Seeing is believing?

[bclustr9]

What if you want to believe but can’t believe because you cannot know for sure if what the church teaches is true? Isn’t seeing believing? If I’m supposed to just take everything on faith then why not be a member of any other religion?

 

[TTLE127]

2nd Corinthians 5:7

“For we walk by means of faith, and not by sight.”

Have you heard of St. Thomas the Apostle? Read John 20:24-29. Faith is about not seeing, but believing. You have to have faith that God is real, and that he established the Catholic Church. I see you are considering Catholicism, and I suggest you pray about it. Meet with a Catholic priest near you as well.

 

[Pirrip]

Blessed are those who believe yet have not seen.

 

[CatholicDetroit]

Seeing is believing as we see this was the case of Thomas. Who said he won’t believe until he was able to touch Jesus’ wounds. Christ said that those who believe and have not seen are blessed.

Wanting to believe is a good thing it’s a seed that you should work toward cultivating.

And almost all spiritual things take faith. Aka hoping that what you learned is true. Just like a parent investing in their kid. The parent has faith that their Child will grow up to be a good person and take care of them. Yet, the parent has no proof that their child will turn out so.

So faith is like an investment that you believe will be worth while in the long run. Any religion you join will take faith.

 

[humbleseeker]

What exactly do you have a hard time accepting?

 

[meltzerboy2]

If you put it that way, even seeing is believing does not necessarily make something true because what we see we filter and interpret by means of our past beliefs, prior experiences, biases, cultural influences, and so on. In psychology, we say that believing is seeing since our beliefs so often and strongly influence what we see.

Therefore, what we are left with, whether we want it or not, is faith, which is as good as “seeing is believing” if not better. Sprinkle with a little reason and perhaps common sense, and voila, you have your religious belief.

 

[semper_catholicus]

Believing comes through knowing.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Plenty of people saw Jesus walking around preaching, healing the sick etc and still refused to believe in Him.

If He returned tomorrow, plenty of people still wouldnt believe in him.

In fact when he returns daily in the Eucharistic at Mass, plenty of people still don’t believe though they are looking right at him.

Even if he did some big dramatic miracle or apparition, you’d still have skeptics saying it was all a magic trick or could be explained by natural phenomena.

Seeing doesn’t count for anything without faith. And if you have faith, you really don’t need to see.

 

[bclustr9]

Actually, if Jesus spoke to me, I’d believe.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

He’s speaking to you every day. He speaks to you through Scripture, through other people, through sending the Holy Spirit to inspire you. If you pray a lot and open your heart you will hear him.

 

[JerryZ]

We not always need to see with our own eyes to come to the conclusion that something is true.
Yet there are people who even when you show them tangible evidence of something don’t believe. Look at the “Flat Earth Society” for a glamorous example of the second.
We believe the Gospels on the testimony of eye witnesses who gave up their lives as ransom for the truth of Jesus Christ. They vouched for the truth contained in the Old Testament.
One can ask GOD for a sign, nothing wrong with that. Plenty a people have asked in the past. We must however, be open to receive the answer, keeping in mind that GOD will do always what is best for us.
Merry Christmas!

 

[PennyinCanada]

Maybe for today you don’t have all the answers. How about in the meantime, when you get up in the morning, do a morning offering to God before you go into your day. Is that doable?
There may be things to wrestle with in your faith journey. Take one step toward God today. We need people to be plugged into God, and to be a force for good. Is that something you can get behind?

Here’s an example of a morning offering.

O Jesus,
through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer You my prayers, works,
joys and sufferings
of this day for all the intentions
of Your Sacred Heart,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world,
in reparation for my sins,
for the intentions of all my relatives and friends,
and in particular
for the intentions of the Holy Father.

Amen.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

One can ask GOD for a sign, nothing wrong with that. Plenty a people have asked in the past. We must however, be open to receive the answer, keeping in mind that GOD will do always what is best for us.

We also have to be open to the fact that God sometimes

• doesn’t answer/ is silent
• doesn’t answer the way we want or expect him to
• doesn’t answer at the time we want him to.

The person asking God for a sign has to have enough trust to just leave it up to God whether and when He wishes to provide one.

 

[bclustr9]

I have asked for signs in the past and have had quite interesting ones; just not an absolutely sure sign. I dunno. I’m so pulled to Catholicism. I have chalked it up to merely psychological–simply having a hard time detaching myself from the faith I grew up with. So I dunno. I’ve had signs of the validity of Catholicism/Christianity but I also wonder; if I’d been brought up Muslim, would I have a difficult time extracting myself from Islam? I just don’t know.

 

[bclustr9]

What will saying this do?

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Sounds like Jesus is talking to you all over the place and you’re finding reasons to say, “well, I dunno.”

If you were brought up Catholic, you’re kind of already on the express lane to God, unless you choose to take some other road. My advice would be to let Muslims worry about themselves and you focus on responding to what God is telling you.

 

[PennyinCanada]

What will saying this do?

You are making the decision to unite yourself with God for the day. It’s an act of the will.
It’s getting started in your faith journey. A baby step.

Is it too hard?

 

[bclustr9]

No it’s not.

 

[PennyinCanada]

I was remembering back to my growing up years. I lived with an alcoholic parent who had issues with addiction. It was a dark place to grow up in. When I was in my 20’s I found out that there really was a God and that he loved me. It was the most incredible event of my life. It was full of brightness. I have never been buried in a landslide, but I can look back and think it was like that. Buried and darkness, thinking that it was all there was. Then one day this Hand found me, pulled me out, washed off the mud. All I would want to do is hug and kiss that person for saving my life. That’s how I see God. He’s that person in Jesus Christ who pulled me out of that darkness. So, for me, it’s puzzling that a person would not just want to grab onto God and hold on so tight! Why doesn’t everyone want that? Maybe a person needs to go deeper into to darkness to say that they don’t want to be in darkness any more. Maybe it’s like a person who’s eaten too much and they say ‘No thanks, I’ve had plenty’. It’s different for a person who’s been hungry for years, when they finally have a banquet in front of them, it’s Joy! It’s time for celebrating!

 

[guanophore]

What if you want to believe but can’t believe because you cannot know for sure if what the church teaches is true? I

I think this boils down to a decision. Each person must decide if they believe what Jesus said is true, or not.

Isn’t seeing believing?

It sure does help! But no one will ever be able to see enough to prove that all of the Church’s teachings are true.

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” John 20:29

If I’m supposed to just take everything on faith then why not be a member of any other religion?

I agree. God created human beings with reason, and he expects us to use it. God created us to seek after Him to find Him. This seeking takes place in the head as well as the heart.