The title says it all. I have not believed in God since I was probably like 12-13 years old. I do not seek God because i fear annihilation after death, I just want answers. I have come to the conclusion that i do not believe in God because i am so caught up in reason and logic, when the very nature of God is illogical. If there were a God he would be above any rational analysis we could come up with to justify his actions, because his actions cannot be justified in our terms. I truly think true faith is a struggle and requires doubting first and then overcoming that doubt. Anyone can believe in something that is supported with facts and evidence, to believe in something that can transcend all of that is special to me. When I line up all the reasons why I doubt God's existence, I end up with a reasoning that is based in our finite world. God would be above the finite and not operate within it's limitations. Anyone in the same boat as me?
I was in that same boat for a while. I went to a Catholic school for 9 years, so I've had religion shoved down my throat. I've seen literally a church full of people, but I highly doubt anyone ever gave any thought to what they were chanting. I think it's REALLY cool that you want to find something higher than yourself. I think humans naturally have questions, but I don't think we necessarily have the capabilities to answer all of them. My girlfriend/best friend and I have started meditating, and reaching INward for comfort and relief instead of OUTward to some father-figure. I'm definitely not saying I'm right, or that any way is more enriching than another, but I know I've discovered so many things that I never would have seen before. I hope you find what you're looking for. You've got all of Grasscity to help you along the way.
Keep searching man. I was in your boat, only much worse. Because of my pointlessness, I had picked out a tree upon which to hang myself. One night in the shower after many tears, (I cried a lot that semester.) I prayed. To God. Not any god, I didn't know him. I just prayed to the True God, because if he existed and was really God, he should love me, and want me to love him. I prayed this. "I want to be a lost wind forever, never knowing where I'm going, but loving and accepting everything." I decided that even if he never revealed himself to me even if I went through life knowing NOTHING, I wanted to follow him anyway I could. Told him to take me pretty much. Through the oddest turn of events possible I found Jesus. Without a church. Without a Bible. I am not a Christian. I am a lover of Jesus. Is the Bible good, yes. But it is not the way. It is simply a tool to find truth. I am not asking you to take my word for it. That is my faith not yours. You may decide something totally different. I am just telling you what I now know to be true. I know believe I know where I'm going. If you are honestly searching, he will reveal himself to you. I wish you the best of luck, and If you want to talk more I'd be happy to. May he keep you on your journey for truth.
“If we have been pleased with life, we should not be displeased with death, since it comes from the hand of the same master.”
The concept of religion is great, but when it gets corrupted the whole idea is twisted. You dont have to believe in a god to be happy, skip the bullshit stories and jump to the morals if u want to have a fufilling life. and if in the back of your mind youre wondering "i want to get into heaven" or whatever your fantasy afterlife is, live by the ethics that you think that god would want you to have. Go your own way and find your own god, think outside the box, a god doesnt have to be an object.
Spend so much time looking for god 'out there', reading all doctrines, trying to figure out which one is right, find the 'right' path, achieve the most we can right, and earn the biggest checks. Theres no way to ever *know* anything, let alone somehow know which 'out there' god is correct. Or we can listen to someone else tell us what to do because they probably know right? Wrong. The goal is to see past all of it You are it. Everything is. All the seeking and all the seeking comes full circle. Theres nothing to find because you've already got it, just the realization hasnt hit yet. You don't need an 'out there' source of anything..
You sir are on the right path but going the wrong way. Islam teaches us not to look or think of God with logic or reason because God transcends all logic and reason. We cannot rationalize his actions because he is the Almighty and he can do as he pleases. God requires blind faith and not evidence of his existence.
I was the same when I was in high school, however the existence of a god isn't logical to me. I get what you're saying about a god being above our mental faculties, but why would he give us the ability to logically reason he doesn't exist? We use these analytical skills daily, and they are the reason we have advanced so far and thrived as a species. Why does he expect blind faith when in no other aspect of our lives are we expected to believe something so vehemently without any evidence? You don't need to be religion to be happy. Also | | | v
I've had many doubts, many questions before i accepted god fully into my soul. Ill admit that till this day i still have somewhat of a doubt, but thats not going to stray me away from him.
You think looking logic in the face and saying "fuck you" and choosing to blindly follow an obviously man-made concept is something special? Clearly blind faith is something to aspire to.
There is a simple solution. Eat some mushrooms and trip your logical brains out. Worked for me. Sometimes you gotta see to believe lol. Shrooms will give you a behind the scenes tour of reality and you'll be like, "Oh, that's how it works! I get it!". At least that's what I got from my trips lol.
Brain does brain stuff - problem is, you believe the brain stuff. Let it all go. We somehow stop living this life in search of another life, someplace else, after death or whatever. Just let it go, you're already here. Its all a total perception, and it won't stop But each perception is just as unreal as the prior, fleeting. It's your own lie to yourself...seems doom and gloomy, but you are your own spiritual consciousness. You're looking in the wrong place
Thanks for the responses, some of you have been quite thought provoking, the others well fuck those guys. I will continue to search inward and outward until i find what i am looking for. Psychedelics have been great at allowing me to break down barriers in my mind, but really all (i shouldn't say all) i get from them is a feeling of connectedness with all people. I am not looking for god to be some invisible superman in the sky, i imagine that he/she/it would be the grand architect of everything around us, both good and bad. I disavow the god of miracles and angels, or heaven and hell. I would imagine God would be a relativist of sorts since he would be responsible for everything. I guess that when i see so much beauty in the world, and feel the immense love i have for my family and friends i just have a hard time believing that this is all some sort of accident. You can say what you want about chemical reactions in the brain, or formation of molecules and atoms, I get it. I am majoring in philosophy in order to prepare me for law school, i also chose philosophy as my major in order to give me answers. All philosophy has done for me is prove to me how little I truly know. Right now my beliefs are that of a typical atheist. Big Bang, somehow life appears, then we have evolution which brings us to where we are. I just want something higher to devote myself to. If there is nothing greater than "this", i think everything is kind of pointless. And i absolutely detest and refuse to ascribe to nihilism. To me the bottom line is that you can neither definitely prove nor disprove god's existence. No matter what i believe there will always be a possibility that i am wrong.
Why not just live to make the world a better place for everyone and everything? Is that not a great enough purpose?
That's how i live my life everyday. I never said atheists are incapable of thinking morally or altruistically (i am an atheist after all). It's funny when i tell religious people they cannot understand how i just don't believe. When I tell atheists that I i cannot definitively deny the existence of god, they react similarly. Let me make it clear, when i look at the world i do not see god, when i imagine death i think it's lights out like before you are born. I probably believe the same thing as you. The difference is that it is in my nature to question everything including my perception of reality. I just want to believe in someone or something that has all the answers. If such a person does not exist than billions of people will have existed and felt love, hate, fought in wars, and so on, and all this will have been for nothing. This is already what i believe, why not let me question it?
I don't know if my post came off as antagonistic. I assure you I was really just curious, and didn't mean it as an attack. And I didn't mean to imply that I know for sure there are no gods because it is impossible to know. I think it's great that you question everything and I wish more people would question what they are told rather than blindly believe. Although I don't understand why you think a supreme being is necessary for love and happiness to have meaning. When/if I ask you questions it is as much about questioning my own beliefs as it is your own. It helps me to grow as a person when I try to understand another's perspective. Again, I meant to offense.
And herein lies the major problem. You, along with millions of others, are asking a question that will NEVER be answered. You should be satisfied with the answer "I don't know," because that's all we'll ever get. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to know the truth, but the fact is we never will.