5 replies to this topic

[WishingForSomethingMore]

ive grown up in a christian home and for the first 15 years believed in god. now that i'm in my 20's i keep wondering if it's true, you know all they tell me in church. i go every sunday hoping that something will change inside me and make me feel what everyone else feels when they go. on easter i was sitting there and listening to the group singing that plays in the services. they are really good. and they get up there and sing and dance and the piano player just gets into the music and you can tell she's so moved by the music and the spirit. everytime they were done she walked past me and i never looked at her i just looked at the ground in shame because i didn't feel what she so obviously felt. this made me sad more sad than i am on a normal day. that last song was over and i didn't look down this time i looked directly at her when she walked by me. i could still see her singing and moving while playing the piano in my mind. when she looked at me it's like she knew that i was sad or something because the way she looked at me. and after the service she walked by me a couple times and each time she looked at me with the same look in her eye. i wanted to say something like help me feel the way you do. why can't i feel what she feels? is there something wrong with me. i want to believe i do but i don't know how.

[missy177]

You can! So do not give up hope. All you have to do is try harder do more things then just going to church start praying more. Or join a bible study group. Get more invovled in the church and with God. Acually ask the paster to help you. Just whatever you do, do not give up hope for what is right. It can be hard to become a true christian and it requires alot of work all you have to do is devote more time. Or even try changing churches because maybe the church that you are etending does not fit your personality therfore making the lessons and teachings harder to understand ( just a thought). I to have had trouble with my faith but with more work I am now strong in my religion. ( I am a fellow christian) It just takes help and support and lots of your time. Make sure that you are growing stronger and not weaker for the lessons are there to help you grow to love God more and not grow more distent.

I wish you luck and give you my blessings
do not give up hope:)

[Sam!]

You certainly can't force yourself to find faith. It is possible that an event will trigger these feelings you are hoping to be able to experience at some point in your life, but in the interim, it is probably best to be guided by your internal moral compass and negotiate these issues within your own life and your spirituality.

There is no need to feel guilt in this situation. If you are looking for guidance on religion or spirituality, maybe you want to talk to a religious leader within your particular place of worship and discuss this with him/her. Religious leaders are often open to trying to help people "see the light".

Good luck!

[FranklinF]

have you tried other churches or self study?
i found these things to help me

[Senna]

Isn't it Dogma that had the Jewish doctor who told a Catholic that her gardener told her that, "faith is like a glass. When you're younger, it's full. However, the glass grows bigger when you age and so then you need to have more faith to fill it."

I don't think you can force faith. Have you tried going to a study group or going to a different church even? Sometimes it's the church.

[Ingenuity]

There's nothing wrong with not believing in god. My parents raised my as a Christian, I was baptized, I have god parents, I did the whole first communion thing, and then by 5th grade I realized that i wasn't religious on my own. I'm not so sure switching churches will do the trick. It's more personal, either you have faith or you don't. Perhaps read up on atheism. Think about the reasons you are having trouble believing, and why they make sense to you, and maybe you'll be able to accept it, as apposed to telling yourself that you should believe and that your doubts are a bad thing.