6 Reasons I Could Lose My Faith

[River Jordan]

No.....not me. :lol:

I came across this blog post from a Pastor...

SIX REASONS I COULD LOSE MY FAITH

It's an interesting read. I took it as coming from a person who has quite a bit of courage to not only ask himself some very tough questions, but post them publicly as well. As you can see from the comments section, his post has sorta gone viral among atheists (which is why I didn't bother posting a comment). And actually, I can relate to a couple of them. I'll be curious to see his follow-up post where he describes his way of addressing these issues.

 

[liafailrock]

Much of what is called Christianity and biblical faith is not really that at all. So I can understand his one point asking how he had the true religion. He probably does not, but rather Satan deceived the whole world (Revelation 12:9).

Regarding his point that the gospel does not relate to his life personally, again, that's because from what I read he does not understand the gospel. One lady commenter mentioned how this same point was how she became agnostic because she could not understand how many people around the world would perish in hell to which her grandmother explained missionaries were sent there. I don't think grandma understands about people who lived prior to Christ's time in all the nations -- this is the fallacy of beliving in the idea that salvation is today only (as opposed to a few being called now to become the church) and that if one does not make it the this time around, they burn forever and ever and ever, amen and amen! (Forget what the bible says about death-- it really means eternal life in torment). Until Christians wake up and see false doctrine (i.e. getting saved, dying and going to heaven) and stop trying to defend idiocy to atheists and agnostics, the skeptics will be set in their ways, and indeed win the arguement. At least get things right and then maybe they will think that Christianity does make sense. I'm sure my avatar/theologian buddy Sir Isaac Newton would give any agnostic a run for their money. But the masses and sheeple are too quick to pronounce brilliant minds like this as a "heretic" and totally dumb themselves up. But most importantly, I don't try to do the converting for God. That's his business. My job is to be a witness, an example, and to preach the coming Kingdom of God. If they are not called at that time, there's not diddly I can do about it.

 

[DPMartin]

I have seen most of that many times in forums that are Christian and are really populated with atheists and philosophy forum’s religion sections. They are all justifications to judge for themselves what is good. As much as these people hate the Lord God of Israel, they can’t change mankind’s need to believe in a god or there is a god of any sort that works for them.

The bottom line is they believe the intellect is to know, and that is a delusion on their part, experience is to know. Revelation is knowing, and the Lord God has the right to choose who He will know and will know Him. Just as most of these believe they have the right to choose. Choose what? There is only One Creator and Judge of all things. There is no choice, any judgement other than God’s Judgement is death.

Note that this guy may have questions but never mentions bringing them before the Lord, or asking Him why. But he certainly has answers of his own, and trusts in his own judgement of things, even God?

"Reasons" to not believe is what is entertained here. "If you are the Son of God", or "Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" so on and so forth, the testing for reasons to not trust God’s Judgement as good, which is expressed in His Word.

 

[ATP]

John 6:47 NIV Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.

John 10:25-30 NIV Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and the Father are one.”

Rom 8:1-2 NIV Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Rom 8:31-39 ESV What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Eph 1:13-14 NIV And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Eph 4:30 NIV And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Heb 9:12 NLT With his own blood--not the blood of goats and calves--he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

Heb 10:10-12 NIV And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.

1 Peter 1:3-5 NIV Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 John 5:13-14 NIV I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14This is the confidence we have in approaching God:

2 John 1:2 NIV because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

 

[justaname]

Great post River! You know I was just thinking from the other perspective here earlier today. I was not raised in the church or born a Christian. I was a religious pluralist/universalist. I looked into many religions and took what I liked coming to my own beliefs creating my own god. I even read into different philosophies boiling down what I believed to be the "truths" all of these had to offer. Yet my life was not on a path of righteousness, nor was I content.

I have been blessed with a powerful faith. It was through great oppression and tiresome struggles that I came to faith in the Christian God. God bringing me so low, forced me to rely upon Him and not my own abilities. I cried out to him in desperation and passionate conviction seeking Him in earnest and He was gracious to reveal Himself to me. I am forever grateful and extol His name above all others.

This experience emboldened my beliefs and drove me into research to understand and better manifest the Christian faith I proclaimed. I studied the scriptures and eventually enrolled into college seeking a degree in biblical studies. Armed with the scriptures and education I am able to weather any storm and not be swayed by different philosophies or convictions.

All of this to say I was wondering how and why people's faith wained. This article is interesting as I see this man's struggle with faith. It reminds me of this verse: work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.


What I find interesting and telling in the article is the duplicity of worldviews the author is struggling with. It seems he is shaken from the interpretations of mainstream science coupled with the lack of archeological evidence supporting the historical biblical narrative. Also his life and experiences do not reflect a supernatural reality. This here is a tension that is not easily bridged.

I do not dismiss the scientific method, yet the effects of positivism are witnessed throughout all major scientific, sociological, philosophical, and psychological fields of study. This then affects the starting point in any model thus affecting the conclusion of any observation. With naturalism and dismissal of God bred into nearly every field a priori, one need not wonder why it would seem science and belief in God are at odds.


I used this post and wrote another one for the blog...

 

[River Jordan]

Great post River! You know I was just thinking from the other perspective here earlier today. I was not raised in the church or born a Christian. I was a religious pluralist/universalist. I looked into many religions and took what I liked coming to my own beliefs creating my own god. I even read into different philosophies boiling down what I believed to be the "truths" all of these had to offer. Yet my life was not on a path of righteousness, nor was I content.

I have been blessed with a powerful faith. It was through great oppression and tiresome struggles that I came to faith in the Christian God. God bringing me so low, forced me to rely upon Him and not my own abilities. I cried out to him in desperation and passionate conviction seeking Him in earnest and He was gracious to reveal Himself to me. I am forever grateful and extol His name above all others.

This experience emboldened my beliefs and drove me into research to understand and better manifest the Christian faith I proclaimed. I studied the scriptures and eventually enrolled into college seeking a degree in biblical studies. Armed with the scriptures and education I am able to weather any storm and not be swayed by different philosophies or convictions.

Great testimony! :)

What I find interesting and telling in the article is the duplicity of worldviews the author is struggling with. It seems he is shaken from the interpretations of mainstream science coupled with the lack of archeological evidence supporting the historical biblical narrative. Also his life and experiences do not reflect a supernatural reality. This here is a tension that is not easily bridged.

If I were to post a comment there, that's the issue I would address. Hopefully in his follow-up post, he'll touch on that.

I do not dismiss the scientific method, yet the effects of positivism are witnessed throughout all major scientific, sociological, philosophical, and psychological fields of study. This then affects the starting point in any model thus affecting the conclusion of any observation.

I'm hoping that he'll later explain that he understands how positivism isn't the best approach to everything.

With naturalism and dismissal of God bred into nearly every field a priori, one need not wonder why it would seem science and belief in God are at odds.

I would put that differently. It's not that the sciences "dismiss God", it's that by the very way we define God, it puts God outside of science's purview. We can't really blame science for that.

 

[justaname]

Just on the subject of positivism...

You probably already know this but it is self refuting...

 

[Barrd]

Unlike Justaname, I came to my faith as a little child.
There were no struggles for me. I knew from the very beginning Who I wanted to follow.
My grandmother gave me my very first 'Big Girl' Bible for Christmas the year I turned 12. It was a gorgeous thing...bound in real white leather with gold letters, with those tissue thin pages edged in gold leaf, and magnificent reproductions of classic paintings as illustrations...with words of Christ in red. It had a zipper, and the zipper pull was a tiny cross with a diamond in it. It was a King James, of course, but I had already read and loved Midsummer Night's Dream and rolled with laughter at The Merchant of Venice. I was years ahead of my class as far as reading ability and literature were concerned....even if I was woefully behind in Math...
Toys, other books, and clothes in a forgotten heap on the living room floor, I grabbed that wonderful book and ran to my bedroom, where I excitedly dived in...I had read the entire thing, cover to cover, before Easter. In fact, I read Matthew and Luke a couple of times...even copied out bits of John. I was hopelessly and helplessly the slave of the Man Jesus...oh, I loved everything about Him. How I wept when I read of His crucifixion....indeed, I still weep to this day!
That was 53 years ago....I will be 65 in exactly 28 days, give or take a few hours...and I've read it I-don't-know-how-many-times since those early days.

Did I mention that I was also an epileptic? No, not as a child...it didn't develop until years later, on into my thirties....about the time my husband was killed. Oh, how I prayed...I begged God to take it from me....but He did not.
And then, one day, the seizures just stopped. And I knew....don't ask me how, but I knew....the siege was over. God had finally heard my prayer and released me.
I've been seizure free for about eight years now...
That's not the only supernatural event that I could tell you guys about....but not tonight. The point is that God has not changed. He is still the same God that He ever was.

I think we all experience the kind of "dark night of the soul" that the man in the article is talking about. I would love to lie and tell you guys that I have never doubted my faith....but I can't do that. There was the awful time after my husband was killed...and again, when my precious son lost his life in a freak accident in the desert...and a few other times I don't like to remember. Oh, yes....I have shaken my fist at the heavens in my impotent anger...why, I wanted to know...why would God take MY husband....why MY child? Why would He allow these things to happen to MY family?
Of course, there was no answer. Only a cold, gray sky....
God merely held me until my wrath was spent, and then gently set me back on my feet again.
People have commented on "what a strong woman" they think I am....but I do assure you, it is not so. Rather, it is what an awesome God I belong to....