I am 15 Year Old Christian and I am starting To LOSE MY FAITH. Some encouragement and Advice would Help Tremendously

Deep_Strength · 2020-11-28T20:36:08+00:00

Suffering - The problem of suffering is a very long topic, but it's something that people -- regardless of Christian nor not -- have struggled with for millennia.

Overall, God allows the consequences of our actions to affect others. There are times when people sin and hurt other directly or indirectly, but it seems the hardest cases for people to swallow are that we live in a fallen world and seemingly purely innocent people like starving kids or kids with cancer can happen.

We honestly don't know how God is working all things for good according to His purposes, but we can see glances. Saul/Paul was there was there encouraging for Stephen to be stoned, but then God takes that and turns around and Paul becomes one of the greatest apostles and writes most of the NT Scriptures. There's other stories of missionaries being killed and God turns that around to save entire tribes.

Don't want to get into that too much here other than what I said, but if you look up theologians on the problem of suffering there are a lot of good explanations.

God and purpose

Why doesn't God reveal Himself explicitly? He did in Jesus, and they rejected Him. It would be no different now than then. People would simply find another excuse to reject Him. You see this all throughout the OT such as plagues in Egypt, Israel in the wilderness, Judges, Kings, etc.; they turn to God and He miraculously rescues them then they turn away, and NT with Jesus with the Pharisees, His own family, Judas, etc..

If you examine the whole story of Scripture critically it's actually quite beautiful.

God creates man. Man sins. The Law of Moses shows that man can't do it on His own. Man needs a Savior. Jesus comes to save man. Jesus now invites man as co-heirs with Him to "make disciples of all nations" to complete the redemption story in the New Creation. How great it is to be able to do His work!

Porn. I've posted this a few times now so here's the repost.

First, here's the process:

Ephesians 4:17 So I say this, and affirm in the Lord, that you are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their minds, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves up to indecent behavior for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Any process to become more like Christ requires both taking off the old AND putting on the new.

Just focusing on taking off the old will always fail. You're always thinking about taking off the old which means things like porn or other temptations are on your mind which are tempting you to sin again. So you will. And you keep falling back into them. You MUST primarily be focused on the new.

This is why you are continually struggling.

How does one address and recover from a dopamine addiction?

Focus on the new:

God's mission for you in Christ. Evangelism and discipleship.
Loving and serving others in Christ
Spiritual disciplines. Reading and studying your Bible. Scripture memory. Fasting. Prayer. Meditation.
Utilizing your spiritual gifts
Focusing on growing in the fruit of the Spirit by partnering with the Spirit (especially in self control!)
Lifting weights and exercise - good dopamine which should help remove the imprinted sinful habits and build self control

Take off the old:

Take stronger and stronger steps to flee temptation.
Understand when you are weak to temptation - usually at the end of the day or under stress. You make bad decisions then. If you sin at night, make sure you are focusing on the new during the night and fleeing temptation
If it's something like porn, you can do more drastic things beyond accountability partners and such like getting programs that prohibit certain things or lock you out. Some men I know have even gotten rid of their computer

If it helps you to know, I beat a 15+ porn addiction by focusing on God's mission and putting on the new. Obviously, run when you get tempted, but dwelling only on fighting temptation is going to fail.

Discord for accountability if you are interested.

HuBaeltda · 2020-11-29T00:13:38+00:00

Do you remember how our Father gave Adam everything. He had dominion over the whole earth. The only thing he couldn't eat was the fruit on the tree of Good and Evil. He had everything yet he desired something out of his own pride thinking he might now better than his own creator and father!
Humans are in a fallen state. Everyone is born into this system. A system full of holes and errors. Full of unfairness and hardship. A system were the strong wins and the weak loses.
A person born in this environment knows that selfishness and pride will win them the price.
They know how to abuse the people who are kind to them, to use them in their own plan to acquire more wealth and power. To cause harm and damage to others for one's own gain. Willing to betray to be famous and of high statue. Selfcentered in their way of living until everything is dancing according to their rule. Likeminded people come together to make to cause a big storm. Destroying all that goes against them. And yet when they see a huge pit in front of the road they don't turn back but speed up into their own destruction.
Pain, sadness, tears and depression.
God why do they Enslave and tyrannize the innocent. Why do innocent people find no justice. Why do the righteous go through all the pain. Kindness did they repay with violence. Love causes hate. Everyday there is no safety. From day to day do we live to survive.
Woe to those who call evil good

and good evil,

who turn darkness to light

and light to darkness,

who replace bitter with sweet

and sweet with bitter.

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes

and clever in their own sight.

And yet you promised us protection, happiness and love. Everyday there is no safety from the wicked. Holding fast to you and yet being weak and unsure of the future. And yet I trust in you. And yet I hold unto your words. And yet I spread kindness. And yet I help my neighbour in need and cloth my enemies in their distress. And yet I spread your word in persecution. And yet I give food to the young ones. And yet i take them to my home to give them love. Despite my perfect way I suffer. And yet I will not hold it against them but forgive. And yet I will be to them like a mother taking care of her sprout. And yet I lay my life down for the world.

All because of pride. Unlike programmes robots god has given humanity freedom and power to choose their own destiny. God allows everything to happen because humanity has turned away from him. He let's them decide who they want to serve. That's how kindhearted our father is. He is crying everyday on how his people and the innocent are destroyed and yet he is willing to wait for the wicked and evil to repent. A kindhearted loving father who wants to have communion with all people. Jesus gave his life for us, when we were wicked and prideful. He is the example of our christian walk. Imagine how the world would look like if everyone is like jesus. Now imagine how the world looks like if everyone is selfcentered.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
God the father is willing to give people freedom, willing to wait for evil people to repent and turn to him. Willing to suffer the torture of his own children and the innocent to speak to the evil people. Willing to not interfere despite all the blood that is shed. Our Father is trying to be as loving as possible to all people. He knows that this world is just a short time and eternity is the life we should have. That's why even in suffering we can hold the great promise. That one day people will reap and what they sow.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

God gave Adam a choice. And he chose a life without God. Now he has a choice to do "good or evil". God is willing to let human choose their destiny. GOD is kind enough to let us decide wherever we want to live with or without him. He is willing to give his only son to safe us despite us chosing to do evil. He is a kind hearted, long suffering god. He wants to know wherever we want to be with him.
Would a Human let the dog dominate them and let them decide how to live in his household? how much greater is the difference between God an human.
Our Father is simply amazing. A holy holy holy God.

Bruh-Nanaz · 2020-11-29T03:51:56+00:00

Lil man, a word of advice for you - You are not "Losing your faith", you are QUESTIONING your faith. You're 15, you have no reasonable idea how the world works (I know it feels like you do, it definitely did for me when I was your age) and perhaps just now you're confronted with opposing ideas that challenge your established religious view and paradigm. People, particularly Christians, spend decades learning how things decidedly are only to have a single moment cause them question everything they thought they knew. You probably aren't even old enough to have one of those moments yet!

It's perfectly normal to feel the way you do, especially as a Christian, and in fact I would argue that it's good you wonder about these things. There are definitely answers to your questions, but they might not be what you expect or even find agreeable at this point in your life. Do not freak out on account of having these questions, do not give up if you encounter an explanation that shocks or confuses you. It's a normal part of being a rational human being, blessed with logic and wonder and curiosity. Even moreso for having a belief in a spiritual realm which defies most materialist logic.

This world does not recognize or even attempt to explore the idea of a plane of existence other than the one we can touch and see. Our modern understanding is that of numbers and plastic. Naturally those things don't particularly jive with the concept of the unknowable, nor the greatest limitations of human knowledge. Remember that for hundreds if not thousands of years, people were completely unaware that a microscopic universe existed. Even at the time of its discovery in the 1700's, scientists around the world ridiculed the notion. The materialist world is cold, arrogant and nihilistic. It has no room for the impossible, the miraculous, the divine. Why would it? Those things don't line a person's pockets with gold.

Keep trekking lil bro, keep asking questions. Ask diligently, thirst for knowledge, stay dissatisfied. This year the Lord has revealed to me many things I never thought possible and transformed my perspective on pretty much everything with his constant beckoning - "Would you like to know more?"

RoadOfLightAhead · 2020-11-29T00:46:44+00:00

I like to think of it as improve yourself but rely on God. We have our limits as people. I have a pretty good life right now but I had so many stumbling blocks along the way that if God wasn't with me, I wouldn't even be alive right now. The opportunities he has opened are amazing. Yes, people can be successful in the eyes of people through their own hard work like Stephen Hawking. But do you really think he was successful in the eyes of God? He wasn't a Christian, he wasn't saved. Depending on your beliefs, that means he either goes to burn in hell after his death or is just pushed for his sins in life, after which his existence is destroyed. Not quite what I would say "success" is. Also, if God planned/willed for you to not succeed, you really think you have a chance out for things to turn out otherwise?
The Israelites literally had prophets and miracles Yet you can easily how often they and their kings turned away from God. Moses literally just saved the Israelites from the Egyptaisn and what do they once they are free? They make a Golden Bull and worship it. Seriously, even if God revealed himself to people now, we as a culture would probably worship and follow Him for a time but not long after, you'll have people complaining, turning away and sinning.
This world is to see who is worthy for God to have in His kingdom. You seem to prioritize worldly things as "good" and think that that would what God thinks too. It's more of the opposite, things in this world are not what the focus should be but are instead traps for us. You want to create paradise on Earth when any chance of that was lost when Adam and Eve ate from the fruit of the tree. We are not supposed to seek paradise on Earth. We are supposed to seek Salvation.
You didn't really need to break up with your girlfriend because you have porn addiction. That said, porn is a very real problem for our generation right now. It is super easy to access, it has varieties that appeal to basically every niche, it's basically free. This is a struggle that is especially hard at your age since hormones are going crazy. One thing that might help is lifting since that gives you discipline and control. Will also help early on since you'll be very tired and would prefer sleep over rubbing one out. Studies can be a focus too. Basically, you need things to keep your mind off of porn. You may think controlling lust is the best way to beat your addiction but I would actually say control your boredom. Have fulfilment in life and have things you would rather do instead of it. Devote your energy else where. One problem is how accessible it is. But did you know? Books, articles, etc are also very accessible. Feel horny? Go study, go read. Til the horniness goes away.

johngalt1234 · 2020-11-29T07:38:15+00:00

I recommend this channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/InspiringPhilosophy

All your answers in regards to whether Christianity is true is answered there.

Willow-girl · 2020-11-29T13:18:02+00:00

Young man, for starters I'm going to say that it's natural to have doubts and questions. No matter how you were raised -- by parents who went to church on Wednesday nights and twice on Sunday, or hardcore atheists -- at some point, YOU have to decide for YOURSELF what YOU believe! Not what you have been told to believe, but what YOU believe.

The questions you're struggling with are ones that philosophers have been grappling with for ages. You are not alone in this either! I'm going to suggest that you boil your faith down to what you know is absolutely, incontrovertibly true, and build it back up from there. For instance, do you believe in Good and Evil? It's pretty hard not to, right? I mean, there are examples all around us! OK, if we can conclude that they do, in fact, exist, which side do you want to be on? Now, if you choose the Good, what might that look like? Put your feet on that path and start walking, and it will unfold for you. You don't have to have all the answers at the outset! I'm 54 and there are still things that are a great mystery to me. There are things I wrestle with. It never ends! But at the end of the day, the only real question is, do you want to be on Team Light or Darkness? And I have never regretted choosing the Light.

Now, about the porn addiction. I fear this is going to be a huge problem for young people of your generation. You're not alone in this, either. I'm going to recommend that you find a 12-step group and actually WORK THE STEPS. (You can't just READ about them; you actually have to WORK them!) The Steps are a pretty good roadmap to a sane, healthy and positive path. A 12-step program will also bring you into communion with other people who are going down the same road as you are; some will be farther along, and will help you, while others will come from behind and eventually you'll be in a place to help them. The ultimate goal is not just to resist temptation, but to OVERCOME it, to be free of the compulsion to use your substance of choice (in this case, porn. For me, it was alcohol). Again, I can say from experience that this is possible; God CAN deliver you from your compulsion; but you have to put in the work. Sanctification is a process, IMO.

Now get busy! :-)

TheRealV3NN · 2020-12-01T04:36:48+00:00

I’ll tell you this before your love letter to god gets buried: the word for intimacy in Hebrew means knowledge. I believe God wants me to know Him intimately. To do that I need to read His word.

Damn_Atheist · 2020-12-02T19:57:34+00:00

Read your entire post, felt like i was looking at a snapshot of me from the past. All your doubts in God are justified. You doubt your faith because there are valid reasons to doubt it. Rather than looking to other Christians to push you back in line, might i suggest challenging your faith with contradicting ideas and make conclusions on your own? You can fake it until you make it, force yourself into mental gymnastics to justify your continued faith, and just tell yourself these thoughts of doubt are merely the weight of sins and the devil's own trickery; alternatively, you could pursue these doubtful thoughts and see which ones take you down a more logical path. Perhaps reading or listening to the contents of figures like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Carl Sagan, Friedrich Nietzsche, Charles Darwin, and other well known philosophers, scientists, biologists, and astrophysicists. I wont tell you how to think and feel, only religious people do that. I merely encourage you to be free, both in mind and body, and to disregard those who seek to make you feel guilty and inferior for your natural behaviors and inclinations.

Damn_Atheist · 2020-12-02T21:16:17+00:00

Realistically, how much do you even look at porn? Porn isnt inherently bad or good, neither is sex. Sex has existed since before we ever did and pornography predates religion itself. Many cultures have had and still have forms of pornography, sexuality, and prostitution both legal and illegal. Ask yourself questions. How often do you look at porn? Do you look at legal forms of pornography or Illegal exploitative content? Are you ashamed because you think its wrong or because someonw said it is? Do you think pornography itself is wrong? If so, why? Always ask why.

that_local_teenager · 2020-11-28T17:29:40+00:00

[deleted]

unlikelyrisktaker · 2020-12-22T07:01:02+00:00

Read “Arguing About Gods” by Graham Oppy.

xman7868 · 2021-01-24T07:11:56+00:00

For 15 years old i like your thinking and am impressed. When I was 15 I had a sex drive that felt like it would kill me. Man I could jerk off 7 times one after the other. Then afterwards the guilt was bad I knew I had done wrong. So I know the feeling. But we didn't have porn readily available like today. I am Christian and at 52 still battle these urges. Will I go to heaven or hell I don't really know. But you need to find what your purpose is, what you want to do. You have control over this eg you like mechanics, teaching, what you are going to do in life. My son really struggled to until he found what he is going to do he is 23 now. Then pour your heart and soul into your purpose and become the best at it and I mean think about it all the time. BE THE BEST IN THE WORLD AT IT. Then because you really like doing that job when you get the bad urge just think of the thing you like doing concentrate on it and the urge will go away. You need to keep busy. When you are thinking about your purpose do one thing first speak to God about it first every day. Throw ideas at him. Ask him things. Make him your best friend. People have caught me talking to God just at work because I say things out aloud when talking to him. People look at me as if I am an alien. But it works for me. By the way chin up kiddo you are doing well. P.S. I question everything to, but have come to realise that God has given you the ability and free will to choose this is your choice which way you go. God bless Xavier.

careeningtracktor · 2020-11-29T01:47:06+00:00

When you abandon Him he abandons you Your on dangerous ground if your leaving our God. Faith means believing no matter what. Your not very faithful. Better start changing you’re act

Title	I am 15 Year Old Christian and I am starting To LOSE MY FAITH. Some encouragement and Advice would Help Tremendously
Author	that_local_teenager
Upvotes	11
Comments	57
Date	November 28, 2020 10:33 AM UTC (5 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/RPChristians
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/RPChristians/comments/k2ljb7/i_am_15_year_old_christian_and_i_am_starting_to/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/RPChristians/i-am-15-year-old-christian-and-i-am-starting-to.330172 https://theredarchive.com/post/330172

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