When I was about 15 I went through a year of quietly struggling and questioning nearly everything. I felt quite rebellious inside, but I also asked a lot of questions. How did I know God existed, why was my religion the right one, and so on. My Parents had no idea that I struggled during my teen years with this, because I kept it all bottled up inside, and studies myself to find answers.

However I wondered if you guys also thought this was a natural stage for teens to go through? I think it happens at various ages for everyone, and some react differently than others and can be more vocal about it.

I think if the Bereans could do it with the Apostle Paul then it's ok. Nowhere do we see condemnation for that. 'We should always search the Scriptures to see if these things be true' 'Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.'

We must question and we must prove for ourselves what is right and wrong from the Word of God and it would be quite silly just to accept mans word for it

It's quite possible, trust me. I imagine it probably is natural.

I think this is a natural stage. There is a point where teenagers are being mentally, physically, and emotionally prepared by the subconscious to be ready for life on their own. As such, ideologies and even faith must be questioned to see if one really believes it for oneself rather than just believing it because of one's parents. I think this is especially good for Christians because God doesn't want grandchildren, he wants all of us to choose him of our own accord. We shouldn't just be followers of Jesus because our parents are.

This certainly seems to be natural for teens in our culture. However, I certainly wouldn't go so far as to say that it's a universally natural part of "growing up in the Faith." If a child is brought up with an understanding of and not merely a belief in the central truths of the Christian faith, he or she would seem to me to be less likely to come to a crisis of faith due to childhood beliefs seeming to lack enough strong basis.

Confounding the issue is the prevalent idea in non-Reformed circles that if one hasn't had a "salvation experience"---at least one crisis of faith---one isn't really "saved." I don't want to derail this thread into discussion of the merits of that idea, but I think that if parents or the church culture encourage one crisis of faith, it is natural for the child to undergo others.

I don't know if it's anything to do with 'growing up in the faith' rather than is being to do with finding things out for oneself. I understand what you mean about understanding rather than belief. However some of the issues teens go through I think is due to rebellion, or an inner struggle, rather than lack of understanding. That's how I see some of it anyway.

I'm one of the 'non reformed' and I don't think I've ever expected a 'salvation experience', although it depends what you mean by that. Accepting Christ is really simple, and I don't think a sensual experience comes with it.