My whole life i’ve been an absolute atheist, with some pagan beliefs along the way for a bit as well.

My grandma is a jehovah’s witness and overall i’ve found a lot of issues with christianity as a whole.

I never thought id ever even consider asking this, but how can i start educating myself on christianity? it feels like out of no where i started having dreams about god, having the desire to pray, and just a sudden interest about it in general.

i just feel kind of stuck, the idea of heaven and hell troubles me, the idea of sin, etc. is it possible to view these things as strictly symbolical?

I am so so uneducated on christianity and the bible, I don’t even know how to start reading the bible or where to get the “right” one.

sorry if any of this sounds totally ignorant! i’ve been trying to do research on my own, but I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on this.

Thank you!

  • wieson@feddit.orgEnglish
    3·
    5 days ago

    I would recommend starting with the gospels (the first books in the new testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).

    About the feeling of unease, I think it’s natural. I am uneasy when confronted with my own failure. That’s life, a journey with many hurdles to be overcome, many of them my own shortcomings. But I want to be better. So I need to acknowledge my faults.

    This also shows what love means. If I were perfect, it would not be hard to love me. But the people that love me do so despite my failures. So does God. And that makes love truly valuable.

    Letter from Paul to the Romans 5:6-11 NIVUK

    [6] You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. [7] Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. [8] But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! [10] For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! [11] Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

    https://bible.com/bible/113/rom.5.6-11.NIVUK