I spent a long time as a Christian. I’m able to look back on much of that time very fondly. I loved my fellow brethren, and I truly wanted to learn more about God’s will and do my best to follow it. But there was also a deep fear tied to my belief. I think that’s fairly common among fundamentalists, but it may apply to more moderate Christians as well.
Where did this fear come from? There are certainly a number of passages that talk about God’s love for mankind:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? – Rom 8:31
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Rom 8:38-39
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. – 2 Pet 3:9
But despite his love, God can get angry too. And you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry:
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. – Heb 10:26-31
The scariest thing about this is that facing God’s wrath will be a complete shock to some people. There are those who think they’re doing what God wants, but are completely missing the mark:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” – Matt 7: 21-23
What if you believe in Jesus and love God, but aren’t doing God’s will? Is your sincerity enough? This was a thought that plagued me when I believed. If some people would get to Judgment Day only to find that they weren’t acceptable, then why couldn’t such a thing happen to me? How did I know my beliefs were the correct ones? My brother and I used to talk about this a lot. Through study, he and I both began to think that a couple of the doctrines we had always been taught in the Church of Christ were incorrect. Coming to that conclusion was extremely difficult. Were we reading and understanding our Bibles correctly?
As an illustration, consider a minor passage: 1 Corinthians 11. The beginning of this chapter says that women should have their heads covered when they pray. But the passage is confusing. Paul says that since women have long hair, they should also wear a covering when they pray or prophesy. He spends several verses giving reasons why a woman should cover her head, but then in verse 15, he also says that her long hair is given to her as a covering. So do they still need a separate one? Most confusing at all, verse 16 says:
If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.
What does that even mean? Does it mean there’s not a practice of being contentious? That sounds like a crazy thing to have to say. So maybe he’s saying that the head covering is not supposed to be a practice if anyone makes a fuss over it. But that doesn’t make sense either. I mean, what other doctrines are given that caveat? Did any of the 10 Commandments have such an escape clause? The whole passage is confusing. What are Christians supposed to do? Either God wants the covering, or he doesn’t, but that passage can be read any number of different ways.
And of course, that’s far from the only vague passage. When you’re raised in a denomination, you’re taught to read the Bible a particular way. “Predestination” means something very different, depending on who you’re talking to. Who’s right? And what if you were raised in one of the groups that thinks they’re right, but to whom God will say “depart from me, I never knew you”? My brother and I realized how difficult it is to unpack all those preconceptions in order to clearly see the scriptures for what they really say. It’s scary.
Here’s the Point
But eventually, I realized that my fear was needless. The Bible says that God is fair, he doesn’t play favorites, he loves us, and he wants us to find the truth. Jesus said “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt 7:7). If those things are true, then there’s no reason for us to be so worried about getting it wrong, as long as we’re sincerely seeking the truth.
It’s important to realize how significant that point is. If we’re really looking for the answers, then no question is going too far. So if we dig into the Bible and think “it doesn’t make sense to me that God would send people to Hell,” we shouldn’t run from that thought — we should investigate it. It’s okay for us to ask why God would command genocide in the Old Testament. It’s okay to wonder why he seems so hidden. It’s okay to ask why he would inspire people to write a message, but not protect the originals or ensure its accuracy. If God supports our search for truth, then all of these questions are valid. In fact, the people who pursue these questions obviously take the issue seriously. Wouldn’t that be more pleasing to God than those who never question what they’ve been told?
If you believe in God, then have faith in his character. Have faith in his promises. And take him seriously enough to challenge those who claim to speak for him (the writers of the Bible). Don’t let people tell you that you can’t question God whenever you express doubt about a passage. The Bible is not God. So show God the respect he deserves and critically examine the Bible before you accept the claim that he inspired it. If he’s real, he’ll be much more pleased with an honest seeker than with someone who’s too scared to ask the tough questions.
Finding Truth 
Arch,
Denying the scientific findings that the universe had a beginning is like saying the earth is flat and finds its place at the center of the universe.
Science has in fact amassed conclusive evidence that atheism is totally bogus.
LikeLike
I know exactly where all gods come from – the Human imagination. The question I put to you, which you seem afraid to answer, was where do YOU think your god comes from?
LikeLike
Trot it out, let’s take a look at it – unless of course, you’re talking about the likes of Ron Wyatt, or Ray “Banana Man” Comfort and his Boy Wonder, in which case, don’t waste your time or mine.
LikeLike
Arch,
What you expressed was a biased personal opinion that happens to be false.
What I express comes from the philosophers found in the Western Heritage.
So who would anyone in their right mind prefer to listen to, you or Aristotle?
Of course, you think people should listen to you.
That’s because atheism is a shrine for narcissism, a psychological malady.
LikeLike
Arch,
Just take an up to date university class in cosmology.
Yes, it’s called getting an education.
A good education is the best way to get rid of retrograde, pre-modern religions like atheism.
LikeLike
@silentofmind, if you have God’s Grace, why doesn’t it show in your comments here ? I would never want to serve a God if the evidence was to act like you. You really need to stop while you’re behind and go read the New Testament again. As I stated earlier, you need not assist in the decline of Christianity by claiming to be one.
Your comments are embarrassing to the integrity of Nate’s Blog.
“It is better to remain silent and appear ignorant than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt”
LikeLike
Clearly you have no idea how much Humankind has learned since Aristotle first proposed the “First Cause” argument in 400 BCE.
LikeLike
kc,
Who are you to judge me?
Jesus came for sinners like me, not holy, perfect people like you.
The greatness of Christianity is that everybody is welcome, especially the forsaken, the poor, the imperfect.
LikeLike
Arch,
Common sense is ageless. No amount of modernity can make it go out of style.
LikeLike
Gee, what a swell idea! Maybe I could get a class under renowned astrophysicist, Neil Degrasse Tyson – you’re familiar with Tyson, aren’t you? He’s the one who said, “God is an ever-receding pocket of scientific ignorance, that gets smaller and smaller as time goes on.”
I suspect I’ve read far more volumes on cosmology and astrophysics than you have comic books, don’t even presume to lecture me.
LikeLike
@silenceofmind, yes according to Christianity, Jesus came for sinners like you . But when you become a Christian you are to become “Christlike” . I haven’t seen anything you have written here that is “Christlike” . There is a Christian song that ends in, “They will know we are Christians by our love” .
If it says it is a duck , but moos like a cow and poops like a cow, it’s probably not a duck.
Just sayin …….
LikeLike
What would you know about common sense?
LikeLike
We all judge others by their actions. If you are deep in debt , drive a broken down car, have your utilities continually shut off, I am probably not going to hire you to be my financial adviser.
Actions speak louder than words, sol.
LikeLike
Arch,
Stephen Hawking is also a renown atheist scientist.
He was so taken aback by modern findings in cosmology that he began advocating the multiverse, which is totally ridiculous and unscientific.
Atheism takes the best minds and turns them to mush.
LikeLike
Yes silenceofmind, I stand guilty of judging you by your actions.
LikeLike
kc,
Christians are no different than any other people except that they get to experience being open to God’s grace.
The gentling of mankind is due to God’s grace not to any human effort.
Jesus also recommended that hypocrites look in the mirror before they judge others.
LikeLike
kc,
Hypocrites always justify themselves by making their elitism and pride look like holiness.
The judgment seat you sit upon is nothing but an old broken toilet that hasn’t been flushed in a long while.
LikeLike
kc,
As one guilty man to another, may God bless you and keep you and grant your heart’s desire.
LikeLike
I probably should apologize – I had no awareness that I was conversing with someone who is more knowledgeable in the field of astrophysics than Stephen Hawking!!
LikeLike
Arch,
One of the great aspects of science is the sharing of findings.
Our understanding of cosmology has progressed to the point where we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the universe had a beginning.
That is as far as science can go in proving the existence of God.
And atheists know that science is cooking their Godless goose.
Thus the development of really ridiculous ideas like the multiverse.
LikeLike
Si, speaking of mirrors, have you noticed how often you deflect everything said to you, back onto the speaker? I’m reminded of “Pee-Wee Herman” saying, “I know you are, but what am I?” So thanks for that image – I’ll think of you that way everytime I see you exhibit that kind of behavior.
LikeLike
Not true, there are several theories out there, not all posit a beginning.
Arch,
The discussion has been great up to the point where you turn it into a village idiot convention.
Until next time, be well.
LikeLike
Screwed up – let’s try that again —
”
Not true, there are several theories out there, not all posit a beginning.
Even if it were true that the universe had a beginning – and as I say, the jury’s still out on that – there is no scientific proof that a supernatural boogyman had anything to do with it, and most particularly, not YOUR supernatural boogyman over anyone else’s supernatural boogyman.
Examples, please –
LikeLike
Sorry Arch but you are back in the Middle Ages when people thought the Earth was the center of the universe.
Get with the times. It’s impossible to have an intelligent discussion with people who are so yesterday.
LikeLike