I need help, well really just need to talk with someone who is understanding. Please, only give advice if you've been where I've been or are there now. I'm not trying to be rude, it's just that I've had enough of pretending. Can someone function in the world as a Christian? I went to a Christian school for 8 years of my life and was entirely sheltered from all else that existed. It's my third year in the real world and I'm pretty sick of it already. I've done some things I'm not proud of and I'm not sure if it's too late to get back on the right track. Does God turn his back when we turn ours?

Nobody meets the requirements that God sets for us. That's the whole point of Christianity: we accept Christ's grace because we are incapable of any good on our own. And, to answer your question, it is entirely possible. Rare, but possible. I myself was homeschooled until high school, where I went to a Christian private school. After graduating, I noticed that not many followed the standard set by the high school...most of my classmates went on to jump from party to party, bed to bed, bottle to bottle, etc. It seems to be a common trend...but there are the few that still seem pretty strong in the faith. I mean, I don't know every detail of any of my classmates' lives, but just from what I've observed. I can't stress how important it is, if you want to stay on track, to surround yourself with like-minded friends and a community of people who [i]really[/i] believe. If you're going by graduation, it's only been two years for me (although I only took one class [i]at[/i] my high school my senior year; the rest were at a public college), but this is just what I've learned in my time out of the constant sheltering of a Christian school. Edit: to clarify for anyone nitpicking, accepting Christ's grace because we are incapable of any good on our own is not literally the whole point of Christianity -- that was an exaggeration. The whole point, obviously, is to glorify God.

okay, so i'm young but i know what you mean... i went to a private Christian school for most of the schooling i've been in already. When I first started at a public school everything was different...I began to think that i couldn't be the same girl i was at my old school. But i made friends who were [b][/b]also Christians[b][/b] and then i was fine...you just have to work for what you really believe in....i know it's cheesy but it is possible to be a Christian in the real world:)

Thank you for talking through this with me. Also thank you for bringing John 1:12 to my attention. I'm sorry for being rude, especially on the first post. I get kind of hostile sometimes and bulldoze everything, everywhere. I'm sorry too for assuming about you and your coworker's relationship and your understanding; you definitely do understand and are more than qualified to opinionate. I really feel like an idiot. Strike 3. To be quite honest, I think my question had more to do with me being afraid of accepting the responsibility and less of the possibility of overcoming. Didn't Paul write something to one of the churches about it being OK to doubt but not to let the doubts determine our faith? Not sure, does anyone know? Well, thank you, once again. God's kind of on line 2 right now and the phone line's cut. Hopefully He sends a carrier pigeon.

I meet the requirements. Tis is easy. Just look at the world and say to yourself. "This place is ****** and I don't have to do anything about it." Take people with a grain of salt and set your mind to accept the occurring situations throughout your life.