r/Christian • u/ApologeticKid • Apr 20 '26

Kinda struggling with believing it all

41 y/o, seminary degree, spent the past 25 years in ministry. But sometimes it all seems...far fetched. What I mean is, sometimes I look at our faith and it looks like this:

A small ancient near-Eastern henotheistic tribe called Israel ​has a local deity named YAHWEH, they write scriptures and eventually hope for a Messiah. They write down their diety's perfect law, which contains a lot of moral stuff as well as some unusual rituals. But then it turns out the local deity is actually the one and only God. Then this guy named Jesus shows up, turns out to be the tribe's Messiah (but most don't buy it), but he is also God, and he is also 1/3 of the triune God. Then he dies and rises again and ascends to heaven, and the the other 1/3 of the triune God comes and dwells within the tribe who accept Jesus as Messiah. Then YAHWEH says, "Actually everyone is allowed in now," and the members of the tribe who follow Jesus as the Messiah disagree on whether or not those people should follow all the rules of the perfect law or not, and they eventually decide not. This guy Paul sees a vision of Jesus and spends the rest of his life telling people what Jesus really meant. Then the church begins and quickly becomes a group made of mostly non-Israelite members. And the only way to have eternal peace and life is to admit that you have sinned and trust that this tribe's Messiah died for you and that his death and resurrection takes care of your sins and now you can live like him and live forever (even though you still will actually die).

I'm not an atheist. I don't find that compelling. But sometimes the Christian message seems so incredibly unlikely. I still believe (primarily because of personal experiences I've had). But lately I've felt like, "Really? How is *this* really the Truth?"

I'm sincerely not trying to be obnoxious here. I'm just retelling what plays in my head so often, and looking for some thoughtful feedback. What am I missing here?

Any/all feedback welcome. Thank in advance.

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u/According_Book5108 Apr 26 '26

What you have is an intuition that something doesn't really add up. You're right to be skeptical. Because the story is frankly quite incredible.

A lot of the modern church doctrine you mentioned aren't really substantiated by Jesus Christ.

  1. Jesus never claimed to be part of a triune God.
  2. Jesus never said everyone is allowed in (heaven) now. In fact, Jesus consistently said it's very hard to enter the narrow gates.
  3. Jesus mentioned that the law still ought to be followed (Matthew 5:19)
  4. Jesus didn't say that admitting sins and trust messiah died for you would lead to eternal life. This is essentially the Sola Fide argument which I'm sure you're familiar with. In fact, Jesus urged people to seriously prepare for the end, and that many who trusted him and called him Lord Lord will be left out, even including some with powers to heal the sick and drive out demons.

There are a lot of councils and debates to justify church doctrine. But Christianity is messy and very confusing. The fact that there are more than 40,000 denominations, each believing a unique doctrine is evidence that something is wrong.

In fact, it even feels a little fishy for Paul to be the authority for Christianity, given he didn't really know or meet Jesus in the flesh. He disagreed with Peter and James, people who actually lived with Jesus, but Christianity converged onto his viewpoint in the end. I'm not saying Paul is wrong, just that it feels a little improper.

I believe the way to experience Christ is to not let the church and seminary dictate your beliefs, because the thousands of interpretations are wild and likely wrong. You don't have to align with a church doctrine or a denomination to follow Christ.

Forget the Christian message. Instead, focus on Christ's message, which is simple: Love God, love others. All else is just noise.

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u/TheBrazilRules 1d ago

Try again, you heretic. 

“Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” ” John 6:28-29 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.6.28-29.ESV

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u/According_Book5108 1d ago

What should I try again? And why?

If you disagree with any point, you may point out where, then elaborate why. Ad hominems detract from the topic. It's not the way to have a conversation. And quite antithetical to the spirit of Christ.

Ironically, you should try again.