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hambone · 10-18-2005, 09:34 AM

How I see it is like so, God will "test" you...regardless of if you believe He is or not. Many people cannot seem to believe in a higher power until they have been broken and feel they have nothing. Others claim to always believe. God is not understandable. He can't be. If we could understand God, we could deconstruct God. We could essentially create God.
I do not believe a human could ever understand the movement of God, whether it seems 'bad' or 'good' in a earthly sense.

That all sounds Christianese like, which I don't agree with so lets move on. I understand what you mean by doubt. A short while back, I was at my church, which I love by the way, and was looking around. I became appalled. It appeared to me that no one was genuine, they were all following the pastor. He raised his hands, so did they, he clapped, they followed. My thoughts were that they were just there to impress the pastor. "Do they understand the meaning of the song they are singing?" "Do they even see the relevance of the pastor's message in their life?" "Or are they just content to say 'hallelujah' to whatever the guy says?"

This got me to thinking and that is the point of what I mean to get at. It got ME to THINKING. Just as you are right now. Things don't seem to fit for you now, so you can't just look at doctrine and say "OK, sounds good to me". There is a need to know why, to understand.

While I still hold to God not being able to be understood, I believe by seeking further knowledge we can only strengthen any belief system. If the things you have believed for years are indeed true, thinking on them and asking questions will only prove to strengthen that belief. If what you believe is not true, you will begin to see problems, your faith will be further shaken. Either way this is good. Your beliefs are now based on a greater foundation of knowledge.

For background, I am a Christian and have never felt stronger in my beliefs than I currently do. I am not willing to take passages of scripture and quote them to sound religious, I really desire to know more about God. About Jesus. About that which I claim to base my life on.

I am sorry you have had bad experiences with your church. But now you know that those people are not always perfect. They all have flaws, and truthfully many of them may be living a lie, fulfilling the stereoptype of a 'Sunday Christian' , professing love, showing none.

I encourage you to explore churches. Find one you seem to like and go. But don't just go, get involved. Get to know the people on a intimate level, find out if they are true, if their beliefs are in line with what you believe/know to be true.
Churches should serve to bind other believers together in celebrating whom they worship, they should not define a person's faith.

I don't know if this is making sense. Just know you are not alone.

10-18-2005, 09:34 AM	#5 (permalink)
hambone Zeroed In Location: CA	How I see it is like so, God will "test" you...regardless of if you believe He is or not. Many people cannot seem to believe in a higher power until they have been broken and feel they have nothing. Others claim to always believe. God is not understandable. He can't be. If we could understand God, we could deconstruct God. We could essentially create God. I do not believe a human could ever understand the movement of God, whether it seems 'bad' or 'good' in a earthly sense. That all sounds Christianese like, which I don't agree with so lets move on. I understand what you mean by doubt. A short while back, I was at my church, which I love by the way, and was looking around. I became appalled. It appeared to me that no one was genuine, they were all following the pastor. He raised his hands, so did they, he clapped, they followed. My thoughts were that they were just there to impress the pastor. "Do they understand the meaning of the song they are singing?" "Do they even see the relevance of the pastor's message in their life?" "Or are they just content to say 'hallelujah' to whatever the guy says?" This got me to thinking and that is the point of what I mean to get at. It got ME to THINKING. Just as you are right now. Things don't seem to fit for you now, so you can't just look at doctrine and say "OK, sounds good to me". There is a need to know why, to understand. While I still hold to God not being able to be understood, I believe by seeking further knowledge we can only strengthen any belief system. If the things you have believed for years are indeed true, thinking on them and asking questions will only prove to strengthen that belief. If what you believe is not true, you will begin to see problems, your faith will be further shaken. Either way this is good. Your beliefs are now based on a greater foundation of knowledge. For background, I am a Christian and have never felt stronger in my beliefs than I currently do. I am not willing to take passages of scripture and quote them to sound religious, I really desire to know more about God. About Jesus. About that which I claim to base my life on. I am sorry you have had bad experiences with your church. But now you know that those people are not always perfect. They all have flaws, and truthfully many of them may be living a lie, fulfilling the stereoptype of a 'Sunday Christian' , professing love, showing none. I encourage you to explore churches. Find one you seem to like and go. But don't just go, get involved. Get to know the people on a intimate level, find out if they are true, if their beliefs are in line with what you believe/know to be true. Churches should serve to bind other believers together in celebrating whom they worship, they should not define a person's faith. I don't know if this is making sense. Just know you are not alone. __________________ "Like liquid white from fallen glass, Nothing to cry over"