quite weak

[ohyah007]

my faith is very weak right now. I just recently saw the movie Zeitgeist. I haven’t even heard of it before a few days ago, and i know how long its been out. I have seen many rebuttals to the film, and that the sources are incorrect. But after seeing this, I cant help but think. This movie really messed me up. I’ve been really questioning my life. If there is no God then there is no after life. If there is no afterlife, then what is the point of living now. If i ever was thoroughly convinced on the nonexistense of God i would have to give up my life because there would be no point. But as of now my life is dedicated to whatever may be up there, and to follow all of the Catholic teachings. I would never stop following my Catholiuc morality because it is a good guide line to life in general. But i am really shooken and can’t find that boost to restore faith again. I lie awake nearly all night praying for a sign of existence, a sign of love. I am really messed up right now.

so i ask

will you please help me get back on track?

and i never did understand why we pray to God for good things to happen, we pray to him to stop the bad things, but i have been told by many priests that he will not stop wars or hurricanes, or child abuse

so why do we pray for him to help us?

 

[mary73]

I can see what you are going through right now. I know that you want proof of God’s existence. By praying the first thing you should ask God to give you is freedom from anxiety and fear. God does exist, there are too many signs and miracles that have occured over the many thousands of years since Christs death.

The afterlife will be evident when we are ALL in Gods Kingdom. The movie you saw was the product of man made fantasy. (AND WHAT A BAD ONE AT THAT!)

Pray with an open mind, heart and know that God does not wish for you to fear not seeing Him in the time to come. The point of the movie was to scare and place doubt in the viewers heart and mind. Nothing else. Gods Peace be with you. Mary

PS Try meditating on the Sacred Heart…and pray a rosary if it will comfort you.

 

[Blade_and_Blood]

Well, first of all, I am a very big fan of the Zeitgeist films. If anything, they encouraged me to move on.

Understand: Whether there is a God or not, everyone has a place in this Life. It is up to you to put yourself in place because it is just the price of Humanity’s Set-Up. In this day and age, there is always a place for you. Take responsibility for it. It is rather fulfilling and rewarding.

Besides, let’s be honest: For us humans to only live and do good works for the sake of avoiding punishment or the sake of a possibly empty promise of eternal life makes us a sorry lot.

But, this is your decision. So, don’t take my word for it, think for yourself. :compcoff:

Ironically Yours, Blade and Blood

 

[MACHIU]

Speaking from experience, I too was ‘conditioned’ by movies, fiction novels and many well-meaning friends that pushed me away from God. Mind you, I wasn’t a bad person (I think), although I have broken most of the 10 Commandments. I was a cradle Catholic and I guess knowledge that God exits and the punishment of hell still manage to keep me on the line. I wasn’t doing anything bad but never done anything for the pursuit of my faith either.

Then I heard this guy quote this verse:
[SIGN]1 Jn 5:19: We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies the wicked one[/SIGN].
and that stuck. My interpretation at that moment was that living the way I was, was like going down on an escalator. Doing nothing about it, surely you will reach the bottom. So from that point on, I actively searched for a Bible Study group, and fortunately found a really wonderful Catholic Youth Community in my parish and my faith has grown ever since.

I guess what I am trying to say is find yourself among others that will support you during this week time. St Paul recommends this in his letters. The CAF is great place to be.

As I mentioned above, the world is a crazy place, but we are in it so there is no escaping it. Bad things happen to the most wonderful people and the challenge is to keep faithful. What I usually pray is not for good things to happen, but for God to give the strength, wisdom and courage to go through the trouble times and hope that I may come out victorious in Christ.

Will pray for you, God Bless.

 

[Eucharisted]

If you seek God, look at your soul. You must be a shining mirror of Justice; the more you shine, the more you’ll see God.

 

[Monica4316]

That movie is not that accurate, actually.
For example…about Christianity being derived from other religions and myths etc… the Apostles died for the faith because they saw the risen Christ. If they had simply made Him up, would they leave their countries homes families possessions etc and become martyrs? Also, what about those other religions being “prophesies” of Christianity…maybe God put them in the world to prepare the Gentiles for Christ, way back then?

take a look at this:
preventingtruthdecay.org/zeitgeistpartone.shtml

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=225332

I suggest that you don’t believe all these types of movies just like that. Just because the people who made them say they’re credible, doesn’t make it so.

Look …read some apologetics, and look into all the miracles that happened because people prayed to God… why do we pray to Him? we don’t pray just to ask for things… but we CAN ask, because if it’s in His will, He will answer. Our prayers DO affect this. God doesn’t always take away suffering cause He wants ppl to learn from it. But there are many other times when He does, in response to prayer.

Maybe you’d be interested in this book - it’s available online:
philosophyforlife.com/mctoc.htm

God bless

 

[Mark77]

Besides, let’s be honest: For us humans to only live and do good works for the sake of avoiding punishment or the sake of a possibly empty promise of eternal life makes us a sorry lot.

But, this is your decision. So, don’t take my word for it, think for yourself. :compcoff:

Ironically Yours, Blade and Blood

Exactly correct, that is one reason why so many drift from God, from the Church and even to Atheism.

If we act out of fear or selfishness, we have not found the Truth, which is a person, not an idea. Jesus is that person and He is love.

“Deus Caritas Est” (God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.) 1 Jn 4:16 .

We are all on a different path with different experiences.

I was extremely reluctant to return to a strong belief in God because I misunderstood the love of God. I often thought of the punishment by a harsh God.

I now realize that God loves us so much that He allows us to decide. The punishment is self inflicted, because we know what is right and wrong in our heart.

Focus on the beauty and infinite variety of creation. If there is no God then all we see is a random set of circumstances that are truly meaningless. If that is true, then why do we care, why do we feel love, why don’t we just exist without self awareness, like all of the other creatures?

I believe there must be a God, an incredibly loving, caring and forgiving God who only loves us so much that He gives us the freedom to make our own choices. The punishment comes in when we choose incorrectly, in a selfish and non-loving way.

Santa Maria, Mater Dei, Ora Pro Nobis Peccatoribus!

Mark

 

[Monica4316]

Well, first of all, I am a very big fan of the Zeitgeist films. If anything, they encouraged me to move on.

Understand: Whether there is a God or not, everyone has a place in this Life. It is up to you to put yourself in place because it is just the price of Humanity’s Set-Up. In this day and age, there is always a place for you. Take responsibility for it. It is rather fulfilling and rewarding.

Besides, let’s be honest: For us humans to only live and do good works for the sake of avoiding punishment or the sake of a possibly empty promise of eternal life makes us a sorry lot.

But, this is your decision. So, don’t take my word for it, think for yourself. :compcoff:

Ironically Yours, Blade and Blood

Blade and Blood, I respectfully disagree… we are not Christians out of fear or any reason like that. The main reason for Christianity is love. We follow God out of love for Him. Perfect love casts out fear.

If there is no God, it’s possible to find a place in this world, but will it really satisfy you, that is the question. What we are made for? If you don’t believe in God, there is no answer to this question. Christianity teaches that we were made for God, and our hearts are restless till we find rest in Him. I used to be an agnostic and I searched for meaning everywhere… in success, in friends, in relationships, etc… I’ve had some great things going my way… but there was still something missing. CS Lewis wrote a lot about this… he said, if we have desires that nothing in this world can satisfy, then we were made for another world. But the very fact that these desires exist, shows that there’s something to fulfill them, because we would never feel hungry if we lived in a universe where food does not exist and where we can’t eat.

Exactly correct, that is one reason why so many drift from God, from the Church and even to Atheism.

If we act out of fear or selfishness, we have not found the Truth, which is a person, not an idea. Jesus is that person and He is love.

that is true… the correct motive for faith is love, not fear or selfishness.
A person’s faith might start out being all about fear. In many cases, that is alright, for a time, but eventually as they grow spiritually, they begin to see there’s more to it. It’s sad when people leave Christianity before they grow in this way, before they see what it’s all about…

“Deus Caritas Est” (God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.) 1 Jn 4:16 .

We are all on a different path with different experiences.

I was extremely reluctant to return to a strong belief in God because I misunderstood the love of God. I often thought of the punishment by a harsh God.

I now realize that God loves us so much that He allows us to decide. The punishment is self inflicted, because we know what is right and wrong in our heart.

Focus on the beauty and infinite variety of creation. If there is no God then all we see is a random set of circumstances that are truly meaningless. If that is true, then why do we care, why do we feel love, why don’t we just exist without self awareness, like all of the other creatures?

I believe there must be a God, an incredibly loving, caring and forgiving God who only loves us so much that He gives us the freedom to make our own choices. The punishment comes in when we choose incorrectly, in a selfish and non-loving way.

Santa Maria, Mater Dei, Ora Pro Nobis Peccatoribus!

Mark

 

[AveSantaMaria]

CS Lewis wrote a lot about this… he said, if we have desires that nothing in this world can satisfy, then we were made for another world. But the very fact that these desires exist, shows that there’s something to fulfill them, because we would never feel hungry if we lived in a universe where food does not exist and where we can’t eat.

Thank you Monica4316 for sharing this. It is very touching, inspirational, and intriguing to me. Maybe you know which work of CS Lewis that CS Lewis wrote this in?

 

[Monica4316]

Thank you Monica4316 for sharing this. It is very touching, inspirational, and intriguing to me. Maybe you know which work of CS Lewis that CS Lewis wrote this in?

Hi,
I think he wrote this in Mere Christianity, but it might also be the Weight of Glory

both are available online:

(the Weight of Glory - first link)
google.ca/search?hl=en&q=the+weight+of+glory&meta=

(Mere Christianity)
philosophyforlife.com/mctoc.htm

I like CS Lewis… although he was Anglican, I find his theology is compatible with Catholicism. He was definitely a traditional Christian and not an evangelical. And he even said that purgatory makes sense

God bless

 

[fhansen]

You already know there’s a God. The Hope you have within didn’t come from thin air-it’s a gift. Those who opine on the non-existence of God can do so endlessly but they’re guilty of the cowardice that’s part and parcel of pride-which is another way of saying they fear what the world thinks. Stand up for your faith within yourself first-that’s where the battle starts-it’s actually where the whole battle takes place. God is real. God is good and those who haven’t experienced Him simply speak out of wholesale ignorance. And you can ask for more faith-He’ll always answer a sincere prayer for that.

 

[Hoosier]

Monica, thanks for your reply. I wish I had that kind of faith. I feel more like the original poster, even though I haven’t seen the “Zeitgeist” movie.

Would you mind sharing how you came from agnosticism to Christianity?

 

[Blade_and_Blood]

Blade and Blood, I respectfully disagree… we are not Christians out of fear or any reason like that. The main reason for Christianity is love. We follow God out of love for Him. Perfect love casts out fear.

If there is no God, it’s possible to find a place in this world, but will it really satisfy you, that is the question. What we are made for? If you don’t believe in God, there is no answer to this question. Christianity teaches that we were made for God, and our hearts are restless till we find rest in Him. I used to be an agnostic and I searched for meaning everywhere… in success, in friends, in relationships, etc… I’ve had some great things going my way… but there was still something missing. CS Lewis wrote a lot about this… he said, if we have desires that nothing in this world can satisfy, then we were made for another world. But the very fact that these desires exist, shows that there’s something to fulfill them, because we would never feel hungry if we lived in a universe where food does not exist and where we can’t eat.

Your statement is true for the precious few who could not create their own purpose for this life, as well as those who have their lives centered on religion.

Others have the potential to have that strength to live Life whether a higher power exists or not. There are believers who have faith, who rejoice because of it; believers who doubt faith, who desperately desire it; and people who don’t need faith, who live and let live.

Ironically Yours.

 

[Non_sum_dignus]

Blade and Blood, I respectfully disagree… we are not Christians out of fear or any reason like that. The main reason for Christianity is love. We follow God out of love for Him. Perfect love casts out fear.

Nice job spotting the straw man argument, Monica.

My devotion to God (such as it is) is not built on a carrot/stick mentality–it’s built on my perception that Truth resides within the Catholic Church. The philosophical ramifications of a godless universe (such a moral relativism) drive me into the Church faster than my inconstant heart can stray.

Peter said it best: “To whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life.”

 

[The_Catholic]

That movie is not that accurate, actually.
For example…about Christianity being derived from other religions and myths etc… the Apostles died for the faith because they saw the risen Christ. If they had simply made Him up, would they leave their countries homes families possessions etc and become martyrs? Also, what about those other religions being “prophesies” of Christianity…maybe God put them in the world to prepare the Gentiles for Christ, way back then?

take a look at this:
preventingtruthdecay.org/zeitgeistpartone.shtml

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=225332

I suggest that you don’t believe all these types of movies just like that. Just because the people who made them say they’re credible, doesn’t make it so.

Look …read some apologetics, and look into all the miracles that happened because people prayed to God… why do we pray to Him? we don’t pray just to ask for things… but we CAN ask, because if it’s in His will, He will answer. Our prayers DO affect this. God doesn’t always take away suffering cause He wants ppl to learn from it. But there are many other times when He does, in response to prayer.

Maybe you’d be interested in this book - it’s available online:
philosophyforlife.com/mctoc.htm

God bless

Yes, there are so many coming out of the woodwork today claiming Christianity is a copycat religion when in fact it is not, and a good reading on apologetics can easily prove this, especially “The Jesus Legend,” by Paul Rhodes Eddy and Gregory A. Boyd. A great book in defense of Christianity’s origin.

These Jesus Mythers of today are the left overs of the eighteenth century’s higher critisism. One not leaned of these attacks can become quite shaken. But to the OP, brother or sister, do not fear, God exists. I’ll pray for you hugs

 

[Cluny]

and i never did understand why we pray to God for good things to happen, we pray to him to stop the bad things, but i have been told by many priests that he will not stop wars or hurricanes, or child abuse

One day God WILL put a stop to all these bad things and more.

But that will be the end of the universe and the Last Judgement when Christ returns.

Then it will be too late for us to stop the bad things in our own lives, especially the bad things we do that lead to wars and child abuse (among other evils), that we can control. And we will be judged accordingly.

 

[miniquedoes]

I felt the same way for a couple seconds after I saw the movie a while back . I then did some research to find information to refute the claims made in this movie. I found this really helpful

bringyou.to/apologetics/HORUS.htm

Hopefully you will find some peace after you read it. Remember this is just propaganda to destroy a person’s belief in God. I fully believe that science or historical/archaeological evidence will never disprove the existence of God (or God incarnate Jesus Christ).

 

[ohyah007]

thank you for the support
everyday i seem to get a little better
i will never stop praying, although some of these times i feel like its pointless

and i would love to hear some stories about your journey’s to God and Christianity

 

[Shin]

You’re pretty vulnerable and easily touched by propaganda aren’t you?

Zeitgeist is that.

I mean a person should know his weaknesses at least. I don’t say this to make you feel bad, but for you to understand your weaknesses.

Natural disasters are one thing, human sin is one thing… but ultimately all these pass away… and each human life is only some decades…

With a reward of justice and a new world forever good at the end.

Prayers are answered regularly, every second… but one must be in a state of grace to be truly acceptable to God in prayer and gain results… though He hears all prayers… the more one sins, the more one is far from the graces needed for prayers to be answered…

If God seems far, become holy and He will be felt near.

Read about Padre Pio’s prayers. . .

 

[John_Russell_Jr]

My dear friend

Pray for more faith. Pray for 100’s of little tiny detailed things all the time and watch and see if your prayers are answered. Keep praying and keep watching. It’s best to pray to our Lady now but not compulsory. Pray to her to set you aflame with faith and the love of God. You still have faith but you can lose what you have if you don’t act quickly. Every prayer, work, joy or suffering, every mass and communion, confession etc will build your faith if you do it for the right motive. Just try to have a good intention even if you feel dead. This is very pleasing to God and his blessed mother. You will be rewarded if you do it. Hang on until the death and work as hard as you can to build your faith up so it’s very strong. You can do it. If you lose the faith you may never get it back again and everything will become meaningless to you and you may then be lost. Forget about feeling dead. Just persevere no matter how hard it is. Read about the martyrs and see what adversity they had to overcome. They will inspire you for sure. You are being tested. It’s just one long test this life. When good times come we think they’ll last forever but they don’t. It’s the same when bad times come. Hang in there and work hard no matter what and the good times will come.

I’m praying for you.

God bless and peace to you friend:thumbsup: