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Guan, who describes his approach as “faithless Christianity,” said he is committing to religious practices before fully believing, to understand whether faith can develop through action. He explained the idea as “going through the motions before one fully believes, watching it change your life, [and seeing if] the belief comes after”.
“Practice first, let faith catch up,” Guan posted on Instagram, adding that although he “wrestles” with faith, he does not wrestle with the knowledge that God can be ultimately good.
As part of his online challenge, Guan has been attending church, reading the Bible daily, participating in theological debates and attempting to follow Jesus’ way. He has documented the journey through social media posts and videos.
Guan told Premier Christian News that he was raised with the Christian faith but moved away from it during college. After leaving his crypto career, he said he felt “jaded” and began searching for deeper meaning.
“Lots of issues with political identity and nationalism turned me away when I was younger,” he said.
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Five days into the challenge, Guan told Premier that he was feeling uplifted but was uncertain whether the change came from “all the love of going viral” or from God.
“I’m a guy wrestling with his faith, in public, on camera,” Guan told his followers. “You’re welcome to wrestle with me.”
His current daily routine includes a morning prayer, which begins with the words: “God, I don’t know if you’re real, but...”
During the challenge, Guan has filmed himself reflecting on topics including addiction, dating and forgiveness.
When asked what he wanted Christians to understand about non-believers, Guan told Premier that it can be “hard to relate to faithful people.”
“The best way to convert people in my opinion is just being really kind and happy and at peace,” he said. “That’s the best advertisement.”
Guan has said he intends to continue the challenge and document his experience as he explores whether practising faith can influence belief.
tyle="text-align: justify;" data-start="2336" data-end="2473">“We all believe in something,” he said. “Believing in something beats believing in nothing. I’ve believed both. Nothing didn’t serve me.”
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