How do I start like, learning about Christianity? Seeing people with faith is making me long for it, how do I start? Do I just go to a church? Read the Bible? I think God has a plan now, seeing how DJT is shutting down the devil’s most vile sin, convincing everyone there is no devil.
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Lewis is good. I will admit, he bores me sometimes, and I didn't like The Screwtape Letters much, but he really is one of the best for opening your eyes and heart.
Specifically read Proverbs and Ecclesiastes if you're starting out.
Church can be a challenge with newbies they're often like OOOH FRESH BLOOD lol if you need space let them know.
The first few gospels, Matthew Mark Luke and John are a great place to learn about the life and teachings of Jesus.
John is a really good one to begin with if you’re looking for a starting point
Yes, read the gospels and then just keep moving through acts and the epistles!
It's the great falling away. Not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" will get into heaven: Jesus will tell them "I never knew you". Even the ones that did great works. They don't believe in faith alone. They add to the gospel, and take away from it as well.
Find someone knowledgeable who can answer all your questions, it doesn't necessarily have to be inside the doors of a church. Someone dedicated to that will offer a better introduction than someone who might be too busy to offer detailed explanations. Most people recommend starting with reading the new testament, but it can be deceptively difficult to a first timer. Do not be afraid to ask difficult and repetitive questions, people who love sharing the gospel should be able to offer answers and not tire of inquiries. If you aren't getting the answers that satisfy you, keep searching.
Recommended reading if you have trouble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/purpose-driven-life-rick-warren/1100162099?ean=9780310337508
I recommend searching for the nearest reformed theological seminary
Might be too hardcore for a beginner, I personally believe new comers have a greater hunger to ask questions than to hear answers. It's a knock at the door or voluntarily walk into the door scenario. Sometimes it's better to let that intrigue run wild than to sit them down and establish broad theological decrees.
Man I've tried asking on here for people who can answer several questions I have numerous times and it's always gone nowhere or fizzled out :/
It's not the same online as in person. Particularly in this forum it's very hard to tell if people are serious about questions they're asking or simply want to be able to answer individual questions. It's also the case some people simply can't get a message across in text as well as they'd like to. Answering questions takes time and knowledge, not many have both and just happen to be sitting here waiting for people to show up with questions.
What are your unanswered questions?
Actually, I'll just post here in case anyone else wants to chime in.
I am essentially having a very hard time reconciling 4 facts we are told about God. That he is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent (the 3O’s if you will), and infinitely loving (to the point where God is love is considered as concrete as him being omnipotent). I can see scenarios I can wrap my head around where God is any 3 of these 4 things, but not all 4 at once. If he was all powerful, all knowing, existed outside of time, but was not infinitely loving, just a generally benevolent King who wanted humans to thrive in general, but did value his rules and his law more than any individual human soul, I could much more easily buy that. He wants what’s best for each of us, he laid out the rules, even gave us an “out” if you will through forgiving our lack of following the rules through Jesus, but if you both broke the rules and denied salvation, you’re basically SOL and he’s not super concerned about that, or not enough to actually stop you from dooming yourself that way. Loving, but only to a point. He’s willing to let you just doom yourself and write you off as a loss and forget about you if you didn’t either follow the rules or accept salvation. And all powerful and benevolent but not infinitely loving King. Or conversely, if he was infinitely loving, and also either infinitely powerful and all knowing but stuck within our time, or powerful and outside of time but not all knowing. I know that is itself a contradiction because to be all powerful means the power to remove oneself from time, or to be all knowing would mean to know the past and future which would be a form of also being outside of time, and so forth. But the crux being if he was infinitely loving, but there were some other limiting factor that made it so he couldn’t quite act out on that infinite love in all the ways he might choose. A very powerful but not all powerful Loving Father. But when you add all 4 traits together, then look at what he did create, it stops making sense to me. Because we’re also told that he made the universe and the laws that govern it, human souls, the bodies we inhabit, and all the rest. Sin exists. Death exists, both physical and spiritual. We’re told there is a hell where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth” and the lake of fire and all that. Now I know we don’t really know exactly what happens to the humans who aren’t saved, but am I wrong in surmising that it’s something both infinitely miserable and eternal? Which begs the question, if he is infinitely loving, and the 3O’s, it would mean that he chose to create a universe where sin could exist, where human souls would be born into it, some of them would not choose salvation, and would be doomed forever to that eternal misery, and he knew which of these souls would not choose salvation ahead of time, "loves" them infinitely but still created them knowing where they would end up. I cannot fathom how that fits the definition of also being infinitely loving. If he had the ability to create a universe where his will for us could be seen out, but where none of the humans he infinitely loves would be doomed forever, why did he choose not to? It seems to me that the fact that some human souls are going to be lost to hell, that he is not going to choose to save them anyways, that there is point of no return (physical death) where if you haven’t accepted salvation by then, you’re out of chances and you’re doomed, and he knew precisely which human souls would be the ones who would end up doomed before he even created the universe, but chose to create those souls anyways; it all seems to fly in the face of him infinitely loving each of us as if we were the only one he ever made. It’s commonly said that he would go through it all and die on the cross even to save just one of us. If he’s willing to do that, why wasn’t he willing to just make it so that wasn’t necessary? Or not create the human souls he knew wouldn’t choose salvation? Or choose to save us by force if necessary if we didn’t choose salvation? Or at very least make the wages of sin something less than eternal misery and torment. A “accept salvation and be with Me in Paradise, otherwise you will be deleted from existence and simply cease to be” arrangement seems more loving than hell at least.
If I had an adult son who is capable and well within his rights to make his own choices, and he was about to overdose with heroine and die, or was about to slit his wrists in my kitchen in front of me, I would absolutely choose to temporarily deprive him of his free will to stop it. There is a point where a loving father takes the choices away from his son if he’s truly about to destroy himself, and makes those choices for him until such a time as he’s better. If your kid is about to kill themselves, a loving father does not, in my opinion, stand by and let it happen while saying “well I told him not to do it, I raised him right and taught him the right lessons, I wrote down those lessons for him, and advised him not to get into drugs or be self-destructive. If he wants to ignore all that, he’s his own man”. Sure a father might say that if his son is about to make a bad investment or take on a job the father knows the son will hate just to let him learn his lesson. There are times when a loving parent knowingly and willingly lets their children do things they know will end in the child being hurt to an extent in order for them to learn a more valuable lesson on their own. And when they’re an adult you do, again to an extent, let them live out their lives and not constantly save them from their bad choices. A kid doesn’t know to his deepest core that the stove is hot until he touches it at least once. You might let your son fall off his bike while he’s learning to ride so he picks up the lesson faster, and that doesn’t make you less loving. But there is a limit to that. And that limit I think most could agree is that a loving parent does not willingly let their own children utterly destroy themselves if they have the ability to stop it. If they have the razor or the heroine syringe in their hand right there in front of you, you damn well rip it out of their hands if you’re able, and get them some help whether they want it or not. Their free will wants to do the heroine or kill themselves, and you as the loving father say “no, I’m not letting you do that right now”.
But it seems to me that God does let us do that, and he even knew which of us would do it before he even created the universe. So why is he supposedly infinitely more loving than a human father could ever be of a human child, but is willing to let his children destroy themselves and end in hell, and even chose to create a whole universe where this was possible in the first place, knowing what would happen, and doesn’t reach in to stop it? The answer to that may be because our understanding of what “love” is, is not actually an accurate one, only a pale imitation or reflection of God’s love, and what I claim a loving father would and should do is based on what is essentially a wrong definition of love. So why are we allowed to have a wrong definition of love? Especially if we’re going to act on our free will and either choose salvation or not, and he’s made it clear he’s not going to interfere with that or take the proverbial knife from our hands, why then at least not give us the best chance possible to make the right choice by programming us with the correct idea of what love is? We have human emotions and make connections with others beyond the physical. Human parents don’t care for their children like the parents of other animals do. They take care of them through instinct, but we have something more right? A parent’s loving for their children is at least a petty copy of God’s love is it not, with an actual spiritual essence to it? And if it is just instinct, why not program our biologies with instincts that more correctly match the “true” definition of love, one in which a parent is willing to let their children kill themselves in front of them if that is their will?
Our human idea of love and God’s idea of love seem to conflict. The human one says that parents do not let deadly permanent harm and self-destruction come to their children, even if by choice, if they have the ability to prevent it. And yes, some parents might do this, but I think it’s safe to say we would not call them loving. If you heard your neighbor stood there and watched their son inject heroine into his veins and die in front of them and only said “well, I told him not to do it. What else could I have done?” Most of us would say he was not a loving father and “take the damn syringe out of his hand by force” is what else he could have done, and should have done. But God’s idea of love on the other hand appears to find this acceptable. Follow the rules (and that’s impossible from the start) or choose salvation, otherwise die and be damned and he will not step in to save you anyways. That you will at some point reach a point of no return you do not know of ahead of time (physical death) and if you haven’t chosen to set down the proverbial razor or syringe by then of your own free will, he’s going to watch you kill yourself and go to hell and that’s just that. You’re doomed and that’s the end of the story for you.
How was this conflict allowed to arise, and why? Why are we allowed to have two definitions of love, especially if ours is the wrong one and not being aware it is the wrong one will lead some to not understand God and reject him of their own free will? Don’t make the choice for us sure, keep the free will intact, but at least arm us with the correct knowledge ahead of time so we don’t bumble into passing that point of no return without knowing it. And I don’t mean write it down in a book, I mean program it into our very being, just like our current (presumably wrong) idea of love is built into us. When a parent teaches their child what colors are, they do teach them the correct colors with the correct names. If a father teaches his son that what we see as the color red is called “green” and what we see as green is called “red”, and then says “only cross the road when the light is red”, and the child gets hit by a car a dies, whose fault is it really? The child who freely acted but based on wrong information supplied by the parent, or the parent who gave him the wrong information on purpose?
Those are among the questions I have about why things are the way they are. And those were questions I have had for a very long time and have not been able to really get answers for, and unfortunately due to personal life events, my last attempt at trying to get those answers ended up blowing up in my face and making the idea of a loving God even more indecipherable and unbelievable to me. But that is a topic for another time if you really wish to know, and not quite pertinent here. I apologize if this seems rambling and more like a rant/screed than a discussion, but these are things I have thought thousands of times for many years and just can’t get past it in my head. Even while listening to Mere Christianity, so much of it seems like it all makes sense, if the presuppositions Lewis makes are accurate, but then I arrive back at reconciling how a God that is both all powerful and infinitely loving chose to either create the situation we’re all in or allow it to happen tacitly. And I can much more easily accept him being all powerful but not infinitely loving than the other way around.
Your questions, reasoning, reconsiderations, and human understanding are very similar to Job's. God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and loving beyond comprehension. The Father is also a just, spiritual being whose holiness alone will destroy man in His presence stained by any sin. That's His nature (curiously sinful angels and unclean spirits can be in his presence if He allows it). He decided to create beings and gift them with free will - spiritual beings with spiritual bodies (angels) and flesh bodies (man). God is sovereign. He decided free will would be the path to take with man and angels. He also knew many would not choose Him. Those who would not do so would corrupt others due to making the free choice to be spectacularly evil. I see where you're coming from - we both value life and can't imagine a loving God letting us choose the path to destruction, but it is ours to choose.. and when we choose a path of sin, we can not be in his presence. Despite being prideful sinful wicked hearted beings who scoff at our creator, he still provides us a way back to Him. The Way (as it's called in the bible - most call it Christianity) transforms us who make the choice to love and draw near the Father through belief, obedience, and love of Jesus Christ his son.
Did I address everything? No. However I wanted to plant the seed that in the end the reasoning in the post I'm responding to seems to assume the Lord may gift true free will or be infinitely loving, but not both. Let's start with this - even if the next post goes in a completely different direction. : >
I should cite the scriptures but I wanted to respond before crashing. It was important to talk and not leave these questions undiscussed.
So I wanted to say, I'm not trying to rip on you or judge you or anything. You're probably super busy, have things in your life going on, I'm just some guy on the internet, and all that. Not ripping on you personally. Maybe you were in the middle of a second response, I don't know.
But this is what I mean by every time I ask questions, they fizzle out and go nowhere. One of the major reasons I'm against Christianity personally (I still think the value it embodies are a crucial basis for Western Civilization and fully support the United States being a Christian nation), is that a Christian pastor did the absolute opposite of his duty and essentially threw me in the trash when I conflicted with something in his personal life. After that, I have emailed 3 separate churches near me and got zero responses, I have posted on reddit about my questions twice, and I've asked two pastors right here on TDW. Out of all of those, only the two here on TDW gave me the time of day and even attempted to engage me in discussion, and both of those conversations fizzled out. I get it, they both said they were really busy, had stuff going on, and that's understandable. And that's in addition to I think the four separate times I've posted here asking if anyone knows of a reliable Christian forum or something I can ask questions in, or even a decent church in the DFW, TX area that might have a pastor who is willing to talk. None of those went anywhere.
But if there is some infinitely loving Father God out there who desperately wants me to come to his Truth and all that, I figure that out of the 8 attempts I've made to get answers to my questions, he would have inspired at least one of them to be willing, able, and eager to answer them. So far, that has not happened. And I would have guessed that a loving Father God would not have allowed one of his own representatives on earth to be the onus for me deciding against Christianity in the first place. He's supposed to be out there knocking at the door. Well I've opened the door and looked for someone knocking now 8 times (12 if you count posts here) and haven't found anyone, so if he can't be bothered to help, I'm pretty sure he either doesn't exist, or he's not the infinitely loving Father I've been told he is.
I was thinking about what to write while working outside this morning and yesterday.
You're right that I do have a lot going on and the cadence will more akin to letter writing than IRC/forum responses. I'll quickly send what I have to keep this going.
Not trying to be rude or argumentative, but it all sounds like a cop out on god's part to me. He makes all the rules, sets the stage, creates all the pieces in play, decided what they all can and can't do, knows ahead of time what they are all going to do because of the rules he created and put in place, and then seems to walk away and say "well, those are the rules, nothing we can do about it". "The wages of sin are death, so the only way out is this". Yeah, well he created sin, he created death, he created the people capable of sinning and dying. It didn't have to be that way. It didn't have to be any one particular way. He chose to make it so those are the rules and that's how it has to work out, and he still has the power to choose something else. But he doesn't. He made a universe and system with rules he designed on purpose that allowed some of the other things he created, and says he loves infinitely, to be tempted by a thing he also created, and then go to a hell he also created if they choose that. That does not seem loving to me. The loving thing would have been to not make it possible in the first place, or to at least offer some other form of punishment or wages for sin, such as ceasing to exist entirely instead of going to hell. Again, that doesn't sound like love to me.
A loving father doesn't have a birthday party with cake and ice cream and video games for his son inside the house, and then go out of his way to design, build, and put a bunch of painful and dangerous booby traps and torture devices in the basement, and then tell his son "well there's a great time for you up here if you obey me and stay upstairs, but if you go in the basement only pain and misery await you, but I'm leaving it up to you". A loving father would lock the basement door. Or just not go through the trouble of designing and building a torture chamber in the first place. But God did. At very least, the loving thing to do would be to say "if you don't obey me, the party is canceled and you can just go to your room". Not go out of his way to build an entire room of the house to torture his beloved children for breaking arbitrary rules he put in place, that he didn't even have to, and the children had no choice in whether they wanted to even be a part of the "choose A and have paradise, or choose B and be tortured forever" game. Again, not the actions of someone I would call loving at all, much less infinitely loving.
In one of C.S. Lewis' books, I can't remember if it's Mere Christianity or The Problem of Pain, he asks whether or not it would have been more loving for God to not create us in the first place. My answer to that is a definitive and resounding YES. Yes it would have been more loving to just not create us at all than create us and know that a large portion of those he loves are going to be set on fire forever.
Funny thing about the story of Job. It was a real shit deal for all those unnamed servants and family members who got brutally slaughtered just to prove a point. Sure worked out great for Job in the end. Probably would have been pretty nice if some of those servants who got slain by the Chaldeans got a little crumb of that love though. I bet they weren't too enthused to have a Chaldean sword in the belly so their boss could be tested and end up making out pretty well in the end.
Give me about half an hour and I'll pm you
Church is great for keeping your ego, envy, lust, sloth in check. It's a very good decision, however if your church only focuses on prayer and meekness then im sorry but it won't improve your life as much as community improvement and outreach would. Start with your own community.
Meekness is a great word that has been distorted. Nowadays people often think meekness is soy. But biblical meekness is a soldier's virtue, it is keeping your fleshly impulses in check, it is rationality under fire, it is submission to rightful authority. Nothing soy about biblical meekness.
First recognize there is a God, and get yourself a bible ap. Read the books of mathew, mark, luke, and john. Church is also a good place to start.
. If you have gotten this far (which isnt a necessity to be first steps really ). This is the important part..... accept Jesus Christ is the very son of God, that he being God made flesh, lived, Was persecuted for your sins, crucified as punishment for your sins, defeated death and rose again on the third day. And that he did this willingly because He loves you, and the law had to be satisfied. His blood washes your sins away. Pray for forgiveness. And ask that Christ Jesus make you anew in mind and spirit. And that is the hardest part of the journey. A great book if you're only looking into it is "Evidence that demands an answer" i cant remember who wrote it. But is an excellent deep dive into the physical evidence for Christ's existence, persecution, and resurrection. Written by an athiest.
The greatest illusion the devil ever pulled off was convincing people he’s not real. The people we are up against know that he is real. They will say they are atheists but that’s not the case. They are more religious than you could imagine. They worship Lucifer. They know God is real more than most Christians do. They seek to destroy humanity and God. Problem is, it cannot happen. God cannot be defeated. I am a confirmed catholic but unfortunately the upper levels of the Catholic Church have been infiltrated by these people that are a part of secret societies. That’s why there are so many pedos in the Catholic Church. So to answer your question. I would study the Bible and theology. Ask God for guidance. You will be surprised at the answers you will get.
It's truly sad, disgusting, and horrific how the commie satantic pedos have attacked the Mystical Body of Christ. We must remember Christ's words that the gates of Hell would not prevail against it.
God still has His warriors within the church, don't give up on it entirely yet.
https://thedonald.win/p/11PW3D6WWm/we-live-in-strange-days--archbis/c/
I certainly haven’t. The Catholic Church is full of some of the greatest people on earth. Just acknowledging that the people at the very top, including the communist pope, are not on our side.
No argument here. Have you heard about that archbishop in the video I linked before? That dude is definitely on our side.
Yes. I remember when that came out. It’s pretty crazy he is telling the truth and it’s scary stuff.
Check out Daily Audio Bible
I started listening last January, every day, and I highly recommend it. They have an app for android or iOS as well as a website. Here you can listen/read through the entire Bible in a year, a little each day, together with a global community of believers who support one another in prayer. The community is quite special. It is more or less anonymous so people feel free to tell the truth and ask for real prayer, no pretense or posturing. I’ve been a Christian for many years and have been involved with different churches and groups but there is something quite special happening here.
I originally started listening to the Daily Audio Bible as I was really having trouble sleeping and stumbled across this app when looking for something to listen to in the middle of the night. After a few days of listening at night, I actually started sleeping again, so now I just listen when I wake up before I start my day. I don’t think I’ll ever stop.
Definitely look for a church in your area. They will most likely have smaller Bible study groups you can become involved in along with the normal Sunday service.
Message me if you have any questions or just want to talk about whatever. I am very excited for you!
Pick up a bible. Ask a friend to take you to their church. May take a few before you find the right one.
You can get a free study Bible and some very good literature here:https://www.biblesforamerica.org/ To know the Lord Jesus is to love Him. He is wonderful. All you need to do is open your mouth and call upon His name. "O Lord Jesus, I receive you!" Romans10:9 That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10:10 For with the heart there is believing unto righteousness, and with the mouth there is confession unto salvation. 10:11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes on Him shall not be put to shame.” 10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call upon Him; 10:13 For “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Grace to you sir.
Yes, read the Bible and find a church. Check everything said against the Bible- people are corrupt and fallible. Welcome!
Acts 16: 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
William lane Craig helped me in the beginning answering questions hes an apologist. Another is Reasons.org with Hugh ross.
Just know that Christianity is the only religion on earth based on faith. Faith in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection to pay for your sins to be saved. If someone tries to throw "works" in there for salvation, it's another Gospel. Also, I'd read the King James Version. Every other version changes things, many times very important things. I wouldn't trust a modern scholar to reinterpret the Constitution for me. Why would I do it with the Word of God?
Please stay away from C.S. Lewis and any others that teach that you have to do works to get into heaven.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaw-R6vTJIw
Also, if you care about science at all, and want to whitepill yourself on that: https://youtu.be/UM82qxxskZE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW6egHV6jAw&t=2s
Once you've had a degree of experience that there is no other explanation for other than "God", for me that was step 1. Step 2 was the Bible app... Use the search feature to find verses relevant to your own struggles, growth, etc. Read up on all the Jesus stuff. John 3:16 is the master key, but all the other versus provide the context and backdrop that give the weight to that verse.
That's my experience, I'm certainly no pastor in skinny jeans and think glasses 😂 But that app is money. There's so much more in that collection of books than people realize.
Read the Bible. Accept that Jesus Christ is God, and believe He died on the cross to pay for your sins, so that you can go to heaven. That's really all you need to do.
You don't need to join a church, but if you do, be very careful! Many churches or "religions" are total BS. You don't need a pastor or a priest to tell you what to do. Everything is in the Bible.
needGod.net is also a good place to start.
Pray to Jesus like He is your best friend, because He is!! He is always there for you, listening, and He loves you!
Watch (or even better, attend if you can) a Tridentine mass. It's absoutely beautiful.
Find a church that goes by the Bible. If it's not in the Bible, which is God's instruction to us, leave it alone. If God condemns something, you condemn it. We don't hate the person, we are instructed to love and accept them, but not condone deviant behavior. It does not have to be hard.
Try a simple prayer. Speak from your heart to God, aloud or silent. Pour out your heart and ask for guidance. Read His Word and see what he says. Don't try to read it from front back at first. Start with the New Testament. Learn about Jesus, his birth, his life, his ministry and his death on the cross.
Learn about the foundation of the church, which is not made of brick, wood or stone. The church is the body of Christ. All those who follow and believe, repent and be baptized are born again.The immersion in the water of baptism emulates Jesus death, burial and ressurection. The Holy Spirit will come dwell in you to guide and intercede for you, like Jesus.
In the Old Testament you will learn of those who served God before the new covenant with Jesus Christ. They are our ancestors. Adam and Eve, Moses, Abraham, David, Daniel, and so many more. It's a rich, sometimes odd and violent, but it is our history. Find a good Bible translation that reads naturally, like NIV or New International, but honestly, it's everyone's opinion of what they find readable.
Find a Bible-following church. Try several. You want one where a worship service includes singing hyms of praise, studying the word of God and taking communion in rememberance of Jesus' death. I pray you find what you need. Love ya. We will support you. xoxo
Never stop asking challenging questions, brother.
Never fear the answer.
The greatest miracle is the redemption that is yours should you accept Him.
my favorite verses are Deuteronomy CH.6 4-7, Deuteronomy CH.10 verse 12 until the end. Both are saying seek our creator with our whole being Psalms 1, Titus CH.2 verse 11 -14 is what Gods grace is verse isn't normally brought up when mentioning grace.
That's great!
Please read the Bible. The Book of John is a great place to start. If you decide to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then fellowshipping with other Christians is an important part of being a Believer. The best place for that is church. I recommend this article from theartofmanliness on why going to church is beneficial.
Disclaimer: Apologies in advance for the wall of text. I grew up Christian and in 2016 I almost lost my faith. Luckily, God kept me in the palm of His hand, and I'll lay out the things I've done that have strengthened my faith over the last 4 years.
I would do steps in roughly the order of (details to follow): 1. Find a Church that believes in the Apostle's Creed and go to it. 2. Start reading the Bible from the Gospel of Matthew. 3. Read some supplementary books and listen to podcasts from people who also converted late in life. 4. Watch the series on YouTube Philosophy and History of Christian Thought. 5. Watch theological discussions and debates. 6. The last, ultra-advanced part... read, watch, learn about other religions and atheism from Christian apologists and polemicists.
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ His Only Son our Lord, who was born of the Holy Ghost and Virgin Mary; crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried; the third day He rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost; the holy Church; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; the life everlasting.”
You are going to have to choose from a TON of denominations. Don't let this get to you. Most of the denominational differences are because of different view on what you can think of as "Non-essential Christian Truths".
Catholics and Protestants may not agree on everything, and we may even dislike each other, but we both agree that the Apostle's Creed lays out what is the very heart and core of Christianity. The reason this is so important from the start is that if you go to ANY church to learn about Christianity and they profess ANYTHING different than what you just read, they are heretics and will lead you down a path of damnation
This goes hand-in-hand with Church. If you've been moved to Christ by the Holy Spirit, He'll guide you in your initial learning. You don't have to understand everything you are reading, that will come later.
I would second reading Mere Christianity, and would add The Great Good Thing (Andrew Klavan's book on his conversion to Christianity). I would also highly, highly recommend reading Cold Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace (self-described angry atheist for 35 years before converting). He also has a podcast with nearly 1000 episodes. I would start with his topics about the "historicity" of the Bible (how we can trust that the Bible is reliable in the first place). Lastly, listen to and watch anything and everything by the late Ravi Zacharias. He just passed this year, and even Kayleigh McEnany cried in an interview because of it. Ravi Zacharias and J. Wallace, by the Grace of God, saved me.
Philosophy and History of Christian Thought is like... 86 episodes long. That seems daunting, but the guy teaching the class (I think it was from a private Christian high school) is so easy to follow and understand. I listened to this while I worked out over the course of a few months. Absolutely brilliant.
Frank Turek and Greg Koukl are just fantastic at taking on the objections to Christianity and answering them with calm reason, patience, and logic. Read and watch anything with them and branch out from there.
Brother (sister?), there is real Evil in this world. Satan is will work to chip away at your faith in any way that he can. You're going to be bombarded with everything from simple distractions and Earthly pleasures, to aggressive objections and arguments from heretics, aethists, and other religions. It is very important to be unafraid to learn about other religions not only so that you aren't caught off guard and shaken by their claims against you and God, but so that you can graciously, humbly answer their questions and help to lead them to Christ as well. I am dealing with learning about Islam deeply right now. Nabeel Qureshi, David Wood, Jay Smith, Al Fadi, Sam Shamoun, and Christian Prince (in that order) are, in my opinion, all you'll ever need to hear from to address Islam.
I really hope this helps. And sorry again for the autistic wall of text.
God bless you OP. Definitely start reading the bible, and perhaps journaling your thoughts as you do. I would recommend the Gospel of John. Also, listen to good bible based preaching. There are many pastors out there that tell you nice things, about God, (ie, love, peace, joy, hope, blessings), but neglect the seriousness of sin, and the consequences thereof (justice, punishment, and hell). I listen to John MacArthur every day. The guy has over 50 years of bible based sermons, online, that you can listen to. Excellent, sound biblical teaching. You can find him at GTY.org
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Praise God and welcome!! I would start with reading the New Testament (read the Old Testament after the new when starting out) and praying just for a few minutes daily. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just talk to God like He is a friend, tell Him you’re interested in learning about Him and can He help you in that journey.
I also recommend CS Lewis and Matt Chandler on YouTube. You can DM with any questions or conversations :)
I recommend reading the KJV Bible.
depends on the denomination, there's hundreds of different versions of christianity with their own rules and beliefs. Catholic's have a hard religious structure and have to do hard organized and centralized rituals IE sunday mass, they usually do a lot of community work and outreach. Then you've got Prodistents who are a lot more loosey goosey with the bible and the church. You've got baptists, 7th day adventists, mormons, and lutherins as well. just google it.
The best and most effective way to start is to purchase and read The Bible.
Don't worry about reading it from front to back. Jump around if a particular part of the book is not jumping out at you.
I'd recommend Peter 1 and 2 to get you started and to boost your spirit.
As you read The Bible, prayer, daily devotion, church involvement, and righteousness will enter your life more and more. God will awaken to you righteous living and make you desire these things.
GOD WINS.
I think the most important part is understanding the gospel message of Jesus Christ. We are all separated from God because of sin. Jesus, being the son of God, came to this earth, lived a sinless life, was crucified, and died in our place, taking our sins upon himself. Believing this, and that he rose from the dead, is what what brings us our salvation. We are saved by his grace, through faith. When we believe in Christ, we make the decision to die with Christ. We die to ourselves. We make the decision to repent, and turn away from the desires of our flesh; from sexual immorality, hatred, greed, revelry, drunkenness, etc. We should then become baptized, which is an affirmation, and symbolic of this. I will quote the Romans 6: 4-11
"Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be [a]done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, [c]reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
If you believe this, and make the decision to follow Christ, you are a Christian, your sins have been forgiven, and you are guaranteed a place in the afterlife in the kingdom of God
I would encourage you to read the bible and go to a church that teaches from the bible. For me, I have found that non denominational churches tend to teach from the bible and explain it for me in a way that I can understand. Pray for God to lead you to the right church. If you have any other questions feel free to send me a message!
There’s a lot of really good resources shared here. I’d also like to weigh in and share gotquestions.org
Solid biblical teaching and addresses many difficult questions that come up in your search. Even I as a Christian for a while still find really valuable info on there.
Salvation is a free gift from God. It cannot be earned, but through Grace we can have Jesus’ perfect righteousness imputed on us. If you repent of your sin and place your trust in Jesus, You will be saved have have eternal life.
I will pray that God would open your eyes and reveal himself to you
“"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."” John 3:16-21 ESV https://www.bible.com/59/jhn.3.16-21.esv
The Bible is like a law book. You can read it but there is a lot which needs help to understand in context. Anyone who says otherwise is lying or doesn't know what they're doing.
Start with the Bible but highly advisable that you speak to a priest or pastor for advice as you navigate the faith. Better if you speak to multiple of them from both Catholicism and the different Protestant groups.
I love NASB for easy and clear understanding (especially for beginners), but there's not much that beats KJV for beauty, especially in the Psalms.
You are probably interested in moral ethical code of Christianity. Entire western civilisation is built on the roots of Christianity. If you will go with that approach, you will get most of the benefit. Becoming baptized among adults is now rare, and Christianity is more a tradition, rather than a serious religion.
Reading Bible is not going to help you much as it is esoteric.
Your best bet is to start reading Catholic Church Catechismus for children. It does convey the key points quite well.
Keep in mind, that Christianity has evolved significantly and you do not need to be in organized group or in organized church.
I am an agnostic who does not go to church, but if you really want to learn about christianity, literally just go attend a local church service and talk to the priest after mass asking the exact same question you asked us. Go to a smaller church, maybe if there is a hispanic one in your community but any will do you well. The churches are good and their people will accept you no matter what your beliefs are if you tell them you want to learn about their faith.
Sure, you can read about the sources online and learn all that, but step out of your comfort zone and go to a church. Listen to what they say, and I am telling you a priest will much more be interested in you than a "devout christian" who hasn't missed a day of mass in decades but sleeps through the whole service.
Read the Bible directly with an open mind trying to figure out what it means. Don't read another person's opinion about the Bible. It's in English and can be understood even by kids. You can google search any questions you have as you read along, but mostly you will understand if you are truly seeking to understand.
Get a bible (NKJV is best imo). Read it. Find a community of believers who will help you grow in virtue.
Want to get in touch? I'd love to help you find your feet.
I think for every believer it is different.
For some reading the bible is a good start at the gospels.
Do you like science? Chuck Missler has great work, I would start at his genesis series and just be in awe of God and his perfection of the bible to strengthen faith. He had background in the information technology world and finds the bible to be infallible. He and his wife also wrote a fantastic book called - inheritance and rewards by chuck and Nancy missler.
I like the science. I have found it my interest. I initially begun by getting into conspiracies that then fostered a search for truth which followed by searching for answers which lead me to religions - which led me to Christianity as all the others I found flaws. It has been 7 years now I think and I have not found one flaw in Christianity and it has only gotten stronger.
The beautiful part is that I believe if you set your heart to seek truth God will turn his face to you and guide you on an incredible journey. I am in no way perfect but I am changed. I am changing everyday. One way it is set up too is that we have days and nights and everyday is a new start for christians. You can even find time for prayer and simply ask God to reveal himself and he will!! It might not be straight away or a day later or even weeks but he will begin in setting you free. You will begin to determine truth from lies and it will be natural. You will eventually be called and made aware of your sinful nature which we all have and feel compelled to seek forgiveness and that is where Jesus comes in. He is the Kingman redeemer and he will cover your sins and seperate them from you. You will still make mistakes and not knowing your past you may have some heavy sins that will keep coming back and you may backslide but he is always there to bring you back. He loves you. You can look up - Gods love letter - on YouTube as well - he loves you so much it’s crazy. He is love and truth and he will give these abundantly. You will not want to stop sinning because you don’t want to get in trouble - but you will want to because you love him and want to be like him.
Try and find things that interest you, do you like science - Barry Setterfield has amazing studies on YouTube. Do you like logical and intelligent lines of thought - Ravi Zacharius comes to mind. Do you want to dive into a verse by verse study - chuck smith is a good start. Do you want some inspiration - Dong Haeng makes short cartoons that tug at your heart. I also have some archived videos that I can share which I will need my computer. Chuck missler and Koinonia House is great all around.
There are many way to go - like the above says - Mere Christianity is a fantastic book so well written. The bible is great to - maybe an easy translation like NLT to start as it is good for reading before you get into studying the KJV.
God will lead you and will never quit on you. Once you call his name he will draw you near. He will work on you slowly step by step day by day. You will receive prayers I am sure from people reading your post. It is all about a personal relationship. God has forever been in a personal relationship in the Father Son and Holy Spirit and he will bring you in.
God bless you.
Books by A. W. Tozer: God's Pursuit of Man and The Pursuit of God.
If you are in the San Jose, CA, South Phoenix, AZ, or North Orlando, FL areas, I can direct you to some churches that I have called home, if you are interested.
Sir Hacksalot has a good recommendation with Mere Christianity by CS Lewis. Read the book of John in the New Testament.
Quitouple suggest this. C.S. Lewis was genius on every level and started as an ardent atheist.
This is a psychological approach to understanding the Bible from Jordan Peterson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-wWBGo6a2w&list=PL22J3VaeABQD_IZs7y60I3lUrrFTzkpat&ab_channel=JordanBPeterson
First you need to recognize that we are all born to sin. That causes us to commit crimes against GOD's laws (GOD's laws are really pretty simple). We are in jail because of our crimes. E.g. every time we lie, we add to our list of charges.
The penalty is separation from GOD and spiritual death. We can never pay the fines to clear our slate. But GOD Loves us so much tha He sent His own Son, Jesus, to pay the price for everyone. He payed by shedding His Blood and dying for us. In doing this GOD placed Him above all. He is our Lord.
But we need to accept that Jesus has paid the price to get us out of jail. He set up an account under His Name. It's up to us to identify ourselves as belonging to Jesus and to claim that payment for our release.
If you think about it, you should see that there is great power in the words that come out of us. That is one reason why lies lead to death. But it works both ways. A word of comfort can heal. The words that come out of us from our heart are the most powerful.
It's by our words that we claim the price for our release. So if you confess with your voice and believe in your heart that Jesus is your Lord and your Saviour, you will be released from jail and GOD's Holy Spirit will fill you and guide you. Life out of jail is very different than the life you knew in jail. The Holy Spirit will help you adjust.
Remember GOD Loves you. He is always found by those who seek Him. Read The Gospel of John at least. You should join a community of Christians who are strong in faith and love. GOD already has one prepared for you and will put the right people in your life to guide you. Don't push things but try to let the Spirit of God guide you. Not all churches teach the Good News with love and power. When you meet those who GOD has sent, you will know it deep in your heart.
I should add something. I look at things mathematicaly.
As long as we sin we are in jail and our crimes are unbounded. But anything we could ever do to pay the price of our release is bounded. However, Jesus, who was born in the flesh but without sin, payed the price for us outside of jail. His Blood, that price He payed, is unbounded.
Bible study.