An all-powerful God, free will and an atheist?

Question

I'm going to try this one again. I didn't express it well enough in my last question. (link below)

Here is the scenario. I am true, 100% atheist. I am WILLING to believe in God, but I don't. I can't force myself to believe in something that I don't believe. Why can't atheists force themselves to believe in God?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuguMQyj1KsOinGaXxIaFbPzy6IX?qid=20061014123505AAujy48

Answer 1

Take a lie detector test, tell them to ask you if you believe in God, and you will see your answer. Even if you don't believe in Him, He believes in you. And even tho your conscious mind doesn't believe in Him, your very soul knows who created it. So glorious with His divine plan, and our choices in life to do whatever we please. A place (website) like this where we can get along and not, say what we believe and follow which ever faith or lack of we want. Amazing really ~ no matter how you think about it.:o] Be happy just to be.:o]

Answer 2

You can't possibly expect to be able to discern a spiritual reality when you are not first spiritually alive. In other words, if you are truly fixed within this physical plane of existence, how can you possibly reach into the metaphysical?

This of course is a theological generalization. A much more specific answer, say from the Reformed theological view, would be that since believers are predestined by God to be such, and are only brought to faith through a spiritual regeneration by God first. It would follow that since that regeneration and subsequent spiritual "quickening" and faith are bestowed by the divine on whom he chooses, then the atheist is quite reasonably unable to manufacture that which has not been given.

Suggested reading - "If there is a God, why are there atheist?" by Dr. R. C. Sproul

Answer 3

I don't believe you can force yourself to believe in God. I was raised believing in God and His son. My husband believes in God and that's all. We do not connect spiritually. It takes time. I hope someday he will join me in my beliefs. I have never really talked with an atheist before. I don't know how they think everything was created. Maybe by the big bang theory at mutations and such. If an atheist is searching for answers. I would suggest try reading the Bible (try any modern translation). Read it as if you were reading any book. Then if you have more questions then maybe make an appointment at church to speak with a minister. Just explain to them your question.

Answer 4

Because that's not how our minds work. There are two portions of our brain - conscious and subconscious. The conscious mind processing incoming data logically, the subconscious does not. Although the subconscious mind does percieve and retain all the same information, it doesn't process it the same. It retains how you feel about the information coming in. And, it looks like you don't have warm and fuzzy feelings about God (or at least what organized religion tells you about him/her/it). Trying to force your subconscious mind is the least effective way to get anything accomplished.

It sounds like you're trying to believe in God, but you just don't. That's fine. Stop fighting it and just keep absorbing information. There may come a day when your feelings change, then you will believe. Or, the day may not come.

Answer 5

U cant force yourself to believe in God. U dodnt need to force urself. I believe in God because he incredibally ansewers my prayers. At the times when I just am freakin out God takes me out of my fears and takes my matters into his hands. Ofcourse I believe that nothin happens wihout his command but still I mean to say that he helps me further and answers my prayers. Ok this is a result of my belief in God. But why do I believe oin him?

1. I didnt create myself. I dot beleive we were apes ever coz if man eveoved from apes the why dont we keep on evolving. Why in 1000 years I havnt grown wings of some sort . Besides If wishing hadanyhting to do withevolusion then by now we would have wished outr way to 4 arms and wings and all. But no we havnt been able to do so.

2. Ever saw those camoflaged animals how they have their hydes the color and shape of their surroundings?? Who is their creater. How did they get this hyde!! Amazingly the force is much greater than we can imagine who must have created these creatures. Humans are the most intelligent but have not as yet been able to make a mosquito. Which force did this??

3. Who will punish someone if he were to commit 200 murders. A man in asia killed 100 children by drowning them in acid..sad I khow but pour creater can create us again as he did the first time. Im not talkin about reincarnation. Im talkin about life after death.

Also I believe in only one God "Allah". I am a Muslim (free) woman and plz dont freak out at this...I know that there is a lot of propaganda being spread about Islam but believe me ...if you study Islam from some religeous scholar like "Dr Zakir Nayek". Your confusions and questions will be answered. May God help u in ur quest to discover him.
If u want to ask anythin from me..Ill be more than glad to answer.
leave a contact when you select a best answer and ill mail u my mail address.

Answer 6

Maybe you can't believe in God because it is improvable.Even some christians have second thougts about it.The thing is maybe you don't want to believe because there are no signs and you don't know that love christians feel.Have you ever went into a church before?If not you should dont tell anyone what you are and try to see why they feel what they do.There are things if you look all around.Just think about it.Do you really want to believe that we came from monkeys and an explosion.I don't.I am not putting you down it is your own business but to me I think people just dont believe because it is hard to understand how and why and I dont even understand but I do believe in God.

Answer 7

Well, I'm an agnostic, not an atheist.

Some people confuse agnostics with atheists, but there is a difference.

Ahteists simply say there is no God.

Agnostics say that humans can not know if there is or isn't a God.

In my opinion, an atheist is just as fanatical and silly as a religious person, because an atheist claims to know that there is no God, which he can't humanly know for sure. Just like the religious person claims to know that there is a God, which he also can't really know.

So I think the smartest people, myself included, are Agnostics, because we admit that we can not possibly know the answer. No one can.

But atheists and religious folks think they know. They're both silly and dumb. Even though I believe the atheist is slightly dumber than the religious person, because at least the religious person believes in something that gives him hope. Atheists just seem to believe there is no God out of spite.

Answer 8

well, first of all... you need to read the Bible for yourself and then decide. Admittedly, this is challenging because it's been my experience that every time one goes to read the Bible, the opposing forces, (Satan, demons, etc. - believe it or not), will cause surrounding events to deter you from accomplishing this somewhat "already-daunting" task from happening.
Try it and see if you don't have a negative reaction to reading the Bible... or the phone will ring, or something pops into your mind that you need to do, or some other type of distraction? Try just sitting down and reading the Bible. Note your inside feelings at that moment... they're not yours! They're implanted, (so to speak), by "you-now-know-who"!

Answer 9

Because it is not logical. You can choose to believe in something that is not supported by logic, if the reasons for doing so appear to be adequate, but you cannot force yourself to believe in something which is anti-logical. Catholic theologian Hans Kung, in a huge book entitled Does God Exist?, concludes that the existence or non-existence of God cannot be demonstrated on evidence. (Not surprisingly, he chooses to believe the affirmative.) I agree with this conclusion. Since the existence of God is irrefutable, there can exist no consequences from such a belief (this is provable). It is therefore a waste of time to maintain such a belief, even though it might be true.

Answer 10

You are really putting God to a test. You want Him to make....make you believe in Him. He said to not try it that way.

You sound almost agnostic. God is dead or irrelevant, so I can't believe in what is said about Him or the bible.

So, no forcing will happen. From God, another person, or you yourself. You have to plainly and honestly ask God what to do.....but it is kind of hard when you are working at not believiog in Him