I think I am starting to believe in god.?

Question

I have been an athiest most of my life but a friend has been taking me to Catholic services and now I find myself wondering more. I haven't admitted anything to anyone yet not even my friend, I just tell him I am willing to go with him out of curiosity and because he asks me to.

I am a little freaked out ...am I being brainwashed? is that even possible?

I'm confused...maybe someone here can help, because you don't know me and we are anonymous. What do you think? Especially women and expecially women who maybe don't believe strongly.

Answer 1

In the bible Jesus says that He stands at the door and knocks. It sounds to me like you are experiencing Jesus knocking at the door of your heart right now.

Answer 2

I consider myself agnostic and not an atheist because I am still open to the possibility of there being a God. Nothing so far has convinced me, although periodically something that happens that sways me a little further to God - but then more things sway me away.

I doubt very much I will ever be an atheist, because I like to keep an open mind. But in most ways I respond to ideas as if I were an atheist.

Answer 3

Thank goodness you are not brain dead and desire to find truth. In the Bible God says "only a fool would say in his heart there is no God". One just has to look around at creation and it's beauty, at man and his comlexity,all the animal kingdom and even the insect world, too precise to have just happened without a creator. So then you say if there is a god which of all the religions in the world is the correct one? Here is where you have to do your homework. Which has the most supporting evidence that it is the true one. In my search I found hands down Evangelical Christianity was based on what is written in the Bible. I believe there are some of the Catholics that are saved but I cannot go along with some of their practices that are not found in the Bible,they are man made. Things like praying to Mary, praying to saints, confessing to a priest, looking at the pope as someone more than just a man and of course their false view on communion, all these things and more(salvation by works) just are not scriptural. They also believe in infant baptizing which is not scriptural, every case of baptizing in the bible takes place after the individual accepts Christ as Lord and Saviour. I would encourage you to read in the New Testament the Gospel according to John. If you would like more convincing evidence Christianity is the only faith acceptable to God,email me.

Answer 4

It is often more helpful to analyze "brainwashing" as a combination of manipulations to promote persuasion and attitude change such as propaganda, coercion, capture-bonding, and restriction of access to neutral sources of information. Note that advertisers, governments, schools, parents and peers use many of these techniques more subtly (and usually unconsciously), so "brainwashing" does not deserve its aura of exoticism. At the same time, nuanced forms of indoctrination and propaganda in religious, political and commercial venues may occasion wider and deeper impacts than do outright coercive tactics. Mirroring George Orwell's doublespeak, strategists of indoctrination and propaganda frequently disguise themselves as promoters of freedom and liberation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainwashing

i get great mileage out of wikipedias explaination of brainwashing. The most confusing thing is that last line about brainwashing being disgused as freeing the mind. The quest for truth and how do we know what to believe. The study of how we come to believe what is true is called epistemology.

Brainwashing is definitely possible but i don't know what is true in the world. I've always been a skeptic and now i understand what that means a little more.

Answer 5

As women, we enjoy being surrounded by people who care about us and feel the same way that we do. Women are social creatures by default. Sometimes its easy to get caught up in the social nature and group mentality of a situation. Most cults try to convert women first.

Personally, I'm a Christian ... but I think that you should take this slowly. I agree with LabGrrl and think that you should think, meditate, or "pray" about whether or not you're having a personal experience with God. Just take things slowly. You can attend services for an indefinite period of time without having to be a convert. And keep an open mind about everything! Good luck!

Answer 6

Atheist woman here, been one all my life.

I'd like to start by saying, do what feels right to you.

My opinion is this. We all die someday. The older we get, the closer this reality becomes (even though it is a possibility at any age). As the reality of our own mortality becomes stronger, we start asking the questions, why am i here? What is my purpose? Is this all there is? What happens when I die? How can I cease to be when I am me, and I am real?

The bottom-line for me is, these questions that I ask myself today, and the fear and yearning that comes along with them, do not make a fairy tale any more true than it was yesterday. That I think is what you should ask yourself. Are you being "brainwashed" into wishing something were true?

Good luck to you, and remember, do what feels right to *you* and no one else. :)

Answer 7

#1 Try Christianity.
#2 Brainwashed people do no know that they are being brainwashed
#3 If you just wanna be Catholic, that is your only decision.
#4 Atheist close their mind and open their mouth. So, don't be a closed minded person.
#5 You don't have nothing to lose by believing in God.
#6 If an Atheist call you stupid, or little intelligent, theres is one reason no to be ashamed: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/03/collins.commentary/index.html

Answer 8

So I read these Buddhist stories from time to time and they do use gods and demons to act out the stories. I don't think it's important that the reader ever believe the gods or demons exist. In fact, the story is the point and to argue that gods don't exist really misses the point. I would make the same claim about Christianity (except that they *do* generally insist that the stories are true only if you believe in the god or Jesus' divinity). In fact, to my thought that's the chief failing of Christianity. They make liberal use of allegory in telling their lessons...and then insist that you must believe in the props in the stories.

Answer 9

Are you believing because he expects you to believe?

Was this man sent by God to show you He exists for a reason?

What is in your heart? You know the answer to that. Listen to your mind and your heart, then decide. There should be no fear no matter which way you go. Don't let fear of an imaginary place fool you into believing. You can love God, certainly, without buying into a religion.

Answer 10

Nobody can prove any gods, much less a specific god, exist; many people will tell you their god exists but no others, but will never be able to prove it, even if they think so. Some will threaten you with eternal pain or promise eternal joy to get you to believe in their god; these are all stories, created for people who were scared long before we understood the universe. Now we have no more reason for these superstitions.

How terrible the bible in particular is:
http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/ <-- check here to see how women are treated in the bible
http://www.evilbible.com/

What's the origin of the Jesus stories?
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jcpa5.htm
http://www.near-death.com/experiences/origen048.html
http://www.geocities.com/paulntobin/jesus.html

How silly and horrible religion in general is:
http://godisimaginary.com/
http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/

The alternative:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/
http://www.infidels.org/
http://www.positiveatheism.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarian_Universalism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanism

Answer 11

You are not being brainwashed. You are just opening your heart to the belief that there truly is a God and learning that He is a loving God. I would suggest however, that any sermon you hear that you read the scriptures for yourself because there are too many religions that interpret the scriptures for their benefit. Being a christian is not belonging to a religious group, it is a personal relationship with God. I commend you for at least giving religion as chance and determining for yourself what you believe. Regardless you have to make the decision for yourself as to whether you believe in God or not.