Christianity: I'm Losing My Faith

Terrywoodenpic · Oct 27, 2021

There is no such group on here.
However there are many atheists and agnostics and others of various levels of doubt and disbelief.

The @Altfish post was a jokey and friendly reminder that they were a friendly lot.
You can not proselytize for a non existent group.

firedragon · Oct 27, 2021

Good apologetic attempt. But unacceptable.

Thanks though. Cheers.

AlexanderG · Oct 27, 2021

Welcome. I hope you find some useful ideas and conversations on this site, to help you reach whatever place you end up in.

If I may, I'd suggest some questions that help me navigate my way through this crazy thing called life:
1. What kind of person do you really want to be, regardless of what anyone else would think about you?
2. What kind of person do you want to be toward other people?
3. What kinds of practices, activities, or patterns of thought help you lead a purposeful and fulfilling life?

These are questions that religious traditions have historically claimed for themselves, but there is a wide open world of ideas out there, and atheists and secular people can explore these ideas just fine. The difference is that no one is telling us what our answer should be. We think the answers to such questions are inherently personal, and should be explored by each individual rather than dictated to us by a supposed authority. Many of us do not appreciate threats of torment or promises of fabulous rewards to compel our choices, and we recognize the lack of evidence for such things.

Anyway, wherever you end up, I hope it is a place of contentment, purpose, and fulfillment. I think we all deserve to dwell in that place, and the journey to get there can be as interesting as the destination.

Evangelicalhumanist · Oct 27, 2021

Welcome to the forums.

Let me just say, you are far from the first person to discover that they are experiencing some doubts about the religions they were brought up in. I've read many accounts of former theists talking about how they came to lose their faith.

This is something that seems to happen more often to people who ask questions, and seek consistent and reasoned answers.

The one thing I can say is that usually, people who go through come out the other side actually feeling quite comfortable with their new world-view.

1213 · Oct 27, 2021

Maybe it would help, if you would stop to think, what God is and what it means to be a Christian.

In Bible, Christian means a disciple of Jesus. And a disciple of Jesus is a person who remains in words of Jesus.

… in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
Acts 11:26
Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, "If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
John 8:31-32

Now, to be a Christian, you should know what he said and then decide, do you want to be loyal to him and his teachings (not to other people's teachings), are the teachings good or not. If you don’t like the teachings, then it is clear that you are not his disciple and don’t want to be his disciple. I don’t blame you, it is not always easy.

And does God exist? I believe so, because I see this world and things going as told in the Bible. But, Bible tells God is love. When one looks world today, it is very difficult to see love here, which is why I understand if it is difficult to believe.

He who doesn't love doesn't know God, for God is love.
1 John 4:8

Still, I don’t think the point is really in believing that God exists, but in being righteous, because eternal life is promised for righteous.

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mat. 25:46
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23

George-ananda · Oct 27, 2021

Bezz, what do you think about us and the universe?

(as opposed to just what you don't believe)

Like are you familiar with Near Death Experiences?

PureX · Oct 27, 2021

Sounds to me like all you're losing is a 'belief' that you were taught is true, but that you are beginning to feel is not true. Faith is not the same as belief. Because faith is born in skepticism, and in doubt. Whereas 'belief' tries to make us deny our skepticism and doubt. Faith is our choosing to trust in that which we hope to be true, but that we don't know to be true. Whereas belief is just presuming that what we hope to be true, is true, by simply denying any doubts or evidence to the contrary.

Sadly, a lot of organized religious expression has a tendency to confuse and conflate faith with belief, and then use the authoritarian dictates of enforced belief to control people.

robocop (actually) · Oct 27, 2021

Try shifting the paradigm?

Heyo · Oct 27, 2021

Welcome to RF, Bezz.

If you have questions, you've come to the right place. We will answer all your questions (no guarantee that the answers will be correct or even intelligible, though). Better still, there will be answers in all different directions so you can choose which one you like.

To your first question ("Does god exist?"): that's a bad question, or rather an unanswerable question without having answered a more important question first: What is god?

Sand Dancer · Oct 27, 2021

Been there, done that. We are legion. I'll talk and commiserate with you.

PearlSeeker · Oct 27, 2021

Hello Bezz! Welcome to RF!

Keep on seeking truth. Doubt is part of faith. Better asking questions than blind faith. What do you want to talk about? Why do you don't believe God exists?

blü 2 · Oct 27, 2021

Question 1 ─ the one I never figured out an answer for ─ is, what real thing is God supposed to be?

And in the end it seems to me ─ but it may not seem to you ─ that God is not a real entity at all, but an idea, or perhaps particular sets of ideas, which people have found, and find, useful and which we may have an evolved tendency to develop.

But it sounds like you're on a voyage of discovery, so perhaps the first rule is to enjoy the trip, and not consume your energies feeling guilty about asking the questions you're asking, which are entirely proper and normal.

Wildswanderer · Oct 27, 2021

You can not"lose" your faith. You can only throw it away... doubts are normal enough, but you decide whether to give into them.
That road only leads to misery, BTW.

osgart · Oct 27, 2021

Hi Bezz, I sought God once, but the questions kept piling up on me, and I ended up with loads of questions and little to no satisfactory answers. Searches for truth lead to questions galore, no amount of text will ever able keep up with the questions inventory. So if someone has readymade answers and says they have all encompassing answers for every doubt and concern, chances are they spend more time in books then reality itself.

I find it's best to observe nature without the clutter of every claim, and every worldview and see what reality itself is telling me. Then I listen to my own inner voice. Then I try to look at all the different perspectives out there. Then I try to look what all the great minds have to say.

My conclusion is that reality is a formidable challenge to try and understand for anybody. Why would a God doom me for getting things wrong? And I remain atheist with a conviction that nature exhibits intelligence through the creation of life. God is a loaded up term signifying a supreme being or many with supernatural powers. I certainly don't believe such being(s) exist. I'm stuck strongly believing that there is an eternal intelligent reality amidst the order and chaos of infinite existence. Supernatural phenomenon is something no human alive can say they ever observed such things. I don't fit neatly into any worldview, religion, nor any philosophy. You could say my god is naturalistic, but God signifies authority over life; I don't see anything like that.

Best wishes on your journey!

DNB · Oct 27, 2021

Hi Bezz, just remember, something is true, and it shouldn't be beyond a creature of the universe to figure it out. In other words, sometimes the truth is staring you right in the face.
What is clearly axiomatic is that there exists a multiplicity of life on this earth, and as far as anyone has been able to prove, it does not exist anywhere else.
What is also self evident is that humans, beyond any other being on this planet, is the only one that can comprehend and revere God.
Also, morality is a fundamental principle and concern in every human's life, ...and, again, not in any other creature.

There are many truths Bezz, that can be discerned by all. So, be aware that, again, the answers that you are looking for may be much more accessible than you realize.

I believe that there is a God, and that that there is no other plausible explanation to justify the existence of the universe, humans, love and religion.

Tiberius · Oct 27, 2021

I was a Christian in my youth and left my faith behind. So I've been through a very similar thing to what you are going through now. Please feel free to reach out if you want to talk about anything.

RestlessSoul · Oct 28, 2021

Dodgy handshakes and rolled up trouserlegs. Don’t think we haven’t noticed

Mock Turtle · Oct 28, 2021

Welcome to the freedom show - as if we could be free of anything.

But that is what I tend to feel more than much else, and have done so for most of the seven decades or more I have been alive, and doing so without any sort of religious belief. I'm probably more inclined towards an understanding of science and where such tends to confirm a naturalistic view of our development as humans, such that if religion tends to go against such in any way it doesn't affect me. The same goes for our moral nature - where what we see just seems to stem from our past evolution, and better explained by such. So overall, life is simpler without religions - for some it seems. Perhaps you will find something to replace your previous allegiance and perhaps not, but many of us do seem to manage fine without such beliefs.

Not that we will inevitably know our position is a better one, but it sure seems to cause less friction in many ways.

Colt · Oct 28, 2021

Doubts normal in the faith life. Atheist are just people who made a religion out of it.

Windwalker · Oct 28, 2021

There is a deeply insightful saying about faith in Zen:

Great doubt, great enlightenment;
Small doubt, small enlightenment;
No doubt, no enlightenment.

A lack of faith, is happy with black and white answers and being told what to believe in without question. While that may seem better to not doubt, it really doesn't lead to growth. Growth means being made uncomfortable with our ideas. That's a good thing. Without it, we never grow.

Welcome to the forums.

Christianity: I'm Losing My Faith

Oldest Heretic

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"Truth" isn't a thing...

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Advaita Vedanta, Theosophy, Spiritualism

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Crazy Cat Lady

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Nothing my eye, Something for sure

Christian

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Oh my, did I say that!

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