Discussion Loss of faith.

[Sasha]

Is it just me or did anyone else lose their faith in religion? I did not completely lose it but I don't believe in my gods as I used to. Before I used to feel their presence every second, now I barely feel them. If someone would have told me 2 years ago that there would be a day where I would doubt the existence of my gods, I wouldve laughed at their face. I wonder if my religion is a delusion, after all it's a man made thing. Does anyone else feel this way?d

 

[gingerplum]

I didn't "lose" it, I outgrew it. One day I just realized that Jesus and Santa Claus were essentially the same thing.

 

[stargazer]

Is it just me or did anyone else lose their faith in religion? I did not completely lose it but I don't believe in my gods as I used to. Before I used to feel their presence every second, now I barely feel them. If someone would have told me 2 years ago that there would be a day where I would doubt the existence of my gods, I wouldve laughed at their face. I wonder if my religion is a delusion, after all it's a man made thing. Does anyone else feel this way?d

I was an atheist up until the last few weeks since about 2016. Before that, I was dabbling in some Christian denominations, eventually returned to my Catholic faith, etc.

I've really felt more in awe of the Gnostic Gospels. They make me feel happier knowing that the whole reason this place exists with all its suffering and let downs and bad luck, that the demiurge or evil God is to blame.

The Gnostics claimed Jesus came from the Good God Above, who was above the demiurge. The demiurge was from a similar realm as that good God. But being the arrogant and evil god that the demiurge is, that's why we are all unfortunately made "in the image of the demiurge."

It's all heavy stuff.

But it makes me feel better now thinking of myself as a more enlightened Catholic with Gnosticism thrown in.

I do feel let down though that as much as I want to think someone is hearing any thoughts or prayers I have, I'm still here. Goddamit. Lol.

Sigh.

 

[MsM3talGamer]

Pretty much so. I used to be spiritual but now I've become nihilistic.

 

[therhydler]

I feel the same... I used to believe in god, not as in a personal god but more of a spirit or force that intelligently guides the universe, and there was a time in my life when I was very spiritual. It brought me a profound sense of peace, love and fulfillment. I also followed judaism for a while and was religious. Now, when I think about all this, it's like I'm talking about a different person. I have completely lost that. All I feel now is despair. I cannot have faith in anything any more if the only possible way out I see is ending my own life

 

[TAW122]

I am an atheist and after a lot of time thinking about it, I realized I couldn't intellectually parse the idea that God is real (talking about Christianity here btw), and also the moral system and values that they use I really don't come in agreement with. In fact, I find myself more cornered and powerless when I turn to religion, so I've decided that I'm an atheist. Finally, almost all major religions condemn suicide as one of the worst sins ever, which is something I fundamentally and vehemently oppose.

 

[NumbItAll]

Loss of faith is a good thing. There is nothing virtuous about believing in something without evidence.

 

[Angst Filled Fuck Up]

Loss of faith is a good thing. There is nothing virtuous about believing in something without evidence.

Exactly. Even assuming religion has it more or less right, you can't be expected to know what to do unless you have some telekinetic link to Jesus' brain stem. Instead we're supposed to trust some random, man made text altered countless times and interpreted myriad ways? I wouldn't put together an IKEA table with those kind of instructions, let alone live my life according to them.

 

[gingerplum]

Exactly. Even assuming religion has it more or less right, you can't be expected to know what to do unless you have some telekinetic link to Jesus' brain stem. Instead we're supposed to trust some random, man made text altered countless times and interpreted myriad ways? I wouldn't put together an IKEA table with those kind of instructions, let alone live my life according to them.

If you were like most followers, you'd be cherry picking the Ikea instructions for the directives you found applicable to your circumstances and convenient for you to follow while ignoring the rest.

 

[NotWorthLiving]

I'm losing faith as we speak

 

[Johnnythefox]

I told myself not to get involved in any more discussions about religion. But I've wanted to share this true story for a while now.
The Atheist, the Catholic and the Protestant.
This took place about six or seven years ago in the workplace, it was Easter time and the day was ash Wednesday.

The Catholic was sitting with his ashes on his forehead.
The Protestant was a church goer and attended bible study also.
Me, the Atheist attended Catholic school.

Me to Catholic "what is the central message of Christianity?"
Catholic "I don't know"
Me to Protestant "what is the central message of Christianity"
Protestant "I don't know"
Me "what do you mean you don't know, you go to church every week don't you?"
Protestant "yes"
Me "don't you listen to what the guy is saying"
Protestant "not really"
Me "what the fuck do you go for then?"
Protestant "I just like to be in amongst it"

And that pretty much sums up religion for me, people's desire to be seen to be doing the right thing.

 

[okyeah]

I need some sort of faith. There is so much out of my control right now that it overwhelms me to the point of suicide. And it all affects me personally - like getting a job or going to school.

 

[Zaynaldeen]

Logically I cannot leave Islam, my emotions are no reason to leave the religion when the evidence and proofs show me that this is the straight path. I could say that my faith isn't as good as it used to be, I rarely go to the mosque these days, but I still pray 5 times a day and avoid that which is not permissible. I watched so many so-called ex-Muslim youtube channels and they keep bringing lies and they simply deceive their audience. I am thankful that I am Muslim because I would have surely offed myself if I wasn't.

 

[gingerplum]

I need some sort of faith. There is so much out of my control right now that it overwhelms me to the point of suicide. And it all affects me personally - like getting a job or going to school.

This is the reason people come to religion; it's rarely "I was really happy and things were going so great, I wanted to bring religion into my life".