Do you ever lose your faith (somewhat) when around those who don't believe?

[contramundum7]

I started 2 read this book about our new pope. The guy interviewing him wasn’t Catholic and asks (what i feel are) “odd” questions. He asked the pope whether he ever got tired of all the God stuff (something to that effect ). I think the guy might be atheist… which is weird 4 someone interviewing the pope. But anyway, just by his questions about whether God exists, well, it got my mind wandering… and, for one thing, i remembered when i was very young, wasn’t so sure myself … Plus, it just made me wonder about things… I didn’t lose my faith in God existing, but… well, i started wondering about certain other things. Plus, being around relatives who don’t “believe”… I kind of slip away from acting like a good Christian…
Was just wondering if others experience this temporary “loss of (absolute) faith” - or whatever u call it -when around unbelievers…
I know probably a lot of Catholics experience “doubts” about Catholicism when around (biblically knowledgeable) Protestants??

 

[LilyM]

Well it can, but remember the atheist’s opinions are simply opinions as well, just as likely to be wrong as yours or Pope Benedict’s.

And it is certainly much less well-reasoned (after all, there’s no atheist institution which has been intensively studying the logic and reasoning behind atheism continuously for 2,000 years as there has been the Church studying Catholicism)

 

[richardwy]

No.

God has done too much for me and I can do to little for myself to not desire him above all things.

 

[pray4peace]

No, I would not lose my faith, I know what I believe to be the truth, and no one can alter or change my beliefs.

Pray unceasingly for strong faith, that it never weakens.

Blessings

 

[jc-servant]

I have never lost faith in God or not believed He was real. I have lost faith in people and at times in myself but never in God. I’ve had a somewhat unusual life in that I can point to a few really odd things that have happened that cannot be explained away except that God directly acted in a way that allowed me to know (not just have faith) that He exists.

The first instance was when my life and two others were saved when I was a kid. I was visiting an elderly great grand aunt (born in 1899). She was driving with me in the front passenger seat in a lap belt and my sister who was basically a toddler in the front middle seat in a lap belt. (This being the late 1960’s no belts or car seats were required or even common.) My sister stood up out of the belt and my aunt took both hands off the wheel to grab her. The car left the highway at high speed and went airborne.

It was a sunny, cloudless day in Kentucky and I remember the blue skies and amazing bluegrass with the white wood fences of the horse farms just before this happened. Suddenly as we left the road, we were surrounded by swirling white/grey like a huge cloud that blocked out the sun and all surroundings. When the cloud lifted, we were stopped off the road. I remember not being afraid during this incident, but I did have the thought afterward that we should have died.

I looked out of the windshield and the white piece of wood fence was broken off and touching the windshield directly in front of my face. My aunt was still holding my sister who had not flown into the windshield. I had not hit the dash with my head as should have happened at high speed with only a lap belt. My aunt didn’t hit the steering wheel. None of us had a bruise or bump.

Lest you think that I’m just having a faulty kid memory, the car was totaled because the force had driven the lower part of the fence through the metal grill, metal radiator and into the engine. This is the same fence material that did not penetrate the glass. People who stopped to help were amazed that none of us was hurt. No witnesses actually saw us crash either and it was a fairly busy road outside of Lexington.

There is no scientific explanation for how we all survived that crash without a bump. I think that sometimes God performs these miracles just to give us a little boost in our faith journey. Some of the Eucharist miracles that I have read about happened when a priest or other person was having doubts or a crisis in faith.

 

[Edward62]

Yes, I did, and I am still recovering from that.

But somehow I think that the loss of faith could be a good thing in the end, because it is bringing me back (though slowly) and I think I will probably be even closer than I was before. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, you know?

 

[stbruno]

St.Augustine said…my heart is restless Lord, until it rests in you.

 

[distracted]

Yes, I did, and I am still recovering from that.

But somehow I think that the loss of faith could be a good thing in the end, because it is bringing me back (though slowly) and I think I will probably be even closer than I was before. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, you know?

I certainly understand. I was away for years. The longer i was away, the more messed up i got (though i didn’t fully see it…). Now I am strong in my faith because i know what knowing - & practicing - that Faith could have saved me (and others) from… (very long story).
Living by God’s rules is better than living by your own, to say the least…

 

[distracted]

IThere is no scientific explanation for how we all survived that crash without a bump. I think that sometimes God performs these miracles just to give us a little boost in our faith journey. Some of the Eucharist miracles that I have read about happened when a priest or other person was having doubts or a crisis in faith.

i know he has performed miracles in my life… things that shouldn’t have happened but did… Your story is amazing…

God bless.

 

[distracted]

No.

God has done too much for me and I can do to little for myself to not desire him above all things.

I never totally lose my faith but sometimes i have these weird ideas… which, of course, come from the devil when they are thoughts that lead away from the Truth…

 

[Kevin42]

I have come as close as you can without actually losing it. It was tough. I would like to say that I will never lose it again. While I indeed would feel confident saying that, I would not go so far as to presume I will never lose faith.

 

[distracted]

I have come as close as you can without actually losing it. It was tough. I would like to say that I will never lose it again. While I indeed would feel confident saying that, I would not go so far as to presume I will never lose faith.

Sounds like you know yourself fairly well. Not everyone does.

God bless…

 

[leonie]

Oh yeah, I’m very affected by the people in which I mingle. I guess it denotes an immature spirituality.

I’m careful to surround myself with better people than me.

Fortunately, these better people don’t have the same weakness or they wouldn’t let me around.

 

[distracted]

Oh yeah, I’m very affected by the people in which I mingle. I guess it denotes an immature spirituality.

I’m careful to surround myself with better people than me.

Fortunately, these better people don’t have the same weakness or they wouldn’t let me around.

I don’t feel this “denotes an immature spirituality”… I feel it is just being honest and just being human…

I appreciate both… especially seeing as how I myself am also honest (sometimes to a fault ??) & very human…:whacky: (or try to be )

You are wise to surround yourself with “better people”… I need to learn how to do the same…