To want to make myself believe in god?

[HopHopHopSkip]

I have always been very logical and so despite going to a Christian primary school, having a very religious mum(though not in a pushy way) and reading the bible when I was younger(the story version I was a bit of a book worm) I have never really got my head around how god could be possible.

But I really wish I had the extra "something" that some people seem to find by believing in god. I'm probably not making much sense, but I wish I could get myself to feel like there's somebody watching out, that there's something after death, that everything happens for what'd ultimately a good reason/what's meant to be so on.

AIBU to try going to church for a bit even though I don't believe in god? Or am I just being silly, is it something you can't 'make' yourself feel?

Without the seed, there would be no tree. Without God's spark, the universe would not be.

Evidence?

So what made god?

But I only have my brain to work out what makes sense. God expects me to use it to work out what the real religion is but then wants me to stop using it once I decide. That seems very illogical.

Ah the old 'beginning and end' topic!

Just because we, and or universe had a beginning (and will have an end) we assume the same about God.

However God is the alpha and omega, and has no beginning or end.

It's good to question headinhands

Why give me something that will make him angry if I use it. He wants me to use it to find his true religion, but will then get sniffy if I don't leave it at the door? That's what your post seems to be promoting.

Not required to stop using your head at all, quite the opposite! Bible is full of recommendations for seeking out wisdom and pursuing knowledge.

No, if you go back to the analogy of children and sweets, we all want our children to think independently and critically with enquiring minds, but we also have a parental responsibility to make sure they are not living off only sweets, and that they do get some sort of sleep!

But you're saying how could I possible know better. You're saying I have to trust god and suspend my logic. The same logic he expected me to use to find him. So it's like 'question everything else but me'.

You can sit and read a book with a child about healthy eating and how the human body needs rest. You can explain it thoroughly. They can even go on to study nutrition and the effects of sleep deprivation at degree level. The information is there. You don't have to say 'I'm not going to explain why you can't eat sweets or stay up all night, you won't understand because you're too stupid'

So why can't we just say the universe always was? If god doesn't need a begininning.

@ claig

'How is nature evidence for a god?'

Because it is his creation. Without God, it would not be.

As the great Hitchens said, "That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence."

Why does stoning men and women who choose to have sex with eachother seem harsh?

Permissive? Not stoning adulterers is permissive? How about it's not barbaric. And no I wouldnt want my husband to be stoned to death if he slept with another woman. I would know that any murderous urges would be my ego throwing a wobbly and would pass in time.

headinhands I really hope you are not being serious? Do you support the death penalty for adultery?

The Biblical God is a tyrant who has the temper of a small child and the ego of Chris Moyles. If you're going to have a God, why choose that one? Why not choose one who either admits to their faults (several Greek and Norse ones) or one who at least suggests having fun whilst dealing with the crap life throws at you (Bacchus!).

headinhands I really hope you are not being serious? Do you support the death penalty for adultery?

No! I'm trying to work out how anyone can admit it seems overly harsh but still defend it. That worries me. That your sense of moral decency is saying one thing, but your beliefs another.

"As the great Hitchens said, "That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence."

Where was his evidence for that?

Headinhands, I understand why you find the bible wanting. It's not acceptable in many Christian circles to say it's a fallible text, but it was written by men and reflects the social and moral fabric of the times in which it was written.

But there is a huge difference between faith and religion, imho. Organised religion has caused a lot of pain, in fighting, out-fighting, bigotry, hatred, rationalisation of violent acts. That's because it's organised by men 9usually) and women with their own agendas, who pick and choose what to believe, what to focus on. Organised religion is enough to put many questioning people of most faiths.

But if you start with faith itself, if you start by asking 'Are you there? Can you help me? Can you guide me? I'm listening.' then something very different emerges. Something so profoundly powerful and peaceful and strong and right that all the petty quarrels of all the organised religions in the world seem irrelevant. (I mean irrelevant to a relationship with God, not irrelevant socially - we still need to campaign for tolerance and peace and fairness and equality where such things are crushed in the name of God by people who are not actually paying any attention to God at all.)

sorry for typos, esp. put people off not of faiths

does anyone feel up to having a stab at my "worship" question?

I think that worship is just a form of love - a reverence and adoration which is a love.

I think you may be objecting it because you think it shows some kind of subservience, but if there is God, then we are all inferior and subservient to Him. We are not God's equals.

There are different types of love - romantic, platonic etc, but the love for God is worship.

Re Hitchens quote. It's just logic isn't it. If you have no evidence for it, the claim can be ignored. How would you decide if a claim is factual/real?

Yes subservience is exactly what I struggle with. I just cannot understand why a loving God would want us to be subservient. Cannot get my head around it at all.

"Yes subservience is exactly what I struggle with. I just cannot understand why a loving God would want us to be subservient. Cannot get my head around it at all."

He doesn't want us to be subservient, we just are subservient, because we are His creation and are mere atoms compared to His infinite consciousness, mercy, love, beauty and goodness. There is no comparison between us and God.