I wish I could believe in God

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Pray that God may enlighten you and shower His infinite mercies on you. I suggest reading through the Gospel of Mark (the shortest Gospel) cover to cover.
 
SugarMagnolia said:
Saying, if I want to believe, just do, is like saying if I want to be young and rich, just do.
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You are confusing rational with irrational.

I believe in the party platform of the Orange Pelican party, therefore, I have become a member of the Orange Pelican party.

I could tomorrow choose to believe in platform of the Blue Donkey political party and change parties.

We choose where we will place our belief.

Now, if I were to say “I believe I am 15 years old” when I am in fact 65 years old or “I believe I am Queen of England”, that would be a manifestation of some sort of delusion.
 
So you summarily dismiss the Design Argument. Fair enough. Then you turn around and trot out the Problem of Evil as if it were the ultimate trump card. Sorry, but the fact that something evil happened to you (and that is a shame and I feel very sorry that it did) does not disprove the all-goodness of God. And logic and science are certainly compatible with religious faith.
 
You’re describing physical things we cannot control.

I’m talking about accepting an idea or rejecting it. There are people who believe the Big Bang Theory or reject it. There are people who accept that the Earth is round and those that reject it. The concept of the existence of something is purely a choice. Either you choose to believe dolphins are real or you don’t. FEELING that something is real is entirely different. Acceptance or belief is (well, SHOULD BE) based on facts. Either you choose to accept the evidence of God and accept it as fact, or you dismiss the evidence and reject.
 
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I feel like you are confusing faith with trust.
I choose to give my trust to a specific party, and if they disappoint me, then I choose to give my trust to another party.
Belief is either there or it isn’t. I can’t choose to believe in something that I don’t believe in just because I want to.
Suppose I have something wrong with me, but I choose to believe it will disappear by itself even though all the evidence is that it’s something that doesn’t just disappear. I can’t do it. I can’t make myself believe it just as I can’t make myself disbelieve in pain. It would be nice if belief and disbelief worked that way. If it did, I would believe in unicorns and magic wishes and all manner of happy lovely things and I wouldn’t believe in anything evil.
 
As has been pointed out, there seems to be a disconnect between “belief”. You are defining the word “belief” in a non standard manner.

noun. something believed; an opinion or conviction: a belief that the earth is flat. confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof:
 
Because of evidence. There is evidence and FACTS to support your belief that you are sick. Either you accept or reject the evidence. Feelings are feelings and totally outside our control because they are not based on evidence, facts, or anything else. They are purely irrational and that’s why it’s taught that you CAN’T control how you feel, you only can control your actions.

Evidence. Facts. Verifiable data. These are the foundations of belief.
 
I bring up the problem of evil because I am not in the apologetics forum. I did not come here to argue against the existence of God. I came here on a personal mission to make myself believe in something that I find unbelievable because. I would rather be happy and wrong than unhappy and right. But the one thing that will never sway me is an argument that is obviously wrong. It does you no good to base your faith upon that old argument because it means if you ever learn about the physical world your faith will be instantly shattered.
 
You say that you are not here to argue against the existence of God, yet every time someone tries to convince you that He exists, you do exactly that. I am not trying to persuade you either way - I have my own doubts and am studying myself - but one thing I am that your responses seem to me to indicate that you are not is willing to listen to opposing viewpoints. Thank you for your time and I am done with this thread.
 
My definition is not non-standard. Conviction is a perfect synonym. I have a conviction, a confidence in the truth of certain things. If I believed the earth was flat and you wanted me to believe it was spherical, would you simply tell me to start believing it was spherical or would you take me in a space shuttle and let me see the earth from space?

Basically, I’m being told that I should believe in something that I don’t believe in. The sentence doesn’t even make sense.

I can belief in something (like a flat earth) and then discover I was wrong when evidence is presented. When that happens, my belief in the error is destroyed.
 
Then you are only reading some replies to me, not all of them. Some people suggest actions to grow my faith. Others regurgitate fallacious arguments that make me cringe when I think of how it makes catholics look to the non-Catholic world.
 
I use the word know for emphasis. It is a feeling, a conviction, that I cannot shake.
Feelings can be so powerful that they are difficult to dispell even when proven false.
How much more powerful are they when they cannot be proven false.
How much more powerful when the majority of people believe them.
 
You seemed pretty receptive to my first post that encouraged you to feel that you have the capacity to believe, but in reading your responses since then, I get the feeling that you have a massive hang up on the issue of belief in that, at this time in your life, you feel belief in God is an impossibility for you, even though you say you want to believe. It’s a bit confusing. Because of the value you’ve placed on “logic and science” (which is in no way negated when you believe in God…) and because of whatever trauma(s) you’ve endured in your life (sincerely sorry to learn of this 😔), you feel uniquely broken in your perceived incapacity to believe.

The simple truth is, belief IS a choice and is absolutely possible. Even if you don’t have all the evidence that makes belief in that particular thing completely cozy and unshakeable, it is a choice. Your problem is that at this time in your life, none of the circumstances or events around you, or ideas you’ve had are compelling enough to even break through and let you feel like believing is possible. You are going to have to soften your heart and ask God for some humility if you want to start feeling like you can believe.

Like I said before, I have been where you are, and it wasn’t even that long ago. Two years ago you could’ve bet me a billion dollars that I’d be joining the Catholic Church, and I would have laughed, and all but spit in your face. But here I am. And I am here because life happens. Things change. And there are no atheists in foxholes.

I can’t eloquently, scientifically map out a bunch of evidence that will magically make you start believing in God. Probably none of us can in the mindset you’re in. But my goodness you have to feel that you have the capacity to believe. You have before, even if now you liken it to believing in unicorns. God has a lot more to offer than unicorns and Santa - it’s not even remotely the same thing. And even logic points to that.

I will pray for you. And I hope you’ll keep praying for you too. ❤️
 
SugarMagnolia said:
I use the word know for emphasis. It is a feeling, a conviction, that I cannot shake.
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Well said. Like love - but not the emotional kind that can come and go. The committed kind that makes you do stuff you wouldn’t normally do. I get it.

I will say I am very, very thankful for my relationship with Christ. I will also say that there are sometimes when the “take up your cross and follow me” part - the part where I have to surrender myself and what I want to what He wants - that part is hard. Sometimes it’s really hard. (Especially when pride’s at stake - then it’s crazy, maddeningly difficult to do the “belief” thing!)

But I know - ironically in the same way you don’t I suppose - that He’s there. And I love him (thank God) even when it’s hard, although if I’m honest I don’t see it until after the hard times are over.

Good luck to you.
 
Thanks Zosch. I think you can see that I am not trying to argue against God’s existence. I am instead telling some people that their arguments are flawed and therefore cannot persuade the unbeliever.

But the argument that I’m mostly finding myself engaged in is this idea that belief is a choice. It is so easy to disprove. Observe:

I say the words, “I choose to believe in God,” but nothing happens. I choose it, but it doesn’t happen. It’s like when I click something on my computer and it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do so I click it thirty more times.
 
Thank you to everyone who is participating on this thread. I tried to respond to all of the posts but I’m sure I’ve missed some. However, I appreicate all of them, especially those of you who are sharing the ways you have overcome unbelief or just strengthened your belief.
 
No I feel you - I get it. We have to rely on the preponderance of evidence in order to choose to believe something (or not). When you don’t have the evidence, you can’t choose it and have it mean anything to you.

If it weren’t for a specific traumatic and miraculous event, I may not have any “evidence” either. I don’t necessarily wish that for you, but I do wish for you some type of a revelation which brings you some evidence to support the belief you crave.

All the best in your faith journey!
 
We can find God easily in our daily lives. Have you dreamed and something was shown to you that you did not know prior? Do you ever sit down and something inside you provides clarity or direction? If so, God is working in your life already.
 
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