Today, I do not know where you are at with your faith in God. Your personal faith struggle has likely been a season of doubt. You have been more public with your struggle than most people out there who do not want to admit that they have deep questions which have not been answered. Please do not give up.

Your struggle with hell, suffering and the like are common for many of us. How does a good God allow these? I am not able to answer questions even Job could not answer. Job came to a point of seeing the largeness of God, trusting Him, and having to forgive his friends for their judgments against him, even though he never received the answers to why he suffered as a righteous man while on earth. Then, he received tremendous blessings after his sufferings.

The only answer I have found to the tests/struggles/trials is based on a few passages of Scripture, relating to the tests and trials of our faith, and how God knows our outcome but He wants us to see our own hearts. We see our own hearts through the testings we face, even though God knows we will pass the tests eventually. We have to choose to trust God in the midst of unimaginable sufferings/tests of our faith even when we do not understand the whys. We are suppose to count it pure joy when we face are sorts of trials – hard to do – and at the same time know that our faith is worth more than gold in God’s eyes. We are all on a faith journey, trying to find the Truth.

The other area you mention on your website has to do with labels of Christianity. I hope you have found a way to keep Christ in your life even without the labels which separate us and split the Body of Christ into parts. We are to be in unity and living in peace with one another. If you have been judged and hurt by fellow believers, I forgive them on your behalf. Your work is powerful and a life’s work which I hope you never throw away. You are amazing and bring glory to God even in your honest faith struggle. Please never give up on your faith no matter what still confounds you or how others have spoken about you or treated you or the still unanswered questions or the unanswered prayers in your heart. You are victorious in Christ no matter what. You are loved.

I pray you will find peace with God.

Thanks for your encouraging words. I agree that we shouldn’t be too hard on the “sheep” but I have no reason to hold back when I see the wolves who use the religion and abuse the sheep for their own benefit. And as for the “sheep” – some of them need the religion like a sick person needs a hospital. So there is a place for that kind of religion I suppose. But in general, I will challenge folks to wake up, use their minds, and think for themselves. It’s the Golden Rule – that’s how I want people to treat me!

It would be interesting to know what you think you have found in the Bible, and how it is going to shake up Christianity.

All the best,

Richard

Thanks for the comments. I think there is strong evidence for the original NT being Greek, not Hebrew. I am not familiar with any mss of the Hebrew NT in the Dead Sea Scrolls collection. Please share that info if you have it.

Also, if the NT was written in Hebrew, how do you account for the fact that some of it was taken from the Greek LXX?

There is much to discuss on this topic. Your input is most welcome.

All the very best,

Richard