Christians and Obsessions

Post Reply New Topic

For about ten years, I was a devout Christian. I was very obsessed with the Bible, apologetics, and evangelism. Eventually, I came to believe that there were no objective proofs that prove that a personal God exists and that there are no objective proofs that prove that God is the Christian God. Shortly after that, I lost my faith in the Bible and God.

Although I've been an agnostic/atheist for quite some time, I have tried to regain my faith in Christianity. Since losing my faith, I had a personal and subjective experience that has given me reason to believe that I could believe in the Bible and God again. However, every time I try to recommit myself to Christ, I get obsessed with apologetics and evidences for God's existence and the divinity of Christ and the Bible. Then, I head back down the road of doubts, and I lose my faith again. If I could avoid my old obsession of proofs and evidences, I think I could remain a Christian. To do this, I have thought about trying to be a Christian and retain my current obsession with reading and writing fiction.

So, here's my question. If you're a devout and conservative Christian, do you have an obsession that is not directly linked to the Bible or theology? If so, are you ok with that or do you see that as a sin?

I'm Christian and have been obsessed with Christianity most of my life even when I didn't consider myself one for a while. It seems to me that proof and faith are mutually exclusive. Faith is trusting that what you believe will one day become certain, but if it is already certain by having been proved there is no more need for faith. I think that trying to prove the existence of God is like trying to build a tower that reaches all the way to heaven. Not only can't it be done, but God won't let it be done. I think that it is very possible to retain your faith and not be obsessed with proving it. I actually think trying to prove it is more the sin than trusting in it enough to be able to do something else without needing that proof.

I'm not entirely sure how to answer you. However, I will share my latest obsession because it may speak to your plight. I'm currently studying everything to do with William James. He was one of those interesting 19th century intellectuals who wanted to reconcile science and religion. He also wanted philosophy to be of use to everyone, hence his emphasis on pragmatism. James' definition of truth is whatever works.

You will never find an "objective" proof of God. Faith is subjective, a personal choice. Pragmatism throws away the apologetics and evidences you obsess over because they are distracting or irrelevant to the problem of being-in-the-world. Does believing in God and the Bible make you a better person? Does it help you get through the day or answer questions or give you direction? Then it must be true. Make use of it. Read Paul's epistles. IMHO, his theology is very practical because he is answering day-to-day problems he encountered when dealing with different churches. (i.e. -- on circumcision, he accepted both jew and gentle. He thought the question unnessecarily distracting and divisive.)

No matter how pessimistic I get, I never lose my faith. It gives me hope. With that said, I'm also once again in a tough situation with my current church. I hoped talking to the pastor about AS had given me reason to believe in some understanding and acceptance. Sadly, my inability to "fellowship" to the satisfaction of others in the congregation is being interpreted as some sort of serious failure on my part. I love going to church on Sunday, but it's incredibly difficult to find a aspie friendly church that I can also tolerate from a theological perspective.

I agree with that.



I know many NT Christians who go to church, read their Bibles daily, are very faithful and sincere, yet they don't think about the Bible 24/7. They also spend a lot of their time doing many other things that are aBiblical (eg. Karate, hiking, reading fiction, watching movies, etc). They usually do these activities with other Christians. However, they are just spending enjoyable time together while doing these activities. They aren't cycling for Christ or Sparring for Christ or Hiking for Christ or Reading Fiction for Christ. In other words, they aren't getting together to discuss the Bible or Christianity. Christian topics may come up, but they focus on the activity at hand. I'd like to be more like that. I'd like to go to church, read my Bible daily, be faithful and sincere, yet enjoy an obsession that keeps my mind off apologetics and philosophy.

Well, one question is, how intense can an "interest" get before it is an "obsession"? I mean, Aspies are said to naturally have "intense interests", but is that really the same as obsessions?
I mean, I love music, but I wouldn't marry it , even though it's more beautiful to me than any woman ever could be, once her attitude is factored-in with her stunning looks. If you find something intensely enjoyable, but you don't worship it or think of it as a god/idol, and it's not a sin itself, than it's perfectly alright. But remember that over-indulgence is wrong -- and wrong because it harms you, not because it harms God, which it does not.

See, that's where most people get the wrong idea about sin: it's sin because it's bad for YOU, and/or the PEOPLE around you -- not because God has some unexplainable personal problem with it.
So, that's when people -- and I've done this myself -- mistakenly ask, "Is this a sin? Is that a sin? What if you only do it this much? What if you do it this way, but not that way? ... " And I had to finally tell myself: "Stop looking for what you can get away with!! It's for your own good that certain areas of behaviour are marked-out to be avioded. So, instead, start seeking God's will, rather than looking for how to get around it!"

This also reminds me of a discussion between an Orthodox Jew and a member of another, much-lower-profile Jewish sect -- can't remember which one. The Orthodox sees the other man veering from an elevator in a building to ascend the staircase instead, since it was the Sabbath. The Orthodox man stops the other Jew, and says, "No, you don't have to take the stairs -- my rabbi says you can get a Gentile to press the elevator buttons for you." The other man replies, "I know how to get around the law. I'm trying to keep it."

It's possible to accidentally have church in a completely casual setting. I go out for dinner and Starbucks with members from my church every Friday night after our service. Then, guess what? The REAL "church" -- which means discussions of Christian issues -- commences after the official church service, in those casual restaurant/Starbucks settings. That's when the conversational juices really get flowing, and the spirit of Christ really moves among us, and focuses us on questions and answers about modern Christian issues.

The building you're in at the time of Christian discussions has nothing to do with church. Church buildings are just dead structures, and aren't holy. What's holy is the church, which is the people who follow Christ. Buildings aren't churches; they're buildings.

Last edited by Ragtime on 30 Jul 2007, 2:19 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Epicurus, I am devout in my faith, if that means that I am obsessed with it, so be it. I might not be the best one to comment on your thread here . My though is this, it is fine for Christians to participate in activities or interests peripheral to their faith under the condition that they do not betray their faith by behaving in a way that is contrary to what they claim to believe. Does that make any sense? I don't think that as a devout Christian I have to talk about it all the time, but I do think that I should behave in a loving, forgiving, peaceful way no matter what I'm doing. Actions speak louder than words anyway, right?

Thanks for all the feedback.

After rereading my original post and all the feedback, I'm realizing that I may have confused my desired end with a hypothetical means. In other words, my goal is to be able to be a Christian without falling back into my old debate mode (proofs and evidences for and against Christianity. Having an aBiblical obsession was just a suggested means to get there. I think my problem is that I'm having a hard time integrating Christianity into my life without falling back into my old debate mode.

I read a description about AS obsessions that went something like this: some people with AS tend to see everything in terms of their special interest. I think that applies to me. When I was originally a Christian, debating was one of my obsessions, and I think I tended to interpret, analyze, and categorize Christian information (from the Bible, sermons, books and Sunday school) through the lens of my obsession with debating. Now, when I try to go back to Christianity, I tend to revert back to my old way of interpreting, analyzing and categorizing Christian information.

Here's a possible solution that I have played with, but haven't really tried yet. One of my main interests now is reading and writing fiction. There is a Narrative Approach to Biblical Hermeneutics that sounds inviting to me. I actually bought two books on the subject, and I'm about to start reading one of them. It would give me a different perspective on the Bible that might prevent me from falling back into my old debate mode.

What do you think?

I think it sounds great. I have often gotten more insight into my beliefs from reading fiction like Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor or even The Lord of The Rings than from explicit commentaries. It sounds fascinating to try to write something like that yourself, if that's the sort of thing you're talking about.

If you are really worried about getting back into your old intellectual relationship with Christianity, then reading a book on it is the last thing you need to do. You need to do something non-cognitive. Go to church and sing with the choir or sing along in the pew. Find a modern styled church that spends a lot of time worshipping and doing prayer, and jump right in.

I agree. (And not just because your WP nickname is one of my favorite GBV songs.) Stop thinking. Start doing. Also, speaking as one scholarly mind to another, you should read the primary source material first before moving on to your secondary sources. In other words, read the Bible, then reflect.

It's fine. For years, I often fell into the habit of reading theology or books about the Bible more than I did the Bible itself. Then I stopped over-intellectualizing my faith and that's when it started making an real positive influence on my life.

Yes, because an intellectual relationship is made of non-cognitive
actions.

of the writing (and reading) of books there is no end, and much learning is a weariness of the soul.

I agree with the others, faith isn't intellectual and maybe you need to move away from intellectual christianity.

Faith is required for reason.
But, from faith, a beautiful
structure of reasoning can
arise.

For what it's worth to this discussion,
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Hebrews 11:1,3).