How do you believe in God?

It is possible to be spiritual and not religious.
Learn what you want at your own pace.

There is no reason to try to force yourself to believe something that does not make any sense, especially not when some outside agency pressures you. That is just plain predatory.
You might want to approach this Bible thing the same way you would approach a book assignment on Harry Potter.

You can pick and choose what you believe in. You don’t have to believe that the world was created in however many days, or believe in Adam and Eve or any of that. Many people who believe in God don’t believe in those things. To many, like myself, the Bible is just a book of stories but none of them are necessarily true.

If you continue to go to church, you can be honest and tell them it’s all new to you and you’re not sure what you believe in right now. You’re exploring your beliefs and trying to figure things out.

I just want to add that there are different churches, too. If the church you are attending tells you “you must believa all of this” then maybe that church isn’t for you. Go somewhere else where they’re not that dogmatic, or maybe it’s not for you at all and you should rethink going at all. ’

Many people believe in God but may go to church once a year or never, or if you’re not sure what you believe in, then take a break from going to church.

The creation of the Earth is an odd story. Obviously it was not written by eye witnesses. Same with the story of Adam and Eve. I view them as different things. The creation is the creation. The timeline may or may not be accurate, I tend to lean towards not accurate though I believe the idea of creation and the overall descriptions to be fairly accurate. At least to someone from that time in our history.

The story of Adam and Eve as being the first people is different to me. It is a story of the beginning of the Jewish people. The whole rest of the Old Testament goes through the lineage and stories of the Jewish people and it is all carefully tracked through family trees in it. But the story of them as the first people seems off to me. After Cain slew Abel, he was thrown out of his home to go live with the other people in the Land of Nod. If Adam and Eve were the first and only people and Cain and Abel were their children, where did these others come from? It is one of the anomalies of the bible.

Does your study guide have you going through the bible one book at a time, in order or does it jump you around through different books? If you try to read the bible straight through, it will drag you down. I’ve done it, but it is painful. Some of the early books, in particular, go through lineages, descriptions of how to do a proper sacrifice, and other boring things like that. Much of the Old Testament is laying the ground work for the New Testament. It gives the background of the people, the laws, the guidance, the prophecies, etc. that are all shown with the story of Jesus and his teachings. You might try reading Proverbs since it is full of good advice for living a good life.

Another thing you can do is what I call “going down the rabbit hole”. Often, throughout every bible I’ve had there are links. You’ll be reading and there will be a link to another place in the bible where something you just read is applicable, or has a tie to it. When you get to the new place you might find another link to somewhere else. It’s just a way to tie the books together.

But as has been stated, being religious is not the same as being spiritual or even believing in God. Jesus was a Jew, but he spoke out frequently against the teachings of the Jewish church leaders. Mainly because they were moving away from what he (Jesus) said were the things God wanted.

If you want to learn about God, you have to understand that part of that isn’t written down in the book. It is lived experience as well. Ask at whatever church you are attending if there are study groups, or groups where you can ask all sorts of questions. Talk to the pastor, that is always a good place to start.

God is all about your spiritual well-being. Jesus made that very clear as well. The things God wants are all about how you view others, how you deal with others, etc. Things of Man are not what concerns Him. So to understand that, you probably need to talk to others face-to-face. They may be able to give you more guidance on where to look or what things mean in the bible.

I don’t but I found a faith community that works for me where I don’t have to believe in G-d. Some members do and some don’t. There is no dogma and each person is on their own spiritual path.

I don’t, but was raised Catholic.

While I’ve had a very antagonistic view of religion in the past, my views have softened over the years. Some people find great community and meaning in their religion, and – as long as it doesn’t cause demonstrable harm to others – I find nothing wrong with that.

That said, I (somewhat) resolved my own “spiritual crisis” by finding that much of the secular practices in Buddhism resonated with me.

People find religion later in life for many reasons (community, meaning, to belong, etc). There is no rush to find what makes sense to you. Take your time and be open to branching out beyond the popular and convenient religion of the culture. There might be something there worth exploring.

Maybe try a church or religion that is not so entrenched in studying the details and more focused on the social aspect of being part of a church. Less pressure and you can still read and learn about the religion at your own pace and pick and choose what you want to believe.

I know a lot of Catholics who are “cafeteria Catholics” I assume you chose Catholicism because your family is Catholic? I’m sure there are plenty of people attending the Catholic church you are going to who don’t believe in all or even half of it. They go for community, or they like the ritual, or they think their kids have to be raised with something religious.

Or, are you saying you went to a service not in a Catholic church? Mass made me think you went to a Catholic church. If you went to a service at an evangelical type church they can be more hard core at wanting to indoctrinate and studying their version of the bible.

I’m agnostic, and have been since I was a child. Religion is a double-edged sword. It brings meaning and community to many but it can also be used as a weapon. We are all living in a world we cannot fully explain. Religion attempts to provide answers but in the end, no matter what a religion says, they are all just attempts by people to explain the world. Some are better than others. I have no problem taking good lessons from religion, many are worth serious study. There is a line that religion crosses that I cannot. When they claim that they are the only true word, that only their specific beliefs are what matters then we have a problem. Example “you must believe this specific ____ or you are bad.” “You will burn in Hell” or “You must be shunned” “This word is the only true word” etc.. My advice is not to get wrapped up in rigid details like this. This leads people to have crazy beliefs and act horribly. If it works to undercut you, belittle you, extort resources from you, shame you, or otherwise control in any way you instead of enlightening and uplifting you, run away. (This is most religion)

I’ve heard people say they skip the old testament and concentrate on the new. I have also heard not to take it literally. Many years ago when I was in Sunday school it made no sense to me. I was attending a Methodist church and the minister made more sense. He applied the bible to everyday problems and issues rather than specifically to the bible.

You might like, and be able to make sense of, a church other than catholic. There are even non-denominational churches where you don’t have to be anything – they just accept you.

Good to see you!

I’m really proud of you for trying something new. Religion is not easy even for those of us raised in church!
I would recommend going to a few churches to see where you feel most comfortable, as each sect has different concepts/expressiins of Christianity/God.
Catholicism is one of the more complicated.
Baptists are very much bible teachers if that’s what you’re interested in. Bit they are generally very strict.
Presbyterians are a Baptist Light, a little less strict.
Assembies of God are very much into Praise and speaking in tongues.
These are just my opinions but you can also just read the bible and pray for guidance at home.
Either way, I truly applaud your wanting to learn, which is never a bad thing. If you ever need to chat, feel free to message me.

Belief in God doesn’t have to be tied to Christianity, or Catholicism, or any religion for that matter.
I grew up in a fairly religious family, and it never sat right with me, it felt too close minded and judgemental a lot of the time and my own values and heart contradicted what I was being told to believe in.

I was agnostic as a teenager, turned to science and was an atheist for a couple of years, until I had my own spiritual experiences that once again changed my outlook on “God”.

I realised science and faith have some commonalities, and that there was a space for people like me in the world, who felt a presence of a “higher being” or the universe, but didn’t believe in a particular God from a particular religion.

There are some excellent answers on this thread, and to add to them, you have your own spiritual journey that will lead you to your own beliefs and discoveries. All I would advise is, don’t box yourself in to one point of view. Explore and keep an open mind. There are so many belief systems and religions out there, many of them have positive teachings, many will try and indoctrinate you. I think every person should rely on their instincts in this matter. If something doesn’t feel right to you, if you don’t resonate with it, it can’t be the right thing for you. The worst thing in life is to live a lie, because if you’re not authentic and honest about yourself to yourself, you will be miserable.

I hope you enjoy keeping an open mind and learning and discovering what God is to you. Don’t take it too seriously and try to “find the truth”. As cheesy as it sounds, just stay true to you, and you’ll discover it eventually.

I suspect that something beyond what we can experience with our 5 senses exists, but I don’t know what it is, and I don’t worry about it.

Thank you all for your responses!

I am on mobile, so I won’t tag individually I am sorry.

So, I went to Mass at a Catholic church 2 days ago for a school project. I did not talk to anybody there. I felt very overwhelmed emotionally and asked my sister about it.

I guess me reading the bible is because of my emotional response at church, if that makes sense?

I think maybe skipping the old testament for now. I started with Genesis per the study but maybe coming at it from the perspective that I do not need to believe right away may be best for now.

Thank you

^^ GA!

@SergeantQueen Sounds good. Take it at your own pace.

God must have believed in you or He wouldn’t have created you.

Is this a Catholic Church? I ask because they don’t normally concentrate on the old testament although they do teach Genisis.

^^ yes, she said she went to mass on Saturday

For me personally, I only believe in nature and the universe and whatever power keep this life going. I don’t know much else besides that, but the whole religion thing is a bit too man made for me.

We’ll help you. Share a q that has you stumped….

@Blackberry Good way to put it. I think humans corrupt everything, including religion. I rarely even attend an organized religious service myself, its…too much. Too political, social and emotional commitment for me.

Ask yourself this simple question: What would you do differently depending on whether or not you believed in God?

Do you need commandments from the Bible telling you not to murder or not to steal? If you can’t find anything that impacts how you live your life then the Bible is irrelevant. That would make you an apatheist like me.

@LostInParadise However, if one can find a faith community that is in line with your values, it can be a very enriching part of one’s life. I think the search for a religion or spiritual practice can be important. My values have not changed by joining a Unitarian congregation but in times like these, it is positive to know there are others who share them.

@LostInParadise I think for a lot of people God helps them feel not alone; God is always with you, and He loves you, listens to you, and you can give Him the things in life that you cannot control.

Alcoholics Anonymous uses God (in the form of Higher Power) to help people beat alcoholism. They don’t push any particular religion, but they find it is highly important that you acknowledge this higher power and use it. Here are the 12 steps:

Step 1: admit powerless over alcohol
Step 2: accept that a higher power, in whatever form, will restore your sanity
Step 3: make a decision to turn your will and life over to a higher power
Step 4: take a moral inventory of yourself
Step 5: admit to a higher power, another human, and yourself the nature of your wrongdoings
Step 6: accept that a higher power will remove your character defects
Step 7: humbly request the higher power remove your shortcomings
Step 8: list people you hurt during your addiction and be willing to make amends
Step 9: make amends to those people unless it would harm them
Step 10: continue to take a personal inventory, and when you’re wrong, admit it
Step 11: use prayer and meditation to connect with the higher power
Step 12: carry the message of AA to other alcoholics and continue to practice the principles of the 12 steps in your daily life2

Half of those steps talk about the Higher Power. This sounds a lot like what Christians say you do when you receive Christ as your savior. You realize you cannot do it all by yourself. You accept the higher power. You turn your life and your problems over to the higher power to let it fix your life for you. You work on getting yourself squared away, admitting your flaws/faults and the wrongs you have done to others. Confess your sins to yourself, another person and the higher power. Pray regularly with your higher power to establish a lifelong relationship. Share your learnings with others.

My sister attended AA. She preached endlessly about it and started accusing everyone around her of being alcoholics.
I find it telling, however, that she completely blew off step 8.

@Dutchess_III I’m sorry to hear that. AA isn’t perfect…it’s only as good as your resolve to get clean. But at least she tried. Often if someone is getting preachy, they just don’t get it.

@janbb , Why not have a mutually supportive community with shared values, without the need for religious belief?

@JLeslie , What do you do when God fails to deliver on the things you can’t control?

@LostInParadise Sure you can. You find it where you find it.

It’s called Facebook @LostInParadise!

^^ I don’t see that as quite the same as being in a real live community of some kind.

@seawulf575 , Why not substitute muual AA support for higher power?

^^ Not everyone is in line with or supports AA. We don’t know how the OP feels about it, although if I remember right she has no interest in it. Personally, I think @seawulf575‘s post was inappropriate for the question asked. It would have been better to simply suggest AA rather than extol it and enumerate the steps.

@smudges How the OP feels about AA is irrelevant, really. The question was how do you believe in God. AA uses “God” in a generic sense. But their steps show how someone can believe in it and the steps they use to do so.

@LostInParadise Go look at the steps. Mutual AA support is there as well. But the point behind the higher power has several psychological aspects in that application that are necessary.

First is believing in a higher power. That is telling yourself that you are not the biggest or the best thing out there. There is something greater than yourself. Humbling yourself is necessary to take your ego out of the equation of trying to stop alcoholism.

The second reason is to not only acknowledge the higher power, but to submit to it. It is capable of doing things you, as a mere mortal, cannot. By that same logic, asking an equally flawed person to help you sort out your life would make no sense. Many times we find in our lives that the harder we struggle to control things, the less control we end up with. Or we find that we are stressed to the max because we are trying to control everything. Alcoholism is something (much like drug addiction or any other addiction) that a person usually has little ability to deal with on their own successfully.

Going along with submitting to the higher power and letting it take control of your life is trusting it will take care of you. I know this sounds like mumbo-jumbo to people that don’t believe in a higher power. But it is part of the letting go cycle. That control-freak inside all of us gets us into some serious pickles. Trying to control your control issues is just feeding the fire. Turning it over to someone else and accepting that they will deal with things helps the person find that they don’t need to be in control all the time. Things will work out if they aren’t there playing director and producer of their personal life film. And things do work out fairly well usually.

Confessing your darkest sins to yourself, another human and the higher power helps you to reach out for forgiveness. If you never confess your sins, you will let them control you and eat at you. Getting forgiveness doesn’t mean you are blameless or that you can now go and commit the same sins again. Forgiveness is about letting go. It is about not doing further internal damage to yourself. And if you have already acknowledged the higher power and submitted yourself to letting it control things for awhile, telling it you are genuinely upset by your sins and asking for help are the next logical steps.

If all you did was talk to another human and especially another AA alumnus, You are eliminating many key things you need to help heal. But having these people around you to forgive you, support you, help keep you going straight are vital pieces as well.

@seawulf575 I repeat, it would have been better to simply suggest AA rather than extol it and enumerate the steps. Then, if the op was interested, they could look into it.

Weight Watchers is similar to AA and does not requre belief in a higher power.

@LostInParadise Weight Watchers has a different philosophy and beliefs. AA is about righting one’s wrongs, and striving to become a better person.

There are alternatives to AA that do not require belief in a higher power.

^^ Of course there are. I quit drinking using Lifering Secular Recovery.

Interestingly or better yet – ironically – 1 of those secular groups shot themselves in the foot when the leader / founder was killed while driving drunk, and in another group the founder killed two people while she was driving at 4 times the legal limit. That group was called “Moderation Management”. HA!

But I digress from the original question…several of us did.

All means of changing something internal to you are all dependent on one thing: that you actually really want to change. Be it weight, alcohol, drugs…whatever…they all require the person to really want to change. I’ve seen people try to quit drinking without AA. One of them got medication to make him stop. He quickly found that if he drank while on the medication he would get physically sick. So he would go out, drink a beer, get violently ill and throw up, and then the medication was no longer really effective. So he could go on drinking for the rest of the night.

But this question was about how someone could believe in God, not how to break addictions. I only went to AA to show there is another way to believe in God without having to study the Christian bible or the Jewish Torah or the Muslim Quran or any other religious book.

It still follows that anything that can be done by believing in God can be done without believing in God.

So…if you don’t believe in a higher power AA won’t work for you?

^^ They say you can choose anything to be your higher power and often use a doorknob as an example.

@LostInParadise Agreed We all have the power within ourselves.

There are atheist AA meetings.

@JLeslie , I don’t see how they can be following the 12 step program.

This sure went off-track for a general question!

@LostInParadise I found this about secular AA meetings, I’m sure they vary a little from group to group.

Secular AA for atheists is an alternative form of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) that removes any references to a higher power. This program uses the same 12-step structure as traditional AA, but it focuses more on personal accountability and self-empowerment rather than relying on faith or spirituality

Source: https://atoncenter.com/aa-for-atheists/#:~:text=Secular%20AA%20for%20atheists%20is,relying%20on%20faith%20or%20spirituality.

@JLeslie , Thanks. That makes sense and was in fact the essence of my initial reply to @seawulf575 .

@LostInParadise Getting back to the original question of how someone can believe in God, the AA 12 steps are an example of how someone can believe in God. You can try and denounce God all you want. That is your choice. But the 12 steps show a way that someone can believe in God.

And @JLeslie ‘s example of atheistic AA programs shows how non-believers can accomplish the same thing. Whatever you can do with belief in God you can also do without it.

As I said, you can try to denounce God all you want. That is your choice. But the question was not whether you need God to finish AA, it’s how can someone believe in God. The example the OP gave was showing that they were reading the bible and couldn’t make heads or tails of it. They were trying to understand how people can believe in God…how to do it. What they do to believe. Not whether you believe God exists or not.

@seawulf575 I didn’t interpret the Q exactly as you did, but anyway, if the OP is uncomfortable or not ready yet to accept God, I think the point is there are atheist AA meetings if the OP will be more comfortable attending those for now, or maybe go to both types of meetings, and see what feels most comfortable. If she will benefit from AA that would be most important in terms of sobriety and the OP can also continue to investigate and explore her belief in God and her religion of choice. She seems drawn to learning more about her religion, so I am not trying to detract from it, that is her journey. I was just offering choices to find something that suits her. Religious jargon can be very uncomfortable for some people if they are not accustomed to it, or it can be like an epiphany for some other people.

@JLeslie The OP was going to church for a school project from what I gathered. She started reading the Bible to see how to best believe in God. And reading through the early chapters of the Bible is painful and doesn’t fully explain the Christian God. I brought up AA not because the OP wanted to go to an AA meeting, but to show how other people actually get to where they believe in a higher power (a god) to help them.

One more time. The OP is resistant to belief in God. You offer AA as an example where belief in God is helpful, but the same can be said for atheistic AA variahts. For any other case where belief in God seems to be helpful, there will be alternatives that are equally as helpful but which do not require belief in God. Belief in God is dispensable. It is not needed and causes confusion in the OP.. The logical thibg to do is to give up trying to believe in God.

Woaahhh there are so many responses I dont know where to start >.<

I am going back tomorrow. The church is Catholic, and me reading Genesis is with the Bible study.

I am running on so little sleep I can’t articulate myself well. Ive been reading it almost every day so far. Its starting to make a little more sense. But the long paragraphs of family trees is hard to get through.

((Hugs)) @SergeantQueen. Want me to sing you a song?
You are my sunshine….my only sunshine…

♫ ♪...you make me happeee when skies are gray…♪ ♫

she asleep.yet?

<——————laughing quietly

YOU’LL NEVER KNOW DEAR…
loops. Sry!

I am awake