SERIOUS QUESTION: I just CANNOT force myself to believe in God. But didn't He make me that way?

Question

LET ME CLARIFY.

I WANT to follow Pascal's Wager. I KNOW that it would be a better idea to just force myself to believe, be religious, and faithful to God and if I'm wrong nothing happens, but if I'm right I get into Heaven.

But I just have trouble FAKE believing. I just CANNOT force myself to believe. I just think it is so fake and hypocritical and everything like that. God defies my common sense and rationality. So it's my loss, fine, I go to Hell supposedly.

BUT MY QUESTION IS, obviously God created me this way. God made me so skeptical that I cannot possibly believe in things just because other people do it or some old book says so. If He really is omnipotent, He KNEW I would turn out this way.

So have I ALWAYS since birth been destined for Hell? Is there anything I can do? Will He forgive me and send me to Heaven because HE MADE ME THIS WAY? To the theists: Should I have just been aborted instead of wasting everyone's time (lol)?

Thanks for your responses!!!

Answer 1

Tell you what, Ask Him to show you He is real and then go on your merry way keeping your eyes open.

Answer 2

The problem with Pascal's Wager is that it says that if you believe and nothing's there, no harm no foul. But, if you don't believe and he is there - you're SOL. What about the other gods we don't know or care about? What if Zeus was real but the christian god (lower caps emphasized) was not? Pascal's Wager doesn't take into consideration the thousands of other gods that might exist other than the almighty popular one. That's where PW is flawed.

What if I believe in yhwh but Thor was the true god? Or Amen Ra? Or whatever other god out there - I'd be SOL if I believed in one - but the wrong one.

Make sense? I hope so.

Another point is destiny - that brings up another can of worms like free will. If there's predestiny, there's no free will. And if there's no free will, god doesn't really love you cos he's condemning you to hell. And you had nothing to do with it.

Think of it this way - you were born an atheist - cos frankly, babies and little children don't know nor understand the concept of god. You just didn't let religious nonsense cloud your reasoning.

Answer 3

I struggle with this sometimes as well but I think your answer will lie in deism. It's the way that Benjamin Franklin beleived

i think the many denominations of christianity and almost all religons in general are something of a "telephone game" brought forth from an original set of ideas and philosophies which were meant so that mankind could live in harmony

Over the course of two thousand years different ideas about what is right and wrong are bound to come up, and people also tell the story in different ways...in this manner the original message becomes muttled and while the general gist may be there it is no longer the pure truth.

the truth is out there...you simply hav to follow it

If you want some good lectures on the subject please go to rzim.org and listen or down load some of the sermons. Hopefully they will put you on the right track. The man there goes much more into depth than I ever could and he is well schooled

remember this as well: YOU SHOULD BE SKEPTICAL

You should think analytically.

Look at people that follow the heavens gate cult or jim jones or pervert islam to the point to where theyre willing to kill thousand of people for the chance to be pleasured by 72 virgins (which begs the question, why kill a bunch of people? why not just go somewhere, pick up a girl, get the urges out of your system and move on there'd be a lot less damage done and no one has to die)

Answer 4

Your time and faith will come. If not don't blame your God. He made you but imbued you with a free will. You are asking a question that has been asked for thousands of years. Think about common sense. Do you know that each little piece of dust has living creatures on it? Each creature is a mite. They all defecate. This is what causes alergies. Now that cannot be a mistake of nature. Also when you get you nose clogged up, did you ever realize that only one side gets clogged up. So you can breathe. A fluke of nature? I wonder. If you want to find God, and I think you do, you will. It takes some longer then others. God is not in a hurry.

Will you be forgiven and sent to Heaven. Once again, who knows. What have you to lose by being a good person? Do no harm to anyone, and you should be fine. And take out an insurance policy by trying to believe. Don't force it.

Go out where there is no light pollution and look up at night to see the milky way. No tell me there is no supreme being, be he Great White Haired Father or Cosmic Cookie.

Answer 5

Dear Surfer,

Please, forgive me for ever judging you. My belief in a God is just that...it is my own. It is, at its heart, at belief in Love being the power that drives life. I have done quite a lot of soul searching since signing on here, in part, thanks to you and others like yourself, whose questions are probing and have forced me to reexamine everything that has felt so real for so very long.

I can now see your point on the problem of organized religion. Please know that I and probably a lot of other Chrisitans have not intentionally tuned you out. There has been a lot of programming going on...beginning with little children in church school (and I think you'll remember how I feel about that!).

So to finally get around to answering your question: My God is Love. Love does not ask that you be fake...Love would not and could not make you into something that was doomed to fail, so it must be that you are made exactly as intended and that you should honor who you are. I want you to know that I do.

Thank you for persisting in helping others to see the inherent problems of organized religion. Your patience is a loving trait.

Let the doubts about yourself that some well-meaning people (including myself possibly) have put into your mind fade away. Relax into what you know to be true in your deepest self. Its all about compassion. I know you have it because you were kind to me when I warranted otherwise. So again I say, rest in a knowledge that all is well with you. If there is a God (and I still believe there is) you are His creation every bit as much as any Christian on this site or anywhere else. You are loved simply by virtue of being His creation and if you are separated from Him then I guess I am too because I don't want to be where my agnostic children and you and so many other really good people aren't. ( I say that boldly because I honestly think we're all okay...at least with the God I worship..Maybe that's the opposite of Pascal's wager..."Debra's wager" - my real name)

Peace and compassion to you, friend.

Answer 6

You are not an error. There is a purpose in life for you to be in it. So, let's rule out abortion. After all, obviously, it didn't happen.

Your concern is a natural one. Nothing wrong with that either. You want to believe but yet you cannot avoid distrusting what people tell you. That is the first step of believing!

Keep searching for your own truth. Stop worrying so much and be grateful (to whoever) of all the things you have. Someday you may have a spiritual encounter that will forever change your life and you may never experience that. God will love you anyway.

What God would not like is for you not to be true nor truthful. God does not like sins but loves his creation.

You are not destined for hell. On the contrary, you have the god-like given ability to question and to doubt what right and what is wrong. That was the whole purpose of Adam & Eve....

One day you will fall in love and deep in your heart you will ask God for help and you will learn that we are not alone....

Don't just read the "Book" open your senses to a higher power...

Good luck!

Answer 7

Pascal's Wager is garbage, in my opinion. Why? Because it leads you AWAY from God - the REAL God - by focusing on the ********, erroneous concepts of god. I was made similar to you --- I thought about god and existence over and over when I was a kid, trying to figure it out (I would take god out of the picture and I'd still be left with the incredible mystery and impossible-to-grasp reality of something just always existing - e.g. process, potential, whatever). I tried and tried and tried to believe in god but couldn't (I looked at the world, saw the predator/prey model, the suffering, etc.). I asked questions from those who believed and soon realized that their belief was just based on the fact they never questioned. Anyway, you're in a GREAT place - because you're realizing that the CONCEPTS of god are problematic. These concepts are mostly what people think god is like; even when people like Jesus who had an enlightenment experience come and tell us about unconditional love, people don't want to hear it and they change the message and that becomes worshipped. So ... forget about trying to believe. Instead, go for direct experience to tell you one way or the other. Read '3 Pillars of Zen' for a good description of people's enlightenment experiences. And ... don't believe anything I said, either -- find out for yourself :)

Answer 8

NO.
He did not make you that way.
He God, does not want little robots going praise God most holy holy holy holy holy hhy y y ...

And he does not want Fake faith, I sometime feel he love one who hates him more than one who tries to fake it!

Now I don't know you so I can't really do much for you. I can do this:

I think I am fairly smart (tested IQ 145)
I have worked with computers most of my life.
I take nothing for granted, and I need (far more than want) to Know! I need to know the truth!

For me I know there is a God, a Christ, a Holy Spirit!
I have learned how to read the Bible, and have studied it.
To me it is simple, concise, and true!

If I can believe (I have almost no faith) anyone can believe! And no I did not just wake up and go G I believe! Long time ago I was just like you, the bible was a bunch of fake stories jammed together by some damn fool and you expect me to believe!

I will tell you this: I needed someone who knew (understood the bible) to start me, and had to learn how to read the bible, (its different) it takes time, its slow, but once you have it can't be taken away!

Last
The only destined, are those who are chosen by God, they are called the elect, and they are destined for heaven.
All others must chose for God or Against God!
I'm here!

Answer 9

First of all, no you shouldn't have been aborted! The fact that you have taken the time to read Pascal's Wager and consider God is enough reason in my book to justify the need for someone like you here at least! So thank you for your question. I have struggled with this exact question before and I am not sure I am content with any of my conclusions.
It will be very difficult to come to terms with something that is as abstract and intangible as God so you must first allow for "common sense and rationality" to not play a role in not deciding to believe but allowing yourself to be in a state of objective openness where you may, after you become more of an observer of the universe, arrive at a plane of faith that the things that go on around you, from the most simple to the most complex, are not simply a random coincidence of natural activity.

The next thing that is inhibiting your discovery, if you will, is the idea that God has "obviously" made you a certain way. Why is it so obvious that God has total control over your every thought, action, and destination? What God are you using to establish these facts? REMEMBER YOU ARE SEEKING TO DISCOVER YOUR GOD. NOT NECCESSARILY THE CHRISTIAN GOD. Forget Pascal, make your own wager. Personally, I feel that one has to first, be RATIONAL enough to know that all that we have before us is not just a coincidence, and second that the discovery of your faith in God is a personal construction on your own belief systme based on your own experiences with YOUR world. Think for yourself. I have, and I do not believe in your ideals of predestination. I feel that God has great influence over the things around me and in turn what I do, but the act od doing still remains MY ACT. But, that is my discovery of God. Now it is time to free yourself of what those before you who have constructed for you, and think for yourself. There is no sin in that.
Good luck.

Answer 10

I used to kind of be in the same place as you. What I did was decided that even if anyone was right and there were any gods or a god then that's all they were right about. Look into the history of religion, it was all started by a bunch of ignorant men who had no other way to explain things. So you don't have to worry about conforming to any religion no matter what, it's all bull crap. I am atheist because there is absolutely no proof for any god and plenty of evidence showing that we don't need any higher power to dictate the natural processes of life, and I'm still a good person. So I know that if there was some kind of seemingly useless god up there that he wouldn't need an ego boost by having everyone that didn't believe in him burn forever. There's my wager. People are ignorant, if there was a god he wouldn't be, he'd understand.

Still doubt any god.

Answer 11

God didn't make you a non-believer - you chose that route. If you have ever been exposed to the teachings of Christ, you had the opportunity to accept Him as your Savior. You cannot fake your belief in the Lord either. The Bible clearly states that the Lord knows your thoughts. I went to a Lutheran church as a child. I was bored. I fell asleep. I threw things at my brother. I didn't really understand the whole concept of church. As a young adult, I went to church because I was told it was the right thing to do - but I was forcing myself to go and didn't really worship the Lord the way He deserved. I attended a contemporary Christian church about two years ago. I felt a powerful presence that I couldn't explain. I began crying uncontrollably. I suddenly realized what worshiping the Lord in truth and spirit meant. My faith immediately turned to knowledge. I no longer simply believed in the Lord - I knew He was real. The Holy Spirit took over my heart and I began to understand the Bible more clearly and accept it as truth. I want you to join me in eternal life with the Lord, but I don't want you to fake it. If you truly want to seek the Lord, find a church that worships Him freely. You will find Him there and you will become a believer!