Do you feel bad not believing in God?

Question

For the Atheist, or Agnost people, i grew up believing in God, going too Church and praying, but around May i started finding it useless and started reading books, and articles on Religions, i would consider myself "Agnostic" now, but sometimes i feel bad, anyone else feel this?

Please don't make fun of me or anything, i still kinda find it hard too believe in God unless theres proof, i mean some are waisting so much time with the questions that will never be answered.

i know i spelt "Agnostic" in the first line wrong.

Answer 1

i am also agnostic. i do believe in Jesus, because there is proof he walked upon this earth. i was brought up just like you. if god is good why do good people die and bad people live? a drunk hits a car and the whole family dies and the drunk is fine. he goes to court, if he goes to jail he comes out to kill more innocent people. why? god likes bad people.

Answer 2

There is no logical reason to believe in a Supreme Being: no reason that will hold up to logic. Most of the folk you will meet here will try circular reasoning to try to prove God by a book written by man or say that there has to be an original cause. Both of those are easily refuted. In the end, the only reason to accept the existence of anything is direct experience. Unless someone can say to you "Look, I experience God and if you do exactly what I did you can experience God, too" then maybe you can hang onto that. Everyone else seems to have their hand in your pocket, fishing for a donation.

That is the point I was at quite a few years ago. I had two direct experiences with what I call "The Ineffable Light:" God, if you will. Problem is I cannot tell you how to have those experiences. I had one in a flotation chamber and another after a motorcycle accident. I have since tried to get back in touch (without dying) with The Light. I have been in quite a few flotation chambers. Nope. I was assured I could get back WHEN I NEEDED TO. OK, so I guess I do not need to. I saw the Light was inside me a little, too, there in the flotation tank. I know, real New Agey. *sigh* It seems like others have had the same sort of experience. They call it "life-after-life." I do not expect you to believe me.

The next problem is the non-working business of prayer and the existence of what we call evil. I have come to the conclusion that The Light does not get involved much in the affairs of man. My best guess is that we have to work things out on our own. Imagine how hard it would be even for a Supreme Being to answer all those conflicting prayers. Worse than Santa.

Warren Zevon wrote a song called "The Vast Indifference of Heaven." Maybe that is where I am about things.

Anyway, I did not have much belief, though I wanted it. Then I got direct experience. Now I hunger to get back. Tell you the truth: this world sucks compared to being where I was in contact with the Ineffable.

You have asked some very valid questions. Just thought I would tell you what I have experienced. No religion. No sales hype. Just saying "hey." Peace!

Answer 3

Aww..
There 'is' proof.
There will always be arguments on both sides and things that back up each side of the argument... you can use science and look for the answers. It can work..but you can't find the answer to everything.

It is like playing this Yahoo! Answers game. You can get up to level 5 from all the answers and questions but do you really feel fulfilled? There are still millions of questions left. You won't answer them all. You won't get all your questions answered. (That is where faith and acceptance comes in!)

I guess it just boils down to a change in your heart and a feeling that something is there that wasn't there before.

I know there are many Christian scientists.

Scientific theories are scratched all the time when later they are found to be false, so don't rely heavily on these, but do look into them.

So you feel bad because you don't believe in God?
Maybe you just feel like you abandoned your families beliefs?
Maybe deep down you know that there is something there that is true and different from how you live your life now.

"i mean some are waisting so much time with the questions that will never be answered."

So stop expecting proof for every single question you have about your faith. :) You said it.
It is a matter of what feels right deep down and you'll know it if you accept God.

Mavis Knows

Answer 4

I salute you for asking such a question. It's not an easy thing to admit that you're not sure, especially in a forum like this. As a Humanist who was formerly a person of faith, I do sometimes miss the feeling of being loved by a wonderful power untouched by the pettiness of this world, and I liked belonging to a spiritual family. But since becoming a Humanist I've found other wonderful things that I didn't have before. I've learned new things and met great new people. I feel a part of something noble and good once more. I sometimes miss prayer--I liked prayer--but now I know that getting off my knees and doing something is infinitely better than praying to empty space. I always admired those churches and synagogues that feed the hungry and shelter the lost, and our Humanist Community does that too, oftentimes in concert with local churches. As Ingersoll said, "Hands that help are nobler than lips that pray."

Answer 5

I completely understand what you are going through. I also, grew up around church and all that. I feel guilty sometimes only because its what I believed so long. I still believe in a God, however its organized religion I no longer believe in. Perhaps what you feelings is guilt because you truly believe in a God, but the religion you were brought up in, no longer sounds like the belief system you want to follow. This site has made me trust my decision to question God even more because of all the hatred i hear these "Christians" spew. If they are right about what they are preaching, than I don't want to be apart of it. I would rather rot in hell knowing I questioned things and loved everybody for you they are instead preaching hate. Do what feels right to you.

Answer 6

if you grew up believing in god and now you have some doubt. there are forces unseen that will do everything to get you to question god,,,,i do believe that when you sometimes feel bad, then that is the holy spirt working in you. we as humans today seek a religion that will approve of our own lifestyle, to make us feel better about ourself.
being a bible believing person is hard ,,( that is because we have a free will),
and if you want proof that god does exist.. go to the hospitals and look at the new babies that have just been born. who created that little bundle of joy,, it sure was not man or a orginazed religion,, ,,, get up in the morning and look to the east and see that beautifull sunrise, as it sweeps over you and brings so much warmth to you body,, man did not do this or any religion.
take just one day and open your heart and look around you,, see all the beauty and all the glory around you ,,, that man could not create, nor orginzed religion,,,

but this has to be done by a super force,, and i call that force
god almighty,,
i too get upset sometime and question god, but then i do relize that only i am accountable for my action ,,, no one else,
i have found out for sure that talking to god has to be with an open heart, and nothing else...

now i am not good at answearing question. i am talking about where my life was and where it is now,,

hope you have a nice day

Answer 7

New agnostics often feel as you do -- confused, lonely, a bit angry and remorseful over all the years wasted on an empty belief. Don't feel bad about feeling bad (!), just go ahead and feel what you feel, there's nothing wrong with that.

As for those questions that will never be answered, that's actually a study called philosophy, which has its own thread over on the Y!Answers Arts & Humanities board. You might want to check it out.

Answer 8

Actually sometimes I do believe and other times I question it. So yes, at times I do feel bad. But I also realize that there's so much religious propaganda in the world these days that you can't ever know what's true and what's not.

I prefer to believe in myself and let the pieces fall where they may. I've done the church thing too but I felt wrong there. Maybe it was the wrong church but I just didn't like it.

Answer 9

No I don't feel bad, and neither should you. Have you ever met someone who really really believed in unicorns? Or that when they play DnD they have the powers of magic warlocks? Arent they funny? Yes, they can become annoying, but they dont make you feel bad do they? Well then why should silly christians make you feel bad? Every time you feel bad, start looking for the face of god in your tortilla chips, that will cheer you up! Take joy in the fact that you are closer to the truth than they'll ever be.

Answer 10

I know exactly what you are saying because I did the same thing. Then this happened to me.

Several years ago I had an unusual experience concerning an uncle, a distant relative who lived over a thousand miles away.

While driving my car I suddenly felt the unmistakable presence of this relative that I hardly even knew. He was more like someone I had heard about than someone I knew. It was very strange; it felt as though I was momentarily lifted right out of my physical body. I seemed to be suspended somehow beyond space and time, bathed in a love so intense It felt like I could have just disappear into it at any moment if It would have let me. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it seemed to last forever at the same time. I realize how crazy this must sound. The experience was so strong that at first I was afraid I was loosing my grip on reality. I finally managed to chalk it up to an over active imagination.

Three days later I got a call from my aunt telling me that this uncle we are talking about had gone into a coma and died the day I had the experience. It felt like ice water had been poured down my back when she told me this. I had lost any real ideas of God or faith and had become somewhat of an atheist. Needless to say this experience caused me to rethink some of the conclusions I had come to.

I feel blessed to now understand that even in our darkest confusion something loves us so much that it went out of its way to assist me and bring me back to a state of absolute certainty about Gods love for us.
During the experience it seemed like there was a vast amount of information that I was somehow allowed access to. One thing that I came away from this experience understanding beyond any shadow of a doubt was that any Idea that God is unhappy with us or would judge or allow us to be punished for any reason is simply impossible.

I can’t explain the love I felt with words. They simply don’t make words big enough or complete enough to do this. The only way I can begin to convey this love to you is to say that there was simply nothing else there. Nothing but love. No hint of judgment, no displeasure of any sort. It is as though God sees us as being as perfect as we were the day we were created. It is only in our confused idea of ourselves that we seem to have changed.

I hope this is of some help to you. Good luck. Love and blessings.

Your brother don