Is your faith based on making you feel good (for example, feel safe, loved, informed, etc.)?

Question

How much of your faith reflects an emotional contentment or a sense of connection with a faith community?

Or the corollary, even if some of the teachings slide a bit beyond rational thought, are you willing to overlook these tidbits because the emotional fulfillment seems worth it?

Answer 1

All my beliefs are what make me feel good. The trick is knowing the difference in a rational belief and an irrational one. Is it rational to believe in God? It is just as rational as not believing because there is the same amount of proof on both sides of the argument and it is all conjecture. Is it rational to believe in creationism? Not on your life, there is a mountain of evidence supporting evolution versus just one book written 1800 years ago (by people who would not have known the scientific method had they choked on it) saying the world is a few thousand years old.

Answer 2

Is my faith based on making me feel good (for example, feel safe, loved, informed, etc.)? ... No. My faith "makes" me feel things like duty, accountability, concern for others -- harder stuff than just my little emotional whims. Moreover, my faith, in particular, "makes" me feel like there is peril that I am subject to -- namely, spiritual warfare. I "feel safe" in the sense that I have a savior who loves me, but my savior has an enemy, and that enemy frequently asserts himself in an effort to form a schism between me and my savior.

How much of my faith reflects an emotional contentment or a sense of connection with a faith community? ... Zero.

Or the corollary, even if some of the teachings slide a bit beyond rational thought, am I willing to overlook these tidbits because the emotional fulfillment seems worth it? ... My faith does not fulfill my emotions. My faith awakens my spirit, challenges my character, and lays open my soul--which, though this is infinitely valuable, can hurt in many ways.

Answer 3

I don't feel that anything about my faith slides beyond rational thought as I have reasoning for everything I believe. My faith is not because of what makes me feel good (in fact sometimes it makes me feel worse because my eyes are open to the sin in the world and it is depressing), feel safe, etc. My faith is based on reality and what is. I collect all of the evidence around me and base my faith on that, and all the scientific and historical evidence I can see points to Jesus.