about GOD: why DONT i seem to have FAITH?

It's clear you are confused by contradictions between what you are taught in the Bible and in Bible study classes and what you learn outside the church.

Being scared of hell or loss of heaven is much of what keeps people in church when they realize it's not good for them. It's not rational, there are all sorts of doubts, but Pascal's Wager keeps you there.

Break free. Study without fear. Recognize that it's only the concept that a book which was written thousands of years ago is utterly true that is hanging you up. See if you can find a copy of Asimov's Guide to the Bible. Check out the reference below.

Ultimately true christians come to know both the severity and compassion of God. You have missed the point of it all by only learning the severity (usually this is a function of pride).

What it comes down to is this. Churches can be corrupt. They can be after money, or just not really Christian.

The point of the bible isn't church. It is a love relationship with God. The way to attain this (and feel the Holy Spirit and strengthen your faith) is through reading the bible and praying. Do it every day, as often as you can. Talk to God, Pray.... about anything and everything. Ask Him to guide you in your walk. Keep reading and praying, and you will grow strong in the Lord.

By devoting yourself you gain many real rewards in this life (as well as the afterlife).

It is written:

Matthew 7:21

" Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.

Luke 6:46

" Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?

There are 2 places you can start reading. Read the entire chapters, stopping to pray when you don't understand something or want to share your thoughts with God.

Do this for awhile, and when you attend church you'll be able to express your growing relationship through worshiping... and that is the point of churches.

Your father is better off then mines. At least he's staring to question things and not take everything on face value like accepting things as truths when in reality they have no role in his life.

There's a good quote by some person (i forget who it was) "when a person believes there's something there or a delusion they say ,He's crazy or insane.. when 1,000,000 people do the same thing, then it's called religion" When you start to question things that's when your journey towards truth begins. People take the bible and live and die by it when in reality it's just a book. Don't get me wrong the bible has plenty of good things to say and alot of good stories but it doesn't cover life in all it's whole... maybe not even close to half.

Aw ): Maybe the issue is Christianity isn't the right faith for you. It might help to do some research of other religions, and find out which one or ones make sense to you and which ones don't. Personally, as a child I was given the choice between Christianity (from my mother) and Islam (from my father), and I found that Islam truly answered all my questions. It just took a little research to decide. Good luck, dear. (:

PS. Don't listen to these people. If humans weren't born believing in God, or didn't need to believe in God...would you feel this turmoil? Would you be questioning why it's so hard for you to believe? No, you would just abandon it. Please do yourself a favor and research other religions, don't just ignore the inherent need to believe in God. Please. I will help you if you need it.

Hi...Thank you for your story of how you feel. I want to share with you that faith is not a feeling but a decision. You can not trust your feelings to be the same each day but you can in a decision that is directed towards God. He is all powerful and He will not abandon you ever if you just say to yourself that I am going to believe the Bible because that is how God talks to me and I am not going to call Him a liar like Satan is. God does not Lie, He keeps all His promises. He loves me and wants me to be with Him always and Satan is trying to destroy me and my Family and Jesus Christ, and I am not going to go the unrighteous direction. I need God and His strength.. That is what faith is..Believing that He keeps His promises to you and He will never leave you.. You are at a difficult age and no support group in the family. I was a Why person when I was your age and it only got worse as I got older. I did not come to Christ till I was 34. Don't worry, you sound way more intelligent than I ever was. I found a church that keeps all the Commandments of God and all the Teachings of Jesus Christ, Gods beloved Son and my Savior. I love Christ, there for I am obedient to Him because I love Him not, because it will save me. Only Grace saves us.. I believe all of the Bible, Genesis to Revelation and I love the reading that our Church puts out because all of it is Scripture back up and its not personal opinions. Who cares what mans opinion is, I just wanted to know What God says. This is what worked for me and it sounds like you are searching for the truth. I have been to many churches and this one has all the Truth, not just part of it. The Church is a Seventh Day Adventist Church. The people are people just like in any church but the teaching is not. It keeps all the Commandments of God including the 7th day as Holy as God said it was in Genesis at the Creation of the World. God is the same yesterday, Today and forever. I can only tell you this to research yourself. God will let you know if this is where He wants you. Love you in Christ and don't give up on God...missleslie

why the need to belive it? anyone can believe anything they want, I was a devout Christian until I started asking quesitons my pastor could not answer, or at least thew answers they presented were so backwards that they made no logical sense, it took me a long time to realize that the Christian, Judeo, Islamic god were nothing more than control devices to control human kind. WAKE UP and realize that you are not subjecteds to sacred laws and beliefs that have no evidence whatsoever.

They got chue, you had no chance to become the spice of life, don't cry anymore, because you will go to heaven, they got you all messed up. You were always connected to God, just like His hand, He will not leave you and cannot leave you, for you are his product and His child, no one but God can create the voice in your head you see, it is Him and He is always with you.

Loss of religiosity and blind trust (aka "faith") that an invisible father exists beyond our perception is lost among those who've developed an inquisitive and educated mind. You ought to be glad you're losing your religion. I sure was once I admitted to myself I no longer believed.

Perhaps you don't seem to have faith because you don't have faith. I was raised in a Catholic home and completely lost my faith in my mid teens. I was not able to will myself to have it, once it was gone.

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Regards,

John Popelish

see most of us feel like we have to believe, you dont feel like you are going to hell, your just scared that in a christian society you wont be accepted.

we are too smart to believe in a childs bedtime stories we are too smart to believe in god...

people can still be good and not believe in god