As a christian, is it normal to question your faith???

Question

I'm going thru many troubles right now that make me question my faith in god. I know I will always believe in him in the end but is this feeling normal??

Answer 1

Jesse,
There are times that we all falter. We are told in the Book of Romans that "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of GOD." I pray a number of times each and every day according to how weak I feel in my faith. GOD will strengthen you if you ask HIM for assistance. HE will never allow you to be tested beyond what you can take. If I may be of assistance, just drop me a note and I will gladly respond ASAP. Have a better day tomorrow than you did today. Everything will eventually work out in time.
Thanks,
Eds

Answer 2

Yes. Of course it is.

Catholics call it the Dark Night of the Soul. (I know it was a St. John but his full title escapes me right now. He came up with this phrase).

It is a time where you have serious doubts about your faith, God, existence, everything.

Once you get through it - your faith in God will actually be strengthened. You will ahve become stronger and more resilant in your beliefs.

Don't allow doubt to make you feel as though you are abnormal or somehow failing in your faith. All people doubt and question their faith at one time in their lives. If you didn't then one would have to question just how strong and meaningul that faith really is in your life.

Some even go so far as to believe that these times are a gift from God - to create more insight and a more intimate relationship.

To get through it, spend time by yourself. Read and pray. If there is someone close to you that you can talk to who will not judge you but listen then go to them. They can help you hash things out that you are having trouble with and maybe even help you see things from a different angel.

Answer 3

Many non-believers assume that we (Christians) never question our faith. They believe that we are blind and dumb sheep. This is called stereotyping and is generally frowned upon.

I recently went through an intense period of questioning my faith. To put it briefly, I got to the point where I had to decide if I believed all that stuff because my parents taught it to me, or if I could really "own" the faith for myself. I actually spent some time where I was agnostic but not completely atheist.

I now feel as though my faith is truly mine because I have chosen it, and not because anyone else thrust it upon me. So, yes, I feel it is normal to question your faith. You will either find it strengthened (as I have) or you will walk away from it. This may surprise some but, I honestly would rather that doubters just go ahead and abandon their faith if they will not commit to it completely. One reason so many people hate Christians is that there are so many who call themselves Christians but don't live the life of someone who is Christ-like. It is also the reason why so many Christians (like me) question their faith in the first place.

Answer 4

Yes, I believe that it is normal. The disciples went through many times of unbelief and doubt. Remember that they called Thomas "Doubting Thomas." But also remember that Thomas was the only apostle that had the faith to say that they should follow Jesus into Jerusalem so that they could die with him. Appropriate for the holy week we have this week. Also, Job never understood his suffering either, but concluded that some things are beyond our finite understanding. If everything was spelled out in life, then I suppose there would be no need for faith at all.

Answer 5

Be careful. I constantly questioned my faith. And doing so made me realize how ridiculous the whole idea of a Christian god was. Now I'm an atheist. The moral of the story is, if you want to be a good Christian you MUST turn off your brain.

Don't you dare ask questions like: "So did Adam and Eve have incest with their kids? Or the kids with each other? If not, where did the 3rd generation of humans come from." Or, "Isn't prayer pointless? I pray to affect an outcome of an event. But if God is all-powerful, he has already determined the outcome of said event. So, either God is not all-powerful, and my prayer can make him change his mind, or prayer is just dumb." Don't you dare start thinking that way.

Answer 6

Of course this is normal. I expect this to happen to many christians. This is caused becuase of many secular influences or even the devil giving spiritual oppression. You will only come out of this as a stronger christian if you re affirm your faith.

Heres a Personal Experience of my Life exploded into a semi long paragraph that might help.

I always grew up in the church with seeing no purpose to it. Everybody seemed mean and fake to me and I was just feeling emptiness. This happened up until 7th or 8th grade. This is when I just fully declared that there is no God and that Science is the only empirical truth. Yeah it seemed to feel free and all but personally I saw no purpose in life. I asked myself theres nothing to anything. I had thoughts of scuicides in 9th grade. I wanted to die because there was no purpose to living except just being a biological box in a self recurring world. But in 10th grade it changed. I started to go back to those friday night meetings and just gave a simply open view to everything. This was probably was when i was agnostic. After praying I tried it for once, Truely Accepting Jesus. Then one night I had a true expereince with God.(yeah this might seem magical and fairytale like to atheist). I had a sudden feeling of calmness and I had never experienced such rejoice in my life. After I was(heres the main part) Finally Tolerant and saw and understood what Christians were saying to me( if i was an Ahtheist it would have probably just been yadadadada and fairy tale to me) but I understood when people described things. Then I reaffirmed my faith by finally seeing so much proof in Christianity. This is where I am at today.

Here are some books that might help as long as you keep an open view.

-Case of Christ/Case for Faith - Lee Stroble
- Purpose Driven Life
-Bible ( of course seek your pastor for good books in the bible to read).

Answer 7

Yes but the longer your a Christian the more you will know God and your faith will increase. The same has had too me but I believe in God because I know for a fact this wasn't all of luck. I mean look at the earth only the God Almight could create this!

Answer 8

Many people question their faith, especially when faced with trial after trial. I have.

Sometimes it's hard to see that there is strength in God when we feel so weak when dealing with big time troubles. But looking back, I know that God was in control, I had to let go and trust Him. It feels like such a risk at times, but the trust has never failed because God never fails.

I pray that you can ride out your storm with God in control and that you let him steer your way. Hold fast, and hold on tight, it may be a bumpy ride, but he is your safety net and you will come out of whatever it is a stronger person and you will know that God has you and will not let you down.

Answer 9

Especially if one is misinformed is it normal.
When tough times strike, is when one is more apt to notice that something doesn't seem quite right. That wasw when I began searching, & was shown the answers to all my questions, right from the Bible. The following articles are also based on Scripture, with links to the verses referred to. I suggest comparing them together, and make your faith strongly based on his actual Word. It Never hurts to Make Sure!

Does God Really Care?:
- Many Questions--Few Satisfying Answers ...
http://watchtower.org/library/w/2003/10/1/article_01.htm

God Cares--How You Can Be Sure :
- Is God Responsible for Our Problems?
- God Really Cares About You
http://watchtower.org/library/w/2004/7/1/article_01.htm

Search for God With Your Heart and Mind
- Mind and Heart Cooperate
- Understanding the Lord's Prayer
- "Let Your Kingdom Come"
- Millions Are Now Reasoning on the Scriptures
http://watchtower.org/library/w/2002/4/1/article_02.htm

Faith and Reason---Are They Compatible? :
- Should Faith Be Based on Reason?
http://watchtower.org/e/20020401/article_01.htm

"Make sure of all things; hold fast to what is fine." 1 Th 5:21

Answer 10

It is normal to struggle in your faith. They say "pain makes you stronger." It is the same with questioning your faith. Questioning causes you to delve into your faith, to learn more, to pray more. It helps your faith to grow. Having no struggles in you faith would be much worse. There was not a single Saint that did not struggle with his faith. Think about it. Even the disciples who knew Christ and saw his miracles struggled enough with their faith to DENY JESUS. This is a perfectly normal period of spiritual growth. If you need help pray and read scripture. It may also helo to have a friend or family member pray for you. If you still have many doubts, have a meeting with your pastor. They are there to help you! Good luck in your spiritual journey and God Bless!