I read Richard Dawkins book The God Delusion, and having doubts, on my own made the switch from Christian to agnostic.  I had been accepted into Christ during my youth and later in my life came closer to Christ, enforcing my beliefs.

After reading this book, as I said, I had made the switch and confessed to both my parents and a few friends that I didn't believe in the Bible.

My parents, as I would have guessed, cannot stand the fact that I denied Christ.

Now, I am having doubts, feeling that I just lost my soul and that I am going to hell for the mistake I made.  (I made this choice before, once or twice, but felt God forgave me and that He was still drawing me closer.)

Now I am unsure what to believe – people or the Bible – and what my faith is.  I want to come back to being a Christian, but I am afraid there is no use as Jesus said, “Whoever denies Me, I will deny to My Father.”

Is there really no hope?  Am I lost for good?

Sincerely,
Soul In Despair

Dear Soul In Despair,

Yes, there is hope, and no, you aren’t lost for good.  Your question has two parts to it.

1. Can I be forgiven of denying God?
2. Does God really exist, or is Richard Dawkins right?

You can be forgiven of denying God.  Paul was forgiven of denying Jesus (1 Cor 15:9-10).  Peter denied Jesus (Matt 26:75), and he was forgiven.  Now is the time to repent and begin anew.  We recommend you read “What Must I Do To Be Saved” to learn about what it takes to obey God.

The second part of your question has a little more depth to it.  The short answer is, yes, God does exist.  We have several articles that you might want to read.  Read through our articles in the EVIDENCES category of the archive; almost all of them pertain to your situation and will reinforce your belief in God.  We also recommend that you rent or buy “Expelled” by Ben Stein.  That movie has an interview with Richard Dawkins where Dawkins admits that he has no idea where life came from.  He even guesses it might be aliens that put life on this planet!  That film does a good job of exposing the bias and prejudices that men like Richard Dawkins have.  And last, but not certainly not least, we highly recommend that you go to our congregation’s main website (www.mvchurchofchrist.org) and listen to a series of lessons preached by a geologist, Dr. Don Patton, on Science and Creation.  Every one of those sources should help to reinforce that evolutionists don’t have the answers; God’s Word does.

Jewish people claim that Jesus can't be the Messiah because in the book of Deuteronomy, they say that God says that every man is responsible for his own sin, and therefore there is no requirement for one man to die for the sin of many, as Jesus did.  Can you shed some light on this for me?  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Unkosher

Dear Unkosher,

It is true that Deu 24:16 says that everyone is accountable for his own sin.  In fact, your sin earns you a wage – death (Rom 6:23).  Our sins have made us accountable to pay a debt that is too big for us to repay.  Therefore, God sent His only begotten Son to pay the debt for us.  His sacrifice was a gift freely offered (Eph 2:8-9); it wasn’t a requirement; it was a blessing from God.  There is no contradiction between Deuteronomy’s statement that we are accountable for our own sins and the gift of salvation found in Jesus.

(The following is a follow-up to “Could A Loving God Do That?”)

Thanks for your time. I am not trying to test you or dissuade you from your faith, but I need answers to my questions to help my faith. Thanks.

Are you suggesting that we send ourselves to eternal punishment and not God?  Matthew 25:46 says, "They will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."  God created us and set a standard: worship Me or suffer eternally.  There is no in-between on His judgment.  You are either good or evil.  Your doctor analogy is not very accurate because the doctor did not create the patient.  God created us with no choice.  He made us and wants us to love Him, and if we don't – hell.  This is like the doctor saying, “Take the medicine, or I kill you.”

Sincerely,
That Fire Is Hot

Dear That Fire Is Hot,

Yes, we are suggesting that we make the choice to go to eternal punishment.  We make the decision to turn our backs on God and His offer of salvation.  God created us and designed us to function a certain way… no differently than a blacksmith designs a hammer or an architect designs a building.  God designed us with the freedom to choose between good and evil (Deu 30:15).  The standard isn’t merely about worshipping God; it is about right and wrong.  When we choose to sin, we reject God (1 Thess 4:8).  Consequently, when we reject God, we reject living eternally with Him.  The choice is ours.  Remember, the Garden of Eden was perfect until Adam & Eve broke it.  God gave them commandments for their safety, just like He gives us commands for our safety.

God doesn’t kill us; sin does (Rom 6:23).  We are tempted away from God by our own lusts (Jas 1:14).  God wants what is best for us.  It is the devil that wants to destroy us (1 Pet 5:8).  God sent His Son to heal us from self-inflicted wounds.  We sin and rebel against Him (which is appalling when you consider that He is the one that gave us life) – and despite that rebellion, God loves us.  He has given us all a second chance (Lk 17:4).  He is not only our Creator, He is our Savior (1 Jn 4:14).

God doesn’t send anyone to hell.  People choose to go to hell.  God will respect your decision.  If you don’t want to spend eternity with Him in heaven, He won’t make you.  However, all good things come from God (Jas 1:17); our choices have consequences.  If we choose to go to hell, we leave behind all the blessings God has provided – we have chosen to be away from Him.  We cannot have it both ways.  We either choose God, goodness, and the blessings of goodness, OR we choose selfishness, evil, and the curses of evil.  It is our choice to make, and it is the most important choice in our lives.

If a Christian denies the idea of God in his head but then later in his life comes back to Christ, is he still saved?  Or will he have given up his gift of salvation for good?

Sincerely,
Change Of Heart

Dear Change Of Heart,

If a Christian repents (‘repent’ means ‘to change your mind’) of a sin (including the sin of denying God’s existence), he will be forgiven.  Peter rebuked Simon but then told him to pray and repent, and God would forgive him (Acts 8:22).  God also tells us to forgive our brother if he repents (Lk 17:3).  If God expects that kind of forgiveness from us, then it is fair to say that He will also provide that level of forgiveness.  Confess your sin, and God will forgive you (1 Jn 1:9).

Is it okay for a woman to baptize someone that she has been studying with even if there are several men in her congregation?

Sincerely,
About To Go Under

Dear About To Go Under,

Everything we are taught about baptism emphasizes the person being immersed and not the one doing it.  Baptism saves you from your sin (1 Pet 3:21).  Baptism is a burial with Christ (Rom 6:4).  In order to be baptized, you must believe and repent (Mk 16:16, Acts 2:38).  All of these requirements address what is expected of and what happens to the person being baptized.  As far as we can tell, there are no qualifications given for who must do the baptizing.

Having said that, it is only fair to point out that the only examples we have in the Scriptures are of Christian men baptizing people.  It seems that this is an incidental point though, not a point of doctrine.  For many people, this is an issue of conscience, and if there is any doubt in your mind over this issue (whatever is not of faith is sin – Rom 14:23), the safest way to handle it is to have a Christian man do the baptizing.