fusionatl

A question I heard a few years ago came back up in my mind a few days ago and I thought I would get people's thoughts on it. I have my own answer for this, but I want to get y'all thinking. I usually avoid posting questions like this online that could make people possibly doubt their faith, because without 1-on-1 dialogue people can get off track...but I'm trusting God that that won't happen here. I'm hoping this question will make you think about why you have your faith & will get some good discussion going on. So, two related questions...

Here's the question:
If you were born in any other country around the world would you still be a Christian? (or would you be a Muslim, Hindu, etc - I know there's no way to truly know...but what do you think?)

For me, what this question boils down to is this (prepare yourself, this is pretty deep):
Do you believe the gospel because it's the Truth or because you were taught it's the Truth?

You know I think that I would have answered this a little bit differently had I been asked this about 2 years ago, or even 1 year ago. Before I would have said that I had just been taught this and so that is why I believe in God. I have to honestly say now that I believe in God because I have experienced Him. I have experienced Him in such a way that there is NO denying Him. He has saved me from a life of severe depression and self-hatred. He has shown me His love in a way that I have NEVER experienced love before. He has penetrated my heart in such a way that I have been brought to my knees. So there is a song that really explains it all. I don't know who the writer was, but I will find out because it is an amazing song. I heard it at Mercy Ministries the place where I found God, and He turned my whole world from darkness and depression to light, life, hope and joy. Heres the lyrics:

When I think about the Lord, how He saved me, how He raised me, how He filled me with the Holy Ghost, how He healed me to the uttermost.
When I think about the Lord, how He picked me up and turned me around how He placed my feet on solid ground.
It makes me wanna shout Halleluiah thank you Jesus, Lord your worthy of all the glory all the honor all the praise.

This song really meant a lot to me. It helps me to remember where I was, and where God has brought me from and humbles me to know that I did not do this on my own, that I couldn't have. It reminds me that there is a God, and almight, loving, caring, merciful God and he has paid the ransom for me and rescued me. There's no denying it nothing can touch my heart like He does. Nothing can fill those voids that I had been trying to fill for so long in so many unhealthy ways like the unconditional love of Christ.

There is so much more that I could say too, but that is a great question Johnson. I can't wait to see how others respond. I hope I read the question right.

Now that my post has been shut down…. I guess I’ll answer this question.

I think the answer is “yes.”

I believe the gospel is the Truth because I was taught it and because I believe it. When I was growing up we went to church and I heard the “Jesus Story.” Everyone seemed legitimate. I mean why would you leave your house, put on these awful clothes and sit and listen to this man gab on and on about something that no one really believed in. Now, don’t get me wrong… even as a kid I could tell that some people “believed” in it more than others but the thought never entered my mind that it wasn’t real. Don’t know why. I guess that’s the point of the question. I believed what my family and Sunday School teachers told me. From my perspective, they had no reason to lie and they had seemed to have built their whole lives around this thing… so why not.

Some may call that “blind faith” but we are all built with faith… if not for sin… complete faith. A child does not look his father in the eyes and say… “you got me right…” He knows he does and never questions. I’ve seen Jeremiah Bowie jump from the middle of the stairs at Pastor Johnson’s house right into his daddy’s arms. And the look on his face as he’s falling through the air was full of joy and laughter and completely absent o fear. While Johnson himself seemed a little surprised; Jeremiah knew exactly how the whole thing was gonna play out. He just believed.

But…

Then I knew. I knew it was the Truth because I met Him. Now, without getting to super spiritual here, let me explain what I mean. I know John Mayer. I’ve seen him on TV, I heard his music on the radio and I’ve even bought his CD’s. Yep, I know John Mayer. That’s not knowing him? Well, I even meet him. We meet at a concert. We shook hands and everything. But you know what… I still don’t know him. I know of him… but I don’t know him. But I know Mike Kaupe. I’ve heard him talk on stage, I know what he does for a living and I know what kind of car he drives. But none of those explain how I know him. I know him because we talk. I know him because he’s been a mentor to me and a friend when I needed one. I know him because he introduced himself to me and over the years we’ve shared our lives together. The exact same thing goes for the Jesus of this gospel I believe. He introduced himself to me, he talks to me and he was there for me when everyone else turned their backs. I can truly say it was like meeting a celebrity and finding out they want to be your friend. You know of them but now… now you get to know them… and everything you heard… everything you’ve read… pales in comparison to just how awesome they are. That is when I believed past when I was taught to believe. That’s when I meet Jesus. That’s why I’m a Christian.

No matter where you are… no matter what country you are born in… what matter the religion of your parents… you will have make a decision… “What will I do with Jesus?”

What a fantastic question to ask...

1) I was born outside of the US and lived in Guyana, South America up until the age of 14. All of my previous ancestors were into Hinduism to one degree or the other. The 5 generations that existed in South America.. saw major decline with people living by the rules of that religion. When I lived there, i was born into that religion. But it seemed so far fetched, that i really didn't care for it. I just attended the ''ceremonies'' out of duty. There were neighbors and friends who were Christians and somehow I would get their Sunday school hand out/picture story telling cards into my hands when i was hanging out with them.. so I did learn about some of the stories at a young age. And while at school there would be some Sunday school kind of event during the year. It was interesting to be with friends there listening and having some snacks to munch on... while they were story telling.

It seemed like it was just another religion of choice and another book to believe in to be developed into a moral individual with certain values etc. I never really saw any difference in the life of a Christian vs the Non Christian. And that was the extent that I experienced Christianity in that country. I had good teachers and friends as role models and always tried to be a ''good'' person.


2) Fast forward 4 years later and I'm living in NY. I witnessed the miraculous healing of a family friend at our home. ..she left sick ( terminally with multiple issues) and came back like a normal healthy person in about 2 hours. A person who rarely leaves the house because of the illness. And thereafter I found out how it all happened, joined the budding ministry in a basement where the minister has the gift of healing and vision/prophesy. Learned of how it all was possible through the Holy Spirit.. Now up to that Point I had never heard of the Holy Spirit in such a context. I had only thought of the Holy Spirit as a entity in some far away galaxy out there in space... as well with God. But the truth was learned and I myself experienced the Holy Spirit and saw hundreds of people get healed, delivered and set free from all sorts of illnesses, diseases, and spirits that possessed them. Many were medically recorded.

That's the reason why I believe the Gospel is The Truth. Because I experienced and witnessed that proof for myself what is written in the Gospel. I had hoped that one day if there really was a true living God he would clue me in somehow.. and that's exactly what happened. Now if you had given me all sorts of scriptures and preached to me night and day and what not.. I wouldn't have become a Christian. Primarily because of what I viewed Christianity/The Church to be.. that was all about building wealth for the preacher and just having some nice stories and teaching to console the ailing and hopeless. But the truth was far from that and he existed even within us! and I found faith in experiencing him through fasting and prayer and developing a relationship.. apart from all the miraculous things that I witnessed.

I do wonder how many people are strong in Faith with just being born into Christianity and reading the Bible. Before I was saved, I had never heard of the Holy Spirit really or anything supernatural being manifested in reality that is written in the word by Christians that I came into contact with.

I really would like to see Pastor Johnson's answers and others as well.. so keep em' coming...

Wow, chad that was an awesome testimony. It is so neat how you came to Christ. If you don't mind sharing though how has that affected your family that is still hindu in South America? You know the ones maybe that have been raised as devout Hindu? I always wondered you know those that are very strong in their faith, and were raised in a different religion how they respond to the gospel. I like to sometimes put myself in their shoes to see what it would be like to be witnessed to by a different religion. How do I feel when someone tells me of another religion when I am a devout christian? I just wonder what it is like for those in a different religion who are very devout in their faith to be witnessed to? I hope I am not stepping on any toes. I just wondered. I hope you get what I am asking and saying. Any suggestions anyone? Chad again your testimony is amazing. I love hearing stuff like that. This last year all these "spiritual" things are all new to me, so I find it fascinating.

Kelly,

The relatives who live in the US are the ones that I know of the most and Canada as well. They came to visit us in NY. It went down like this.. It seems that the ones who needed and got healing from physical illnesses and/or delivered from demonic possessions are the majority of those who accepted Christ and turned from the idol religion. The ones who didn't need healing or got a deliverance from some possessive spirit were the ones who held on to their pride of Religion for the most part.

The pride consists of many various things such as .. race, culture, religion and customs/traditions. Its all interwoven together for those who practice the religion.. and strangely enough, there are those who don't really practice or follow the rules of the religion, but are very prideful of it as their identity.

So you end up having this major pride issue where its such that a person may view changing religion as being a sell out or traitor of your people/religion. I am thought of as being a traitor/ sell out by some relatives/other Hindus who i come into contact with.

I hope this sheds some light on your inquiry. Have a nice day Kelly.. and its nice to be in the PTH class with you.

Wow, that's really cool Chad. Great answer. So the question "Do you believe the gospel because it's the Truth or because you were taught it's the Truth?" doesn't really apply to you b/c you were more or less raised Hindu.
But I love how you stressed that it's not because someone preached at you or read you scriptures, it's because you saw it with your own eyes. So, for you, it was more seeing it was The Truth rather than being taught it was the Truth.
Gotta agree with Kelly...great story...didn't know that about you.

Ok Guys---good question & replies. I sometimes wondered similar things about those claiming Christianity and those claiming other religions. I don't want this to be a long a post, so I'll try to keep it as short & sweet as possibe.

About a month or so ago some Latter Day Saints did they're door knocking thing, and I opened the door and invited them in. We discussed some of what they believed, the Bible and the Book of Mormon. These two guys seemed so passionate about what they believed, but they were pretty young(late teens-early 20's). SO I asked a similar question to them about their faith. I asked If they were taught this their whole life or did they experience this revelation. The answer was that they were raised in the Church of Latter Day Saints and that they sought God later and there beliefs were reaffirmed.

Now for my answer--

I believe that being born in the US has a very small part in me choosing Christianity. I would say that I was more likely to be introduced to Christianity @ a young age as the "way" here due to the roots of the nation vs. a country like China.

I would say that I was taught a lot of "cute" Bible stories when I was very young, but that didn't make me any more of a Christian than being taught in elementary school about the pilgrims and Native Americans makes me a historian.

I guess another point of mine would be that I know a lot of people who were brought up with me in a very similar manner & taught many of the same things about God and the Bible, but they took a different path.(some better some worse)

I think Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Is a big playmaker in the answer to your question(atleast in my case)

However, the ultimate choice was mine. Growing up, I was taught that the Bible was the truth, BUT I didn't know the TRUTH until later in life.

Some one told me a few days ago I should “reveal my heart a little more”, and of course I said I “have no Idea how” reading these testimonies convicts me to give my own. Most who ask get the general answer from me of I was. I was angry then I met Jesus and I changed but that does not get down to the bare bones of who I was and why I worship at all. it only skims the surface helping me to keep people at a distance because of fear. When you truly reveal your testimony to people you show them a part of you that you may not want them to see. When people see you for who you were before it can change their perception of who you are now forever and that is a thought about my testimony that has always scared me to tell anyone at Fusion or anyone for that manner Christian or not. Many of you know me from Fusion as a happy person and so I tell you the story of who I was in a hope of you knowing me a little more and my prayer is that your perception of who I am does not change how you feel about me as a friend. Bare with my grammatical problems I was never a good writer



My story was a little different than most My mother is a Mormon and My father a Catholic so they decided not to raise me in any particular faith because they disagreed with each other so much when it came to a religious belief. Of course they weren’t as faithful to there religious beliefs being married to each other but hey “to each his own” as well as I am lucky to be here if they were a little more faithful then you would not be reading this post.


As I grew older in my mid teens I became hateful and was not a very good person. With a short fuse and superior size I was a menace to every one around me. I would become angry at people just giving me a look I perceived as a challenge to my “manhood” After awhile I started to realize looking around that my life was a wreck my temper was keeping me from being normal and I saw that I would die one day being like I was but it did not matter because if I could always be on top, if I could always make money, or be the strongest if I could feel good using substances I shouldn’t I would be happy . But I had a hole in my mind that kept growing full of questions. The Question was of who I’m becoming and could I ever be a good person ever? Those things would always wake me up at night of course being a young man I did not know where to turn. I was being pulled in different directions; whether it would be my hate or other issues in my life I was kind of stuck.

I met a man named Cary while he was handing out fliers he was bigger and stronger than me, he had tattoos all over, and we chatted. He had a similar life story we ended up talking about drug use and things we had been involved with in the past. He ended up asking me a question. He said “what is the meaning of life” “I laughed and said are you seriously asking me that”? He said that “when I know the meaning of my life my questions will be answered and my problems solved”

I tossed the flier not even looking at it and went on a search for the meaning of life through religious beliefs systems and still could not find the answer I was looking for. It all seemed so magical and to me religion was fake and of course my older brother agreed; “why would there exist a giant man in the sky and if he loved me why is he not watching my back now?”

After a year a friend of mine (which still surprises me she was a friend today because of the way I was) and in fact she is my best friend invited me to a small church in Riverside CA. I thought that this would be just another dead end and was ready to give up looking for my meaning of life. I walked into this door and saw something that made my jaw drop. It was Cary the big brash guy I had the conversation with was the pastor of the Church. I never thought that he would be a pastor but I suppose that the flyers he was handing out were apart of his street ministry I still remember the conversation and I never heard him once say Jesus was the way. The next year I took Christ into my heart still struggling with my other self I gave my soul over to Jesus in a small ceremony in a pool at an elder’s house. Cary asked me if “I reject Satan and his works” and I was almost ready to jump out of the pool and he jokingly looked at me and said Jeff are you going to read ten books in the bible every night and I said the words “ I will see what I can do “ as I laughed he dunked me into the pool and I felt the happiest I have ever felt in my life and when I came out of the pool the other man was gone. The weight, the anger was all gone and I have been clean, and anger free ever since. That person who you always see in Fusion who is happy even when exhausted is the result of Jesus Christ’s Saving Grace. Jesus Christ yanked the hate and anger out of me that day and I will forever thank him for sending me a sign he loves me in human form that is Pastor Cary Brown. The funnier thing is he is a Pastor of Saving Grace Christian fellowship In CA.

Now to answer the main question of the post would I be a Christian today if I was born somewhere else? I would like to think yes because no matter where I was born I have to think I would have been called to the same journey looking for the meaning of life and that is to worship God with all my Heart Soul and Mind.

Also when I feel Like I can’t find my way Psalms 23 helps because Jesus “ restorethed my soul”

I truly hope that my story helps people to understand me and I hope you would not look at me different knowing who I was

Jeff, that's awesome! It always amazes me how God can pull people from different backgrounds, experiences, family trees, sins, letdowns, triumphs, failures, and places on the map...to bring them all together in one city, in one ministry, saved & redeemed and going after Jesus.

Don't ever let the lie that people will "reject you for your testimony" keep you from sharing it. We are told in Revelation that we defeat Satan by the blood of the lamb & the word of our testimony. The sacrifice of Jesus & His story in our lives is what keeps us going and gives us the victory long term.

I definitely don't view you any differently and, like you said, now I just know a little more of your heart. It's great to see what God has brought you through. Now God gets the glory for you sharing that instead of Satan getting the glory for keeping it bottle up in you. Thanks for sharing Jeff!

Good stuff guys. It's wonderful how God is able to use even the dirtiest of us from the worst of backgrounds to change the lives of others and bring the Good news to the world.

The great thing is that if God can change me he can change anyone. Never count anyone out.

Cactus, I doubt that anyone will look @ you differently. We all have pasts that don't stand up to God's standards. Heck, our present lives even fall short, that's what Jesus and the Holy Spirit came for.
Not to give Fusion a plug or anything , but the "Know Fear" series is great and addresses these fears that you & many of us have regarding the way that others look @ us. Don't .know if you heard any of them yet, but if not check them out

Great plug Eddie!

http://www.fusionatl.org/p/12081/Default.aspx

Hey Jeff, that was a totally awesome testimony bro.
The details paint a vivid picture of how God changes hearts of those who seem the most lost or difficult. And sharing a testimony like that can encourage someone to dig deeper and have what you have received as well. Never worry about what people will say or think, its what God would say or think about you that really matters.

It would be really great to see the other great testimonies of Fusion written up here! Where are y'all at?

I haven't read the above posts yet, except the first one, but I wanted to go ahead and respond to the question first.

Do you believe the gospel because it's the Truth or because you were taught it's the Truth?

Because its truth. I think it boils down to whether you've had a personal encounter with God, that either led you to believe or as you have begun to walk with him. Jesus said that blessed are those who believe without seeing, but he still showed his hands to Thomas and let him touch his side. I think in my walk with God, he has been more than gracious with me that as I first began to speak to him, he filled me with joy, and gave me visions and dreams, and experiences where he spoke to me so I knew it was him. When I was a baby Christian, it cemented me in my faith.

It was what people said about the truth of God and the reality of God that made we want to seek a relationship with Him in the first place, but other people's faith didn't make me just want to glom on and go with flow, but God gave me this "I have to see it real for myself" attitude. In the beginning, when I first started seeking God, I almost refused to go by faith, so to speak. I was like "God, you have to show yourself to me, I want to know who you are" and when he did that was it, the word was confirmed for me.

More simply (and perhaps more importantly), its also truth, because I remember those times that I've trusted God and his word has proved true. Having done so helps in those times, when God seems silent to my spirit and all I have is the word God. In particular, I remember a time where I was just seeking God to meet him, to encounter him, and God convicted me of a sin that I had been lying about something to my peers. I repented of the sin, but God told me clear as day that I had to confess it to them. What amazes me and by God's grace was that I didn't hesitate, I just asked God to give me an opportunity and I would do it. I went to a prayer meeting that morning, and the leader asked near the end if anyone had anything to share. He never ever ever did that before and never again. I was lilke "wow" when he asked. But I spoke up and confessed my sin. And the best part was that what I was worried about didn't happen. They didn't reject me or chastise me and that was like turning point for me trusting my God.

If you were born in any other country around the world would you still be a Christian? (or would you be a Muslim, Hindu, etc - I know there's no way to truly know...but what do you think?)

I go back to what made me first want to seek him, and that was being around people who had real relationships with God. I had actually never heard that Christianity was a relationship with God, until college, even though I had been in the church when I was small. There was just something different about them (the Christians I knew) about the way they treated me and they treated each other, and the love of God they talked about and his grace and mercy, I wanted that. I was hungry for life when I got saved, had gone through some depression. To answer the question, maybe. I certainly would not have found God on my own, the only reason I started looking was because my Mom suggested I look for a campus ministry because I was so depressed. But then I actually did, so God drew me to himself. So, perhaps more likely than not, other religion in my life might have caused resistance to the Gospel, but if you're dying or thirsty and need of drink of water and you're willing to admit it, God can move.

That's really cool Stephanie. Thanks for sharing that. It's awesome to hear what people's backgrounds are before they come to Christ & to see what are some of the steps in the ladder that have gotten you to where you are today. Thanks for sharing!