How can you make yourself believe?

Question

Probably the base tenet of many religious traditions is that one must have faith to get the rewards and avoid the punsihments of certain deities. In christianity especially, those who believe will be saved while the unbelievers will suffer. But I don't understand this sorting method. Is it truly under our control what we can believe?

If I don't believe in christ, how and why would I force myself to have the beliefs that will lead to salvation?

As an example: If I told you that the universe was built by tiny transdimensional leprechauns, and that you had to not only believe, but worship me personally - as well as follow the book I wrote (they dictated), or else the leprechauns would do terrible things to you for eternity, would you believe it? Would it seem right to punish you if you had heard of the leprechauns, and still did not believe in them? I mean it would be your choice.

Answer 1

You can't *make* yourself believe in anything, and you shouldn't try. No one deserves an eternity in torture simply because they do not believe in something they cannot see or even find any solid evidence of. Any being who would do that to someone because they didn't believe in them would be a megalomaniacal sociopath.

Answer 2

To believe what YOU say is one thing... I would be sceptical... but if you had The "First Source and Center"... "The Uncaused Cause"... "The I AM" ... as the author of what is spoken about over many, many centuries, and there was a belief in a ONE GOD by many, many of the worlds population... remember even the non-christian religions recognize the Supreme Deity and the One God... and belief comes as a developed gift... Faith is believing in something that CANNOT be proven by anything our world has as provable procedures. You either believe without proof... or you don't believe and therefore don't have any FAITH at all. It is simple as that! I would not believe in what you prostalize as truth... and with one thing that I do know... I am a simple and limited human being... God's nature is much more inclusive that my nature.., There is more to the ONE GOD than I am capable of understanding in this life and therefore I may not understand during this lifetime many things... and I am content to wait until the next life to learn more... So I will make the best out of what I have here... by developing the quality of FAITH... using faith in the processes of my daily life until FAITH become a habit....and then maybe when I get to the other side I will be able to understand more and since I was responsible for what I have here... I will be rewarded there with more responsibility... and knowledge. I am content to learn what I can here and still manage the mysteries with FAITH.
So.... first you must develop the quality of FAITH... then you find what you want to have FAITH in... and then you develope your own beliefs... but you recognize the ONE GOD... that is prime!

Answer 3

As a child, I tried to believe. I had episodes of non-belief as far back as I can remember. Finally, in my mid-teens, I gave up belief in God altogether. And I will share part of my reasoning, I don't think I've seen this particular thing brought up here before.

If I am created by God, and he knows what my future is to be, then I don't have free will after all. And if he made me, then he knows that I don't have the necessary mechanism in my brain to take things on faith. So I am doomed from the start anyway.
All that is crazy. Add it to the inconsistencies and contradictions in the Bible, and the truth of what the scientific method can show us, and for me it equals atheism.

If a god wanted me to believe, he would make sure I did. I think that men make god in their image, not the other way around.

I respect your right to believe as you wish. I resent the effort by the religious right to inflict their particular brand of theism on us all.

BTW, the universe was made by the Great Flying Spaghetti Monster and not by transdimensional leprechauns ;-)

Peace.

Answer 4

I don't think anyone can force themselves to believe something they honestly don't believe in. I think what happens most of the time is that people who don't believe might say to a believer, "Yeah, sure I believe..." just because they can't deal with confrontation, or they're not spiritual people and they really don't think it's worth wasting the energy on an argument. I think this happens A LOT more than we know. This means that there could very well be a lot of people who go to church on Sunday because it's *habit*, it's something to do, or because they like the social atmosphere. But when it comes right down to it, they don't believe and could care less.

Answer 5

I do not believe that this type of faith is an actual choice for some people. I don't have the ability to have faith is such irrational ideas, I have tried trust me, but when ever I tried it just made me feel silly, like I was playing pretend like a child, if you are not physically capable of taking it seriously with out actual proof, then you should not be punished for it, if it turns out to be true.

Answer 6

What I get out of this, is you are asking what if someone never heard about Christ.

I think it would be the same thing. You would have to have faith in order to actually believe something. If you took a kid, who has never been exposed to any religion, knows nothing about any of them, and told him that transimensional leprechauns built the universe, he would have to choose whether to believe or not.

I don't know...am a bit confused. But I hope I gave something to you...

Answer 7

The leprechauns were a very bad example. Christianity isn't nowhere near that. Also, you can't make yourself believe. It has to come to you, just like love. That is why you see a lot of hypocritical Christians. Because they want to believe and want others to think that they believe, when in fact they're as bad as the atheists and their bunch. They don't truly feel anything in their heart. Simple as that. But may I remind you again, that that example was very, very bad.

Answer 8

all religions say that their faith is right and that anyone who doesn't believe and follow that faith isn't right.. so IF all religions are correct, then no one is going to heaven or whatever afterlife there is, unless they followed every religion, which is probably also breaking the rules.. so i'd say there are no right or wrong answers, just differences in opinions.. and when looking for the answers, search your soul and develop your morality, then no one can tell you you're wrong

Answer 9

i believe in spirit ... but that may have something to do with the evidence i have had from spirit , either in giving or recieving messages
and spirit tell me that there is a beautiful place for us all ...
so i have no reason to believe in anything that says otherwise

but we must all reach our own beliefs in a way that we understand and is logical to us
not everyone has it right ... but it is right for them

Answer 10

Belief can never be forced...you have to have good reason to believe, as far as I'm concerned. You either believe or you don't---otherwise, you're just lying to yourself.