Doubting

Theblessedone

Hi all, I'm new here. I have a very general question. I know or assume that almost everyone doubt the existence of God every once in a while because we care. I have doubted it before and always found reasons to come back to believe but lately i have been doubting and looking for answers but the more i dig deeper i get further. so would you all explain or share your reasons to why you believe that God exists? 

Thank you and please remember me in your prayers! 

ShareTheLord

As lame as this sounds, believing in the non-existence of God is just as crazy and doubtful as believing in the existence of God. There is too much order, there is too much beauty within this creation, it seems impossible that God wouldn't exist. In fact, His non-existence simply makes no sense to me... God bless you with any answers you seek.

minasoliman

I believe in God because I believe in Love. If Love is eternal, if I still love someone beyond the grave, then I believe in the One who best expresses this Love for us.

Joshuaa

I believe in God because I understood a relationship and experiance that has a profound meaning in my life that I need to follow. and that God always offers His salvation and I know when I missed the target and that He is always there to correct me. I'm remorseful that I don't use my Lord's words much more offend than I should because I feel it is me talking when He has done great wonders and I would prefer that I show Him in my life than me.

 I won't tell you my life story but He is the life and the truth and the way. First of all, there are so many parrallels in my life and church. The first is I am truely adopted, so I was born into a world of strangers and in church we also are adopted because of Christ. God gave me great loving parents and my father said my mother had a heart of gold and she did. She sent me to a methodist church when I was young and when I had completed the first year of sunday school I was given a book for excellance and it was the 23rd Psalm. The shepard looking after the sheep. In my country at the time, it was 20 sheep for every person so I saw a meaning there and when I was baptisted into the Coptic church, (the church used a methodist building as it's church) there was a stained glass window above where the communion was taken, and the stain glass window was the 23rd Psalm dispite me feeling the Holy Spirit as soon as I when in there. Everything was right, perfect and I understood the significance of everything and had a very deep meaning.

   Back to my youth, I saw war everywere when I sort peace and love and I wrote peace and love on my school books. God is the one who was love and brings peace and when I was ten He saved my life so from then on it wasn't Him that went from me but me going away from Him in what ever I did. It is a part of free will that we choose but that He offers His salvation and to get back on that path as quickly as possible because it is there. If you know what is in the bible  then you will know what the path to salvation means in your life and to be conscious of it. Fron there, you will know what the true meaning of sin is and that it is to miss the goal or straying from the path.

  What brought me back to God after many years of being astray, was a simple arguement I had with a supervisor. Before he was supervisor he worked on the floor just like us but I found that he made people I had made friends lose respect for me and ridicle me. He had come to me and started talking about this woman we worked with, putting her down and I didn't respond and he stormed off shouting why don't you speak? why don't you speak? and calling me names.

 Later he spread a humilliating rumour about me which went to everyone and someone came to me and said everyone knows abot me. Still I said nothing. what was in my mind was I had a personality test to be there and I got in the top two per cent in the country and the question I didn't get best on concerned him and the question was do you have faith that you team leader( which he was by then) will do what is right for you? I put zero. I got it wrong even though he was to fire five people, especially as those are ones I was making friendships with. It sounds bad but actually it was good because it was part of me being brought to God. There is a part in the bible where we aren't supposed to be friends with the world and I understood it and that God had taken me out of the world.

 There are also more things like the names in the bible have meanings that are specific in relation to God and I have more than one name; like my deacon name is Athanasius and he said if the whole world is against me, then I am against the whole world. I was in that situation when I was baptised and still am to a lesser extend as the rumour that had gone between those people at work was still spread to the community and just as those whom I made friends with at work and changed their continance and demeanor toward me, the same has happened to my neighbour; the shop keeper over the road; my church the supermarket: and my sons school is and where those whom were working with eighteen years ago talked this rumour. I still didn't talk after fifteen years of them holding it against me. I am remorseful because I feel I let the devil get his way because this man gave them pride and they bought into it. Pride puts you above others and they became judges of the law and not doers. Which is falseness and I didn't combat it. 

   What made me try and combat was in the end was when I got married I became weak ( I once asked an abouna what direction I should take in my life and he said I could become a monk and I would go to Eygpt. I chose to get married which is harder because it brings you back into this world and the sacrement of marriage is not one for salvation. Anyway, my wife is ethiopian and living in a strange place is differcult, but when I saw the ethiopians in church I saw them dressed in white and all I wanted to see and be in is innoccents and didn't see the power-stuggles and conflict that society has. Because I knew God's love and peace was in me, I wanted just to stay like that and not be a busy body. It's like there's a war and you have walked into it.

 Beause marriage can became a weak state if you don't find support from God I found myself having God but not God before anything else, which is why, like you Theblessedone, we get lost a bit or stray, or start to doubt. I see doubt as a big weapon in the devil's arsenal. It goes against trusting, believing, been certain in life and when if you do follow our Lord God Jesus Christ the sheperd, He takes you to have communion in His truth, His way and His life and it is one in communion with the saints and martyrs and one that unifies all because love unifies.

  I pray you look for the love that unifies and there you will find your salvation in Christ and the true meaning of the Fathers love toward us. I have many stories and some very serious in which death is involved but even in my weakest moments were I know I've let the devil in, I have got back to my Lord and He has strengthened me and kept a promise and it makes me cry knowing this truth.

 God bless. 

mikeforjesus

You are trying to solve all the problems. It is like putting the ocean in a hole. I have been through it.

You can't give faith to others it is a gift from God to those who seek Him. You have to build faith by your experiences with God
When the disciples said increase our faith Jesus reply was in essence you may already have faith even though it is a mustard seed
Peter had faith from his experiences with God it was only a mustard seed and so he walked on water but when he doubted he fell in the water

I have replied to another poster but perhaps I should add to be more cautious and explore without harm the possibility that this does not mean salvation is unjustly easy to obtain but we must agonise to enter through the narrow gate for some will seek to enter but will not be able. Some might even try to believe but will not be able to not because the door is closed but they didn't really seek enough. But that might not be true I don't want to teach error and hopelessness. The bible does say He is not far from each of us so in that regard it is not too difficult.

Pope Kyrillos VI said 18. “Rest assured and do not think too much about any matter. Leave it to God who is in control. Have you known anyone who has trusted in God and was let down? Heaven forbid

There is a certain amount of effort you must make but you don't need to worry you are not making enough effort but you should be certain that you will find As long as you are putting a reasonable amount of effort every day you can be sure you will find God opened the eyes of the disciples to understand the scriptures after He was risen from the dead Paul says when one turns to the Lord the veil is taken away. It is with the heart that one believes unto salvation so one should pray a bit everyday and God perhaps can make one believe who doesn't even read many books just the bible. I would not preach this if believing in Jesus would not be a sure outcome. I did not preach this because I thought it can not be true that one can not have good hope in his salvation as though he can not be sure God loves him and thinking lack of faith means God has rejected you and that you have not pleased Him enough in the present but that is not true but He wants you to live in hope now but as Jesus said to the sinner woman your faith has saved you. He wanted to leave her with peace even though she was not saved yet but she left forgiven and sure that she is now in control of her destiny.

My dad disagrees saying everyone who seeks will find even on his death bed but I said it is true but he must put alot of effort to find.
He may have disagreed or agreed I do not know

Joshuaa

You are very right Mike and I do think a lot, but we are given as much as we are able to cope with. I read your other post and I was thinking abouna didn't let you proceed because he felt you might end up disappointed and not able to cope.
When we obey the commandment to love God then to love your neighbour, it has to be in that order to be truthful.
When you have loved God, you deny yourself and take up the cross and you see troubles and tribulations in a different light where they are less of a burdon but that God is perfect His love. It's God getting the impurities from this world out.
Only then can we truely love our neighbour because of Him. Then can we truly evangelize if that was your aim.
If you are evangelizing Mike you are seeking unity and that is what God wants. Communion is unity, love is unity God in the Trinity is unity. What opposes that is separation. The devil separates and satan was up in the highest, so knows how far we have to go and what he needs to do to separate. us no matter how far you think you have got and the beginning is doubt. It's the start of uncertainty and if we had focased on denying ourselves and committed our life to God. Who denies themselves? Would you give up pride in your culture when the egyptians have done so much for world civilization. If you were been truthfu to Godl, you would because it is of this world, the one that is passing away.
When you approached abouna, it had to be in mind of him caring about your spiritual well-being. I pray you are able to talk about God and find your truth in Him.

As for me, I talked about some of the tribulations. They had the purpose of bringing me closer to God. I do think alot but it's all good, but you see if something like denying yourself is brought up, it brings up many things to deny not only in day to day living but major things, like been adopted has the problem of rejecting before been rejected. I over came that problem but I know it is still there, but the important thing is God helps me to overcome each time by me knowing of His love so I am able to love and at the same time to seek unity. If I seek unity because of Him and the other refused my job is done and it's up to other to understand their weak state and submit themselves to God.
I had been with the ones who wanted to be high up in life and they were my friends and they are millionaires and a Prime minister whom was bullied and in whom I was feeling deep empathy for when he was crying in front of the class. I tried to teach him how to defend himself and in the end he jumped on my back and held my face in the ground and wouldn't stop. I wasn't angry but put it in my memory and I also convinced him to join the opposition party that his family was bought up with. He was asked why he was in his party and to this day he doesn't know why he joined. I do, and it's because of the one whom saved his mother in the holoocost and the whom he denies now.
If you want to know what my understanding of this is he chose the path of this world where I chose a spiritual path but became lost and became the prodigal son.

Mike if you want to evangelize, then follow St Paul's example of to the unknown God where he found commonality with the people and showed our God was greater. So to deny yourself and through that humble yourself then you will find commonlaity and then you can evangelize. Warning we are not protestants as they sort independence and that is the platform of their evangelizin. It appeals to youtht and Americans as both love independence and seek one as a right of passage and the other as a right of law.

Thanks for your advice Mike and the quotes I think since God gives you as much as you are able to cope with then your works are in your faith and from that I see you never giving up and so your works of faith will justify you in your salvation. I'd like to add my prayers to this.

Joshuaa

Oh and independence is a form of separation so it would be great if you evangelized a protest to the Orthodox faith Mike. Remember commonlaity and work through that in the hope they see something higher than their own independent interpretations.

Joshuaa

I wish to repent if I have in any way lead astray. The why question is one that asks for defense and so my defence in Christ Jesus is 1 Peter 3:8-22.

mikeforjesus

Thanks dear Joshuaa :)
Sorry that it seemed I was replying to you but I was replying to theblessedone

Joshuaa

That's ok love you brother and if it wasn't for our Lord Christ we would never of known each other or shared our lifes.
Keep me in your prayers and I will certainly pray for you tonight.
God bless

mikeforjesus

Thank you :) God bless you. Your in my prayers

Joshuaa

My prayers for you Theblessedone.
Forgive me but I think the question of why is always framed as a doubting question and as such puts someone on the defensive.
God loves His creation and calls us all but it isn't all that listen.
I pray for the humanity that we listen to the Word and hear the message of salvation.

mikeforjesus

No one who tries to find Jesus will not find Him however late. Therefore no one should have despair to not even try. That does not mean you can sin all you want and expect to have a chance to seek God because one may die while he is not seeking God
I don't know how accurate this post is I will leave it to others more knowledgeable

Theblessedone

I would like to thank you all for posting and explaining. 2 things that I need to comment on;

First is what "minasoliman"said that he believes in God because he believes in love. which is the most that i struggle with the most. if you convince yourself to believe in anything you will probably succeed. so how can you differentiate form what is really true and what you told yourself (or been told) that its true?

secondly is that "Joshuaa" your story is amazing and i appreciate you sharing it. and i promise that I'm not trying to offend you when i ask that how can you tell that it is from God? and it wasn't just things happened and it happens to be this way? 

Finally, my biggest issue is that; we are all educated people and know with some degrees how the mind and feelings work. So if i don't really feel God but i still believed for my whole life just because i told myself that is the right thing. so physiologically  i made myself believe that was the truth and the only truth because that is what i told myself. In a world today with overwhelming information how can we really know what is the truth and what is that we just tell ourselves is the truth? we get influenced in everything we do. I hope someone understands the struggle and let me how they dealt with it 

mikeforjesus

You have to be born again to know it is true. When you accept Jesus miracles start to happen. You have power to overcome sin. Also many Christians do not ask God anything because they do not know what to ask. Jesus said ask in My name that the Father be glorified in the Son. I can not speak because I am not born again anymore because I thought I could prove that I could one day merit salvation by being sinless even if it is becoming sinless and even if you acknowledge you were sinful before
it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
but it is possible with Gods grace only to those who He thinks deserves that grace by their attitude that is to completely depend on Him and that grace will not be given to those who think they can merit it
I do not know what to ask God because I do not abide in Him long enough and delight myself in the Lord
Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles
to show He accepted them the Jewish church had to accept them to be baptised to acknowledge they have been accepted by God and for them to become saved at the last day
The gospel is John 3:16
Grace is given to everyone who believes and it is easy to become righteous but you have to cooperate with Him
In that sense it is said My sheep know Me
They know He works in them
It is hard to accept this message and it may not be true because of Matthew 23 to 25 and other verses but perhaps everyone who trusts in Jesus power will be able to fulfill it
Anyway it is my theory I do not know if Gods power will come again to me or He wants me to take up my cross daily and work very hard for my salvation
But everyone who is truly saved that means had genuine sorrow would not test the Lord but will always will to do good he does not know when the Lord will come so is watchful

mikeforjesus

However the below may apply to my teaching

2 Peter 2:18-20 (NKJV)
Deceptions of False Teachers
18 For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped[a] from those who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. 20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.

The answer is not to stop striving for purity because if you fall it is a sign you are not saved and have not learnt something you will only learn grace when you keep striving and you draw near to God and ask for His grace and power. You have to strive for God to give you power and at that moment you are saved but you can lose it. If you do not have that power anymore there may be a reason you have to seek it again and God will teach you why.

I am not teaching heresy of salvation in a moment because I am not saying one's salvation is guaranteed due to one moment when you think you accepted Christ. As the church teaches we have been saved, we are being saved and we hope we will be saved

Joshuaa

if you believe the truth in Jesus Christ, then the paths leading to His Kingdom are without sin and you would not accept the sin of this world by comparison to His truth. How do you get on the path? He teaches you?
When we read Psalm 25: 4-5 Show me your ways O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day
God is teaching us His ways thereby we have become an icon of Jesus and live our life in Him. The emotions come with this truth that if you suffer for His sake, you have unity in Him and if you show mercy for His sake you will have communion with the living God. You are sharing His life and His with yours. If you are doing anything for His sake it is because of His love for us and that we sacrifice a bit of ourselves to others to show God's love. We share love and His goodness that when we abide in Him and Him in us, the emotions we have are directed by the goodness and if those emotions are not directed by receiving His goodness, then yes, they are caught up with the world and lose their spiritual meaning; one that is very personal and at the same time very unified with the church and the saints and matyrs.
If Jesus is on the cross and the matyrs also and I suffer this as well, then we are the same and I can understand and feel the same as a matyr did 1600 years ago even in this contemporary time.

Thank you Mike also for your words as I always reproach myself when I'm searching for answers and when you said about losing our power for a reason and that we have to seek it again reminded me of Pope Shenoda saying to get back up as quickly as possible when you fall.

mikeforjesus

Thanks dear brother :)

mikeforjesus

Alot of the above is heresy I disrespected my own purpose and presented born again in a bad manner. And it is false to believe that the Holy Spirit will do almost all the work. It is actually us which have to strive all the time but the Holy Spirit is a helper to make it possible. I was caught up in some protestant heresies. I should rather say devilish errors for the devil inspired me and not all protestants believe they don't have to fulfill all the Lords commandments. Jesus said heaven and earth will pass away but not one jot or tittle will pass from the Law until all is fulfilled. Therefore they need to be like the wise virgins and also work hard so their earthly talents produce fruit to the Lord and they make sure they look after their spiritual talents to be able to preach when a person is ready to listen when they see you are a good hard worker and generous good example of christ.
Salvation is never easy you have to strive for repentance all your life but God can give grace for salvation to anyone in their final hours. It may depend on people striving for repentance all their life through their prayers grace is given to others. There is no such thing as God will only grant you repentance if you make salvation easier for others. No person is crowned except the person who struggles. He who overcomes will receive the crown of life

mikeforjesus

I am turning out very bad. I have issues with accepting rebuke from authority and trusting their care for me. Please ban me because I will keep fighting otherwise

Joshuaa

My brother Mike. You repented and I pray you see things more clearly and we are not a judge of the law but a doer of the law.
But speak to abouna when you have clearly identified the problem and try to submit without complaint and I'm sure he will help in the grace of God.

I pray you find peace Mike. God bless

mikeforjesus

Thanks so much for the encouragement and good advice brother :)

Joshuaa

You are welcome and you are needed. We are corrected all day long and must submit to this correction and to let the Holy Spirit help us by Jesus Christ's word.
The Father sends you the help in Jesus Christ's name.

John 14:26 But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Theblessedone, the flesh is the flesh and the Spirit is the Spirit and the the flesh has the emotions with the flesh, but by the truth in Christ's resurrection, we are lead spiritually in the same resurrected Christ and live as an icon of Christ to do good as it represents God's goodness where sin hinders us in representing this goodness.

God bless you.

minasoliman

Dear theblessedone,

There are two things that one can ask oneself to help contemplate about their beliefs:

What is love?
What/Who am I at the core of what truly defines me?

See if you can take a stab at those two questions.