I typically try and avoid these conversations because they usually turn into people disrespecting one another's beliefs, however; I would like to share mine.
Up until a year ago, I was atheist. I felt like if there was a God that loved everyone how could he allow things that had happened to me as a child. Because of things that were done to me, I turned to drugs and alcohol at the age of 13 and was full blown alcoholic by 15. This eventually led to me being a needle user of opiates and also having separate addictions to benzos and meth. I had been to 4 rehabs through out my drug career in hopes of stopping but no rehab, aa/na meeting ever worked. It got to a point last year my wife finally gave up, took my kids and moved out. In the desperation of keeping a relationship with her I told her I wanted to meet her pastor to pray..(in no way was I legitimately hoping for change, only to buy time with her)
When I got to the church, the pastor asked me to pray the prayer of salvation which I did and in following asked if it was ok to baptize me in the Holy Spirit. I thought then, I got you now mr preacher, I'm not falling out just to suit you..but something happened I cannot explain a feeling came over my body and it literally felt like a hand reached inside me and pulled everything out. I got up off of that floor as a believer in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and never once suffered symptoms of any kind of withdrawal from the drugs I was addicted to.
I've since learned that all those bad things happened to me because like trukker said 'free will' ..people that hurt me were not walking with God and had the free will and choice to do things that disgust me.
When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit it became the fall of man. All of man and creation were cursed.
Before Jesus Christ man had 613 laws to abide by which were impossible for man to follow because we are imperfect. Each time a law was broken, that person had to get an animal without spot or blemish and sacrifice it for their sin. God came to realize that these laws were simply impossible so he sent his son Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice. If you accept Jesus as lord and savior you are no longer held to those laws. Hence why we are saved by the blood of Jesus and nobody can get to the father except through him.
I understand why people do not believe because overtime the gospel has since become very complicated when in turn it's basically pretty simple..we have the free choice to do whatever we want to because if not we would basically be just a bunch of robots.
