johnc5055

The type of questions you are asking are pretty big and tend to be hard to provide a coherent answer for. I think the reason is that questions about the existence of God are really several questions all rolled up in one. How do you answer several complex questions at once? There is no one brief way that I know of that is coherent and satisfying. If you can break out the underlying questions and examine them closely, it is possible to find sensible answers. A systematic argumentative discourse of the how and why is called apologetics. There is an apologetics forum here that breaks down the individual questions – maybe you’ve already seen it. There are some teachers that you could search for that I believe explain things in a coherent way; Stephen Myer, Ravi Zacharias, William Lane Craig, …, there are literally hundreds of them. Some are purely religious teachers and others are PHD’s in some field of science and happen to be Christian as well. You could search for the "Kalam Cosmological Argument", it's a good starting point. I think most Christians come to believe because of personal experiences more than convincing facts. My education is in engineering and I have always enjoyed the science/faith conversations, the things I can break down factually or mathematically. I enjoy pondering those things but they could never cause me to accept Christ. I saw the lives of people that I am close to be transformed in positive ways by something I did not understand and I wanted what they had, that was the first step to becoming a believer for me. Belief in God and in the bible for me is faith first and it is bolstered by my belief in creation, a personal creator, eternity, duality of man and the meaning of life. I am very comfortable with my belief about all of these things and I have no trouble explaining each of them to whomever may ask; my faith is a composite of these things. It is important to know why you believe what you believe and to be able to give a reasonable defense of your beliefs. I hope you find the answers you are looking for and I hope you seek out thoughtful discourse about whatever individual topic is foremost in your thinking. I truly believe that the God of the bible provides intellectually sound answers as well as eternal salvation.

I am protestant and I have two different study bibles, one non-study type of a different translation and one paraphrase. They all have their place for me (paraphrase is really only good to establish a flow or story line, not for study). I have started using electronic versions more and more for study because it is easier to switch from version to version and then to commentary. I love that I can carry several translations, a few commentaries and a concordance all in my cell phone. I recently listened to a Q&A with William Welty, he worked as a translator and editor on the ISV. It was interesting the hear him talk about why they chose to do this translation and what goes into it (they actually translated from source manuscripts rather than just re-translating an already translated version, which is what most versions do). His reasoning for why it was needed is sound and wise. I am not completely familiar with it yet but so far I think it will be my new favorite. My desire is to know Him through His word. I wish I was able to read what was penned by the original author but I can’t, I have to rely on a translator to make His word available to me. One thing a rabbi friend told me once – the Jews celebrate Hanukkah but there is no account of the Maccabean revolt in Jewish literature. The only modern OT version that has it is in the Roman Catholic bible, I & II Maccabees’. Apparently Jewish people too read more than one version from time to time.

Hi Joe, not sure if you are still following this. Something I discovered after several years of being Christian is that there is no act on my part that could cause me to be saved. I’m not sure why I didn’t pick that up sooner, it’s plain to see in scripture. I guess it’s just human nature to think I have to “do” something to get something. Baptism is a work. It is an important work; one we are all called to do but still a work – something we do. Some people sprinkle, some people dunk, some people skip it altogether and go to heaven anyway (the criminal on the cross next to Jesus comes to mind). We are not saved because of anything we have done or could do, we are saved because of what Jesus did. Our works glorify God but they cannot save us. Eph 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” If my salvation is a gift from God, then how can I earn it? That wouldn’t be a gift but rather a reward; the bible doesn’t say that. The work that earned my salvation happened over 2000 years ago without my intervention. It is not within my power to undo that work, only to accept it or reject it of my own free will.

Sony, I’m praying for you and I expect many others are as well. You are in the middle of a battle few can relate to and yet your concern seems split between your real and present physical condition and the well-being of your fiancé. I hope you can find a way to make sure that your emotional and spiritual needs are met as you go through this season in your life. You didn’t mention your interactions with family or the people from your church in your post – only your fiancé. Your needs are many and that is exactly as it should be. In my humble opinion you need the support of your loved ones and your church community as much as you do your physician and your man – each has a different role. No one person can be everything that you need right now (or any other time in your life for that matter). If you have not done so already perhaps you could ask someone in leadership at your church if they have a ministry suited to support you. If they do, please accept their support and participate as well as you can. Give God a chance to work through His people for your benefit – there really is nothing like it. If there is not a ministry available in your church, you could likely find one in your area that can help. Maybe you can post your city here and someone could make a suggestion. There is something else you mentioned that I would like to address. You mentioned giving up sex to feel closer to God, to bargain with Him for a healthy future. Please know that God doesn’t love you less because of sin – He loves you completely just as you are. If His love were conditional on our action’s we would all be in trouble. You are not being punished for your sin and our Lord would not punish you. He is a loving father. I have two daughters and there is nothing they could ever do to cause me to love them any less – they are mine and I am simply crazy about them. Your heavenly Father feels that way about you. Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. I have spent many years trying to understand His love for me and I cannot say I have grown any wiser for my trouble. What I have gained is a deep gratitude and affection towards Him because of what He has done for me. I still sin and I expect I always will but my motivation to not sin is born of gratitude towards a loving God; it is not out of fear of punishment. Do your best to obey and know that there is nothing you could do to cause Him to love you any less. That’s just not how my God rolls!

I am completely new here so not sure if this will be posted. I see myself in this question/comment. For me, "feeling" God is something that happens very rarely. I hear other believers talk about feeling God often – for me it just isn’t that way. This can be a source of doubt; why am I the odd man out – is something wrong? My fiancé is one of those who feels God at work in her life constantly and I can honestly say I envy that; it would be great but it just isn’t me. It is important to note that God asks us to trust Him, not feel Him. He has given me all that I need to trust Him – I found that I don’t need to feel Him to know He is there. I have strong evidence of God in my life and in the lives of people around me. This evidence strengthens my faith whether I feel anything or not. Faith is not an emotion; Hebrews 11:1 says faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. I have assurance and conviction because of the things that I see around me which I know to be true. I would also say that it is counterproductive to compare my faith with someone else’s. Beware of thinking a healthy walk with the Lord should look a certain way. There are telltale signs that scripture points out as evidence of the Spirit at work (fruit, works, love, …) but that doesn’t mean our walks all look the same. Men are generally very different from women in the “feeling” department and individuals are all over the place by every measure. We are one body with many parts – each part has its unique purpose. If I try to give a witness regarding my “feelings”, and those feelings are not what I think they should be, I run the risk of giving a false witness. I can only witness about those things I know to be true based on my own personal experience. Fortunately, that leaves me plenty to work with. God bless!