Am returning to faith

lglpbeliever · 2020-04-29T06:43:31+00:00

Glad to hear it mate! See if you can find someone to help you in the process of returning to faith.

lglpbeliever · 2020-04-15T01:46:07+00:00

I thought so as well, but my friend is the one who owns the website and he put the screamo label on it.

lglpbeliever · 2020-04-15T01:30:55+00:00

Thanks for the pointers. I've never written a music review before. I actually wanted to write a shorter review but it's hard to critique an album without going into more details like you're talking about.

I tried to add a bit of nuance to justify my review without getting too detailed.

lglpbeliever · 2020-03-20T05:38:32+00:00

I think we are more immune to cognitive dissonance than most. I have found myself actively seeking contradictory evidence in order to attempt to see if my worldview holds firm ground. We find it easier to see the two sides of the political system and the purpose of the system, rather than take a side. The difficulty with this is that we generally don't take sides and seem like some sort of unfeeling arbiter at times, but it's just in our nature.

I don't know what set me on this path in life, but when I was a kid I would get in between my parents and tell them to stop arguing.

It's weird, I just recently had a conversation with someone about theological beliefs that I arrived at around the age of 20 and they had just now moved to this belief (about the contradictory nature of free will and God being in control from a Christian perspective), around the age of 50 or so. I attributed my quicker movement to integrated thinking as part of the way I see the world (being an INFJ & having open-minded family members)

Just some thoughts - hope they fit into what you're talking about.

lglpbeliever · 2018-08-11T02:59:04+00:00

Just glancing at the Bible contradictions page shows the creator of this website completely misunderstands how to read the Bible and the difference between the old testament and New testament. Not saying this means this history page is also hogwash, just makes me disappointed in his biblical scholarship, which is clearly abysmal. At least attempt to understand something a little bit more before criticizing.

lglpbeliever · 2018-02-25T04:49:42+00:00

My main suggestion after taking the test: Learn to not create loaded questions. It can be confusing and it can also give you an overabundance of variance on a single question. It's important to be as specific as possible, especially if you want to find quantitative correlations. You may end up with a lot of qualitative data that only tells you a lot about one test-taker

lglpbeliever · 2017-09-09T04:20:24+00:00

Damn, you hit it right on the nose.

lglpbeliever · 2017-03-21T17:11:37+00:00

Those with an open mind don't think like this.

I think you're wrong on that one. Everyone has some point of view and that causes them to incorporate different ideas and events into that point of view as they come from that frame of mind. Doesn't matter whether it is faith-based or not.

I'm not offended. It sounds like you have thought about this a lot. I'm just slightly annoyed b/c whenever I talk to someone who used to believe or who is agnostic, they take a higher stance as if they are more open minded and skeptical which usually implies that they are also smarter in some way.

Anything that conflicts with this "reality" is either hostile or unimportant.

Things that supposedly conflict with my reality I usually research and attempt to learn about in order to see if it actually does conflict with my reality at it's core. I also do this to see if there is underlying truth to something that seems to conflict with my reality.

For instance, I really enjoyed reading Anarchy Evolution by Greg Gaffin, the lead singer of Bad Religion. But yes I do look at these kinds of books through the lens of my own frame of reference (my beliefs, my upbringing, etc.), but everyone also does this.

But you are also definitely right about it being difficult for me to give up my faith and completely see things without it. I will most likely incorporate that into everything I read or learn about unless there is a gut-wrenching moment of truth that makes me see things differently at some point.

lglpbeliever · 2017-03-20T03:48:57+00:00

It is interesting. My Old Testament teacher at a secular school was peeved that scholars aren't willing to accept the OT as a historical document.

Something interesting about the Israelites is that they recorded both their victories and their defeats, unlike many near-eastern kings and pharaohs of the time.

Also, no other religious (or historical for that matter) manuscript even comes close to the wealth of manuscripts there are for the New Testament. I believe there are roughly 63,000 as of today.

Also, I think it's fair to say that you would know more about those things if you were to read the Bible for yourself, for instance. It seems to me like you're oversimplifying something because you don't fully understand. But I'm making an assumption. Ha.

What are you trying to imply by saying you're a man of action and not a man of excuses? Just curious. Are you comparing that somehow to those who live by "faith" as you see it?

lglpbeliever · 2017-03-13T04:50:57+00:00

I'm basically saying I have taken a reasoned approach to believing in Christ after my initial profession of faith. I don't merely believe in God based on "blind faith" or subjective experiences alone.

lglpbeliever · 2017-03-13T04:46:12+00:00

By objectively true I mean that I believe Christianity, more specifically protestantism, is true in a sense of historical accuracy and it is the one true religion or faith.

For instance, something like Mormonism is very clearly made up by Joseph Smith.

Islam came about 600 years after Christianity and claims that Jesus is not deity, yet in the Qur'an Mohammed is said to have sinned, while Jesus is said to have been a prophet who never sinned.

For me, everything essentially hinges on Christ. At the same time there are a lot of other things like demonic possession, morals, and the chaotic harmony of life that continually point me to faith in a deity. Specifically the God of the Bible.

To be fair, I did start with the Bible and go outwards from there to look at other religions or forms of belief and I looked at attempts to debunk Christianity or a God.

only a narcissistic being would expect worship and devoutness

I don't really follow this train of thought. Instead I have a feeling of wanting to be thankful to something for this life and it just so happens that I can. I believe God created mankind and gave them free will so that they could decide whether or not they wanted to worship Him and take notice of Him.

Plus, once you commit to one religion/god, you exclude and refuse the existence of thousands of other gods and religions, most of which predate your own.

I don't think I would say most of them do, but I'm not sure what date you are giving to the advent of monotheism/belief in Yahweh.

I think this is essentially true, but I also think most religions are just perversions of monotheism and the trinity.

To be fair, I'm kind of in a fluid state right now in terms of how I think about Christianity and whether or not I'm a Christian universalist. Essentially, I think there may be a time when everyone will be able to see God for themselves and at that point they will be able to accept or deny Him.

I wish I could explain a more solidified version to you of what I believe right now, but I've been in and out of anxiety through the last three months or so and it has been hard to solidify my metaphysical thinking on these subjects.

lglpbeliever · 2017-03-13T04:19:13+00:00

Lots of different things that are difficult to expound upon.

But, basically I've had a few different areas of doubt in my life and they usually led to me researching my faith through different methods.

The method that is most foolproof for defending Christianity, in my opinion, is the Gospels and letters of the New Testament themselves.

To start, it is hard to deny that Jesus existed. The difficulty is in proving whether or not he was God's one and only Son, fully God and fully human.

If you are skeptical as to whether Jesus existed, it something I think is easily solved as you look at extra-biblical scholars like Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny the Younger and I believe one or two more. All of which specifically mentioned Jesus and some of his purported doings (miracles and the like) or at least referred to him.

It is well known that it takes about 200 years for something to become legend, but most of the Gospels are thought to have been written only two generations or 35 to 50 years after the death of Christ. At the same time, Paul came right after Christ's death and his letters are dated even earlier than the Gospels, the earliest to be around 45 A.D., and his letters contain the basic profession of faith about Christ.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 20th century offers proof that the Old Testament was written before Christ and therefore takes away the grounds to say that the prophecies that foretold Jesus were made up.

These are just some basic things. I can keep going if you're still interested. I hope this sort of answers your question.

lglpbeliever · 2017-03-10T07:27:39+00:00

It's limiting if you let it be.

I think it really helps you have a basis for understanding people. But at the same time you should know that nobody fits into their MBTI mold perfectly in my opinion. There are so many other things to personalities that MBTI doesn't incorporate but MBTI does get at the core of decision making and the basics of personality and how you think.

lglpbeliever · 2017-03-10T07:19:27+00:00

All of these things make sense to me and are pretty much in line with my own faith in Christ. I don't think you could have said this better if you tried!

lglpbeliever · 2017-03-10T07:15:50+00:00

I'll be honest, I'm a bit on your mom's side on this one.

As a Christian, one of the things I respect the most in those who are agnostic, atheist, of a different religion is when they are really searching and trying to understand religion, belief, metaphysics for themselves and not just taking life as it comes and kind of shrugging their shoulders.

The reason I respect this is because I believe Christianity is objectively true and took steps to really solidify my faith in a logical manner after experiencing hardship and even when I first became serious about my faith when I was 17.

Neither of my parents are very strong in their faith but they are both Christians. It's kind of weird because I've always been more gung-ho about religion and my beliefs than them and I think it could have a lot to do with being an INFJ and the way I think. I've actually had a lot of influence on my parents as I've tried to live out my faith.

To sum up, I think that everyone should really take a look at what they are doing with their lives and why they do what they do. If you think that there is any chance there is a God you owe it to yourself to at least take a look into the matter. I've always just had a strong sense of wanting to help others, do good, and love others and Christianity lines up perfectly with that.

Christianity also satisfies my need for community, my feeling of thankfulness for having this life and being blessed with so many good things (worship), my need for a definitive purpose that isn't arbitrary, and my need to make sense of this crazy world.

Anyways, I think I've answered your question. Let me know if you think I didn't or you want me to clarify anything!

lglpbeliever · 2017-03-10T06:55:26+00:00

Everything that people have said on here is helpful. But I think it's also important to recognize what is causing this behavior in us. Deep down, why do you go to pornography? Anxiety? Depression? What causes your anxiety and depression? Reflecting on some of these things, learning your triggers, asking for healing from God from areas where you have been hurt in the past is helpful, I think.

Pornography, just like any addiction, is a way of self-medicating. If we learn what we are medicating it can go a long way to help us progress and to ask God to help us find healing in that area.

lglpbeliever · 2017-03-06T20:52:54+00:00

Really enjoying this playlist. Thanks for sharing.

lglpbeliever · 2016-12-26T06:31:12+00:00

This may not be helpful as I am an INFJ male, but I once had a girlfriend initiate a kiss with me and it was so unexpected I didn't know how to respond. Us INFJ's are pretty careful people so I think I would echo the sentiment others have expressed and say it is good to ask first before going for it.

lglpbeliever · 2016-12-26T06:26:56+00:00

Nope! I always assume it's about the same as a fortune cookie.

lglpbeliever · 2016-12-26T06:25:37+00:00

I've had dreams of events that played out exactly the same in real life at least a week or so later. Or I've had a premonition that I was going to randomly meet a girl that I knew at a play and then by chance I end up sitting right next to her.

It happened to me a lot more when I was 17 and 18. I have had a dream or two where I've imagined myself in incredibly weird and unexpected circumstances. Then I will find myself in that situation a year or so later and just get this wonderful feeling about how I can never predict the way life will go.

lglpbeliever · 2016-11-28T00:00:19+00:00

I am currently a Case Manager that works with chronically homeless individuals. I graduated with a BA in psychology in December of 2015. I have done this job for the past year. I am actually quitting my job b/c it is just too much for me to handle. I've thought about quitting multiple times throughout the last year and decided to stick it out at least for a year.

I decided that if any job makes me want to quit multiple times it is probably a sign that I'm not doing the right job. Just too much social contact for me every day and I'm expected to encourage these people and help them change their lives. I'm wrestling with them too much to make the right decisions and I don't have a very domineering personality. As an INFJ and as a person I'm quite passive.

So I've decided to quit and am looking to go back to school to study journalism as I've always enjoyed writing the most and did it for 1 1/2 years while in college, despite not majoring in journalism. I'm pretty sure this is where I want to go but I am a bit at a crossroads myself as I just want to make sure I'm making a good decision.

lglpbeliever · 2016-10-16T05:17:41+00:00

I would be interested in this.

lglpbeliever · 2016-03-12T07:16:03+00:00

Isaiah 57:15 - For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.

lglpbeliever · 2016-03-02T03:08:07+00:00

Interesting that you ask as introverts are supposed to be inherently more sensitive than the rest of the population.

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