Is our God the right god?

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posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
36,682
13,139
113
#21
I was born into a Christian family, so naturally I was raised to believe in Christianity. But when studying world religions, it occurred to me that nearly everyone believes whatever their parents did. And there are thousand of world religions. So I've been wondering... how can we know our religion is the right one without at least learning the others? How can we simultaneously assume everyone else is wrong and we are right? It also begs the question-why are there so many different religions and if they are all fake, how do we know our God isn't fake too?

Last but not least, for everyone answering, what led you to God to begin with? Were all of you born to Christian families? If not, why did you decide on Christianity?

when i was about your age i struggled alot with almost exactly the same thing.
i was born in a family that believed - well partly; my mother did - and my grandmother on my father's side had devoted her whole life to Christianity; she was a missionary for decades, always travelling the world spreading the gospel. but my father, i don't think so, and my grandparents on my mother's side seemed to just give it lip service, but i don't know.

anyway i was brought up in christian churches. ever since i was a baby. it wasn't the only 'religion' i knew, but it was what i was taught my whole life.
so i started wondering -- about the same age as you are -- whether i really believed at all, and whether i only believed because i had been more or less 'indoctrinated?'

it's impossible to escape my past though. it's already happened. i prayed about these things, and i ignored these things to see if they would go away -- and God gave me signs. things that were meaningful to me. in dreams, in pictures, in circumstances, in words and understanding. not 'fire from heaven' but meaningful, very personal things, that were beyond coincidence -- things that only someone who knew all my intimate thoughts and controlled every slightest nuance of the whole universe could have organized. things that no one else might notice, not like the sky tearing open -- and i think, this, because He wanted me to believe without being 'wowed' by miracles. because that's false faith; another big light show comes along, and maybe you believe that. or you always need the earth to quake for everything to be real somehow. this isn't how He operates -- for His own reasons.

one day i realized, and accepted, that even though i had been brought up in the church, this was purposeful. if God controlled the entire universe, and my whole life, then it was Him who caused me to be born into just this family and to receive all these teachings since i was a baby. This is a blessing -- not a curse! not everyone has such an easy path toward believing and trusting Him.
God organized my whole life -- and He made it so that from childhood, i heard of Him. i've always needed things to be pretty darn obvious before i trust them, and He made my life just so.

objectively: if i believed that God must exist, and i did, and that God must be in total control of my experience as a living being, and i did, but then i denied the things He had brought me up in, the gospel that He caused me to hear, then wasn't i denying the first two principles?

He had put in me this nature to examine other beliefs, and find them all coming up short - and He had put in me this gospel, that i never found coming up short. sure, i found the way that some people taught or explained it to be wrong, or to come up short -- but the Jesus Christ who is in the scripture, i could never poke a hole in. The only objection i had to this was that God had organized my existence so that i would have a knowledge of Jesus ever since i was a toddler. So i was going to fault Him for that? the God that by assumption must be have organized my existence?

i understood then this was temptation and confusion by the evil one -- and that i did believe, but my faith was small, and that God had chosen me to believe, and even chosen to give me this doubt so that in the end my faith would be strengthened and grow.
 

PennEd

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2013
12,961
8,671
113
#22
I was born into a Christian family, so naturally I was raised to believe in Christianity. But when studying world religions, it occurred to me that nearly everyone believes whatever their parents did. And there are thousand of world religions. So I've been wondering... how can we know our religion is the right one without at least learning the others? How can we simultaneously assume everyone else is wrong and we are right? It also begs the question-why are there so many different religions and if they are all fake, how do we know our God isn't fake too?

Last but not least, for everyone answering, what led you to God to begin with? Were all of you born to Christian families? If not, why did you decide on Christianity?

This is a fair question you ask.

So I would ask, what is the only belief system that DOES NOT rely on a person working their way to heaven?

Grace is NOT a concept tat any human could ever invent. It is completely counter-intuitive to human nature.
Our brains can't reckon that there is NOTHING that WE can do to earn Salvation.

What other belief system has A Savior that dies for YOU so you can accept God's Grace?
 
T

TemporaryCircumstances

Guest
#24
:pTho I was too lazy to write a full paragraph I still made it yaaaaaaay. But I agree with Ladybug. You MUST add Depleted to the list. Shes more outspoken than me haha. But its true tho. In ALL religions they have dozens of Deieties because none of them is perfect..Except ours. Tho that may not me the exact reason why I came to Christ but it did play a role as well
LOL congrats
 
K

kwick

Guest
#26
Thanks for all of the responses everyone! Honestly, you all rock. These posts give me a lot to ponder and help me immensely. One thing I still wonder about, after reading the posts, is people generally concede that the Christian God is the best god. I agree with this entirely-He is perfect and actively working to help us. He wants to save us. However, just to play the devil's advocate, if you will, how do we know our God is so good? I mean, I definitely want to believe in this perfect God and I am trying hard to. But I also recognize that, objectively, it is comforting to know we have a nice God who loves us and is on our side. It is terrifying to consider the alternative- an imperfect god or gods that don't love us. Are we just believing what we want to believe?

By the way, I just want to apologize in advance if this questioning makes anyone uncomfortable or feel attacked, but this is honestly the best way I know to believe anything. I typically consider all alternatives first, and it helps give me piece of mind that my belief is firm.
 
M

MadParrotWoman

Guest
#27
Thanks for all of the responses everyone! Honestly, you all rock. These posts give me a lot to ponder and help me immensely. One thing I still wonder about, after reading the posts, is people generally concede that the Christian God is the best god. I agree with this entirely-He is perfect and actively working to help us. He wants to save us. However, just to play the devil's advocate, if you will, how do we know our God is so good? I mean, I definitely want to believe in this perfect God and I am trying hard to. But I also recognize that, objectively, it is comforting to know we have a nice God who loves us and is on our side. It is terrifying to consider the alternative- an imperfect god or gods that don't love us. Are we just believing what we want to believe?

By the way, I just want to apologize in advance if this questioning makes anyone uncomfortable or feel attacked, but this is honestly the best way I know to believe anything. I typically consider all alternatives first, and it helps give me piece of mind that my belief is firm.
Sure our God is a God of love but He's no "pussycat" lol. He is righteous and just so don't think one can mess with Him. He is to be honoured, worshiped and respected.

Your questions are cool.
 
C

CeileDe

Guest
#28
Thanks for all of the responses everyone! Honestly, you all rock. These posts give me a lot to ponder and help me immensely. One thing I still wonder about, after reading the posts, is people generally concede that the Christian God is the best god. I agree with this entirely-He is perfect and actively working to help us. He wants to save us. However, just to play the devil's advocate, if you will, how do we know our God is so good? I mean, I definitely want to believe in this perfect God and I am trying hard to. But I also recognize that, objectively, it is comforting to know we have a nice God who loves us and is on our side. It is terrifying to consider the alternative- an imperfect god or gods that don't love us. Are we just believing what we want to believe?

By the way, I just want to apologize in advance if this questioning makes anyone uncomfortable or feel attacked, but this is honestly the best way I know to believe anything. I typically consider all alternatives first, and it helps give me piece of mind that my belief is firm.
Your questions seem to be rational to me. I tried the alternative for ten or so years and it was a dark path. It started out looking like a path of light but they never end that way.
 

RickyZ

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2012
9,635
787
113
#29
However, just to play the devil's advocate, if you will, how do we know our God is so good?
Because He is willing to understand the fallen nature that we inhabit, and based on that He is willing to overlook every single rotten thing we will ever do.

Well, every single thing except one. But that one, you really can't blame Him for drawing a line at.