Reply to How do you find God if you don't believe?

Forum Index » Religion

Reply to "How do you find God if you don't believe?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I haven't read this whole thread, but OP, if you are still here, I would recommend watching some videos by Bishop Robert Barron.  He has a lot of short clips that address some of the fundamental arguments (from logic and science) for the existence of God and he has a very approachable way of explaining these concepts.  As a convert to Catholicism myself, I find that most people who don't believe in God actually don't believe some false God they made up in their mind.  The absolute first question to answer is what we mean by God.  The why we believe and what we owe to God questions are somewhat naturally answered once we understand who God is (and what He is not).  So my advice is to focus on that fundamental question.

My other advice is to keep an open mind.  God cannot come into your heart if you keep is sealed.  You have to at least entertain the possibility that God exists, otherwise, don't bother down this path. But I think you are already there because you sense a dissatisfaction with the way things are.  My own spiritual journey started from that same feeling, and that was enough of an opening to let God in, despite my atheist upbringing.  As I started to read more theistic readings (I didn't start with Christianity but more general theism), i had all this skepticism (I am a lawyer by trade so the skepticism was endless).  But I remember the moment vividly when I just suspended my skepticism and pretended that God did exist (literally just a moment "let me pretend there is a God").  Everything suddenly sense and all the pieces of my worldview that clashed or seem disjointed all came together once  I looked at them through the theistic lens.  Not saying that it will happen for you like this, but just that everyone will have their own unique/personal ah ha moments and to be open to them. [/quote]

Why did you choose Catholicism Vs other Christian denominations ?
[/quote]

Once I was convinced there is a God, i started exploring different theistic religions. At first, i attended a Universalist Unitarian church because that was all I could handle.  But then as I kept reading, that church was no longer enough (they tend to stay very surfacy about loving everyone and doing good but shies away from deeper questions).  I read up on Islam but its view of God was not "that which nothing greater can be thought" imo, so I rejected that.  I was really hung up on the idea of Jesus, so it took me a while to come to terms with Christianity as a possibility, but once I did, i started attending protestant churches simply out of accessibility.  I found one I really liked (very intellectual approach to the Bible), but some reason, I just kept feeling like I had to keep searching. One day I walked into a Catholic Mass and while I was so confused by all the standing, kneeling, recitations, I felt a very deep sense of peace.  Then I started researching Catholicism and everything I read just clicked and felt right (the theology not necessarily all the social teachings, which took more time).  I remember reading the Catechism, which most people would probably find a dry read, and found it just so engaging haha!

I appreciate the depth of Catholicism, its comfort with and embrace of ambiguity and mystery.  I think on the logic side, I find Protestantism to be unsustainable.  In my exploration of protestant churches, some churches were so different from each other as to be almost separate religions.  That surely cannot be how God intends for his church to be, so it was more easy for me to believe that Matthew 16:18 meant that God established one church and will stand by her to the end.  Either that or we are all screwed imho, because otherwise we are just following our own egos by establishing 30,000 different churches. [/quote]

I wonder why God let all those other religions exist, after establishing the one true religion of Roman Catholicism.
[/quote]

Because God is a huge believer in free will.

And not all religions need to be a zero sum game against Christianity.  Most try to grasp at as much of the truth as possible, some getting closer than others, and that is why they hold appeal.  Personally, when I learn about other religions, i try to focus on what they got right and appreciate those things, rather than the things that contradict Christianity.  And to OP's original point, you can possibly adopt many religions/faiths if your goal is to live a happier life versus the status quo of not believing anything.  Not necessarily because those faiths are entirely right, but because they may hold bits of truth, such as helping you focus on the deeper meanings in life or meditation to help calm and focus on the present, and those truths/practices can place you closer to God whether you recognize Him or not.

However, if your search is for the fullness of truth, [b]Christianity (specifically Catholicism) is only religion worthy of belief[/b]. We're not even talking whether it's true or not, but just intellectually speaking, worthy of us.  This is coming from someone who did not grow up in the West and who had quite the negative view of Christianity into my early 20s.  [/quote]

This kind of arrogance is another reason why Catholicism is not going to be my path to finding God/spirituality. This heavy handed close mindedness is a complete turn off for me. .[/quote]

Why is it arrogance?  I know Truth is unpopular these days and the only PC answer is everyone is entitled to their own Truths, but logically, you know that it's either there is no meaning whatsoever to the world, life OR there is one true religion right?  Multiple religions cannot all be exactly right.  Christianity is not mine.  It is open to everyone.  I fail to see the arrogance.  It is rather ego and fear that prevents people from openly exploring Christianity.

Name any religions that can challenge Christianity.  [/quote]

NP
Challenge in what way ?
I grew up Christian but now I choose Buddhism/ Taoism and I accept Jesus’s moral and ethical teaching.
Why do Christians and Moslems want to convert people ?
That’s why I like Judaism, Hinduism , Buddhism and Taoism better.
Live and let live kind of religion.[/quote]

Buddhism is agnostic on the question of a God and therefore is not even a religion, strictly speaking.  I have great respect for Buddhism but it occupies a different realm vs Christianity.  It doesn't seek to answer the fundamental questions of religion.

Taoism is rather incoherent and includes many deities.  Hinduism falls under the same camp. Polytheistic religions don't pass the smell test because on a fundamental level, polytheism implies the gods are limited and therefore cannot be God.

Islam focuses on the grandness of God and subservience to God but lacks the personal relationship with God that Christianity offers through Jesus Christ.  I won't speak to Judaism because as a Christian, I see one as the fulfillment of another. Go ahead and believe in Judaism but the Jewish God is every bit as demanding as the Christian God, because they are the same (the whole old testament theme is about not worshipping other gods and idols, so Judaism is not a believe whatever you want, everything is equal religion).

Ultimately I think most people recognize that the deepest meaning of human life and fulfillment lies in love. And the highest form of love we experience in this world is a deep and personal love. We happily spend a lifetime getting to know those we love and growing with them. If we are capable of this, then by definition, our creator is capable of this (and indeed, it is more accurate to say we are capable of this precisely because God is capable of this and made us in his own image).  Therefore, if your relationship with your dog is more personal and intimate than your relationship with the god of your religion, then your religion is lacking and you should keep seeking. Christianity is the only religion that even tries to claim an intensely personal relationship with the creator.  Christianity is the only religion that makes the absurd claim that the creator of everything, instead of staying high and mighty in the heavens watching us, became one of his creations in order to save them and to invite them into that personal relationship. I wish people weren't so jaded with Christianity and to really see it with fresh eyes, because Christian claims are equally shocking and humbling.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics