Am I losing my Religion?

Originally posted by SIRTMG
If God is real, he's a sick son of a bitch. That said, he's not, and we as humans should accept the circumstances of life and aspire to help others without the reaching for help from an imaginary figure in the sky!

Yes - Humans should help other humans - - for the right reason. Compassion.

Not - because they fear a consequence.

In my experience it is Religious people who Fear Death - - because they Fear judgment and retribution.

I Fear pain - but not death. I gave all that I can to humanity in my living lifetime. Life really has more value for an Atheist - in my opinion.

Originally posted by slane69
Jesus suffered not to save us from suffering here on earth but to show us by example how to deal with it.

Just saying,....

That really makes no sense at all. The whole concept of Christianity makes no sense at all.

I was never able to accept it as a child - - never as I was growing up - - and not now either.

reply to post by AidanK


I would say the reason the answer to so many prayers lately is "no" is because IF you believe in a God like the Christian, you would have to believe that God cared about people. And IF there is a God who cares about people, that God needs to stop us from going any further down the path we are on, or we will all go extinct.

We could have changed on our own, (in Christian terms) we could have listened to Jesus and not pursued wealth, money, etc., and instead devoted our selves to caring for one another but we didnt. Our whole "Christian" culture is about wealth, fame, and power above all things. We even put that before God. Money is the idol we worship over God.

I personally dont blame God for not answering our prayers to return to that lifestyle. Our society as it is is destined to fall, and because we let it go on for so long, it is going to hurt us when it does. No question. But having many of us "hurt" is preferable to the whole species going extinct. IF God really does care about humans, that is.

reply to post by marg6043


Marg,

My apologies. I misunderstood your post. I took it as one Christian slighting another over questioning their faith.

________

I was also under the impression since God is supposed to be all knowing of everything why is there a need for prayer if your life is predetermined already?


[edit on 28-8-2010 by Schleprock]

Hello and may the Peace of Christ continue to reign in your heart, like it has always done. I was away from the Church for many years, but when my 1st son was born, I wanted him to be baptized so I came home to Rome and have never looked back! It was like I had never left.

Once you're a Catholic, you are always a Catholic. A lot of (mainly suburban) churches threw away all of our beautiful statues and got rid of the pews, in order to appear more modern. This was and is a mistake. If and when you go back, choose an "old School" church with the works: stained glass, pews, statues, and the Tabernacle up front and in the central place on the altar.

Remember that God works in your life. He knows what is best for you, so when you pray, remember to Trust God with Your Whole Heart and Being and Soul, and lean not unto thine own understandings.
I have seen the Wonders of His Plan in my life, and it is not what I expected or asked for at all! But it literally Blew my mind! And this was only a few weeks ago. I rarely ask for anything at all, I just put all my trust in God and things will work out.

Don't give up! Pray through Mary and the saints to let their good lives bring your petitions to God through them! There were and are so many saints that they are like the super-heroes to the Church now and we need their help and intercession.

One fact that proves to me that Catholicism is the True Church Founded by Christ - is the fact that in order to cast out demons and evil things, nothing and nobody can do a thing. The only one that can do this is a Catholic Priest! That fact alone is enough for me to trust that the Catholic Church is the place where the Power of Christ is. I feel like I am saying too much at once, but feel free to u2u me or I will give you my email adress in a U2u right now.

Heya bro!

I can't promise you that I'd be of great help, but I can assure you that this may be the start of your awakening. Been there, done that. It's probably your turn to wipe off that morning glory.

Good morrow my friend! It's like that at first. Then you'd be like... "I never thought the world was so wonderful!"

In any case, good luck. Ah, kids nowadays!

Perhaps you're just coming to your 'Senses'.
Logic should inform one that 'organized' religion is just that, 'organized' for No Good Reason. Just another divide and conquer scheme and quite affective though not Effective.

There is only One reality.
It can't possibly be 'written' by the word of Man.
Even the ancients chose symbols over words.
The Prophets chose to look Up for guidance for where else could a 'prophecy' come from? For example, No one explained the concept of Gravity to Newton, he sought with good intention and was rewarded for the endeavor, a worthy one at that.
When we seek with Good intention, we Are often rewarded.

From what "I" understand, the Creator values creativity more than anything, assuming it is balanced with Reason and checked with one's Conscience. Each being is endowed with certain inalienable rights of which must be respected. Even the deaf, dumb and blind has a unique perspective on 'reality' and therefor has value unto his Brother for a Reason. Who is one to 'judge' a creation?

Every creation has meaning regardless of it's temporality. Try looking/seeking for the meaning in all things as Is. Synchronicity, Serendipity, Sapience, Sentience and Conscience are extremely important 'words' or rather 'concepts' of which have so much meaning in and of themselves.

I, mIself, am always look Up for guidance and if what I seek has merit and worth 'in and of itself', with positive though self-less though more importantly Universal 'intent', I am often rewarded for that "I" seek. One's 'Intent' makes the difference that 'matters' in one's' End. I am constantly in search for an increased understanding of natural laws as well as human natural laws. Those apparently are the Ones that matter.

I have faith in the 'potentials' of Man.
We are 'all' a work in process, ~In~creation, by design; an 'intelligent' One.
Would U agree?

We all have vices.

At times I am quick to Anger at what I witness day in and day out. I am working on my 'patience' as well. I have come along way though am still.....a work in progress.

May 'your' path find contentment in Ur End.
If one is to be as only they can be as a unique creation, the world will surely benefit by design; the One that mattered.
'Good' day brothers and sisters.





[edit on 28-8-2010 by Perseus Apex]

I am somewhere between Strong Agnostic, Theistic Agnostic and Apathetic Agnostic but your post reminds me of a quote by Buddha.

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”

Here is another version I've also heard by said,

"Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true."

They both mean the same but I thought I'd place both up.

Personally I think your God should be just that YOUR God, Thomas Jefferson said...

"I say nothing of my religion. It is known to my god and myself alone."

So basically what I am trying to get across is do some introspection, self-searching, meditation whatever and believe in what feels right to YOU, don't be pressured by others to feel a certain way.

I believe religion, faith, belief, God over time has been transformed and twisted for profit. When I was searching in what to believe in I found that being Atheist and saying God can't possibly exist or that I know he doesn't is just a ignorant in my eyes as being Christian/one of the other Major religions and saying he must exist. However I still hold respect for others religions I just can't bring myself to believe, so I don't.

Here is another quote I love which really got me thinking and finally gave me the push to stop saying I was Christian when I really wasn't...

"If I were not an atheist, I would believe in a God who would choose to save people on the basis of the totality of their lives and not the pattern of their words. I think he would prefer an honest and righteous atheist to a TV preacher whose every word is God, God, God, and whose every deed is foul, foul, foul." -Isaac Asimov

Do with all I've said what you will but know that no one can force you into believing something unless you want to believe it, take your time, wait til something feels right and go with it. As Buddha says, Don't believe it because someone else tells you to. Wish you the best of luck in your search for yourself.

[edit on 28-8-2010 by SneuxCorten]

I am also agnostic (an agnostic is a person who does not deny or approve that god or any other deity exists simply because there is not enough evidence to disprove or qualify either points, however, there is alot of evidence that suggests that the God, Jesus, Mary in the bible and the whole bible it self was copied in its entirely from other more ancient religions, like Chrisna/Khrisna, Horus/Isis, etc, etc).

I was a Roman Catholic like you are now and stayed in this 'blinded' state for most parts of my life (the first 25 years), then I began questioning things, researching, and doing more research such as googling for terms like "Jesus and chrishna" and "the bible and ancient religions, "bible copied from ancient religions", etc, etc I also stumbled across a site called: jesusneverexisted.com... which explains, with full citations and biblical citations many important points. At the end I decided that becoming an agnostic and not partaking in ANY "religion" is the best decision I could take.

Now I meditate alot without any fears that I might be committing a "sin" like what mainstream organized religions would like every one to believe in order to keep suppressing our development for our spirituality.

Originally posted by CHA0S
I am also agnostic, and I would urge you to listen to the words of the above poster. However, isn't it perhaps a little arrogant to blame "God" when we turn this planet into a living hell?

CHA0S, I would like to let you know that the main reason you see most of humanity today behaving more like evil is because special interests groups, some with malicious and for profitgreedy intent have created many mechanism in order to corrupt and degrade humanity. Blame hip-hop, MTV and its parent networks (Viacom, etc)for the mind degradation you see today withing out main society. Some people, theorize that evil aliens from other planets could be ultimately responsible for this but I have yet to find concrete evidence to completely back this theory.

Originally posted by kyred
reply to post by Annee

 

Annee, I think we are on a similar path. I trust in the "God" within myself, and you trust in that which is within yourself.

Annee, that is also my position when it comes to God. I believe that the inner voice that sometimes we hear and helps us make a better decision is part of the inner God that we all have. In fact, I believe that God is an inter galactic energetic being that connects all planets together and all of us together and this energy is the location of the infinite source of knowledge (each time that I say this, I get a sensation from my inner self that what I am saying is true -- sometimes your inner feelings can help you determine if such an idea resonates like true or not) and it is this knowledge that I try to seek and expand every day for the betterment of my self, my family and others, and I strongly suggest that others try this as well.

Originally posted by tracer7
No one saves us but ourselves.
Buddha

I agree with your statement, as a person that believe that all of us possess hidden super human powers, I believe that it is up to each one of us to save our self from future cataclysmic situations by developing our super human faculties that all of us have dormant and don't know or understand how to use them(this is part of my theory that I have, that I am deeply researching into).

So, in short, we are ultimately responsible what we do in our lives (unless that person has a mental disorder then he/she is not responsible for some or all of his actions, example: a person full well and highly spiritually advanced incarnates into earth to do well, BUT the MERCURY that was injected to him causes him to be mentally retarded, therefore he is not responsible for future wrongdoings as a result of an artificially induced impediment)

[edit on 28-8-2010 by FNetV1]

I truly believe that the notion that "we are not supposed to second guess things that God himself has directly told us" (as previously stated by our Christian friend, defcon5) is precisely what's wrong with religion. Think about it, god is so mighty and powerful that he created everything, yet he can't handle us questioning him? Doesn't that sound more like a dictator?

To me life is a balance between love and fear. The more you fear things, the less your able to love and vice-versa. I know religion claims to be about all about love but it is not. The whole thing about sin and satan and hell is based upon invoking fear in people. Just like a dictator.

The fact that you become a sinner for questioning god, is the source of your inner battles. Deep inside you know that what you have been told doesn't make much sense. However, you have been conditioned TO NEVER QUESTION GOD. So you have been suppressing your inner feelings and in a sense have been living in fear.

If god loves you, then he should love you unconditionally right? I mean questioning him should never be akin to theft and murder, right? So shed your fears and try to let go of everything you have be told to believe and decide for yourself. Who knows, after all your search, you might go back to being even more religious. But at least then you will know that is because of knowledge and love rather than ignorance and fear.

"You have been told that God is a loving, gracious, merciful, kind, compassionate, wonderful, and good sky fairy who runs a day care in the sky and has a bucket of suckers for everyone because we're all good people. That is a lie... God looks down and says 'I hate you, you are my enemy, and I will crush you,' and we say that is deserved, right and just, and then God says 'Because of Jesus I will love you and forgive you.' This is a miracle"

- Mark Driscoll

Seriously dude, go and do some theological research before you set about getting upset that God hasn't made your life perfect in return for you going to church.

Did you believe, pray and follow out of a sense of uncertain obligation or was it from the will of your heart to know God and grow closer to Him? We cannot want to grow closer to Him if we do not know Him, otherwise we seek in vain.

Vain devotion and pursuit is not uncommon among professing Christians, and it is not exclusive to the Roman Catholic religion, but it is a wall of separation that keeps one from the purpose that God intends for them - which is to know Him intimately and, in knowing Him, to follow Him out of love for who He is.

God is sovereign and no man can take what is of God without God's permission. The desire to know God does not accidentally arise in of a man but is initiated and enabled by God. Every man should want to know God but no man can unless God allows for it. But God is good and rewards faith with faith. Those who show a desire and seek Him in it are rewarded with the fruit of their seeking (closeness to Him) and a stronger will to know Him, the latter which comes naturally as, being creations of God, we all want to know Him the more we know Him (unless we submit to ourselves in pride and reject Him). The best we can do to know Him is to seek Him as much as we are able at any given time and trust in His promise that He will reward that with closeness to Him, which will incur His blessings - love, peace, and righteousness, among others.

I am very sorry to hear that your mother's health is taking a turn for the worse. The loss of one's mother is something one dreads to consider - the degree of pain that accompanies it can be paralyzing and send one into deep despair. But it is not necessary for that extreme to be realized with a loss that is so natural and unavoidable. Our mothers, fathers, siblings, friends, they all leave us unless we leave them first, but that is a natural process in this life, and one which God understands and provides provision for to help us to be stable through our losses if we maintain integrity in our faith and devotion to Him (which can only be sustained by an intimate knowledge and love of Him and not by a vain religious* cycle). My loved ones, your loved ones, and the loved ones of anyone reading this will all leave this life someday (some before we do, unless they suffer our loss), and whether soon or later, whether in a good season or a bad one, we will have the same responsibility to God as we do while they are with us, which is greater than our responsibility to them or their responsibility to us. We all share that, your mother as well. I advise that you make the most of each day with her, whether she is gone tomorrow or sticks around for years to come. And perhaps you have a responsibility to see to it that she goes home to God, when she does go, where you will see her again if you walk with Him as well...

[continued...]

[...continued]

...As for the disasters and suffering around the world, we were told by God that they would occur long before they did, and indeed they will get worse up to the end. But they are for a purpose, which is to see the return of His Son, Christ Jesus, who will bring justice to the wicked and cleanse the world from unrighteousness. The best we can do in the midst of it is to seek God's will and pray that He enables us to lead as many to Him, who do not know Him, as possible.

God does answer prayers, but only those which are in line with His will, and He does so on His time. He will strengthen us and deliver us to Himself, and help us to walk in integrity and to help others to do the same. But we must make an effort to hold on to what He gives and not relinquish it through worry and doubt, and we must be patient in seeing it through, to not waver at any point otherwise we risk failure or falling away.

If your good and reasonable (that is, ones which are in line with His will) requests to Him are not answered then I ask you to examine yourself to see if you are outside of His will in your own life. Get right with Him and see to it that you are in His will before you expect anything from Him, as He will not give a man who acts against Him the desires of his heart.

*NOTE: By religion I do not mean that prayer or law or anything of the sort is a religious, but rather that when they are done through habitually empty obligation rather than a deep desire to grow close to God. If we live by the latter then all prayer and law, and every good thing of God, is profitable to us in our walk with Him.

I thought this video might be fitting. The religious folks might want to cover their ears. Listening to this might being about a one way ticket to HELL.

I was raised agnostic, I do not believe in the god of the bible, but the teachings in the bible are still extremely wise. Life is full of ups and downs. Happiness is not supposed to be sitting in situations or aesthetics. You should be able to be happy in a cave just as much as you are in your job and life.

John 15:1–2, Jesus says, “I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Gardener. He lops off every branch that doesn’t produce. And he prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops”
Walking with jesus- the pruning process

What I have come to know personally is that spirituality is something different from the physical world and you have to focus inward to develop true peace and happiness. We are but waves in an ocean so go with the flow. You wouldnt cross a river moving upstream would you? You would cross at an angle moving downstream....

During the pruning process it is wise to go with the flow and find a path. No reason to fail such a simple test of faith and mental strength!!!!!!!! You got this! and your god is proving its activity in your life, you just talk to much to him and forget to listen yourself...

Ive moved on in my spiritual journey, but that particular part of the bible I thought had an astounding message...

reply to post by AidanK


there's nothing worng with prayer, you're just losing hope in humanity not your religion. it's normal, we all lose our way.

the news is good at making people lose their faith in each other.
have your faith empower you and give you hope.
spend as much time as you can with your mom but don't be sad if she goes, be happy that you were blessed with such a loving person.

go to GivesMeHope.com it'll definitly remind you how wonderful of a being you are and how important your life is.

i'm not catholic but i know it must be important to you.
just remember it's the news corps job to report on more negative that positive bc it rakes in more viewers therefore more money.

Adian,

It's all about perspective. You're thinking it's all going down the tube, but you still have a long, long way to go along that path if you so choose. You think you are having bad days, but the lights are still on. You can choose to eat or drink something every few hours if you want right?

Really bad days are when you are actually without shelter, and you just want to keep dry, or when you are being chased with the threat of being hurt, or worse. I am also going thru personal financial challenges, and I have just accepted the fact that the easy ride for money is over for now, and that I'm going to need to put more effort in finding a way to make up the loss if I want to stay somewhere near my original "comfort zone." (I also understand that I have a finite measure of control over all things from my perspective, and that I can only do the best that I can in my world.)

You still have time to share with you mother a very special gift. "Show her the Love"........... What I mean is don't focus on the grief and the feelings that say "I don't want you to leave me." Focus instead on this:

Remember a time in the past when you were waiting for your mother. Maybe she was suppose to meet you somewhere and take you home, or something like that. You were there at the appointed time and place, but your mother was not. As time passed she still did not arrive, and you became worried, and scared and so on. Eventually she did arrive, and when you saw her, you might have been upset, but your very first emotion was probably an expression of Love so powerful, that it manifested itself into this material plane and she felt it............Thats just an example, you might feel the same way if you have a pet like a dog or cat, and the two of you expressing feelings of content while interacting with each other, anyway THAT is the type of Love you need to express when you are with her from now on.


Religion- I don't have time to finish the whole post, but know this. Religion is simply Mankind trying to put into words an interaction that happens from time to time on this planet, in this material plane between him, and our god (creator, supreme being, etc) These events and interactions were passed down thru the generations by spoken words and eventually written down. Do you think the ENTIRE message made it to us complete and intact?.................. No it wasn't. It became watered down and in it's place other events and interactions with , shall we say, lesser gods, got injected into the message. These lesser beings have their own agenda, and are trying very hard to destroy what is left of the original lessons learned from God

The lessons are still there, but they are faint, and fading away. Don't limit yourself to just the new testament or even to just christianity for more perspective.

For me, It's been a long road, I can't give you all kinds of links to show you what I've found, but It's out there all over the place both on the net, and in the real world. I struggled, I lost christ, I kept looking, and searching, and believe it or not I found him again (bibles and other written books were not a big impact on this dicovery, It just happened.)

I gotta go, I wish I had time to elaborate more

just remember, FEEL THE LOVE, and express it when you have the strenght to try, and you will feel that joy you lost.

Wow I guess the people on this site are a test for your faith as well lol. Look everyone who is pushing the anti religion agenda--- Wrong thread! I am "atheist" and I blast people all day for their beliefs. But only when they ask for it... I can't believe everything that was in the bible, but having read it and studied it most of my life, there are some great teachings. More over it seems to me that its more about being humble and inwardly peaceful than anything. Just that it uses god will kill you to scare you into being humble and peaceful. But jokes aside about beliefs, the teachings are there so if someone has an actual real life issue, using the bible to relate to them is a powerful tool most atheists forget about. God or not the issue is always peace and inner happiness. Having someone label themselves openly into a narrow set of teachings just makes it way faster and easier to find a way to relate or help.

Originally posted by AidanK
I've been a lifelong member of the Roman Catholic church. I always believed in God and have prayed daily just like I was taught in my youth. Lately, the economy has tanked, my mother's health has taken a turn for the worse and things just generally stink - very badly.

I watch the nightly news and see nothing but bad news and disasters befalling humanity around the globe. I really can't believe it but for the first time I'm starting to question how this can be. How can my loving God allow these things to happen?

I have almost stopped praying for anything. I no longer believe that anyone is listening. I have always been taught that God answers ALL prayers, even if we might not like the answer but I must say that why MUST the answer ALWAYS be NO?? I don't constantly ask for things, just a little help with life.

I guess I'm about at my breaking point and floundering for help. Can anyone provide any advice here? Many thanks to you all.

My Buddhist training tells me to postone the spiritual pep talk and point out some obvious things:

- Why do you turn to ATS for help? You need real life friends to discuss and help you with your issues. You need real life friends! Virtual pals won't be able to help you as much. Having said that I find there are some great, compassionate posts in your thread.

- Are you the sole caregiver for your mom? You also need to join a local support group for caregivers.

Now to the spiritual pep talk:

I was raised Roman Catholic too. It sounds like you are going through a profound paradigm change. When that happens all anchors are lifted, and you will find yourself in free fall with no solid ground in sight. Don't be afraid! You are shedding your skin, and are in the process of a beautiful metamorphosis.

Yes, you are probably losing your religions, but you might gain something that is more profound. I know what I've found, but it's your journey to find what you are looking for. The only thing I can say is that there IS something beyond the material world. Don't throw out the baby with the bath water.

I believe that the god as described in the Bible, especially the OT, is false. The real dude's been frowning for millenia and is wondering why billions could be so wrong. But he gave us free will ...

Anywhoo, here is a couple of things that always help me:

- Go for walks in nature. "God's signature" is evident.
- Study aesthetics. Why do you like certain music, paintings, living room furniture?
- Connect with yourself. By that I mean you got to find your own original thoughts! We've been programmed from day 1 to think in certain terms, but you need to think in your terms.
- Prayer/meditation is crucial. Who taught you to pray efficiently?
- Find a support group. No man is an island.

I wished I was a god who could see in your heart and heal it instantly, but I can't. Best of luck on your journey!

PS: Most importantly turn off the f-ing TV. It's poison for your!


[edit on 28-8-2010 by AllIsOne]

Originally posted by AidanK
I've been a lifelong member of the Roman Catholic church. I always believed in God and have prayed daily just like I was taught in my youth. Lately, the economy has tanked, my mother's health has taken a turn for the worse and things just generally stink - very badly.

I watch the nightly news and see nothing but bad news and disasters befalling humanity around the globe. I really can't believe it but for the first time I'm starting to question how this can be. How can my loving God allow these things to happen?

I have almost stopped praying for anything. I no longer believe that anyone is listening. I have always been taught that God answers ALL prayers, even if we might not like the answer but I must say that why MUST the answer ALWAYS be NO?? I don't constantly ask for things, just a little help with life.

I guess I'm about at my breaking point and floundering for help. Can anyone provide any advice here? Many thanks to you all.

I hate to put it to you so blunt, but maybe it's time to stop with the religious thing and go to the source. The Catholic Church is an organization first and an institution secondly. You need the actually read the Bible they say they obey and follow what the true head of the Church said which is to follow Him (Jesus). Try asking Jesus to help you before just throwing in the towel cause some prayer don't get answered the way you like. Also, if you haven't done so, put aside all of the Church theology about salvation and again, go to the source. Ask Jesus to forgive all your sins, and to save you. He will do it. You'll see that if you actually read the Bible. I would suggest the Gospel of John (St. John for Catholics). I'm sorry to be so blunt, but time is too short to give you the soft shoe treatment.