Is loving God motivated by fear of hell?

[sudy]

I believe in asking for what we need.

Matthew 7:7-11, Mark 11:24-25

 

[Lily_Bernans]

You might be right, but I felt very little during the Easter Sunday Mass this morning and what one member previously posted on this thread. I have grown far too pessimistic I believe, maybe I was deluding myself to believe that I was believing at all. Who knows, but the faith is definitely swaying.

The poster above me is right: many great saints felt little or nothing for a time. St. John of the Cross called it the “dark night of the soul,” and Bl. Mother Teresa wrote her spiritual advisor that she felt nothing for fifty years!

The fact that you are here, questioning, is evidence of faith even if you feel nothing. Feelings aren’t everything. There are times when spouses don’t “feel” their love for each other, but they know it’s still there. Some have theorized that this “dark night of the soul” is necessary so we don’t grow too dependent on our feelings. Others simply say they don’t know why some people have to endure it. The important thing is that it is not a sign of loss of faith if you still want to believe and cultivate a relationship with Christ. Once you do form a personal relationship with Christ, he will be more real to you than anyone here on earth.

Start with something simple like saying the “Our Father” every morning and evening. Pray some of the hours. If you don’t feel anything when saying the words, don’t worry. The feelings will come - eventually. Just don’t give up. Know that God is waiting for you with open arms.

 

[Austere]

The poster above me is right: many great saints felt little or nothing for a time. St. John of the Cross called it the “dark night of the soul,” and Bl. Mother Teresa wrote her spiritual advisor that she felt nothing for fifty years!

The fact that you are here, questioning, is evidence of faith even if you feel nothing. Feelings aren’t everything. There are times when spouses don’t “feel” their love for each other, but they know it’s still there. Some have theorized that this “dark night of the soul” is necessary so we don’t grow too dependent on our feelings. Others simply say they don’t know why some people have to endure it. The important thing is that it is not a sign of loss of faith if you still want to believe and cultivate a relationship with Christ. Once you do form a personal relationship with Christ, he will be more real to you than anyone here on earth.

Start with something simple like saying the “Our Father” every morning and evening. Pray some of the hours. If you don’t feel anything when saying the words, don’t worry. The feelings will come - eventually. Just don’t give up. Know that God is waiting for you with open arms.

I can honestly say I hope so my friend, because to be perfectly honest with you, I can say that I never really felt anything praying before, or doing the Rosary, or even going to Mass. Either I never had genuine faith at all or I’ve been through this ‘dark night of the soul’ for a long time.

 

[mikekle]

I wish I could, as I haven’t gone to Mass in a few months, I feel no desire to go to Confession, I constantly fall to temptation. I feel like I’m drifting from the faith and I’d say if it wasn’t for fear of hell, I might have already abandoned the faith.

I feel the same way, I had a thread about this awhile back actually.

I am still wondering if Im trying to live a good life because I truly want to obey Gods laws and follow what he said, or if Im just scared of going to hell when I die as a result.

This has a little bit to do with free will the more I think about it, if there was NO hell and no eternal punishment for any of the bad things we did on this earth, and no one received any kind of punishment for not living a life with God in it, if it was TRUE free will ( any choice is fine with no consequences), would as many people be christians today as there are?..Im not so sure about this.

The people out there that are able to feel and experience God in their lives are different though, I only know a handful of these people, for myself, I have never felt God or anything close, so I cant really say I have a relationship with him, so it seems in my case, Im living as a christian only so my afterlife is a good one.