Wow, where to start, well it has to be somewhere. I was raised in a Christian home with loving parents and have had a great life so far (I'm 24) However, for the past 4-5 years I have real been questioning if a God exists. I am searching for the truth and I am starting to see that maybe the bible isn't that. For example, Deuteronomy 22: verses 13-29 states if a woman is found not to be a virgin she is to be stoned to death?? How could a loving God tell us to stone someone over such trivial matters? Then flip forward a few chapters and then God decides to turn the other cheek?
Or how about Ephesians 6: verses 5-9 that condones slavery?? In my eyes if one verse contradicts the bible teaching then throw the whole thing out. If this is the book of truth there can be no screw ups not in the old testament nor in the new. I have read a lot of passages like this and they disturb me.
Besides the bible, just life has shown me a few things. If I had been rasied to believe in Buddah then I probably would or to believe in Thor and so forth. You see, people are products of their environment, and most act accordingly. I was watching a show on the discovery channel and these people in the South Pacific and East Asia where doing crazy things in giving thanks to their Gods i.e. jumping off platforms with old ropes on, sticking knives through themselves etc.. And many said they felt the spirits, but I knew what they felt was a placebo effect.
Lastly, I will believe in God the day there is proof. All my Christian friends tell me to have faith, but other pseudo religions also tell their followers to have faith. Therefore, the only way to discern the truth is to ask for evidence to back up said claims. And please don't say the bible is evidence because then we could say the Quran is and other religions have books etc. I wish God was real, and I am keeping an open mind. I am not trying to be a smart when I say if you have evidence please present it. I am starting to conclude the greatest story told may not be so great. [&:]
__________________
I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. -Thomas Jefferson
If you deny faith then it would be a waste of time to try to prove the existance of God to you in my opinion. . . . .it would take a move of God in your life. . If you choose not to have faith, then whatever we could point out to you would simply be rationalized away.
You probably have already seen evidence of God but have chosen to deny it or attribute it to something else. But be that as it may we have a promise in the Scriptures that if you seek God with all your heart you will find Him. He may be seeking you now since this topic is on your mind.
In my opinion your at a place where what we say, or your christian friends, or parents, will not have much impact on you. I'd say you need to go to the source and seek for yourself.
Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
ORIGINAL: robbcayman
Therefore, the only way to discern the truth is to ask for evidence to back up said claims. And please don't say the bible is evidence because then we could say the Quran is and other religions have books etc. I wish God was real, and I am keeping an open mind. I am not trying to be a smart when I say if you have evidence please present it. I am starting to conclude the greatest story told may not be so great. [&:]
Well my friend, one day, you might be given proof if God so chooses. When I went thru college, I got up on my high horse, thought I was smarter than the rest. I thought science is the only truth. I traveled the world, and thought Iknew it all.I lived off my own will for years and it seemed to serve me best. Like you I was raised in a Christian house.
But over the past 7 years, my life shot down. I lost millions of dollars. I lost a wife in a divorce. I watched a company I dearly love almost close thier door and laid off over 3000 people. I lost a good bit of health. Had liver issues, and bad diabetes. My will was no longer working for me anymore.
And then on one March day over 2 years ago, God revealed himself to me at my lowest point. I was broken at that point. Looking back, I am so lucky that he did reveal himself. My life has not been the same since. I still have my ups and downs, but now I strive to die to myself every day. Looking back, my eyes were blinded. I thought I was so smart. I was a fool.
Its hard to explain, but I pray my friend he reveals himself to you too.But you might not like the journey it takesfor him to reveal himself. But man its worth it. Its a fine trade off.
You are keeping an open mind and that is a start. Just ask God to open your eyes and show you how real he is. I pray that God knocks you off your horse as he did Paul. The Lord opened his eyes. Literally.
__________________
Elm River Hunt Club
Wayne County Illinois
www.illinoisdeerhunters.com
Being on this website you must be a hunter. Just look at the predator/prey relationship and how nothing in nature is wasted.Even fire while being destuctive helps clear out an area for new growth and the ash is used asfertilizer. When you really start to think about all of the miracles that are around us to me it seems obvious that God exists and far fetched that this all happened by some big bang.
Once you are ready you won't have to search, he'll find you.
Wow, where to start, well it has to be somewhere. I was raised in a Christian home with loving parents and have had a great life so far (I'm 24) However, for the past 4-5 years I have real been questioning if a God exists. I am searching for the truth and I am starting to see that maybe the bible isn't that. For example, Deuteronomy 22: verses 13-29 states if a woman is found not to be a virgin she is to be stoned to death?? How could a loving God tell us to stone someone over such trivial matters? Then flip forward a few chapters and then God decides to turn the other cheek?
Or how about Ephesians 6: verses 5-9 that condones slavery?? In my eyes if one verse contradicts the bible teaching then throw the whole thing out. If this is the book of truth there can be no screw ups not in the old testament nor in the new. I have read a lot of passages like this and they disturb me.
Besides the bible, just life has shown me a few things. If I had been rasied to believe in Buddah then I probably would or to believe in Thor and so forth. You see, people are products of their environment, and most act accordingly. I was watching a show on the discovery channel and these people in the South Pacific and East Asia where doing crazy things in giving thanks to their Gods i.e. jumping off platforms with old ropes on, sticking knives through themselves etc.. And many said they felt the spirits, but I knew what they felt was a placebo effect.
Lastly, I will believe in God the day there is proof. All my Christian friends tell me to have faith, but other pseudo religions also tell their followers to have faith. Therefore, the only way to discern the truth is to ask for evidence to back up said claims. And please don't say the bible is evidence because then we could say the Quran is and other religions have books etc. I wish God was real, and I am keeping an open mind. I am not trying to be a smart when I say if you have evidence please present it. I am starting to conclude the greatest story told may not be so great. [&:]
What you are describing is something that I faced myself about 30 years ago. You are citing some relatively simple quandries on which to base your thought sthough. The OT references to stoning are simply reflective of the seriousness of sin against God and His authority, and your response that adultery/sexual sins
are no big deal reveals you don't grasp His nature nor understand the gravity of having to answer to Him.Your failure to understand Him and His ways doesn't preclude that He is somehow wrong inHis actions to deal severely with such ofenses. That is an incorrect and insipid conclusion.Every society has some sort of code of ethics which is reflective of an understanding, to one degree or another , of a sense of right and wrong. Looking squarelyat the character of Godand seeing how much He hates the effects of these transgressions on us, others and the society/culture as a whole will begin to give you a different perspective on these matters.
The statement that we are purely products of our environment is easily dismissed. There are numerous examles of people being very different from how and what they were brought up in--look at yourself right now. You are making a choice to accept or not ot accept, and as much as you want to say that it is a matter of 'evidences', I will have to say that you are being slightly misled by your own inabiity to understand yourself and the dynamic operating within you now. It is said a lot, and true, that we can fool ourselves easier than anyone else. If it is a matter, purely, of evidences, than I will suggest to you some references for starters, and I will tell you that there is more than enough evidences to validate and support the historical and evidential Christian faith. there is a story in teh NT of a rich man who found himself in hell. he asked to be able to , somehow, warn his brothers about this end. The answer was telling. He was told that they have the law and prophets(scripture)and that if they were going to ignore them that no amount of evidence--in this case--a resurrection from the dead in the form of their brotherreturning to warn them--would be enough. However, on the other hand we see where Jesus extended His hands to show the scars and placed Thomas' hand in His side, which was actually providing some solid evidence to His resurrection to a man who needed the evidence, and who, with these evidences, was convinced because he was truly seking truth as opposed to hiding behind seeming contradictions. Thomas' response is also telling. He responded, My Lord and my God! Here ar e afew references, that if you are geuinely seeking to find truth, that will help you.Josh McDowell has a couple of books . One is Evidences That Demand a Verdict, and then a sequel called More Evidences. Any book by Francis Shaefer, Ravi Zacharias, C. S. Lewis, Stewart Briscoe, just to name a few are easily found at most book stores and they will give you more than ample evidences. There are no references that will answer all questions, but there is more than enough evidence and answers for anyone truly seeking to find truth. You need to stop and ask yourself, to begin with, just what you would define as 'truth', and what you expect to find. The next place to start is to define and to understand faith. Faith in and of itself isn't the answer. Faith is only as good as the object it is placed in. I can have faith that I can stand in front of a tractor trailer and still live, but that would be a very shaky place to put my faith. Regardless of how sincere or how much I am convinced,I would still die. You are absolutely right to say that simply because you were taught something growing up that that is no basis for it being true by itself, but, we did get here somehow, and there can only be one right answer to ur origin, and that applies to everything. There are never 2 forms of any one truth or event. What you need to be looking for is the one real set of events that has actually transpired in time and space, free of all bias and emotional attachments. Truth is that which corresponds with reality. Concerning the truth of the Gospel, which really is the greatest story ever told, if you will go to God with your honest and realistic doubts and questions, and ask Him to open your eyes and ears, He will gladly show you all youneed t know, and thne you can have a faith based on your own personal experience with the God who involved and involves Himself in teh lives of men and women everyday. It's liek a radio station. If you don't tune into the right 'frequency', you would never know it was there. But those radio waves are just as real whether you ever experience them via radio or not.
I will read those evidence books suggested. I will continue to search and ask that my eyes become opened, because right now I just don't believe it. Thanks for all the replies.
__________________
I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. -Thomas Jefferson
Good for you. I wuld like to make one quick request. There is a verse in 1 Timothy 4:1 that is very sobering. It tells of many who will depart from the faith in the last days, who are being seduced by spiritual forces away from the truth. I would ask you to take seriously this matter of turning away, and ask God to truly involve Himself in your life and to help you to be totally honest with yourself as to what maybe present on your life that would open the door to such a pull. If there is any way I can help you in your search, feel free to pm me.
Besides the bible, just life has shown me a few things.
In another 24 years of living, you will have reached the age to make an informed decision based upon your past life and experience. The "so called" contridictions in God's word is in reality, a human mind that cannot grasp the total picture of what, and why God does what he does, and says what he says. Only when one becomes equal to God will he know and understand what God knows and understands. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him. He doesn't reward those that doubt him and seek to disprove his word, or his existance.
Losing faith in faith.
