lack of faith

Hi,I am going to be baptised next weekend.But right now I meet a problem with my faith.I begin to question the credibility of N.T...I asked God to strengthen my faith this afternoon.I really really want to believe but I can't help doubting if atheists are right and we are nothing and we are alone...I kind of hope that God would give me a strong proof that He exists and remove my doubt once and for all.I really want to know how you can be sure of your faith.
There are certainly some things that seem like God's intervention over the weeks but I am not totally convinced.I fear they are coincidences or misinterpretations .Just yesterday afternoon when I was walking down a road to work, a little boy about 8 years old called me to stop and told me shyly that her mom didn't give him money for lunch,he wanted ten yuan from me.After I did what I could,he walked away.He didn't look like a beggar to me.I didn't understand why he asked me instead of someone else.I didn't understand why he was there.There's another time(two weeks ago) when I was walking to work that a middle-aged man called me to stop and showed me to a middle-aged woman beside him.The woman covered his left side of belly,telling me it's hurt and asking me for some money to buy a meal..I didn't know if she was sick or just hungry.I didn't know why she was there and what could have happened to her. I gave her what I had in my purse(a few changes I had).I have never seen them again.I have never met such things before I choose to believe in God.I can't explain.

Hi Sweet,

Faith does not rest on insubstantial things like feelings or experiences, but on the promises of God.

Faith comes by hearing and believing the Word of God. Primarily the good news concerning His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. So, read the Word, Sweet, and meditate on it quietly before God, and let it sink in. Consider just what God has done for you.

You are not called upon to feel, or experience anything, just believe Him.

As far as His existence, you only have to think of your own body and it's functions, the uniqueness of it, and the intricacy of the systems within it to know that there has to have been a creator, it could not just have come from nothing. The computer is a wonderful thing, and you would not doubt the fact that it was invented by someone, and created to perform the functions that it does, so why should we doubt that there is a God, and that He created the heaven and the earth and everything within it.

God loves you Sweet. Trust Him to fulfill His promises to you, in Christ Jesus. Who died for you and rose again, that you too may have your sins forgiven and have the hope of eternal life in Him.

I pray, Sweet, that you will know and trust Him to save you and to keep you.

In Christ Jesus
Chris

I've been reading stuff on this forum and it seems that others people feel the way you do, and I'm going to try and explain, as I have there, why I don't feel this way at all. If what I say seems insulting, know that this is not my intention.

A lot of Christians nowadays are being lazy about the intellectual aspects of Christianity, and so the only bits of intellectual argument they hear are the secular ones, which point away from God. And to try to combat their doubts they look in a spiritual direction, which will do them no good in this case because it is their reason that is troubling them. But there is perfectly good intellectual opposition to materialism, nihilism, and evolution, that have been presented by educated men throughout history. But instead the modern Christian is just listening to the atheist talk about evolution (overstating it's scientific validity in the process), and then will walk away full of doubt, and think that there is nothing they can do about it but hold onto some Godlike experience they have, which their reason ultimately tells them is not a rational enough position, and so many lose their faith. I urge all Christians to wake up their God given brains and put them to use.


An example of evidence for the new testimant:
Tacitus is generally accepted as greatest Roman historian. In his Annals, he mentions Christ in a passage which most scholars accept as authentic regarding the Emperor Nero:

Here is Thomas Aquinas's five point proofs on the existence of God:


Motion: Some things undoubtedly move, though cannot cause their own motion. Since, as Thomas believed, there can be no infinite chain of causes of motion, there must be a First Mover not moved by anything else, and this is what everyone understands by God.


Causation: As in the case of motion, nothing can cause itself, and an infinite chain of causation is impossible, so there must be a First Cause, called God.


Existence of necessary and the unnecessary: Our experience includes things certainly existing but apparently unnecessary. Not everything can be unnecessary, for then once there was nothing and there would still be nothing. Therefore, we are compelled to suppose something that exists necessarily, having this necessity only from itself; in fact itself the cause for other things to exist.


Gradation: If we can notice a gradation in things in the sense that some things are more hot, good, etc., there must be a superlative that is the truest and noblest thing, and so most fully existing. This then, we call God -->note Thomas does not ascribe actual qualities to God Himself.


Ordered tendencies of nature: A direction of actions to an end is noticed in all bodies following natural laws. Anything without awareness tends to a goal under the guidance of one who is aware. This we call God --> Note that even when we guide objects, in Thomas's view the source of all our knowledge comes from God as well.



Here is a video about the science of DNA,

[video=youtube;1--tP49mOoE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1--tP49mOoE[/video]

An argument of morality:

If you listen to people quarreling you will inevitably hear someone say something like "That's not fair, you made a promise" or "I shared with you, now you should share with me". Everyday people make the assumption that there is some standard which all people at bottom understand, and ought to follow. When people break promises they often say that the promise was not fair, you will rarely hear them say, "I don't care", because deep down, they agree about the standard, they would just like an exception in their case.Some people say that this is evolutionary instinct, a herd mentality.But often this herd mentality comes in direct contradiction with the survival instinct. If a man is crying for help, you have two instincts, the herd instinct is telling you to save him, and the survival instinct is telling you to not risk your own life. But there is a third thing that is telling you which instinct you ought to follow, and which you ought to suppress. This third thing is neither of the instincts, it comes from somewhere else, and it often sides with the weaker of the impulses, and causes you to do things like stir up your pity for the man in trouble in order to get you to do what you don't want to do, but know that you should. There is no way to determine what should be done from observing what is, and yet we all have a knowledge of what should be done. This third thing, the source of moral knowledge,cannot be accounted for without presupposing the existence of God.

And lastly, my personal favorite, a formal proof constructed by my favorite Logician Kurt Godel,



Some of this might seem confusing, but the reason I think it is very important that you at least know these things exist is because most people doubt their faith because of the theory of evolution without really knowing much about the theory. In the same way, I hope that your faith will be restored by knowing that there is intellectual evidence of God, even though you might not understand all of the evidence.

Hebrews 11 says: 'He that comes to God, must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him'.

Lord God, hear sweets prayer and request, and honor her pleas. Even in the face of doubt she desires to be closer to You. Increase her faith; grant her confirmation; and bless her for her gentleness and generosity towards strangers. Gift her with wisdom and discernment Lord, that her faith may grow and be strong in You!

Sweet you are doing exactly the right thing. The enemy will always be trying to tear down your faith. Your confession of such things, and your spoken desire to be more faithful, are evidence of the Spirit of Truth in you. That which you confess and desire, God is faithful to make whole.

Just a personal note, I don't give money to people on the street, but if anyone says they are hungry I won't hesitate for even a second to buy them food. God may lead you differently and that's great if He does. But I feel I'm not being a good steward of what God has given me if I enable someone to go buy booze or drugs or whatnot. Money they can be unfaithful with. Food they are going to eat and receive the benefit I intended for them. I'm not saying you're doing anything wrong, God blesses a giving heart even if the recipient abuses that grace. It's just somethng to think about.

God Bless you sweet. He will give you your hearts desires, especially when you desire to be closer to Him.

Until you are sure of your trust in the New Testament, wouldn't it be better to wait before being baptised?

Our world is made up of what the bible calls fleshly, or everything as you saw it before you met Christ, and the spiritual. There were many things going on in the world that you were completely unaware of before. You used to see them without seeing the spiritual, or God working in our world. Now, your eyes will be opened to God.

It is like looking at a photo that is an optical illusion. Your mind will be opened to seeing the same picture from another aspect.

Before, you had no idea that the world was created by God. It is very hard for any of us to fully understand that. Did you ever think, before, that a God was involved or interested in the things you do? Yet, as you put the word in your mind, and you watch the world to see how God works in it and the effects of living outside of any realization of this, the real world will come more in focus. The real world has God in it, a world without God is an illusion.

I live in Oregon in the US. Not long ago a man came into our state and established a huge ranch where he declared himself a sort of God. Hundreds moved there, giving him all their money and working for this guy. He got so powerful he took over the town near him. He put poison in the food of a restaurant. The state government had to get involved to stop him. Many people in Oregon saw this only from the material side, without God involved, as the people who knew God simply sat back, knowing he would be taken care of, and prayed. There was a huge prairie fire, it left the buildings for the people there intact but his house was burned to the ground. The leaders are in jail or dead, and the ranch now takes in teens in need of Christ.

The world will scoff at the idea of God being active in our world, but the reality is that God is! You will soon be able to see it as you grow in the word.

You have to trust God. Not expect Him to prove Himself to you, but trust that He is who He says He is. If you really look, you'll see His hand all around you. Just trust and believe. Diving into His word is the first step. The answers are all there.

Example of trust: My son works 1 day a week for our church. The problem has been how to get him there each week. He doesn't drive and I lost my car last in Feb. Each week it has just worked out. Someone from church has offered to go get him. A week ago my ex husband (where my son now lives) had to go out of town for the weekend, so I stayed at his place with my son and daughter and he left me his car. This week, being Holy week, my son has a lot to do for our church and I wondered how we'd work it all out. Had a phone call this evening from a church member asking if Dale needed a ride on Thursday and suggested he could stay with him this weekend to be there for Sunrise service, etc.

I don't think these things just happen, I think God orchestrates it all. I'm out of work but have been finding odd jobs to keep the bills paid.

Praise God! He is good.

If you want you can read a book called The Case for Christ for Lee Strobel.

Lee Strobel was an atheist lawyer who became a Christian and in his book the Case for Christ, he academically and intellectually proved the existence of God. Then after you get your answers you can start reading the bible.

Also, if you want, you can PM me and I can give you an email for a Christian Coptic Orhtodox Priest who can help you with ANY question you still have.

Animus is correct Sweet. There is a TON of information out there regarding the historical reliability of the New Testament. In fact, it is by far the most reliable ancient source we have. I don't say that simply because it's the Bible. I say that because by historic standards, we have far more evidence for it than any other ancient text. The problem is, we hear the atheists talking all the time trying to discredit it. You would find out how their objections have been pretty easily debunked with some research. Many Christians are intellectually lazy these days. And while the Holy Spirit brings faith, it's important we seek knowledge and understanding so we know WHY we believe what we believe and can defend it for those who ask. I would suggest checking out Lee Strobel, Sean McDowell and his father Josh Mcdowell. They have written a lot of books on these things in easy to understand language (for the layman). They also have lectures on youtube and other places =) There are plenty more authors but their works get a bit more complicated.