Mental obstacles to faith

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Spyral

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I basically have no faith.

I might have 2 molecules of it left but am finding religion and god annoying and pointless. I don’t believe that Jesus died for my sins or that I am chosen or special or forgiven or whatever. I think the biblically described god is petty and vengeful and ultimately a form of control.

Mentally, logically & intellectually I cannot believe in God. I mean faith seems nice but I just can’t do it. So where does that leave me?
 
I basically have no faith.

I might have 2 molecules of it left but am finding religion and god annoying and pointless. I don’t believe that Jesus died for my sins or that I am chosen or special or forgiven or whatever. I think the biblically described god is petty and vengeful and ultimately a form of control.

Mentally, logically & intellectually I cannot believe in God. I mean faith seems nice but I just can’t do it. So where does that leave me?
Well it dosen’t leave you hopeless that’s for sure.

God loves you right where you are and wants with all his heart to bring you peace and happiness. Just start whispering “Jesus, have mercy on me.” Say it as aften as you would like. He’ll come.

Just a thought.​

“In Christ there is no east or west, in him no north or south, but one great family bound by love, throughout the whole wide earth.” (hymn)
 
I basically have no faith.

I think the biblically described god is petty and vengeful and ultimately a form of control.
I’m glad you don’t have any faith in the god you described above. I just have to correct you a wee bit. If you read the bible, whenever it describes God it uses adjectives such as "Kind, merciful, and compassionate.

Scriptures such as:

“With the Lord there is mercy.”
“His love endures for ever.”
“The Lord is kind and merciful.”
“The Lord is patient.”
“The Lord is generous.”
“The Lord is Holy”
“The Lord is almighty”
“The Lord 'saves”
“The Lord is faithful.”
“The Lord protects His faithful”
“Fall into the arms of the Lord.”
etc. etc. etc.

I suggest going through a bible and highlighting all the statements that describe God or His attributes and then maybe you will find it in you to have faith in Him. For who you think He is, is not who He is.
 
and ultimately a form of control
.

God does not want to control us, that is why he lets us choose him or ourselves. Like a loving parent, he sets parameters for our health and well being in this life.

I hope that you can use those last bits of faith you may have to pray for wisdom and guidance. If our hearts are open, no matter how empty, God will help you!

My prayers are with you!
 
I basically have no faith.

I might have 2 molecules of it left but am finding religion and god annoying and pointless. I don’t believe that Jesus died for my sins or that I am chosen or special or forgiven or whatever. I think the biblically described god is petty and vengeful and ultimately a form of control.

Mentally, logically & intellectually I cannot believe in God. I mean faith seems nice but I just can’t do it. So where does that leave me?
Sounds like you are just about ready to stop relying on your own power…and maybe close to relying on His.

This is not sarcastic. It is often when our own reserves have been completely depleted that we are ready to truly rely on God.

You will be in my prayers.
 
God loves you right where you are and wants with all his heart to bring you peace and happiness. Just start whispering “Jesus, have mercy on me.” Say it as aften as you would like. He’ll come.
I wouldn’t like to at all.
Mercy for what? Being born?

I’m glad you don’t have any faith in the god you described above. I just have to correct you a wee bit. If you read the bible, whenever it describes God it uses adjectives such as "Kind, merciful, and compassionate.

What about the mass genocides, wrath, floods and so on. It seems to contrary.
 
I wouldn’t like to at all.
Mercy for what? Being born?

I’m glad you don’t have any faith in the god you described above. I just have to correct you a wee bit. If you read the bible, whenever it describes God it uses adjectives such as "Kind, merciful, and compassionate.

What about the mass genocides, wrath, floods and so on. It seems to contrary.
I had the same hang up at one point. I eventually saw a couple things.

First and foremost, God himself loved us so much that he died for us (if you believe the OT stories, hopefully you can believe this fact just as much as its in the same book).

Second, I can’t put God in my box. I tried desperately but he just wouldn’t fit because he wasn’t meant to be there.

I had a problem with the problem of evil. There is much to be said about it, but I ultimately took a class on the problem of evil at the university in which we read through Job. Chapter 38 on left a huge impression on me. Who am I to try to put God in my box?

Here is Chapter 38 to get you started

Job 38 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

2 “Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
19 “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no one lives,
an uninhabited desert,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?
31 “Can you bind the chains** of the Pleiades?
Can you loosen Orion’s belt?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons[c]
or lead out the Bear[d] with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God’s[e] dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom[f]
or gives the rooster understanding?[g]
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?
39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?**
 
The teachings of Jesus are useful even if you don’t believe He was God, or for that matter if you can’t say one way or another if He was even historical. You just have to look at the lessons of the heart he’s trying to teach.

For example, if you read Matt 5-7, that’s His famous Sermon on the Mount, starting with the well-known Beatitudes … “Blessed are the poor in spirit for their is the kingdom of heaven.” A great deal of what He says could help a person condition the mind toward greater serenity, whether it be from God or be a result of the mental exercises.

And think of Jesus as your thought coach/teacher. Not the judge of your thoughts, except as to explain how negative and destructive thoughts – such as anger and envy – work on our psyches, and how to overcome them.

Don’t force yourself to make a decision up front. That is a source of anxiety because if you can’t learn anything about Jesus until you believe in Him, then it takes away the opportunity for Him to call you through your hearing of His word. Take a walk with the words of Jesus and see where that leads you.

Rom 10:14-17
But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring [the] good news!” But not everyone has heeded the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what was heard from us?” Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.

Spend some time with the words of Jesus. Then come back to the question of whether you believe in Him. His words can bring true unconditional peace and serenity of mind.

Alan
 
On what God has done in the Bible, a thought:
Well, let’s ask a simple question. What makes killing someone wrong? I’ve always taken the view that it is ultimately because it is a life and future you are taking from someone, and it doesn’t belong to you. Here is my viewpoint (which you are free to reject, I guess): "
  1. If God is the ultimate bestower of life and creation, as well as One who guides us through our loves and is our Final Judge, wouldn’t it make logical (though not necessarily emotional) sense to say that God in a sense, own us and, therefore, our lives and future? He then has the right to give an take life as He sees fit.
Now, perhaps you have a different idea of what makes killing wrong, and if you do, please explain.
 
Mentally, logically & intellectually I cannot believe in God. I mean faith seems nice but I just can’t do it. So where does that leave me?
It leaves you at reading Summa contra Gentiles and trying to refute the existence of God and Catholicism afterwards, if you can 🤷

Faith is after all a gift, but we often believe or continue to believe by an act of will, even a heroic act of will (as those who at some point enter a dark night or spiritual crisis).

Also, I am inclined to believe (but forgive me if I am wrong) that your life is probably comfortable enough, for those who face their own limitation and weakness every day often times more easily realize that God is not just nice, but necessary and indispensable for life.
 
I wouldn’t like to at all.
Mercy for what? Being born?

I’m glad you don’t have any faith in the god you described above. I just have to correct you a wee bit. If you read the bible, whenever it describes God it uses adjectives such as "Kind, merciful, and compassionate.

What about the mass genocides, wrath, floods and so on. It seems to contrary.
What about the fact that the sick and discapacitated and poor were always and everywhere mistreated and Christ came to tell us that they are blessed, that God is with them to console them and repay them a hundredfold of their sufferings for eternity, that whatever we do to them of good or bad we are doing it to God, that we ought to take care of them.

What about the fact that in Christ slavery and gender inequality was abolished, proclaiming that all men were free and children of God, and that woman had to love man as Christ, but that man also had to love woman as much as Christ loves the Church, and proclaimed the need for a perpetual monogamous marriage in order to defend the dignity of women.

What about the fact that in Christ the widows and orphans were taken care of rather than becoming beggars or worse.

What about the fact that in Christ all immoral sexual practices against women and children were condemned as wrong and against God, and the values of chastity, countenance, modesty, and true caring love between spouses were brought forth.

What about the fact that the Church of Christ spends altogether over a hundred billion dollars every year in helping the poor all over the world, sustained solely through the donations that people give freely.

What about the fact that there are men and women all over the world who give up everything they have (or a significant part of their life) in order to go to those who are in need and defend them and educate them and clothe and feed them.

There was a man, a priest, who found that in an island of Hawaii lepers were being thrown and abandoned to themselves, separated from their families, often times even just children, without a proper health care system…left there to die of leprosy, in bitter pain…and he was a strong man of 33 years old in the Hawaii, and he did not hesitate to volunteer and live in the “cursed island” for 16 years amidst the lepers, bringing them the news of a God who would embrace them and console them, and for those who didn’t believe, at least a message of hope and love…bringing to the men, women, and children condemned to die in pain the knowledge that they were not cursed and abandoned by their country and their family to die in pain, alone…and a loving gaze in the last instant of their lives…and most of the people there became Catholic, and he brought medical resources and another priest and nuns, living them in much better condition than ever before…and he contracted leprosy in 1884, but he refused to abandon the place although he did receive some treatment…and remained for 5 more years until death there…

What about that priest? I pray that you may stop for a minute and close your eyes and think about him for just a minute, and tell me that he was wrong, that it wasn’t worth it, that his faith was no good!
 
I’d listen to the two molecules of faith that you still have. Keep seeking.

[BIBLEDRB]Matthew 8:24-26[/BIBLEDRB]
 
What about the mass genocides, wrath, floods and so on. It seems to contrary.
God is Love.

God does not impose his will on us.

We have been given free will.

If we choose to do “evil” it is our choice.

If God “forced” us to love him, he would no longer be a loving God. This is tyranny. God loves us so much that he will allow us to choose against being with him for all eternity and go off to hell. God sends no one to hell. The Soul choses to not be with God and in doing so, must reside in the same place reserved for the fallen Angels because at the end of time there will be no other place for them to be.

God does not want you to go there. God wants you to be with him.

God doesn’t need to be worshiped. He is completely fulfilled in himself. He doesn’t “need” us. He loves so much that his love “overflowed from his Trinitarian nature” that he wished to share it. So he created other beings to share his love.

God is not a tyrant. If you wish to choose against him ( and I hope you reconsider ) there is a place for you to reside for all eternity. Remember there are no “friends” in this place. Everyone hates everyone who is there and they hate God. There are not “cohort of adventures that rebelled”, there are not “bands and partying” in this dark place.

Don’t buy in to error. Please research and engage the reason that God gave you and choose wisely. Choose the truth. Choose the God who loves you.

Please choose God.
 
You say you have two molecules of faith in you: then pray, and pray hard, for your faith to increase. Don’t abandon the little faith you have - you need faith (and charity and supernatural grace) to get to Heaven!🙂
 
I basically have no faith.

I might have 2 molecules of it left but am finding religion and god annoying and pointless. I don’t believe that Jesus died for my sins or that I am chosen or special or forgiven or whatever. I think the biblically described god is petty and vengeful and ultimately a form of control.

Mentally, logically & intellectually I cannot believe in God. I mean faith seems nice but I just can’t do it. So where does that leave me?
It leaves you at the start of a pilgrimage; consider this article:

cal-catholic.com/wordpress/2013/05/28/the-atheist-orthodoxy-that-drove-me-to-faith/
 
I’m glad you don’t have any faith in the god you described above. I just have to correct you a wee bit. If you read the bible, whenever it describes God it uses adjectives such as "Kind, merciful, and compassionate.

What about the mass genocides, wrath, floods and so on. It seems to contrary.
All that is good belongs to God and is from God. He is good, therefore, all He does is good. In the beginning God gave us the freedom to choose love. Unfortunately, we don’t always choose love, ie: mass genocides.

Now, when it comes to nature, we humans choose to live on fault lines, or in tornado valleys, or areas that are prone to hurricanes. Now, who’s fault is it that someone lives where they do? Even still, animals usually listen to their instincts when it comes to nature and when storms come, they take cover or retreat. We as humans have this same ability to be “in tune” with nature but we are too busy being busy, listening to the radio, T.V., computer, and phone to pay attention to our inner voice.

Give to God what is God’s and give to humans what is human. So, often evil is blamed on God but evil comes from humans free will. We don’t want to take responsibility for our choices, instead we would rather blame someone else… Hence, what happened to the perfectly innocent Jesus. Rather than take responsibility, change, and heal we said, “Lets just kill the guy who says what we are doing is wrong. If no one convicts us then we can’t be wrong, right?”

Most of the “horrible” things that we suffer in this life are the consequences of our own choices or the choices of some other human, NOT GOD. God, in His mercy, came as a man (Jesus) to speak to us in ways we can understand, to show us how to be human, how to be human the way God intended. God, over and over again pleads with us to “listen” to Him, to follow the ways that He KNOWS bring long lasting fulfillment for everyone. He says, "Listen! Love your neighbor, do good even to those who hate you, serve one another, take care of one another, know that you are capable of being “like God your Father.” Jesus showed us, in Himself, what humans are capable of.
 
I wouldn’t like to at all.
Mercy for what? Being born?

I’m glad you don’t have any faith in the god you described above. I just have to correct you a wee bit. If you read the bible, whenever it describes God it uses adjectives such as "Kind, merciful, and compassionate.

What about the mass genocides, wrath, floods and so on. It seems to contrary.
“Jesus have mercy on me” can be exchanged for “Jesus grant me peace” if you prefer.

The source of peace is God. He will come if you ask.

The questions and doubts you are having are only answered with time. Take time and read, but with an open mind.

“Jesus grant me peace.” “Jesus help me.”

You will get there.
 
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