Lost Faith

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ironicabhorsen

Guest
#1
#1
Alright. Here it is. I've lost faith that there is a God. I just can't convince myself of it. And it scares me, really, because without an afterlife, death is the END. Of everything. You no longer exist. You don't even know you're dead. And I can't deal with that. And I can't come up with an argument that concretely supports the existence of God. Help, please.
 
M

Mothman

Guest
#2
#2
I have thought like that once...

tell me... did u really give in to the lord?
 
M

Mothman

Guest
#3
#3
and when i say that, i mean with all ur heart and mind...and strenght...
 
M

Mothman

Guest
#4
#4
If u have truly accepted JESUS CHRIST as LORD AND SAVIOR and have truly CONFESSED UR SINS AND REPENT... then welcome to the hood. UR SAVED. heres one thing though... U are not supposed to feel saved, but rather u are promised. Remmember, Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY to God... nothing else. Doing good deeds wont get u anywhere.

Faith is... not based upon what u feel.

I was doubting too...if i was ever really saved and if i missed something in my prayers. Then i read about trials... which are tests of faith. No one ever said the christian walk would be a piece of cake. Sure God will give u protection and will keep u away from sin, but he will test ur faith. The devil is also sly as uve heard before, so he will tempt u into believing that u are not saved or that God doesnt even exist..

and u know why God just doesnt poke his face out to earth and say " hello im God!!"

because it says on the bible " blessed are those who believe without seeing"

This can also be traced backed to the cruxificion of christ. The people wanted him to show them that he was the real Son of God, relying on their own physical needs. Thats what Satan is doing today now and days. He wants us to rely more onto emotions and feelings... while God wants us to hold on to the faith and ask him for strenght when we go through these trials.

I encourge u to give it a try... to accept Jesus Christ as lord and savior and the one who is the bridge between as sinners ( because we all are) and our righteous god. Ask him for his Holy spirit to bestow upon u and start reading his word. Ask him for peace and love with all ur heart... and he will give it to u. once u recieve the holy spirit, he'll instill in obeying him and pleasing him...
 
M

Musicfan4ever

Guest
#5
#5
What made you lose faith? Did something really bad happen to you?
 
K

Kite

Guest
#6
#6
Ehehehe...I've doubted too, where I was wondering if God was real.
Gonna steal this example from my pastor: when you look at something, let's say a painting, how do you know there was a painter? The only evidence that shows there is a painter is the painting itself. Same with us and everything else God made.
And like Mothman says: trials, endurance...
Just trust God, even if it's hard; read the Bible, pray...
Not much else to add, sorry. I'll be praying for you!
 
L

Lindqvist

Guest
#7
#7
There's much that can make you lose faith. But eventually you'll find that without faith the world will seem dark and gloom. It might be worth walking the darkness just to see the difference. If you believe in God he'll be there for you when you are ready to accept him.
 
I

ironicabhorsen

Guest
#8
#8
It's always been hard for me to accept that there is a god. I am, by nature, a very logical person, and it is very hard to accept something without me first seeing proof. And I know that to follow God, you have to have faith, and live without ever having definite proof. A lot of my problem comes from me trying to fathom the unfathomable, i.e. since god should have been here since the beginning of time, what was before the beginning of time, when did God come into existance... etc. There are so many things that happen, or have happened, that just make me think that there isn't a god. And yes, I've been wrestling with this idea for a long time for the past two weeks. The scariest part is, if there is no God, when I die, there is nothing for you, me, or anyone. We just die and have no consciousness. We don't know we are dead. We just rot and are forgotten. It upsets me a lot to think about this, and I really want to believe in god, if for no other reason than I need the hope of something/somewhere to look forward to after death.
 
A

AussieXlr8

Guest
#9
#9
ironicabhorsen said:
It's always been hard for me to accept that there is a god. I am, by nature, a very logical person, and it is very hard to accept something without me first seeing proof. And I know that to follow God, you have to have faith, and live without ever having definite proof. A lot of my problem comes from me trying to fathom the unfathomable, i.e. since god should have been here since the beginning of time, what was before the beginning of time, when did God come into existance... etc. There are so many things that happen, or have happened, that just make me think that there isn't a god. And yes, I've been wrestling with this idea for a long time for the past two weeks. The scariest part is, if there is no God, when I die, there is nothing for you, me, or anyone. We just die and have no consciousness. We don't know we are dead. We just rot and are forgotten. It upsets me a lot to think about this, and I really want to believe in god, if for no other reason than I need the hope of something/somewhere to look forward to after death.
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A few months ago I was in the same boat of you, sort of. I remember I was lying in bed crying in my deepest sorrow not knowing what to do with my life having made a real mess of it up to that point and in immense anguish I cried out to God (in my mind) GOD IF YOU ARE REAL SHOW ME!! And left it up to Him to show me. Next day I forgot about it and went ahead with my routine. The next day a lady came over to see my parents and have a cup of tea, well apparently toward the end of her stay she couldn't contain herself any longer being a shy sort of lady and said the real reason she was there was to see me. I was in the other room and they called me in, sat down and she just said that she had been praying for me for a very long time (I did not even know who this lady is) and God had told her to see me that day and then started to tell me everything about what God had already planned for my future and just kept saying everything that I would be, compassionate a counselor amongst numerous other things. And God had told her to no longer be a 'prayer warrior' for me but instead to be a 'praise warrior' (I was not a christian at this stage). Needless to say I didn't take much notice of it for some reason it all seemed so surreal. A few months later (recently) I was thinking about it one day and it really impacted me and I haven't looked back since.

Noone knew that I had been asking questions about my future, these are things only me and my mind knew..and obviously God. Jesus showed me that not only is He listening to my prayers, and answers them but is also in total control of the situation and I have to rely completely on Him and have faith and trust that He will come through for me.

Thought I'd share that with you mate.
 
I

ironicabhorsen

Guest
#10
#10
I think I'll get over it.... I was at a Christian summer camp this year, and the speaker said something, he said, "Satan is out there, just waiting for you to leave the safety of this place, and when you do, he is going to attack you with everything he has." I still am not sure where I stand though, I just know that if given a choice between oblivion and an eternal home... anywhere, I know which one I would pick. I guess I just like hearing other people and their stories about how God has worked in concrete ways in their lives. It's part of my problem, I need proof. Aussie's story helps with that, I just wish something like that could happen to me, something that extraordinary, so that I could definitely see for myself.
 
K

KrypticGuitarist

Guest
#11
#11
my advice would be to read. A book called ''The case for Christ'' is a good one. the write was a firm athiest before he went on a mission to prove God didn't exist, but became convinced of the opposite. He was a journalist and does his research deeply, so its a very very good read
 
A

AussieXlr8

Guest
#12
#12
ironicabhorsen said:
I think I'll get over it.... I was at a Christian summer camp this year, and the speaker said something, he said, "Satan is out there, just waiting for you to leave the safety of this place, and when you do, he is going to attack you with everything he has." I still am not sure where I stand though, I just know that if given a choice between oblivion and an eternal home... anywhere, I know which one I would pick. I guess I just like hearing other people and their stories about how God has worked in concrete ways in their lives. It's part of my problem, I need proof. Aussie's story helps with that, I just wish something like that could happen to me, something that extraordinary, so that I could definitely see for myself.
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Well a little while before that happened I went to a service with some American pastor who was visiting (forget his name) but after the service he asked who would like to be prayed for, the entire church lined up so we were being prayed for like a tango line going forward and as I approached to be prayed for it was like the most amazing electric sensation had coursed through my entire body and apparently everyone being prayed for felt the exact same thing and could not stop crying. From my upbringing I should know, in fact I DID know that God was real with so many similar experiences I don't know why I asked whether He was or not I suppose I just needed confirmation that He does know about my situation and haven't just falled on the wayside because who am I? I'm just a small insignificant person in the grand scale of things, but to Him I am so much more.
 
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AussieXlr8

Guest
#13
#13
KrypticGuitarist said:
my advice would be to read. A book called ''The case for Christ'' is a good one. the write was a firm athiest before he went on a mission to prove God didn't exist, but became convinced of the opposite. He was a journalist and does his research deeply, so its a very very good read
Click to expand...

Sounds good I might read that too!
 
I

ironicabhorsen

Guest
#14
#14
KrypticGuitarist said:
my advice would be to read. A book called ''The case for Christ'' is a good one. the write was a firm athiest before he went on a mission to prove God didn't exist, but became convinced of the opposite. He was a journalist and does his research deeply, so its a very very good read
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Thanks for the idea. I do love to read...
 
A

AussieXlr8

Guest
#15
#15
haha I just ordered it online getting a copy tomorrow, only $6.95 aussie
 
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ironicabhorsen

Guest
#16
#16
I don't know how I'm going to get it... The bookstore in our town closed a few months ago. And I don't want to order it online, because I don't want my family to find out. :p They aren't the most......understanding of people.
 
A

AussieXlr8

Guest
#17
#17
Well unless someone else in America sends you a copy like the original poster of the book I'll send you mine once i'm done :D
 
G

Groundhog

Guest
#18
#18
ironicabhorsen said:
Alright. Here it is. I've lost faith that there is a God. I just can't convince myself of it. And it scares me, really, because without an afterlife, death is the END. Of everything. You no longer exist. You don't even know you're dead. And I can't deal with that. And I can't come up with an argument that concretely supports the existence of God. Help, please.
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I sympathize. I think sometimes Christians don't acknowledge how difficult and unreasonable it is to believe in an invisible God and to accept an ancient book of dubious authorship filled with stories that sound like myths, legends, and exaggerations as divinely inspired and authoritative. Believe me, I sympathize.

I would offer you this thought. In Jewish theology, death IS the end. It wasn't unitil Christian theology came along that Heaven and Hell entered the picture. If the thought of there being no afterlife scares you, then consider this: what is there to be afraid of if death truly is the end? If there is no hell, then there is no fear of punishment; if there is no heaven, then there is no reward; so in either case, the result is nothingness. What is there to fear?
 
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ironicabhorsen

Guest
#19
#19
Groundhog said:
I would offer you this thought. In Jewish theology, death IS the end. It wasn't until Christian theology came along that Heaven and Hell entered the picture. If the thought of there being no afterlife scares you, then consider this: what is there to be afraid of if death truly is the end? If there is no hell, then there is no fear of punishment; if there is no heaven, then there is no reward; so in either case, the result is nothingness. What is there to fear?
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If that's the case, then there is everything to fear. You won't know anything, be anything after you die. All your unfinished dreams, plans, goals, will stay that way. Unfinished. It's a case of me, once again, trying to conceive the unfathomable. I think that I might be less scared of the idea if I had kids. I think once you have something that you love more than your own life, it is easier to accept death.
 
G

Groundhog

Guest
#20
#20
ironicabhorsen said:
If that's the case, then there is everything to fear. You won't know anything, be anything after you die. All your unfinished dreams, plans, goals, will stay that way. Unfinished. It's a case of me, once again, trying to conceive the unfathomable. I think that I might be less scared of the idea if I had kids. I think once you have something that you love more than your own life, it is easier to accept death.
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But won't your "unfinished dreams, plans, goals" still be unfinished whether there is an afterlife or not? I mean, unless you believe in reincarnation. If you believe in heaven and hell, then the only positive option is heaven, and heaven will be a different life in a different world, so what is unfinished here remains unfinished.
 
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