I want to help.

[Dilj4Jesus]

If anyone wants to understand why I am a Christian, or why I believe Christianity to be true. Send me a PM or post a reply here. I believe that Jesus cares for everyone, so don't feel like this will be a condescending discussion.  

[Maverick9092]

I'm willing to answer questions as well.  

[NaturaLCalamity]

Welcome to the forums!

Most of the people on this forum, including me, used to be Christians so I don't think we need to "understand" why you are a Christian. We've been there, done that, so we know what it's like. Thanks, but I don't think I need any help.

As for the question, I have one just for you!

God is an almighty being. He is perfect in every way and his creations are perfect. After decades of researching and studying evolutionary processes, we've seen some species evolving and adapting in our lifetime. If God created everything so perfectly by his own free will, why do such species need to evolve? From a biological standpoint, evolution occurs because they help species to adapt to the environment better so they can have a higher chance to survive to reproduce. So seeing as how some species have evolved over time, why did God create them imperfectly to allow them to go through evolution? Why didn't he just make them perfect to begin with?

[Ihateyoumike]

Thanks, but no thanks.

[Kodanshi]

I come from a muslim background, so I’d like to know what convinced you of the truth of Christianity over, say, Islâm? Did you grow up as a part of a Christian family by any chance? Did you have a personal experience of Yeshua‘?

[PipeBox]

Why do you believe there are earthquakes?  That's been in and out of my head for the past couple days.  I see no good way to explain them.  Indeed, I'll let you know if your answer does not properly address the problem, but it might!

[rlrose328]

I, like most here, have identified as Christian for a period of time in my life (having been brainwashed from birth), so I don't need to discuss your stories with you.  I'm happy you've found what makes you comfortable.  I have found that as well.  Have fun here, though.  :hide2:

[Squid]

I spent most of my life as a Christian so have most of the posters here so we're not ignorant of reasons for belief in general.  However, I would be curious in your particular reasons for your belief.

[Will]

Is Old School as awesome for you as it is for me? I love this movie.

[GreatScott]

If anyone wants to understand why I am a Christian, or why I believe Christianity to be true. Send me a PM or post a reply here. I believe that Jesus cares for everyone, so don't feel like this will be a condescending discussion.  

Well, I feel impressed to admit that I fabricated Dilj4Jesus. Generally speaking a Christian voice in an Atheist forum provokes unbridled rage. After testing the waters, I was surprised to find that every reply was cordial and well thought out! In my opinion... that is rare enough to justify making a more open account. The posts I made were all arguments or "ammunition" I have been taught/given since birth. So to my credit I was accurately representing Christian thoughts, though maybe I wasn't presenting them in a Christian manner. To anyone who feels wrongly duped, please accept my apology. Now...

So seeing as how some species have evolved over time, why did God create them imperfectly to allow them to go through evolution? Why didn't he just make them perfect to begin with?

I personally do not believe theistic evolution is plausible, however... This particular question hinges on the assumption that evolution is working towards some idea of "perfection".   These images of "ascending the ladder" remind me of Buddhism or Humanist thought... Corporations.. whatever. All creatures would be "perfect", and an (ID) might use evolution to simply to create diversity. So.. yeah that is my response.

I come from a muslim background, so I’d like to know what convinced you of the truth of Christianity over, say, Islâm? Did you grow up as a part of a Christian family by any chance? Did you have a personal experience of Yeshua‘?

I attended a Christian High-School which encouraged me to explore other religions in a "safe" setting. Obviously a Christian school isn't going to allow other religions to sway the student body. So mostly I learned "This is what this religion is about, and this is why its a sham." (or something to that effect). My entire family has a deep belief in Christianity, renewed by the Christian movement that swept America around the '70s. (is that right?) I bought a Quran, and read some Muslim literature. I found it didn't stand up, but maybe it was because I don't know farsi... so. I have had many spiritual experiences.

Is Old School as awesome for you as it is for me? I love this movie.

Actually, I really like that movie. I saw it about the time it first came out.

I spent most of my life as a Christian so have most of the posters here so we're not ignorant of reasons for belief in general.  However, I would be curious in your particular reasons for your belief.

Well, regardless of what some think, though I am a Christian my goal is not converting other people. I am not trying to convert people because I am not at the point where I can fully accept Christianity. All that said to say this: I am at a conflict of heart and mind. So what I believe in my mind and heart are entirely different. In my mind I find an unguided universe to be HIGHLY unlikely with what we know. Still, I must face the fact that scientific progress has dethroned the sound reason of Christianity. In my heart, I cannot see life as being purposeless, nor can I deny my past experiences. I recently enrolled in a missions organization for several months. It was there I saw things I cannot explain. Supernatural acts, and people who lived a life in concordance with the Bible. Still, I am not satisfied that Christianity fits with what we have observed/discovered in the past 150 years. So I find myself sitting in a very uncomfortable spot... One reason why I entered this forum. As someone who has grown with an unwavering Christian world-view, it is difficult to view things from another perspective. I'm vainly attempting to answer questions which have been debated for centuries. So... here's to an honest open discussion.

[Hitsumei]

My suggestion to you is that it is not either or. There are many scientific facts that contradict many strict readings of the bible, and I would suggest that they cannot be reasonably ignored. However not everything does, and what doesn't is really just up to your own personal discretion. What you think to be more plausible. That is all that any of us can do.

Strive for a consistent, and logically sound worldview that conforms with our best knowledge.

Personally, I don't know the answers to life the universe and everything, and I suspect that I never will. When I was a young woman I took a very contrarian position towards Christianity, and religion, but I later came to realize that I was doing it for emotional reasons, because of the pain and hardship certain religious tenets had caused me in my earlier life, and how I despised them, and felt that the religions were responsible.

As I watched the world change, and traveled to different cultures and places over the last twenty years, I came to doubt this earlier position, and for this reason now identify as a cultural christian. I do still think that the religion is a human construction, but the basic claim of a theistic creator existing is something I do not affirm or deny. My intuition would be that one does not, but I have no substantive reason to suppose that.

I tell you this because I don't think that it is either or. If you want to be a Christian, it does not entail the rejection of science, and the acceptance of every single thing you are told by your Christian school. They are fallible mortals like everyone else. Any question you find important, you should examine the evidence, and both sides and arguments, and come to your own conclusion about what is best supported.

That is all anyone can reasonably do. If you ever get it wrong, then don't let that bother you. To err is human, we all do it. C'est la vie.

[jcm]

I am at a conflict of heart and mind.

When I am at a conflict with my eyes and elbows, I tend to bump into walls.

I can see using your blood pump, as a thinking apparatus, would cause some problems.
 

[PipeBox]

Just wanted to say that theistic evolution is a fine belief (I used to hold it), because evolution is a fact.  Even if we had the mechanics wrong, we've observed speciation, and there is no DNA "lock" to keep things from developing a new feature over many generations, then another, then another, until they look nothing like the ancestral creature.  But we do have the mechanics down to, forgive the pun, a science, and evolution is, in scientific circles, no more in dispute than atomic theory or gravitational theory.  Can give you a few youtube videos, if ya like, that make it fairly easy to understand.

Beyond that, I hope you ask any questions you can think of, and that your feelings regain sync with your reason.

[Sophus]

I humbly contend we are not the ones in need of educating.

To err is human, we all do it.

How insulting. I am too a human.  

[GreatScott]

Pipebox,

What I meant is that evolution and Christianity, in my opinion, are incompatible. There is a lot of resistance to evolution by Christians for good reason. If evolution is true, then it complicates Christian teaching. If we evolved from primates, at what point did "Imago Dei" enter the picture? How do you reconcile evolution with the events of creation in Genesis? Suddenly, you have to struggle to make the pieces fit. There are many others but the most troubling thing about evolution is that it takes God out of the picture (as far as creating life). So... I know there are many Christians who enter college only to discover that evolution is inescapable. As they cannot deny evolution nor deny Christ, theistic evolution is the compromise. Some find that it works for them, however I cannot accept this.

I'd still like to see the videos, I'm sure I could learn a lot.
Thanks!

[EDIT] Let me clarify a bit... I understand that theistic, as in theistic evolution, does not necessarily mean the Christian God. However, I'm used to being in Christian circles and generally assuming that it does mean Christianity. Perhaps that is where some confusion came in. Still, in my mind I perceive evolution to carry with it many implications to a belief in God, no matter what.