Originally posted by AdamLaw
I do not believe in God, yet I find the scriptures very comforting. I could cope better with the death of loved ones and my own death if I could force myself somehow to believe in God and become a Christian.

I wish I believed in God. I like the idea of it all.

How does one who absolutely does not believe in God can become a believer in order to appease his mind about death and the afterlife?

edit on 5-10-2012 by AdamLaw because: (no reason given)

edit on 5-10-2012 by AdamLaw because: (no reason given)

Read Carl Sagan's "The Demon Haunted World". He talks about this very phenomenon about how he himself wished that his parents went to a "happy place" after they died and this gave him comfort...yet how he is also able to separate fantasy from reality and didn't proceed to take his primitive longings w/ him to the polls, or decide that it was his "moral duty" to try and get EVERYONE to believe in unicorns too.

Imagination and fantasy plays an important role in the human psyche...you just be able to separate reality and make-believe.

like anything else in life, you join, a congression? i think its called, to become full blown you would have to talk to a priest, and get baptised ccd courses ect ect lol, I dont think you have to join to enjoy and gain insite from any work christian or not, i dont believe in any of these fantasies, but some religions have some nice "stories"/lessons in them.

You could start by studying everything you know. Understand that Atheists too are acting on faith. Everything science preaches about evolution is nothing more than theory and faith. Moving on from that, understand the miracle that is life. How amazing everything about us really is from how birds can navigate to the complexity that is the human body. Look at paranormal studies and the overwhelming evidence that things are happening beyond our understanding that according to our science shouldn't be happening in the first place, and I ain't talking about silly "orbs" aka dust and bugs. That despite how much Stephen Hawking tries to explain away God with his theories, he will never be able to explain how the universe just magically came into existence out of thin space without using 100% faith that he's right.

See, the biggest problem for atheists is that because God isn't down here chilling with us everyday then he must just be a good story to make people feel better about death. "Seeing is believing!" Well yeah I can understand that viewpoint but it's amazing how a person can preach that yet are unable to look upon everything they know and still choose to believe that it was all chance and was created out of nothing. You ask how can I believe in God? And I answer, open your eyes, stop viewing everything as normal and nothing special, and accept the miracles you witness everyday and night from Earthly creations to the vastness of space and the stars that occupy it.

Once you face the music that there can only be one answer to the biggest question of all: Is there a God? Then you can focus on studying the beliefs of God and basically it really just comes down to whatever you like most. I have a strong belief in Christianity being the correct faith to have. But for some people it's just not good enough. They want to hold onto Earthly ideals. It's hard to follow in Christ's footsteps. That's all fine and dandy for anyone who chooses another faith but I believe what matters most is that you believe because if you go through life without letting God be a part of it then you'll certainly spend eternity without him, too.

Atheists will look at me and think it's retarded to believe in something I have never seen. But to me it's retarded to believe that everything we know just poofed into existence. Hey, if you really want to put your faith on the big bang singularity theory and go with "We don't know!" whenever you're asked where the singularity came from, have at it. As far as I care "we don't know" is a translation of "yeah ok there is a creator but we still choose to believe said creator isn't actively involved in our lives and has moved on" which is a common viewpoint btw by former atheists who finally accepted that there was a creator but because they aren't here chilling with us they must have moved on and left us behind. Or whatever wild theory they come up with.

If you want to go with Christianity, the most important message of Christianity is forgiveness. To let go of hate. If you cannot forgive those that have hurt you, how do you expect God to forgive you for your sins? To forgive is to be forgiven. If you achieve what you seek, always remember this in your quests of following Christ in his footsteps. Love is the path to salvation, not hate.

Why commit yourself to one religion at all.

If the scriptures bring you comfort then great - but as soon as you commit to one religion, the you will be narrowing down the number of books that can bring you comfort - including many mythological books. Homer's Iliad is one of the most inspiring books I ever read - especially in verse form.

Originally posted by Xaphan
An even better question: How does a Christian become an atheist? Answer: By thoroughly studying the bible

Then explain why people who were not christian to begin with end up becomming christians. I wasn't a christian until about 2 years ago. Before 2 years ago i wouldn't even read the bible at all, and i even persecuted christians. Tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor, now i'm on the otherside of the fence getting persecuted and thats how he does it sometimes.Thats what he did to Apostle Paul too. It's no joke he will make you pay out the nose for persecuting him, because everything you do to them you do to him and then one day comes and you're a christian reaping what you have sown.

Originally posted by Cataclysm
Dr. Richard Lumsden, explains an epiphany he experienced.

I've had paranormal experiences since birth. I've had visions and out of body experiences.

I was even visited when in an OBE by a man who looked like Jesus - - in a long white robe. I was about 5/6.

Those experiences "epiphanies" did not make me become Christian.

I claim Atheism - - because I do not believe in the religious sense of God. Or the bible stories as interpreted.

If Dr. Lumsden now believes in Christianity - - - its the choice he made. Not the experience.

Originally posted by Annee

I was even visited when in an OBE by a man who looked like Jesus - - in a long white robe. I was about 5/6.

You see a man in a robe and think he is Jesus, and you say Christians are out of touch. Not only that you think he looked like Jesus, Christ's image was not recorded, so how do you imagine Him looking.
You have a lot of baggage for an atheist.

Originally posted by borntowatch

Originally posted by Annee

I was even visited when in an OBE by a man who looked like Jesus - - in a long white robe. I was about 5/6.

You see a man in a robe and think he is Jesus, and you say Christians are out of touch. Not only that you think he looked like Jesus, Christ's image was not recorded, so how do you imagine Him looking.
You have a lot of baggage for an atheist.

I did not say that. I never said he was Jesus.

I never thought he was Jesus - - even though he looked like artist portrayals of Jesus. (didn't figure I had to explain that in detail)

I have no baggage for an atheist.

Just start reading the bible, get the Audio Bible app for your smartphone, find a good protestant chruch, like Penticostal, baptist, Alliance or some other non-demoninational protestant church to go to. Somewhere where you feel comfortable. Start praying each day. That's the main thing. God draws near to those that draw near to him. If you never say hi, he might not say hi. You have to start the dialog via prayer. You just got to try it. The moment you try it soon after you'll see and experience remarkable things. God will make his presence known to you. Even more so if you actually say a sinners prayer inviting Jesus Christ into your heart to be your personal lord and savior. In that moment the holy spirit enters your body and then, that's where the action happens. Everything will make sense. So if you want to go All IN that's how. You want a balanced life right? A good life, that includes Spirituality. People with no spiritual aspect to there life as so 1 dimentional. They're so clueless and naive. They haven't woken up yet so to speak. I encourage you to add the spiritual area to your life to complete a balanced life. The spiritual happens to be the most important area to have. Anyway I'm rambling. I'll pray for you.