Confused!?!?

Question

Ok i was raised a Seventh-day Adventist and I really did believe in my religion at one point. But now I'm so confused i don't even know if i believe in God and the Bible any more. So my Questions are:

1. Why do you believe in God?
2. What's the difference between Naive' and Blind trust and Fait?
3. Is it possible that religion is just a way for people to deal with life and non of it's really even true?
4. Is there really any such thing as pure and whole truth?

Answer 1

1. Because what He says makes sense and He's comforting and because prayer is proven to have psycological benefits.
2. Faith is more confident than either naivety and or blind trust. Blind trust is believing that a parachute works. Faith is jumping out of an airplane believing that a parachute works.
3. Yes, that's possible, but even that can be a good thing.
4. Not if it comes from a human being.

Answer 2

1. Why do you believe in God?

-as beautiful and loving and perfect as creation is (minus mankind), it's the only explanation that seems logical to me.

2. What's the difference between Naive' and Blind trust and Fait?

-you have to be naive to have blind faith or any kind of faith. And you have to have some faith to not become cynical and jaded or worse, depressed and hopeless, what with the world being as depressing as it is (mankind).

3. Is it possible that religion is just a way for people to deal with life and non of it's really even true?

-people NEED two things: a) something that gives them hope and b) some way to grow as a person. So, I suppose the real definition of religion is a way to deal with life.

4. Is there really any such thing as pure and whole truth?

-there is, but not conceptually. Heat is a pure and whole truth in it's reality, when you feel it against your skin. Food is a pure and whole truth as you eat it but not as an idea. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Answer 3

You're asking a loaded question. Here's my take on life. I hope it helps and answers your questions.

I am an agnostic. Which is to say, I don't have a faith, but am unwilling to say that there is no god.

This began when I was about fifteen. I realized that I really had no faith left so I got a Bible and read it. I think it was the story of Job that made me stop, think and start over. I read it through with new eyes (read: as unbiased as possible) and finished with even less faith than when I'd begun.

What followed was about five years of looking for a religion. It wasn't intensive, but constant. In the end I realised that I had no answers, only questions.

Some religions spoke to me more than others, yes, but none gave a complete, solid picture. Science held more answers, but still raised questions. The most notable being about the start of all things, as in, what preceded the Big Bang.

Somewhere along the line I figured out my two, pure truths: I didn't know. It was both reassuring and terrifying, but I knew and admitted where I stood.

The other truth was that religion must be total. If you are unable to believe without even the tiniest trace of doubt, all your are doing is playing lip service. It's a lie to yourself and to the God (regardless of which it is) that you pray to. Purely acting out of fear of Hell is the worst form of this.

What I recommend is to go out and find every holy book you can (your own included) and read them all with new eyes. Read the Quran and the Bible, study Judaism and Buddhism. If you can, talk to a Shinto and a Wiccan. Research the Big Bang and read the Origin of Species.

Finally, consider and accept Occam's Razor and use it on everything you'd studied.

I promise you only that you will find your truth. Either you will find a religion to which you can truly believe and belong in (possibly even the one you began with), or you will join me and find the wisdom in knowing and accepting just how ignorant we are.

Either way, you will have gotten there yourself. And that counts for a lot.

Answer 4

1. People believe in God because religion gives answers to questions that just can't be answered. Ex.- What happens to me when I die? The correct answer is "I don't know." Anything more than this is man's imagination at work. Keep in mind that man does have a wild imagination.

2. There is a lot of naivety in "blind trust and faith," but people can have "blind trust and faith" and not be naive. I don't trust anyone that says they have it all figured out. I'm even leery of people that say they have it partially figured out.

3. Yes, it is possible that religion is nothing more than "an opiate for the masses." It gives us answers to unanswerable questions and something to look forward to in the next life.

4. I don't know if there is pure and whole truth. I know there's relative truth. Einstein proved that. Ex. of Einsteins relative truth- You look up in the sky and you see a plane. Inside the plane there is a fly. You're looking in the windows of the plane and you see the fly travel through the air to the front of the plane. How fast is that fly traveling? The answer is...It depends on where you are standing. If you are on the ground the fly is traveling the speed of the airplane + the speed of the fly. If you are in the airplane the fly is traveling 5-20 miles per hour. They are both right answers.

I hope this helps you out.

Answer 5

I was Seventh Day Adventist as well, but now I'm pagan and much happier and more spiritually productive for it.
1. I believe in the Divine which is one with all creation, not a spereate entity that I must appeal to for salvation because I am not perfect. I feel the presence of Divinity in my life, but I let it define itself, rather than me trying to define it with a pre-packaged lable from some other religion.
2. In the end, everything is blind faith. The reason there is so much debate is because nothing can or ever will proved right.
3. It is possible. To a religious person, good things are blessings and bad things are tests. To a non religious person, both are just things that happen. However, if religion, or even non religion, causes its followers to become better people, then it's true enough.
4. It has been said, the that pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.

Answer 6

1. I believe in God because that term, as used by the mystics of most traditions, refers to transcendant reality. Because I am persuaded that the hints of transcendence that we perceive - beauty, meaning, interconnectedness - correspond to something real about the universe, that is what it means to be persuaded that God exists.

2. Blind faith is another way of saying gullibility. The Letter to the Hebrews says that faith is the evidence of that which is unseen. It does not say that it is evidence that the things we do see don't really exist! Faith may be willing to stake its life on there being more to a person than a chemical analysis can ascertain, more to life than the humdrum and mundane, but that is about there being more than what is seen. If your 'faith' contradicts what is seen (archaeological evidence, for instance), then it is problematic.

3. Religion is indeed a way that people deal with life. Dostoevsky's parable of the Grand Inquisitor (from The Brothers Karamazov) puts it well - and remember, he was a Christian. But many Christians don't want the responsibility that comes with freedom and choose instead to hand over their freedom to a church, a pastor, a creed, or something else. And that's where organized religion comes in.

4. There is indeed pure truth. The problem is when people in a small corner of history in one solar system in one galaxy in one corner of the universe claim that they know the pure and whole truth. Such claims are not merely lacking humility (which would be bad enough). They are ultimately claims to divinity, and incompatible with the Christian faith (and most others).

Answer 7

I can sympathize with confusion about religion.. I spent YEARS going down the path you seem to be on. I studied Seventh-day- Adventists, Mormons. Baha'i, Buddhism, Wicca...until I began to study about what Jehovah's Witnesses believe to be truth. So, having said all that, let me answer your questions as to what I, personally, believe.
1) Because I garden. Pure and simple, sweetheart. I garden, and I see the seeds sprout and grow and bloom, and I hear the birds in the trees overhead singing and I KNOW there is a Grand Creator.
2)Nothing. Faith is the belief in something that you perceive to be the truth, that cannot be PROVEN as truth.. so you have to follow it blindly.. but you can follow it blindly with ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE. Therein lies the difference.
3) For some, possibly. Some folks need crutches of ANY kind, be it alcohol, drugs, quasi religious groups that allow sinful behavior with no consequences in the keeping the congregation clean as a whole.. generally, people who embrace religion are recognizing what the Bible calls our inherent need for worship. That is never a bad thing, but one must look all things over and decide who has the truth
4) Yes. Accurate knowledge of the only True God, Jehovah!

Answer 8

Wow! Good for you for examining these tough questions. Personally, after many years of thinking, reading & studying, my very personal answer to your questions are:
1) I no longer believe in God.
2) I think that naive and blind trust in ANYTHING is dangerous.
3) Yes, absolutely.
3) I don't think so. Or if there is, there are very few truths which can't be argued in some way. Gravity exists is true. However, not in space... You get the idea.
As the great philosopher Paul Simon once said: "One man's ceiling is another man's floor." A persons point of view changes everything.
Keep thinking! Always keep an open mind. Good Luck in your quest for TRUTH.

Answer 9

1. I do not. Once upon a time I did, but just like the best of fables as you grow you learn life is about standing up for yourself and not relying on others (be they real or imagined) to do so for you.

2. Experience. Naïve faith would comes from not knowing any better, where as blind trust would stem from personal experience and a deepening of faith.

3. Yes, very much so.

4. Yes, but is it obtainable in life? Not likely.

You're not wrong to question your faith and in the end I hope you find an answer that satisfies.

Answer 10

Wow you've got some good questions! I'll be honest - I don't know what your specific religions beliefs are but I'll answer the best way I can from my own opinions and beliefs.

I believe in God because #1 I was brought up to know Christ (I think plays a key role) #2 As I grew up and learned about the theroy of evolution I just couldn't buy it. For me, there had to be some higher power at work. #3 As my faith was firmly established on my own - I went to my own church, I was seeking out my own thruth - I knew God was at work in my life and my heart. You can feel Him in your heart. Now don't get me wrong there are many things I don't understand. But, I truly belive that God has a plan for your journey to faith and some things He will block so to speak from your heart and mind from understanding. It's like you are not ready for that yet. At some point when God feels you are ready He will open your mind to different passages and truths.
I think naive and blind trust has to do with your mind and faith has to do with your heart. I look around this beautiful earth that He made for us and it just reaffirms His presence. It is physical proof for me among many more.
OK, I'll go there for the sake of arguement. I guess it is possible that religion is just a farce. But think about this. If I believe and follow Christ and you don't and live your life in an unholy manner and God doesn't exist - nothing happens. When we die we just die and I didn't lose anything by following Christ. Now if God does exist and we die you lose and you lose big time. I personally don't want to take that risk. It's eternity we're talking about.
Pure and whole truth. hhmmm. Are you talking about the BibIe? I know all the Bibles so called faults - written by man who screwed it up, all the different interpretations, view on women, etc... I believe the Bible is a gift from God and not all gifts are perfect. I'm not perfect either. My children are gifts from God and they're not perfect. God made man and He had man write the Bible. That's how it works. I think if God didn't put these little hurdles in our way the path to Him wouldn't mean as much. I'm ok with knowing that I'll find out the pure and whole truth when I get to heaven and ask God about it. I'm ok with not knowing everything now. I believe that is what makes my faith strong. I know I can't answer all my own questions but knowing in my heart someday He will answer them face to face is very comforting.

I hope you will find your way to Him. It really is a relationship between you and God and not really a religion. I trully believe that He is a work in your heart now. Why do you think you're asking these questions! He put the longing there for you to know more. I'd say good luck but I don't believe in luck!