Questions for Christians (BTW, I was raised as one and still consider myself one kind of)?

Question

How are we supposed to believe 100% in this religion when so much of it can't be proven at all. Like Jesus being born to a virgin. How do we have proof that he actually is/was the Son of God? Are we supposed to believe it just because he walked around saying it? Would we believe someone if they said that today? Also, these miracles that he performed. Might it have been lack of scientific knowledge that made some things appear to be miracles when they actually had a valid, scientific reason behind them? We know so much more than we did a hundred years ago. Imagine the lack of knowledge back then. How can we attribute anything that happened back then to Jesus being the Son of God. One more thing, i've been talking to a couple of hardcore Christians who say themselves that half of what is in the bible was probably figurative. So, how am I supposed to base my supernatural existence on a book that is missing information or has fabricated information?

Help me out here.

BTW - I do believe in a higher power (God or whatever his/her/its actual name is). I'm just having a hard time truly believing that Jesus Christ, a man, is the only way to Heaven. That leaves out so many people who are following the same types of lifestyles that is required by the Ten Commandments, but who don't necessarily follow the Bible.

Get what i'm saying. This is confusing and frustrating that i've been raised my entire life to believe all these stories in the bible only to be told in my adulthood that these things may or may not have really happened. I feel like i've been duped.

BTW - I've had faith for years and years and years and I don't think i've been shown anything to support it or not. Very frustrating.

Answer 1

First of all... BRAVO... you are a thinking individual.

I suggest that you ought to take only that which is worthy of keeping from the historical "Holy Books." There is plenty to be had from each of them which is worth hanging on to. The moral lessons and the lessons of love, the ways of conduct that avoid harm to another, etc., are all worth taking to heart; but then, leave it at that.

You are correct to believe that the stories of the scriptures are filled with ignorance... they are, just as you've said, ancient and full of gaps and untruth. Yet, this is not a reason to toss out the teachings that were intended to help people thrive peacefully together as a single community.

I am an atheist. I do not believe there is a God that looks after the universe and baby sits mankind. I believe, however, that it is our business to learn to live together prosperously and to form our own successful community. I believe that our greatest job is to imagine the Garden of Eden, the perfect and ideal world, and then to set ourselves the task of building it worldwide for all to enjoy.

I suggest that you ought to set aside the nonsense of religion but keep the best of what it has to offer and, by so doing, I think you'll come around to being happy with your decision to continue questioning and perhaps cast aside those statements of the Bible and other "Holy Books" that are beyond belief (if only because they are just so... unbelievable, fantastic and beyond belief.)

You are very likely a Christian in name only... one who is clinging to the morality taught by your faith but at the same time setting aside the remainder of the BS. I think that this is what caused you to ask your question. This is wise of you, and, just as wisely, it may be time to identify yourself and your beliefs with greater precision... you may find greater satisfaction by being more honest with yourself on this account. One can be moral without being religious. It is not necessary to be a Jew, a Christian, or a Muslim to value life and to show love, kindness and generosity toward others. If you investigate the eastern religions, you'll find that they are, for the most part, Godless; and, yet they are morally palatable.

You are on a search for an identity; for a name and a nitch which suits you… I prefer to identify myself as Atheist... you may choose another way... and yet again, another way after that. The choice is all yours, after all.

Good luck in your search.

[][][] r u randy? [][][]
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Answer 2

You have not been "duped". Let me explain it this way. If you thought about jumping off a very high bridge, would you follow through or would you think in not a good idea based on the theory that you MIGHT get hurt? My bet is that you would have the common sense to realize that it would be silly to do because there is a very real potential for injury. Do you know for a fact that that will be the case? No, you decide based on speculation. Without concrete facts, you decide not to do it, based in faith in the probability that you would get hurt. We know that the Bible is full of figuratives. Facts are NOT the point of the Bible. Figuratives are. Figuratives fit better than facts. Who cares whether or not you jumped. The point is that you weighed the options and possible outcomes and ultimately came up with the right choice. You used your own understanding of right and wrong and common sense and applied it. The Bible is a huge collection of parables that indirectly relate to decisions we make every day. Do you really need to be a Christian or read the book of Proverbs to know you should not do or allow certain things because they would turn out badly? No, you don't. Do you really need a book to tell you you should not do things that hurt others? No, you don't. Knowledge of historical or mythical things from a time long past does not matter in the slightest. What matters is that most of us, Christian or otherwise, do a great many things correctly, according to the Bible, without ever knowing it. The Bible is a bunch of stories and lists of edicts that, if our parents do their jobs and raise us properly, we already know and do every day. The personal stories do not matter. It's the little things to be learned that matter. The little life lessons we take away with us. It is the same now. We hear stories of survival from impossible circumstances. we are left with a feeling of hope that there are good things in life and the impossible can really happen. We get the same things out of every day interaction with others and from everything we are exposed to that we do from the Bible. It is possible to assume that the Bible if accurate and all of those people and situations existed. Though a book like that may never be written in accordance with our time era, WE exist, but 10,000 years from now those people may be thinking of us by the same terms as you think of those from back then. Does not make us any less real. Just means there is no PROOF. But the essence of the thing is right versus wrong and so that factual information will not matter any more than it does now. The bottom line is still the same. Do the right thing always and the rest will be self evident eventually.

Answer 3

For me... it is just something I know in the deepest part of me. I "feel" it's right for me. I have had doubts, and look for proof, however, I always go back to that awesome feeling in my gut... How do I explain that? I would rather be a believer, surrounded by other believers, experiencing and living life, "as if" there is a God, who in this "learning session" called life, sent as an example... His son, Jesus. Just the mere thought of anyone sacrificing their son.... should get the attention of anyone, even the likes of Hitler and Sadaam Husain. Whether the Bible is a fabrication or not, doesn't it outline right from wrong, and give good guidelines that help people to live a kind, fulfilling and gratifying life. Shouldn't it get the same respect as a beloved Fairy Tale, or the latest novel on the Best Sellers list?? Call it what you will, of all the things you are questioning... are any of them bad for you?? The very fact that you continue to question " all of it" means something. You have not put it to rest. I would say search your soul. Since you think there "might" be a God... ask him to reveal himself to you. I prefer being a maybe "crazy" but happy, hopeful, believer. I like the way I feel.

Answer 4

I wish I could remember the exact authors and the shows I watched, but here goes. There are several authors out there who actually wrote of the happenings and of a man(JESUS) that performed miracles during the time of Jesus. My husband knows the authors and the books by heart, but he's at work, sorry. These are examples of Jesus being talked about elsewhere other than the Bible. There are also shows on the Discovery channel that have shown proof for some of the old testament happenings and such. I know I'm not helping with exact details, but keep your eyes open for these shows, and check on the internet for authors during that time period. Also, science has done it's best to disprove the Bible also. God, being an intelligent God, why couldn't he perform some of these miracles using scientific technology? The plagues of Egypt for example, yeah, they could be explained scientifically, but why did they come at the exact moment that Moses said they would come. That's where the miracle comes in. The biggest examples of miracles are all around you. Only a God so powerful could create such awesome wonders in this world. The big bang theory, sure, why not, maybe that's how God decided it would happen. The devil is the one putting the doubt there. We have become such an unbelieving world, doubting everything, questioning everything. I understand, trust me, but I search daily, and I pray for God to show me. The closer you become to God, the less doubt you will have. The Bible says to draw closer to Him and He will draw closer to you. That's very true. I am living proof of that. I grew up the granddaughter of a Baptist preacher, but I still had doubts. I'm 34 now, but in the last year I have been shown such wonders. You can still believe in science and still believe in God. God wasn't stupid. He's the one who developed the Kreb's cycle. He's the one who developed the process of photosynthesis. He just gave us enough intelligence to figure it out ourselves. That doesn't make this existence any less of a miracle. You have to search out in daily activities what those miracles are. To me, just being able to breath without thinking about it, is a miracle. And yes, the Bible is missing things, but you know, it's a few thousand years old. Man has had his grubby hands into it since then also. You have to listen to your heart sometimes. When you read the Bible, ask God to show you what it is He wants you to learn that day. He will show you. He will draw closer to you. Go to the internet, look for proof that HE IS, not that HE IS NOT. There are plenty of the "He is not" websites around. I know I am just babbling and I am sorry, but don't give up your beliefs, just strenghten them. The world is against Christianity, and unfortunately we have caused a lot of that ourselves. Use you doubt to get more educated. Don't run away. We Christians need people like you who want to know. I need you, even though I don't know you. Keep up the faith. Love and prayers to you.

Answer 5

Well, like everyone else has been saying we live by faith. Faith is believing in the unseen, what can't be touched, heard, seen. WE need only believe like a child who believes what you tell them. Now, so many childern belive in Santa b/c we tell them he's a good man and such, and they believe b/c who they trust tells them. Our faith is based on similar belief. You can't base any rational debate on religous fact vs modern day fact and say scienctific. The truth is all history, modern and ancient will not stand up to "scientific theory or testing". For something to be tested scientifically and be proven scientifically you must go through many steps, the final being it must be able to be reproduced with the same results. THis means, scientifically, we never had world war 1,2 or ect, b/c it can not be proven using the scientific process. How do you believe in Columbus discoveries...we weren't there...someone said he did, wrote it down, ect...and now we hold this as fact...how do we know there was cavemen, b/c some guys with fancy degrees find old pictures on walls and have fun with shovels. We put so much effort into disproving religous history, when no one ever presents the case for more modern history. If you don't want to believe in those miracles, there are modern miracles every day. Go visit a ER or Cancer unit in a major hosptial. Talk with the families...you'll find one I bet my life on it. I've seen them myself too. and how could one man litterly split time in half (BC - AD) have tricked millions of people into beliving this and changing lives, times, cultures, beliefs, ect. Each belief, each experience with the bible, church, religion is going to be personal. Don't compare yourself to anyone, or their experiences or emotions. The simplest thing for you to do if you want answers is to seek them out. You know this already, a simple prayer with a sincere heart will not go unanswered.

Answer 6

Watch out for false teachers. There are many out there. Unless you are one of the elect than you will not be able to know the truth and you will remain in bondage. Do you believe the story of Noah's Ark and Jonah and the Fish as real history or just bedtime stories for children? Jesus said they actually happened. Read the gospel of Matthew and you'll see this is true. If Jesus said they actually happened then so should we.

Jesus not only said he was the son of God but he proved it. He forgave people's sins, the blind could see, the deaf could hear, the lame could walk. All these were prophesied about him in the Old Testament prophesies. Jesus fulfilled over 30 prophesies specifically concerning his death and resurrection. The chance of one man doing this is the same as you flipping a quarter 30 times and having it land on heads every time. The chance of that happening are 1,000,000,000 to 1.

Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophesies in his lifetime on earth.

Answer 7

You have a strong mind if you can ask these questions now after being raised christian.

Use it.

It is good that you still believe in God after all the lies you have been told. Many loose their faith once they realize that they have been lied to. They sort of throw out the baby with the old dirty bath water if you get the pun.

There is a book called 'the course in miracles' that answers many of the questions that you have without trying to suck you into another new belief system.

Try it it is sort of a bible for those who have come to realize that religion is just a lie that people tell about God.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 8

It would take more time than I have to fully address your question, but as for ppl not following Christ. Yes, it does mean a lot of ppl are going to hell. But remember, God knows this, and so He's provided a way for everyone to get to heaven if they choose to. There are missionaries who have gone to ppl who'd never heard the name Jesus, but when they learned what their beliefs were, they found remarkable similarities, even to the fact that we messed up somehow and that someone came to make it right. They may have the details wrong, but the understand the basics. I think God will judge based on what we were able to know, not solely on whether we believed Jesus was the son of God who took on our sin and fulfilled all the prophecies for that time, etc, etc. If you believe about Christ what you have access to, I think God accepts that.

We know Jesus was the son of God bc He died and rose again, that gives credence to His Word. Also, the fact that when ppl have prayed in His Name, ppl have been healed of things. As for miracles, if you can prove scientifically you can walk on water and multiply bread and fish, then why aren't we walking across to Africa taking care of the starvation problems?

Answer 9

you and i are in the same boat hunny, and i don't have any better answers to your questions either, but it is nice to know i'm not the only one out there questioning the same things that i was taught. I too was raised christian, went to a christian school and everything..but left the faith at 18...i still want to believe in some, most...if not all of what i was taught too, but so much of it doesn't add up to me anymore...so i have no idea what to beleive in either. I try and just follow my heart...do what i think would be the right thing to do and hope that in the end all the answers will be revealed to us. good luck

Answer 10

The Christian faith, is based on just that, faith. Faith is going without knowing. The Christian faith is not science. You have to chose weather you want to be a scientist of a spiritualist, because the two will always conflict, they are completely different ways of thinking. God does not have to prove anything to you, He just loves you.

God Bless You

PS: all of the hypocrasy that is seen in the churches is not God's fault, that is people doing the bad stuff.