turquoise

Well, anyway, see you guys later. Thanks for the conversations.

Hell doesn't concern me. I know most Christians worry about hell to varying degrees. This is part of the reason why I pretend to be a Christian for the sake of my mother.

Thanks for the concern. I'm sure those are good points if I was more inclined to believe the basic premise.

Honestly, I annoy people wherever I go LOL, so no problem. You guys aren't going to persuade me to believe in the fundamentalist/evangelical Christianity, and I'm not going to persuade you either. It's fine

Sorry, I didn't mean to rain on the parade. I am beginning to feel like a lot of people around here would like me to leave. I have been trying to be polite and respectful, so I don't understand why I would have irritated people. Regardless, it is becoming obvious that most people here only want to fellowship with like-minded Christians. An unbeliever like myself who is not inclined to convert to Christianity is a skunk at the garden party. ... And that is o.k. You guys have a right to fellowship with each other and reinforce your faith without people like me disturbing the peace.

spark, maybe you should try a variety of Christian forums and a variety of churches? There are also Christian counselors.

My point was that "with all your heart" is nebulous.

Sorry, one more thought. You ought to verify with your friend that he remembers hearing his mother making the claim that your mother intended to use witchcraft. There is a small chance that you are becoming psychotic, and your memory is false. If your friend doesn't remember, then you probably need to go to a doctor.

"if you ... meant it with all your heart" That's what causes some people to doubt after going through the process you described.

^ If you believe your mother is putting anything in your food or beverages, then maybe you should consider moving out. It worries me to think that you might be consuming something harmful to your health. Be sure to drink plenty of water. That might help. IDK

Did God tell you to do ministry, or did you get the idea? Maybe the engineering career seems boring and you want something more special? Your desire to do ministry seems to be the source of conflict with your mother that apparently motivated her to resort to witchcraft in an attempt to make you do engineering. When I was trying to be a Christian, I really wanted to join a monastery. I think that monasticism was my idea instead of God's idea, and my fixation on that idea caused me to harm myself and my faith in many ways. Maybe try to be patient and let God show you His plans for you instead of fixating on the most obvious thing (doing ministry). You can serve God by being an engineer. The Bible says that there are many ways to serve the church, and the Holy Spirit gives each person different gifts to allow him/her to do some unique job. Also, be sure to be obedient and respectful to your mother. When you scolded your mother in your dream for using witchcraft, the result was not good. So it seems to me that God might have been warning you against correcting your mother. Maybe if you focus on loving your mother, then she will lose interest in the witchcraft. These are just ideas of course. I'm pretty mixed-up, so I probably shouldn't give advice to others LOL

If I understand correctly, the OP's mother told the friend's mother that she intended to use witchcraft to make her son (the OP) more obedient. The friend's mother did not tell anybody, because she was afraid that the OP's mother would use witchcraft against her too. After hearing of the OP's dream, the friend's mother told the OP what his mother had told her.

JayaPrakash, several years ago I thought somebody was trying to harm me through witchcraft or voodoo or something. At the time, my strategy was to pray that God would bless whoever was trying to curse me. That goes along with other teaching of Jesus such as turning the other cheek and going the extra mile. Also there is the commandment "honor your father and your mother". Maybe going to engineering school isn't such a bad idea. (Maybe I'm biased, because I went to engineering school LOL) Another possibility would be to tell your mother about your dream (without telling her about your conversation with your friend's mother). BTW, I don't know if I actually experienced witchcraft. I'm just telling you what I thought several years ago and how I handled the problem. Today I am much more skeptical and atheistic.

BK1110, I quoted a paragraph below from the OP. It seems that he has more evidence than the dream if I understand correctly.

Thanks for this post. As an atheist, I sometimes wonder if I should try to lead my family and friends into a state of disbelief. I pretend to have some nominal belief in Christianity, because my mother would be distressed for her son to be "going to hell", and I try to show respect to their beliefs by pretending that I nominally agree. I never know if my strategy is the correct one. Shouldn't I give them the truth as I see it, instead of assuming that they are better-off with the status quo of their false beliefs? Why is truth better than delusion? If delusion makes a person's life better, then maybe the delusion should be left undisturbed. On the other hand, the benefit of delusion depends on the circumstances. Often Christianity causes unhappiness, distress, bigotry too. How many gays and lesbians have struggled needlessly with their sexuality, because they were Christians? Of course not all the bigotry against homosexuals derives from the Bible, but it is a factor. That is only one example. When I went to bed last night, I felt a militant resolve to do my tiny part in wiping-out the delusion of Christianity. I read your post, and I felt that it might be best to hold my tongue and let people believe as long as possible. It's a tricky issue IMO