Faith: How does it work?

Question

I'm about to become an atheist. How do people gain faith? To me faith seems to be based on nothing! You just accept something based on nothing... how does that work? How can you base your whole life on a hypothetical thing? If you do indeed experience God, how are you sure it's not suggestion, or psychology, or a delirium? How can you ever trust something blindly? How?! It doesn't make sense at all! How do you know there's a God and how do you know YOUR God is the right one? If your God is so powerful why are there so many religions in such great amounts? If your God is so kind why would the world basically work cruelly and randomly? If your God is so true why can I not see him? Why does blind faith work as your excuse for everything if it doesn't make sense? Can someone explain religion with logic? Is the forbidden fruit such a bad thing? Do logic and religion go together? Why does religion promote intolerance and ignorance? Why does it promote happiness?

Please no scripture... just logic...

well... I could accept a "personal God" but I'm not sure how that works... does that mean I worship nature or reason?

Answer 1

"The apostles said to the Lord, :Increase our faith!" Luke 17:5

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what is visible." Hebrews 11...read the whole chapter if you will....it is a very interesting discourse on faith.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Heb 12:1

"Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 21:29

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities -- his eternal power and divine nature -- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:20

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." 2 Tim 4:3-4

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age..." Titus 2:11-12

Answer 2

May God in His mercy, have mercy on your soul. I wish I had the answer to make you know without a doubt there is a God.Over 2000 years ago God scattered the Jews because they wouldn't turn from their sins. Then in 1948 the Jews started going home Now the Jews are very well off . Just look how many countries have gone against her and she has fought off all of them. I believe this is where the Lord says that this generation willll not pass before my return. Israel is a very tiny place( about the size of N,J, I think ) yet look at her military and weapons. The Jews are the chosen people and God will not let them be destroyed.,So watch for Russia, China, and I forget the other country, to march against her. I don't know if the rapture will be before that time., but , it's coming. All of this was foretold by God. How else could this little country be so mighty if God's hand wasn't in it.? T his is why the U,S. had better never turn on Israel. God will turn on those that turn on her. There's so much that has been told by the prophets of God that has already happened. WE are in the last days my friend and I'd love to meet you in Heaven and have you say " Hi, i'm so and so and I met you on Yahoo."I pray that you find a good church and talk to the Pastor and find out more. There's no space here or time to tell you all. I'd have to get the books out because I can't remember word for word to tell you.I have a brain tumor and I forget things and I have to keep checking . But the one thing I can never forget is the moment I accepted Jesus and the weight of the world was lifted off me. Please do some research on this. It's too important to just let go and turn away from God. Time is too short. The Bible tells us in the last day that many will be deceived and turn from the living God. I pray you aren't one of them.If one Pastor doesn't seem to have time then go to another one. I have found that the Penecostal faith seems to take more time telling us is we go to them. But I'm sure there's a lot out there to help. Satan is attacking really hard now because he knows his tiome is really short. He knows the outcome and he's still fighting to get all he can to go to hell with him. Don't be one of them. He's been attacking me really hard since I've been on here trying to help people find their way. But, I feel it's too important to give up. As long as I have a computor and internet I will keep trying. He has attacked my somputor but Praise God I found someone to help me out with it for now. When he can't God will send me someone else.Please consider what I've told you. It is urgent that you make a move now before you go to far and can't come back. PLEASE

Answer 3

Self knowledge is the key to the knowledge of god. You can use logic and reasoning when interpreting the bible, and if you are intelligent, you will find the answers you need without blind faith. Though it might take the God out of God.

Answer 4

If you have any sense, faith doesn't work. Onlyby denying reality can people believe that which is obviously not true. There is a body of research that claims this is due to a genetic defect, so be happy you were born without it!

Answer 5

If your about to be an atheist your gonna need ALOT of faith. Your about to believe in "nothing"

I think it requires alot faith to look at God's amazing creation and think it just....POOF....existed!

The closer you become with God the more you can see him all around you.

My advice....avoid Religion and seek GOD.

Answer 6

If you are about to become an atheist , then my friend I say to you , that you have more'faith' than I do....

Faith- evidence of things unseen , things hoped for......
belief without firm proof....

Answer 7

Hebrews 11 is a great place to start!

Answer 8

...no you don´t have to worship logic or nature.

Its so simple. There is a God that you can´t see but you can feel - It is responsable for everything that is good in life. For example, love, motivation to study, a sense of potential, hope, even friends who want to help in any knid of way. It is the source of all compassion and good will in the world - ¨God is Love¨.

If we are alive, if we just take the next breath of air, it is because he wants it that way out of his compassion and love. But this God is a suffering God because all the care and all the providence goes unnoticed, as though this God didn´t even exist. All the good works are left unnoticed, when all that is needed from us is a sense of gratitude. Nothing else, just gratitue. Because a good work deserves to be thanked.

But out of the compassion of this God, he didn´t just let the world slip away, but continuously went after his people, to the point of becoming human himself. He wants to demonstrate in every way immaginable his love for us, to the point of giving his very self for us as food to eat, in order to lift us up to His level (The Body of Christ, the Eucharist). He is not ashamed of anyhting as long as it is for our good.

And when a person makes the smallest effort to get closer to this God, even the smallest effort that He is capable of, one day he will realise that he actually found something. Because of that, he will have faith. faith will lead to more search for the source of that happiness, and that will lead to recieving even more than before, which will lead to more faith and more searching. This is a growing cycle of faith.

search for God leads to: receiving gifts of faith (joy, fortitude, peace, diligence...), leads to more search which leads to more joy and greater fath, even more search -- even greater joy and even greater faith and trust to keep searching.... etc.

and it all started with a small ammount of faith, the "size of a mustard seed" that will grow into the "largest of trees" through this cycle.

How is God registered? the same way joy is registered, through introspection. Joy is illogical, subjective, felt at the deepest part of a person.

Psychiatrists describe two different "recognition functions" of the human mind, in looking at reality. The first looks at the outside world, and precieves reality that is objective, measurable, realized through the five senses - it is the outside reality, and it is useful for survival. it can answer cuestions like how to survive, how to get up in the morning, how to brush my teet. The other recognition fuction looks at the inner reality. It deals with subjective feelings, is illogical, but real. It answers questions like, why get up in the morning? why study? why live at all? It can motivate for survival. Since God is known to be intimitely personal, we recognise him as the internal reality. This lead one Psychiatrist to describe God as the "companion of our most intimate syloquies".

And this is why Jesus said, "happy are those who do not see and beleive" - because they found God. Not outside of them, but within themselves, as the most intimite of companions.

I hope this helps.

Answer 9

You just basically made all of the arguments that atheists make for being an atheist. Welcome to the club, I hope you now become enlightened.