Depends on who is asking and why I was chosen to listen.

I was lost in the woods for a very long time. It wasn't until I prayed that I immediately found my way back.



Ahh, okay. You're still pondering these things. Fair enough. You have your whole life to figure it out and make a decision.



Now your turn.

Hello.

So youre the sheep that founds its shepherd

Hi death_knight! It's me wraps!

I was reading some of your comments and I can tell that you are a pretty intelligent person! I just wanted to recommend that you check out some C.S. Lewis books some time! I think you might enjoy his writings! Check out Mere Christianity some time! You can also listen to them on YouTube if you don't feel like getting the book!

ur such a bro

Actually I'm quite decisive on my opinions shared. I was forced to attend church until my parents divorced at age 14 and many of the extended family were relentless on pushing Christianity onto me. I spent the next 10 years or so "soul searching", in fact I even turned to Islam for a short time. The end result for me of all that searching was wasted time and what has really manifested as anxiety (what happens when I die, will I be punished etc.). Unfortunately all this soul searching of the deity doctrines only served to close my mind not open it and it was only until I choose agnosticism and researched spiritual such as Taoism and Jainism that I become at peace within myself and subsequently stumbled upon veganism which i regard as the best choice I have ever made.

So you see it hard for me to undo the damages caused by imposed doctrine and ironically I found peace by rejecting the idea of a deity altogether so I see no point to subscribe to one when I feel I am already on the best path to inner peace and enlightenment and I know it in my heart to be true, this is why I say there is no room for God in my life because again the whole idea has caused great anxiety for myself and has been a fundamental destructive force in my extended family, an issue I could go into depth at another time.

Sure I have some rational fear of death and I would call most people a liar if they said they didn't but it's a double edged sword because I am also very curious to find out what happens next so in a way I almost welcome death instead of fear or prolong it, we all must die so better off we will all be if we truly accept it and move on instead of searching for answers that may or may not exist.

I should also add that if God is real then he knows my heart and if I am to be punished such as hell for not having been convinced then that is between God and myself, not you and I. This is why I call many of you zealots because it's as if you are the hand and mouth of God and that stance is completely unacceptable to a person of my inquiry when I can identify many of your faults as well.

And one more remark I've been wanting to share but have forgotten. I post in this topic because I see so much division amongst belief. Obviously Christians are to "spread the word" and they do it because it has helped them which is a valid reason to do anything.. help is a good thing. That being said surely I should be allowed to share my own opinions on what works for me even though it's in direct conflict. My hope is that a reader may find some of posts and decide to open their mind in ways that I have done instead of going down the road of looking outward for the answers.. I look inward for answers and the more I seek the more I find.

"He who looks will see, he who listens will hear."

This can take on many meanings which is the point, expand your mind...

- a quote of myself

The shepherd found me.



So was it some part of The Bible you found hard to believe or was it more so the people around you?

What does the path to inner peace and enlightenment look like? How will you know when you've reached it?