I'm not sure if i believe in god but i want to seek after him

I grew up Christian and became very passionate about it in highschool but then left the faith my first year in college.

Now that I'm 25 I actually find myself drawn to it again. It some ways it feels very strange. I'm not sure if I believe in God but I find Jesus's words to be very special and part of me wants to have a real encounter with God. Is this normal?

Voting Results
78% Normal
Based on 18 votes (14 yes)
Help us keep this site organized and clean. Thanks!
[ Report Post ]
Comments ( 12 )
  • pinkcookie26

    Yes it’s normal. I think it’s calf agonist, when they’re in the middle of not and believing (I may be wrong)

    I also want a real encounter but I believe in him. Most people who are truely in faith do encounter him, or get a special message. I just suggest you go to church, read the bible, and get closer a connection. He speaks to all.

    And most people end up not believing in him and regaining it at some point. I don’t judge you, and I understand how you feel.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
  • Goomats

    Your desire to seek God is God desiring you. You are answering Him.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
  • Lestat565

    It’s normal to want there to be a god. But you have to ask yourself if there’s enough proof in your eyes to believe it it. There are plenty of good things Jesus said in the Bible but there are bad things too. The problem with religion is that every person nit picks only parts that they already agree with and then act like the rest didn’t happen. Either all of it happened or none of it happened.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
  • lordofopinions

    Mankind invented God to explain the unexplainable of the times. We now have science and logic.

    You're born you live you'll die just like any other life form no matter how tiny (think bacteria) to the largest such as elephants and blue whales.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
  • bfus

    Are you trying to find out whether there are rational, logical reasons to believe in the existence of god and the truth of Christianity, or are you reevaluating your religious identity by exploring your feelings, intuitions, and desires?

    Comment Hidden ( show )
      -
    • Both? Also I'm not 100% sure I know what you're asking. Sometimes rational is conflated with empirical and intuition conflated with epistemologically subjective. What do you mean?

      Comment Hidden ( show )
  • Boojum

    Throughout history and in all cultures, people who have signed up to a particular religious club and those who don't follow any particular creed or teacher have sought a transcendent experience. We'd all like to believe that this life is not all there is, and the body we inhabit is not all that we are. So what you want is normal, in the sense that many people feel that need.

    Established religions are not very keen on people who want to experience God for themselves. If someone believes they have a direct line to the divine, why should they listen to what preachers say, do what they're commanded to do, and put money in the pockets of the men who are supposedly God's emissaries on Earth?

    What I find amusing about truly devoted Christians, Muslims, Hindus and the members of every other religious gang is that they each are convinced beyond all doubt that their way is the only correct to understand God. Clearly, they can't all be right, and simply declaring that everything allegedly said by a guy who supposedly lived in Palestine a couple thousand years ago is the Absolute Truth doesn't make it so.

    If you want to talk to God, I think that's a fool's errand, but it's your life, so on you jolly well go. Just don't expect me to listen with much respect to what you believe He has told you, and try to hold on to the idea that you might be deluding yourself, and everything the voice in your head says might be utterly wrong.

    One final thing: people your age who feel the need you do are prime targets for all sorts of manipulative groups who want to exploit your desire to find the True Meaning of Life. Don't think for a moment that you're too intelligent and savvy to fall for something like that. Cults know how to push buttons and appeal to the desire many people have to feel that they belong to something bigger than themselves, that they are important as individuals, and that the cosmos has a plan for them. Just look at how many intelligent, highly educated, professional people were sucked in by the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and still sign up to the lunacy that is Scientology.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
      -
    • pinkcookie26

      A whole atheist rant. Why are you so mean on so many forums, just a question? It’s his personal belief, at least try to be subtle about your anger speech.

      Comment Hidden ( show )
        -
      • Boojum

        If you're hearing anger in the above post, that's entirely projection. Given our exchanges on another thread, that's ironically amusing.

        I don't hate religious people. As far as I'm concerned, so long as they don't try to sell me their particular brand of nonsense or force me to accept it as Truth, they're free to believe whatever fantasies they choose.

        I'm certain they're deluding themselves, but more importantly, they're opening themselves up to be exploited by malevolent people with their own agendas.

        I do intensely dislike the self-proclaimed "men of God" which people of your political ilk in the USA tend to admire and flock to, but that's because I detest hypocrisy and those who exploit the weaknesses of others in order to stoke their egos and line their pockets. Still, if sheep willingly go to be sheared, they deserve what they get. The brighter ones will eventually understand that they're being fleeced, and they'll leave, poorer but wiser. The dimmer ones will stay lost in the delusion, but they'll have their belief to help them cope.

        Comment Hidden ( show )
          -
        • pinkcookie26

          I’m just saying it’s such a negative connotation, at least be respectful
          Like saying fantasies and such. Give them such respect. Not speaking for all, but most atheists always have to be so negative to multiple different religions. I don’t understand why. You could just be professional and say “believe what they want” and such.

          It seems like you are trying to promote atheism, which I don’t mind of course. But the whole two paragraphs seems more negative than I think you’ve wanted them to be

          Comment Hidden ( show )
            -
          • Boojum

            Thank you for telling me what I really wanted to say.

            Actually, I said what I wanted to say.

            It's up to you - and the OP, in the unlikely event he or she is still following this - to consider my points or disregard them.

            When I say things like, "I think...", "I'm certain..." and, "As far as I'm concerned..." those are flags indicating an opinion is about to be expressed. Opinions can be respected, ignored, or called bullshit.

            I respect the right of people to believe that they have a family of purple fairies living under the petunias in their garden, but I don't respect that belief. I'm not going to attack them and try to beat the delusion out of their heads either literally or metaphorically, but it is going to colour how I think of them, and I'm sure as hell not going to make a donation to the Fairy Support and Home Improvement Fund or encourage the believer in their delusion.

            Comment Hidden ( show )
              -
            • "When I was very young I forgot in the Trophonian cave how to laugh; but when I grew older and opened my eyes and contemplated the real world, I had to laugh, and have not ceased laughing, ever since. I saw that the meaning of life was to secure a livelihood, and that its goal was to attain a high position; that love’s rich dream was marriage with an heiress; that friendship’s blessing was help in financial difficulties; that wisdom was what the majority assumed it to be; that enthusiasm consisted in making a speech; that it was courage to risk the loss of ten dollars; that kindness consisted in saying, “You are welcome,” at the dinner table; that piety consisted in going to communion once a year. This I saw, and I laughed."

              Comment Hidden ( show )