Posted on 02/17/2013 8:50:07 PM PST by Colofornian
A couple of months ago I ran into a dear friend of mine. After exchanging pleasantries and walking along campus, she turned to me and said, “Does it feel that everyone you know is falling away from the church?” Relieved that someone could understand how I feel, I looked at her and sighed. It seems like more and more of my friends are losing their faith in God and leaving the church.
She and I have a close friend who recently told us that she’s now an agnostic. Or maybe she’s an atheist. I’m not too sure at this point and she’s not too sure either. For her there is a war waging inside her heart as she tries to reconcile what she believes. For her it was a difficult decision to concede that she does not know whether or not God exists — and it breaks both her heart and mine. I can’t really understand it. And her family can’t really understand it either. She has given up not only her beliefs, but the support of her family and her culture all at once.
I will be honest that hearing that my dear friend doubts God’s existence gave me pause to reflect on what I know and what I believe. I looked out the vast window in the law library, tears streaming silently down my face as I thought of how devastated I was for my friend, how alone she must feel.
And then I thought of how good God has been to me. And I could not deny His existence. I have had too many experiences in my life and have felt of His specific and dear love for me too many times to deny that there is a Heavenly Father who not only exists, but who also knows me personally and has a plan for me.
I know that I am becoming a minority on the international and national stages. Religion has fallen out of favor in our society. In many circles, it has become a four-letter word to say you even believe in God, and where saying you go to church is almost laughable. And this in a country that was founded on principles of religious devotion. I’ve lived in a country where atheism is the norm rather than the exception, and America is not far behind in the trend.
But I believe in God, and I’m not ashamed of it. I’m proud to be a woman of faith in a world that I can see is becoming so cynical and prejudiced about religion.
Our generation receives a lot of criticism that we are lazy and entitled, but I don’t know of a group that has had to work harder collectively than ours to hold firm to what we believe.
So what is to be done in a world that is systematically removing God from its corners? How should we respond when faced with friends, family and strangers alike when they choose to turn from God? Well, first do as Mumford and Sons says and “hold on to what you believe.” Faith is a choice, and the choice is ours to make.
I ache to share my beliefs with those I love the most. Of course I would want them to know what I know, not so that I have a corner on the faith market, but because my faith brings me so much peace and joy. Of course I would want that for them.
But when I think of my dear friend who is going through this crisis of faith, I know that the best thing for me to do is to just live my life in the best way possible and show her I love her and want her to be happy.
Maybe she will come back to the church and have a renewed faith in God and Jesus Christ. Maybe she won’t. All I can do is live the faith that I love so dearly and love those around me as best I can, hoping that they will see the joy in my life that results from living the gospel and want the same thing in their lives. But if not, it won’t change the love and respect I have for them. That’s not why we were friends to begin with. And that’s not the reason we’re friends now.
And if you’re struggling with your faith, just hang in there, do the best you can and hold on to the things you do know. Even if it’s not very much. Some things take time to work through.
This has easily been one of the hardest things I’ve had to go through, to see one of my friends struggle with something so difficult. I haven’t really known how to handle it and she hasn’t either. We try to be open, but sometimes it’s hard. And I don’t think we’re alone in this. As a church we need to do better at talking about this and trying to understand one another, especially when we don’t agree. Silence doesn’t solve anything.
Thanks for posting. Informative, educational.
We are smart...
I have no problems with anyone engaging in the expression of free speech. I DO have a problem with someone whose revelling in being "saved" seems to be largely augmented by looking down their noses at the poor rubes who are not part of their heavenly club. I dont care whether they are mormons, catholics, evangelicals or reformed toadstool worshippers. Triumphalism, i.e. the arrogant belief that your preferred set of ordering worship is superior to that of the church down the road, has no place in Christian thought. The only thing, and I mean the only thing, that Christians have going for them is that we have a savior. Everything else is window dressing.
I applaud you talking to the poor lady in your example. But I would stop you if you did it by beating her around the head with your bible.
Your opposition to exposition of cult doctrine and the posting of opposing biblical scripture is best presented to the Religion Moderator, who I’m sure will enlighten you as to the propriety of these topics on this forum.
Did Jesus engage in "Triumphalism" versus the Pharisees with his message of Matthew 23?
Did the early Church fathers of Christianity engage in "triumphalism" vs. Gnostic sects & Arianism heresies?
What do you do? Do you just go about totally revising the New Testament and early Christian church history where-ever it doesn't "fit" with your sectarian brand?
...I DO have a problem with someone whose revelling in being "saved" seems to be largely augmented by looking down their noses at the poor rubes who are not part of their heavenly club...arrogant belief that your preferred set of ordering worship is superior to that of the church down the road...
IOW...your set of ordering outreach MUST BE "superior to that of" my church down FReeper road, eh?
So how is it that...
...as you look down your nose at my engagement of what every major Christian denomination regards as "heresy" that you manage to escape your own finger-pointing of "arrogance"?
If my outreach technique doesn't match your elitist standard, am I not a "poor rube" in your eyes?
If you accuse me of doing something that "has no place in Christian thought" -- are you not engaging in your own intolerant heresy hunting whereby you flunk your own standards of perceived tolerance? Are you not thereby engaging in your own version of "Christian triumphalism" where you're expressing, "Boy, I'm glad I'm not a sinner like that Colofornian is"???
I applaud you talking to the poor lady in your example. But I would stop you if you did it by beating her around the head with your bible.
EXPOSING people to Biblical concepts is not automatic IMPOSING upon people from the Bible...'tis your unproved assumption of hyperbole that translates such to "beating...round the head."
Elsewise, you'd have been guilty of beating me over the head with your Bible in your last post...
...since your accusations were plenty...(elitism; triumphalism; arrogance; superiorism; "no place in Christian thought"; assaulting women)
...If you were somehow representing some kind of "kinder and gentler" humble version of Christianity, sorry, you flunked your own personal standards with that post!!!
I’m sorry I don’t understand what you are talking about. I havent expressed opposition to anything except smugness and trampling over other people. I dont mind if people want to fire bible verses at each other, or engage in rationale debate.
Well, to set the record straight, I'm not trying to revise the NT or early Church history - I dont think I mentioned any of that. I just think that witnessing to someone is more effective if you respect their situation, even if you disagree with it. Honey catches more flies than vinegar. Or if you want to be more scriptural, Jesus talking to the woman at the well.
I'm sorry if you thought I was speaking about you personally with the bit about those "revelling in being "saved" seems to be largely augmented by looking down their noses at the poor rubes who are not part of their heavenly club" and "arrogant belief that your preferred set of ordering worship is superior to that of the church down the road". I was speaking in general terms. The tragic fact is that kind of thing does happen. There are Christians who seem to spend more time bashing other Christians about points of theology than they do standing up to secularism, islam, or neo-paganism. I've been on the recieving end of a lot of that, and so I'm quite sensitised to it. Its very saddening and very painful. Friendly fire always is.
I'm a Baptist. I'm a baptist by conviction. I disagree with some of the beliefs and practices of the Anglicans, Methodists, Lutherans and Catholics I have come across, but I don't deny they are Christian. Some Catholics (and extreme protestant groups) dont afford me the same consideration, and I resent that. I resent that an awful lot. I particularly dont like getting it on this site.
Mormans and Jehovahs Witnesses are heretics, but that just means they are wrong. Of course exposing people to the correct Biblical concepts is not automatically imposing upon people from the Bible - but some people do that, and I think that although with God's grace that can work it's more usually counter-productive. Again I wasnt attacking you personally - I don't know how you work - I was making a general comment. I apologise if you've taken that to heart.
Baptist, huh.
is not automatically imposing upon people from the Bible - but some people do that, and I think that although with God's grace that can work IOW, some people still go after Heretics and non believers with what used to be called "bible-bashing" - a heavy handed stream of assertions. Increasingly people you witness to today won't put up with that. Your post will be reported.
I’m absolutely terrified.
Religion is and always has been the problem. Religion is man made way, a human invention, to worship God. He doesn’t want a man made system to worship him. That is what Leviticus is about. Under that system, there is no way for us to get close to Him- or to get it right.
He want’s us to love one another, show mercy, and follow Him humbly- exalting only the one God (because everyone else wants to consume us), and nothing else.
Religion is this woman’s problem- not unbelievers.
You should be. You’re in danger of hellfire.
My, thou art full of thyself. What’s the matter, troll, is nobody paying attention to you?
You bear false witness. And you indulge in personal attacks.
I can tell you’re very lonely. But I already have a date.
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