Believing in the bible is ruining my life...

[cardero]

Believing in the bible is ruining my life...

Have you even given comic books a chance???

 

[Caladan]

So..he is selective? Basically then he chooses those who get to be saved and everyone else can be damned to eternal punishement? That doesn't sound very loving...

The damned ones get the mark of the beast on their forehead, the saved get 'Y' ( for Yahweh) tattooed on their bums.

 

[Madhuri]

The damned ones get the mark of the beast on their forehead, the saved get 'Y' ( for Yahweh) tattooed on their bums.

Now -that- sounds more realistic. I'm totally converting

 

[Just_me_Mike]

What part of your religion do you want to be true?

I want the whole bible to be true. Of which I know some of it is not literal, but some of it is quite literal. I want that to be true.

I want salvation to be true, I want my understanding of the bible to be true (wishful thinking I know)

Most of all I want my God to be true, and that he loves us so much He treats us like equals, and has made a way for us to know Him directly and without question.

I know there is more to it for me, but your questions is very open ended, and if I don't stop, I could just blab on.

 

[Just_me_Mike]

itwillend, are you looking for advice, or just some support while you vent?

Hi Storm, welcome back. I am just going through a rough spot in my life, and this is just how I feel right now. I am not sure it is a bad thing where I am at, but it is new for me, and as such talking about it sometimes helps.

 

[Just_me_Mike]

I feel for you itwillend, it's not fun to struggle through those kinds of things. Everyone will have different advice. IMO, you should take it all back to basics and consider what things you KNOW are true (not necessarily the things you've considered true in the past) and try to construct a worldview that way. That's not an attempt to render you an atheist, that's a suggestion that you appeal to your true thoughts.

Good luck, and I hope you find mental peace soon.

Thank you for the kind words.

 

[Madhuri]

I want the whole bible to be true. Of which I know some of it is not literal, but some of it is quite literal. I want that to be true.

I want salvation to be true, I want my understanding of the bible to be true (wishful thinking I know)

Most of all I want my God to be true, and that he loves us so much He treats us like equals, and has made a way for us to know Him directly and without question.

I know there is more to it for me, but your questions is very open ended, and if I don't stop, I could just blab on.

I can relate to this. I'm a person who is very skeptical about everything and is always questioning. I sometimes have doubts, or at least question God's existence. It makes me feel very sad and hopeless to imagine a universe without God. I pray, and I hope that there is more to life and reality than a temporary universe without purpose/meaning.

Of course I come from a different faith background to you. I personally cannot relate to wanting the Bible to be truth; lol, especially since it would condemn me to hell because I have a different idea about God. I find it very difficult to even like the Bible- it just seems like a horrible kind of reality, and an unkind God. But nevertheless, I can relate to wanting more, I can relate to hoping for meaning, love and eternity.

 

[Just_me_Mike]

itwillend, I suppose that I only have one bit of advice from what I understand of Christianity, and I hope that I'm not overstepping my bounds by suggesting it:

Pray for guidance. Ask for God to make his will your own.

Calmly allow yourself to understand what that will is, without second-guessing or judging it.

The Bible may be the Word of God, but sometimes I think that it's best to go to the source.

I do this everyday and every minute I can. Thank you for the advice, as for me it is the only way to live.
I suppose for me what I am learning is that the clsoer you get to God, the more pain it can bring in this life.

 

[Just_me_Mike]

So..he is selective? Basically then he chooses those who get to be saved and everyone else can be damned to eternal punishement? That doesn't sound very loving...

If I may, Heneni's and my view differ a little bit when it comes to eternal punishment.
My view is that those not saved will suffer eternal punishment, but what the punishment is, differs for me.
It is not a conscious punishment, but annihilation. It just means that they will be as though they never existed. Matter that is destroyed, souls that don't exist. They will feel no pain once judgment is over.
Judgment is a 5 month period, and once that five months is over, it will be complete annihilation.
Different than the idea of many people suffering pain forever and ever.

 

[Storm]

Hi Storm, welcome back.

Thank you!

I am just going through a rough spot in my life, and this is just how I feel right now. I am not sure it is a bad thing where I am at, but it is new for me, and as such talking about it sometimes helps.

OK, I'll let you talk without trying to fix it, then.

 

[Just_me_Mike]

I can relate to this. I'm a person who is very skeptical about everything and is always questioning. I sometimes have doubts, or at least question God's existence. It makes me feel very sad and hopeless to imagine a universe without God. I pray, and I hope that there is more to life and reality than a temporary universe without purpose/meaning.

Of course I come from a different faith background to you. I personally cannot relate to wanting the Bible to be truth; lol, especially since it would condemn me to hell because I have a different idea about God. I find it very difficult to even like the Bible- it just seems like a horrible kind of reality, and an unkind God. But nevertheless, I can relate to wanting more, I can relate to hoping for meaning, love and eternity.

The bible as you know is full of metaphors, and as such are sometimes hard to understand. When it comes to hell, this is a HUGE one for people. There is a popular belief that it means eternal pain for those that enter into it, but that is an ideology that only stands if you use a few verses in the bible. When you compare to everything the bible says about the subject, it just won't stand. Furthermore, it does make God a God of no mercy if he were allow souls he created to feel pain forever. This is a new teaching that I am speaking of, and foreign to many Christians, but a very important one none the less.
God is a God of mercy, and will show that once it is all over.

Thank you for relating, as it always feels better to talk about things with people.

 

[Madhuri]

The bible as you know is full of metaphors, and as such are sometimes hard to understand. When it comes to hell, this is a HUGE one for people. There is a popular belief that it means eternal pain for those that enter into it, but that is an ideology that only stands if you use a few verses in the bible. When you compare to everything the bible says about the subject, it just won't stand. Furthermore, it does make God a God of no mercy if he were allow souls he created to feel pain forever. This is a new teaching that I am speaking of, and foreign to many Christians, but a very important one none the less.
God is a God of mercy, and will show that once it is all over.

Thank you for relating, as it always feels better to talk about things with people.

Why do you interpret things differently from most Christians? Are you a valid source for interpretation?
I agree that scripture tends to be filled with parables. I wonder though, how are people supposed to understand their meaning correctly? And how can truth be summed up in two volumes? (you must understand, I come from a religion that holds so much scripture, it can fill a large book shelf).

 

[Just_me_Mike]

Why do you interpret things differently from most Christians? Are you a valid source for interpretation?
I agree that scripture tends to be filled with parables. I wonder though, how are people supposed to understand their meaning correctly? And how can truth be summed up in two volumes? (you must understand, I come from a religion that holds so much scripture, it can fill a large book shelf).

Well the bible teaches that most Christians will actually be found guilty of teaching lies and they will be found left without God in the end.
I am quite content staying away from most Christians for that reason.

Why 2 volumes? Well I suppose It could have been 1 or 20, I'm not one to really limit God when it comes to size or volume. I guess it would be just fine if it was a sheet of paper or a library, I'd spend all my time with either one.

 

[blackout]

I want the whole bible to be true. Of which I know some of it is not literal, but some of it is quite literal. I want that to be true.

I want salvation to be true, I want my understanding of the bible to be true (wishful thinking I know)

Most of all I want my God to be true, and that he loves us so much He treats us like equals, and has made a way for us to know Him directly and without question.

I know there is more to it for me, but your questions is very open ended, and if I don't stop, I could just blab on.

Why do you feel you need christianity for these things?

 

[Just_me_Mike]

Why do you feel you need christianity for these things?

It is an interesting topic, but I suppose one doesn't need anything, but a pure heart. This supports my belief that those of tribes that knew nothing of the Hebrew God could still be saved because they had the true laws of God in their heart.
However, I have a complete book and can know much more about this God than those that did not have it.
As such, I feel the need to follow the bible, which may or may not be the same thing as a Christian to you.

 

[TheKnight]

I want the whole bible to be true. Of which I know some of it is not literal, but some of it is quite literal. I want that to be true.

I want salvation to be true, I want my understanding of the bible to be true (wishful thinking I know)

Most of all I want my God to be true, and that he loves us so much He treats us like equals, and has made a way for us to know Him directly and without question.

I know there is more to it for me, but your questions is very open ended, and if I don't stop, I could just blab on.

You can have all those things without Christianity. All sorts of religions talk about God, how He loves us, how He treats us as the crown of creation, how He makes a way for us to know Him directly and without question.

Maybe you should look into some other religions? If for no other reason than to reassure yourself that Christianity is right for you.

 

[Darkness]

We read often times in the New Testament that we are to not Love this world, and those that do are enemies of God. We are told the world has been given over to Satan, and that choosing the ways of the world is an act of defiance to God.

Our leader Jesus had no problem leaving this place, nor did Paul shy away from talking about leaving early.

So, I find that giving myself wholly to the bible and sacrificing my own life for a life that presents Jesus to people, and in no way am I concerned for myself, I am left with no life at all. Yet, I am told by giving up my life like this, I will have treasure in heaven.

Besides the lack of evidence that a God exists, one of the reasons I left Christianity for a sort of Deism (and ultimately Atheism) is that, somewhere along the line, I discovered that I love humanity. I do not hate us in our current state, like the New Testament tells us to. I love when a person smiles, I love it when someone like Dr. King stands up and fights for human dignity, and I love it when someone breaks the mold and expresses themselves creatively. I do not think of us as a monumental failure that has to be revamped or else tossed into the smelting pit. That is why I am a Luciferian. If God exists, we must stand up and defend our right to existence.

 

[Madhuri]

It is an interesting topic, but I suppose one doesn't need anything, but a pure heart. This supports my belief that those of tribes that knew nothing of the Hebrew God could still be saved because they had the true laws of God in their heart.
However, I have a complete book and can know much more about this God than those that did not have it.
As such, I feel the need to follow the bible, which may or may not be the same thing as a Christian to you.

Ok, well that really seems like a belief unsupported by the Bible, as far as I can tell. So what I'm wondering is, can it be possible for you to follow Jesus in your heart, and his instructions without taking into account all the things in the Bible that are 'ruining' your life?

 

[Katzpur]

i think what is so hard for me is I want it to be true so badly, and I am not sure why I want that.

Well, I already suggested to you that maybe it's true, but just not complete. You didn't like that concept, even though it's entirely provable, so I guess you'll have to keep on being pulled in two opposite directions.

 

[Thief]

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"

You already knew this.
You've never needed anything else or anything more.

Now go get yourself some pocket money and take the day off in a theme park.