THIESTS ONLY: Why do you believe in God?

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Thiests only, please. I am hoping this will be a thread where people can post personal testimonies, and encourage our on-the-fence bretheren. I don’t want this thread to disintegrate into an athiests - vs - thiests mud-slinging contest.

Part 1: Why do you believe in God? :hmmm: Have you just always believed in God since you were a child, did you have some kind of a profound life experience that convinced you to believe, or did you decide to believe because the evidence was so overwhelming that belief was the only logical answer?

Part 2: Was there ever a time in High School or later when you either did not believe in God, or seriously doubted? Why did you change your mind?
 
I was agnostic (nearly atheist) during high school. I thought anyone who examined the question logically MUST be at least agnostic. But that was before I actually DID examine the question logically…
 
I’m a cradle Catholic, born and raised, and therefore never questioned my God or my faith until last year in my freshmen year of high school…I’ll admit I pretty much came this close to totally losing my faith in God. Then He slowly brought me back through a series of what I believe to be genuine personal miracles.
Bottom line: I voted other because, while I was raised Catholic in a strong, faithful family, it took a deep, inner soul search and some serious experiences with the power of the Eucharist and His Church to help me realize that there is no way God couldn’t exist…He’s right there in front of me:)
 
Part 1: I believe in GOD based on my experience and based on historical facts. First, if God really don’t exist, why is it that i can only feel true happiness in God’s presence through prayer and through my faith, simple as believing in God gives me a joy that i can’t explain. If this is just some sort of emotional or psychological thing we’ll maybe i can feel the same happiness to other people that i also love, but no, what i feel is really different. Second, based on historical facts, i think that is the best evidence.

Part 2: Yes , there is a time in my life that i really doubted GOD. It was the darkest days of my life. I didnt find the happiness that i can feel right now. I guess GOD revealed to me, a sinner and evil doer, His mystery to show his goodness to those who doubted Him.
 
I was raised in a secular household and in my late teens became an extremely “dedicated” atheist. I devoted much of my time to arguing against the concept of God, and against the idea that God should be worshipped even if He did exist. My conversion process was a long one, but it had to do with studying the history of the Jewish people, which, to put a long story short, is almost inexplicable without God. Then I studied the Jewish explaination for this, and discovered their Covenant, and learned that part of that Covenant was the coming of a Messiah. Then I studied their ideas of what the Messiah was, and what his coming would entail, and I was perplexed by the similarities with what I had heard about Jesus. I studied Jesus, and discovered that He had founded a Church for all people, and that this Church closely resembled the underlying concepts that Jews have about the post-Messianic world, and then I studied the history of the Church and found the same inexplicable points that I found with Jewish history.

After a lot of study and contemplation, I came to where I am now, fully Catholic and submitting to the authority of God. There was no aspect of fear of punishment, or needing a “deeper meaning” to life, or even needing God in order to have a moral framework. Since coming in I’ve definately discovered these deeper spiritual things, moreso than I ever thought possible. I’ve wept in front of the Blessed Sacrament, and I’ve felt the weight lifted after Absolution, but those aren’t the things that brought me home.
 
I was born into a catholic family- I was raised in the faith, but my friends were hindu’s and I turned my back on the religion of my birth. I rejected Him, denied Him, was ashamed of Him…but, today I stand a believing and faithful member of His Church. It is true, he doesnot let his sheep stray too far, or for too long. I hardly know how I found my way home, it was such a gentle return, I had a good life, no emotional trauma-though i was leading a very sinful life, and enjoying it, yet I started going for mass not knowing why - started reading more and more about the catholic faith, untill one day I had to go for confession, talk to a priest, change my whole life, I thank Him everyday for the mercy he has shown me.
 
I was bought up Catholic but lapsed as a college student through early adult, searched through some other faiths, came back to the Church because it made the most sense, offered the surest hope and road to salvation. I became terrified of dying and the Church offered the greatest hope of allaying those fears. and it still does.

AND because I started reading about all the miraculous events surrounding the lives of the saints.

wc
 
“Theists.”

A checked “Other.” My answer is “the grace of faith.” The grace of faith generates a belief stronger than logic.
 
I was born and raised Catholic. But when I was about 12 - and it was such a little thing in retrospect but such a HUGE thing to a 12 year old - I was crying and totallyin despair. I asked God that if He does exist, to take my pain away.

He did.
 
God is existence itself.

If God didn’t exist, I wouldn’t even be here.

I wouldn’t be “there” either.😃
 
Donna P:
I was born and raised Catholic. But when I was about 12 - and it was such a little thing in retrospect but such a HUGE thing to a 12 year old - I was crying and totallyin despair. I asked God that if He does exist, to take my pain away.

He did.
Click to expand...
Really, what was it?
 
I believe, therefore I believe.

Mainly, the reason I go on is Pascal’s Wager.
 
I voted in 3 categories!

Miraculous and profound experince
Intrigued by others: peace, etc. and
Admitted my life was in shambles and turned it over to God.

I was not born Catholic but my mother converted after marrying my father and I was baptized when I was 7 years old. I attended Catholic school from the 3rd grade on. In all appearances I was a devoted Catholic girl.

They say the “proof is in the pudding”, well, I failed the test when I got out of high school right off the bat and became what I like to call a heathen! My thought process was - “If it was fun or felt good and didn’t hurt anyone else then it was ok!” That’s how I lived my life. I thank God for not letting something bad happen to me then because I surely would’ve been separated from Him for all eternity! What a scary thought!

I began my journey home again when my only son was born with severe heart defects and it was thought that he would not live very long, if at all. Out of the blue I picked up my Rosary and began to pray and I began going back to Mass - occaisonally.

A person I worked with wanted to sponsor me to go to Cursillo. I didn’t even have a clue as to what that was! As I was dropped off and left for the weekend, I thought, “Oh my, what have I gotten myself into!” I was about to experience some kind of voodoo weekend! I was only 6 miles from my house and seriously thought about running! But I stayed and - I GOT IT!!! Someone switched on the light! It was then that I realized what I had been doing with my life! How I had completely offended God in every way imaginable - I made a beeline for the confessional - it had been at least 20 years!

I have been on fire ever since! God has worked many miracles in my life. My son is still with us. He is now 18 years old and playing college golf and is a typical teenager! He still may need a heart transplant in his twenties but I pray, I pray hard that God will let him stay with me and be healthy and live a long and happy life! In many ways, I credit my conversion to my son. God has done things that I have actually been able to watch! Things have happened before my very eyes! It’s amazing! There have been many trials in my life that I don’t think I would’ve been able to stick it out without Him - and those trials just keep on comin’. Seems like we can’t catch a break. I hope I am handling them the way He would want.

So I am back home and very active in my parish. I teach high school CCD, which I love most of all. This year I have been asked to teach the Confirmation class! I am really honored to think that I might be responsible for a child’s conversion or just to see one of those kids understand their faith better! To see their light switch get flipped on! What an awesome responsibility! Wish me luck - better yet - pray for me!
 
I was raised Catholic, but I’ve thought a lot about it!

I have suffered from depression for many years and apparently it’s a very hard case to cure. There have been - I’m ashamed to admit - several times in my struggles when I have wanted nothing more than to die. But even in those moments of deepest despair, I’ve never been able to deny the existence of God. And because I knew He exists, I could not bring myself to end my life.

I’ve never had as good a faith as I wanted and every time I try to get there, I feel the devil attacking me ever harder. But I still make it to mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation, confess frequently, and I try to live my life to make Him proud.

I’ve doubted my faith, I’ve doubted my life, but somewhere in my deepest part of me, I know for a fact that God is there, He is love, and He is responsible for giving me life and keeping it safe from my own weakness.
 
What an interesting thread…

I guess my belief in God is somewhat two-fold… 1) I was, of course, born and baptized a catholic. So, from this perspective I was introduced to the faith from birth. 2.) Logical analysis has also led me to affirm my faith. I think most people’s faith is tested through the trials of life and there have been many times I have looked at life and wondered about God’s validity - each time logic and reason has led me back.

SG
 
For as long as I can remember it just seemed logical that the world was not by chance. I was raised with no churching or teaching most of the time. Yet I just seemed to know.:yup:

When I was in school we still recited the Lords Prayer (in public school yet;) .) First the pledge and then the prayer. For some unknown reason I would stop with the traditional Catholic ending and not finish with the Prots. (no I did not know why then)

When I was in 7th grade I made a friend her family was Catholic and I would spend Sat night at their house. To make a long story short I found out why I stopped “short” praying the Our Father and converted when I was 15 years old.

I am now a Catholic wife, mother and grandmother. Hope this helps in your question.
 
The original intent behind this thread was to find a way to reach out to my 18-yr-old daughter who has decided she doesn’t believe in God. The best one-liner I’ve found lately (as I push her into the car to go to Mass) is “That’s OK. God still believes in you.” Thank you all for the reassuring testimonies.

Thus far, “logic and reason” has the most votes (including mine). I’m surprised. I expected the emotional reasons to play more heavily.

BibleReader said:
“Theists.”
Click to expand...

You’re right. :o I was blindly following the i-before-e rule.
 
I’m reminded of a poem that has haunted me since I was a teenager, in my deepest and darkest days of a depression that gripped me for the better part of 10 years:

i’d like to see
i’d like to believe
but He’s forever
and i can bleed

I was raised Catholic by my mother (my father is not), but turned away as a teenager. But even when I didn’t believe, I remembered a phrase from mass: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

I turned back to God at an evangelical church, and just kept saying that phrase over and over again. In time, I found my way back to the Church.

I believe in God because he has revealed himself to me… in more ways that I can count. I see him in the face of a newborn child. I wonder at the mircle of creation with every breath that I take.

That being said, I have had moments (or months) when I have doubted him. I felt abandoned and free-floating. And then something happens to remind me of his presence. A small mircle happens, and I know he’s not far away.

So I don’t bow my head when I pray, but I turn upward. That way, I can feel the warmth of his love on my face.

🙂
 
It was really a mixture of the first two and the last two. I was raised a Catholic, but my life has truly shown me that God exists. There is no possible permutation I have come up with that would allow for God not to exist.

Eamon
 
I’ll tell you a story, it must of been in my 8th grade year, and I think I was mad at God because some girl didn’t like me or somesuch, well it was raining outside and I was yelling about it and I told God that I had enough of this and don’t want to be around, of course it was foolish to say or think and I think my hormones were talking.

No sooner did I say this I walked inside and slipped down a flight of stairs but, I was not injured. I think it was God’s little way of sending me a wake up call too.

One other story, I was in a car once, and we were going pretty fast and I noticed I didn’t have my seatbelt, I said this “I’d better put on my seatbelt”, no sooner did I click it on we took a sharp corner and the door closest to me opened up, if I didn’t have my seatbelt on I would of flown out of the car. Crazy things.

I have always believed in God, even before all these types of things had happened, I am close with Him. I just simply “know” He exists, it is hard to explain it.
 
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