Searching for Truth in the Bible

Zsolti Horvath: My first Bible study was about how the Catholic Church… I  just felt lied to. My entire life, I felt lied to by the Catholic Church. And this was based on one Bible study that I attended. It was very odd to me that in the Church Of Christ, they were asking questions and then reading the answers out of the Bible.

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Zsolti Horvath: My name is Zsolti Horvath. I was born in Oberwart, Austria but I grew up in Connecticut and in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. I was born in Austria in a refugee camp. My parents were escaping the Russian occupation in Hungary. We moved to the U.S. when I was really young, when I was two years old, and I grew up in Connecticut. Very small town. A majority of the town was my family. 

It Was Very Traumatizing

For my parents, they were denied the ability to stay in the U.S., so we got sent back to Hungary when I was twelve. Luckily, it was only… I want to say, less than a year there that my parents received a reply from Canada that we were able to come here. It was very traumatizing when, you know, you’re twelve years old and you’re ripped away from all your friends and your other family that’s in the U.S., so.

“Who Is God?”

So, in our small town in Connecticut, in that town was centered around the Catholic Church. Growing up, I was an altar boy, I went to Sunday School every Sunday. It wasn’t until we settled in Vancouver that I slowly stopped going, slowly stopped going, until eventually it was just my mom who would go. No one else in our family would go. It just wasn’t something for us. 

“Who is God?” I don’t think that was ever answered to me as a kid. It was more, “Trust in God just because.” And it’s like, okay, but because of what? Right? And there was no real answer, it was just “trust.” It’s kind of just like someone telling you to trust this random person that you don’t know. Both my mom and my dad were working constantly. I didn’t really have much guidance.

“I Was Looking For An Answer”

After college, I moved back here, back to Vancouver. And I was trying to get into radio and TV broadcasting jobs and it just wasn’t working out. It just felt like my life was taking a turn for the worst. Lost my job, I couldn’t pay my car anymore, so then my car was—you know, I had to give up my car. It came to a point in my life where I was like, “What is happening to me that I can’t get ahead in life? I’m just stuck in a rut.” I was looking for an answer for that. 

“Reading The Answers Out Of The Bible”

I was introduced to the Church Of Christ when a friend of mine—actually, it was like a friend of a friend–-just told me, “Hey, do you want to come to a Bible study?” And I was like, “I’m not really into church. I don’t really go to church.” I was like, “But if I did, I’m Catholic, so I’d go to a Catholic church, right?” And they were like, “Well, just come, see what you think, and if you don’t like it, you don’t like it. That’s fine. But at least come take a look.” And I was like, “Okay.”

I’ve never been inside a Church Of Christ before and it wasn’t like a Catholic Church. So there wasn’t the shiny windows, and all the statues, and Jesus on a cross in the back. So it wasn’t like that, which was kind of strange to me ‘cause I’ve never been really inside another type of church. So my first Bible study, it was about how the Catholic Church… I just felt lied to. My entire life, I felt lied to by the Catholic Church, and this was based on one Bible study that I attended. 

It was very odd to me that in the Church Of Christ, they were asking questions and then reading the answers out of the Bible. Growing up, it was: let’s read a verse and then let’s talk for fifteen minutes about this one verse but give my own opinions on it. You know? That’s how I grew up. 

I was very angry after that Bible study lesson. And I went home and I told this friend, I said, “I don’t know if I can come back. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not.” I probably took, I want to say, about a week to just think. I was kind of just putting a lot together, I was like, “Okay, well, why does the Church Of Christ read out of the Bible, instead of [examining] a verse and put their own opinions on it? Why does the Catholic Church do that?” And I think the moment that made me want to come back was just examining all of that. I was like, “Okay, well, if I was lied to about that, what else have I been lied to?” So, let me go back, let me hear more, and see what else the Bible actually says, rather than what someone thinks it says. 

At first, it was kind of like, “Is there only one true Church? There could be many, right? Who’s to say there’s one true church?” But then you start hearing the verses that prove it, like Acts 20:28’s a big one. It proves that the Church Of Christ is the true church and we should be sharing our faith. We shouldn’t gatekeep, like some religions do. I’m just happy that I was invited and it wasn’t gatekept, to be honest.

“It Was Just More Eye-Opening”

A lot of people say, “right place, right time.” I think that if it had happened earlier, let’s say two, three weeks earlier, the invitation, I wouldn’t have accepted. Because at that point, everything was still okay. I think God knew that I needed Him at that right time. And that invitation was sent out and I’m just happy I accepted. 

The turning point to joining the Church Of Christ was taking that week off and just thinking about what I heard during the first Bible study. And when I signed up to be a Bible student, I wanted to know more about what the Bible says. I think that day after my second Bible study, I had already made up my mind that I wanted to join the Church. I’d go to a Bible study and I’d be like, “Wait, what? That’s not what I learned.” Every single Bible study was like that. It was just more eye-opening. What they offered me that was missing was the truth. It’s not only the truth about religion, but it’s the truth about life. It’s about how to go about your life, how to raise your family, how to interact with other people. This Church gave me the answers that I needed. 

“To Me, God Is Everything”

Once I started attending Bible studies and worship services, there definitely was something spiritual that awakened inside of me. It just made me a better person. I was friendlier, I smiled more. I’m just constantly happy, I’m constantly joking around. But that’s not how I was before. Like, I was never really like that. So, it’s almost like a burst of joy has been put inside of me.

I always turn to God because God—He’s the One Who can give us anything. He’s the One Who can make things happen. Whether it’s good, whether it’s bad, we thank God. We pray and make sure we come to worship service. He’s everything. That’s the perfect way to put Him. To me, God is everything. 

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to join the Church before I went to the first Bible study. I thought I was okay, I thought there was nothing more I could gain, but I was wrong. I think that a lot of people, if they just gave it a shot, they would see that they’re wrong as well. And that there’s a lot more to religion than just believing in God. I see my future as being bright. Since I’ve joined the Church, there’s been ups and downs, but it’s been mostly, mostly positive. And I’m forever grateful for that. I know I can never go back to the way it was before. And I never want to go back to the way it was before.

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