Some random thoughts I randomly came up with
- Locked due to inactivity on Oct 26, '18 3:54am
Thread Topic: Some random thoughts I randomly came up with
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All right, so just as a heads-up, this is very long-winded and probably will be offensive to a lot of people. That is not my intent. I scribbled down a draft of this wannabe dissertation several days ago, and I just want it to share it with you guys. Please don't take any of this personally--just take it as a teenager trying to find her feet in her own brain. And I'm sorry if there are typos--I proofed this twice and that's as good as it gets.
And if you really want to get what I'm trying to say, probably it would be a good idea to make sure you've got a good ten minutes on your hands to sit down and actually try to hear my intent in writing this.
Okay enough disclaimers, I'll get into it now :)
So the other day I was practicing piano and as usual, my mind was elsewhere. Apparently music really helps me to think about semi-deep stuff.
I started thinking about how people have all different religions and cannot for the life of them agree on what is true. So hear me out.
We do live in a divided nation. Each person has a different political party and personal opinions on diet and economic policy and gun control. Everyone thinks their way is best and will fix all the problems of today.
And that's all well and good to have different opinions, because in reality, a compromise of all the different views leads to the best solution. Neither Keynesians nor classical economists nor monetarists have it all correct, but a mixture of all their theories ends up helping the economy.
But having different opinions on political issues is a different matter than religion, because people are inconsistent. They are always changing and shifting, so one approach will never work with them.
Religion is different. Religion shouldn't be a matter of debate like which team will win the Super Bowl or which Pixar film is the best. Religion should be more like science--it should have one fixed truth instead of a conglomeration of ideas.
Everyone always says to not talk about religion or politics. Why is religion always equated with politics? Political issues are always changing, but religion stays the same.
No one disagrees on natural science. No one argues the existence of DNA or the chemical makeup of cells. You will never hear a persuasive speech in your chemistry lab class (unless of course it's to convince you to study more!). No one dares to question the workings of the physical world because we all can observe it and see for ourselves that it exists.
If the physical world has a fixed set of laws, is it unreasonable to think that someone set those laws in place? Why is it considered offensive to believe that there is one truth, and to desire for other to believe the same?
I'm not saying I have all the answers, because I don't. I just find it fascinating that nearly every religious debate ends with, "Well, you have your beliefs and I have mine, so we'll just have to agree to disagree." Well, how unprofessional is that! Shouldn't there be one right truth? Either there is a God, or there isn't. Who cares what you think or feel--the truth is truth nonetheless.
If I'm in debate with someone at the top of a ten story building who firmly believes that if they jump, they will simply float back up into the air, I'm not going to let them go on believing that, if I'm any sort of decent person. I'm going to do everything I can to keep them from plummeting to their death on a false premise.
That's a slightly cliche example, but still. If we have no doubts about how the physical world works, how is the spiritual any different?
And who cares if it "works" for you or not? If there is a God, and you've believed all your life that there isn't because being an atheist made you feel more comfortable, that doesn't make much of a difference. God exists either way, whether you like it or not.
People resist God because they want to be their own master. They want to be the master of their fate, the captain of their soul. They want to feel like they've got it all under control. They don't want to have to submit to anyone. I know this, because I've lived this way myself for many years, so I am not criticizing anyone.
Society screams this at us every day. Everyone tells you to find your destiny, believe in yourself, follow your heart. Self-esteem, self-actualization, and self-fulfillment are the buzzwords of today. Who needs to submit to a God when we've got it all together on our own?
But just think about it. Our entire planet that we live on is smaller than a miniscule speck compared to this vast universe. If a bunch of gas and rocks are bigger than us, is it that much of a stretch to believe in a God who made it all?
I don't know much, but I've studied world religions in some depth, and they all have essentially the same moral code. Yet I have found that the only religion that truly offends is Christianity. We all respect Mormons and Buddhists and Hindus and Catholics and Jews and Muslims, but Christians get all the bad reputation. Christinas are constantly accused of being narrow-minded and are ridiculed for their faith. Why is this, when other religions are not that different?
I don't have all the answers, but I think it's because all other religions require you to do something to merit a reward, but Christianity teaches that you are helpless and cannot merit God's favor.
I'm not trying to judge people at all, because I myself am not a very devoted Christian at this point. But I do understand the mindset of atheism. I know what it is to hate God and reject God, and it goes nowhere. God is real, even if you don't like it. It's undeniable. I have seen firsthand unexplainable transformations in people. I have experienced the power of the Bible. Just look around you at this world we live in. There is no reason to deny there is a God, unless you don't want to have to submit to one.
So there you go: my thoughts while I practice piano. I'll probably only have Anastasia and Stardust on my side, but I still wanted to document my ramblings somewhere. I am not claiming to be any sort of expert and I certainly do not want to start any kind of debate. I'm just trying to think rationally and formulate my thoughts into something readable.
If you disagree with me, that's cool. I stil haven't figured out what I believe myself. Just remember I'm not even sixteen years old yet, so cut me some slack if you think I'm an idiot. -
This is something I really try to convey in my posts, that there has to be truth and that it is impossible for all views on this subject to be correct. It's not about trying to be divisive or controversial, but about having an honest desire to know what is real and what isn't. I was an agnostic for years, and during that time it was Christianity that I avoided the most.
But the reason why Christianity is the outlier in religion is because there really are only two opinions overall. There are people who believe the Bible is the Word of God, and people who don't. Either God dictates, or man. In the end the choice is between belief in the God of Israel, or humanism. I have not found good fruit in humanism. The world under man's control has become a pit of misery, only motivated by shiny little moments of fleeting pleasure.
I find it funny. When I was younger I was determined to find my identity, even if it meant I wouldn't be accepted by the world. I was drawn to punk rock and metal, only to find the one thing people couldn't stand were Christians. Look at the Muslim-majority countries in the world today and countries with communist governments. Confessing Jesus Christ there can be deadly. The North Korean government is freaking out trying to do anything to silence that one message from getting out.
Biblical Christianity isn't violent though, and isn't about force. It's a call to a higher purpose, laying your life down in service to God and others. It's about sharing life with others because you love them and don't want to see them die, and because you've experienced that life firsthand. It is the only belief in this world that has real power and light.
If you have any curiosity in you about what we're talking about, look up Richard Wurmbrand, CS Lewis, J. Brett Prince, David Wood, George Mueller, Charles Spurgeon, Lacey Sturm, even Paul the Apostle. What causes atheists, womaizers, swindlers, satanists, violent, broken people to start living for Christ? A willingness to listen to what God says and see how it compares with reality, and then follow the truth.
It's been three years since I started living for Christ. I have no depression, no burning weight in my spirit, no desire to kill myself. I have peace, joy, love, the fruits of the Holy Spirit. I've had trials and challenges, but have drawn nearer to God and grown in wisdom through them. I live to glorify God and help anyone I meet. For all of this, I feel blessed. I feel rich. What God says is true, what Christ has done is real, and I'm alive because of it. -
I...agree. I have said this in the "Do you Believe in God" thread, but I will say it with other things I didn't include. I will obviously include my story, because I know it is true. The reason people hate Christians is because of a stereotype Catholics\Christians have. That they hate gay people, because the Bible said so. Now, I know God loves all that accept him. It is a sterotype, and anyone who believes such things are misinterpreting the Bible. God loves all that accept him, he gave us free will. God puts us through tests, and it's on you if you fail. Now, with that explained, I'll go through my personal proof of him.
As many of you know, I was an atheist for an amount of time. I was very harsh on believers, shooting down the possibility. Until he spoke to me. I did not see him, but he was living in me, and decided to show his presence. Nights and days, I kept having occurring...daydreams, I guess you could say. And in all of them, I somehow sacrificed myself for God. In a reoccurring one, I was told by a priest I filled a prophecy, and needed to sacrifice myself. I ended dying of hunger/dehydration in a bath of holy water. I don't think the message was that I was in a prophecy, but that my connection with God will be strong, I just needed to follow his plan once more. Every time I went to church, I would burst into crying fits, and was upset that church had ended. I wanted to go back. It wasn't long after that I started believing again. When I started to say I believed again, the daydreams, the crying, it all stopped. I told my grandma, and she said it sounds like I was being touched by God. My faith has never been so strong in my life.
It all makes perfect sense. There is heaven, hell, and purgatory. God has angels, Satan has demons, so what does purgatory have? Well, I think ghosts. Ghosts are the spirits who are atoning their sins. This just makes perfect sense. With good, there is evil, but there is a fine line inbetween. I feel ghosts aren't ready to atone for their sins, so they wander around earthly plain, until they are ready. -
I agree with you Hicc... But then again you knew I would.
But when I think about it, not playing music XP, I think about how the simplest life form is just so complex. I look around at the ocean and the trees and the birds and wind and nature. I think about mountains, and planets, and how it all works so perfectly. How can there not a be a creator? I think it takes more faith to believe our world happened by chance. We were placed in an earth with everything we need, we were given souls and thoughts and the power to have crazy discussions on here. Life is too complex to have happened by chance. There is a creator, and I believe it's God.
And I know Christianity does get a lot of hate. Because if we believe in God, we believe in what he says, we believe his truth. And if we believe his truth, there isn't much room to believe in any other thing. Which makes Christians get called narrow minded. Which is hard :/ -
Thank you guys :)
Ana, you're a really neat and inspiring person and I would love to be able to meet you someday. Your story intrigues me so much.
Paige, wow that was beautiful. I mean yeah I've read it before other places but thanks for backing me up gurl ^~^
Stardust, you are absolutely right. Biology class when I was twelve years old was when I realized for myself that there ain't no way there's no God. Stuff is just too complex to have simply exploded into existence. Even in all my rebellion and ups and downs I have never been able to deny that God exists. Because I know the truth. I may not faithfully live it out yet at this point, but I still know it. -
Aw, you're neat and inspiring too, Olivia. You have so much more maturity than I had when I was younger. Your post gave me a lot of encouragement. We'll meet someday, if not on earth then in heaven. ^-^
Biology is my favorite science to study. God's amazing. -
Man, if you think I'm mature then I'm wondering what immature is! XD
but thank you 😊 Glad to have been an encouragement.
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