I Wish I Had Faith - God Or Myself?

[mac]

I wish I had faith in God. At one time I did, but with all the evil and suffering of the innocent that goes on throughout the world, I cannot maintain any such faith anymore. My mind does not comprehend how God would let man's free-will trump what's supposed to be His will. When you look at other societies and cultures, it's not difficult to see why the old explanation of religion as mearly a 'means to control the masses' is so valid.

 

[Portabella]

I once had faith also, however I lost it in 1981 and can say either there is no God, or if there is I cannot forgive him.

 

[vcc123]

ya gotta have faith

I know.. cheesy.. but - no matter the religion, you have to have faith. I think God gave us free will to make choices, right or wrong. I was angry at God for taking my Mom away when I was young, I really needed her. But in your heart of hearts, no matter how bad things get.. he's still watching over you. We're supposed to make choices, experience 'life', and know that in the end, it makes us who we are.

Even with the hurt, anger, frustration, guilt, etc.. that we feel.. I still pray, all the time. Dont lose faith, its the ONE thing besides YOU that will always be there.

I'm not meaning to be 'preachy' believe ME.. I'm the LAST person on the planet that judges someone for religious beliefs. But with or without religion.. there IS God. That much I know. I guess it makes me feel like I'm not completely alone, and neither are you. :redface:

 

[cookie]

i don't understand why God allows some of these things, except that he has given satan the earth to roam for a time, and my faith took a beating for a little while, but i always knew God was real, and i know that he is here for me now. It doesn't really matter what we think, God is owner and creator of everything. he wants us to have a close relationship with him, this i know. and it has certainly helped me through this mess, as i am a long way from perfect, but i am forgiven.

 

[Scott_Fraser]

Hi Mac. I lost my faith after serving with the British Army in Bosnia. I saw horrors there that I didn't expect to see in Europe again after WW2. As a soldier I was trained to fight on the European Mainland against the Russians. I was not trained to experience Genocide, I'm not an SS man, just a British Soldier.
So Mac, you are not alone in this.
Scott

 

[anthony]

I am curious as to what "faith" has to do with "god" actually! Faith in God is one thing, Faith in life, Faith in yourself, Faith in others, very different things. I don't believe their is a hell or heaven to be honest, because until someone proves it too me, it doesn't exist, however; that doesn't mean I don't believe their is life after death, as there is proof of ghosts, spirits, another life after this one, just unknown as to what that is exactly. I have faith in those things, I have faith in my family, I have faith in myself, but I don't have faith in something I don't know actually exists and is a perpetuated myth of epic proportion to create an entity to worship, thus follow others. I believe in making my own decisions, and that no one entity is going to help me make those decision.

I don't understand why people believe "God" is going to help them with PTSD, considering it is a belief, not a fact. The fact is that you have a neurological imbalance within your brain, the fiction is that there is one powerful entity that watches over life, and guides it! Fact is that to heal trauma and live life, one must have faith in themself, one must believe in themself; fiction is that this "God" is going to somehow just fix them up, without them doing a damn thing.

I know which worked for me, and it wasn't the later. I know whats working for others, and its also not the later. I think maybe people need to concentrate on having faith in themselves in order to get through life in general, not just any one aspect, but all of life. To believe in yourself is to be assertive, to be confident in your own ability, and not rely on someone doing the work for you, because that is a sure fire let down before it begins.

 

[FlyLadyFan]

It was deep faith in myself that brought me to my utter breakdown with PTSD, to the point of having to choose between death by suicide or letting go of EVERYTHING to see if God would follow through on His promises -- it was the only thing I hadn't tried yet and there was nothing left to lose, literally. The last step before suicide was to literally lay down and let the world and my life happen without my input.

So my life was like a house on fire, and I had to choose to definitely perish inside it or jump out the window and just probably perish. But when I jumped out the window, God did not catch me as I expected. Instead ... He taught me how to fly.

.

 

[mouse]

I choose to have Faith, but to have Faith it needs to be faith in something so I chose God. I know that he has a reason for what has happened to me and all of us, I sure don't understand it yet, and probably wont till it is my time. I like to think that during the times that I was subject to abuse, he was there quietly holding my hands crying with me trying to ease some of the pain. I also know that when good things happen he is there watching and happy. many people ask how I do my job and see the things I see and do the things I do and how I can still believe in God, How could I not I dont have to understand his decisions, nor do I have to like them but I should learn from them. God to me is just a label that seems universal to me its my faith in a greater being that has given man the choice to make decisions and now feels the regret and pain of doing so, I feel he also has Faith that man will make good decisions, ones to make things better. Just as all of us, feel the pain from an act committed, there is joy in the fact that with out the gift of choice none of us would have choosen to come to this web site to meet each other and learn to heal.

 

[lumberjack]

Faith is what ever you wish it to be. Faith in yourself, in others and what you choose to do. You dont need a "god" to have faith. It comes from your aspect of the world and how you understand things. I have no faith in any god but have faith in man(somedays)..................mj

imo

 

[cookie]

anthony, God does help those of us who choose to let Him, this i know. i know there is a heaven, i know there is a hell, but that is faith. by the time someone could prove it to you without faith, it will be too late.
why do you think people from the dawn of time have looked for God? because He reveals himself in nature, and then in spirit. i double dirty dog dare you to humble yourself and ask God himself to show you He is real.
cathy

 

[anthony]

I have asked him Cathy, and nothing happened, hence why I don't believe there is one. I do believe in life after death. Like MJ said, faith is what you perceive it to be. Let me be very honest here, I believe the US is brain washed with religion from birth. Hell, you have it on your money, so you see every day of your life, "in god we trust". How much more brain washing do you want? There are other countries around the world that are similar, in that religion is pushed upon them from birth, no choice, or little choice, but brain washed into the population as children. Free choice? That could be an interesting debate!

I don't see god Cathy... never have, doubt I ever will; same goes with the devil. Unless someone can prove they exist, without doubt, then my mind won't change. There is one thing to believe they exist, that is called faith, and as MJ pointed out, that changes uniquely per person. I don't believe either exist because I don't believe something that I can't see, touch, or be explained. I believe there are other people in the universe, because there is too much unexplained regarding it. What, do we honestly think we are the only existence in the entire universe, something that has infinite depth? I don't think so....

Then ghosts... again, too much enexplained in regard to them, so I believe they exist, because there are those they can prove and disprove, then the unexplained. God and the devil.... well, something I believe was created by the Catholic church to push wealth and a following for corrupt world tactics. Bill Gates money is nothing to the Catholic church. Tell me its about religion, and I can show you how much monies at stake. Its now an empire, its a business, its a way to get the world to try and do things and follow like puppets when the strings are pulled IMHO.

 

[cookie]

you realize, anthony that Christianity was alive and well long before the catholic church came into being, and judaism before that? i don't want to fight with you, nor make your angry. i don't believe in pushing people too hard, it has to be their decision after all.
who said that if you believe in God that there can't be other people or beings in the universe? i believe He created the universe, and we know about angelic beings and humans, the Bible does not say there are no more. who knows? if there are others, i know He created them, too.
you don't want to know what i believe about ghosts, so i won't go there
by the way. we do take up an offering at church, the money goes to pay for heating,ss materials, missionaries, our mortgage, etc. my pastor(husband)does not receive a nickel for his work, as a matter of fact we also give of tithes and offerings. brooks never preaches about giving money-he teaches about stewardship of your entire life, time,money, talent, etc. our small church gives way above the tithe, and they are never coerced into it. some are in it for money, and that's all they'll have for it. i'd rather take a few souls with me to heaven some day.
by the way, it's not about religion for me, you can be religious about anything, it's about Christ.
speaking of money, do you really think people believe in God because it's on the money. wrong. and the world is a puppet sometimes, either God is pulling your strings, because you let Him, or satan is whether you know it or not.
our country was founded on Biblical principals, but sadly has moved away from them and now it is politically correct to christian bash, although it's ok to let anything else go, especially wicca, and paganism, and humanism.
so, basically, "that dog won't hunt."
i respect your opinion, and you can certainly serve whom you want. but realize i said this as my opinion, and because i care about you.please don't be angry. tell me to leave you alone if you want, but don't be angry. the God you don't know, and the one i do loves you.
cathy