Im lost and confused about God’s love

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Heshonda17

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So I am 15 and have been a Catholic for the past 2 years. I live with Protestants (of which I disagree with a lot, such as they are new earth believers and I’ve always been an old earth believer) but for the past month I’ve been religiously lost. I for some reason didn’t want to be a Christian and started looking into so many religions in the intent of conversion. Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Bahá’í, Sikhism, even Satanism. I’ve always had a rule that I followed and that’s that their had to be a God, at least one, all powerful and had to be followed. I never thought of conversion to Atheism until recently. Two weeks ago I looked deeply into Islam and almost converted, but then I got led away and into Judaism. I felt so lost so I thought to myself, why not try out Atheism? I looked into some Atheist videos and I instantly converted, due to one video I watched. I can’t remember the name of the video or the man who was talking in the video but he said something that caught my attention. It was along the lines of “How can an all loving and all powerful God let millions of people, including babies die across the globe while their families pray to false Gods, and will go to hell for doing so.” So I converted to Atheism and my religious and political views have changed so much but I can’t stand it. I’m constantly fighting myself inside my mind and I can’t do it anymore. So my question is why does God let this happen. And if I’m convinced of the answer how can I heal my spiritual wounds?
 
God is not letting this happen, you are.

I don’t really understand where you are in your faith. Have you been confirmed in the Catholic .church officially? Your profile says you are atheist.

If you have, why are you constantly looking into other religions? It doesn’t make sense, and it appears that anything you read/see seems to affect you strongly.

Do you attend mass regularly? If not, that is what you should focus on, not searching for other things.
 
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Heshonda17 said:
I looked into some Atheist videos and I instantly converted, due to one video I watched.
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This tells me that you’re not really putting a lot of thought into this. It sounds more like you’re shopping for something you like rather than genuinely searching for the truth. I’m not trying to be mean in saying this, it’s just how it comes across.
Heshonda17 said:
“How can an all loving and all powerful God let millions of people, including babies die across the globe while their families pray to false Gods, and will go to hell for doing so.”
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This is a gross oversimplification of the situation, and completely ignores Christian, and especially Catholic, philosophy and theology.

To start to provide an answer:
Human death and suffering is the result of sin. It is not how God intended creation to be, but it’s how we made it when our first parents chose to sin. This outlook also completely ignores the afterlife, which is understandable since thy’re atheists. Ultimately, we do not believe that death is a bad thing, at least not a good death. Death is the final culmination of our life, whereby we (hopefully) enter into everlasting communion with our creator, the source of all happiness. Atheists will never accept that answer, since they don’t believe in God, so they’re only capable of seeing death as a bad thing, at least when it happen to children. Now, this doesn’t mean that we should celebrate death, or that it is and objectively good thing. There’s a reason Christ wept at the death of Lazurus even knowing full well that He was about to resurrect him. Death is contrary to God’s plan for us, but again, it’s the result of sin, and can be a beautiful thing if we enter into it properly.

As for the last bit, about people going to Hell, that is again a gross mischaracterization of Catholic teaching. We do not believe that people go to Hell merely for not believing in God. If a person is not responsible for their unbelief then we believe they can be saved if they have otherwise lived a life in accordance with natural law (that law which is built into the human heart and is knowable by the application of right reason.). If a person has lived their life rejecting that law, then Hell is a natural consequence of that. It is not an external punishment imparted by God, is is the natural consequence of a choice in much the same way that the natural consequence of my choice to jump off the Empire State Building is falling to my death.

God spends our entire lives reaching out to us, it’s not his fault if we choose not to take His hand in whatever capacity we are able. He literally sent His son to suffer and die for us just sow e’d have a chance at being with Him.

I think you need to step back and pick up a couple of good, Catholic, books that discuss these points. I recommend Answering Atheism by Trent Horn.
 
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Jesus died for you and for me. This has to mean that he loves us both as much as he loves himself.

If God allowed his Son to die a horrible death, we just know that there is a greater good life after death for Jesus and for us.
 
I’m not a confirmed Catholic. My higher ups won’t let me go to mass.
 
Thank you. I get your point. I think one of my problems that led me to becoming an atheist is that I couldn’t be the Catholic that I wanted to be. My higher ups are what you might call “die hard Protestants” and won’t let me go to mass. But I think you just helped me reconsider. Thank you so much.
 
Heshonda17 said:
I couldn’t be the Catholic that I wanted to be
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I’ll give you a hint, no good Catholic is ever the Catholic we want to be. ^^ Not until we stand before God in perfected glory will we attain that goal.

Still, we try, and we grow closer each time we ask God to pick us back up.
Heshonda17 said:
My higher ups are what you might call “die hard Protestants” and won’t let me go to mass.
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Be respectful of your parents and understand that they mean well even if you don’t agree with them. Attend their services and feel free to come to us if you ever have any questions or if their pastor says something that bothers you. There are tons of articles on the main site that address pretty much every Protestant argument against the Church. Know that God sees your desire, and He will not let it go unfulfilled, it might just take a while. In your case, three years, which may seem like a long time but really isn’t. I would still pick up that book, even if your parents aren’t Catholic I doubt they’d get upset about you reading material that refutes Atheism.
Heshonda17 said:
But I think you just helped me reconsider. Thank you so much.
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I am happy if I have been able to help you.
 
I am 17 and wanting to become Catholic. My parents won’t let me and I know it is frustrating. For a long time, I didn’t believe that God loves me. I was an agnostic for three months because I didn’t understand the concept of suffering. God gave us free will and people choose to reject His love. That is why the world is filled with evil people. One day, if we choose to follow God, He will wipe away our tear and there will be no more sadness or pain. Based on what you said, you didn’t think this through very well. I almost went to a non-denominational church because I was searching and I didn’t think. I made a post about it a few weeks ago. If you can, try watching Mass online. You can read more about Catholicism. If you want, feel free to message me if you want to talk more about this,
 
Hi there! Can you tell us a little about what drew/is drawing you to the Catholic faith? The Eucharist, just like the “aesthetic” of the Mass, some particular devotion, etc? I think I, as well as the other commenters in this forum, may be able to help you a little more if we could understand your point of view.
 
To convert to Atheism is simply to convert to nothingness- no belief. Which gets us back to where we all start out, truth be told. To believe in God is to believe that purpose and goodness and meaning and love exist at the very foundations of the universe.

God, for His reasons, values man’s freedom, including our freedom to hate and to love. We can be the most selfish, dark, negative, vicious, and prideful beings or gentle, kind, and loving to the point of self-sacrifice, or somewhere in between. But who our God is will ultimately greatly influence who we become. And at the end of the day good wins out over evil in Christianity; injustice that comes by the abuse of man’s freedom will not be allowed to prevail forever, and every tear will be wiped away.
 
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When non-Catholics speak on the Catholic faith, they tend to distort it. If you go to them for Catholic answers you’ll fly off the rails, which is their intention.

Be a Catholic because it’s true.
 
This a temptation. God allows us to be tried and tested in faith to prove our love for him. There are several references to it is Scripture as being trued as gold or silver bears testing by fire. Do you read the Bible? Thats the best place to find the truth.
Think of it this way even the devil believes in God, so what proof is that of love or devotion? So we must be tested some way. If God is testing your faith so by placing you in a family of non catholics which is tough on you then he has plans for you, so keep strong and practice your Catholic faith. Pray and read the Bible and go to mass. God will strengthen you, but only if you ask him too and let him. I will pray for you.
 
There have been many underage people on CAF that wished to become Catholic but their parents were not. Some continued to learn, grow and study what Catholicism teaches while awaiting the legal age to do what they wished as far as their faith. Just because your parents won’t allow you to attend mass when you are not Catholic is no reason to give up or flit off to other things, the most troubling of which is atheism.

Respect your parents wishes for now, and read up on your own. Start with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Refrain from watching YouTube videos until you are able to discern fact from fiction. You will see many good videos here suggested to people that ask for resources, including Fr. Mike Schmitz, who is an excellent choice for beginners and new Catholics.

You are 15. Stick with things for a while and allow yourself time to digest things.

Atheism is a dead end.
 
I see that you’re new here. Welcome to Catholic Answers Forum!!! 🙂 I’m so sorry to hear what you are going through!!! You need help and support. You sound like you’re going through a tough time. I’m sorry to hear what you are going through. Even if you don’t believe in him, God does exist and he loves you SO much!!! 🙂
Heshonda17 said:
“How can an all loving and all powerful God let millions of people, including babies die across the globe while their families pray to false Gods, and will go to hell for doing so.”
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God is all-loving and all-powerful and he lets people suffer and die because of sin. It’s not God’s fault. Adam and Eve had a perfect life before they sinned. The only reason people suffer is because of sin. It’s our fault, not God’s. Also, dying isn’t a bad thing. If we don’t die, we can’t go to heaven. And God doesn’t send souls to hell. The souls there send themselves there. God loves you so, so, so SO much and he wants nothing more than to bring you into heaven.

Have you ever tried praying to God? He loves you and he will hear your prayers. He may not respond directly, but he will respond. God knows that there are some lost souls who need help and he will help them, but we must ask him first. You just have to trust him.

Also, you shouldn’t have listened to the man in the video. Anyone can come up with reasons why they don’t believe in God. So what? That doesn’t make it true.

One famous person (Sorry, I forget who it is) has a very good argument against atheism. He points out that if you don’t believe in God and you’re right, nothing happens. If you don’t believe in God and you’re wrong, you lose everything. If you believe in God and you’re wrong, nothing happens. If you believe in God and you’re right, you gain everything. That means you can only gain by beliving in God.

I’ve always felt bad for athiests, because, when they’re lost and alone, they have nobody to turn to. If I’ll tell you once, I’ll tell you a million times: God LOVES you!!! He will help you overcome this lost and confused feelings about him, if you ask him to. I ask God to help me overcome my struggles and he does. He will always help me if I ask him to. It’s the same with you. God will help you if you ask him to. Many of the saints struggled with doubt also. I highly recommend prayer. Never underestimate the power of prayer. 🙏

You nearly made me cry because it always saddens me to hear when people fall away from the faith. I think you should talk to a priest and of course, pray. 🙂

If we don’t frequently talk to God and spend time with him, we’ll drift away from him. Think about if. If you only talk to your best friend once a year, do you think you’ll keep on being friends? You should go to Mass and pray. God will help you overcome the situation if you ask him to.

Sorry, if this was long and repetitive. You are in my prayers. I hope this helps!!! God bless!!! 🙏 :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: 🙏
 
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Do you go to any Youth Groups, Bible Studies, RCIA Classes, etc… Spending time with Catholics can help you grow in your faith. If you aren’t involved with activities at a Catholic Church already, I highly recommend getting involved! 🙂
 
Before I started actually calling myself a Catholic, I was one of those I’m just a Christian people. Yes I do mean YEC (So Catholicism has no defined belief?) I believe Christianity is about being a follower of Jesus Christ’ teachings. Also may I ask how you already knew why I was religiously lost? Thank you so much for the response
 
I live with my aunt and uncle who are Protestants. They don’t want me going to anything Catholic essentially. I understand I must follow their commands, but I can sometimes get hard not spending time with any other Catholics
 
Also sorry if I sound a bit uneducated, taking your time out of your day to deal with someone like me. I really appreciate your reply though. And like I said I’m sorta new to Catholicism.
 
Oh, that must be hard. I imagine it wouldn’t be easy to practice the Catholic Faith against your aunt’s and uncle’s wishes. Many Saints did that - you can too! 🙂 Have you ever gone to any Catholic events/practices before? Well, you can always pray at home. The Rosary & Divine Mercy Chaplet are both really good. 🙏 St. Theresa of Calcutta is the patron saint of Doubters, so, if you still doubt God’s existence, you can pray to her. I’ll pray for you! Blessings! 🙏 🙂 🙏
 
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