Thinking about leaving Christianity

Joined
Dec 22, 2019
Messages
716
I still believe in God. I have been questioning and questioning. Thinking about whether God loves humans, support gender equality and whether the Bible really is a holy, just, right and moral book. But it seemingly appears to be flawed, sexist and down bad wrong.

I still believe in the existence of God and the supernatural though.


What should I do?
 
Joined
May 18, 2018
Messages
4,046
Just ignore the old testament. No one really understands it, because even in Jesus' time, Jesus said all of the high priests didn't understand it and were interpreting completely wrongly. You can imagine how much more true that is today.

Focus on the teachings of Jesus in the gospels and the rest of the new testament, they are holy and perfect and moral, and they are the true spirit of the old testament that was lost or killed by the traditions of the pharisees.

My favorite is the gospel of John. Read the first chapter and pause on every sentence, letting its significance and meaning come alive in your inner soul. Those verses have a lot of power to give strength, as does Matthew 5 6 and 7, and John from 11 until the end.

Also seek to make your relationship with God stronger. Pray the Our Father, the prayer Jesus left us in a slow and meditative way, just lay down and pray each line, pausing and searching for God inside yourself. That prayer has immense power.

God bless
 

130713wdydi

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Sep 4, 2020
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Hey sugarprincessxox ! Since I've been in a similar place before, I'll tell you a few ways I myself found useful in overcoming my doubts and growing more in faith. I hope you find these useful.

1) If you find faith itself to be a futile attempt, start by reading C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity". It is a classic apologetics book although Lewis himself never expected it to be so since he wrote it as a personal thought experiment .

2) I am by nature very skeptical so I never believe immediately whatever I am told. I ask "why?" and "why not?" constantly. But where I usually differ from most people I know is that I don't just keep asking questions in one direction. That is the same advice I would give you. E.g. If you feel the Bible is being sexist (It is not, btw, cuz this was something I had questioned myself and solved using logic alone. Faith came later and that revealed to me how interlinked logic and faith are. ), write down the specific arguments in favor of that statement. Then take your time to find counterpoints for each (this may take a while, maybe even years, but I'd advice to do it steadily as we are mortal beings that can die at any time...). Now list each of those counterpoints and try countering them. I know. This may sound tedious. But if you truly have a thirst to know what is true and what is not, this is the best way to approach it. Keep going at it until you get to the truth. Remember to use logic alone for this method.

3) The third point is kinda tmi as we are all strangers here... The reason I left my faith was due to an emotional reaction. At the time, I was certain that my feelings reflected the truth but years later, I started reading up on different religions and started realizing that what I already knew from my Christian upbringing made more sense logically in both philosophy and theology. I hated it cuz it meant that I could have been wrong. I had to swallow my pride (now I can name that emotion lol) and it took a lot of effort so I started out by doing point no.2. I wrote down everything I found 'wrong' in the bible. Countered it. Found more things I hated and felt was wrong. Countered it. I countered indiscriminately the reasons for and against the bible as I continued my research and looking back on it, all the time and energy I put into this endeavor was totally worth it.

4) I have a friend who became agnostic in college and is not interested in doing any of the above cuz she doesn't want to have a 'relationship"
with any being, God or creature (her words, not mine.). If that's the way you feel, then I would like to implore you for the final time. Please at least acknowledge the existence of God and maybe just try talking to the air when you're alone (NOT a joke) about stuff that happened that day or new things you are thinking about, etc. Either God's there and He's listening or He's not and NO ONE will hear you speak so no embarrassment there. I have heard of a guy, (a scientist or sum. Don't remember the details) who did this and had an encounter with God that converted him. So best case scenario is that you'll find God. The other scenario is still a good one as it will keep up the 'illusion' that you have someone who'll listen to whatever you say and that will give you some sort of hope IF ever you end up in a bad place mentally. It is after all, hopelessness that kills.

If you want to engage in simple conversations or do point no.2 along with me (i.e. to find points that support or oppose a view), I am available. So just message me privately.

I hope I was of some help and I'll keep you in my prayers.:)
 

phipps

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Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
4,193
I still believe in God. I have been questioning and questioning. Thinking about whether God loves humans, support gender equality and whether the Bible really is a holy, just, right and moral book. But it seemingly appears to be flawed, sexist and down bad wrong.

I still believe in the existence of God and the supernatural though.


What should I do?
The Bible is an account of mankind's relationship with God. It shows us how sin came into this world and how it changed because of it. The Bible shows awful, graphic descriptions of people’s sin to show just how abominable sin is. Its shows us how much God hates sin and He wants us to be revolted by it as much as He is. One of the reasons I trust the Bible is it tells it like it is. It does not cover even the Prophets and Patriachs' sins.The good news of the Bible is that we don't have to live sinful, miserable lives. We can through Jesus Christ repent and be delivered from sin gradually as we get closer to Him.

God and His Word are not and never will be flawed, sexist and done bad wrong. God gave us the Bible "for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If it appears that the Bible is like that I would say pray. Since you still believe in God, pray to Him earnestly to reveal His truth to you. God is always in control and always right.
 

phipps

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Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
4,193
@lightseeker

Just ignore the old testament. No one really understands it, because even in Jesus' time, Jesus said all of the high priests didn't understand it and were interpreting completely wrongly. You can imagine how much more true that is today.
Under this logic, we should ignore the whole Bible since most of Christendom misunderstands it including the Gospels. Jesus quoted the Old Testament when He was in this world and did not misunderstand it. For example when He was tempted in the wilderness by Satan, Jesus quoted the Bible which at the time was the Old Testament only because the New Testament did not exist yet.

The Pharisees and Sadducees misunderstanding the Old Testament does not nullify it. Jesus told them what was wrong with their beliefs. Their religion was external, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness" (Matthew 23:27). They had the truth but they never fully submitted to God so their hearts were not changed. That is why they misunderstood the Old Testament. The Word of God with all its truth is of no use to anyone who acts like the Pharisees. However the Old Testament is just as important as the New Testament when understood as God intended we do. We need both Testaments. We can't have one without the other.

The Old Testament tells us how we came to be in this world, how sin came in this world, we are shown how God deals with people through His dealings with Israel, it shows us how God planned to save us through the sanctuary ceremonies, it prophecies Jesus' first and second advents to this world, it has end time prophecy especially in the book of Daniel etc. In order to understand parts of the new Testament we need to have knowledge of the Old Testament.

Focus on the teachings of Jesus in the gospels and the rest of the new testament, they are holy and perfect and moral, and they are the true spirit of the old testament that was lost or killed by the traditions of the pharisees.
This is wrong advice and steering someone away from the entire truth of God. The entire Bible is holy not just the New Testament. And its important that anyone who searches and studies the Bible earnestly will automatically focus on Jesus since He is the theme of the whole Bible. That is why John 1:1–3, 14 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

2 Timothy 3:16-17
says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." All Scripture, not just part of it is “God-breathed.” The Bible does not merely contain the words of God—it is the Word of God. The Bible is the information and operations manual for human life.

Also numerous passages in the Gospels assert their truthfulness and authority on the same level as the Old Testament Scriptures (e.g., John 1:1-3 paralleling Genesis 1:1; Matthew 1 paralleling Genesis 5; Matthew 23:34).
 
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Wigi

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Joined
Aug 24, 2017
Messages
891
I still believe in God. I have been questioning and questioning. Thinking about whether God loves humans, support gender equality and whether the Bible really is a holy, just, right and moral book. But it seemingly appears to be flawed, sexist and down bad wrong.

I still believe in the existence of God and the supernatural though.


What should I do?
I see where you come from, God's Love is in no way conditionned by who we are. He Loved humanity and paid the price for our salvation even though the easy way for Him was to erase this creation and go with new creatures void of any free will. He dared to give us another chance although with the same free will that give us freedom we can choose to love and choose not to love Him.

"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:6‭-‬8

I think it is important that you pray God so He frees your mind from the thoughts you're struggling with by His Holy Spirit.
The love of the world, the temptation of the flesh and the carnal mind drags you away from any fellowship with God, that's when thoughts arose and life trials can make you very miserable until you think God somewhat doesn't care about you and you question everything about Him yet He does care for you.

"For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish."
Galatians 5:17

We need to live by the Spirit and let Him teach us in all things in order to understand His Love and righteousness, especially in this upside down world we have today where everything has become suggestive, evil is good, good is bad and money is put above everything.
 

ARose

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Joined
Mar 26, 2021
Messages
254
I still believe in God. I have been questioning and questioning. Thinking about whether God loves humans, support gender equality and whether the Bible really is a holy, just, right and moral book. But it seemingly appears to be flawed, sexist and down bad wrong.

I still believe in the existence of God and the supernatural though.


What should I do?
What I came to understand about The Bible is that in the Old and New, there is a common theme throughout of both valuing life but not worshiping, making an idol of mortality.

The equality in the sexes, in the biblical sense, is understanding mutual respect for each other’s lives, differences and duties.

The concept of heirachies of obedience does not condone abuse by men, it recognizes that men’s lives will be physically on the line in combat and defense. Women’s lives are physically on the line in childbirth and dependency during pregnancy.

God directs women to understand the risks men will take to protect family and community and that their lives matter.

But God directs men to not abuse that vulnerability.

The rest is about obedience and burnishing, preparing for eternity beside God, having to go through life to be fit to join him again. We are told to respect life but not make an idol of mortality, to the point where we lose sight of eternity and what God has directed us to do.
 

free2018

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Sep 8, 2018
Messages
2,454
I still believe in God. I have been questioning and questioning. Thinking about whether God loves humans, support gender equality and whether the Bible really is a holy, just, right and moral book. But it seemingly appears to be flawed, sexist and down bad wrong.

I still believe in the existence of God and the supernatural though.


What should I do?
I think the first thing you should is: pray to the Father. The second thing you should do is pray incessantly. The third thing is you should start journaling and doing two way prayer through your journaling.

The Bible as is explains everything that has ever happened to the race. Everything.

Of we take a step back from organized religion and just read the word with Yeshua as our guide, we are good.

Most things we were taught by people who were worldly about God were lies and most things they taught us about history and everything were lies.

Read the Bible as it is. It’s not a myth. It’s exactly what happened. Check out the Latin and Greek translations for yourself.

Pray and pray hard.
 

Alanantic

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Joined
Oct 2, 2017
Messages
1,384
I've heard there are some pretty nasty consequences for leaving the club.

Eternal damnation, pits of fire, gnashing of teeth.

I'd probably stay where you are, be safe.
You can't believe something out of fear. Who'd want to live like that?
 

redqueen

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Joined
May 15, 2017
Messages
5,956
I myself just found my faith again
I would say all Ya need is to Speak/Pray
to Our Creator/Light as Ya would a friend
or Yourself when alone

the Guide/bible is not needed imho which
I've already spoke on here many times
it's been corrupted translation by the evils
that rule Us right now

be as Good as Ya can be Feed the Positive
in Our World more than the negative,I Speak/Pray
every day a few times whenever I feel the need to
now which not that long ago would never have
happened

I did start a thread on the way I've found my
Love and faith again which anyone who saw my
posts when I first started posting on the forums
on the topic can See I was what most would
consider atheist/agnostic

that all changed overnight for me and here I am now

take the recommendation from all here to just Speak/Pray
and that is all Ya really need,Our Creator/Light is in every
Creation they've Created
 

Wigi

Veteran
Joined
Aug 24, 2017
Messages
891
the Guide/bible is not needed imho which
I've already spoke on here many times
it's been corrupted translation by the evils
that rule Us right now

be as Good as Ya can be Feed the Positive
in Our World more than the negative
This approach sounds pleasant to the ears no doubt but without the Word of God, faith is very hard to maintain and grow.
It's like saying you can keep a tree alive without water.

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Romans 10:17

There is definitely moments when looking for the positive side of things isn't enough, Jesus teaches that your happiness and hope needs to be apart from this world this way nobody nor anything can steal your inner peace.

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall , for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Matthew 7:24‭-‬27
 
Joined
Jul 12, 2022
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It's sad, cause most of the harsh stuff comes from the Old Testament. Myself, I can only handle the New Testament.
Christianity definitely isn't the enemy, it's the satanists that make it seem like something it shouldn't be, to get people away from God.
It's sad that so many will leave Christianity for this reason. So much of our media makes us look bad. People tend to get the wrong idea and think that it's sexist and bigoted and highly controlled. I find this is only the organised religion portion which to me, isn't as true.
Myself, I consider to be a casual Christian. I don't even go to church. Most of them are corrupt, anyway.
It's hard, because we are getting many types of responses on here. Some are more kind and understanding, while some are just being condescending. I can tell who is more genuine with who uses their real words on here, or who actually copies and pastes, which just seems pointless.
People can only be reached by using real words and being genuine.
I'm sorry this is how you feel and you need to leave Christianity, but in all honesty, this is the kind of bad rep that we get, now. It's so sad.
 

redqueen

Superstar
Joined
May 15, 2017
Messages
5,956
We can all show Our faith/Love to Our
Creator/Light however is most comfortable
to Ya it's not required to have anything except
that faith/Love and a connection that is maintained

for some the church has been nothing just abuse
which has caused Peoples to turn their backs to
Our Creator/Light I Know as I was one

as for the guide/bible Ya can use if Ya wish but
it is not a requirement,I find it contributed to my
loss of faith/Love because it's been written/translated
by peoples who have been corrupted and use a tainted
language to translate it

all one needs to do to See the corruption is look at how
OurCreator/Light is actually worshipped by those who
stand in the buildings reading from the guide/bible

at how much they now worship the money they can
make from that faith/Love than actually spreading
that Love throughout Our World

I'm not trying to say it's wrong in anyway if that's how
Your comfortable showing Your Love to Our Creator/
Light then do it

for myself after a life without being able to get past
the anger/hurt of abuses I have suffered through and
have Seen others suffer through in my life and around
Our World and believing that Our Creator/Light allowed
it because they don't care

I was gifted the way to get past all of it and again find
that faith/Love I turned my back on at a extremely young
age
 

3topping

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Joined
Sep 11, 2022
Messages
3
What I came to understand about The Bible is that in the Old and New, there is a common theme throughout of both valuing life but not worshiping, making an idol of mortality.

The equality in the sexes, in the biblical sense, is understanding mutual respect for each other’s lives, differences and duties.

The concept of heirachies of obedience does not condone abuse by men, it recognizes that men’s lives will be physically on the line in combat and defense. Women’s lives are physically on the line in childbirth and dependency during pregnancy.

God directs women to understand the risks men will take to protect family and community and that their lives matter.

But God directs men to not abuse that vulnerability.

The rest is about obedience and burnishing, preparing for eternity beside God, having to go through life to be fit to join him again. We are told to respect life but not make an idol of mortality, to the point where we lose sight of eternity and what God has directed us to do.
Burnishing..so that's what I've been going through..hmm..lemme tell ya..its some ruff stuff
 
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