Trouble with my faith?

Question

I was raised in catholic family, Im not yet baptized or anything, and I go to church rarely.. I have more skeptism about god then ever before, I've never believed in the Bible, because I think half of the stuff in there is spurious, it makes no sense in anyway, and it's made by men. And science makes more sense to me, because I think we were evolved, how can you not believe in that, they have all the evidence and the artifacts. I realized I belive in god, because 1. I want afterlife and meet the loved ones once again. 2. I'm afraid to goto hell. I don't think this is correct or right way to have faith in god. I realized I believed these things, because I was just told to, I never questioned it, I just believed in them. But what if, everything you were told is false, and there is no god?? Why should I belive in the Bible?? I think I just created a huge sin, questioning god. Eh, I dont know what to believe in..

Answer 1

IT'S your choice!!! but it's mostly about power & $$$$ for churches, the bible was just used to control the masses

although the atheists have the BEST tshirts, check them out

http://www.atheists-online.com/catalog.asp

Answer 2

Listen it is not a sin to ask questions or to truly think about what the bible teaches. Did you know that St. Paul the Apostle commended people for not just accepting what he said without thinking? He said that a certain group of people was more noble because they did the research for themselves and read the bible to see if what he was teaching was really true.

So no, using your mind is not a sin. God knows your doubts anyway and he can handle them. Just be honest with God and with yourself. Read the bible for yourself with an open mind. Start with the Gospels which are in the New Testament of the bible. They teach about what Jesus did and said while he was here on earth. If you have the faith to do it, ask God for wisdom and guidance as you read the bible that you can understand what you read and learn.

I hope you take the time to truly learn for yourself what Jesus taught. I made the commitment to live my life the way that Jesus wants me to live it 9 years ago and I haven't regretted it for a minute. There is much wisdom and peace and truth in the bible. Plus you will have an opportunity to have a personal one-on-one relationship with the creator of the universe.... what could be better than that?? :)

Answer 3

My own personal thoughts:

God gave you the ability to figure things out for yourself. By doubting and questioning you are not being sinful, you are only fulfilling the potential God built into you.

The Bible is a fascinating document but it all depends on interpretation. People twist it to mean whatever they want it to mean, in other words they don't get their ideas from it, they warp it to fit ideas they get from elsewhere.

I don't think hell even exists. I think it was made up to scare children into being good. What kind of loving God would send someone to ETERNAL punishment? I mean how could you do enough bad in one lifetime to deserve ETERNAL punishment?

You can have faith -and- keep an open mind. 'Skepticism' means only the idea that nothing can really be known for sure. I believe that is a healthy attitude.

Do some reading! (I would recommend just about anything by CS Lewis to start with).

Answer 4

Don't act in haste but keep your options open.No need to tell anybody as it's likely to distress them,specially family members.Disbelief in one thing doesn't automatically clarify all the other related things.An alternate belief takes time to evolve and consolidate.Most questioning Christians I know of, have no quarrel with concept of God [in an abstract way] but with the conduct and management of Christianity by the so called institutions like Churches ,missionaries and some aggressive fanatics who act as self styled crusaders .These very people unknowingly are producing more atheists than all the reasons put together.Take your time.Note:-I am not a religious person or an atheist but keep my options open.

Answer 5

Get ready for an onslaught of Atheists telling you variations of "It's all a lie" and Christians telling you "You should just believe."

Nobody can make you believe anything. And you cannot simply choose to believe it, either. You either believe it or you don't.

It isn't a sin to question God. In fact, it's the only way that a believer grows. It is by constantly testing God that we begin understanding his will and his intentions. If you don't test him, how could he possibly prove that he is real? And where would your faith be if you were satisfied with where you are now?

You should believe what sounds the most truthful to you. Not what is easiest, not what is the least amount of work, not what will make your family and friends happy... what sounds right to you.

Answer 6

Lol its funny because Im pretty much the same way as you. I was raised in a catholic family, im not baptized, etc. I feel I dont have to go to chruch to prove my loyalty to God, I feel its just stupid (the whole kneeling, standing up, sitting thing. You know what i mean lol). There Is nowhere in the bible that states that you have to go to chruch and do all that stupid stuff to show you love God. As long as you believe in your heart that there is a God and know that he loves you (your oppinion seems to be different) you should be fine. Oh by the way there are certain event that have occured in my live that let me know that there is a God, maby you have been touched by God and you dont realize it?

Answer 7

it is natural for doubts to come but u are trying to understand with mind and logic what is understandable only by faith.

"But what if, everything you were told is false, and there is no god?? Why should I belive in the Bible?? I think I just created a huge sin, questioning god. Eh, I dont know what to believe in......................." use the same logic
But what if, everything is true are u ready to face God?
what if there is God??

Why should I belive in the Bible?? why not? have u come across a better one?

"I think I just created a huge sin, questioning god. Eh, I dont know what to believe in..-" no it is not sin to question God, if u r genuinely asking. but if stubbornly u keep at it, it is sin.

there have been people from the beginning who saught God. the bible tells us if we seek God with all our heart and soul he will be found. but do not be bull headed.

if u went to a word based chrch and learned the word etc u would know how to bring all ungodly thoughts to submission to God. for now just say God help me with my doubts. when God answers thru even the smallest answers thank him and trust him to give u bigger answers so u will know how to handle things.

God bless

Answer 8

i went down the same path of questioning....and questioning it actually normal so don't feel bad. There is a book called "stages of faith" by James Fowler (i went to a seminary) and it talks about the stages that people go through in their faith...it sounds like you are in stage 3 trying to move to stage 4. the positive is that you are thinking for yourself and not just believing because someone has told you to believe something. but at every crossroad of faith, there is a way of life and a way of death. (spiritually speaking) and be very careful, because the way of death (spiritual death) is much easier to take and more appealing to the senses. about your comment on creation and science. science is not all bad and can be used in conjuction with your beliefs in God....Einstein believed in God and was one of the most brilliant, educated man that has ever existed. continuing along the lines of creation. there ARE different theories about creation that can still involve God. For instance you can believe God created the world, but also allowed to it to evolve over time, in fact science shows that. and concerning the Bible...i know that Catholics, although many are extremely devout, don't do much Bible reading on their own so their understanding of scriptures and the actual content of the Bible can be somewhat limited. So I encourage you to read it and maybe join a Bible study. It would make it much easier to grasp. and you know, in your growth and discovery i would just simply ask God to show you the truth and guide you in truth so that you will not get lost along the way, because eternity is a long time so why risk it?


and concerning Ignacio's comment about there is nothing in the Bible that says you should go to church...that is false...it says in Hebrews "Do not forsake the assembly of believers...." it is talking about going to church and its importance

Answer 9

In Heaven, you can meet your loved ones again. That's one advantage. And it's natural to be afraid of Hell. However, neither of those should be why you should believe in God. Realize that both Heaven and Hell are so much more than we can comprehend. In Heaven, we'll likely spend more time worshipping God at first, but we have an infinite amount of time to not only meet up with our loved ones but get to know everything about them. However, not everyone goes to Heaven.

The sad truth is that not everybody does. I would only hope that you could meet all your loved ones. In Hell, you won't be meeting your loved ones, necessarily. You'll be in such torment because being eternally separated from God is Hell enough. That's what sin does, though. Sin separates us from God. That's why sinners go to Hell. However, we are all sinners. Nobody is good. No, not one. We are all evil by nature. God can't let imperfection into a perfect kingdom. While we can't be perfect because we will stumble and sin, there is something God did.

God sent Jesus Christ, who is God in human manifest, to die on a cross and save mankind from their sins. He paid your punishment of Hell. You don't have to go to Hell because he paid the price for you. All you have to do is repent of your sins, and put your faith in Jesus Christ. Simply pray to God, and prayer is simply talking to God. It's not ritualistic or methodic; it's just conversation.

Realize that if there is a God, he is perfect. If he is perfect, he wouldn't allow imperfection. If the Bible is trying to get out one main truth, that would be the truth of Jesus Christ. Trust in Him as your personal savior. He is the only way to Heaven. Also consider this-if there is no God, then Christians are wrong. So if we're wrong, we rot in the ground. But if we're right, we go to Heaven forever. If atheists are right, they'll rot in the ground. But if they're wrong, they'll spend an eternity in Hell. Think about it that way-realize that believing in God won't hurt you in any way.

I think you'll find that careful consideration of the concept of God makes him only more real. Believe that you can go to Heaven. Believe that God is real and he can save you. Believe.

Answer 10

I think that I see your problem. You are going through the motions out of fear and tradition. You don't understand the Bible, neither do you feel inclined to know what it says. Otherwise you would be telling us which part of it you were having a problem with.

Not everyone wants to know God. God knows that already.

But I tell you what, if you trust in God through Jesus Christ, you will get your wish to enjoy the loved one's that you want to be with. God will take that. Any kind of faith He will work with, as long as it's Him that you are trusting in.

The Bible says: Smoking flax he will not quench, a bruised reed he shall not break.

You are that bruised reed, that smoking flax. He won't snuff you out, as long as you are hanging on; smoldering. I would recommend that you try learning the Bible from another perspective. Try this one:
http://twft.com/?page=C2000

You do NOT have to be a Roman Catholic!

Answer 11

Hm... well you're not the only one with the problem. Sorry I can't help you much, but just know that lots of people are confused about religion too. Half the catholics/christians I know don't believe in their religion much. And they think about it pretty much like you do, like science makes more sense and afraid to go to hell. I asked one of my catholic friends if she wanted to go to heaven or hell and she can't decide. Another one said that she doesn't want to be catholic because she doesn't believe half the things they say... =/