i am like so confused?

Question

Ok im 15 i was born and raised Catholic...but my whole life i find myself questioning wether if i belived it or was it forced upon me...i never really started to think about it intill i was 12 thinking that the storys in the bible like noahs ark are foolish...and that it could never happen.... and i think i belive in god but im not sure.....i belived scientific facts more then faith i think it makes more sense that we evolved from the ocean then god just putting people on the earth it just makes sense im a good person i no killing stealing and all the stuff is wrong....but not by gods rules...my religion makes no sense to me even my beliefs in marrage and abortions are all diffrent and i dont think i should be judge by them...but if there is a god..i dont want to go to hell. i have had many religious people saying i am going to hell for the way i think or belive i dont like to be pushed and im confused on whats really true?

Answer 1

Hi Katie
You have a right to be confused and I think its good that you are struggling with this issue, rather than ignoring it.
Firstly science seeks to explain how things happen, how it is that we are here. It goes about this by studying the evidence it can see in the universe. Religion seek to explain why it happened. It looks for a reason for us to be here. Science uses deductive reasoning and religion uses inductive reasoning. Its important I think, for people to see the significance behind this distinction. How you go to school and why you go to school take you in very different lines of thinking.
You go to school by bus but you go to school because you want a good job. You can not see the job but you believe it is out there and you are moving towards it, by going to school. Your dad has a job and you can see the benefits of it so you have faith in that system. The bus is obvious but what more can you say about it? I hope you see my point that religion and science are dealing with reality in very different ways.

Your faith is forced on you as much as your culture is. The opposite would be to deny you. Do parent force their children to eat, yes, its it a bad thing? No. As you grow your sense of freedom will increase and so will your knowledge of responsibility and one day you will be a parent and will teach your children what you believe, call it force or call it a gift... it up to you.

When you look at scripture remember who and when it was written, who was the intended audience, not 21 century minds with all its education and knowledge. Stories were told to teach morals, meanings. They helped people survive very difficult circumstances. The meaning behind them still has a lot to teach and support us.

Re marriage and abortion, I think religion presents the ideal we should aim for. Couples still want to promise ever lasting love on their wedding day but feuding couples see no reason to go on more day, does that mean we should change the wedding vows? Ideally every child is conceived in love and welcomed into life and supported to maturity; sadly these days sex is had with no thought to the possible life that may come with that act. When we talk about rights of choice and the right to life, I will stay with the right to life but you will work on that one from your own experience and circumstances.

It is sad to me that you might hang onto faith out of a fear of what might happen to you when you die. Faith has filled my life with joy and hope. Fear is a distant component in my thinking. But I think your indignation at being judged by catholics will fade with time. People all have different expectations of others. You can not please them all. Follow your heart, come up to your own expectations and you will find peace of mind.

Keep thinking and struggling, your children will have the same questions, hopefully you will have a better answer than you find here in YA.

Answer 2

Go on with your life, you are thinking straight. If there were a God so what is he waiting for to save us? Look all the problems in the world, diseases, war and so on. God is inside you, you are God, you are the one who can make a difference in this world. God was create to get control, to control the people and the non educated, fears were installed. Look at the history, kings and popes wanted the ultimate Power, money, obecience. There is NO Hell, people go to the state of Hell when they use drugs, kill or more but when they die they just die. Who can prove us there is Hell? Did someone come back from it to tell us?Hell is in Irak as it was in Vietnam during the war. Enjoy your life and try to do the best you can to help people and yourself. Why we need to pay for a bible, pay to go see some Preacher or others, if there is a God , he doesn't need money.....Mother Theresa own only a bible nothing else, she was a true Saint because she give her life for the poor, she was an unique person but you can do as well without religion, you only need to beleive in yourself.

Answer 3

The stories in the Old Testament can be understood in different ways. Some believe in them literally; others believe in them metaphorically. Metaphor often gives a deeper truth than dry facts.

You can believe what science says and still have faith in God. Certain religions say you can't. So those religions aren't for you.

You don't have to not steal or kill because God says so, but maybe He said so for good reasons. If you can find good reasons within yourself not to do those things, or of they just feel right to you, go with that. In this case, it's the result that matters.

Maybe you should look into other religions and see whose beliefs jive more with yours.

Answer 4

When you're in school you are taught to do research on what you learn in class.Likewise, you should do the same when you go to church.
Listen to what is being said and then go home and do your own research.
You seem to be very scientifically minded.
There are many scientific discoveries which back up many bible teachings -- discoveries which before being found used to cause conflicts between science and the bible.
( Noah's ark, King Ahashuerus, The world's spherical shape)

Also compare what you learn in History class to what the bible teaches.You'll be surprised at what you'll find.

Read your bible daily-- just a little at a time and pray for God's holy spirit to help you to understand what you read.

Never mind what others say. You're on the right track of maturing spiritually .
Do your own personal research. This is how you build your faith. No one can just give that to you.

Answer 5

Hi Katie: I'm 47 and experience has taught me that the old saying,"nothing gaurantees everlasting ignorance like contempt prior to investigation", is very true. I've had similar questions.And here are some of my OPINIONS. the beginnings of christianity and it's motives are dubiuos.However i do believe in the christ. Maybe God is more powerful than the 3rd century Roman leader who cannonized the new testament to unite a crumbling Rome, and try to protect his nation against the invading Germanic tribes from the north.Darwin himself while believing ,as i do that animals and all living creatures will adapt and change to the point of being almost unrecognizable,cannot change species.If he were alive today. After many years of collecting fossil samples,would not believe his second theory that a fish can evolve into a pig or a pig to a monkey, is possible.Their d.n.a. are different, and the MANY missing links Darwin expected us to find are absent. It takes much more faith to believe in evolution(his second theory) than to believe in creation. It does however take some faith . In closing i'd only like to add that fear is a great tool for kings and politicians, because if people are not afraid they are very hard to control. I pray that by means of investigation you will become more and more ,over the years unafraid! Steven B.

Answer 6

God is Almighty so he has the power to do anything, even cause a flood.
A person has to choose his religion at an age when he can think mature enough. Let's think about Jesus and the first Christians. They weren't baptized when they were just a few months.
Science isn't against religion. Please read the following article:
http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/2002/6/8/article_01.htm


The Scriptures say that God is love (1 John 4:8). A loving God wouldn't torture us an eternity. Actually that never crossed his mind. Consider the next verse:
"They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart." -- Jeremiah 7:31

The teaching of hell fire has pagan origins. In ancient Babylonian and Assyrian beliefs the “nether world . . . is pictured as a place full of horrors, and is presided over by gods and demons of great strength and fierceness.”
Early evidence of the fiery aspect of Christendom’s hell is found in the religion of ancient Egypt.


For more information go to:
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2002/7/15/article_01.htm
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2001/7/15/article_01.htm

Answer 7

Since you've had religion pounded into your brain since childhood, it only makes sense for you to explore the other side.

I would suggest reading The God Delusion, or at least Letter to a Christian Nation.

Email or IM me if you don't have a copy handy.

Now, you also touched upon Pascal's Wager:


"If god exists, it's infinitely better to believe, since you get heaven instead of hell for eternity. If he doesn't, it doesn't matter since you're dead anyway. So overall it's better to believe"

This is, of course, false.

Some of the problems with the argument:

* The implied assumption that god may exist (with a 50% probability, no less!)

* The assumption that there is an afterlife with a heaven and hell

* The assumption that the god cares about belief in him/her above all else

* The assumption that if you believe in a god, it will definitely be the same god that actually exists.

* The assumption that you lose nothing if it's false. You have lost a great deal, from time praying to a nonexistent entity (some people pray several hours a day!!!) to morality (your god may ask you to hurt other people) and much more besides.

* The assumption that people can believe in something simply because it benefits them. Would you believe goblins exist for twenty bucks? Why not?

* The assumption that any god won't see through the "believing just to get into heaven" ploy.

For more:
http://www.abarnett.demon.co.uk/atheism/wager.html
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pascal-wager/
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/theism/wager.html

Answer 8

Well for starters people shouldn't be pushing you around or saying things like you're going to hell becase God has the final say. I'm Catholic and its normal to have moments of questioning but in the end i always strongly believe in my religion. If you want a clearer answer you could try praying about it but its up to you. Either way good luck in figuring things out.

Answer 9

The purpose of religion is to take a soul to god. In that sense it should be about your personal bond with your god. If you believe in things that are contrary to your religion, as a human being that is your right (both human right and spiritual right). It doesn't mean that you are not a good person or that you are going to hell. If you believe in abortion, go ahead, but as long as you are a good person and you believe and love god, you will be fine. People seem to lose track of the fact that a religion is supposed to be about god and not so much about turning people into robotic clones.

Answer 10

What's Really true, is what you Believe in your heart. If you Find Yourself unwilling to accept faith, then don't believe in faith. That's why God or Nature gave you Free will.

I don't think religion was forced upon too much... You simply up until now did not decide to question it.

If You think a Belief is not right, then there is no sense in lying to yourself. I'm a Catholic Because i find truth in the religion.

Follow Your Heart....