I grew up in a very religious family. Most of my life I have had questions regarding God, Jesus and the bible. Every time I try to ask these questions I am met with the same response, "You just have to have faith". How can I have faith when I have little to base it on. I look at it like a foundation for a house, you have to start somewhere and it needs to be sturdy otherwise anything built on it will not be stable. A few years back I was able to reset my thinking and live a life of spirituality having a close relationship with God. My ability to view God, Jesus and the holy spirit through this new way of thinking gave me a way to address some of my concerns with regards to religion and denomination. I truly felt a direct connection with God and could pray and talk to him regularly. I had peace and could feel him working in my life. After attending a few church sessions and going to a few bible study meetings I was no longer able to continue my relationship with God (which was very strong at that time) due to the guilt, fear and confusion that I now have. For once I was able to have a relationship with God based on love and peace versus fear of going to hell and confusion but since then I have become bitter and have tried unsuccessfully to reestablish a connection with God. The thing that scares me is that I just don't feel like my prayers go anywhere and the connection I had is completely gone. How can you have a relationship when I feel like I am talking or praying to air and when I can't feel anything? I have spent the last couple of hours online looking up prayers and ways to reconnect to God. How do I rebuild a relationship with God without the fear of going to hell? I need to find a denomination that allows me to believe God, Jesus and the holy spirit are one and the same but three separate parts? I have asked for forgiveness and to be saved. I am unable to accept the bible as is. There are passages that are literal and passages that are figurative. I believe there are many parables within the bible that are used to teach a moral or illustrate a point. I just can't believe in Jonah and the whale literally. I prefer to see this as a parable or figuratively speaking. I also have difficulty with the bible being written and rewritten/reinterpreted by "man", many many years after Jesus's death. It is hard for me to believe that things weren't removed, added or misinterpreted throughout the years. When I bring this up I am told I have to believe in the bible completely and literally and if I don't then I'll go to hell. Please help me find a denomination that allows me to view God the father, Jesus the son and the holy spirit as three parts of the same being/whole/one, I am able to interpret the bible to the best of my ability based on what God directs or reveals to me and where I can have a direct relationship with God without the oppression of the church.
I think one of the best questions ever asked of Jesus came from Pilate, when he asked Jesus; "What is truth?" A lot of people seek denominations in a bid to answer that very same question, but that's a mistake.
We need to get our doctrine, our truth, form the Bible first, not from a church denomination. However, church bodies and denominations can be very helpful in helping us determine what is truth. Sometimes they can teach us what isn't truth. That said, we don't always have an easy time understanding or interpreting the scriptures.This is the very reason we have so many denominations today. Which one is right? To answer this It's important to know what the essentials of the Christian faith are, and to test what others say against scripture. Let Scripture ultimately interpret scripture.
We have a saying in theology; "in essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, and in all things charity".
This means that we need to be in unity in regards to the essentials. The essentials are; The deity of Christ is God in the flesh. Salvation is by Grace. Salvation is through Jesus Christ alone. The resurrection of Christ, He rose from the dead. The Gospel as a witness to Christ, and we are to share and live it. Also, the Trinity. We believe in one God manifests in three forms, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holly Spirit.
We might. at times, question, or argue in debate, these essentials. We may think a little differently on a few things, but as long as those things do not change the essential value of meaning and understanding then we can say such debates are nonessential, and we offer liberty, I'll give you an example.
I was raised in the Methodist Church denomination. If you look at any belief statement for the Methodist denomination you will find something like this concerning Salvation; "We believe Salvation is God's free gift to us but we must accept it." Now I study the bible. I let the bible guide me, and scripture interpret scripture, and so I agree with this statement up to the point where it says "we must accept it." I have a different theology based on my own awareness of my salvation and what God has reveled to me concerning this through His word, and the Holly Spirit.
Dose this mean I'm I right and the Methodist wrong? Doesn't matter. We can argue this point all we want, but in the end it's a nonessential, and therefore we allow liberty. If someone wants to believe we must accept our salvation and someone else understanding is that God saved them, that they did not accept it, both believe, both understand the gift, and are living for God, changed from the inside for His purpose....It does not matter. We offer liberty in these types of things. There is this type of freedom in Christ Jesus.
Finally, in all things Charity. What do we mean by this? Well, we need to pray for one another. We need to understand that grace is not a matter of truth because if it where, then no one would be saved. Grace is a gift, Truth is understanding, but both are from God; not the Methodist, the Baptist, the Roman Catholic Church, or Joel Olsteen, or any other of the thousands....and you read that right, THOUSANDS of denominations you can choose from today.
So let the bible be your source for doctrine. Let God be your leader and guide, because in the end, you can choose your denomination, but you can't choose your salvation....I slipped that last part in there just to be a little cheeky.
I did not know God until I was 25. What I like to tell new Christians is this, READ and STUDY Gods word. PRAY. and Fellowship with other believers. You may find a church and decide later that you need something else. That's OK. We do not finish where we start. Otherwise it would not be much of a race now would it?
So welcome to the forum, and to the body of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
