Struggling With The Faith

Post Reply New Topic

I have not grown up in a Christian home. My mom had several eras when she went to church and sometimes we were forced to go. But as we got older, it was whatever.

Now, when I was 19, I got into this open basketball night at a church. Then I attended services sometimes Sunday. I coached basketball there for kids also. I've been involved with this church for almost 6 years. I met a great older friend there. He is married, two kids--a son and younger daughter, one son left the world too soon.
He is very big into his faith. He and other older colleagues of his. The church has many campuses but I go to the one that was just built. It is a smaller community. This is actually the best church I have ever experienced.

They are extremely diverse. They sing songs in Spanish and Swahili. Not extremely biased. They even had a sermon about sex and homosexuality, positively. The lead pastor is very great and wise.

But I just still have some gripes about this whole thing. I have never been a Christian. I believe it is a higher power up there. I have attended some Bible studies. And many things about that book just rubs me the wrong way.
I don't like being told how I should think. And I do not like being convicted for thoughts I cannot even control. I am human at the end of the day.

There was a question during a Bible study, saying that: What about the people on remote islands and in the deep vast jungles that know nothing of God nor Jesus? Are they condemned to be punished?
The Bible somehow combats that saying, there is no excuse. God will show himself, somehow, some way to everyone on Earth and it is up to them to accept it or not.

I do not believe that. That is not valiant. Those people know nothing of God. They will probably never know. This question reigned deeper into me once I watched a documentary on North Korea. Those people aren't allowed: cell phones, Youtube, Facebook, books on western history, NOTHING! From the time you are born in North Korea, you are programmed to know that Kim Jong-un is your God and the reason you are breathing, and if you don't you die. You'll never know about Jesus, God, Christianity unless it is smuggled into that country or you manage to escape. Are these people deemed to punishment? It isn't even their fault.

I am Autistic and already seen externally as a mental case, but, I do not like being programmed. To have a lustful thought of a girl in a nice dress walking by and you are married is a sin. But how? You are a man after all. No matter what, the thought just pops up in there. No matter how much you repent, this will always happen because you are a man. The same for a woman.

Science and religion cannot coexist. The art of being human and religion, can that coexist? What is actually sin? They say sin is sin. But it is obviously levels to that, hierarchies. It is like religion requires so much of you, so much of your soul that you don't even have time to figure out who you really are.

Whatever God says is the truth and whatever God tells us to do, we should do it.

Can you agree with me on that ?

Well, as for people out in "the bush", etc., being condemned to Hell----I feel the Bible meant that if you are made-aware of God, and reject God, THEN you are condemned. IMO, it's the same with babies..... How could a baby possibly "know" God? I feel, though, that God takes babies "home", to be with Him!

As for lustful feelings----that is the OLD Testament----Jesus saw / said things, DIFFERENTLY. He told us He knew we were gonna "slip", and basically, he just wanted us to try our best!

As for science and religion, co-existing----I think it's QUITE possible! I, myself, can see how someone could believe in the theory of evolution, and / or the big bang theory----I just believe that if either of those things happened, God had a hand in it.

I'm seeing that a very common way to look at religion is like YOU do----in that, you don't like people telling you how to think----but, I'M thinking that that's not necessarily what people are doing (generally, of course). I'm thinking that the people just MIGHT be putting the information "out there", and leaving it to YOUR interpretation, and that the overall message is that God just wants us to love Him, love each other, and try to help each other out----and, of course, there's that thing about not killing each other, too.

As for religion requiring so much of you----I don't feel like religion requires any more of us, than what I previously said about loving each other, etc. I think some of us put the requirements on OURSELVES because we feel overwhelmed, because we don't feel we have a full understanding, of it. I feel that way about MOST things for which I don't have adequate knowledge.....

Relax----just try to be a good person----and, you know..... Try not to kill anybody!!

shaded, i relate to you completely.

I have a hard time understanding why lack of faith or none at all is considered a bad thing. But then again religion was never a huge deal when I was a kid. We'd celebrate Christmas and Easter but we never went to midnight mass, we'd traditionally visit our friends and relatives on Dec. 24th, And Lent? Is that where you fast or give up stuff you like before Easter or something?

I did go to a religious school when I was a kid though. I remember being puzzled when I wasn't given communion wafers or had ashes marked on my forehead but other kids in my class did.

I am a good person at heart. Appreciate the things I have and grow with. I try to help those who needed much as I can. I just think too rationally for my own good it gets me in trouble sometimes.

I remember this argument with my ex. She grew up heavily in a Christian home but considered the black sheep of the family.

There's this show called Whale Wars. The guy in the show says: "Will you risk your life, to save a whale". I said it to her just to be funny. She replied no. And I said, oh no why not? They are mammals like us!

She said no they are not like us. I say, I am not saying they are exactly like us I am saying we are in the same animal kingdom. She argues it again and I just say oh well screw it. Full dumbass. Shows how much you know.

She was trying to make it seem like I said they were our next of kin or something.
You guys give off good point of views. And just express how I feel. To see if someone feels similar or have some other insights. I rarely discuss religion with anyone. I asked myself why did I go to church. I think it was for the philosophy and the positive messages sent. I liked that.

Faith is a waste of time and is stupid you only need yourself and your friends to be strong! Praying does not solve your problems taking action does!

You might check out Unitarianism . They encourage you to create your own theology, and you would have church-type community to belong to (without the dogma).

But if you stick with mainstream Protestantism then the church you already go to sounds quite nonjudgemental, and inclusive.

I used to be involved with a church, which happened to a UU, and being involved got me out of my aspie comfort zone, and got me to do stuff like get involved with planning commitees (like a grownup). Religion, and church, are really two different subjects. Being involved in a community like a church is generally a good thing for aspies IMHO. But picking a theology is another subject.

Don't the Catholics have "Limbo"? The place where "virtuous Pagans", and "unbaptized babies" go?

The recent Popes, and the Eastern Orthodox Churches, don't seem to have the problems with evolution that American Protestants have. So Christianity, and the scientific world view of an old gradually evolving cosmos may not be so incompatible. Depends upon the denomination.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I just had to share my view on this, as I have pondered about this for some time now. Every year it seems to go further.

In my conversations with Christians, I don't think many accept everything their church teaches. I personally am not a church goer, but if you like the fellowship, then go there and don't worry about the other things.

When I go to the Sunday services and listen to the sermons (if I don't fall asleep Lol) most of the time they have positive philosophies and life lessons. And the community there is nice. The pickup basketball night also has some church in it because the guy who runs it stops us for about 30 mins and gives us some scripture or primarily talks about growing up and being men in life.

Slave you made me laugh with that last reply, but I get what you're saying. Lol

I like some aspects of Christian thought and I love Christos whom I know wanted so badly to help mankind in a time that was very turbulent and dark, but I don't always see eye to eye with modern Christians who are too literal about the Bible and I don't like being bullied by them. A few of them are outwardly hostile in their attitude while others do exhibit that graceful light in their faces, which is what I like most about them. You can see how Christos helped them just by looking at their eyes and the smiles on their faces which are the types of Christians I feel best about.

Once I came in contact with this Christian group and I will never forget the hatred and anger in the face of this one woman, I mean she was just dripping with it. I have trouble figuring out subtle nuances in facial expressions but when they just radiate this energy with every cell I can definitely tell and I find it troubling that someone would be so angry. Others in the group were really wonderfully sweet and kind, but the one woman was very belligerent and reminiscent of a member of a cult out to brainwash whomever she could. It made me feel very uncomfortable but if it were not for her, I would have felt better about them in general.

I think most (if not all) religions are tools to control people, for programming their minds. Of course some religions promote good values, but I'm sure that it isn't the best thing to stick to those values just for fear of what's going to happen to us if we don't follow them. The values that we follow must be based on something greater than religion or fear, and when a person loses the faith in a god for some reason, still can be a person of good if there are other reasons to believe and follow good values than just for fear of going to hell for example.

Some years ago I used to have a strong belief in a god, and later I realized that I was justifying all the time god's indirect ways of communicate or showing his existence, all time was me who interpreted certain events and circumstances in a way I could give credit of those to god. And when someone is in some way obsessed with a belief, it's easy to do that, to see all things from a perspective that confirms our beliefs.

So don't worry if you're not sure of having a religion, or disagree with it's statemens, or having a god. You can find out true principles and determine your own values that adhere to those principles, and be a good person if that's what you want.