Brooks: The historical basis of Christianity isn’t what I’m doubting. I took a very interesting religions class in high school that went over a lot of what I didn’t know about Christianity. I learned quite a lot in that class. However, it’s the spiritual truth I doubt in Christianity (or any religion for that matter). Historical facts can be backed up, but what about things like heaven and hell? The only source for spiritual truths in Christianity is the Bible, but there’s no proof the Bible was divinely inspired, so it’s not useful as a source for someone looking for proof. That’s where the problem has always been for me.

I think a lot of kids turn away from their faith in high school no matter what faith it is. Usually due in part to various new idea’s their exposed to, new friends, and a realization that things are not such as they appear to be when your younger. As far as the historical basis to Christianity, you might be surprised on the historical foundation that Christianity is based around. For example, scholars accept what we know about Alexander the Great as fact, yet his biographies where not written down until 400yrs later by Arrian and Plutarch. Where as you have the earliest gospel being copied down within 20yrs of Jesus’ death. Which means eyewitnesses would have still been alive and could have countered the gospels. Then in 125AD you have a writing by Papias confirming the careful authorship of Mark, and then in 180AD from Irenaeus confirming the authorship of the gospel of Mark.( which scholarly is regarded the first gospel to be written). Scholars consistantly use the Old and New testiments to locate various lost ruins, such as the cities of Sodom and Gomorah, and the original site to the city of Jericho. These are just a few examples of scholarly backing. As far as being religious, God desires two things (after repentance from sins thru Jesus) and that is your mind and your heart, not just going to church for your weekly God experience or how much money is in the offering plate. Prayers are answered in the oddest ways sometimes as well in ways you may not even expect, so pray on friend and I’ll pray for you as well.

To be brutally honest, I abandoned Christianity because I found it to be somewhat lacking in the proof department. As with any big religion, Christianity is based on faith, but I’ve never been someone to take faith in something with no evidence. For much of my life, I believed, but when I finally decided to look deeper, I didn’t find much. It could have been that I was looking for the wrong thing or that anyone who tried to help me didn’t quite know how to help, but I lost my faith quite quickly during high school, when I first started questioning and examining Christianity with a more critical eye than I ever had before. I didn’t much like what I saw and it seemed that I had been told lies when I was younger, so I became an agnostic.

I didn’t bounce about to any other religions, though. I knew quite a bit about the big ones–Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, to name a few–but all of them relied on some kind of faith, as well. I couldn’t find anything that I felt to really be true and right, so I stayed an arm’s length away from all of them. I still do, really, though I’m not as atheistic as I used to be (when I abandoned Christianity, I abandoned Christianity’s version of God, though I’ve come to realize that the Christian God isn’t necessarily the God that exists). I believe in God, though I believe that it’s not necessary to align myself with an organized religion to serve him well.

Basically, religion requires faith and obedience. I can somewhat manage faith now (considering I’m more active in my belief in God than I used to be), but I’m still quite a bit of a rebel, so organized religion still seems unappealing for me. I’ve prayed for guidance on this issue, but I’ve never gotten a really strong answer, so I’ve just stuck with being more spiritual than religious. I have a feeling that’s what’s more important to God, but I have no way to know for sure.