I want to b elieve

Sand Dancer · Oct 24, 2018

I was a Christian for a long time and became atheist. I got fed up with right wing Christianity. Lately though, I have been wanting something. I want to believe but do not want a Christian god. I am obsessing about it but am no closer to finding what I want. Any suggestions?

sun rise · Oct 24, 2018

The only suggestion I have is to read a lot and perhaps to journal about how you'll know you've found what you're looking for.

danieldemol · Oct 25, 2018

I’d write a shopping list of what you do and don’t want in a God then see if any fit the bill

Dawnofhope · Oct 25, 2018

Sometimes it’s hard to find a religion that ticks all your boxes and that in itself my indicate you’re not quite ready to join another religion. You could ask yourself what religions are closest to your beliefs and try spending time with those who most closely align to what you believe.

Earthling · Oct 25, 2018

It's kind of odd to me to hear someone say "They want to believe." It begs the question what they want to believe in and why they want to believe in it. Belief isn't a choice, in my opinion. If you want spirituality that is another thing altogether, again, in my opinion. Spirituality, to me, put simply, is the search for things that are unseen and yet produce visible effects. For example, in a practical sense, breath, wind, environmental, social and cultural influences, also art, music, entertainment. Movies, television. In a more traditional spiritual spiritual sense, religion.

You mentioned that Christianity was undesirable. It is to myself as well. But the Bible and both traditional Judaism / Christianity are strikingly different. They have both adopted pagan, or outside meaning which transmogrifies them.

The big difference within religious schools of thought are pretty much centered around creation claims.

(The brief information given below is taken from my website, linked to in my sig)

"Though there are a few claims of divine inspiration and references to creation in some religious texts, they are all vague and insubstantial with the exception of the Bible.

Buddha rejected the concept of a God and his possible interference with man. Confucius referred to a vague heavenly way, or nature, which also didn't interfere with man but is comparable to human nature. Lao Tzu, who formed Taoism, made a similar claim. The sacred texts of Shintoism make no divine claim, though they do include creation myths, they aren't historical and the text can't be, in fact weren't meant to be corroborated with actual evidence.

Some of the Vedas of Hinduism make vague unsubstantiated claims of celestial inspiration. Their creator god, Brahma was born of another deity, and Brahman is a metaphysical force rather than a divine being. Most Hindus don't believe in a creator, though that is left to the individual. Scientology also leaves the belief in a creator god up to the individual, and teach that the Theta willed themselves into existence generating the MEST, Matter, Energy, Space and Time into being. There is no way to corroborate these claims.

Mormons believe that the Bible is incomplete, That the heavens and earth were created by Jesus Christ under the direction of God the Father. The writings of Joseph Smith often contradict the Bible, though, and there is no evidence of his alleged historical references. Muslims believe the Genesis account to have been corrupted, Their position on creation and evolution vary over time and individual interpretation. References to a creation in the Quran are vague and unsubstantiated.

Christians believe in the Biblical creation account, though their interpretation of it varies. Some believe in an old earth and some believe in a young earth. The Christian Greek scriptures themselves are in complete harmony with the Hebrew Aramaic texts, which themselves foretold of an acceptance of the peoples of the nations once the Jewish people had rejected Jehovah God and his covenant with them. Both texts have a great deal of corroborating evidence in their support.

Ancient mythology consists of myths which were not meant to be taken as literal or historical texts.
They have a great deal less manuscripts than the Bible to compare and very little if any corroborating evidence to support them.

Science can only speculate on the possible forming of the universe and planet earth. The current hypothesis is that the matter that formed the universe randomly and spontaneously appeared of it's own accord. The Bible, is, by far, the most likely authority on the subject."

Marcion · Oct 25, 2018

If your desire for spirituality grows stronger you will automatically find the right path, it will come to you. It happened to me that way too.

Aupmanyav · Oct 25, 2018

Why should that be necessary? Do you want to believe in falsehood to satisfy your desire to believe? In that case being an unbeliever is better. There are religions that do not require you to believe in falsehood.

Twilight Hue · Oct 25, 2018

I had an inspiration from one of Alan Watts talks...

Having a conversation with yourself.

Why settle for a god when you can have the entire real universe available to talk to 24/7. ;0]

Mindmaster · Oct 25, 2018

Stop there.

First, you don't need to believe anything you can't experience and if you're not experiencing it it's probably false. There is no need to 'believe anything'. Work with what you know, whatever that is.

Jumi · Oct 25, 2018

I think you're at a good place where you can just choose to be yourself. Is it that you're missing a group of like-minded people or do you feel like you need some kind of tradition or religion to follow?

I'm sure you know this, but there are many types of Christianity, some are quite different from the one embraced by "US right wing". For example, see how this guy presents Christianity:

Or this guy presenting Islam:

Not like what the worst types would have us see...

PureX · Oct 25, 2018

No one knows if God "exists" or not, or what the nature of such a God is if one does exist in some way. So my suggestion is to choose a conception of God that you would WANT to exist, and go with that. Because the odds on your being right will be the same, regardless of how you conceptualize God.

What really matters in the end, is faith. Faith in a positive, loving, forgiving, and enabling God can provide a great many important benefits to those who choose to engage in it. And it sounds to me like that's what you're really looking for: those benefits that come with having positive faith.

Marcion · Oct 25, 2018

If you have gone so far as becoming an atheist then perhaps you should shy away from looking for a type of belief that makes you accept theoretical truths (blindly) and instead seek for something more practical that allows you to experience things for yourself through real spiritual practices.

There are many paths that teach different types of meditation, some are more devotional others are more dry.
Some combine the teachings with actively expressing your new approach in real society, others are less social and more inward looking. It depends on your personality in which type of teaching you could feel at home easier.

SalixIncendium · Oct 25, 2018

What is it that you want to believe?

SalixIncendium · Oct 25, 2018

Why am I seeing a line of anthropomorphized gods auditioning to be @Thirza Fallen's personal deity?

SalixIncendium · Oct 25, 2018

Alternately, one could simply believe what they do rather than trying to shoehorn their beliefs into a prescribed religion.

Unveiled Artist · Oct 25, 2018

I'd write all how you define god. I don't know much about other religions, but the relationship is between you and God. So, believing the foundation for any religion is to believe in the major tenants of that god-faith. If you don't know god, and how you define it, it's hard to find a religion that somewhat corresponds to what you believe. Also not all god-religions see god as a being or deity. Look up different ways others see god. That may help you get more various definitions that are not fixed to christianity. Christians don't own god.

Jollybear · Oct 25, 2018

I dont think we should choose our beliefs based on our desires. Reality and truth are much bigger then ourselves.

Katzpur · Oct 25, 2018

Actually, the Bible itself clearly implies that it is complete (See John 21:25), and if you've ever studied the development of the canon, you would realize how greatly it has changed over the years. I'm not talking about different translations; I'm talking about the books it includes and omits. The canon is not the same today as it was during the first few centuries of Christianity.

Hebrews 1:1-2 says, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds..." Colossians 1:15-17 says (referring to Jesus Christ): "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." I know many, many non-LDS Christians who believe as we do in this regard.

There is nothing in Mormonism which, when understood correctly, contradicts the Bible, any more than the Bible contradicts itself from one book to another.

And there is much in the Bible for which there is no physical evidence. Christians believe that Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, for instance, when there is absolutely no evidence that this ever happened.

Dawnofhope · Oct 25, 2018

They could do, but most people with a faith or religion have a community that reflects that faith. If community is an important part of beliefs then it’s useful to know what’s around.

Koldo · Oct 25, 2018

I suggest the complete opposite.
Embrace the unknown for what is rather than for what you would like it to be.

I want to b elieve

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