11,143
edits
If you need help: Difference between revisions
→Where we started
No edit summary |
|||
| Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
We spent decades in the message. We believed that William Branham was the last prophet and that those that followed his message were the Bride of Christ; the final voice to the final age. We believed it with all our hearts. | We spent decades in the message. We believed that William Branham was the last prophet and that those that followed his message were the Bride of Christ; the final voice to the final age. We believed it with all our hearts. | ||
But then we were confronted with the moral failure of those that we respected as our spiritual leaders. We started asking questions but there were no answers. We found that most message believers were afraid of our questions. | But then we were confronted with the moral failure of those that we respected as our spiritual leaders. We started asking questions but there were no answers. We found that most message believers were afraid of our questions. One quote that helped us a lot was this: | ||
:''A '''faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it.''' People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person's faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection. | |||
In the end, we left the message. | :''Believers should acknowledge and wrestle with doubts — not only their own but their friends' and neighbors'. It is no longer sufficient to hold beliefs just because you inherited them. Only if you struggle long and hard with objections to your faith will you be able to provide the grounds for your beliefs to skeptics, including yourself, that are plausible rather than ridiculous or offensive. And, just as important for our current situation, such a process will lead you, even after you come to a position of strong faith, to respect and understand those who doubt.<ref>Keller, Timothy, ''The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism'', Dutton, Feb 2008, pp. xvi-xvii</ref> | ||
We also found that we were not alone. Believers from all over the world were asking questions as well. We [[Research Sources for William Branham and His Message|started comparing notes with them]] and found that [[Humble Pie#Problems With Prophecies|prophecies had, in fact, failed]] and that [[Credibility|the entire credibility of the message]] was in question. | |||
In the end, we left the message. But we had to tell people what we had found so they wouldn't have to go through all the difficult searching that we did. And that resulted in this website changing its entire focus. | |||
==Where are you?== | ==Where are you?== | ||