Can you force yourself to believe?

If you don't truly believe, you can't force yourself. Saying that you believe doesn't make it true. This is best illustrated by looking at other examples. Do you believe Bigfoot exists? Do you believe in alien abduction stories and UFOs? A purple tentacled monster that lives on one of Saturn's moons? You probably don't. It's absurd. But could you force yourself to believe in those things? Would that work?

The answer is no. If you have an experience that changes your mind, you will believe. Perhaps someone will persuade you with some stories or arguments. You can't voluntarily make yourself believe in something you don't, even if you really wanted to.

I have to ask. Why do you want to believe? Why is it so important, and what do you seek to gain from it that can't be gained in any other way?

Perhaps you are a deist or a pantheist. Deists believe in 'something out there' which may have once had a part to play in bringing about the existence of the universe but is no longer involved and allowed the laws of physics and nature to take its course. Pantheists are people who admire the wonders of the world and science but call themselves spiritual. They redefine what they call god. Some might say the universe is god, or god is the universe. God is nature, god is everything.

Your beliefs, questions and examinations of your beliefs are healthy. It is good that you don't accept anything blindly but do question what you believe and if you can believe. Good luck.

Despite what many might say here, God does not want "blind faith".

1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

As far as verifying that the Bible is God's word, I recommend verififying fulfilled prophecies. There are many. I will mention one specifically because of the detail invoved. The Encyclopedia Britannica verifies the prophecy of the nation of Tyre in its article.

It's in Ezekiel 26. Tyre had existed for 1500 years at the time the prophecy was given. It had 150 foot high walls that had never been breached. The prophecy said that they would be attacked like the waves of the sea. One right after another. It said they would be "scraped like the top of a rock". The attacks started almost immediately. 300 years later Alexander the Great breached the walls. When the people fled to the island that had been their nation, Alexander "scraped" the soil off their mainland, made their island a peninsula, breached those walls and destroyed them.

In almost every prophecy the writer begins with a line similar to; "In the third year in the reign of Sennacherib" to give a historically verifiable date.

In 604 B.C. Daniel successfully prophesied the successive world-ruling empires In Daniel 2. Babylon, (the arms and chest of silver) the Medo-Persian empire, (the belly and thighs) Alexander the Great, then Rome with its two capitols in Byzantium and Rome.

You can research yourself and thus avoid the "brainwashing" spoken of here.

It's possible to do so, but it's not worth it. You can, however, find reasons to believe. There are many. I'm a bit uneasy saying so, but if you were taught in philosophy that theism is futile and illogical, you weren't taught well. From what I've seen (and I've done considerable reading) the philosophical arguments about theism/atheism end in stalemate. Science has nothing to say about the existence of a God beyond the cause and effect universe that is the province of scientific enquiry. God's existence is simply not a scientific question. I realize this may sound silly, but why not ask God to reveal himself to you? If you do so honestly, and actually look for a response He will do so. After all, what have you got to lose?

peace

Your confusion is perfectly understandable. When you are raised in a household that seems to hold no solid foundation of beliefs, it is understandable that you will feel lost as an adult.

I also grew up in a non-religious household, but all my life, I had a fundamental belief in God. I knew nothing about the Bible--hadn't even opened one until I was a teenager. And, I had no one to ask.

I spent 5 years looking for the answer. I eventually convinced myself there was no God and the Bible was fictional. But, it was hard work to make myself believe that. And so, I looked the other way--looking FOR God instead of looking for evidence of His non-existance. And, I found Him, as cheesy as that sounds.

This is your personal journey and struggles. Don't let anyone else convince you of anything. Spend some time alone just thinking. Try to clear your thoughts and then open your mind to all possibilities--that there is a God, and that there is not. See which thought makes you feel most at ease. Once you have done that, you can start to build upon that fundamental belief and go from there.

The Christian in me just can't submit this answer without telling you that if you want to know God, all you have to do is ask. Pray, even if it seems silly at first, and ask for the Lord to help you on this journey. If you seek Him, truly seek Him with all of your heart, you will find Him.

You can't force yourself to believe something. Many people don't seem to understand this, so try and get as much information for yourself and then make a good judgement over what you think is most accurate. Don't beat yourself up over it too much though. It's better to have no answer than a wrong one in my opinion.

edit

Buddhism makes a lot of sense to me too, but don't be so locked into the idea of giving yourself a title. People sometimes are more intersted in a title instead of actually finding the truth.

I think I'm with you there. I know all the science etc. but I also believe that there is something bigger than us but I don't think I believe in God. Basically I'm very confused! I would suggest talking to people - atheists, Christians and people of other religions to see if you can find something helpful.

Yes, anyone can believe anything at any time, depending how receptive one is. That is why people believe all things in different ways. Even the so called 'like minded people' interpret their world in

different ways. It is called the Human Factor. No boring World here.

No. God does not want us to be religious. It is His idea to have a relationship with us not ours. This relationship comes by knowing about, and knowing who Jesus Christ is.

God came down from heaven in the form of the man Jesus. His purpose was to show us how much God loves us by dieing in our place for our sins. Jesus became our sins while on the cross.

We all sin . Sin is our selfishness and our rebellion toward God. This sin nature that we have which is inherited from Adam causes us to be separated from God.

Acceptance of Jesus and what He did for us, brings us back into the relationship with God that Adam had at the start.

I invite you to read and learn about Jesus. This way you are not learning about religion but, instead about your Lord and your Savior. He will become the love of your life once you really know Him.

The good news is that Jesus now lives and wants a personal relationship with you. He loves you and He wants to bless you in every way with a good and happy live just by listening to what He tells you. God bless.

You seem like a good candidate to become Buddhist. You may not agree with their teaching 100%, but that's not a requirement, so you don't have to feel guilty and beat yourself up because of it.

Edit:

Being sarcastic was the furthest thing from my mind; I am not normally much of a fan of sarcasm.

when i was younger i always ed believed that god was real by when i turned 13 or so i thought is it really true? but now i believe in god. i don't force myself and i don't think he lives in the clouds i think its more like a different world. i do believe god cares for everybody and thing but i don't want to push my belief on you. and i have honestly never read the bible.