Hi everyone

Hello ChristianChat users!

I just wanted to introduce myself and give a bit of my history. I was raised as a Catholic, although very informally. Church attendance was sporadic, and spirituality wasn't discussed very often in my house. I went to a 'progressive' Catholic school where we only studied the 'uncontroversial' bits of the Bible. By the time I was 14 one of my friends began challenging me on why I believed in God. Until this time I had never questioned it, and by the time I was 17 I was pretty confidently atheist.

I am 23 now, and over the past four years I have been observing the direction the world (the Western world at least) has been headed and something about it hasn't sat right with me. The philosophy seems to be that you can do whatever you want, and everything is acceptable. In addition to this, I have been in a philosophy class in college and have realized that my moral foundation is Christian in nature, and that without appealing to an external judge, I cannot say that I believe in right or wrong. I find myself surrounded by moral relativists, but when challenged, they all agree that right and wrong does exist, but they can't explain where it comes from. It is this realization that has lead me back to exploring Christian faith. C.S. Lewis was a big influence for me on this point.

I find myself agreeing with Eastern Orthodoxy on many issues, but I am certainly no theologian so I don't claim to be perfectly knowledgeable about the various points of disagreement within the Church.

Anyways, that is just a bit about me and my journey. I look forward to chatting with you all!

Greetings and Welcome, Wraitheon!

Regarding the challenge of why you believe in God, it begins with the following:

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them"

Regarding "where the world is headed" I agree with you and have noticed that instead of repentance, the sinful nature is being embraced. The overall spiritual of the world seems to be that "man is in control and there is nothing wrong with me." yet people don't understand that without the blood of Christ covering them, they remain condemned and the wrath of God rests upon them. Unfortunately, for those who die in that state, they find out the truth only after they take their last breath.

Precisely. People today seem to revel in what is, for lack of a better word, demonic. It is sad that the media and popular culture promotes this kind of debauchery as 'living your fullest life.' I can only thank God that my ears were open to His words. Many of my peers reject the religious out-of-hand. I am not perfect, far from it, but I am trying to atone for my sins and mistakes. I suppose we can only pray for God's word to penetrate the hearts of others before it is too late. Thanks for taking the time to respond!

My favourite scripture sums up what you are saying. I always remember this one when the evil of the world gets me down:
"3 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth."

We are all sinners. We just have to strive to become better people, and to keep praying for support & salvation every day.

hi . your post is rather interesting. for age 23 i think you are way ahead of the game. EO appeals to me too. I will visit them at some stage.
I was/am a Catholic too. But now more a Cathprot. I value an individual search/discernment over obeying Church rules/dogma. Still the doctrine can be a useful guide.
In my humble opinion, you are on the right track.

I hope you dont mind me adding this. I too am concerned about the prevalence of an atheistic mindset. It is a bad influence.
Still evil can lurk in Christian circles too. Spiritual arrogance is just one problem.

Welcome to CC, Wraitheon! Methinks you'll enjoy the Bible Discussion Forum, but put on your spiritual armour... it can be a war zone sometimes.

Hello ChristianChat users!

I just wanted to introduce myself and give a bit of my history. I was raised as a Catholic, although very informally. Church attendance was sporadic, and spirituality wasn't discussed very often in my house. I went to a 'progressive' Catholic school where we only studied the 'uncontroversial' bits of the Bible. By the time I was 14 one of my friends began challenging me on why I believed in God. Until this time I had never questioned it, and by the time I was 17 I was pretty confidently atheist.

I am 23 now, and over the past four years I have been observing the direction the world (the Western world at least) has been headed and something about it hasn't sat right with me. The philosophy seems to be that you can do whatever you want, and everything is acceptable. In addition to this, I have been in a philosophy class in college and have realized that my moral foundation is Christian in nature, and that without appealing to an external judge, I cannot say that I believe in right or wrong. I find myself surrounded by moral relativists, but when challenged, they all agree that right and wrong does exist, but they can't explain where it comes from. It is this realization that has lead me back to exploring Christian faith. C.S. Lewis was a big influence for me on this point.

I find myself agreeing with Eastern Orthodoxy on many issues, but I am certainly no theologian so I don't claim to be perfectly knowledgeable about the various points of disagreement within the Church.

Anyways, that is just a bit about me and my journey. I look forward to chatting with you all!