Struggling with my Christian belief

Yes Norose, that is correct. The bible is the most read and studied book in all of history.

Yes I agree Nina ,wither one is a believer or not it is certainly enduring & incredible.

That's true Norose, and whether you believe ot not, it's definitely a book worth exploring. I was taught things this way, by a staunch Catholic aunt in fact, if you believe and there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, you haven't really lost anything. If you don't believe and there is the proverbial eternal life, you've really screwed up big time and will probably have to endure life here back on earth again all over. Good point I thought especially as my aunt died three times, was brought back to life and swore she'd been to Heaven. She was so angry at the doctors for resussitating her.

?brilliant

Well, I've never heard the theory that non-believers will have to endure life back on earth again attributed to Christianity. I thought it was a Buddhist belief.

That's brilliant Nina?

Agree Ana neither have I perhaps it will be a very hot earth!!

(Not Buddhist non-believers, just those who haven't worked through their earthly life problems/difficulties)

Buddhism isn't a religion. It's a belief system. But it's still all based on the principle of peace which is an extension of God's system of a loving creation. God is definitely about love, not anger or intolerance.

Norose, yes, I thought so too. x

Where in the bible does it say non believers are reincarnated ?

It doesn't and I didn't say it did. It was merely a projection of my own thought based on what my aunt had said.

Me neither I thought it was eternal damnation or being denied the face of God, but I am a little rusty on the subject!

It was explained to me theoretically. Basically it's a choice (freewill). If you believe that Jesus died for you on the cross, you are saved. It's not quite that simple. Being saved also means you continue believing and this leads you to live where you actively live doing good works through whatever it is that you do. If you're a bus driver, you're caring towards your passengers. If you're a vet, you care about the animals in your care and so on.
If you choose not to believe, you're not qualified to enter into the kingdom of Heaven. (Is it worth not believing?). But I don't know where you go. I don't think it's Hell. I don't believe in a loving God that condemns anyone just on the basis that they don't get it. I think people grow into a faith when they are ready and I think God knows this.

It isn't always a choice that causes some not to believe , sorry but that sounds - toss a coin

Anniebach, your one liners mean that I'm not able to understand what you mean. Sorry.

I take comfort in the parable of the sheep and the goats . The sheep did not know they were sheep and the goats did not know they were goats.I believe that a merciful God will eventually deal with all of us with love but I have to remain agnostic on this topic.

I think there are a lot of man made myths about God. Some Christians are very deluded and one of the things that can happen is if they have an attitude of superiority, which they are not supposed to have, it can put people off.
Others say they're Christians and put on a good act but behind the scenes, they don't live the life.

My belief is that God isn't a tyrant, he has been badly misrepresented and he's not going to throw a basically good human being who gets it wrong sometimes, into the flames of hell. I don't believe this at all. I do believe you have to faith though and I think rather than be indoctrinated, faith is a destination as much as anything. CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien were both Christians. All their books carried the message of good triumphing over evil. Both men endured times of no faith to having complete faith so it's a journey.

This link is nice to watch and it's all lines taken from scripture.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpSE3eZTCNo

Delia Smith is also a Catholic christian. You can't get anyone more grounded and stoical than Delia Smith. She wrote a book back in the 70's I think. It's out of print now but you can still buy a copy on ebay, link below.
She writes beautifully and describes God in a way which I think is much closer to the truth. I think Mary Berry is also a staunch believer. Delia's book is a very easy, light book to read.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/A-Journey-into-God-Smith-Delia-Paperback-Book-The-Cheap-Fast-Free-Post-/391523833333?hash=item5b28a395f5:g:f0wAAOSwHMJYLGSf

"Vampirequeen, I am C of E brought up, bible read, and also have read many of the certified documents by academics of theologians and professors. There is scientific proof of the scriptures and geological proof of events such as the great flood at the time of Noah."

Nin1959 before I answer this post could you just clarify a couple of points. Are you saying that the Flood happened as is says in the OT or that there is evidence of a great flood or series of floods taking place at some point in time? Are you saying that there is evidence that everything reported in the Gospels is accurate and unbiased?

Vampirequeen, both. Genesis mentions Noah and the flood and geological evidence points to rock formation that the great flood occurred. If you're asking me to prove it, I can't. I wasn't there. But there is plenty of written documentation but both scientists and theologians who claim it's true.

Well, we know at one time that the Mediterranean flooded quite suddenly but that was millions of years before the time of Noah and that the land mass between Britain and Continental Europe got covered in water over a relatively short period of time much more recently (about 10,000 years ago).
And Noah did live for about 930 years

Here's an interesting read.

www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10574119/Noahs-Ark-the-facts-behind-the-Flood.html

Ah but a claim is not the same as having evidence. There is certainly evidence of great floods in the geological record especially after the end of the last ice age. For example Doggerland disappeared under what is now the North Sea but there is no evidence that a man called Noah built an ark and collected examples of every creature on earth to save them.

As to the Gospels there is no direct evidence to when or by whom they were written. One train of thought suggests that they must have been written before AD70 as none of them mention the destruction of the Temple in Jeruselem by the Romans in that year. This would be strange as they could have used this event to prove Jesus's prophecy that the Temple would be destroyed brick by brick. However they could have been written down later and that even left out if they wanted to show that Jesus was the Temple being destroyed and rebuilt i.e. killed and resurrected. As to who wrote the Gospels, it is thought that Mark was a Roman convert and a follower of Peter. He wrote down the story as Peter told him therefore Mark was not a direct witness to the events. Matthew may or may not have been written by the apostle Matthew depending on which 'expert' you read. Luke was not an eyewitness. He was a follower of Paul who again was not an eyewitness. John is the most likely to be an eye witness account but again their are those who provide evidence to the contrary. However it is known that the Gospels were not officially attributed to anyone until between 180CE and 185CE. Up to this time there were many gospels in circulation. Irenaeus argued "that these four gospels and no others belong in a Christian canon." (Robert M. Price (2003)). It should also be borne in mind that the Gospels as we know them today have been translated many times. It is thought that they were originally written in Aramaic or Greek. Then translated into Latin. It was translated into middle English by John Wycliffe c1380 and gradually took on the form of English we recognise today. All those translations leave it open to interpretation whether intentional or otherwise by the translator.

With today's technology, the Hebrew scripts would be accurately translated.

Personally I don't question the bible. I've been through things and known I was not alone. Faith is what's required and I do have faith.

Sadly it's not possible to study the original papyrus texts as they no longer exist.

Why talk about evidence if you're not willing to discuss it?

Having faith isn't the same as believing literally in the Bible.