Something that I've found interesting with christianity, is that a person is expected to have the belief in the truth of christianity, before the evidence is experienced.

When I was much younger, I was having a very tough time in my life, after talking with a christian friend, I decided that I would give christianity a try. I went home, I repented of everything I could think of that I may have done wrong, I asked for jesus to come into my heart, I asked god to help me. I really wanted to believe that there was a god out there that loved and cared about me, because at that time there was no-one else that did.

Nothing happened, I thought maybe I was doing it wrong, (the bible says "ask and you shall receive"), and I took this as literal. I asked the minister of the church my friend attended, told him what I was doing, asked his advice on whether I was doing it right. What I was told was that I had to believe in god, before I could experience anything. I found this strange, I thought that if I already believed in god, what would be the point in asking to be shown evidence of gods existance.

I tried this repenting and asking several times, and still nothing happened.

I decided then to find my own path in life, to form my own values and beliefs, and to love myself, and help myself.

This is when something really did happen, I found freedom, and I found connection with the energy that I was a part of and that was all around me. I forgave myself for anything that I may have done wrong, and found that I didn't have to go through some god, or man , or anything else to have this connection.

spud