Quote:
Originally Posted by DreamAddiction37
so at church this past sunday the pastor said something that kind of upset me. he said something about how self-esteem was a crock and that we could only get true self-worth from god. then he said something about how we really aren't worthy, and then he said something about how we can only be "worthy" through god.
none of it really made sense to me. i kind of shut down when he started talking about self-esteem. he said it was "a lie believed to be true" or something.
ugh, christianity is so confusing. i don't know how god is supposed to make us feel better when he created us to be so inferior and worthless.
half the time i can't decide if i believe it or not.
but the main point is, the whole time i've considered being christian i get pummeled with the idea that i'm worthless and i have nothing to be proud of because if i don't believe in god or whatever then i have nothing to live for.
i have no idea if any of that made sense...but christianity doesn't make sense to me right now either. check back in a few days, i may have figured it out by then. but right now, it's so confusing. i don't know if i want to go back to church anymore.
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Think my first question would be, does the pastor think everyone has to follow exactly what he says? Does he dictate his beliefs and claim them to be the gospel. If you disagree or don't follow church rules, are there disciplines/punishments? Or is he presenting his view and allowing others to decide for themselves? That would be a big difference for me.
Pastors don't always say things the way they would like to say it and sometimes they don't have time to finish explaining something they've started. So don't take things too literally. A pastor who is approachable wouldn't be defensive if you questioned him about his teachings - he would encourage you to think for yourself. Your experience might not be the same as his. Also remember his own upbringing may have a big influence on his view of God and Bible. In the same way your upbringing might also influence you.