What do you believe and why do you believe it?

[Leastamongmany]

Welcome to cc! May God reveal Himself unto you,that you no longer walk in darkness nor doubt! In Jesus name! Amen I will be praying for you.

 

[Adstar]

I originally posted this message in the New Member Intro section but a member said I should post it here. So here goes...

Colloquially speaking I am an agnostic as I don't know whether or not a god exists. Technically I am an atheist as I don't believe any god claim I have heard. Although I used to be a Christian. I was brought up in the Church of England but properly self-identified as a Christian in my twenties and believed I was saved. I had my doubts after several months as a result of speaking to atheists and ex-Christians. Some things in the Bible stopped making sense to me. Some of the Bible was immoral, some of it was inconsistent and some of it was not credible. I prayed for answers but no answers came. I now consider myself to be an ex-Christian. Every so often I like to challenge my beliefs as I think it is healthy. In that spirit I would like to ask all Christians here what do you believe and why do you believe it?

I believe Jesus and trust in the Atonement He secured for my salvation from the eternal Lake of fire and eternal restoration of a relationship with God..

Seems pretty vague why you would be asking for generalizations.. Better to ask about specifics..

I have been communicating with atheists, agnostics, Muslims, new agers, pagans and wiccans for over 20 years and my confidence in the Eternal God of All existence has never been shaken..

Wisdom and knowledge of the Will of God and the Way of salvation work to defeat any arguments i have heard from unbelievers.. Most of the point i hear from Atheists have little to do with the existence of God, for the most part the points are about disagreements with God coming from people who had their own personal idealistic human view of who a "god" should be.. Of course when their own humanistic version of god was proven not to exist because of their observations of the world and human existence around them they become disbelievers in the existence of God.. But in reality is was not really a disbelief in the actual God of all existence.. It was a disbelief in that made up god that existed in their idealistic imagination..

Of course there are some who actually had the right view of God and disagreed and disbelieved.. But from my experience i have only ever met a handful of those types..

 

[garee]

I originally posted this message in the New Member Intro section but a member said I should post it here. So here goes...

Colloquially speaking I am an agnostic as I don't know whether or not a god exists. Technically I am an atheist as I don't believe any god claim I have heard. Although I used to be a Christian. I was brought up in the Church of England but properly self-identified as a Christian in my twenties and believed I was saved. I had my doubts after several months as a result of speaking to atheists and ex-Christians. Some things in the Bible stopped making sense to me. Some of the Bible was immoral, some of it was inconsistent and some of it was not credible. I prayed for answers but no answers came. I now consider myself to be an ex-Christian. Every so often I like to challenge my beliefs as I think it is healthy. In that spirit I would like to ask all Christians here what do you believe and why do you believe it?

Ultimately it has to do on how we can hear God and not the philosophies of men. Where does our new faith come from?

Scriptures call us that were created in the image of a supernatural God (without beginning) gods as the breath of God or the breath of life. Jesus made that clear to those who opposed the Spirit of God . they said he committed Blasphemy attributing the things of God to that seen Jesus .In that way their fingers pointed right back at them. They did not believe any god claim they heard other than their ow self. Sort of like the religion of atheism.

I beleive God because he has given me His faith that works in those who do beleive .It is not of one self .God considerers all dead as having "no faith" by which they could believe God. No one seeks after God no one has the understanding. The faith we have as a free gift is not of our own selves after the imaginations of ones fleshy corrupted mind.

If it was the work of the Spirit of Christ that he began he will finish it to the end. He is the master Artist we are the unfinished master piece.

The leading focus is on faith not seen. A new creation

2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

 

[PennEd]

I originally posted this message in the New Member Intro section but a member said I should post it here. So here goes...

Colloquially speaking I am an agnostic as I don't know whether or not a god exists. Technically I am an atheist as I don't believe any god claim I have heard. Although I used to be a Christian. I was brought up in the Church of England but properly self-identified as a Christian in my twenties and believed I was saved. I had my doubts after several months as a result of speaking to atheists and ex-Christians. Some things in the Bible stopped making sense to me. Some of the Bible was immoral, some of it was inconsistent and some of it was not credible. I prayed for answers but no answers came. I now consider myself to be an ex-Christian. Every so often I like to challenge my beliefs as I think it is healthy. In that spirit I would like to ask all Christians here what do you believe and why do you believe it?

What someone does isn't what makes someone a Christian.

WHO someone IS makes someone a Christian. Just in case, HERE is THE Gospel unto Salvation. I pray you believe and receive it:


THE Gospel unto Salvation:
God wrapped Himself in human flesh in the form of His Son, Jesus the Messiah. Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin. He suffered, was crucified, and died to pay OUR sin debt. He was raised to life from the grave to prove He had defeated death. If you confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that His Father resurrected Him to Life on the 3rd day, you WILL be saved. You will be filled, and sealed with the Holy Spirit, who will empower ALL to turn from their sins. The sin of adultery, lying, stealing, homosexuality, gossip, slander, drunkenness, covetousness, etc... And most importantly the sin of DEAD works, or a moral life in an attempt to EARN Salvation. He will also equip you to love like He did and do good works for HIS Glory.

 

[Spectrox]

Welcome to CC, Spectrox.

I believe that there is only one entity rightly called "God"; the same God Who, as revealed in His word the Bible, created the heavens and the earth, and Who revealed Himself to Adam and Eve, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and dozens of others; the same God who spoke hundreds of years in advance about His coming in the flesh; the same God Who came as the son of the virgin Mary, Whose birth was attended by angels and shepherds, and Who grew up as Jesus the son of Joseph; the same God Who taught in Israel, Who healed the sick, and Who raised the dead; the same God Who suffered under Pontius Pilate, died on a Roman cross, and rose to life three days later; the same God Who revealed Himself to the Jews and Gentiles through the preaching of Peter, Paul, and others; the same God Who continues to draw all men to Himself, and the same God Who will judge all men at the end of the age.

I could many questions of you, but I will choose just one: by what standard do you call anything "immoral"?

Thanks for your response. You have stated many things about what you believe. I'm trying to get to the essence of WHY you believe this? What's your most compelling reason?

In answer to your question, a moral act in my view is anything a person says, writes or does that maximises mental and physical wellbeing in others and themselves (this includes animals as well as people). I find situational ethics a good starting point.

 

[Spectrox]

First of all, you are wise to be honest and ask questions - I commend you for that - it shows deep character and depth of perception.

Secondly - Consider the evidence around you in Creation - what theory of beginning makes the most sense? Could a human person really come about by random, impersonal forces which came from a big bang explosion?

Thirdly - I wish I had more time to dialogue - but I don't right now - I will leave it to many other good people on this forum . . .

No rest for the wicked, eh? Only joking! I often marvel at the Universe around us. Not sure it's very reliable evidence for the Christian God or any God for that matter. Our Universe is very complex. For God to have made it, they would have to be at least as complex as the Universe they created. Where did God's complexity come from? The concept of a God doesn't really explain anything to me. It just uses a mystery to appeal to a deeper mystery.

 

[PennEd]

Thanks for your response. You have stated many things about what you believe. I'm trying to get to the essence of WHY you believe this? What's your most compelling reason?

In answer to your question, a moral act in my view is anything a person says, writes or does that maximises mental and physical wellbeing in others and themselves (this includes animals as well as people). I find situational ethics a good starting point.

"Floating morals" always degrade to the lowest common denominator.

When every man does what is right in their OWN eyes, you have anarchy.

What if YOUR definition of what is moral differs from MY definition. For instance, what if I say all down syndrome babies should be euthanized, and you say no, murder of any kind is wrong?

So we MUST have a set of CONCRETE morals. And if we MUST have a set of concrete morals, they have to derive from some place OUTSIDE of human morals that shift. We believe these morals come from God, laid out in His inspired Word, the Bible.

 

[Spectrox]

To keep it short and simple:

What do you believe -- Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners

Why do you believe it -- Because God revealed it.

Atheist or not, whatever else you may think or believe, you cannot deny THE HISTORICAL FACT that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified by the Romans in AD 30.
Even AD (Anno Domini) -- in the year of our Lord -- confirms that as a historical fact.

If you wish to understand the spiritual significance of that, it is all spelled out in the Bible. Which means that you have absolutely no excuse to be an atheist.

How do you know God has revealed it? Also, it's not an established historical fact that "Jesus of Nazareth was crucified by the Romans in AD 30." Please provide a citation for this with evidence. There are some scholars such as Dr Richard Carrier (peer-reviewed book), Dr Robert Price, Dr David Fitzgerald and arguably Professor Bart Ehrmann who think there are real problems with the historicity of the New Testament and that much or all of it has been embellished or made up. Even if Jesus existed and was crucified, it does not demonstrate that a God was involved.

You wrote "Even AD (Anno Domini) -- in the year of our Lord -- confirms that as a historical fact." This is not correct and shows no real understanding of how our calendars were formed over time. For an historical event to be verified it has to satisfy the historical method of Gilbert J. Garraghan.

 

[garee]

Thanks for your response. You have stated many things about what you believe. I'm trying to get to the essence of WHY you believe this? What's your most compelling reason?

In answer to your question, a moral act in my view is anything a person says, writes or does that maximises mental and physical wellbeing in others and themselves (this includes animals as well as people). I find situational ethics a good starting point.

What is your personal source of faith.(the unseen). That would seem to be a good starting point?

 

[Spectrox]

Truthfully speaking you do know you just don't like what you know.

Man is a sinner in Gods eyes and sin separates us from God. God has provided a means of reconciliation but again you find it offensive to your self image of righteousness.

God is not impressed with human reasoning. God requires acceptance of Christ as Savior or there is no forgiveness.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

Please do not tell me what is in my head. I simply asked what you believe and why you believe it but I haven't got any essence of that from your reply. It's just a list of assertions.

 

[Spectrox]

To be honest.....a cursory read of the bible or a hit and miss read of the bible will at first sight seem to portray a disjointed collection that does not make sense and without a doubt is unbelievable unless the Spirit of God illuminates and reveals it as truth........the thing, if it can be called a thing, that brought home the validity of the word is found in the following truths concerning the makeup of the bible. I will also say that after almost 33 years of study.....my mind is solidified on the truth that GOD is indeed real, men are inherently corrupt and the conscience of man is that divine spark of morality that pricks and prods man of what is right and wrong.....it can be finely tuned and or suppressed and seared depending upon what man submits to.....

MY view on the bible is as follows...

THE BIBLE​

This book is not the work of one man and or a Shakespearian play.....It was written over a period of 1600 years by some 40 odd authors. It contains the verbiage of Kings, priests, slaves, Roman soldiers, tax collectors, fishermen, thieves, Pharaohs, the rich, the poor, lepers, demon possessed, angels, Satan and every other gambit of human background. It accurately predicts the rise and fall of world kingdoms and even names the leaders of some centuries or more in advance of their coming and exactly what they would do in their reign. It is full of overwhelming proof of divine influence and even speaks to modern flight, modern weapons, nuclear war, genetics, more than 4 dimensions, modern mathematics, medicine, astronomy, and has hundreds of prophetic utterances that have come to pass exactly as they were given without error.​

Not only does it contain narrative, but it also contains allegory, metaphor, symbolic, prophecy, parables, poetry, acrostic psalms, prayers, and the words of a donkey while being written in four languages (some Chaldean in Daniel and Aramaic in Matthew) and containing language beyond human comprehension.​

​

ABOVE all....It contains the divine words of the one true God concerning the human condition and the eternal destinies of men based upon said choices in this life I.E. a person's destiny is sealed based upon their acceptance and or rejection of the irrevocable gift of life found in Christ.​

​

What I have said here does not even scratch the surface concerning the validity of the word and the value without price that can be placed upon the pages and pages of wisdom that can be gleaned from the truth found therein.....it is tragic that men devalue it to the mere works of men which states multitudes about their bias, reckless abandon and lack of honest evaluation.​

Thanks for your interest in this thread. I would like to ask some questions if that is ok?

1. What is your starting point definition of faith?

2. How confident are you about your God belief – with 0% as having no confidence and 100% as having complete certainty that you are correct?

3. What fraction of your belief in the Christian God is faith and what fraction is evidence?

Thank you for considering my questions.

 

[Spectrox]

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him,
for he dwells with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your
remembrance all that I have said to you.
John 14: (ESV)
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father,
he will bear witness about me.
John 15: (ESV)
4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which,
he said, “you heard from me;
5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 1: (ESV)
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons,
by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Romans 8:

I simply asked what you believe and why. But the above is just quotes from The Bible and doesn't really answer anything.

 

[Spectrox]

Continued,

And I have read through the Bible and believe it is true for it makes sense and God already told us all things that would happen at this time, as well as throughout history, which prophesy testifies that the God of the Bible is true, and He said no person or religion will be able to do the same.

And for people that think that God is cruel, or a warmonger it is not true.

God said that all wars do not come from Him but from people the lust of their flesh, and natural disasters are not coming from God, but as the world gets more sinful the more their world will spew out natural disasters in relation to that, and people are more sinful today than in the past, and it is people that causes the chaos on earth.

Which the Bible says the last generation before Jesus gets His people that the children will curse their father, and will not bless their mother, and be pure in their own eyes but not be washed from their filthiness, and highly selfish, and highly arrogant, and aggressive towards each other.

And they will devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men, which they be so obsessed with heaping money to themselves all in an attempt to exalt themselves that they will not care about the poor and needy.

And we see that today where millions of dollars and billions of dollars is not enough for them, and this could of not happened before technology, because it is technology that caused the world to know about each other, and caused money, and material things to flow like a raging river, so they can branch out more, and reach more people to make money than in the past having a limited distance to make money.

And God was not cruel in the Old Testament, but He had to protect Israel for the nations would of perverted her, or wiped her out, and Jesus was coming from the nation of Israel.

God said He winked at their ignorance in the Old Testament, but if they were perverting people from the truth, or being very cruel to people all the time, then God allowed other nations to take them down.

But basically God left people alone unless Israel was in the truth then He would let no one go against her, but when Israel went astray for a certain amount of years He would allow nations to punish her because she did not have His protection being disobedient.

If God did not intervene in the Old Testament more people would of been perverted from the truth which is the true benefit to be right with God, and more people would of been hurt, or killed.

God puts down 1000 to save 10,000, and God is not cruel, man is cruel, for God is not a warmonger only doing what is best for the benefit for people so in the Old Testament He had to allow certain nations to fall for the benefit of the people.

Which king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon acknowledged the God of Israel as the greatest God of the gods, and because of that his kingdom flourished greater than any other Gentile kingdom on earth, and is referred to as gold, and rode on eagle's wings, but they blew it, and God gave the kingdom to the Medes and Persians.

America acknowledges the God of Israel but the Bible says they too will blow it giving over to evolution as religion for they will come together with all the nations.

God already told us everything that is going to happen, and it is happening.

And God said do not believe science so falsely called but it is all part of the deception that is going on today.

Thanks for your interest in this thread. I would like to ask some questions if that is ok?

1. What is your starting point definition of faith?

2. How confident are you about your God belief – with 0% as having no confidence and 100% as having complete certainty that you are correct?

3. What fraction of your belief in the Christian God is faith and what fraction is evidence?

Thank you for considering my questions.

 

[Spectrox]

I believe you are confused.

Reason: you have identified yourself as -

"I am an agnostic"

Agnostic - a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God.

So you won't claim faith in God, nor will you claim disbelief in God ... perhaps your unwillingness to claim disbelief in God is due to a hope that God is ... and that God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is therein?




"I am an atheist"

Atheist - a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods

In your OP, you did not specifically state that you do not believe God is. You only stated that some "atheists and ex-Christians" whispered in your ear and then "things in the Bible stopped making sense to [you]".

It appears you were not well grounded when these "atheists and ex-Christians" got ahold of you. Sad to say that this happens to a lot of people who were "brought up in the Church" as you claim you were. It appears that you may have sat in a pew in a church while a sermon was taught by someone you never knew personally.

You never really developed a relationship with God and, therefore, you were easily turned from God by some "atheists and ex-Christians".




"I used to be a Christian"

Not really sure if you mean that you were born again because you really don't say you were. A lot of people say they are "Christian" and they are not born again. Sad, really.




"I now consider myself to be an ex-Christian"

okay.

Welcome to Christian Chat. Hope/pray you learn truth and find your way back to God.

I don't feel confused. They are just labels anyway. What I meant was that I am a weak atheist, i.e. I'm not claiming that no Gods exist, because I really don't know, but I remain unconvinced of God claims made by others. Gnosticism is to do with Knowledge and Theism is to do with Belief. Two different but related philosophical positions.

When I went through my conversion process I felt reborn and saved. It lasted for several months but slowly my faith was eroded. I followed the evidence of reason and sound argument and my own honesty. My knowledge of the Bible also increased and I found passages in there that I didn't agree with. I prayed for answers but no answers came.

 

[Spectrox]

I believe you are confused.

Reason: you have identified yourself as -

"I am an agnostic"

Agnostic - a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God.

So you won't claim faith in God, nor will you claim disbelief in God ... perhaps your unwillingness to claim disbelief in God is due to a hope that God is ... and that God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is therein?




"I am an atheist"

Atheist - a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods

In your OP, you did not specifically state that you do not believe God is. You only stated that some "atheists and ex-Christians" whispered in your ear and then "things in the Bible stopped making sense to [you]".

It appears you were not well grounded when these "atheists and ex-Christians" got ahold of you. Sad to say that this happens to a lot of people who were "brought up in the Church" as you claim you were. It appears that you may have sat in a pew in a church while a sermon was taught by someone you never knew personally.

You never really developed a relationship with God and, therefore, you were easily turned from God by some "atheists and ex-Christians".




"I used to be a Christian"

Not really sure if you mean that you were born again because you really don't say you were. A lot of people say they are "Christian" and they are not born again. Sad, really.




"I now consider myself to be an ex-Christian"

okay.

Welcome to Christian Chat. Hope/pray you learn truth and find your way back to God.

How does a relationship with the God you believe in differ from relationships you have with people?

 

[Spectrox]

I urge you to come as you are, humble and repentant, ready to believe and receive His Amazing Grace.

It will be the best thing you have ever done or will ever do, not only for yourself but for everyone you ever come across. He loves you so much that even His very words can bring you joy and rejoicing. The Lord of Host is calling you. The creator of everything, the very one that gives you the breath of life is eager to dwell within. How beyond awesome is that...VERY!!!

He is the way, the truth, and the life. I am praying for you.

Much love in Christ.

Thanks for your interest in this thread. I would like to ask some questions if that is ok?

1. What is your starting point definition of faith?

2. How confident are you about your God belief – with 0% as having no confidence and 100% as having complete certainty that you are correct?

3. What fraction of your belief in the Christian God is faith and what fraction is evidence?

Thank you for considering my questions.

 

[Spectrox]

PFISHING ARE WE?

(goodness..............)

Pfishing - trying to obtain sensitive information through fraudulent means? No, of course n

PFISHING ARE WE?

(goodness..............)

Pfishing - trying to obtain sensitive information through fraudulent means? No, of course I'm not. What reason would you have for assuming that?

 

[Lanolin]

What. Love because Jesus saved me
Why? Cos without him I would be dead. Jesus gave up his life so I could have eternal life and not only me but everyone else who believes in Him.

Faith..God has shown me how good He is though I cant always see it physically, I know deep in my heart and I know it spiritually.
Evidence...I received the holy spirit and spoken in unknown tongue praising God. Also demons cast out, and I never had to take medication again, used to be on a drugs every day. And also my life changed for the better.

Reading the Bible has been like spiritual food to me, God speaks to me theough scripture.

People may say having faith requires you to be 100 percent certain but thing is if you have an ecnounter with God you just know and nothing can shake your faith even though other people may doubt because THEY havent encountered Him. GOd reveals himself you just need to submit to Him and acknowledge that He is God. Once I did that, repented of my unbelief He just revealed Himself to me and the Bible made sense I could never read it before.

You come to the right place and just want to encourage you cos Jesus is amazing, get to know Him. You have the seed but your faith was kinda choked by the cares of this world and the evil one took it away, so you left with nothing. Dismiss the naysayers and get your heart right with God, so that your faith can be rooted, nurtured. and established because that seed of the Word is a good seed. You just need to be open to receiving.

 

[CharliRenee]

Thanks for your interest in this thread. I would like to ask some questions if that is ok?

1. What is your starting point definition of faith?

2. How confident are you about your God belief – with 0% as having no confidence and 100% as having complete certainty that you are correct?

3. What fraction of your belief in the Christian God is faith and what fraction is evidence?

Thank you for considering my questions.

With His work within, faith to faith, line upon line, and with the evidence seen in all of creation, I am 100% convinced. He blesses us all, those who seek to find Him.

Jeremiah 15:16 hits it nail on the head what He has done for me. I am so very grateful.

Much love and prayer to you and yours, in Him. He gets and deserves, ALL the Glory.

 

[Spectrox]

Hello Spectrox I welcomed you earlier in the Introductory Forum, but welcome you once again There is much that could be said in answer to your question, for opinions and experiences abound. In the end, it does come down to a personal knowing, which the agnostic view claims is not possible. So it would seem you may have to stop identifying as an agnostic, according to the full definition of agnosticism, and stick with identifying as an atheist, even though that sounds harsher, being that it is essentially a categorical outright denial that there is a God.

I believe atheists and agnostics are confused and in rebellion against God. I came to this belief after conversing with them online almost exclusively over a period of eight years before I became a member here. I also believe it to be true because although I never identified as an agnostic or atheist before my conversion, I understand the condition I was in prior to my conversion quite well from a Biblical point of view. (It is also stated in various ways in Scripture )

I also believe that though you may think you are open minded and believe you can discuss Christian beliefs in a respectful manner, your natural aversion to accepting the things Christians tell you will inevitably cause you to resist all the more that which you are being told. It rarely ends well for an atheist in such a Christian environment, perhaps especially true for those who came out of a religious upbringing devoid of belief. Why? Because atheists and agnostics largely believe: that Christians are brainwashed and cannot think for themselves; that Christians are irrational, and believe in imaginary things; that Christians lack logic; that Christians are inferior in intellect to anyone who lives by what they accept modern science, facts, and intellect alone, can prove.

So where is the solution? That is your dilemma. You want to look outside yourself for answers but probably cannot accept the things you come against that are at odds with your already formed world view.

I want to ask you if you believe there is a Spiritual realm. Agnostics and atheists often deny such a thing. Have you had any experiences you would describe as Spiritual? And, when was the last time you prayed? What else are you doing in your search for truth in this regard?

I do suggest you get down on your knees to pray, and humbly ask God to reveal Himself to you, for He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. You may not realize that the atheist/agnostic position stems from pride. It would be best if you were involved in some community where you are supported in your seeking after truth. Do you have any such support groups? They may be more helpful to you than you can know at this point.

Thanks for your considered response. In answer to your questions:

"I want to ask you if you believe there is a Spiritual realm. Agnostics and atheists often deny such a thing."

I have no reliable evidence that a spiritual realm exists so I do not currently believe in one although I do not discount the possibility.

"Have you had any experiences you would describe as Spiritual?"

During my conversion process in 1994. I believed that was spiritual. I felt forgiven and saved and felt like a different person for some time after that. Whether that is spiritual or not I do not know?

And, when was the last time you prayed?

Probably late 1994 when I was deconverting. I realised that I was just talking to myself so gave up.

What else are you doing in your search for truth in this regard?

Reading, talking to people, watching programmes on TV and also debating on forums like this. I like to test my beliefs on a regular basis because they could be wrong.