this is why it is too hard to accept christianity?

Question

Hey guys, I had a good question that I wanted to throw out again for the evening crowd.
I have the read the bible from beginning to end at least a few times over and cannot bring myself to believe to it is not a myth.

I used to be a Christian. I believed in it with all my heart. I guess I believed that skepticism was satan’s tool for taking people away from god. I have since then took the issue very serious. I have become well versed in the arguments for and against the bible being real. I have tried to look at the faith with an open mind, and let myself give it a chance that it might be true. I asked god to reveal himself to my heart. But alas, nothing happened.

don't get me wrong,
i want god to exist.
I want there to be a reason for the good and bad things in this world.
i want there to be happiness brought to those who are good and punishment to those who were wicked.
I, perhaps selfishly, want to spend an eternity in heaven experiencing

whatever kind of awesome goodness and happiness the bible seems to hint at it being like.
but my mind cannot reason that christianity is real,
so i am gonna live my life as a normal good person.

even though there is no punishment for misdeeds from any other source other than when you behave in a way that eventually punishes yourself, or any other kind of misdeed that would warrant punishment from society itself (ie. the government), i will be good to my fellow man and try my best to do no harm in the world. i will live by man-made morality and pursue a happy life for myself and my family.

HOW CAN I BE THIS EARNEST AND STILL BE CAUGHT IN SATAN’S LIES?

I asked this question already and was literally SHOCKED by how many of the people said that I was only looking for god with my head (reason) and not my HEART.
If the whole issue is obviously so important to me, don't you think that my yearning to know god might have come from my heart?

As if i sat there and prayed "god, please reveal your presence to this soul. But not to my heart, not THAT part of me. I only want you to reveal yourself to the part of my that thinks "1+1=2." That Lord, is the only revelation i will accept from you." c’mon, for crying out loud!

Another thing people have been trying to tell me is that eventually it will happen and I just need to be patient.
If he is real, why have I been waiting all these years with the same question on my mind I have presented to you?
Think about all the million of aetheists in the world have been in the same position as me for all their lives. Is that your answer, that even though all of us atheists are are yearning for God in the right way, god is taking his time in order to test our patience? Why would he let all of them waste their life living by “man’s false morality” when all that time the could be following the true god and the true morality?

i have been let down that no one could argue compitently but i guess it is simply because christian theology doesn't account for this situation. You can either say, yeah, you make sense, or you can stretch your ability to reason and come up with some sort of "god works in mysterious ways" answer.

Answer 1

What would you need to change in your life if you believed in the God of the Bible?

If you turned toward God and away from sin, in true repentance, what would need to change?

Would pornography, "free sex", and all sorts of lust need to be addressed in your life? These are your god's today - they are your idols and you are in bondage to them.

Jesus is the one who can truly set you free. Trust in him and stop wrestling. Step out on faith. He freed me - He will free you.

Come to Him just as you are and ask Him to help clean up your life. You've been wanting to do it for some time now. If you could have done it on your own, don't you think you would have succeeded by now?

Accept His love.

God Bless -

Answer 2

It is interesting how many people are struggling with the same issue. You want to believe, but it seems you have to "Check your brain at the door" in order to believe, and your common sense just won't let you do that.

First of all, everything around you is calling out that you are irrational, and throwing logic out the window. The worst perpetrator of this lie is the public school system, where children are indoctrinated with the humanist religious views day in and day out. So, overcoming this hurdle will be more difficult because you will have to begin to question those things you've grown up being taught.

Let me suggest a few books (other than the Bible) that may help you gain the confidence that the Bible is relavent for today, it is an accurate portrayal of historical events, and you can place your confidence in the God of the Bible without having to "check your brains at the door."

The first book is an easy read. You can get it at any bookstore and can read it in a couple of hours. It is called "More Than A Carpentar" by Josh McDowell. Josh was an athiest in college who set out to prove once and for all the Christianity and the Bible were fake. The more he researched the physical evidence to disprove the Bible, the more he became convinced that it had to be true. This book is a summary of the facts that drove him to become a Christian.

The second book is also by Josh McDowell. This is no easy read. Well over 500 pages, this book is a compilation of all of his research. You can learn literally thousands of facts that have been proven through archaeology, science, and historical writings. The name of the book is "The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict." There is more than enough evidence here to give you the confidence in the God of the Bible, if you are truly searching.

Finally, one of the greatest Christian apologists of the past 100 years is C.S. Lewis, author of the Chronicles of Narnia. He has many great books, but the one I'd primarily suggest is "Mere Christianity". You see, C.S. Lewis was also an atheist who set out to disprove Christianity. His book "Mere Christianity" takes you on a logical journey that concludes with the fact that there is a God, and it is the God of the Bible.

Don't give up your Search for Truth. The stakes are too high. There are plenty of scriptures that teach being a good person will not get you far when you stand before the Almighty God. If you trust in Jesus, then you're debts have been paid in full. If you depend on your own righteousness, then you will stand before the creator of the universe on your own.

There are answers. Keep searching!

Answer 3

I understand completely where you are coming from. My way of believing is that you are mistaking Christianity for God..to me that is two completely different things. I am not Christian but I do believe in God, but probably not in the way that others do. I think the Bible is a great piece of ancient literary fiction that really has nothing to do with God, it has more to do with power and governing people..with fear. God lives within all of us, we are all one in the same..He isn't some separate being that we pray to he is within us..he also female and he is male..(just like everything else in the Universe) Which is why I believe that meditation works better than prayer. Instead of looking at God as some mystical being that sits in judgement in some far away place called Heaven try looking inside..you have the key..which is why you have a conscience. You are your own worst critic. You are your own judge..You also bring good or bad upon yourself based on how you behave. Look within..I think that the comfort that you are looking for by seeking God can be found there, it has for me. This is a new journey for me, I was raised Catholic..only to find out after I became an adult that my parents don't believe in it nor are they Christian..they raised my brother and myself that way because they were afraid if they were wrong, that we may be punished for not being baptized..Kinda misses the whole point to me doesn't it to you? That is how all organized religion is..preaches on thing does another! Think and study and find your own ground..I think that even a Christian God would appreciate that you searched on your own terms, you didn't just blindly follow. What is in your heart is the search to be comforted and to become a better person..where is the wrong in that?

I just want to add that your question is one of the best that I have read on this subject..so are alot of the answers that you received. Except for the one that recommended the Book of Mormon..I am from Utah and have lived around Mormons all of my life and I would just like to advise you to avoid going down that road..it is exactly everything you are trying to avoid all wrapped up in a cult nutshell.

Answer 4

I suppose there are a few functional explanations. one million) The sheer quantity of ***-clowns that declare to be Christian. While many Christians think that cursing is taking the Lord's title in useless, I suspect a extra sensible analogy might be taking a partner's title in marriage. And that is what you do through pronouncing publicly you are a Christian. So whilst you declare to be a Christian, and show extremely non-Christian habits, it makes your faith appear BAD. For illustration, anti-abortionists who bomb Planned Parenthood structures. Anti-Gay activists who actually suppose being homosexual is a functional option. Presidents who deliver a nation into an unjust struggle. And at the unjust struggle, might a few Christians please learn the Just War doctrine? The US broke EVERY SINGLE TENANT of the JWT. So despite the fact that you think that struggle is suitable in Christianity, certainly no scripture and even human encouraged doctrine has the same opinion. The US might no longer be in Iraq, if the Prez was once honestly behaving like a Christian. Turn The Other Cheek does no longer identical Pre-Emptive War. two) Many Christians do not even recognise the scriptures, however suppose unfastened to parrot their possess free interpretations as gospel. How usually have I been informed that money is the basis of all evil? More instances than I can depend. three) Many Christians do not train what they hold forth. How many indignant Christians have you ever met? I've met plenty. If I'm no longer wrong, Ghandi stated some thing like that he'd be a Christian if it were not for the Christians he'd met. four) Most Christians are uncertain approximately what constitutes 'sin'. Homosexuality is regarded a 'sin' through a few Christians, but it's only referenced in a couple of locations within the Bible. The best locations within the OT it is acknowledged are in books that the majority Christians readily forget about such a lot of. The ones within the new testomony discuss with different letters that now not exist, so it is complicated to inform what's being taken out of context. If Homosexuality is a sin, consistent with OT Law, so is a lady attacking a person who has damaged into her condo through grabbing him through the balls. Or a person ever chopping the hair at the facets of his head. Or a person searching for revenge for the rape of his daughter. five) Most Christians awareness at the 'saving' persons bit, some thing Jesus did not fairly speak approximately a lot, and COMPLETELY IGNORE such a lot of what Jesus taught approximately compassion, medication, or serving to others. They take the convenient manner out--discover the only factor you'll be able to do this calls for NO ACTUAL EFFORT. Those are the massive five, IMO. YMMV.

Answer 5

Helio, Call me a skeptic, call me an agnostic but don’t call me an atheist. Yet, with all of my doubts and questions that I have unanswered, not only about religion, but the whole meaning of life on earth, I still manage to be a traditionalist who follows, accepts and respects the teachings of the religious and political environment into which I was brought up.

This is not to say that I do accept the Para-mythology taught by the Torah, Bible or Koran but to recognize their enormous weaknesses and deficiencies and to proceed in seeking the truth in accordance with my own, personal and private faith and believes.

You see, I happen to believe that religion and faith are two totally different and separate entities. Faith is exclusively personal and private while religion is for the ignorant and naïve plurality. So, making the statement that Christianity is not a true religion, does not enable you to say that any other religion is truer than Christianity.

As you may know, Judaism, (Old Testament) evolved out of plagiarizing the ancient Hellenic mythology as well as that of advanced Mediterranean societies of those days. Christianity (New Testament) is based on the Greek translation of the Old Testament with the add on of the life of Jesus Christ. And the Koran is a plagiarized version of both Judaism and Christianity that includes the myth of the prophet Mohammed.

So to make the long story short, the aim and the scope of any and all religions is nothing else but CONTROL and they achieve that by intimidation as well as the fear, uncertainty ignorance and exploitation of their followers.

In other words, I see no difference between organized religions and organized political parties; both have their arms in blood up to their elbows and both are fighting each other for control and supremacy.

And this is how the many are controlled and exploited by the few.

NDS
12/11/06

Answer 6

Lets take christianity out of the equation. You're talking about believing and not believing, regardless of the religion. I don't know the answer to your quest and wouldn't presume to predict the actions of a god either.
About 15 billion years ago, according to some of the best scientific minds, all the matter in the entire universe was in one location and exploded, eventfully causing all the things we now accept on our planet, galaxy, and universe. Most people just call this the Big Bang theory.
Why did it happen, no one seems to know. How did it happen, no one seems to know. What was there before the Big Bang, no one seems to know.
The point is that there are things that mankind just doesn't know and may never know. Was the Big Bang the creation of the Bible, I don't know - neither does anyone else.
The basic concept here is that there are many things that we just don't understand. Belief in a diety has to be based on faith - until we learn otherwise.

Answer 7

"so i am gonna live my life as a normal good person."

Were you really ever asked to do anything more? If you think you were, then you were sorely misled, or you misinterpreted what you read.

All god ever asked was that you be the best person you could be, say sorry when you failed to be good, made ammends, and be a decent human being.

All hell is supposed to be is an absence of god from your life - not hellfire or any of the other purposefully church sanctioned and supported fallacies. Even the Christian version of Satan is made up from other beliefs, brought into the church in the 11th century, to try to get people scared into behaving like the church fathers wanted. Amazing what you can do in a mainly illiterate society.

Be the best person you can be - for you, for your family, for society. That, in itself, was ALL that's ever been asked of you. And if you can see that, then you'll be happy.

Answer 8

There's always got to be a guy with a website. No one ever looks at those.

That was a mouthful; I bet most people didn't read it all.

I don’t know, I agree that it would be nice if wicked people were punished and good people were rewarded, so in that sense, it would be nice if there were a benevolent god, but it isn’t that Christian god.

Christianity has never been about simply being a good person. You can be a good person until the cows come home, but if you’re an atheist, then you’re burning.

Answer 9

not exactly an answer I'm not sure i understand the question but i too have read the bible and drew mixed conclusions,however find no harm in believing in god as well as it promotes good values and life ethics,i don't do church however as to believe in god is one subject picking a church is a whole different one.where i live there are 5 different kinds of baptist churches.i mean how do i pick i don't that's how iv read the bible know what it says to me and use it as guide thru life instead of the set path.follow the basics and do your best,,if there is no god you didn't waste your time if there is a god,,well youv lived the best way you knew how..

Answer 10

Whether you were ever a believer or not, I can not say. From what you wrote, I notice something disturbing, you want God to do this or that on your terms. You demand He reveal Himself to you, how you want, when you want, and using the means you want. You do not know or understand the sovereignty of God. If you have read the Scriptures as you say, go back and read Romans and Ephesians. What is a theme that jumps out? Election, choosing, predestination. God elects, chooses and predestined those whom He wishes to call His own. Either you are one of His or you are not. There is no half way, there is no "trying" Jesus. If you have been awakened by the Holy Spirit and are one of His sheep, it is for life, no turning back. If a believer thinks they can just walk away from the calling, they are fooling themselves. God has promised to bring all whom He has called into the fold, as a people of God's choosing. If one walks in sin and rebellion, God will discipline him, and that is a most miserable existence. If you think you can just go about life doing good stuff and think that you can just present all this "good" stuff to God as a reason to be allowed into Heaven, you are kidding yourself. Either you will be hidden in Christ, covered in the blood of Christ and be judged holy and righteous by God, sins forgiven, or you will be judged on your works, all of it. And you know, if you have read the Scriptures, one sin equals breaking all of them. I would do some serious soul searching, to see if you are really one of His, If so, repent and come back into fellowship with God, if not, I am sorry for you.