|
Users viewing this topic:
none
|
|
Login  | |
|
From Unbelief to Faith in God - 7/12/2008 8:14:27 PM
|
|
|
PrexicKehdaki
Posts: 190
Joined: 6/26/2008
Status: offline
|
This is for those who have at one time been nonbelievers who found faith in God.
I'm not going to be debating with anyone, I just want to hear some experiences of what led you to having faith. So, share your stories. The more detailed the better. :-)
(I hope this isn't a thread repeat.. I couldn't find any others. I don't think the "Tell me why you have faith" is really what I'm looking for, either)
|
|
|
|
|
RE: From Unbelief to Faith in God - 7/13/2008 1:51:44 PM
|
|
|
Psalms274
Posts: 738
Joined: 8/13/2005
From: Georgia
Status: offline
|
I definitely have a story to tell here ... I just do not have the time to write it all down today, but will come back later this week.
_____________________________
I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.
< Linus w/ a friends baby!
http://piswa.blogspot.com/
|
|
|
|
|
RE: From Unbelief to Faith in God - 7/13/2008 3:47:13 PM
|
|
|
swtonscrappn
Posts: 10
Joined: 7/2/2008
Status: offline
|
I became a true believer very shortly before I was married. However, my husband to be was not a Christian. In fact, he didn't believe any vestige of God existed. He's a scientist and felt everything could be easily explained by facts of nature. Nature was his god. Despite encouragement to rethink my marriage to him, (Do not be yoked to unbelievers) I felt our relationship was better than others. He didnt mock me for my beliefs, he agreed to attend church with me, and when we had children, we would raise them in the church. It was a non-issue to him, because it was no different than believing in the Easter Bunny.
We had been married about 7 years, when huge red flags began to show up in our marriage. It was then, that I understood why we are to marry believers. I would pray, and feel so alone because I couldnt share my most intimate thoughts with my husband...only God. Because my husband wouldnt understand it. I had no standard to hold my husband to, because he didnt hold the same standards I did. Of course, when we pursued counseling, I choose a christian counselor. We saw him for about 5 months, which helped us with about 90% of our current issues. It was nearly 5 months after that, when my dh's behavior called us back to the counselor. It was during this session that the counselor really confronted dh's beliefs and how they were tied to his behavior. He reminded him that God was available for those who pursued him. Even now, I dont know exactly what got through to my dh, but he decided to "give it a try". For the first time ever, we started praying together...which was very awkward. Repeatedly, dh chose to go the biblical route and to center his thoughts on God's will. Even then, Im not entirely sure that his heart was in it...it was more like an experiement. But then God showed his hand...
We are low income. Im a sahm, and my dh makes less than 30,000/year. We have three kids, and we live off this income with no outside (gov't) help. However, it had been our dream to buy a home. Not going to happen, even though we had no debt, we also had no savings. We qualified for a 60,000 home loan, which is about half of what we needed for a house. We were attempting to get a house through this first time home owners program that gives subsidies for families in need. Our prayer was that if it was God's will for us to have a house, He would do so, and if not, than we thanked Him for the fact that we did have all our needs fullfilled. We were turned down and told that we didnt have enough money to buy a home in the size we needed for our family. It was very heartbreaking. That was on a weds.
On thurs, we left town..I went to a women's retreat, and dh went to his mom's with the kids. When I came back from my retreat, I felt led by the Lord to go back to school and do biblical studies. I got my application on Monday. That same Monday, dh called me and asked me to pray for him (this was the first time I ever got such a request). One of his customers overpaid him $100, and dh was ashamed to say that for the briefest second, he thought about keeping that money. He was terribly distraught about not being able to provide for his family. No matter what he did, the money he brought home never seemed to be enough and it tore away at his heart. Submitting himself to prayer was very difficult for him.
On friday that week, I turned in my application to school, and I got a phone call. It was the housing people calling to ask if we wanted our first choice house on the list. She said that it had been turned down by the family that they originally offered it to. I reminded her that we couldnt afford it, hence the reason we didnt have a house. She told me that the rest of the money was taken care of, all we had to say is if we wanted it or not. We bought a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, $128,000 house with the original $60,000 we qualified for.
This experience was like a flash of lightning to my dh. His previous non-existant, and then unsure faith exploded. Seeing the change in him was just awe-inspiring. Knowing how he felt about God, one that he knew didnt exist, to praising HIM unceasingly can still bring tears to my eyes. We bought the house last Aug. During this winter, he spoke to a group of men he knew about the experience. He said, "I spent my whole life trying to be the best husband, the best dad, the best provider and all I did was fail at every turn. The mere second I turned it over to God, everything I tried to do for years by myself, happened all at once"
God is so good, and even typing this makes me want to cry in absolute joy!
|
|
|
|
|
RE: From Unbelief to Faith in God - 7/13/2008 3:57:00 PM
|
|
|
SavedByGraceMD
Posts: 666
Joined: 2/13/2008
From: the poconos
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: swtonscrappn
I became a true believer very shortly before I was married. However, my husband to be was not a Christian. In fact, he didn't believe any vestige of God existed. He's a scientist and felt everything could be easily explained by facts of nature. Nature was his god. Despite encouragement to rethink my marriage to him, (Do not be yoked to unbelievers) I felt our relationship was better than others. He didnt mock me for my beliefs, he agreed to attend church with me, and when we had children, we would raise them in the church. It was a non-issue to him, because it was no different than believing in the Easter Bunny.
We had been married about 7 years, when huge red flags began to show up in our marriage. It was then, that I understood why we are to marry believers. I would pray, and feel so alone because I couldnt share my most intimate thoughts with my husband...only God. Because my husband wouldnt understand it. I had no standard to hold my husband to, because he didnt hold the same standards I did. Of course, when we pursued counseling, I choose a christian counselor. We saw him for about 5 months, which helped us with about 90% of our current issues. It was nearly 5 months after that, when my dh's behavior called us back to the counselor. It was during this session that the counselor really confronted dh's beliefs and how they were tied to his behavior. He reminded him that God was available for those who pursued him. Even now, I dont know exactly what got through to my dh, but he decided to "give it a try". For the first time ever, we started praying together...which was very awkward. Repeatedly, dh chose to go the biblical route and to center his thoughts on God's will. Even then, Im not entirely sure that his heart was in it...it was more like an experiement. But then God showed his hand...
We are low income. Im a sahm, and my dh makes less than 30,000/year. We have three kids, and we live off this income with no outside (gov't) help. However, it had been our dream to buy a home. Not going to happen, even though we had no debt, we also had no savings. We qualified for a 60,000 home loan, which is about half of what we needed for a house. We were attempting to get a house through this first time home owners program that gives subsidies for families in need. Our prayer was that if it was God's will for us to have a house, He would do so, and if not, than we thanked Him for the fact that we did have all our needs fullfilled. We were turned down and told that we didnt have enough money to buy a home in the size we needed for our family. It was very heartbreaking. That was on a weds.
On thurs, we left town..I went to a women's retreat, and dh went to his mom's with the kids. When I came back from my retreat, I felt led by the Lord to go back to school and do biblical studies. I got my application on Monday. That same Monday, dh called me and asked me to pray for him (this was the first time I ever got such a request). One of his customers overpaid him $100, and dh was ashamed to say that for the briefest second, he thought about keeping that money. He was terribly distraught about not being able to provide for his family. No matter what he did, the money he brought home never seemed to be enough and it tore away at his heart. Submitting himself to prayer was very difficult for him.
On friday that week, I turned in my application to school, and I got a phone call. It was the housing people calling to ask if we wanted our first choice house on the list. She said that it had been turned down by the family that they originally offered it to. I reminded her that we couldnt afford it, hence the reason we didnt have a house. She told me that the rest of the money was taken care of, all we had to say is if we wanted it or not. We bought a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, $128,000 house with the original $60,000 we qualified for.
This experience was like a flash of lightning to my dh. His previous non-existant, and then unsure faith exploded. Seeing the change in him was just awe-inspiring. Knowing how he felt about God, one that he knew didnt exist, to praising HIM unceasingly can still bring tears to my eyes. We bought the house last Aug. During this winter, he spoke to a group of men he knew about the experience. He said, "I spent my whole life trying to be the best husband, the best dad, the best provider and all I did was fail at every turn. The mere second I turned it over to God, everything I tried to do for years by myself, happened all at once"
God is so good, and even typing this makes me want to cry in absolute joy!
That is an awesome testimony, thank you for sharing it.
_____________________________
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: From Unbelief to Faith in God - 7/13/2008 5:07:16 PM
|
|
|
Butterflytearz
Posts: 142
Joined: 7/6/2006
Status: offline
|
Dear friend
This is how it sort of happened to me but I was never an atheist,, more of agnostic, knowing their is a God but not fully recieving Christ as my Lord and Savior.
When you’re alone and about to give up,
When your best just ain’t good enough,
And your life’s filled with much confusion,
Until happiness is just an ullusion,
And your world is crumbling down,
Sister reach out
Reach out to Him
He is there
With a love that will comfort you
He is there with a love that will carry you.
You cant make it alone,, the day will come when you say enough,, and then you will remember the Word of the gospel, You will want to be saved and forgiven and you will Ask Jesus for faith , forgiveness and to come into your heart as Lord and Savior. Once you give him your heart,, He will reveal himself, thru the written word,, thru the Holy Spirit that he leaves with you , thru many things that will happen in your life thru prayer.
God is alive. He wants you with Him but does not force.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Sister first you hear the word of the Gospel of Christ then you receive faith when you really want to know God with all your heart , soul and mind. This may take time but one day God brought me to my knees and been with me ever since.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: From Unbelief to Faith in God - 7/14/2008 4:14:45 PM
|
|
|
Psalms274
Posts: 738
Joined: 8/13/2005
From: Georgia
Status: offline
|
Ok … this is going to take A LOT of words … I will do my best to keep it succinct. I will talk about only my life … and how I saw it at that time. You will notice the lack of details of others in my life and how these things affected them. I was so consumed with surviving, that I did not see how those around me were hurting too.
I bought the whole evolution thing, tooth and nail in High School. They taught it with such authority; it never occurred to me that a teacher could be misinformed. I lived at home with my parents and 5 siblings my senior year. That fall my brothers were in a terrible car accident, one died at the scene (age 14) and the other (16 … he had just received his license and was driving the car) remained in a coma for several weeks. Now my mom and dad had been alcoholics for quite some time prior to this and our home was often in chaos. To top it off, a man began to stalk me. It was a very dark and scary time.
I had been suffering from an eating disorder for close to 5 years at this point, and after my brother’s death it went from bad to worse. The next five years I made several attempts at my life. I was an emotional wreck to say the least … and definitely belonged in a hospital, but never had anyone even attempt to intervene. I was in college and on the swim team … that was the only thing that kept me going. I achieved All American status for a number of years and had a shot at making the Olympic team in my sport … even though I was very underweight, threw up everything I ate, and ended each day taking 20 to 30 laxatives to be certain I didn’t gain any weight. Competing at the national level, I was in the water working out close to 5 hours a day. In all honesty, I should have died from complications of the way I was abusing my body. (My doctor still can’t believe it didn’t kill me.)
While in school, I had a special interest in the life sciences. I took organic chemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, anatomy and physiology, kinesiology, cell biology … just for fun. (I know … weird.) I ended up with a minor in molecular biology … and it was while I studied the life sciences that I became acutely aware that evolution just didn’t fit the reality of how life works. Up to that point, I was certain there was no god … in fact when attempting to take my own life; I was convinced that I would simply cease to exist. I remember the struggle in letting go of all hope so that I could just die and no longer be.
… Well, the more I learned, the more apparent it was that something had to engineer life … it simply was not possible for all of this to occur by mutations … there were far too many things that could not be explained by science … in fact with life, the rules of chemistry seem to change so that life could happen. (For instance, the way chemicals react within a living being is different that how they react “normally.”) Though I could now see clearly, that there was a “creator” I thought the God of the bible was just plain nonsense … and those Christians were down right kooky. I believed all the rhetoric about Christianity by those who thought like I did and would make fun of them in my heart. I couldn’t believe that they actually thought Jesus really walked this earth, everyone knew that was just a myth … I now know it was everyone who never bothered to find out for themselves believed it was a myth.
I had a rotator cuff injury that kept me from the trials, and took my first job as a counselor in psychiatric hospital for kids. Now at the time I was probably sicker than the ones I was suppose to help … and about a year later I was the first to be laid off when the census went down, even though I had seniority. I was as messed up as they get … and extremely immature. When you have an eating disorder, though your body ages, your thinking and reasoning remain near the age the disorder began … in my case 11.
I had an uncle in Charleston, SC, and decided to take the unemployment, pack up and leave to start a new life … so I did. (There is so much I am leaving out that make the story even more remarkable … but it would take a book … ) I started to volunteer for an organization called Happy Days and Special Times. Happy Days was for children with cancer and their siblings … I went on a week long camp as a counselor. I became very aware that many of these children would not make it to see the next year. I knew there was a God at this point … but I had never desired to know Him. It was at that camp that I wanted to know if He actually cared …
There was a guy there who I thought was quite handsome, and he started to take an interest in me. I never thought of myself as very pretty, but I was actually beautiful in terms of the world. (I was recruited by one of the largest modeling firms in the world during college, and tried it out the summer between my junior and senior years … just searching for something that would fill me … I hated having my picture taken … I saw myself as the ugliest girl in the world and did not understand the attention I was getting.) He told me he was a Christian and invited me to church. I had always received a lot attention from guys, but it was the kind where they wanted something I would not give away … my purity. It may be because of how I saw myself at the time, or maybe I didn’t want anyone to know my darkest of secrets … though I now know My Lord was keeping me back then before I ever met Him. The invitation was the closest thing I had to a date, so I went. While there, all the questions I had … about the kids who were dying, about those that never heard of Jesus, about the evil in our world was in, all the injustices … and was Jesus even real?
I went to the Pastor with a million questions … similar to what I have seen from you. His answer was … he would not answer any of them until I knew why the tomb was empty. He said I needed to find out for myself. I thought, “What a cop out … he doesn’t know and is stalling.” He also suggested I go to a bible study for single women lead by M.E. I ended up going to that study to see if they had any answers … and joined the choir … because I loved singing … not because of any belief on my part.
They were studying Kay Arthur’s “Lord I want to Know You,” a study of the names of God. I was very open about my unbelief and always had a “but what about this?” question … or questions for them. These girls lovingly answered … and showed genuine love for one another … and for me. They would pray the mushiest things I had ever heard to something I did not think even existed. And took a real interest in me … it was all so foreign. They suggested I start reading the bible, and to start with the book of John. I did … but to be honest, I did not understand a word I read. None of it made sense to me.
One night, about five weeks into my joining the group, they came to the chapter titled, “The Lord is My Sheppard.” In it Mrs. Arthur explained that a Sheppard would take a lamb that kept wandering away from him and break its leg. He would then hold the lamb close to him and nurture him back to health, so that when it was well again, it would not wander away into certain danger. I began to cry … I had my leg broken so many times and didn’t want to suffer any more.
The gals in the study suggested some reading for me … to explore if this Jesus really was who He claimed to be. As I researched it, I found out that there is more historical evidence that Jesus walked this earth than any other historical figure of his time. In fact there is 600 times more evidence that he lived than there is for Caesar Augustus, whom I had never questioned. The evidence also showed that 11 of the 12 disciples died a martyr’s death because they refused to say that they were lying when they said they claimed to have seen Jesus after He was crucified on the cross … in fact many of the 500 that saw him after the resurrection were killed because they would not recant their story, often repeating the experience to the ones about to kill them. If they had said, “you’re right, I was lying,” their lives would have been spared. I wondered why would these people die for a lie?
I looked at the history of Paul’s life. He was a man who was having Christians killed because he believed they were blaspheming his Yahweh (the name for God in the old testament) … yet he did a complete turn around on the way to have more executed in Damascus, becoming one of them … in fact he became the most influential messenger for the gospel ever, writing at least 13 of the epistles in the new Testament. His account stated that He encountered Jesus on the way to Damascus. Could there be another likely explanation that fit his behavior?
I looked at Jesus’ words … He clearly stated He was God when He said “I AM,” He claimed to be God’s Son and said He was the only way to the Father. Now those words cannot come from a “good man.” A good man,” “a good teacher” would not lie … and they would not be crazy. So many people talk about how He was a “good man, teacher, example,” yet He claimed to be God … crazy people and deceivers do that … good men do not.
I looked at this and so much more and knew that the reason the tomb was empty was because He had risen from the dead, just like He said He would. If there had been a body, those attempting to stop the movement caused by the disciples who claimed to have seen Him would have stopped at nothing until they found the truth. Of the four gospels, the authors either were witnesses (had seen the resurrection with their own eyes) of the accounts, John and Matthew; or were very close to the first hand witnesses, Luke and Mark (John Mark more accurately). The newest findings show that all were written within the first century after Jesus’ death and resurrection, and 3 of the 4 within 15 to 30 years after His death and resurrection … far to early for them to be influenced by a “legend” … it typically takes a couple of hundred years for legends to develop. (I had always been book smart … and took this task on as a nobal scholar seeking the truth.)
I … as I stated earlier, now knew in my head that Jesus was who He said He was. I told the gals in the study and M.E. and her husband, Dr. B. invited me to dinner the next evening. After dinner they asked me, now that I knew in my head it was true, was I ready to make a commitment? I told them I was … but I needed to use the bathroom first … I was still consumed with an eating disorder that had ruled my life, and wanted to get rid of my meal before I said yes. I came back and “said the prayer” … but it wasn’t until later that evening that I really made the commitment. As I showered, I broke down and fell to my knees begging the Lord to forgive me for my arrogance and asking Him for the gift of Salvation. It was in that moment He became my Lord.
I was in a very dangerous living situation, and M.E. & Dr. B. invited me to live with them and I was in there place within the week. I now opened the bible and understood every word I read … I was overwhelmed with the love that poured through me. I began to devour the Word, and absorbed every bit of teaching I could get my hands on. There was an unbelievable hope within me … and a joy I had never experienced …. Yet … I still could not control my eating.
It was October 15th, 1991, I went on a very long 3 hour bike ride. (I was still over exercising ...part of the eating disorder.) I knew I had to share my trouble with eating with the B.’s. I had to stop my ride periodically because I was crying so hard I would begin to hyperventilate. I had tried to stop the eadting disorder with all that was in me and couldn’t. I resigned to the study to spend time with God … it was around 5 pm and M.E. came in and sat with me. She had been in prayer all day … and asked me if I had anything I would like to share with her. I said I did, but I would tell her tomorrow … she asked if it had to do with my eating. I immediately began to weep, and told her everything. The B.’s took action, they had a doctor they wanted me to go to and decided the best thing was to place me in a Christ based psychiatric hospital … I had to come to the reality that I was mentally ill and could not do this on my own. My doctor’s appointment was for the following Monday, the 15th was a Tuesday. I tried like I had never tried before to control my eating … but all I could think of was food … and how to get rid of it. By Friday I could no longer resist and really caved into the eating disorder. I was devastated. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t do it. That evening, I cried myself to sleep … I knew God was able to heal me completely, but I also knew He could probably use my experience in the hospital to reach others … so I prepared myself to go the hospital and fell asleep after many tears. I understood His ways were best.
As I slept, I had a familiar nightmare … something evil would come to my bed and I could never move. I would do everything I could to wake myself up … it was always the most terrifying experience. Just when I thought I was awake, I found that I was only dreaming I was awake, and it was still there …
This time when the dream began, I thought, “but I know God … I can pray.” I had only been a Christian a month, and the only prayer that came to mind was The Lord’s prayer so I prayed “Our Father, Who art in heaven …” over and over in my sleep …. And the evil abruptly left.
I woke up the next morning, and had a strange feeling, but I didn’t know what it was … It then occurred to me, I wasn’t obsessing over food and my weight. I didn’t remember the last time that had happened. I ate breakfast like a normal person … thanking God for the experience of the meal … unexpectantly, that meal became two, and then three, and then a week and then a month … each meal I rejoiced with gratitude … knowing that maybe it was just a divine reprieve … That was 17 years ago this coming October 19th … I did not expect God to heal me … and did not fully realize that He had taken this deadly disease from me until a month later …. I just couldn’t believe it was true.
I never went to that hospital …. And God changed me completely from the inside out. I am a completely different person … completely whole. I have worked in mental health specifically working with abused kids. My coworkers and friends look to me as one of the most emotionally stable person they have ever encountered … and I can take absolutely no credit for that … The last 17 years are peppered with similar experiences as the first … I am in awe of God … the One I thought I knew didn’t exist in my utter ignorance. I thought I was too smart to believe such nonsense … when in fact I believed in nonsense before I knew Him …
He is so good.
< Message edited by Psalms274 -- 7/14/2008 4:26:52 PM >
_____________________________
I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.
< Linus w/ a friends baby!
http://piswa.blogspot.com/
|
|
|
|
|
RE: From Unbelief to Faith in God - 7/14/2008 5:58:00 PM
|
|
|
SavedByGraceMD
Posts: 666
Joined: 2/13/2008
From: the poconos
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: Psalms274
I am in awe of God … the One I thought I knew didn’t exist in my utter ignorance. I thought I was too smart to believe such nonsense … when in fact I believed in nonsense before I knew Him …
He is so good.
Psalms, that was an awesome testimony. He is good, He is so good. Thank you and may God bless you or sharing your story.
_____________________________
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: From Unbelief to Faith in God - 7/14/2008 8:28:19 PM
|
|
|
Jhud
Posts: 7409
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: Lake Wobegon
Status: offline
|
I have relayed this a few times on Crosswalk, but I think I get a little more succinct each time.
Growing up our family occasionally attended church, but it was never talked about at home. By the time I was 8 or 9, my father was essentially what was known then as a 'free thinker' and had all but rejected the notion of God. I admired my father tremendously, and had settled pretty early that God wasn't important.
I was a very curious kid who was fairly obsessed with how the world worked. I spent what might be considered an inordinate amount of time reading books; encyclopedias mostly, because they seemed to be able to answer most of my questions. I especially was interested in questions about nature and how life came to exist. My mother fed my obsession and I regularly got large collections of books about biology, dinosaurs, the universe. The Time/Life nature series was my favorite, particularly the volumes Early Man, and Evolution. I literally read them to pieces.
When I was nine, my father died of a stroke. On one hand it felt like my world had fallen apart, on the other, it sort of steeled me - I became very independent at a young age, and was very assertive about what I believed and why I believed it. Occasionally my mother would pester me about going to church, and I would occasionally comply, all the while sitting in the service wondering why anyone would willingly subject themselves to this.
When I was thirteen my mother wanted me to get 'confirmed' at the church we had occasionally attended, and I agreed - under the condition that she promise she would never ask me to go to church again. Oddly enough, she agreed. So I went through the paces, and high-tailed it out of there. The only time I was to attend church again was if it provided a way to get closer to a girl (or girls) I might be interested in.
By the time I got to high school, I not only had become rather entrenched agnostic, I liked to actively debate and deride other Christians. I often caused them to doubt, sometimes cry. I have never understood why people act as if Christians are some domineering group, because in the real world finding Christians who would or could articulately defend their faith was pretty rare. Of course, I didn't hang out where a lot of Christians could be found.
About the same time I was becoming increasingly antiauthoritarian, even to the point of wishing evil on those I disagreed with. I remember when Ronald Reagan got shot; I complained to a teacher in all seriousness that the guy wasn't a better shot.
One thing I found odd at the time - though I was a voracious reader, I could never read the Bible. It literally made no sense to me, it was gobbledygook. I couldn't understand why anyone would care about it.
So by the time I started college as a biology major, I was pretty street-wise, pretty convinced about my viewpoints, and pretty willing to engage those whose beliefs I disagreed with. I didn't find in disagreement from my professors, but I did find that there were Christians at the university who were willing to take up my challenges, and again, I often found their arguments didn't hold up very well.
A brief aside. Despite my antipathy for Christians, I was equally willing to engage other faiths. I would debate, the moonies, the hare krishnas, the JWs. While I found these other groups easy to dismiss, there was a difference when I debated them - they didn't make me angry. Christians made me really angry - almost any time I heard a preacher or someone tried to share their 'testimony' I felt more than perturbed. I have often wondered since why this was, and I think more than anything it was because unlike other religions, one couldn't approach Christian claims causally - you either accepted them or you didn't - there wasn't any middle ground, and I simply didn't believe anyone could be that certain about anything.
As it was, I was thrown in with one Christian who had the same major as I did. He was a good hearted person, so we got along fairly well, though I frequently argued with him and would occasionally mock him in classes. He took it in stride. I was fairly sure his faith was a product of his small town upbringing, nd if he was around other ideas it would eventually fade. But it didn't. And the better I got to know him, the more I realized we had a lot in common - his mother had died when he was nine, the same year my father died - so he understood what it meant to endure that sort of difficulty, which caused me to respect him tremendously.
In the meantime, I was being dealt with by God. I can't describe it any other way - I was being emptied of all the notions I had that I could actually do anything of lasting value, that I was basically a 'good' person, even by my low standards, that I could really honestly be peaceful knowing that the world had no essential meaning or purpose. I was being dogged by God, though I didn't know anything about Him.
I finally decided, against what I thought was my better judgment, to look into it a bit, starting with my roommates Bible. So I flipped it open randomly and read this:
"Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.
"Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
"Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
I knew nothing of the theology behind it, or even who was speaking or to whom they were speaking, all I know is that I fairly clearly understood the words, "You will be left". I was on the outside - I wouldn't have any part of what God had to offer. I suddenly desperately did not want to miss what God had to offer. So I decided that I needed to know what my friend knew about God and be a part of it. So the next time he invited me to a student Bible study, I enthusiastically accepted, much to his shock.
I still remember two specific things that were said that night (about 20+ years ago now) the first being that it was possible to become a Christian (I assume it was just something you were raised with) and the second thing was that Jesus was God - something I for some reason had missed my entire life, though I suspect now it was really spiritual blindness. Afterwards, I asked my friend how he became a Christian (again, he was a little shocked) and he told me how he had and I told him that was exactly what I wanted to do. So we prayed, and within the week I was telling everyone I knew what an incredible thing had happened to me.
There is a lot more in between then and now, but that is how it began.
_____________________________
Jack
“I mean to live my life an obedient man, but obedient to God, subservient to the wisdom of my ancestors; never to the authority of political truths arrived at yesterday at the voting booth”
William F. Buckley Jr. 1925-2008
|
|
|
|
|
RE: From Unbelief to Faith in God - 7/16/2008 2:35:17 AM
|
|
|
BibleL7
Posts: 493
Joined: 2/1/2008
Status: offline
|
Well guess I will give a little of my background. My mom was raised Catholic and my dad protestant and they decided to let us kids decide for ourselves. We rarely went to church cept with scouting program a few times. All I knew was that I was to behave and sit in seat unless told to stand and not to talk. Never paid any attention to much other than when protestant churches would say the believed in holy catholic church seemed odd to me. Was raised in public school where I learned that evolution was truth not a theory. Later looked at it and said it was not logical but did not believe in any thing. I did not believe in God and felt all Christians were stuck up people that believed sex was bad yet I looked at the first part of the Bible and saw nothing but a lot of begats so it seemed stupid to me they would be against sex when their book was filled with it. Personally I enjoyed every aspect of sex and tossed aside anything any Christian would say.
In my 20s I was absolute atheist and argued that "In God We Trust" should be taken off money. I was very liberal and supported women's rights movement. While in college I enjoyed computers, logic, philosophy, and business anything else I had no use for. I rarely read any books, could count the number I actually read cover to cover on fingers of one hand. Still had a 3.26 GPA at junior college so was no biggy. I worked full time all the time attending college only a part time student. Was a bit immature when I went into business and lost everything and first attempted suicide. Dealt with depression on and off for years. Worked many different jobs and got into computer graphics and publishing and went into that in business.
In mid 30s I was offered a chance to move to Reno/Sparks area so I checked it out and left behind my business and computers and moved. Worked out my rent by remodeling a house and got a job at one of the casinos as a cage cashier. Fell madly in love with a co-worker who happened to be a single mom. She said she was not interested cause I was a nice guy and she never ended up with nice guys. I left that job and went to temp agencies. Finally the next year the day before mothers day I had the worst day of my life and just felt empty. Nothing I could do helped. I knew from teen years that if I got drunk I could black out and figured I would wake up feeling OK. So with my friends I proceeded to get drunk. I did black out and when I came out of it I was running and trying to kickdown a door screaming for coffee and cigarettes. Then realized I was bare foot, then realized I was not wearing clothes except for a sack with hole for my head and arms. Then I realized I was in a padded cell. Had a cute sheriff say if I calmed down I would get out. I calmed down and was booked and taken to the infirmary. Was told I was charged with aiming a firearm at a human being and discharging a firearm where it could be dangerous to a human being.
Made no sence to me as I was an expert with firearms since a kid. After finally being released from jail I found out I was being evicted and had 2 days to pack up and then found out that I put the gun to my head and pulled the trigger. I was on OR from jail all I had to do was attend AA meetings once a week and get psych eval and if I didnt get into trouble after 6 months the charges would be dropped. The housing I found after a week of looking and living out of a friends closet was a halfway house for mentally ill men with one requirement besides rent was mandatory church attendance each week. Figured the price was not bad I could save up some money and figured going to church would look good on my record.
A couple months later I had an incident at work and I just broke down and could not do much but cry. I was unable to work or even do much of anything for a while so I having been a workaholic decided to end it. I went into the hills just north of town away from anybody and any houses where I had planned to cut my wrists and was sure I was far enough away that I could bleed to death before anyone could notice and call for help. Could not do it walked back to house and told the house manager His F'n Jesus wouldnt let me take my life. The next day he asked me to promise I wouldnt try it again I told him no. He suggested I check myself into Mental Health Institute so I did. While in there me another pretty girl and she was down and said she might as well kill herself I said no and made a pact with her that she not take her life and I would not take mine. Yea i know stupid move but hey she was cute. Anyhoo when I went before the judge in the institute the three doctors said I should be committed for they agreed that once I got my strength back I would indeed take my life. The judge asked me if I agreed and I said no, not lying in my mind as I had no intention of waiting till I could get strength back.
Got out and never saw the girl again she was in a relationship with some jealous guy. But I had read some of the Bible in particular Matthew chapters 5-7 and there was a verse in there that said let you yes be yes and no, no. Every time I thought of taking my life even figuring ways to make it look like an accident that verse kept coming to mind. Sucked BIG TIME. So I could not kill my self and after praying for weeks for the Lord to take me and cussing Him out every morning I woke up for keeping me alive I figured I better find out what this stuff was about. So I read the bible cover to cover. Had plenty of time I was declared unemployable. The Bible made sence the answers I knew were not in evolution I found in the Bible. I later devoted my life to the Lord.
Well that is the basics of it. If it does not completely make sense to you sorry I did leave a lot out that I would just as soon not discuss. Any way I later became a minister of the Gospel.
Edited just to add I did not have a drinking problem I had only been drunk less than 10 times in my life and was not much of a drinker. The made me do AA anyway as I was drunk that night.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: From Unbelief to Faith in God - 7/16/2008 1:54:33 PM
|
|
|
SavedByGraceMD
Posts: 666
Joined: 2/13/2008
From: the poconos
Status: offline
|
That was an amazing testimony Bible, thanks for sharing with us. It is amazing that after all we do, He can still want a relationship with us. What a great God.
_____________________________
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: From Unbelief to Faith in God - 7/17/2008 11:20:50 PM
|
|
|
AboundinginHisGrace
Posts: 235
Joined: 4/28/2008
Status: offline
|
I don't have a whole lot of time so I will make this short, but thank God I had Christian Parents. My parents both loved the Lord and served Him and still continue to serve Him. I was also raised in Mississippi so I was exposed to the Gospel a whole lot. I am just thankful that I had Christian parents that actually lived like Christians and shared God's word with me.
_____________________________
"What a mercy it is that it is not your hold of Christ that saves you, but his hold of you." - Spurgeon
|
|
|
|
 New Messages |
 No New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/ New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/o New Messages |
 Locked w/ New Messages |
 Locked w/o New Messages |
|
 Post New Thread
Reply to Message
Post New Poll
Submit Vote
Delete My Own Post
Delete My Own Thread
Rate Posts |
|
|
Forum Tools
Printable Version
