I won't dispute the existence of God, I just want to know this....?

Question

If there is a God and he loves us as we are, then why did he give us this highly evolved brain that allows us to think and choose what we believe for ourselves? My brain apparently is not programmed to chose faith. How can someone make themselves believe if they don't feel it? If I'd followed the masses and told people I believe, that would make me a hypocrite, and isn't this worse than not believing at all? Just wondering....

I was born and raised, baptized and confirmed Catholic. I found it all extremely hard to believe by the age of 12.

I always have to laugh when people think you can't have morals if you don't practice religion. What is so hard to believe that I do all the right things just for the sake of it, and not to "earn a place in heaven?" If there's a God, and he wants to penalize me just because of my "different" way of thinking, well, then, maybe I don't want any part of it.

TO EARL D: WTF? I read some of your other postings and they are very similar to whatever it is you're trying to prove to me here.
If you are referring to my screen name, marryme_alig .... Ali G is a British comedian I think is funny, and it rhymes, don't read too much into it! Do you take everything so seriously? If that's what religion entails...wow! ~NO thanks~

Answer 1

What we think of God is an Idea. May be it is better to feel god or experience god, would be a better way to deal with the phenomenon.

Answer 2

God gave us our brains because we were made in his image and can make decisions like he can make, but on a much tinier scale. What seperates us from the animals is our Holy Spirit (our conscience-our will to do right or to know that something is not right) You obviously have the Holy Spirit in you because you have morals. That is because you were created in the image of God. God wants you to do good for the sake of others and not seek recognition or reward. This is apparently what you are doing. In time you will believe, but you should allow yourself to believe sooner rather than later because if you were to die today, you would not be among the people who are saved.

If you look at life around you and realize how complex everything is, don't you wonder how everything got here on Earth? Do you think it was just science? And look back on how many close calls you have had with getting into trouble-financial or physical and come out okay. That wasn't luck, that was God intervening. Just try praying and see what happens. Ask and you shall receive.

Answer 3

I can really relate to you I was a Catholic also and you are right not to follow the masses because it is our obligation to find out the truth about God from his Word the Bible,I did this I searched his word for the way, this is the reason Why I am not a Catholic anymore although when I got disillusioned as a Catholic at that time I did dispute the existence of God but I decided that if there is a God he would hear my prayer, so I prayed for his help in finding him, and he answered my prayer!There's nothing more faith strengthening than seeing God's helping hand in your life!

Answer 4

AH yes, finally someone else who can just about echo the way I feel.
Here is my belief...
If there is a god and he loves us no matter what, then he understands my position and will be able to forgive me for it in the end. It is way too hard to believe something I haven't seen or at least had verified in some way. And way too easy to believe there were plenty of crazy people who had a hand in writing the bible and all of that. I read fiction all of the time and I love it, but that doesn't mean it's realistic. If this means I have to go to "hell" then so be it I guess, but isn't that basically where we are now?

In any event, Before I really get off on a tangent... I am really glad you posted this! It makes me feel just a little better about myself for not falling victim to the peer pressure put on us to just have "blind faith".

Answer 5

God can be likened to a parent. He gave us life, loves us, and fundamentally prepared us with His teachings. A parent knows that someday he will have to let his son or daughter begin making their own decisions. This is part of growing up. What kind of a life would it be if at 30 our parents still made all of our decisions? It is in loving us that they allow us the freedom to grow. Because God loves us, He gave us our free will.

God does not cause bad things to happen but He is always there waiting, watching, and loving us, just like a parent. And just like a parent, He will always help us if we ask. If we seek Him with real sincerity, He will not let us down.

Do not look for Him just when you need a favor. Do you think that it's fair for a son or a daughter to come to the parent only when they want something? Really talk to Him and look for His answers. You will soon discover for yourself that He is here.

Hope this helped.

You might find this website helpful too, "Defending the Faith". It sensibly answers so many questions.

Answer 6

I am sorry to hear that your faith has been forgotten.
I too am a Catholic, but I converted when I was very young. Being that I was able to choose my religion, that helped a lot. Back then, I didn't know much about the facts and knowlede that support th Catholic Church. At that time, I just felt Him. I could feel God in the traditional Latin Masses especially.

Many people like yourself have long since forgotten their faith since the time of Vatican II. That was the council that changed many traditions of the Catholic Church, the biggest being the Mass. A Cardinal in Rome who is said to be working for Satan wrote the English Mass almost completely by himself. Since then, it seems many Catholics have lost their faith because the English Mass doesn't have that "spark" like the Latin Mass does. That "spark" in the Latin Mass is what really stirred up my faith as a child.

When I got older, I studied evidence that could prove my faith and make it stronger than ever. I began with the lives of the Saints. You may not know how amazing they were- and some of them still are. There are many Saints all over the world who have died, yet after hundreds of years, their bodies are perfectly intact! People visit these places all the time, and I hope to one day too. You see, God works miracles here on Earth for people like you to know for certain about and believe.

Another thing that I have closely studied was the history of the Church. It is a historical fact that Jesus Christ himself started the Catholic Church. One piece of evidence is this: The Papacy. Jesus appointed Peter as the first Pope. This can only mean that the true church of Christ followed the Pope according to His Teaching! All other denominations of Christians were started by men (and some women too) who went against the teachings of Christ himself! I'm not saying that all Protestants of today are evil. They are simply misguided and will someday know the Truth.

Based on this historical fact, it is simply obvious where Truth lies. If you need more help finding it, pray. Being a born and raised Catholic, I'm sure you know what the Rosary is. Now, many children are not taught the importance and historical fact behind it. It all started around the time of the protestant reformation. The Blessed Virgin Mary came to a very holy man named Dominic. She taught him how to say the Rosary and told him that was important for people to come to her for help. She promised special graces for anyone who prays the Rosary. (A common misconseption is that Catholics worship Mary. The rule is that we worship God. We also pray to not only God, but his Mother too. Praying and Worshiping are two different things.)

Anyways, I would suggest to you that you keep searching for the Truth while praying for help in finding it.

May God Bless You!

Answer 7

I don't want to offend you but, statistically, catholics have the lowest rate of spiritual enlightenment of any group, according to a poll I recently read in the paper. The question was something like, "Have you ever had a personal spiritual revelation?" and catholics were way down the list. If you look at the structure, history, goals and activities of the catholic church, their insistence on blind obedience (not to mention the fact that the current pope signed a paper forbidding molestation victims from speaking out in 1972) you can see that it is designed to create sheep. God did not create religion, humans did and your religion (sorry if I offend) is designed to control humans, not enlighten them. Even though you reject the religion you were born to, those habits of thought (or lack thereof :) are hard to break. You're off to a good start though.

Answer 8

What would you rather have, someone love you because you made them do it or someone love you because they want to? God gave us these highly evolved brains because he wants to see what we would do with them. It is called "free will". It's your choice to do and believe what you want. By all means never become a hypocrite, living a lie. Be true to yourself and in spite of
of yourself, God still loves you. You see, He looks at your heart. You can say it, but God is the only one that knows if you mean it.
You may not feel it because right now you're not seeking it. God could have made us all robots, looking alike, thinking alike, here solely to obey His every whelm. Instead, He chose to allow us to think for ourselves. What a loving God! So when you do decide to have faith, it will be because of your own decision and not anyone else's. You did so on your own free will.

Answer 9

Try a different sect of Christianity. The Catholic Religion is the one that deals more with you having to feel fear and shame of that which created you before the physical universe was created.
Try the Torah if it has the procreation stories in it (Old Testament) or visit the library in the religion section and look for one called the lost books of the bible and the forgotten books of Eden. Listen for that small quite voice within you. It is your soul trying to reach and teach you.
Jesus said that if you cannot find me within yourself you will not find me without.
Finally have the faith of the mustard seed that you will find fertile soil into which you will grow and blossom.

Answer 10

Seriously I think its a matter of "why" dont you believe. Did you know most Christians were nonbelievers at one time? I was and so where a lot here and each and every one of them was shown in a different way why they should. It wouldn't hurt to ask them individually, if they answer here they're subject to cheap shots by bored highschool kids and the point will be missed. Now, what made them believe wont nessisarily make you believe but it might help you open your heart to the concept.

Answer 11

How do we know whether there's a God or not? C'mon; we're ordinary mundane creatures who just don't care about the mysteries of life. We just care enough about the momentary pleasures of life and that's all. God or "Truth" don't bother us at all. On top of that, we've had enough preachers who cannot satisfy our questions regarding this universe nor can explain coherently the stuff which they know.
To me theists, atheiests, monists, pagans, idolators, devil-worshippers, agnostics, dualists, etc., etc. come from the same basket. No one knows the Ultimate Truth; and those who apparently know are no doubt pretending.
Also, I personally feel that religion and the concept of God have done more harm than good to the whole of mankind!!!