I have the same issue. On the one hand knowing apologetics is really helpful, especially if you want to witness to others.
However on the other hand I don't really want to
know and deal with all those arguments against the faith cause I worry that this
would create even more confusion and doubt.
What if I am exposed to arguments against the faith and don't know how to disarm them? Then this would drag me down.
I am also not good at coming up with own answers to issues or questions. I usually have to ask other people for input and they usually
know an answer.
What I also found is that some arguments FOR the faith don't really work for me either. For example if an apologist tries to calculate
the statistical probability of prophecies being fulfilled and then comes up with a tiny number. Such an argument doesn't really do much
for me cause it's too abstract. Arguments which try to prove God's existence somehow don't do much for me.
Also the reasons why I believe in God are highly personal and subjective. If I tried to tell them to another person then this person might
not be impressed by them at all. I think it's possible that an argument is very convincing to one person while another person doesn't find
it convincing.
I don't really think that God can be proven. Even if God's existence could be proved then a lot of people who still reject Him, just look
at what's described in the book of Revelation. In the end you also have to want to believe, which I do. I just wish I had a super strong
unwavering faith.
Imagine you had an experience with God then your faith would be at 100% and you'd be much bolder and you could also speak
to nonbelievers in a much different way. Then you could just tell me "Listen pal! I've experienced God. I know that He's real. Either believe
me or think I'm crazy".
Of course it wouldn't make sense to say this to everbody. But if you said this to people who know you and trust you, like relatives, then this might impress them and make them wonder if maybe there is a God.
Also if you were confronted with arguments against the bible or God then this wouldn't affect you anymore at all cause of your experience.
I really wish I could have had something like this. In my first years as a christian I hoped I could just get such an experience and then everything would be good but I didn't. I went to christian meetings and different churches for prayer, always hoping for this big breakthrough, but it didn't happen and I don't know why. I imagine that if I had been able to experience God then this would have changed
my whole path. Then instead of tripping on the spot I might have actually made progress and "grown".
What also sucks is when I watch testimonies from christians who had supernatural encounters with God and who make it look so easy
then I feel even worse and wonder is it my fault? Why can't I have what they have?
@ Nancy
Are you still exposing yourself to calvinistic/LS stuff? If yes then you should totally avoid it. I cannot even listen to christian ministers
who argue AGAINST calvinism and who play excerpts from calvinists in their videos! I cannot even stand listening to those excerpts cause
they already drag me down. It's crazy. To me it's pure poison.
JB Hixson, among others, has a lot of really good material about this.
Not By Works Ministries advances the clear, accurate, and urgent Gospel message while providing commentary and insights on current events through the lens of Scripture. For more information please visit www.NotByWorks.org or call 1-800-895-1851.
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You said: Faith is a muscle and no matter how hard it can be, we need to continually get up and dust ourselves off, and start over.
I don't even know if my problem is actually with faith. I think that my problem is rather with fear/doubt!
I mean in the bible it says that a double-minded man gets nothing from God. Such verses are totally discouraging to me!
Then I feel like I'm in a hopeless pit and unless I can somehow fix my problems God simply cannot help me!
There are also a lot of christians who teach stuff like "doubt cancels out faith" or "if you doubt then God cannot answer your prayer".
I simply have no solution for this problem! I was told stuff by ministers like "proclaim bible verses" which led to nothing it only made
me feel like a hamster in a hamster wheel.
I wish I could go back to when I started as a christian and had not yet been exposed to some of the damaging arguments. In my opinion
it's impossible to have a childlike faith when at the same time you're told stuff like "God isn't your genie" or "God may say yes or God may say no".
Imagine you're a new christian and you read some of those super bold statements from Jesus where He says "believe you receive and you shall have it" or where it says that if God was willing to sacrifice Jesus for us how much more will He be willing to give us everything we need,
and you want to just accept this with a childlike faith, then as soon as you hear your pastor or another christian "explain" that these verses
do not mean what they seem to be saying then your childlike faith is dead!
Just one example. Once I confronted a pastor with verses from psalms which say "who healeth all your diseases and who forgiveth all your
iniquities" and he just said "the psalms aren't doctrine." So according to him the psalms promise that God heals all our diseases but in reality
this isn't true or cannot be taken at face value!
What if today we see little healing because the faith in healing has been systematically eroded? I don't know. But it's definitely discouraging when the bible promises something and then you're told "Naaah, that's not what it means".
How on earth is a person supposed to have a childlike faith under such circumstances? It's simply impossible.
