How did you find your faith?

I have always been fascinated by religion when I was younger, and the zeal with which many anons on Sup Forums express their religious beliefs has made me consider it once again. Many anons have told me I should believe in God lately, and I genuinely believe I would be a happier person if I did.
My question is: How?

>Just believe in God
Is this even possible? As far as I can remember I have never made a conscious effort to accept something as truth. I have been convinced by other people's arguments or (percieved) evidence many times, but I have never been able to believe something just because I wanted to.

>Read scripture, you will be inspired by the message
I have read parts of the bible and while it did speak to me just like many other books I read before or since, it did not make the existence of God seem more likely to me than the existence of any other figure in the other works.

>Religion is a positive influence on people and societies
I think this is true in many cases, but utility does not equal truth.

>There is a god-shaped hole in man's heart
It's true that all cultures (that I know of) have practiced some form of religion. These religions differ greatly from eachother though, so this does not necessarily speak to the credibility of one of these religions.

>Open yourself up to the possibility
I have done this pretty extensively. As I stated before I have always been fascinated with religion, and I believe I would be happier if I truly believed. I have searched for God through connecting with anture, contemplation and meditation. Sadly I did not experience anything that gave me a reason to believe.


It seems to me that the only way to truly believe is to grow up with religion, or have a full-on religious experience. I could obviously just pick a religion and roll with it, but without belief I would just be LARPing.
I'm very curious about how you found your faith and what convinced you that of all the religions out there, it was the true one.

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=eZfxfh2KtK4
youtube.com/watch?v=2c3m0tt5KcE
youtube.com/watch?v=nWY-6xBA0Pk
youtube.com/watch?v=nNJjsL2tFAY
twitter.com/SFWRedditGifs

I think finding it is impossible. It's more like submitting to it after you've grown too tired with the consequences of questioning it.

Can you elaborate on that? What do you mean by consequences?

These Yui you coom explorer

Are you preaching Nokia?

Cynicism, nihilism, lack of belonging, purpose & higher ideals and other common themes among those whose lives are too secular for their own good

I see. But that would just come down to wanting it to be true, which does not make it seem more likely to me. I can understand this, but wouldn't I just be pretending to feel better?

Would it matter?

Actually, AA taught me to believe in a power greater than myself. No matter what that power was. I don't really remember the entire natural progression of it, but this day I strive for oneness with the universe.

Yes, that is the whole point of this thread. I cannot force myself to believe in something, and pretending to believe in God would not grant me any of the benefits.

Could you please elaborate on what made you realize this greater power existed? And I hope I don't offend you by asking this, but isn't a ''greater power'' kind of vague? I know for a fact there are many things greater than me (society, earth, the universe), what does this greater power mean to you?

I don't think you understand the fundamental concept of faith. You need proof? Become a scientist.

The answer to my earlier question is: no, it would not matter. Trying to believe is no different from believing. It's the same thing.

I'm not asking for proof, just for the reasons behind the faith. You're making it sound like faith is just picking whichever religion sounds best to you (or the one you were raised with) and pretending it's true. I guess I was hoping an user could refute one of the points in my original post and give me something to think on.

I have a very hard time articulating my spiritual beliefs. They are more like feelings. Emotions. They aren't words. But I'll do my best.
I can look around me, up into the sky, down to the ground, and I can see that something made the decision to put all of these different forms of life around me. The foliage, the clouds, water, fish, my fucking PUPPY. That's all I know.
So when that realization came to me, I started trying to search within myself what is it that my higher power wants from me. I had a hard time figuring out what my higher power wants and likes, but I do not have trouble at all knowing what my higher power doesn't want and like. If that makes sense.
I say "my higher power" to make it more understandable. Because in all honesty, as far as I understand it, you and I are just branches of the same tree. We are the same. We are the higher power, physically manifested in this realm.

Thanks for making the effort. What you're saying does feel vaguely familiar to me, especially how we're all part of the same whole. Though I don't quite get what makes you see that something decided to put all the life around you, but the commonalities between our views are interesting. Thanks.
Also, I woul say that trying to believe just means you want it to be true. Actually believing means you think it's true.

buy it...you'll want to watch it more than once

youtube.com/watch?v=eZfxfh2KtK4

>You're making it sound like faith is just picking whichever religion sounds best to you (or the one you were raised with) and pretending it's true.

I do, because it nearly always boils down to either one of those. Either you choose a religion you resonate with or the religion of your collective. Expecting some kind of miracles to appear and convince you is naive.

>Also, I woul say that trying to believe just means you want it to be true. Actually believing means you think it's true.

It's the same thing. Faith is a constant battle of reassuring oneself. No believer is free of doubts.

I do not subscribe to a religion. I do not follow any religious or sacred texts or commands. I simply treat those around me the exact way that I would wish to be treated in their scenario. If that doesn't work, I then have the ability to either cease my attempt at assistance or I can ask how I can better serve the other person. It's not difficult to be good and kind and loving to others. I love you. Love others.

nice digits man
i understood Christ only after reading up on buddhism

I read the law of One material. I'm not sure if all of it is believable since it's pretty crazy. But the main message is great to me.
(Unity).

Interesting, I've walked a similar path. I think Buddhist teachings have far more eloquence when it comes to describing the nature of God and life.

I like Hopkins, so I'll watch it. I know C.S. Lewis was religious, but does this movie really deal with religion a lot?
>constant battle of reassuring oneself
It has to be more than just playing pretend to feel better.
Thanks :)
Thank you for your response, but how does understanding Christ lead to thinking that he was the son of God?
I can understand being inspired, but does that make it true?

I think you would have a very good time being a Chriistian especially if you hold the values of many conservative Christians today. One of the biggest things about Christianity is the community, friendship, girls, etc that you fined within the church. It's nice to have a bunch of people around you that choose to live their life in the same direction and engage in deep philosophical conversation that you all enjoy. Find out that God means Value, Value means worth, and life will be plentiful. I'd suggest some C.S. Lewis, he has some deep convincing and rewarding works to put you on the side of the revealed.

Faith = the evidence of things unseen. My experience is this is a cyclical reinforcing paradigm. Faith is a gift from God, so not something I, through intellect achieve to. But when by faith I walk out life, evidence of what is hoped for and believed, namely eternal life, which is, by definition: to know Jesus Christ - evidence of knowing Jesus and having His promises proven increases faith that, in turn, is even more evidence of the unseen.

Always been an atheist / Non believer, the only one who sparked my genuine interest in religion is Jordan Peterson.

youtube.com/watch?v=2c3m0tt5KcE

Christ is God in a human form, showing you that its possible to be from flesh and blood and still live in accordance to God.

If you think Christianity will bring you happiness you are missing the point. True believers in Christ are discriminated and persecuted and are called to lay their lives in the face of evil. God grants you His peace, not a earthly peace.

I get that the community is a big perk, but that's not what I'm looking for. I'm more interested in a sense of purpose and a connection with God himself. And again, utility does not equal truth.
Thanks, I'll watch it later.
What do you mean by evidence of knowing Jesus and having his promises proven? Can you give an example?
Fair enough, but understanding something does not make it real. You can understand fictional characters too.
I'm not looking for reasons to become a Christian, I'm just a man looking for God.

I guess if you are a weak minded individual and have either indoctrination from your parents or are delusional yourself (paranoid, schizo, etc) it is very easy to get into the whole GOD mentality.

Smart, unindoctrinated, stable individuals usually don't have faith.

I got woke by John Calvin reading Institutes of Christian Religion.

Idk user, the unspeakable joy that the heavenly persecuted apostles (St. Paul, et al.) claimed to have was in the midst of every EVERY kinds of hardship. I bet they even had more joy, and experience of the pleasures of loving Jesus and receiving love from God and sharing in the fellowship of affection between brothers and sisters - that was probably a greater experience than the some of the more physically, financially secure believers in comfortable cities where the Church was well established.
Not that I am hoping for hardship or wishing it on anyone, but blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted, and the comfort of the Spirit of God makes a very happy space.

when i realized that the Jewish elite seriously hate Jesus Christ. That was proof enough for me.

What convinced you that Calvinism was better than the other forms of Christianity?
>blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted
Scripture is just so poetic for some reason. Maybe I'll pick up the bible again since I have a few weeks off. It's a shame the Dutch translations don't feel as eloquent.

Consider it like this: Jesus Christ died (simple history), executed by a Roman governor. Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead (also history). It really doesn't take faith to believe those fact, they are what they are. Where faith comes in is whether or not that death and resurrection can reconcile me with my Creator.

>I'm not looking for reasons to become a Christian, I'm just a man looking for God.
You don't find God. He calls you. Faith is a gift from God, not something you research and arrive at intellectualy. Only Jesus Christ can bring you back to life, so pray to Him, get to know Him. Ask and you will be answered. Be patient. He never fails.

>Jessu rose from the dead (also history).
History also tells us 6,000,000 jews were gassed barely seventy years ago, and most of Sup Forums denies it. How are the reports about one man rising from the dead from over 2,000 years ago more credible? Can you link me some sources that describe his resurrection?

Unless it's a double-ruse.
>be patient
Fair enough

I disagree. People have a hard time believing Jesus rose from the dead. When someone dies there is no coming back - that is the way of life. There is no history that presents the resurrection of Jesus as fact. If people knew it as fact, there would be no heathens. Even the apostles had doubts until Jesus appeared to them in the flesh and showed them the wounds. Jesus asks us to believe in Him to be saved. No belief would be needed if it was fact. If you don't believe in Christ there is no reconciliation with God.

What made you and society stable? How do you know your not indoctrinated? If your perception of the world is so flawless you can't be wrong about anything i guess.

>Fair enough
Have you tried talking to a priest? I worked for a while in NL and all the protestant churches around were closed.

I have never really talked to a priest. The problem is that I don't see what makes one religion more true than another, so I don't know wether to speak to a priest or an imam. And most churches are indeed closed. There's a beautiful huge church near where I live and they turned it into a skate-park because the congregation couldn't afford to keep it open anymore.

What turned me into a believer was a lot of introspection and looking at my life and the decisions I had made that brought me to where I am now. I've made a lot of bad decisions, and considering that as well as the fact that I was born into a shit family that should've put me on the fast track to either jail or an early death. Despite that I've ended up in a pretty decent spot in life, got a decent career, getting married to an Aryan goddess, and didn't turn out too worse for wear. It was looking back and realizing that not only did Jesus look out for me and guide me, but that this was all His plan for me the entire time. Every hardship was a test, every setback a trial to be overcome, every material loss a net gain for my spirit. I'm a better person for everything that's happened to me, and while I'm not perfect, I am happy with both myself and my life. And none of that would've been possible unless the circumstances turned out exactly the way they did. Thinking about the infinitesimal probability of that happening, especially given the scale of creation, just made me believe that a higher power must be involved, and that everything truly does happen for a reason, even if we don't always understand it.

You have nothing to talk with an imam unless you want to go into the abyss and never come back. Muhammad is dead. Jesus Christ lives. When I mention God, I do not even consider the pagan god of the muslim, as it is a false god.

I've been watching Ravi Zacharias' videos lately. Maybe this can help:
youtube.com/watch?v=nWY-6xBA0Pk

Ive always wondered why people think nihilism and being an atheist are tied together.

Because atheists have no hope. They come from nothing and go back to nothing. At some point in life - if not for most of it - you will find life to be meaningless. If you think you are the product of chance you have nothing, nobody to carry your burden when you cannot. You will grow old and die and that's it. Most will just answer that their works will justify their existence. I say bullshit. People don't care for the dead.

>but does this movie really deal with religion a lot?

of course

youtube.com/watch?v=nNJjsL2tFAY

I found it by discarding every other "backdoor" that I had tried, by decades. I experienced the bitter fruits of my stubbornness.

What kind of "bitter fruits"?

As someone who grew up Protestant, went through a significant skeptic phase and am now just starting to go to a Catholic Church, I'll give it a shot.

Philosophically, I was deeply impacted by the skeptic's arguments about our inability to have certainty about knowledge. From my perspective, the only 'certain' philosophical school of thought is solipsism, and everyone else's worldview is based upon one or more unprovable axioms. From a pragmatic perspective (and suspending skepticism for a moment), some presuppositions have arguably proven their usefulness to the point where there is little to nothing to be gained from rejecting them (the existence of a mind independent reality, history has happened, other minds exist, shit like that).

When it comes to the presupposition of God, (whatever you think that means) it is my opinion that there is no way to have certainty about God (I don't think existence is the proper word to predicate of God) instead, I think that there are several converging lines of evidence which make it intrinsically reasonable to accept the presupposition of God, including the classic arguments about the beginning of the existence of the universe, our innate moral sense, the experience of consciousness, that sense of 'oneness' you were talking about, religious experiences, etc.

When it comes to Christianity, and particularly the New Testament, it is readily apparent that if you aren't actively trying to disbelieve/are holding the Bible to different standards, you can readily conclude that there really was a man called Jesus the Christ who lived, died and was buried

Was he resurrected on the third day? I can't claim to know with certainty. I suppose that faith is the hope that if there really is a God, then perhaps He did was Jesus said.

>Go to a Christian school
>Not really religious, but the school was
>Not one of those edgy kids who refused to believe in religion because the authority (the school) did
>Didn't really think much of it
>Wasn't religious at all desu
>Always had an interest in history
>Notice that successful empires always have a common belief and it always revolves around religion
>"How come we don't see that today?"
>Look around at the countless Muslims brought together by a common element who are blowing up the non-believing, selfish cucks who never grew out of that edgy phase of being atheists

There's a reason there are no, and have never been, atheist empires. It turns out when a nation of people are all pulling in different directions purely for their own benefit then shit doesn't get done.

>Living in one of the least religious countries in the world.
Feels great.

basically nihilism

Will you go to Heaven when you die? Here’s a quick test: Have you ever lied, stolen, or used God’s name in vain? Jesus said,
“Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
If you have done these things, God sees you as a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer at heart,
and the Bible warns that one day God will punish you in a terrible place called Hell.
But God is not willing that any should perish. Sinners broke God’s Law and Jesus paid their fine.
This means that God can legally dismiss their case:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Then Jesus rose from the dead, defeating death. Today, repent and trust Jesus, and God will give you eternal life as a free gift.
Then read the Bible daily and obey it. God will never fail you.

I don't have any faith
And if god exists he hates me

Why does he hate you?

I realized I hated liberals with the passion of a vengeful god

>Cynicism, nihilism, lack of belonging, purpose & higher ideals and other common themes among those whose lives are too secular for their own good
Beheadings, sexual slavery, jihad and ritual child sacrifice and other common themes among those whose lives are too religious for our own good

>a nation of people
The United States was founded on the secular principles of Natural Law, Social Contract and Liberal Democracy.

Meanwhile Britain was still sporting the morals and religion of King Henry VIII.

Studying demonology I watched Orthodox exorcisms on VHS tape a few years ago and believed immediately. This is my testimony.

I have cancer at the age of 24, terminal by the looks o fit

But what you claim is silly. Theists are just playing pretend if what you say is true. I say theres meaning in life, because i found it. Are you going to tell me i didnt?

friend, the prayer of the Lord.
'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner'
Find a priest and ask about it, it has saved before.

your god gave me cancer, and I need to go to him?

yes , do as I told you , don't lose time and pull every fiber of your faith on it