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Alex here, I'm back. I'll make a SAFemail ASAP for those who'd like to contact me. 1-8-16

File: 1458289301814.jpg (45.18 KB, 450x716, 225:358, 42555.jpg)

473b02 No.261214

I need help, /christian/. This post isn't meant to be self-indulgent or flippant, so I really hope some anons will read it and try to understand my situation.

It all started a couple of weeks ago when I simply got "bored" and began regularly pondering the nature of death and the prospect of a literal eternity within the Kingdom of God. After that, I developed an enormous appetite for philosophical and archaeological works and treatises concerning the possibility of a human soul, as well as even the existence of Jesus Christ in human history. It first started with Descartes and Augustine, but then devolved into scavenging scraps from shitposts and Youtube comments in search of "The Truth."

Needless to say, the search seemed more and more pointless as it went on. These past two weeks have begun to chip away at a foundation of faith which I previously had thought unshakable, and now I am so consumed with uncertainty, fear, and despondency that I might as well be dead.

Ever since then, food lost its flavour. Sleep is not restful anymore, and it feels like there's a hole in my chest. I can't even look my parents in the eye anymore because doing so makes me think of the prospect I'm absolutely never going to see them again once everything is said and done, and that good will never triumph against evil. Everything seems more and more pointless, and I have trouble getting out of bed every morning.

Fast forward to the present and here I am completely willing to give into the modern accusation which tells me that if I return to the path of faith and Christ, I'm a backwards anti-intellectual willingly taking the opiate of the masses. I haven't read the Bible, fasted, or attended Mass for the past 3 months. Today ended with a massive panic attack which shook me to my very core.

I need some wisdom or prayers, PLEASE. ANYTHING. Is this a part of God's will, or is it an evil vexation of the spirit?

a730f3 No.261222

File: 1458295542332.jpg (54.74 KB, 960x739, 960:739, in the den.jpg)

>>261214

well what can you see in your life other than god? Do you think you are better off loosing faith or in the same situation as before? Something tells me you just don't have any drive in Christianity anymore. Why did you become christian in the first place? If you remember try to find that again and you'll have the answer. If you were born into Christianity look at the world and imagine it without god? What do you see? without god all i see is moral decay and the lost blinded by self indulgence (in adults anyway). If it makes you feel better i found Christ in my early 20's without having much religion in my life, to be honest i don't know how i lived without it. Life to me was so futile without god.

Sorry if that doesn't help but you'll be in my thoughts bro, i know what it was like dealing with my first existential crisis, pretty rough but once you find meaning in your life through god or hard work or even through your family you'll feel better. Do you have much spare time on your hands?


a8b49c No.261234

File: 1458301053749.gif (13.85 KB, 275x273, 275:273, 1448343463304-2.gif)

>>261214

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtlwWMJILBA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkh2TXCHpNs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3PdldFAtss

These are long videos but for me discovering Kierkegaard was a massive benefit. He does a very good job a reconciling the meaninglessness that we feel in life with religious compulsion. It is sacry when doubt can cause a physical reaction in ones self. For me, its a pounding heart beat. But so often the way to over come doubt is to over come some sort of obstacle within ones self, for me it was pride and still is. Clam your mind and your heart with music or something and from there evaluate what out of place. Why do you fear death or not death?

My last doubt experience was a coming together of so many things but one was realising that God was more fearsome that I originally thought. I had been a Christian for so many years but i was taking his mercy for granted so much! Through over coming gains greater strength, and is within itself a testament to your faith, stick in there buddy!

I know ive dumped you with so much content but here a shorter one from John piper which may give you the confidence to go on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2llNXxnJqY


78d627 No.261238

I find it strange that Descartes didn't resonate more, since I consider his position completely unassailable (since it is derived from the fact that you can know you exist ).

Same with positions that Aristotle or Leibniz discovered, where denying them is either impossible because the argument against is self-refuting (Leibniz), or they have to start denying basic aspects of reality like causality (Aristotle). In that case, they might as well quit because it too becomes self-refuting.

If anything, I am always more concerned that people will feel utterly oppressed by the reality of an eternal existence. Since it demands action and contemplation in terms of "what to do". I can safely say that denying this is strictly ignorance, not stupidity, since the understanding of the arguments are so foundational to the human experience that people already assume them for day to day life even if they don't know it.

The desire to fit into society should never be of your concern. Would you rather be right, or think whatever everyone else thinks? Even in scripture this dichotomy is ever present through the Gospels. Understanding Christ will put you at odds with the world. Not to mention the idea that "Christians are dumb" is one of the most hilarious things someone can say, since many of the greatest minds in history were Christian, and the rest knew about God.

If you want historical evidence for Christianity, it's only one of the most researched subjects of all time. There are some good youtube channels if you don't feel like reading giant tomes.

https://www.youtube.com/user/godlogicscience

This channel dumps tons of videos every day about various subjects, just going backwards from now on that channel is going to have almost every topic covered. Since it's Easter there have been a ton of videos about the resurrection of Christ, the historicity of the empty tomb, and other things.

https://www.youtube.com/user/InspiringPhilosophy

A nice survey of various topics.


4bff24 No.261242

I'm going to (sort of) copy-paste a reply I made in another thread:

The historical evidence for the resurrection is compelling. See video.

Physicalism is provably wrong because of the hard problem of consciousness and infinite regression, so if not Christianity, then what will you believe?

Ultimately believing or not is a choice. There is no proof. In fact nothing is provable except for the fact that our own consciousness exist and are having subjective experience. Everything that we presume to be the "real world" is based on the assumption that our senses is giving us information from something external from us and that that information is accurate.

It's a choice, it always was a choice, and if you choose to believe, that is what faith is.

"Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me."

-John 20:29

I'll pray for you, anon.


4118b3 No.261243

I'm in the same boat OP. Even woke today in panic. Existential crises are terrible. I don't really know how to help you, or myself. Just know you're not alone. I'm praying for you to have peace.


4bff24 No.261245

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>261242

Video.


473b02 No.261438

>>261222

>Something tells me you just don't have any drive in Christianity anymore.

This is not the case, it seems. I am merely disturbed by the sudden inability to stand with my beliefs with the same conviction that I used to. i can no longer defend myself from arguments from the people like Epicurus or even James Randi. Never before in my life have I felt so powerless and vulnerable. It feels like all of my prayers up to this point have been wasted, yet at the same time I feel like I need Jesus to be near me more than ever before.


ce2bd7 No.261451

>>261214

I'm glad you posted this, because I've been feeling this myself, but I've been agonizing for weeks how to phrase it. I'll see if I can sum up my thoughts here when I come back from mass.


a730f3 No.261459

File: 1458383450883.jpg (139.28 KB, 1047x800, 1047:800, 1425245393500.jpg)

>>261438

firstly you should never feel vulnerable, god is with you, bro, and he always will be.

>i can no longer defend myself from arguments from the people like Epicurus or even James Randi

so, who cares? People ask me 'why are you christian' because i am, plain and simple. I see the good and i see the evil, i see the lies and i see the truth in people, life is a lot easier for me now that i have the faith. People that deny god because of x y and z seem to just replace god with….? nothing. Without god what is the point to life? it'll be the same but now you'll just see the world barren of good.

What you do with it does count, sure, every day is a blessing so enjoy it with meaningful hard work, family and friends knowing the lord is with you and he'll always be there to help you find yourself and him again. If you don't have the god in your heart you'll fill that void with anything to feel something again. Most people just turn to consumerism or life styles and when they feel the same and see the void is till there they do it again like a junky that needs another fix.

Sorry if this doesn't help but it sounds like you're letting nothing somehow warp you and your life. All i can offer is for you to read the bible and find what brought you to Christianity in the first place. If that doesn't help do some good for goodness sake and you'll see Christian life is worth living. If you are questioning whether you are a christian or not i'll tell you the difference between me and and a denialist. I admit who my lord is, everyone else seems to lie to the mirror.


db7b77 No.261479

>>261438

Well if you want help defeating atheist arguments you can just ask us for help.


ce2bd7 No.261613

>>261214

I think I mistook this thread for the >>261232, but they have a lot of things in common. I come from an atheistic background, and based on the assumption that God is the creator of all things seen and unseen, it all makes perfect sense, but I can't quite bring myself to accept the base assumption. But neither choice is unproblematic, chose to walk away and continue living as an atheist, I will also have to live with the loss of the hope that good will triumph over evil. It's one thing never having had it, but to have had it and then lost it is another thing. Being able to start jerking off again doesn't exactly make up for that.

>>261234

Interesting. I definitely comes from the aesthetic sphere, dabbling in the ethical. One of the things that drove me to investigate Christianity was witnessing in western society a large scale rejection of not just the concept of right and wrong, the bread and butter of the ethical sphere (as evidenced by sexual immorality and abortion) but even beauty. Contemporary music sounds more like noise to me, and I recently went to a prestigious art museum, only to find a blown up macro photograph of a man's testicles. The same museum that has a lot of beautiful religious art over in the "lame" section.

I grew up in an ethicist family, believing, perhaps arrogantly, that we could simply maintain our superior sense of beauty and right and wrong previously curated by the Church, and everything would be fine. Instead we're seeing a large scale dismantling of just that. Just walking on the streets, even in wealthy neighbourhoods, and seeing all the littering, vandalism and menacing gangs of youth, both foreign and native, is unbearable at this point. So I think it can be argued that the empirical data fits Kierkegaard's models remarkably well.

So maybe I will have to take that leap of faith and accept the base assumption. But how do I tell a genuine leap of faith from merely pretending the base assumption is true and letting all the other pieces fall into place? Mind you, I'm not proposing lukewarmness, being lukewarm would be intellectually dishonest, to accept the base assumption but deny the inevitable consequences. One consequence is that to take up the cross and following Jesus becomes an absolute imperative. There can be no choice, it must be done. So the visible effects, as well as the material sacrifices of both taking a leap of faith and playing pretend would be the same.


ce2bd7 No.261614

>>261613

>I come from an atheistic background, and based on the assumption that God is the creator of all things seen and unseen, it all makes perfect sense, but I can't quite bring myself to accept the base assumption.

I should perhaps clarify. By it all I mean everything the Church teaches.


473b02 No.261615

>>261451

Any updates?


ce2bd7 No.261681

>>261615

The update is what I posted above, >>261613

I intended to write it as soon as I got back yesterday, but I procrastinated, my greatest vice.


4c5db6 No.261819

>>261245

i am living through feelings very similar to OP and I look forward to watching this after work. thank you


73364d No.261828

Christianity as a religion is 'false'. Just like all the other religions.

Maybe there is something out there - some deity, some entity, some afterlife. But it is nothing like what is taught in Christianity.


d9c85a No.261833

>>261613

>I grew up in an ethicist family, believing, perhaps arrogantly, that we could simply maintain our superior sense of beauty and right and wrong previously curated by the Church, and everything would be fine.

I think that's what Nietzsche understood, but everyone ignores it's massive repercussions.


eaaea7 No.261847

File: 1458607297285.jpg (17.97 KB, 251x243, 251:243, 1264049874652.jpg)

>>261828

>pic related


7fb38d No.261849

you shouldn't believe everything that you read on the internet OP

don't underestimate how intricate the webs of lies laid down on the internet by the devil are

go back to Christ anyway, you apparently don't meet the wisdom(or is it knowledge?) prerequisite(s?) to understand how you can both be intelligent and be with Christ Jesus at the same time; that opiate of the masses thing is just another lie that you should avoid


73364d No.261943

>>261847

So go ahead and do it, Christcuck.




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