Evidence for God from Science

militarynewb wrote:I have been fighting for years with myself with my faith and belief in God and Jesus Christ and how he died for our sins, blah blah blah. It seems no matter how much I try to convince myself of God's existence and all he has done for us, I have another side of me fighting against it. It seems like my brain is trying to oppose Gods existence without any real grounds of doing so. It is like my brain is saying NO God does not exist, but i will not give you a reason why.

It makes logical sense to me that the universe was created by a Creator because my mind will not let me understand how we can exist in the first place because there has to be a beginning to everything, so essentially, we shouldn't exist at all. I've tried reading the bible and praying but i don't hear or feel anything. People say the feel Gods presence and Jesus Christ inside them, and i have prayed to feel this as well, but i don't feel anything. I am seriously expecting I am supposed to feel something inside me that is supernatural and makes me believe with no doubt of His existence.Enter a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? I am supposed to feel something right? like a warm fuzzy feeling. I have gone as far as trying to convince myself that my conscience is Gods voice, but I'm very doubtful of that.

With all the effort I have been putting in to believing in God, you would figure God would throw me a bone at some point instead of letting me drown and go to hell. I have even been baptized TWICE! I listen to Christian music in my car and think about convincing myself of Gods existence on what feels like a 24/7 basis. I have read more pages of this website than I can recall, and i feel like im literally drowning. I want God in my life, i want Jesus in my life, so bad i cry about it and I'm almost 30! I need help! I want to feel that connections that so many people "supposedly" feel. HELP!! MY whole being seems to be fighting against a book that was put together 2000 years ago when if they saw a falling star they would automatically assume it was God sending a sign, not realizing it was just a meteor rock. I feel like this is my last prayer, and that hopefully through one of you God will answer this desperate prayer!

Militarynewb, this may sound like an odd question, tell me about the slamming of a particular car door? Think about this...
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Uhh, i have to think about that one, ill be at work in 20 min and then i will hope on here with an answer for you

Militarynewb,

You sound like myself when I was younger. Always trying to do this and that to get closer to God. I was always striving to do something. I wanted something more, which I couldn't get by my striving.

It wasn't until I just let go, and just trusted Christ to change me, that I started to change. I was at peace. Like a burden had been lifted off my shoulders. I was trying in vain to do something only God can do.

Once you trust Christ for salvation, you have the Holy Spirit inside you. Continue trusting in Him. Stop striving to please God. Stop striving in vain to get closer to Him. Start reading the bible, and praying that you will allow God to do His work in you. Just trust that God will do the work in your life.

It's really that simple. But in reality, It's not easy to do, because we all feel like we need to do something. We feel like we need to work at something. We don't. We trusted Christ alone for salvation. We just need to keep trusting in Him.

RickD wrote:Militarynewb,

You sound like myself when I was younger. Always trying to do this and that to get closer to God. I was always striving to do something. I wanted something more, which I couldn't get by my striving.

It wasn't until I just let go, and just trusted Christ to change me, that I started to change. I was at peace. Like a burden had been lifted off my shoulders. I was trying in vain to do something only God can do.

Once you trust Christ for salvation, you have the Holy Spirit inside you. Continue trusting in Him. Stop striving to please God. Stop striving in vain to get closer to Him. Start reading the bible, and praying that you will allow God to do His work in you. Just trust that God will do the work in your life.

It's really that simple. But in reality, It's not easy to do, because we all feel like we need to do something. We feel like we need to work at something. We don't. We trusted Christ alone for salvation. We just need to keep trusting in Him.

Psalms 62:5-8 ESV
5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

Ironically, i can't ever recall slamming a car door in my entire life...

militarynewb wrote:Ironically, i can't ever recall slamming a car door in my entire life...

Are you not, in a way doing so with your life?

Think about this a bit before answering...
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Geez I really understand where you are coming from. When we are saved we want to follow in Jesus path, but it's a long road for some us, it doesn't come instantly, it can take years with setbacks and hurdles and it will never be and we will never be perfect. Your setbacks are not an indication of God's absence it's an indication of your humanness, because of free-will you will stuff up, sometimes time and time again. That is why Jesus came here and sacrificed Himself because we are all stuff-ups in one way or another. This image of the good Christian who does no wrong is a load of baloney, if everone was truthful we would tell each other how hard it is, how we fail everyday, how sometimes we have days when we wonder how on earth will make into Gods Kingdom with all our failings and shortcomings, but God loves us anyway, He is Our Father and He loves us like a Father loves His son, He gets disappointed with us but He never turns His back, ever!! My kids are right little shites sometimes but there is nothing they could to do that would make me disown them and walk away. God loves us more than I could ever love my children. He is love.
I was so lost in my sin I couldn't see,feel or hear God clearly. I had been brought up Christian and had believed with all my being but that didnt stop me from spirally downhill from repeated, ongoing shortcomings. I had a pretty screwed up childhood and it had its price. I smoked a lot of pot, over many years. I justified it because I wasn't a pot-head, I worked, I didn't have it through the day, my kids went to private school, played all types of sport, I was active in the school community, I ran the uniform shop, I coached the school basketball team, my friends didn't know, I thought there was nothing wrong with letting of a bit of steam in the evenings. But I came to realise it was spiritually holding me back, it was a literal smoke screen between myself and my Father, I was never going to hear Him while I was high.
I had periods in my life when I drank and sweared so much I would put an Irish sailor to shame. And I was a Christian, a very lost Christian but nevertheless a believer. I cried sometimes, my sprint was in turmoil, I wanted so much for God to answer me but how could He when I was never putting my trust in Him but leaning on pot and alcohol when I was struggling.
I am not proud of it, infact I'm downright ashamed but it's the truth. It's been a struggle and if the only good that can come from it is admitting it and helping others to see that there is a light, Gods light at the end of the tunnel then maybe I walked this path for a purpose, maybe my failures can be turned to a strength. I get it, I have lived a life, I know what it's like to feel so ashamed I can barely lift my eyes to Him. But He never left me. One day I decided to trust Him, stop drowning and failing so miserably and then some amazing things started happening in my life, I leaned on my Father not on drugs and alcohol when I was having a hard time and clarity and faith and most importantly trust entered my spirit. It wasn't a case of 'okay I trust you' then bang a turn around, I had to put my trust into action, and He rewarded me. One step at a time. I stopped smoking pot, this was a major thing for me, when I did I could feel Him, I could hear God speaking to me, marijuana has a significant impact on our spirit, it shuts down our connection with God.
The more I trusted and listened, I was able to let Him lead me. I stopped going to the gym, I knew this was important. I had become arrogant and vain, I was working towards becoming a personal trainer and I wanted to compete in body sculpting competitions, for others being fit and active is a great thing for me it was a thorn in my side (I know a pot-smoking, drinking gym junkie is an oxymoron but it was true) I was feeding off a false sense of self-importance and praise from others, my ego was never going to allow me to be humble enough to truly let Christ work in me. (I have since returned to the gym but with the right attitude this time).
I had to trust Gods direction and when I did I felt Him in a way I had never experienced. God wasn't holding back from revealing Himself to me, He never left me, I was holding myself back from experiencing Him. Through all my struggles and ups and downs, through all Gods love and patience something really special has happened. Sometimes you have to see how black the darkness is to truly appreciate His light and love. Each day is different, some days it's five steps forward, other days it's 3 steps back but I'm not doing this alone, God is right by my side, lifting me when I need it, comforting me when I'm troubled, giving me a kick up the backside when it's needed.
The Lord is my Shepard and I want to follow where ever He leads me, where ever He goes.
A rocky path sometimes in the end is a truly blessed path.

Melanie, that makes sense to me and all but you say you hear God speak to you ? I don't hear anything. I mean if I heard a loud deep voice speaking in my head that i knew was separate from my conscience, I'd throw my hands up in the air and scream praise the Lord. But i don't hear anything. What do you mean you hear the Lord?

Melanie: Regardless of whether you feel it right now, you are a child of God. You have a loving Father who wants nothing more than to have you with Him.

Military: But even though i have second thoughts about my regular commited sins, I quickly go back into them as if, all my bible reading did nothing to stop me. I keep committing the same sins over and over and over. I think that a piece of this conflict in myself is that if I was really saved, I would have felt different in myself and not wanted to commit sin anymore.

Military, it would seem you are seeking validation of God's existence through your FEELINGS. It doesn't work that way. Have you sincerely asked Jesus to save you? Have you repented of your sins, recognized that you needed salvation, and that only Jesus can do this? Do you believe in His death and Resurrection, and that He is God? If you have sincerely done these, then you ARE saved. But our feelings are often inaccurate. There are times when I sense God's presence, His protection and provision. Other times I have to meditate upon how He has worked in my life so that I could clearly see it. And during these times when I reflect back, I may not have a strong present sense of God. But my feelings can be all over the map. And when we focus on our sins, we are sure to not feel especially spiritiual or loved by God. But Christians WILL continue to sin, and will still feel the desire to do so,although they will also try to depend upon God to overcome their sins, and will feel burdened when they do so. But God loves us and saves us DESPITE our sins. He's let us know that sin will continue while we are in the flesh. So, examine your mind and heart to see if they line up with God wants and has taught us about pursuing a relationship with Him. Do these things first, but don't expect your feelings or circumstances to give you peace. Look to the Lord, in patience and constant prayer, to do so.

One more thing: You need fellowship and consistent interactions with other Christians - preferably, at least some whom are experienced Chrisitians, so they can help disciple you. God loves you, even when you sense Him the very least. Sometimes, on a very dark and stormy day, I'll look up and everything is clouded, threatening, bleak and dark - but I know that the sun is in the very same place and just as powerful. And so it goes with God's Son. Yet we often don't FEEL that love. I will pray for you!

Yes but do you literally hear God talking to you?

es but do you literally hear God talking to you?

AUDIBLY? No, never. And I don't know that I know anyone else who has audibly heard God's voice. But God speaks to us in many ways. He worked some obvious miracles in my life. And I do often sense His presence and guidance, but not always. Sometimes I have doubts. But my doubts nowadays are never about His existence. My doubts are always related to trusting God deeper and more fully - especially in the smaller things. And sometimes in the midsts of my deepest sins, I can sometimes (but rarely, and only for a moment) question my own salvation. But whenever this happens, I must rely on what He has SAID about my salvation and not on what I FEEL in the moment. For those saved, God doesn't see us as we are in our sins, but as we will one day be - TOTALLY without sin. Sometimes I can mess up so bad that I marvel that God's Spirit can live within me. I just confess, ask for forgiveness, and try to live in His Grace, as clearly, trying to live within my own power to not sin or to come close to living up to God's standards are not even remotely possible. I can only be free in embracing His grace, and for it I am overwhelming grateful. But all of these things don't necessasarily match up with what I'm feeling in the moment. That God has forgiven me of ALL of my past, present and future sins, that He positionally sees me as blameless, are only things that I KNOW because I trust His Word over my feelings.

But, Military, much earlier in my Christian walk, I was, perhaps much as you, trying to PROVE God through reason and experientally. I wanted SIGNS. But sign-based faith will get you in quick trouble because God doesn't always validate Himself in such ways - although He does indeed still work in powerful and sometimes miraculous ways. So one must ask himself whether they have faith in God or signs - as what if He doesn't provide enough or the type of signs you are expecting. And that is often the problem: OUR expectations of how we want God to reveal Himself to us. But God doesn't work off of our expectations. As trying to have faith in such a way will often incur devastating results. Example: One prays this or that for God to show him something - and let's say it is something terribly important to that person - but God doesn't move in the requested way or at the requested time. So what does that prove? Certainly it doesn't prove anything other than our expectations were wrong and that God does things in His own way and in His own time. Better to pray for discernment, understanding and patience - and even ask Him for what He wants you to pray for - ever thought of that?

I've done that as well, and asked Him what he wanted of me, but I never seem to get a response. I want desperatetly to believe in Him fully, and to know without a doubt, that the Bible, written 2000 years ago is true. I have 100% convinced myself of a Creator already. This universe shouldnt exist at all because there has to be a beginning to everything. Human beings, all living creatures, all matter, atoms, etc, shouldn't exist at all because there has to be a beginning to it in the first place. My most logical answer for this is that i was hardwired not to understand it intentionally. Thus giving me the conclusion that I was "created" that way. I am 100% that Jesus Christ died for my sins, because no man, insane or not insane, would put themselves through that kind of pain "crucifiction" unless they knew without a doubt that something would come of it. I know that these disciples would not have pursuit this christianity spread so hard unless they had seen this man rise from the dead. I know i sure wouldn't. I know for a fact that people that have experienced NDE (near death experiences) have been able to see things around the operating room and there is no logical or scientific explanation for how they could see and hear all these things, especially in the circumstances where the machine detected no electronic activity in the brain. I know that many of the people that experienced these NDE's had a sudden feeling of warm and belonging in ways that could not explain and thus those peoples perspectives on life changed forever. Deep down inside I kind of wish I could experience one as well, but I guess that is just selfish on my part. If you read all this, you know how desperately I have researched and reached towards God, but for some reason I find myself still doubting, I CANT STOP DOUBTING, I WANT TO STOP DOUBTING. Its driving me crazy! I want the warm fuzzy feeling everyone says they get inside. I want to "feel" my spirit.

And before you say i have to pray and be patient, i have been!

And before you say i have to pray and be patient, i have been!

Not saying you haven't. And so what would you consider validation of Christ as the Resurrected God man? What would you consider validation that you are a Christian?

And there my brother, is the problem. The truth is I don't want any special treatment, I don't really want to be given any more proof than any one else on this planet has had. Though I do have to admit, I am pretty jealous of those disciples and other people who literally bore witness to Jesus's miracles He performed. I am also jealous of those that heard Gods voice and wrote down what He said. Just picture for a moment you got your shirt drenched in water, you have to ring it out to make it somewhat dry. Inside of me, its like it keeps twisting, twisting, twisting, the more I pray to God. This might sound absurd to you, but my last explanation for this is that im possessed by something i shouldn't be, because i seriously feel like there is a interier force fighting against everything I'm trying to fight for.