WCF
The Fly
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2006
- Messages
- 259
This is a question I've been struggling with for many months. I'm not just asking this to Christians, but to anyone of any faith. I don't know if it's too heavy a topic for this forum, but there are some pretty mature people here, and it says Zoo Confessionals at the top so here goes.
A little background first of all. My family is not a very "religious" one. My parents are supposedly Buddhist and my siblings are either agnostic or atheist. Because of this and the fact that I'm only 15, I don't attend a church or anything like that. I used to be a pretty confident Atheist, but I've been persuaded to convert to Christianity by both myself and friends, for various reasons.
I thought I would be much happier being a Christian. I would have God guiding me and a future to look forward to. But all it really does is confuse me. I am very uncertain of this faith. How can anyone be so certain everything promised is true?
I'm bombarded by messages like "You just have to have faith!" Maybe it's easier for others who were raised in a devoted family, but I've been an atheist for the majority of my life. I can't just toss away all the beliefs I previously had. Logic is my biggest obstacle. What about evolution? Is a book written 2,000 years ago by humans really a more reliable source than science? What's with all the crazy stories in the Bible? An ark big enough to carry a male and female of each and every species on Earth built by one person? There's a lot more, but there's the big one, how do I know a God even exists? How do I know it wasn't something made up by man as a purpose for existence or an explanation for the unknown?
It's not even logic that gets in the way of believing, but there's the whole right and wrong stuff too. How can such a terrible place like hell be allowed to exist? Perfectly decent people of other religions supposedly get sent there, a fate I don't think even Hitler deserved. I'm sure an all-powerful God could see there was something terribly wrong here and do something about it. Also, just looking at a girl and thinking she is hot is bad? I'm sure that is exaggerated, because I don't know anyone capable of this and am pretty sure no one else does either. It's just the natural way the world works to be attracted to the opposite sex (or whatever), what's the big deal? I've had Christian friends tell me to refrain from lust. They of course are not immune to it themselves, and beat themselves up when it happens. Why should I have to go through that? I believe it's fine as long as I'm not hurting anyone, including myself. But that's not what everyone else says, and I feel like I'm constantly sinning.
I apologize for this post being such a big, messy rant. They're all some examples of things that make me doubt. I know it all may seem pretty blasphemous, but it's just I really want answers. I could have taken the easy way out and go back to atheism, and I've thought about it, but that's not what I think is best for me. I hate to straddle the fence and say I'm Christian, but then say I'm not sure God exists. What makes a person Christian in the first place? I'd like to know how do you guys do it? Even if your not a Christian, but of any other religion, how can you confidently say you believe in what you believe in?
A little background first of all. My family is not a very "religious" one. My parents are supposedly Buddhist and my siblings are either agnostic or atheist. Because of this and the fact that I'm only 15, I don't attend a church or anything like that. I used to be a pretty confident Atheist, but I've been persuaded to convert to Christianity by both myself and friends, for various reasons.
I thought I would be much happier being a Christian. I would have God guiding me and a future to look forward to. But all it really does is confuse me. I am very uncertain of this faith. How can anyone be so certain everything promised is true?
I'm bombarded by messages like "You just have to have faith!" Maybe it's easier for others who were raised in a devoted family, but I've been an atheist for the majority of my life. I can't just toss away all the beliefs I previously had. Logic is my biggest obstacle. What about evolution? Is a book written 2,000 years ago by humans really a more reliable source than science? What's with all the crazy stories in the Bible? An ark big enough to carry a male and female of each and every species on Earth built by one person? There's a lot more, but there's the big one, how do I know a God even exists? How do I know it wasn't something made up by man as a purpose for existence or an explanation for the unknown?
It's not even logic that gets in the way of believing, but there's the whole right and wrong stuff too. How can such a terrible place like hell be allowed to exist? Perfectly decent people of other religions supposedly get sent there, a fate I don't think even Hitler deserved. I'm sure an all-powerful God could see there was something terribly wrong here and do something about it. Also, just looking at a girl and thinking she is hot is bad? I'm sure that is exaggerated, because I don't know anyone capable of this and am pretty sure no one else does either. It's just the natural way the world works to be attracted to the opposite sex (or whatever), what's the big deal? I've had Christian friends tell me to refrain from lust. They of course are not immune to it themselves, and beat themselves up when it happens. Why should I have to go through that? I believe it's fine as long as I'm not hurting anyone, including myself. But that's not what everyone else says, and I feel like I'm constantly sinning.
I apologize for this post being such a big, messy rant. They're all some examples of things that make me doubt. I know it all may seem pretty blasphemous, but it's just I really want answers. I could have taken the easy way out and go back to atheism, and I've thought about it, but that's not what I think is best for me. I hate to straddle the fence and say I'm Christian, but then say I'm not sure God exists. What makes a person Christian in the first place? I'd like to know how do you guys do it? Even if your not a Christian, but of any other religion, how can you confidently say you believe in what you believe in?
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