Newbie - unsure

[Vimes]

Hi all

Sorry long post.

If you were to ask me I would say I was an atheist. For several years now I have been questioning this belief. What if I am wrong, and I am starting to believe I have got it very wrong.

This all started 10 years ago whilst working in a Sikh temple. I was at the time shocked at the heart warming welcome I got when attending the temple to carry out work. During this time I realised how ignorant I was of not only their culture but my own.
Whilst there I spent a lot of time talking with one elderly gentleman about their beliefs. I found it fascinating, and I spent a lot of time reconsidering and questioning some of my own beliefs.
I have very fond memories of visiting the temple for work and the kindness I was shown.

I did start to research the Christian faith, mainly using information from the Church of England website.
But never really went any further.

Last year I found a copy of the bible. Which I sat down and worked my way through.
It really wasn't what I was expecting. Granted the vast majority of it went over my head. But I was shocked. Numerous passages made me stop and reevaluate my life, life in general and my view on faith.

I recently started attending church. Something I never thought I would do. And again I was shocked. I was shown the same very warm welcome and kindness that I received at the sikh temple.
And parts of the services have made me take stock and reevaluate my beliefs.

And now I find myself questioning myself if that makes sense.

What is it to have faith?
What leads to faith?
What does your faith mean to you?
Am I overthinking this (yes)
Is it the journey that is important, with every new day being part of that journey?

I will continue with attending church and studying the bible.

Apologies for the long post. And thank you if you have made it this far.

 

[dev553344]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Christianity changes a persons heart to become more loving and caring of others. And that is important for a healthy society. I'm sure others will have good input here. Cheers!

 

[thelord's_pearl]

hi, welcome to Christianity Board!

 

[Gottservant]

Hi all

Sorry long post.

If you were to ask me I would say I was an atheist. For several years now I have been questioning this belief. What if I am wrong, and I am starting to believe I have got it very wrong.

[...]

Apologies for the long post. And thank you if you have made it this far.

I think my brother @dev553344 said it best when he said it was a matter of the heart (do you know what is in your heart?).

By extension I would point out that it is "about the heart" because the heart determines whether the soul lives or dies (do you know whether your soul will live or die? Eternally?).

Be encouraged, many have faced the question of faith before you, you do not need to come up with a new answer - the Holy Spirit is able to deliver you, from sin, death and evil (which means if you trust Him, your soul will live and your heart will be changed).

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Aunty Jane]

Hi all

Sorry long post.

If you were to ask me I would say I was an atheist. For several years now I have been questioning this belief. What if I am wrong, and I am starting to believe I have got it very wrong.

This all started 10 years ago whilst working in a Sikh temple. I was at the time shocked at the heart warming welcome I got when attending the temple to carry out work. During this time I realised how ignorant I was of not only their culture but my own.
Whilst there I spent a lot of time talking with one elderly gentleman about their beliefs. I found it fascinating, and I spent a lot of time reconsidering and questioning some of my own beliefs.
I have very fond memories of visiting the temple for work and the kindness I was shown.

I did start to research the Christian faith, mainly using information from the Church of England website.
But never really went any further.

Last year I found a copy of the bible. Which I sat down and worked my way through.
It really wasn't what I was expecting. Granted the vast majority of it went over my head. But I was shocked. Numerous passages made me stop and reevaluate my life, life in general and my view on faith.

I recently started attending church. Something I never thought I would do. And again I was shocked. I was shown the same very warm welcome and kindness that I received at the sikh temple.
And parts of the services have made me take stock and reevaluate my beliefs.

And now I find myself questioning myself if that makes sense.

What is it to have faith?
What leads to faith?
What does your faith mean to you?
Am I overthinking this (yes)
Is it the journey that is important, with every new day being part of that journey?

I will continue with attending church and studying the bible.

Apologies for the long post. And thank you if you have made it this far.

Matthew 7:7-9....Jesus' own words...
"Keep on asking, and it will be given you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you; 8 for everyone asking receives, and everyone seeking finds, and to everyone knocking, it will be opened."

He also said...."No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him". . . . " “This is why I have said to you, no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

So if you have the qualities that God is looking for, he will "draw" you to his truth. No one can come to the Father unless it is by means of the son...and no one can come to the son without an invitation from his Father.

We have to really want to know God and keep seeking for his truth.......God and his son will do the rest.

 

[sheariah07]

Hi all

Sorry long post.

If you were to ask me I would say I was an atheist. For several years now I have been questioning this belief. What if I am wrong, and I am starting to believe I have got it very wrong.

This all started 10 years ago whilst working in a Sikh temple. I was at the time shocked at the heart warming welcome I got when attending the temple to carry out work. During this time I realised how ignorant I was of not only their culture but my own.
Whilst there I spent a lot of time talking with one elderly gentleman about their beliefs. I found it fascinating, and I spent a lot of time reconsidering and questioning some of my own beliefs.
I have very fond memories of visiting the temple for work and the kindness I was shown.

I did start to research the Christian faith, mainly using information from the Church of England website.
But never really went any further.

Last year I found a copy of the bible. Which I sat down and worked my way through.
It really wasn't what I was expecting. Granted the vast majority of it went over my head. But I was shocked. Numerous passages made me stop and reevaluate my life, life in general and my view on faith.

I recently started attending church. Something I never thought I would do. And again I was shocked. I was shown the same very warm welcome and kindness that I received at the sikh temple.
And parts of the services have made me take stock and reevaluate my beliefs.

And now I find myself questioning myself if that makes sense.

What is it to have faith?
What leads to faith?
What does your faith mean to you?
Am I overthinking this (yes)
Is it the journey that is important, with every new day being part of that journey?

I will continue with attending church and studying the bible.

Apologies for the long post. And thank you if you have made it this far.

Hello Vimes.
I'd like to give some short answers to your questions.

What is it to have faith?

Faith is believing in something that is unseen which influences every aspect of our lives and every decision that we make. You can find what is faith in Hebrews 11. For example, God warned Noah about the destruction of the earth because of the wickedness of men and told him to build an ark. By faith, that means, he believed what God told him, and therefore he believed in God's existence itself, he obeyed and built an ark.

What leads to faith?

Hearing leads to faith, and hearing by the Word of God.

Romans 10:14 AMP
But how will people call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher (messenger)?

Romans 10:17 KJ21
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

What does your faith mean to you?

Faith is believing the good news of Jesus Christ and believing everything that the bible says.

Am I overthinking this (yes)

I would say that your overthinking is your best friend right now.

Is it the journey that is important, with every new day being part of that journey?

Absolutely yes.

 

[GRACE ambassador]

I will continue with attending church and studying the bible.

Apologies for the long post. And thank you if you have made it this far.

Precious friend, A Very Warm Welcome to the Board.
If you are still 'unsure' please review:

Grace, Peace, Mercy And Love

And then:
Please Be Very Richly Encouraged And Edified In The
Lord Jesus Christ And In His Word Of Truth, Rightly
Divided ( I and II ). PG rated "Approved"

PG = Perfect God / Parental Guidance

 

[quietthinker]

Hello Vimes

 

[Gottservant]

Hi all

Sorry long post.


[...]

Apologies for the long post. And thank you if you have made it this far.

Something to think about: if you are doubtful about your faith, consider doing a miracle.

Jesus said "he who works a miracle in my Name, does not soon after speak evil of Me"

Even if all you do is have faith in life, that is miraculous in the end - try something and see if God will not make it possible (that you do a miracle)!

 

[Vimes]

Hi all.

Thank you all for the replies.

I've had some time to reflect, do further reading, journaling and have talked with a couple of people who I met at church.
I have been returning to the question of faith for some time now.

Old habits and ways of thinking can be difficult to change. I'm a creature of habit and am guilty of staying within my comfort zone.

Studying the Bible, spending time in prayer, attending church and talking with those I have met have all made me question old beliefs and habits.

All in a good way. In a way that I really never expected. I have, at times, found a peace and a calm that I have not felt before.

So it looks like I'm onboard for the journey.

 

[Jericho]

Welcome aboard. We all have a measure of faith, whether atheist, theist, or whatever. We all believe in something that we can't definitively prove. I think it comes down to what we choose to believe in, and it is a choice. You can have all the evidence in the world and still not believe something. Ultimately, it's more a matter of the heart than the mind. So, don't try to overthink it.

 

[strepho]

Hello friend. You either have faith or you don't. Jame's chapter 2.
Hebrews, You can't please God without faith.
Start with genesis in the bible, old testament. Read from beginning to revelation, new testament.
I strongly recommend you have or buy a king James companion bible and STRONGS concordance.
The old testament is Hebrew translation to English.
The new testament is Greek translation to English. You need strong concordance to go back to the Hebrew or Greek.
In hosea chapter 7.
The mistranslation of Baker is anger.
I hope this helps.

 

[Matthias]

Hi all.

Thank you all for the replies.

I've had some time to reflect, do further reading, journaling and have talked with a couple of people who I met at church.
I have been returning to the question of faith for some time now.

Old habits and ways of thinking can be difficult to change. I'm a creature of habit and am guilty of staying within my comfort zone.

Studying the Bible, spending time in prayer, attending church and talking with those I have met have all made me question old beliefs and habits.

All in a good way. In a way that I really never expected. I have, at times, found a peace and a calm that I have not felt before.

So it looks like I'm onboard for the journey.

When I read this I couldn’t help but think about the parable of the sower (Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 8) and wonder, where are you now in your journey?

 

[Vimes]

When I read this I couldn’t help but think about the parable of the sower (Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 8) and wonder, where are you now in your journey?

Hi

I think/feel I am slowly building my faith.
I spend time each morning with a bible passage and prayer. Coming back to it later in the evening.
I look forward to church, which has been a great help and given me a lot to reflect upon.

Someone once gave me some very good advice. Baby steps - which is how I am approaching my journey.

One thing I have noticed and hope it makes sense is...

For many years I have felt that the world around me moves to fast. That trying to keep up is exhausting and increasingly I just do not want to try. I put this down to my age and generally getting old.
Recently I've noticed a sense of calm that I do not remember having before. I'm noticing things around me that make me feel glad to be alive.
The robin in the garden chasing off the sparrows from the bird feeder.
The mist over the river on a crisp cold morning as I drive to work.
The deer in the nearby woodland as I go for a walk.

Modern life still moves to fast and I still find myself getting caught up in it.

 

[Pearl]

I did start to research the Christian faith, mainly using information from the Church of England website.
But never really went any further.

I think you may need to research Jesus himself as he is the only way to become a Christian. Not the churches. Churches are fallible, Jesus is not. If it's a relationship with Jesus you want, rather than religion, then look only to Jesus. There's a lot of stuff about him in a bible.

 

[amigo de christo]

I think you may need to research Jesus himself as he is the only way to become a Christian. Not the churches. Churches are fallible, Jesus is not. If it's a relation with Jesus you want, rather than religion, then look only to Jesus. There's a lot of stuff about him in a bible.

 

[amigo de christo]

I think you may need to research Jesus himself as he is the only way to become a Christian. Not the churches. Churches are fallible, Jesus is not. If it's a relation with Jesus you want, rather than religion, then look only to Jesus. There's a lot of stuff about him in a bible.

That my dear sister IS THE RIGHT THING TO SAY and TO DO . POINT all that has breath to JESUS CHRIST . The ONLY name
whereby we may be saved .

 

[Pearl]

That my dear sister IS THE RIGHT THING TO SAY and TO DO . POINT all that has breath to JESUS CHRIST . The ONLY name
whereby we may be saved .

 

[amigo de christo]

Thats right , TURN THIS PLACE INTO A FESTIVAL OF PRAISE WITH THANKSGIVINGS UNTO THE GLORIOUS LORD .