Struggling with faith, why should I believe?

[Matt The Lost Soul]

Hello, first of all i am new to this forum. I apologize if this is in the wrong spot. Ill start with the basics. My whole life i believe in God. I never really attended church or anything, and sort of mocked people who did, but i still believe in God. After a traumatic event a few years back i was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. This left me questioning and obsessing over many things (among other symptoms) and i just couldn't let things go. I started living a really unhealthy lifestyle. Drugs, alcohol, riding reckless on my motorcycle, getting into all sorts of troubles. I started to think the Devil was the coolest thing ever. However, I started studying a lot and taking college classes on things i didn't understand like Chemistry, physics, biology and finally ended up falling into a pre-med major im still currently working on. About a month ago, i woke up one day thinking to myself "Why the hell do I believe in God?" It just didn't make any sense. I felt physically sick, i felt like i was in a whirlwind, everything that i loved and cared for didn't mean anything anymore cause one day we would all die and cease to exist. It terrified me. Now this whole past month i have been on a religious journey trying to find what i believe. I have successfully restored faith in other people, even converted a few people into believing, but still can't find an inner peace. So many things in my life have happened that would make the average person say "Wow! That is a miracle! That HAD to be God!" (I'll give examples later if anyone cares) but i still can't grasp the concept that he is real, simply because I cant experience him with my senses. So tell me what religion you guys are (atheists join too please!) and explain to me why you think that way. I truly want to believe, but im not arrogant and opposed to the idea of atheism. If God is real, i hope he forgives me for my sins :shout

 

[Storm]

There is no "should" in faith. Follow your path where it leads.

As to the rest of your post, some more information on what you believe now would be useful. Have you seen the Belief O Matic? It's a good tool for this sort of question.

 

[outhouse]

its natural to want to live forever

I feel religion promises things it doesnt know anything about and cannot ever deliver.


you could try being agnositic and find a happy middle ground, you dont have to be theist or atheist.




What you really need to do is find out what makes you happy NOW and dont worry about a afterlife. If religion makes you happy run with it.

 

[DreadFish]

Well, im not sure if the debate forum is the right one for this either but I dont know so i'll just answer.

I have gone from being raised Christian to various other experiences. I have believed in God and I have believed in the existential nihilistic nothing. I have found my place for the time being in the Buddha's teachings.

I mainly encourage you to read the different viewpoints, then look within. Knowing different religions and philosophies on the outside gives you thoughts and perspectives to consider. Ultimately, the truth will not come from outside, but from within.


Read, contemplate, meditate, pray (you dont have to pray to any one thing in particular I think. Sometimes I just pray. It's like tossing a pebble in the water and creating ripples throughout the water; its not aimed at any one thing).

 

[Storm]

Belief O Matic

 

[Riverwolf]

Hello, first of all i am new to this forum. I apologize if this is in the wrong spot. Ill start with the basics. My whole life i believe in God. I never really attended church or anything, and sort of mocked people who did, but i still believe in God. After a traumatic event a few years back i was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. This left me questioning and obsessing over many things (among other symptoms) and i just couldn't let things go. I started living a really unhealthy lifestyle. Drugs, alcohol, riding reckless on my motorcycle, getting into all sorts of troubles. I started to think the Devil was the coolest thing ever. However, I started studying a lot and taking college classes on things i didn't understand like Chemistry, physics, biology and finally ended up falling into a pre-med major im still currently working on. About a month ago, i woke up one day thinking to myself "Why the hell do I believe in God?" It just didn't make any sense. I felt physically sick, i felt like i was in a whirlwind, everything that i loved and cared for didn't mean anything anymore cause one day we would all die and cease to exist. It terrified me. Now this whole past month i have been on a religious journey trying to find what i believe. I have successfully restored faith in other people, even converted a few people into believing, but still can't find an inner peace. So many things in my life have happened that would make the average person say "Wow! That is a miracle! That HAD to be God!" (I'll give examples later if anyone cares) but i still can't grasp the concept that he is real, simply because I cant experience him with my senses. So tell me what religion you guys are (atheists join too please!) and explain to me why you think that way. I truly want to believe, but im not arrogant and opposed to the idea of atheism. If God is real, i hope he forgives me for my sins :shout

Shaiva Hindu. (I believe that Shiva is the Deity who best represents the Supreme.)

I believe in God and Gods, and yet I don't. I'm a panentheist/polytheist, but only becuse my mind is predisposed towards theism; if I didn't have traditional gods to worship, I'd probably end up worshiping real people or Superman or something. I fully accept the real possibility that no God or Gods exist.

However, I don't believe the Gods existed before humans, because I believe that They were all once human who transcended their humanity and became immortal. As for the Supreme, I know nothing of substance about it and no one else does, either, because there's nothing to know; the Supreme is to be experienced.

The Sages have taught that the Supreme can be experienced in this life through various methods. If you wish to, I recommend trying out the various methods that you are comfortable with and know are safe.

Religions are journeys, not final states to wait in until death.

 

[Matt The Lost Soul]

Well, right now i sort of believe there is something. I look at it this way. The bible shouldn't be taken so literal. If we are to assume God is real for the sake of this passage, lets take a look at the bible. Maybe the world being created in 7 days wasn't what God meant, but people then couldn't comprehend it. Maybe he said 7 era and the people took that as 7 days. My brother once said to me (he is a convert from atheism to Christianity) imagine that me and you both jumped in a portal to travel back to the year 600 A.D. We then tried to explain what the internet was, what cable TV was, what cars were, and what nuclear weapons were. It would freaking blow peoples minds. They couldn't even fathom what we meant. So as they start to right this down they change things like "nuclear weapons" to "giant flying birds that wipe out whole countries." or they change "the internet" to "everyone's brains being connected through metal wires that we can share thoughts instantly!" So i feel like there can very much be a God, but the bible was trying to understand something way out of its times. But then i wonder, why cant we see, hear, feel, or smell him now?

 

[Riverwolf]

Well, right now i sort of believe there is something. I look at it this way. The bible shouldn't be taken so literal. If we are to assume God is real for the sake of this passage, lets take a look at the bible. Maybe the world being created in 7 days wasn't what God meant, but people then couldn't comprehend it. Maybe he said 7 era and the people took that as 7 days. My brother once said to me (he is a convert from atheism to Christianity) imagine that me and you both jumped in a portal to travel back to the year 600 A.D. We then tried to explain what the internet was, what cable TV was, what cars were, and what nuclear weapons were. It would freaking blow peoples minds. They couldn't even fathom what we meant. So as they start to right this down they change things like "nuclear weapons" to "giant flying birds that wipe out whole countries." or they change "the internet" to "everyone's brains being connected through metal wires that we can share thoughts instantly!" So i feel like there can very much be a God, but the bible was trying to understand something way out of its times. But then i wonder, why cant we see, hear, feel, or smell him now?

Well, some of us believe we can; we just don't recognize Him.

But once, and only once, and only for a minute, I could see Mother Kali in all things, and all things as Her. This was a brief experience that has solidified my belief, and it's probably all you're going to get. But it's enough for me.

 

[Matt The Lost Soul]

I just cannot simply, as an intelligent human being, accept the fact that we cease to exist after death. It seems theoretically impossible. Imagine if while you are typing your next response, a bullet flies through your wall and hits you in the head. Killing you instantly. Now you cease to exist. So why the hell did you experience this life time? Now you don't know anything, so why are you experiencing it now? Ceasing to exist seems like wishful thinking if you ask me. But i can sort of grasp the concept because then i think well when we sleep, our brain almost shuts down and we dont remember anything (except maybe a few dreams) So it could be possible.

And please don't take that as an attack towards atheism. Im just writing my thoughts as they come.

 

[DreadFish]

I also highly recommend you study the other concepts of God. Most Americans are only even aware of the Christian concept of God and when they contemplate God, thats the only idea they have. There are indeed tons of different ideas of God, and as a seeker, I think it's very important to get the whole picture.

 

[Matt The Lost Soul]

its natural to want to live forever

I feel religion promises things it doesnt know anything about and cannot ever deliver.


you could try being agnositic and find a happy middle ground, you dont have to be theist or atheist.




What you really need to do is find out what makes you happy NOW and dont worry about a afterlife. If religion makes you happy run with it.

Actually, I do NOT want to live forever. I mean it would be nice to see my family again after death. But the idea of sitting in an eternal world called the afterlife is pretty sickening to me. What the hell do you do for eternity?

 

[outhouse]

Well, right now i sort of believe there is something. I look at it this way. The bible shouldn't be taken so literal. If we are to assume God is real for the sake of this passage, lets take a look at the bible. Maybe the world being created in 7 days wasn't what God meant, but people then couldn't comprehend it. Maybe he said 7 era and the people took that as 7 days. My brother once said to me (he is a convert from atheism to Christianity) imagine that me and you both jumped in a portal to travel back to the year 600 A.D. We then tried to explain what the internet was, what cable TV was, what cars were, and what nuclear weapons were. It would freaking blow peoples minds. They couldn't even fathom what we meant. So as they start to right this down they change things like "nuclear weapons" to "giant flying birds that wipe out whole countries." or they change "the internet" to "everyone's brains being connected through metal wires that we can share thoughts instantly!" So i feel like there can very much be a God, but the bible was trying to understand something way out of its times. But then i wonder, why cant we see, hear, feel, or smell him now?

here you giving deities more credit then they deserve.



You really should study some real history and then you would see how ancient men deified normal people and see what your talking about isnt the case.

Have you ever noticed a deity just doesnt come out and talk to everyone, they have to for some reason pic out one and secretly give him messages. simular to islam, so a man walks in a cave with a bible and bam, he comes out with a different version for different people. no magic there. Moses on a mountain, magically comes down with laws that had been used in all previous cultures in the levant for thousands of years.

 

[Storm]

here you giving deities more credit then they deserve.



You really should study some real history and then you would see how ancient men deified normal people and see what your talking about isnt the case.

Have you ever noticed a deity just doesnt come out and talk to everyone, they have to for some reason pic out one and secretly give him messages. simular to islam, so a man walks in a cave with a bible and bam, he comes out with a different version for different people. no magic there. Moses on a mountain, magically comes down with laws that had been used in all previous cultures in the levant for thousands of years.

The poor guy is confused enough without listening to your ignorant stereotypes.

 

[outhouse]

Actually, I do NOT want to live forever. I mean it would be nice to see my family again after death. But the idea of sitting in an eternal world called the afterlife is pretty sickening to me. What the hell do you do for eternity?

LOL good question. I dont follow it either

it is a fear of man that life should just end one day, thus the afterlife was born

 

[outhouse]

The poor guy is confused enough without listening to your ignorant stereotypes.

and you think your a better teacher

knowledge is not a stereotype



he also asked for atheist point of view

 

[outhouse]

I dont think he is confused at all, I think he wants some answers on both sides of the fence

 

[Storm]

and you think your a better teacher

I think 95% of the people here are better teachers, so yeah.

knowledge is not a stereotype

"Knowledge" is far too flattering a description for the drivel you just spewed.

 

[DreadFish]

and you think your a better teacher

knowledge is not a stereotype

She has a good point, and you tend to be pretty negative and insulting towards things you disagree with. Likewise you were incorrect with some of your knowledge, so why not stop putting down other things and just present your belief about reality

 

[Storm]

Matt, if you'd like to chat realtime, here's the link to the chatroom. Leave the password field blank.

 

[Matt The Lost Soul]

No no, i do want opinions from both sides. But to outhouse, i see your point. However, lets take the assumption again that God is real. If he is real, he wants free will. If he exposes himself to the entire world and says "do this or burn in hell!" that removes free will. Thus, there is no point to him making us. God WANTS us to love him, so he tells a few "pure souls" and they spread his word. Man just doesn't except it though. But now on your side, i can see what you mean. I could easily walk in a cave down the street from me, come out a week later all famished and say God spoke to me. This is what he wants. And easily have SOME followers. But then again, why the hell did so many people believe what these guys were preaching? Surely if the government came in (speaking now times) and said "Matt! If you continue to follow God we will put you to death!" Then surely i wouldn't follow him unless i really had a reason to. So why did people back then let themselves be murdered if they didn't have a good reason? Things are just complicated!