Are you a person of Faith, or Science? - Page 2

Thanks....

Also, why care what other people think? Why let them get to you like that? You know what you want out of life, you are set in your beliefs, forget what they say. Mindless drones only spit what's pounded in their heads, the ramblings of an unenlightened mind are nothing to trip over.

Kyle

It is comforting to know that there are other intelligent people out there.

Thank you Sputnik! You Russian sattelite you.

That's Disgusting Russian Satelite to you....

Kyle

I am a woman of faith though not christan. I married a man of science. I see both as a part of life. I don't go to any church I don't believe I have to be saved.I don't hold ill felling for anyone who may feel different.
Faith is so much more than just a religon. There is good in this world as well as evil and we all are alowed to make that choice. I have to respect science, It has given us countless advances for the good of mankind. Faith brings hope to so many. Both can and have been used in negitive ways.
In the end it's wonderful to be either as long as you can get along with the other.

Very nice, I agree Fly-girl(dragonfly).

Thanks! I love this site!!!!

Sorry for the delay in my response... I started typing it last night, then my daughter woke up with a fever, and I was up until 1:30am with her. Then I got up this morning and (very sleepily) started typing it again, and my computer froze up, so I lost almost all of it. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe someone just really doesn't want me to share what I believe with you! (In the words of The Church Lady, "Could it be.... SATAN?!?!?) Anyway, I'm going to start typing, AGAIN, and hopefully be successful this time. Tsimer, you can start praying, now.

And I apologize in advance for the lengthiness of it... I just have alot to say!

Well, I'm going to do my best to answer this question in a way that helps you all to understand why we "people of faith," namely, Christians, believe what we do.

First of all, to answer the question, I am both a person of faith and a person of science. It's human nature to question things. And yes, science has brought us very far in this world. It would be foolish to not recognize that. And I'm thankful for so much that science has revealed to us. It reveals even further the masterpiece of God's creation. Speaking of which, I'd like to insert my favorite argument for Creationism here. Aside from the fact that I believe God, the odds are just too far-fetched that anything other than a higher power could have created this amazingly complex universe. It would be like putting a pencil and a pad of paper into a box and shaking it up over and over again and one day opening the box to find that Beethoven's 5th was scribed onto the sheets. I do believe in evolution on many levels, but I don't believe it is the answer to how the universe came to be.
I am also a person of faith. I'm a Christian, you may even call me a Jesus Freak. I've never done much investigating into other religions, mostly because I've never felt the need to. (Incidentally, as far as I know, Christianity is the only major world religion that doesn't require you to "earn" your way into Heaven, it is a free gift for anyone who will believe.) I am ashamed to say that I am a bit rusty on my apologetics, but if you want to argue whether or not Jesus existed, pick up a copy of The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel. (Also, Strobel has a book called The Case For Faith, which seems to fit this discussion quite well, although I haven't read it.) There are two reasons I believe in Jesus. One, I believe the Bible is the truth, period. Some people do, some people don't. I do. Second, I have seen the evidence of Jesus' work in my life and in the lives of others. I have seen amazing healings in people, both physical and emotional. I personally have had deep emotional healing, a healing that I searched for for years but couldn't find in my family, friends, or numerous counselors. As far as miracles, I'm not sure I know what really constitutes a miracle. I think it is any supernatural act of God, which I believe happens around us every day. And I don't believe that miracles only happen to Christians. I think God is at work in our lives all the time in one way or another. Even if you've completely written off God, He hasn't written off you. What most people think of as miracles are the large-scale miracles from the days Jesus physically walked the earth. Maybe that's why those don't happen much anymore, because he doesn't physically walk here now. I have heard of countless acts of healing, though. There have been people in my church who have had terminal illnesses suddenly completely healed. I think I remember hearing about someone in my church who went in to have a tumor removed, and when the doctors ran one last test before operating, they couldn't find it. I was at church one night with a good friend of mine, and at the end the pastor prayed a prayer of healing. During the prayer, I felt something moving in the air around us, like a wave of warm air moving across the room. I didn't immediately say anything to my friend, but afterward she told me that she thought she was healed. She had fallen 13 years earlier, and she had almost constant back pain ever since. Now, since that night, that pain is gone. Another interesting story, definitely supernatural... My former pastor's daughter, Lauren, was on a mission trip to Central America, and while she was there one of the women from the local church group prayed for her. Lauren commented to a friend afterward that the woman had prayed for such specific needs in her life, and she wondered how the woman could know all that. Her friend said 'How do you know what she was praying? The whole prayer was in Spanish.' Lauren didn't speak Spanish, but somehow she had understood, and another missionary who had listened to the prayer confirmed what Lauren heard was what the woman said.
Okay, so as far as these self-righteous people who want to turn their noses at you because you aren't just like them, shame on them. I know there are many of them out there. And I can't say that I haven't acted that way at one time or another in my life. But with spiritual maturity, you learn that the essence of Christianity is humbleness. Jesus addressed the pharisees in the Bible over and over for the way they stood in the streets and prayed aloud with all sorts of flowery words so everyone could see how spiritual they were. Jesus doesn't want that. He prefers the quiet witness whose life reveals His love and His work, not those who stand up and shout 'turn or burn,' but don't show what they believe in their everyday lives. I don't necessarily believe that you have to attend church to be saved, nor do I believe that everyone who attends church is saved. All you have to do to be saved is believe in Him and that his Word (the Bible) is true. My mother, for example, believes in Jesus and the Bible, and I believe she is saved, but she very rarely attends church. I firmly believe, however, that the quality of your personal relationship with Jesus is affected by how much you attend church, pray, and read the Bible. If you doubt that, I challenge you to start attending church regularly for a few months, then see how things change. Another good book, A Life God Rewards, by Bruce Wilkinson is a great motivator to become more with God's work here on Earth.

So that's about it in a nutshell... a very looong nutshell. Sputnik, I have a question for you. I've known a few people in my life with similar stories to yours, and usually there is some event that triggers that sudden change in attitude. Did something sudden go wrong? I'm not looking for details, just a yes or no. Also, I'd love to hear from you in about ten years or so and see if you still feel the same.

And if any of you want to discuss this further, I'll be happy to oblige either here or in private messages, which ever you prefer.

I woke up, found my life was going nowhere quick, then I met a girl and she started opening me up to new things.

Kyle

Nice post Blackbird. I think that sums up my feelings, for the most part. This has been a great discussion.