bible
I am a Christian and I struggle with doubts, and I think it's pretty normal for many Christians to go through periods of doubts. I think it's quite common for kids who are Christians, and become teenagers to have doubts, and many questions. And it's common for teenagers, even Christian teenagers, to struggle with choices and action and behavior i think being a teenager and a Christian is one of the hardest things, especially in our times now.
Sometimes I feel like theres two of me inside, one thats confused, and one that knows absolutely without a doubt that God exists, and that His Word is Truth. All I have to do is look outside, day or night and know there is no better explanation for creationism then GOD.
I tell my son, who also struggles, and just recently said he doesn't believe in miracles, "How can you not believe in miracles, when you are a miracle"? Course he can't grasp that, cause he wasn't there. He hadn't been born yet. He didn't experience it. But I did, and thats when I first knew without a doubt that God exists. no matter how distant I become, or how confused I get, at some level, maybe it's a spiritual level, I KNOW He exists. But our minds are pretty powerful, and we can drive ourselves nuts sometimes. And it's worse when satan gets a foothold over our minds.
I don't think your crazy for thinking your possessed, I think you have probably heard alot of stuff in your life about demons and possession. I think we have to be really careful what we say, Satan can steer us in his direction without us being posessed. I had a pastor once, who told about a man who showed up in Lake Tahoe at a service he was giving, the man was in the back of the church, he started having problems and left out the door, the Pastor followed him, and found him having seizures, the Pastor went to help him, and saw red in the guys eyes, and he demanded satan leave the man, and he did. This was the first time I ever heard a story like this from someone I trusted, I believed it. The man came to the church wanting help.
I'm sorry you have Cerebral Palsy, (we were just discussing it in my special needs class) I also know what it is like to struggle with a disability, and not understand why. I don't think there really has to be any rhyme or reason, these disorders and ilnesses etc, often occur because of the sins of man, and it's affected or cursed generation after generation. I definately believe that stuff, It's all around us everywhere. Other times, I think God definately has a plan, and sometimes we just don't know or understand fully what that plan is.
Heres the lyrics from Nicole Nordemans "To Know YOu".
Oooooo...
It�s well past midnight
And I�m awake with questions that won�t
Wait for daylight
Separating fact from my imaginary fiction
On this shelf of my conviction
I need to find a place
Where You and I come face to face
Thomas needed
Proof that You had really risen
Undefeated
When he placed his fingers
Where the nails once broke Your skin
Did his faith finally begin?
I�ve lied if I�ve denied
The common ground I�ve shared with him
And I, I really want to know You
I want to make each day
A different way that I can show You how
I really want to love You
Be patient with my doubt
I�m just tryin� to figure out Your will
And I really want to know You still
Nicodemus
Could not understand how You could
Truly free us
He struggled with the image
Of a grown man born again
We might have been good friends
Cuz sometimes I still question, too
How easily we come to You
But I, I really want to know You
I want to make each day
A different way that I can show You how
I really want to love You
Be patient with my doubt
I�m just tryin� to figure out Your will
And I really want to know You still
No more camping on the porch of indecision
No more sleeping under stars of apathy
And it might be easier to dream
But dreamin�s not for me
And I, I really want to know You
I want to make each day
A different way that I can show You how
I really want to love You
Be patient with my doubt
I�m just tryin� to figure out Your will
And I really want to know You still
I want to know you, I really want to know you
Hey yeah, yeah
I really want to know you, I really want to know you,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
But again, I don't think Everything is necessarily able to be blamed on it.
As for karma, yes, of course, selfish acts produce negative results; unselfish acts produce positive results. Are there people who do not agree with that? Few, very few. But why must you drag the burden called "sin" into it and then also a "god" into it?
I believe what I believe, and you believe what you believe, and I have NEVER put you down for what you believed or tried to change your mind, it's obvious where you stand, I simply replied to her post as she asked of people to do. Don't go putting words into my mouth or thoughts into my head, I know this is common of you, and it is also common of several Christians here at mindsay, however this is not a practice of mine. So don't drag me into your little war with Christians, I'm not playing.
This is also open for debate. But let's try debating like ADULTS, shall we? Come on. We're all civilized. If you can't do that, then I'm afraid I'll have to delete this entry.
Please, let's respect everyone here. We're all humans.
He is wrong in suggesting that I was implying anything regarding you and abuse/incest. I don't even know you.
Sorry I have upset Geekity, you don't have to worry about deleting anything, unless you want to. I refuse to go back and forth in a manner, that brings people nothing but "upset".
I'm not going to delete anything anyway.Have a good day, Mr Skank!
I do believe there is a spiritual warfare that we can't necessarily see, but we can see the affects of it. I get confused sometimes about Free Will verses what goes on during this Spiritual war, and God's plan. I believe in Satan, and demons and I believe possession is possible too. I believe there is a great deal of misunderstanding about possessions, such as Mental illness being blamed on possession. I find myself confused about things like ghosts, it's my understanding that many Pastors/Christians believe all ghosts are demons, so if they are bad ghosts they are demons, if they are good ghosts they are angels, and that nobody gets stuck here, so the ghosts are not souls that are wanting closure and things like that. I don't know if I believe all this about demons, but I do believe in them.
I do believe in generational curses, I don't really speak about it as a curse, but I believe that there are alot of things wrong because of the incest and inbreeding that occurred in my family in the past. Inbreeding causes many problems, psychologically and physically, but this is JUST an example. My own experience. I do not believe that "generational curses" is the only explanation for everything that has gone wrong in life. I think it's wrong to use this for an excuse to behave in inappropriate ways.
I had shared, that I do have doubts at times, and that there are alot of things that are confusing to me, I don't claim to be someone who is all knowledgable when it comes to the Bible, I don't feel like I am someone who can go around telling people what they must or must not believe. I can only share what I believe, and even why I might believe them. I share things, but don't expect anyone to take what I share and insist on it being truth. I believe Truth REALLY is something we have to find for ourselves.
Geekity 14 knows the word of God as she has studied it and quoted from it for years. Maybe this analogy will be helpful and could serve two purposes. Jesus spoke in parables nearly 50 times. Here is a modern day parable.
Three philosophers are seated in a plane. The first man said that he heard that during the early hours of the night, hijackers took over the controls. As he spoke, the plane lunged to the left and thrust a number of passengers against the wall, seriously injuring some of them.
After the second man gained his composure, he said, "Because of what just happened, I don't believe that this plane was ever made."
Even though his statement didn't make sense, he continued to maintain that the entire plane, with its seats, windows, lighting, air conditioning, engines, etc., happened by accident.
As the third philosopher began to give his thoughts, the plane again lunged to one side. This time it was so violent that many passengers were seriously injured and two elderly people were killed. He was obviously shaken, but was able to share his thoughts about what had happened. He said that despite what was happening on the plane, he thought all was well in the cockpit.
It was then that someone quickly passed a hand-written note to the first man. It read, "Hijackers! All to be thrust out of the plane. Parachute under seat. Put it on now. Going to cut the lighting. Be ready to jump!"
As he read its words, his eyes widened. This confirmed that something was radically wrong. He quickly reached under his seat and put the parachute on, and then passed the note on to the second philosopher.
The second man read the words on the note. He smiled said, "This note hasn't used correct grammar. Parachute under seat isn't even a complete sentence."
With that, he crumpled the note and dropped it to the floor.
The third man, still shaken by what had happened on the plane, picked up the note and read it. He said, "It sure looks authentic. It does have the airlines letterhead. What's happening on the plane does add up to something being radically wrong, I think I now believe there is something wrong."
However, he then sat in his seat, not bothering to put his parachute on, or even to pass the note on to others!
Here we have three common reactions to the message of the gospel:
Obviously, the first passenger is a genuine convert. He understands that the issue of suffering--disease, pain and death shows that something is radically wrong between God and man. His knowledge of the jump that he must take through the door of death causes him to trust in the Savior.
The second man is an atheist. He uses the issue of suffering to somehow make an illogical leap into the philosophy that there is no God. The thought that the whole of creation, with its flowers, its birds, the sun, the moon, the animal kingdom, the beauty of the seasons, the incredible variety of succulent fruit trees, etc., all happened by accident. The notion that such reasoning borders on insanity doesn't enter his unthinking and sin-loving mind. He doesn't bother to humbly study the warning of Scripture. Instead, he exalts himself above the mind of his Creator, and condescendingly becomes a critic of the Word of God. He maintains it is full of errors and therefore cant be trusted.
The third man is an average person. He believes in God. He even believes the Bible. He is easily convinced that something may be wrong between man and God, but he doesn't see his urgent need to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we awaken these two men?
For the answer, lets go back to the plane. The first man simply needs to tell the other two philosophers to look out of the window for a moment, and to think about the 25,000-foot fall. Their knowledge of the unbending law of gravity should kick in, and from there common sense should do the rest. It should cause both men to look under their seat for the parachute.
The issue of suffering is not something the Christian should avoid. It is glaring evidence that man has rejected God; all is not well on board the flight. It works for our cause, not against it. All these things, pain, disease, droughts, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc. should cause the thinking person to investigate the claims of the note of God's Word, and see its explanation.
However, the ultimate convincing agent is, of course, the unbending Law of God. It is the knowledge of the Law and the fearful consequences of transgressing its precepts that should cause fear to kick in, and hopefully common sense should then cause the sinner to seek after the Savior, who lovingly died and rose again, so that they might be saved.
You are saved. You have a one way ticket that can not be revoked. Enjoy the flight.
Sleepy gnght. Great blog!
not an answer
doubts and questions open minds
answers and dogmas close them
let go of the concept of sin
let go of the concept of thought crimes
be good be kind be free
enjoy
“Emily, whether you like it or not, you’re proof that miracles exist.”
As we grow older, we come to realize that adults are as vulnerable and mistaken about things as ourselves. In the quote above, you show in the same sentence that your mother loves you, but also that she is mistaken about miracles -- it's ain't a miracle if it's happened billions of times (i.e. the number of times humans have been born). If a person would regrow a lost limb, which has never happened and would be documentable, it would be a miracle. Otherwise, it's people sentimentalizing events and calling them "miracles." And you are right that the Bible is a series of fictional stories -- more like ancient oral stories than "Truth."
We can choose to follow the crowd -- best personified by organized religion -- or venture out on our own, into the seemingly lonely world of free will and freedom that Creation grants us. Doubt is healthy and should not be suppressed; it's the prime mover for new knowledge.
Remember, YOU get to choose your social situation, your beliefs, and your dreams. This writing shows already that you realize your potential. Distrust those who would limit you. One thing that made me happiest was when I decided to never fit inside a belief system which suppresses doubt. If organized religion -- whose calling card is a belief in supernatural events -- didn't have such a weak foundation, it wouldn't need to "punish" the doubters, unbelievers, and foreigners with the threat of Hell. Many people become happier, less judgmental, and serve humanity better after getting rid of that silliness.
I’m just confused, seeking, and looking for some answers. I wouldn't directly say that I'm an "atheist" or anything... But, who knows, I guess.
Ultimately, your beliefs should match how you think of yourself. Many people are more comfortable listening to a leader, pastor, or parent, and taking on their ideas -- receiving answers. Others are more comfortable on their own -- creating questions, realizing there may be no answers.
Great writing on your part!
