Have you ever stopped believing in God, then believed again?

Question

I am 20 years old. I have been shaky in my beliefs about God for a while, but recently I discovered that he does not exist. After learning the history of Catholocism and how it spread, after learning of evolution, and then learning how people long ago were disconnected all came up with their own God. I know that men created God, not that God created man. Then I learn about the hypcropsy of the Church, those molesters who preach and have us confess our sins to them.

I do not mean to bash religion, its just that I have more faith that Elvis is alive and amoung us that I do that God is real. Sometimes I feel like life is better. If nobody had religion maybe we could stop these foolish wars, and help eachother and live for today.

Has anyone been as convinced that there is no God as I am, then gotten faith again. As good as I feel, I also in a way wish I believed. Occasionally I pray if only to talk to myself, but prayer with no faith is just a waste of time.

Answer 1

I lost my faith, and will never get it back, and for that I'm glad. I missed it a bit at first, then realized that it was just all the childhood conditioning working itself out of my psyche. The longer it's gone, the more clarity I get, and it's wonderful. I could never put the blinders on again. There is too much to learn, too much to discover, and too much to do in the here and now.

Answer 2

I would have to say that instead of "discovering" that God does not exist you have in fact finally "settled" on the idea that God does not exist. I am on the other end of the spectrum. One who had no faith for the first half of my life and found God in the second half. I too studied all life's philosophies and cultures and understood all too well the belief structures that existed for thousands of years and knowing this made me incapable of believing in a God, let alone ONE GOD and the God of the bible. To me it was all manufactured crowd control and had no real substance.

I can tell you now that If I were you, I would seriously reconsider my belief structure adn not allow so called "intelligence" to steal your joy.

One thing I have come to understand very clearly is that although no one religion has it "right" there is a God and a purpose and a meaning to this life we find ourselves in, and to NOT believe in God is not an intellectual decision at all really, it is merely a cop out and a way to feel sure. But disbelieving in God does not lead to enlightenment, it lead to bewilderment.

Good luck & God Bless
I will pray for you even if you don't believe ;-)

Answer 3

Yes. It is a long story, but the RC church made an Atheist of me between my catechism classes and before I was baptized. I was your age then. I was an Atheist for 8 years after that. Then something very profound happened and I knew that God was real. You might say that He came looking for me like the Shepard looking for the lost sheep. I am so grateful that He did. I doubt many things, but I know that God is real. I have been an Episcopalian for the past 30 years. I was baptized into the church 30 years ago this month.

The great mystics tell us that part of the process of coming to know God is to let go of everything that is not God, including our views about Him.

Answer 4

Prayer is never a waste of time. I was confused at 20 also, I think many people are at that age. If you kinda wish you could believe then you can. This time, try just keeping it between you and Jesus for awhile. Spend time by yourself, studying and praying, don't let all the confusion out there get in your way to salvation. You're gonna be just fine, we all go through tests of faith.

Answer 5

Like you, I was once a person of faith who became a secularist. And, like you, there was a very difficult patch during the transition when I missed my old habits and the way my old beliefs made me feel. And, like you, I missed prayer most of all. Don't despair. Seek out other secularists and become involved in their positive projects. You'll find that there are a lot of good, positive, and helpful persons out there without a belief in supernatural beings. And try meditation to replace prayer. You'll get all of the same benefits without having to pretend to believe in something you don't.

Answer 6

Yes I have. I was sent to Sunday School by non-believing parents (for good moral teaching and to ensure I could be married in church) and Confirmed into the Church of England at 13 yrs old. by the time i was in my later teens I had stopped believing. Interestingly, though when I came to be married I could not go to the church as i would have felt a hypocrite, but also I could not go to the priest and say I was living with my fiance (that was back in 1977, times have changed) nor could I lie to him!
However, when i had children I had them baptised (good excuse for a party and what you do with kids). Then, following in my parents footsteps I eventually responded to an invitation to take the older one to Sunday School. In order to get the younger one in the creche to play with other kids (long waiting list for playgroup - this is the days before nursery places for all) I went to church too and put up with the service.
I also took my youngest to a mid week group for little ones and mums - and my faith began to grow again. i was also going through a period of depression. I came to realise through the ministry of people who were very spiriutal that God cared for me - and I had an expereince of his love for me.
As my faith deepened, through many doubts and questions and allowing God to heal inner hurts from my troubled teenage years, I came to realise He is real.
then, I had a period at university which came about after a big disappointment where I thought God and the church had rejected me. I studied psychology, sociology and religions (main world ones) and went through very deep questions about whether God was there - weighing up my expereince and teaching about sociology and psychology of religion and philosophy. I came out of it with a deeper faith - faith = trust. Faith does not = knowing it all intellectually.
sorry I've gone on a bit - the last 20+ years have been very eventful.
May you be blessed in your quest for spiritual fulfilment - whichever way that takes you.

Answer 7

God isn't continually going to respond to you in a fashion you will discover, or in a fashion which you like. on occasion the respond is, i've got executed what i will do following the rule of loose will, now what is going to you do? supply up believing in God because of the fact he did no longer do what you elect. i be attentive to I throw undesirable temper tantrums, and that i will very almost hear God's mushy chortle, asserting isn't she wonderful? She thinks she's doing something. If we did seem out of no the place and stepped forward into what we at the instant are, God began it. btw God isn't Santa Claus. He knows what you elect in the previous you ask. He additionally knows what you elect. he's merely no longer gonna dip into his enormous bag and supply you what you elect merely given which you elect it. life has continually been, and continually would be messy and complex. think of of earth as merely one enormous college the place we learn what we could. that is not any longer unavoidably friendly or exciting, yet we could learn lots of stuff. that's what takes place in life. that is messy, we pull ourselves out, with God's help, and we learn, with God's help. you be attentive to, you are able to not get mad or pissed off with something you have not got self assurance in. Even Jesus mentioned that there'll be detrimental continually pathetically suffering, seem on the forged issues you have have been given. i individually wish this helps. in case you elect to speak, pls e mail me. been the place you're. it could and gets extra effective in case you do various the artwork you're meant to. definite, God can assist you you, yet he won't tie your footwear. Blessed Be