I am no longer posting new episodes to the Recovering Faith blog and podcast as my mission to recover my faith has failed and I could not continue to go through the motions and I realized I couldn’t force myself to have faith.
The Recovering Faith Podcast is an honest and nonjudgmental discussion on faith in God, why it is often difficult to trust God and what we can do about it. Many of the topics discussed center on rebuilding faith after a tragedy or when coming to Christianity from a non-Christian or pseudo-Christian world view.
Hosted by Gene Curl. New content every Wednesday.
A while back I saw a church sign that said, “You are the only Bible some people will ever read,” and I thought about the implications of that statement and wondered how well or how poorly I am representing Christianity to those around me. A lot of people judge Christianity on the merits of Christians instead of the merits of Christ, and let's face it, it us usually out poor actions that Christianity is being judged by and not our good actions.
Read MoreThe LDS or Mormon Church carefully controls what members of the Church learn about the Church and tells them that getting a good feeling or burning in the bosom is more important than any evidence. Members are also encouraged to ignore any history of the Church that does not faith promoting. For many, many reasons, the LDS Church is NOT a Christian organization.
Read MorePeople are never satisfied with what they have while they have it and they often look at other people as a means to an end, someone to make them happy etc. People also look to Jesus as the means to an end and not the end in and of itself.
Read MoreThough a lot of members of the church either don't know the doctrine or deny that the church believes it, the LDS Church has as doctrine that God was not always God and had to work out his salvation as a man and eventually became a god and that through obedience to the rules faithful Mormons can become gods.
Read MoreWe, often look at other people, and sometimes ourselves, as damaged goods; something no worth accepting or spending any time or effort of, a lot cause. However, that is not how God looks at us and He loves us and views us as precious.
Read MoreWith the name of Christ put so prominently in the name of the church, many people, including those in the church, mistakenly think The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a Christian church, but the god they serve is night and day different from the God of the Bible and they teach that salvation is earned by works and not given by grace.
Read MoreA brief overview of why I joined, and ultimately left, the LDS Church before I get into more in depth topics concerning the Church such as why they are not truly Christian, despite their name, as well as diving into some of the issues with their history and doctrines.
LDS people are some of the nicest people you will ever get the privlige to know and them going out of their way to be nice to me was one of the reasons I joined the Church in the first place. The LDS Church is a missionary church and focus a great deal of their time and effort on gaining new converts to their faith.
LDS people think they are Christian, despite many of their views and doctrines being in opposition to the Bible and traditional Christianity; they believe that traditional Christianity is wrong and their version is the only one that is correct and the only one that even has a chance of being correct.
Read MoreA lot of people seriously downplay the importance of regular church attendance and say they get just as much out of worshiping at home. The problem is that, almost without exception, when people say they worship at home what they really mean is they do the same things they do on Saturday and don't bother themselves much with the Lord or His word. God has said that it is not good for man to be alone and He wants us to gather and glorify His name together.
Read MoreSaul was a man of influence and power, a man greatly respected by both the Jewish people and Jewish leadership. On the road to Damascus to persecute the Christians Saul's world was turned upside down when the risen Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him. Saul spent the rest of his life in poverty, despised, harassed, stoned, whipped, hungry, and suffered all manner of afflictions and hardship so that he could spread the glorious message of Jesus Christ.
Read MoreSometimes, even when we don’t realize we are doing it, we think we are smarter than God and get upset when He doesn’t follow our plan, which we think is superior, instead of His. There are also many people in society today who think that God’s rules are not relevant and that proudly proclaim they are smarter than God and urge everyone to throw out his word and rules and follow the new societal norms. However, God is as relevant and needed as ever, more so in fact, and each and every one of us needs Jesus and His saving grace.
Read MoreThis episode is a short story instead of the regularly scheduled program. The story is called Today.
John knew that today would be the day he would die, but than again, he always died today, over and over. In all of the lives John had lived, he hoped that, perhaps, this time he had finally figured it out and could move on instead of going back.
Read MoreIf God is good than why is there so much suffering in the world? That is a question that has been asked for thousands of years, and it remains a difficult question to answer. In this episode I discuss this question and what the Bible says about it.
Read MoreWith the myriad of varying beliefs about God in the world today some people feel that it doesn't matter all that much what you believe about God so long as you believe in God or a god, but does it really matter? I think it does matter, and it matters a lot, and I will attempt to prove it using the Bible.
Read MoreSometimes we are afraid to trust God because we don't think what He plans for is is what is best for us, and sometimes we are afraid to trust God because we are afraid that He will give us what we need when we are not ready for it. We are also afraid to trust God because we are afraid of what He might ask of us if we give our lives over to Him.
Read MoreI am sure I am not alone in this, but sometimes I think because I have failed so many times in the past that God won’t give me any more chances and there is little reason to even ask for help. At a job you can only fail at so many projects before you have effectively killed your chances of ever getting that promotion, and likely even jeopardized your chances of retaining your current position. Even the most patient people will give up on you eventually if you keep messing up every time they give you another chance.
Read MoreAt times I have believed God could do anything, anything except forgive me that is. And even now, I sometimes fall into the erroneous thought that God loves other people more than He loves me, or at least likes them better, and is more likely to intervene in their lives than He is in mine.
Read MoreI don't know, exactly, what brought me to this conclusion, or precisely when it happened, but I have come to realize that while I believe in God, I don't always believe God; there is a huge difference between the two. Until rather recently, I was quite convinced that I trust God, but when I looked back on my actions and decisions I was forced to see the truth, the truth that I don't trust God and my actions proved it
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