, about now, that there must be another purpose.

Other's notice the handiwork of a a creator in nature and see incredible balance of solar system. They marvel at the sophistication of the simplest of things from a flower to living cell and realize there has to be a Creator, that evolution cannot account for such things.

Other have a supernatural encounter with God, a chance event that reshapes their thinking.

Other somehow realize there must be a real purpose to our existence, that it cannot all just be about chance and luck.

Some of been lucky to experience all and more.

Hopefully you wiil find your self in a place one day where the reality you have can be put into perspective....a Godly perspective; and then you might see things differently. Just like billions of other people...

 

[Hentenza]

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