Christians, why do you believe?

Hi Questioner,

That is a very good question you posted there.

Why do I believe the way I do? Well, through reading the Bible, studying, sharing with others, and just everyday living makes it the only choice for me.

I have a personal relationship with a loving God that blesses me daily. Oh, I know, many would call those things coincidences, but I call them blessings.

I believe that my faith makes me a better person. I try to live as much by the words of Christ that I possibly can. It's just the love that I receive from a loving God that makes me believe!

That's a hard question to put an answer simply. I hope that helped.

Hey MA.

Thanks for the reply.

If you don't mind me digging a bit deeper. What caused you to first take up your beliefs? If this is too personal I completely understand.

It's not too personal. Not at all. Well, I grew up in a very dysfunctional home. My mother was a Christian and my father was, well, let's just say if he was a Christian, he certainly didn't act like it. My mother showed me by her actions that the way I wanted to go was Christianity. She showed me by her interactions daily with me and others just what God was all about. She wasn't the type to force it down your throat.

I learned that I had to take responsibility for my own actions. I try to do this. I am not sure that's a very good way to explain this. If you have other questions, just ask. I have no problem answering you. Sometimes it just takes me a bit to get the answer out the way I feel it in my heart. If you know what I mean? LOL

Reading

Thanks for the replies MA. I'm trying to discover what points about Christianity sold it to those who believe. The majority of the people I've spoken with say pretty much the same thing. They saw how someone else acted, and wanted to be like them.

That's an interesting reason. I'm hoping that one or two people here will have different ones.

I really want to reply on this... I'm a college student, though, and so I will reply as I have time (it's a busy time of the semester ).

Questioner,

I am sorry I couldn't be of more help. It was mostly learning how you should act as a Christian that drew me yes, but I find the teachings of Jesus to be beautiful! If only we could focus on the Beatitutdes!

I had read some stuff Redeemed had written in another thread. He(?) writes very well, as you do. I am sure you will get a much clearer answer.

One of the reasons (there are several) was when I discovered that all the hogwash I had been taught about the bible was not in the bible.

I heard Jesus loves you even though everyone else thinks your an A--hole.

Algis,

Well, yes. I believe that also. But, can I ask you something? Were you being sarcastic or serious?

I believe the way I do because it is a religion that forces me to take responsibility for myself as Momma Angel pointed out. Also, it helps me to understand that there is no hierarchy the way the world envisions it. I like that Jesus was a lover of all people, not just those that fit his standards. There are many things about Christianity that bother me, especially the general preachiness, but I think it is one of many religions that serve to give people peace of mind, and a noble goal in life (helping others, doing good works, being pure in heart and mind).

For me, my family are non-practicing Catholics, and I began practicing after my memere died as a response to her devout faith (she practiced) and because I felt that God was calling me in some way to follow her lead. Thats where it began.

I am a Christian for several reasons, which I will list below. I will try to keep this somewhat short, but I have a lot of reasons.

~ I want to continue in the Christian faith because I respect its God. I believe that we are always worshipping something (whether it's ourselves or a mainstream god). I would rather worship a God who makes decisions based on who He is (even if I don't understand all of them). If He made decisions based on me and my opinions, the world would be on a constant emotional rollercoaster *grin*. He is something solid: unchangeable. Because I believe that He exists beyond our concept of the universe and the physical world, I prefer trusting Him rather than what changes and ends. Also, since I believe He created the world, I think He knows how to run it better than anyone else.

~ The more I learn about God and the more I sense His presence in my life, the more I see that I am involved in something so much bigger than me. That is just awesome to me. I don't want my life's purpose to be me. In God and His ways, I find meaning for existence.

~ In my experiences with God, I have become aware of His love for me and for the world. This is a bigger issue/debate than I have time to fully address here, but Ibasically, according to the Bible, God made humans to be complete and fulfilled only when we are in a relationship with Him. Consequently, He will do whatever He can to draw us to Him - even if it means thwarting our plans or allowing bad things to happen. That is what the Bible says is our ultimate good, and that is one way God shows His love for us.

~ I am in nursing school, so naturally I spend a lot of time studying the human body - as well we should hope . The order and intricacies of the entire human body (from the simple cell to organ systems to homeostasis as a whole) speak to me of design (and therefore, a Creator). I just think that the odds of something that amazing developing from nothing are slim at best.

*Note: If some parts of this don't make sense, I'm sorry... just ask, and I will try to clarify.*

Redeemed,

Wow! That is absolutely awesome. You have a gift with your words.

I am so glad to hear you say about the body and it's intricacies being amazing. The most amazing thing to me is sight. I know how it is explained scientifically but if you really think about it, what a miracle!

I know there are those that don't agree with our concept of God, but they sure don't know what they are missing!

Thank you for your post.

reasons
I wanted to give questioner some other reasons why christians believe what we believe. Well, my number one reason is the absolute TRUTH that the bible gives. When I read the bible im sometimes filled with this happiness and awe that i sometimes fell like dancing, and im not joking either! My favorite books are proverbs and eccleseastese(might be spelt wrong). These books are so great because of the undeniable truth they give! The advice that is within the chapters are perfect. Instead of giving examples i'd suggest reading those books to see what i mean; if I were to try to explain them, there meaning would just be dumb downed.

P.s. Another reason i beleive is that there is no descent evidence against the bible, but something else. My main reason is stated in the first paragraph.

P.s.s. im seriouse about the dancing part. I geuss i was filled with the spirit.

Interesting. Thank you to all that have replied thus far. I'm having some difficulty getting around what I perceive to be fairly fundamental gaps in the bible and the church as a whole.

I appreciate all of your viewpoints. Thanks again.

Do you mind sharing those gaps? I've had a lot of questions before in regard to those kinds of things, and some of them I've found answers to. I might be able to answer some of your questions.

The gaps are things that have been covered fairly in depth in these forums already. I feel that revisiting them here in this thread would only spark the kind of debate I wanted to avoid here.

So to that end, no, I won't share them here. But I appreciate your willingness to attempt an answer.

Okay.

I'm interested in some of the things going on here. I will ask if I may slap an addition to Questioner's line- I'm curious about Non-Western Christians. As a professor of Religious studies and the like I come across all kinds of believers and nonbelievers. I have seen (my opinion) a difference in the belief 'structure' of Western Christians and others. What I mean is this: If you were born in a non-Western country and have converted/accepted what have you: WHY? (As Questioner noted, this too is not meant as bait or anything...just curious from a scholarly P.O.V.)

I feel that (in any country) the reasons one gives for adhering for an 'accepted' faith (in other words, one that is 'indigenous' to its land) is different from the reasons one gives when 'changing' faiths (Japanese turning Christian, Londoner turning Buddhist, etc...) So if I may butt-in thank you, if not: no harm done!