New Convict to the Forum
Hi there
[Edited out by moderator] 1963, Birmingham, England. Brought up in the New Testament Church of God Church
[Edited out by mod]brought up in the CofE faith and active in the school church and then became an atheist around the age of 17 (atheist=One who disbelieves or denies the existence of a God, or supreme intelligent Being)
It was some 15 years later when seeking for the purpose of life that I was then re-introduced to Christianity. My problem with religion and a belief in God was that I couldn't believe that if there was a God then how come there was so much hurt in the world, why were there so many people losing their lives to starvation, why were there so many bombs and shootings and why when my mum had been to church most Sundays had she ended up with losing her mind, memory and the ability to communicate and even take care of herself. How could there possibly be a God.
There was one important thing I learnt about Christianity and Religion and that was Religion was and is man made. Religion has been the reason for many a war and unrest and persecution throughout time. Christianity on the other hand is about a personal relationship with God. I personally hate Religion and all that goes with it. But give me Christianity and a relationship with God then we can start to answer some of the questions that people have with a faith or religion.
God is an all loving God - he wants a personal relationship with you - not just when things are going wrong but also through the good times. If you have children of your own just think for a moment what a wonderful thing it is when a child says I love you, or thanks you for making something special like a birthday. How would you feel if your child never showed you any love or attention or appreciation - or only took things from you and never gave back ~ you would probably feel a little resentful. God is same but he is a lot bigger than that he will never impose in your life - like you may do in your children's life - he allows you to make your own decisions and if you don't seek him he will allow you to make mistakes. The best example of this in the bible is the scripture relating to the "bronze snake". You see if you go out in the rain without an umbrella you will get soaked ~ because you have no protection - with an umbrella you wont get quite so wet, although you may still get wet. Now that's a 'no-brainer'. So if you go through life without the protection of God then you are going to struggle to deal with everything that life throws at you. But with God on your side you will handle it better and may come through it a better person. My mum is really not suffering she is not aware of anything - its me that has to deal with it. I take a long look at myself and ask myself am I compassionate or selfish? Well my life has changed for the better since inviting Jesus into my life. but that doesn't mean to say I don't have tough times - but I have a faith to help me get though them.
So I am lookng forward to meeting new brothers and sisters on this forum
God Bless
<edit>
[ This post has had some personal details removed by the Mods to protect the identity and safety of the poster. Also, the photos were of such a huge file size that the server was being slowed down to process them, so they had to be removed as well. We invite the originator of this thread to re-post any family photos in the PRIVATE GALLERY AREA if he so wishes. Thank You. ]
Hi there
A little bit about my family and me
[Edited out by moderator] 1963, Birmingham, England. Brought up in the New Testament Church of God Church
[Edited out by mod]brought up in the CofE faith and active in the school church and then became an atheist around the age of 17 (atheist=One who disbelieves or denies the existence of a God, or supreme intelligent Being)
It was some 15 years later when seeking for the purpose of life that I was then re-introduced to Christianity. My problem with religion and a belief in God was that I couldn't believe that if there was a God then how come there was so much hurt in the world, why were there so many people losing their lives to starvation, why were there so many bombs and shootings and why when my mum had been to church most Sundays had she ended up with losing her mind, memory and the ability to communicate and even take care of herself. How could there possibly be a God.
There was one important thing I learnt about Christianity and Religion and that was Religion was and is man made. Religion has been the reason for many a war and unrest and persecution throughout time. Christianity on the other hand is about a personal relationship with God. I personally hate Religion and all that goes with it. But give me Christianity and a relationship with God then we can start to answer some of the questions that people have with a faith or religion.
God is an all loving God - he wants a personal relationship with you - not just when things are going wrong but also through the good times. If you have children of your own just think for a moment what a wonderful thing it is when a child says I love you, or thanks you for making something special like a birthday. How would you feel if your child never showed you any love or attention or appreciation - or only took things from you and never gave back ~ you would probably feel a little resentful. God is same but he is a lot bigger than that he will never impose in your life - like you may do in your children's life - he allows you to make your own decisions and if you don't seek him he will allow you to make mistakes. The best example of this in the bible is the scripture relating to the "bronze snake". You see if you go out in the rain without an umbrella you will get soaked ~ because you have no protection - with an umbrella you wont get quite so wet, although you may still get wet. Now that's a 'no-brainer'. So if you go through life without the protection of God then you are going to struggle to deal with everything that life throws at you. But with God on your side you will handle it better and may come through it a better person. My mum is really not suffering she is not aware of anything - its me that has to deal with it. I take a long look at myself and ask myself am I compassionate or selfish? Well my life has changed for the better since inviting Jesus into my life. but that doesn't mean to say I don't have tough times - but I have a faith to help me get though them.
So I am lookng forward to meeting new brothers and sisters on this forum
God Bless
<edit>
[ This post has had some personal details removed by the Mods to protect the identity and safety of the poster. Also, the photos were of such a huge file size that the server was being slowed down to process them, so they had to be removed as well. We invite the originator of this thread to re-post any family photos in the PRIVATE GALLERY AREA if he so wishes. Thank You. ]