Christy split your responses into a new, independent thread. (link above)
JacksonC
I fully understand what you are going through. I became an atheist as a result of the YEC message many years ago. The Lord created me to be a scientist and what YEC taught simply did not make sense. No other Christian pathway was presentedā¦either YEC or atheism is their message. I truly believed science had disproved God based on that messageā¦until I realized science canāt disprove God as He is not falsifiable.
The Holy Spirit grabbed hold of me. My journey to belief was awful as my world turned upside down. There were days where I would literally hide under a blanket in emotional turmoil and depression. There is a physical reaction to having deeply held beliefs overturned.
I can assure you that it does get better, and in fact, faith strengthens and gets deeper as you learn correct information about Creation. The more you seek through learning, the more He will touch you and the faith returns. What you are giving up is the lie that YEC must be correct for the Bible and the Christian faith to exist. YEC leaders heavily market that point to keep an audience in light of the overwhelming scientific information that is in opposition to their science teachings.
Accepting truth about nature, as we discover through science, does not mean that Jesus is not our Savior. Recognizing that beliefs on Genesis vary greatly, as held by faithful and dedicated Christians, should help to quiet those depressed and confused feelings. Diverse views on Genesis does not bother God. It keeps us talking about Him. He will meet you where you are and He isnāt concerned with you questioning. Donāt give up. We will be praying for you.
Dana
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Thanks for sharing your wonderful story, Dana.
@JacksonC - Hereās another testimony you might find interesting. Mario Russo refers to himself as a ārecovering answer addict.ā
Grace and peace,
Chris Falter
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It occurs to me to ask, has there been any time in Christian history when everybody agreed on exactly how to interpret the Bible?
I doubt it. We like to think of our current circumstances as unique, maybe even think as though if Darwin never wrote his book, we wouldnāt have anything to argue about, but having to evaluate the truth of things other people claimāmaybe even good people we are close toāis a problem as old as the Bible itself (at least!).
@JacksonC, your struggles are real. Not wanting to keep living the way you have been is a serious sign that somethingās wrong. But how do you want to live? If you had all the material things you wanted, would that make you happy? Or if someone was always there to cheer you up, would that be happiness? Or is there work you would have to do on yourself, so that you become the type of person who could fully enjoy these situations?
Thatās a lot of work to, and working on yourself is usually the hardest kind of work there is. Not only that, itās invisible, so it can feel like youāre not being productive at all. Itās overwhelming and confusing and depressing to stare at a mountain in your path and think about climbing it.
But hereās the thing, the big secret: once you do that work, once you weed and grow your garden, itās yours. You donāt need money or entertainment to be happy. Instead, you have enough to share with others when they need it.
Religious teachings are our guidebooks to the really hard work we have to do. Nobody is saved because they believe in a worldwide flood.
Donāt give up. What kind of world do you want to live in?
*Disclaimer: I am just an internet commentator. I am not licensed or qualified to treat depression. If above advice makes things worse instead of better, disregard and seek professional help.
Please slow down and take a deep breath. Remember that there is no proof there is a God and no proof there is not a God. All we humans get to choose if we believe in God and what we decide to believe about our God. Is there conflicting data out there? Absolutely! Of the thousands of Christian denomination that exist, each has its own āinterpretationsā of the Bible and dogma. Obviously some of them have to be āwrongā (incorrect) because they all donāt agree on every detail. So where does that leave you (and the rest of us)? You get to choose on the exact details about what the Bible says and what you want to believe. Many of us will ālatch on toā a particular church/denomination and follow the teachings and interpretations we find there. That is one way to do it. We all are much more comfortable worshiping with others who accept God, Jesus and the Bible along the same lines as we do.
Please donāt go crazy feeling you have to have every answer fit every possible explanation that you can find. Iām guessing you will be happiest and most fulfilled establishing your own spiritual relationship with God and Jesus and ignore all the others that are all 100% certain they have the right answers.
Beaglelady is right. This is the most important and alarming thing by far at this point. However much cognitive distress this issue makes you feel, it should not be hitting you this hard. Deal with the suicidal feelings first, and then work on everything else later. Please contact your pastor, your doctor, your counselor, a friend or loved one, and let them know how you are feeling and let them help you get professional help.
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I just want to know why Christianity is the truth, since I previously based it on intelligent design.
I realised lately that arguments for Christianity go into two camps: one is from nature, and the other is from logic. You have been in the nature camp all along and you havenāt yet discovered the beauty and truth found in the ālogicā camp, which is far greater and more exciting! Read Mere Christianity by CS Lewis. I think that is one of the best arguments from logic that I know. Then tackle Miracles also by CSL. He was an evolutionist himself, but he doesnāt argue from nature.
Personally, the ānatureā based arguments for God have never attracted me, and I was never brought up to believe in any ādesignā argument. In fact, I find these arguments incredibly dull ā¦ that is compared to logic based arguments.
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