I wish I could believe in God... but I can't.

[godlikemadman]

I have tried to justify belief in the Abrahamic God for a long time. I was raised in one of the traditions, but recently realized I don't believe in anything I do ritualistically. I have felt bad about this since it began, and still do, but I'm falling away from the concept of God. Sure, there may be a constructive force in the universe somewhere, but my damned scientifically and rationally minded brain cannot come to terms the the concept that there is a God who takes special consideration to our sector of the universe, the Milky Way, to our segment of the Milky Way, to our section of that segment, to our subsection of that section, to our Solar System, to our Earth, to our species, to those who believe in this creator figure in a certain way and worship him in a very specific set of ways. It simply does not compute for me. I don't see why we are so special that this omnipotent creature has the time or patience for the likes of us. I likely will pretend I still believe in God to my dying day, mainly because I was raised in a religious family, in a religious community, and I would hate to lose all that because I declare I don't believe what they do. I will continue to follow the basic tenants of being a good, moral person, because that's who I am and who I want to be. But I'm worried that this is the point of no return for me. After this is written down and I have accepted that, I can't imagine a day when the concept of God will make sense to me.

And if God does exist, in the way that Christians or Muslims or Jews or any other religion with a hell concept thinks he does, and if I do get resurrected on some judgement day, and if I am damned to hell because I didn't follow the ways of old men and backwards people did millennia ago, I have just one thing to ask him.

"Why didn't you catch me before I fell?
Why didn't you make yourself clearer?
You created me, why didn't you show me?"

-Madman

 

[ChristineES]

You can't force yourself to believe in something. I was an agnostic once but I wasn't raised in a religious family- so I can understand a little bit- but definitely not completely. I have heard others say the same thing. I never know what to say to them. Just stop trying to force yourself- that will probably make you miserable.

 

[Quintessence]

Tip: forget what other people told you about deity (be it Abrahamic God v4.23 or some other concept of deity) and figure it out for yourself, on your own terms, in a way that makes sense for you. People's descriptions of deity =/= deity.

 

[839311]

but my damned scientifically and rationally minded brain...

Its a 'blessing' to have a scientific and rational brain.

...cannot come to terms the the concept that there is a God who takes special consideration to our sector of the universe, the Milky Way, to our segment of the Milky Way, to our section of that segment, to our subsection of that section, to our Solar System, to our Earth, to our species, to those who believe in this creator figure in a certain way and worship him in a very specific set of ways. It simply does not compute for me.

Me either.

I likely will pretend I still believe in God to my dying day, mainly because I was raised in a religious family, in a religious community, and I would hate to lose all that because I declare I don't believe what they do.

I can understand that. If you do decide to make your thoughts known, keep in mind that you will be standing up for reason and enlightenment, a virtuous path to take. The more people there are that expose this kind of nonsense for what it is, the quicker the human race will be freed from it.

And if God does exist, in the way that Christians or Muslims or Jews or any other religion with a hell concept thinks he does...

... then God is an evil lunatic that doesn't deserve anyone's respect, let alone worship.

and if I do get resurrected on some judgement day, and if I am damned to hell because I didn't follow the ways of old men and backwards people did millennia ago, I have just one thing to ask him.

If I was in this position I would have nothing to ask him. I would simply tell him that he is an evil lunatic, and that if there was any being in reality that deserves to go to hell, its the one that created hell in the first place.

 

[Super Universe]

I have tried to justify belief in the Abrahamic God for a long time. I was raised in one of the traditions, but recently realized I don't believe in anything I do ritualistically. I have felt bad about this since it began, and still do, but I'm falling away from the concept of God. Sure, there may be a constructive force in the universe somewhere, but my damned scientifically and rationally minded brain cannot come to terms the the concept that there is a God who takes special consideration to our sector of the universe, the Milky Way, to our segment of the Milky Way, to our section of that segment, to our subsection of that section, to our Solar System, to our Earth, to our species, to those who believe in this creator figure in a certain way and worship him in a very specific set of ways. It simply does not compute for me. I don't see why we are so special that this omnipotent creature has the time or patience for the likes of us. I likely will pretend I still believe in God to my dying day, mainly because I was raised in a religious family, in a religious community, and I would hate to lose all that because I declare I don't believe what they do. I will continue to follow the basic tenants of being a good, moral person, because that's who I am and who I want to be. But I'm worried that this is the point of no return for me. After this is written down and I have accepted that, I can't imagine a day when the concept of God will make sense to me.

And if God does exist, in the way that Christians or Muslims or Jews or any other religion with a hell concept thinks he does, and if I do get resurrected on some judgement day, and if I am damned to hell because I didn't follow the ways of old men and backwards people did millennia ago, I have just one thing to ask him.

"Why didn't you catch me before I fell?
Why didn't you make yourself clearer?
You created me, why didn't you show me?"

-Madman

We're not nearly as special as we think we are simply because our ego's are so incredibly over inflated. But we are the reason the universe was created for, not just us but all life.

What if God never did any of those things He was blamed for in the bible?

What if He's been completely hands off the entire time and it's just that ignorant humans blamed Him for natural events they didn't know the cause of?

What if God is simply the Original Scientist and created it all and set it free?

You're not supposed to believe. If you we're, you would, no flood needed.

 

[St Giordano Bruno]

Not only could I not believe in an Abrahamic god I also do not like the concept. In the time in my childhood I did believe him I was just wishing I never knew because of his overly disproportionate forms of punishment such as punishing anyone with just a mere utterance of profaning his name if you stub your toe you would be sentenced to an eternity in hell. That particular God I did not want be believe as I was even too scared to think that out loud anything that rubs him up the wrong way for fear of suffering an eternity in hell.

 

[TheHorsesGallop]

I know how you feel, "God" let my Grandpa get sick and die even tho I prayed EVERY say for 30 minutes for him to get healed. He never helped us out financialy AT ALL so my mother can't pay her bills, and I have always felt too close to the Kemetic/Egyptian Gods/Goddesses. I know how you feel

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Been there, done that.

It'll be okay. You can let it go.

 

[Gharib]

Hi Madman, you haven't asked any specific question for those of the abrahamic faiths to answer so i will reply to some of what you have said.

but my damned scientifically and rationally minded brain cannot come to terms the the concept that there is a God who takes special consideration to our sector of the universe, the Milky Way, to our segment of the Milky Way, to our section of that segment, to our subsection of that section, to our Solar System, to our Earth, to our species, to those who believe in this creator figure in a certain way and worship him in a very specific set of ways.

regarding your statement i have a verse from the Qur'an:

And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone). [51:56]

according to islamic teachings all that exists in the universe was created to serve man. so we are the 'rulers' in a sense and everything serves us one way or another. both humans and jinn are the only creatures which have the ability to do what is good and what is bad, to obey God or disobey him. however in order to worship God, one must have complete belief in him. the Muslim Scholar Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi writes in his famous work Risale Diniyat: "First of all, one should have unshakable belief in the existence of God, for unless a man has a firm and unalloyed faith in God's existence, how can he render obedience to Him?

"Then, one must know the attributes of God. It is the knowledge of the attributes of God which enables man to cultivate in him the noblest of human qualities and to fashion his life in virtue and godliness. If a man does not know that there is One and only One God Who is the Creator, the Ruler, and the Sustainer of the universe and there is none else to share with Him even a shred of the Divine power and authority, he may fall a prey to false gods, and offer his homage to them to solicit their favour. But if he knows the divine attribute of tauhid (oneness of God), there is not the least possibility of his falling a prey to this illusion.

to read more follow this link:

Man in the Quran

read only the top article/part if the whole thing is too long

I don't see why we are so special that this omnipotent creature has the time or patience for the likes of us.

we are part of his creation, what kind of a God would God be if he did not watch over us or had patience with us?
if you are a father then apply your own statement to yourself regarding your children. every parent favors their child over someone else's even though their child is not special in any way, they are all the same. and why spend all those years taking care of it and nurturing it and have patience for so long waiting for it to grow up when there are orphans who might be better educated and well mannered than your own trouble making child? does that make sense?

and if I am damned to hell because I didn't follow the ways of old men and backwards people did millennia ago,

why do you think that religion is a way of backward old men who lived millenniums ago? i have to disagree with you, i could say the same thing about since. don't forget we own those backward old men who lived millenniums ago for our technological and scientific achievements.

their way of living may have been different to ours now, however that is not a proper argument to say that we should not follow what they followed in terms of believing in God.

 

[kerravon]

I have tried to justify belief in the Abrahamic God for a long time. I was raised in one of the traditions, but recently realized I don't believe in anything I do ritualistically. I have felt bad about this since it began, and still do, but I'm falling away from the concept of God. Sure, there may be a constructive force in the universe somewhere, but my damned scientifically and rationally minded brain cannot come to terms the the concept that there is a God who takes special consideration to our sector of the universe, the Milky Way, to our segment of the Milky Way, to our section of that segment, to our subsection of that section, to our Solar System, to our Earth, to our species, to those who believe in this creator figure in a certain way and worship him in a very specific set of ways. It simply does not compute for me. I don't see why we are so special that this omnipotent creature has the time or patience for the likes of us. I likely will pretend I still believe in God to my dying day, mainly because I was raised in a religious family, in a religious community, and I would hate to lose all that because I declare I don't believe what they do. I will continue to follow the basic tenants of being a good, moral person, because that's who I am and who I want to be. But I'm worried that this is the point of no return for me. After this is written down and I have accepted that, I can't imagine a day when the concept of God will make sense to me.

And if God does exist, in the way that Christians or Muslims or Jews or any other religion with a hell concept thinks he does, and if I do get resurrected on some judgement day, and if I am damned to hell because I didn't follow the ways of old men and backwards people did millennia ago, I have just one thing to ask him.

"Why didn't you catch me before I fell?
Why didn't you make yourself clearer?
You created me, why didn't you show me?"

-Madman

I think it is good that you are discarding what you were indoctrinated with and letting your scientific side take over. I suspect you are finding it a liberating experiencing - throwing off the shackles of a horrible unjust ideology.

You might actually find that atheism was a necessary step to truly find God. That's what I found anyway. Once there is no god around to fix everything magically by prayer, what do you consider the alternative to be?

Regarding us being special - consider the possibility that God deliberately constructed such a huge universe precisely to create "plausible deniability" as to his actual existence. Atheism has more traction if we can write off our planet as insignificant. I believe it's a gigantic scam by God to push us towards atheism (intellectual freedom).

 

[Tor_Hershman]

Do you know HOW MANY people don't believe BUT 'Say they do' just to stay outta trouble OR to get 'goods'?

Google
tom lehrer my hometown
for a song on the subject

 

[Tor_Hershman]

OH yeah, add YOUTUBE to that search and you'll get the video.

 

[839311]

consider the possibility that God deliberately constructed such a huge universe precisely to create "plausible deniability" as to his actual existence. Atheism has more traction if we can write off our planet as insignificant.
I believe it's a gigantic scam by God to push us towards atheism (intellectual freedom).

So if God set up the universe in such a way as to make us think he didn't set it up at all... then, on what grounds do you think he set it up that way?

And, if God wants us to be atheists, then havn't you failed him by still believing in him?

 

[Plato]

I have tried to justify belief in the Abrahamic God for a long time. I was raised in one of the traditions, but recently realized I don't believe in anything I do ritualistically. I have felt bad about this since it began, and still do, but I'm falling away from the concept of God. Sure, there may be a constructive force in the universe somewhere, but my damned scientifically and rationally minded brain cannot come to terms the the concept that there is a God who takes special consideration to our sector of the universe, the Milky Way, to our segment of the Milky Way, to our section of that segment, to our subsection of that section, to our Solar System, to our Earth, to our species, to those who believe in this creator figure in a certain way and worship him in a very specific set of ways. It simply does not compute for me. I don't see why we are so special that this omnipotent creature has the time or patience for the likes of us. I likely will pretend I still believe in God to my dying day, mainly because I was raised in a religious family, in a religious community, and I would hate to lose all that because I declare I don't believe what they do. I will continue to follow the basic tenants of being a good, moral person, because that's who I am and who I want to be. But I'm worried that this is the point of no return for me. After this is written down and I have accepted that, I can't imagine a day when the concept of God will make sense to me.

And if God does exist, in the way that Christians or Muslims or Jews or any other religion with a hell concept thinks he does, and if I do get resurrected on some judgement day, and if I am damned to hell because I didn't follow the ways of old men and backwards people did millennia ago, I have just one thing to ask him.

"Why didn't you catch me before I fell?
Why didn't you make yourself clearer?
You created me, why didn't you show me?"

-Madman

Well, I'd say............
1. Rituals are not supposed to be anything other than memonic devices (memory devices). It's a well known fact we build better memories when we do something with our hands/ bodies at the same time as thinking about them, instead of 'just' thinking about them. So the rituals have no other independent meaning, so you don't need to believe in 'them'.
2. Your trying with your human brain and the knowledge you acquired so far, to out think God....a supposedly supreme being whose mental abilities are supposedly as far above ours as ours are above a microbe.....if he exists....do you think trying to do so is 'logical'? You a human not having the understanding of God or of a god, doesn't mean God doesn't exist.
3. I think it's clear God doesn't do everything for you, or figure out everything for you, for the same reason someone doesn't do your hard math problems for you, or figure them out for you. What would be the point? The whole point of a math problem (perhaps like life) is for you to do it and figure it out for yourself so that you'll learn and come to the conclusion yourself, else it would have no meaning, would it?

 

[Father Heathen]

don't worry. If there is a god, 'he' would be infinitely understanding, and wouldn't have a fragile ego that required constant reassurance through belief and worship. I imagine such a being would consider believing in oneself more important than believing in 'him'.

 

[kerravon]

So if God set up the universe in such a way as to make us think he didn't set it up at all... then, on what grounds do you think he set it up that way?

Well there is the fine-tuned physical constants that are basically impossible to hide. There's the amazing time period we exist in where we have the ability to usher in world freedom. I also have a personal experience that sealed the deal.

And, if God wants us to be atheists, then havn't you failed him by still believing in him?

After a personal experience such as I had, it ceases to be belief.

 

[godlikemadman]

I feel the Abrahamic faiths are too exclusive, in that either you believe what I believe or you're burning in hell forever and ever. I don't agree with that. My philosophy is that if you're a moral and upright person you deserve a place in eternal happiness whether you bought the idea of a God or not.

 

[Tarheeler]

... My philosophy is that if you're a moral and upright person you deserve a place in eternal happiness whether you bought the idea of a God or not.

Mine too. And it doesn't go against my religion.

 

[obi one]

I have tried to justify belief in the Abrahamic God for a long time. I was raised in one of the traditions, but recently realized I don't believe in anything I do ritualistically. I have felt bad about this since it began, and still do, but I'm falling away from the concept of God. Sure, there may be a constructive force in the universe somewhere, but my damned scientifically and rationally minded brain cannot come to terms the the concept that there is a God who takes special consideration to our sector of the universe, the Milky Way, to our segment of the Milky Way, to our section of that segment, to our subsection of that section, to our Solar System, to our Earth, to our species, to those who believe in this creator figure in a certain way and worship him in a very specific set of ways. It simply does not compute for me. I don't see why we are so special that this omnipotent creature has the time or patience for the likes of us. I likely will pretend I still believe in God to my dying day, mainly because I was raised in a religious family, in a religious community, and I would hate to lose all that because I declare I don't believe what they do. I will continue to follow the basic tenants of being a good, moral person, because that's who I am and who I want to be. But I'm worried that this is the point of no return for me. After this is written down and I have accepted that, I can't imagine a day when the concept of God will make sense to me.

And if God does exist, in the way that Christians or Muslims or Jews or any other religion with a hell concept thinks he does, and if I do get resurrected on some judgement day, and if I am damned to hell because I didn't follow the ways of old men and backwards people did millennia ago, I have just one thing to ask him.

"Why didn't you catch me before I fell?
Why didn't you make yourself clearer?
You created me, why didn't you show me?"

-Madman

The God of Abraham didn't live in a church, mosque, or synagogue. As for what your church teaches you, I would suggest that you listen to Isiah 3:12, "Those who guide you lead you astray". As for where to get instruction, look to 1 John 2:27. As for there being an everlasting hell, that comes from Dante's fictional book. Sheol of the bible (hell), was simply the dump site outside of Jerusalem where they threw and burnt the dead. The only one who has long terms problems are the false prophet and the beast (Revelation). Your worst scenario would be a second death after judgement, nothing etermal about it. It would mean that you never found true love, and living for eternity without true love, is a fate worse than death.
Considering the traditions of man as Holy, without inspection is considered a snare. (Proverbs 20:25) It is one thing for the people of millenium ago, who were illiterate, poor, and without any rights, to be mislead, but there is less excuse for modern man to be misled.
If Yeshua's journey required him to fast, maybe it might help you in your search, but maybe stop short of 40 days and nights.

 

[religion99]

I have tried to justify belief in the Abrahamic God for a long time. I was raised in one of the traditions, but recently realized I don't believe in anything I do ritualistically. I have felt bad about this since it began, and still do, but I'm falling away from the concept of God. Sure, there may be a constructive force in the universe somewhere, but my damned scientifically and rationally minded brain cannot come to terms the the concept that there is a God who takes special consideration to our sector of the universe, the Milky Way, to our segment of the Milky Way, to our section of that segment, to our subsection of that section, to our Solar System, to our Earth, to our species, to those who believe in this creator figure in a certain way and worship him in a very specific set of ways. It simply does not compute for me. I don't see why we are so special that this omnipotent creature has the time or patience for the likes of us. I likely will pretend I still believe in God to my dying day, mainly because I was raised in a religious family, in a religious community, and I would hate to lose all that because I declare I don't believe what they do. I will continue to follow the basic tenants of being a good, moral person, because that's who I am and who I want to be. But I'm worried that this is the point of no return for me. After this is written down and I have accepted that, I can't imagine a day when the concept of God will make sense to me.

And if God does exist, in the way that Christians or Muslims or Jews or any other religion with a hell concept thinks he does, and if I do get resurrected on some judgement day, and if I am damned to hell because I didn't follow the ways of old men and backwards people did millennia ago, I have just one thing to ask him.

"Why didn't you catch me before I fell?
Why didn't you make yourself clearer?
You created me, why didn't you show me?"

-Madman

Don't worry. Some religions can give you more points for being a good human being and compassinate to all living beings than the deductions resulting from not believing in God, causing you to go to Heaven.