How do I create faith in Christ & God?

[alibertarian]

Am lost, not found.
The Bible was written by man. I don't know how to turn on faith in man's written words. The closest I can come is to ask Jesus and God for faith, to ask them to enter me, but I am not sure that they have. What can I do? How much prayer should it take? Am I not a member of the "elect"?

[mattrose]

Am lost, not found.
The Bible was written by man. I don't know how to turn on faith in man's written words. The closest I can come is to ask Jesus and God for faith, to ask them to enter me, but I am not sure that they have. What can I do? How much prayer should it take? Am I not a member of the "elect"?

Hello

Your statements make me wonder if you think of 'faith' as some sort of emotional feeling of certainty. It seems you want to acquire this feeling about the Bible (that it is more than just human words) and about the presence of God/Jesus in your life.

I would challenge you to consider a different approach to the word faith. Think of it simply as trust and obedience. Read the Bible (don't worry about whether or not it is 'inspired' or 'inerrant' at this point). Just read it (the gospels especially) as the testimonial biographies that they are. See if you do not begin to want to trust Jesus. Then start trusting him (obeying his words). I believe your trust in Him will build over time (just like in any good relationship, but even better).

Once you are connected to Christ, you are connected to God's elect Son. You will share all things with Him... including election.

[jasonmodar]

Hi alibertarian,

Welcome to the forum! There are folks here more insightful than I that'll hopefully chime in as well but I think I have a few things I can share that may be useful for you.

The Bible was written by man. I don't know how to turn on faith in man's written words.

Though the Bible is a collection of man-written accounts, I personally find them trustworthy and compelling. I chiefly find the accounts of Jesus trustworthy and compelling and that's where my faith is centered; centered on the fact that the Jesus presented in the Gospels and the New Testament is the Jesus of history. My faith and allegiance are in that Jesus.

A great help to me and my faith was when I stopped centering my faith around the Bible and started centering my faith around Jesus, the primary subject matter of the Bible. This isn't to say I have no faith in the Bible; I certainly do. It's my primary source about Jesus and I'm not interested in questioning its divine attributes. Just that the foundation of my Christian faith is in a person, Jesus Christ, and not a book.

What can I do?

To have faith in something is synonymous with trusting it and that trust can't really be "turned on" or off like a switch. Something needs to compel you to trust it. For example I trust that my wife is not cheating on me. This isn't faith that I have to muster up each day; her character, actions, and love towards me give me a complete trust in her fidelity. I can never be absolutely certain she isn't cheating; after all I'm not with her 24/7. But the evidence weighs heavily against her running around on me. I don't even need to be with her 24/7 to have faith in her fidelity. If I did then I wouldn't have much trust in her.

I'd say the same is true of Christian faith. Find out if the Jesus of the Bible is worthy of your trust and then center your trust on him.

[alibertarian]

Thank you both for thoughtful responses. I really appreciate them, and will try your suggestions.

Ali