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I completely lost faith
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God Bless
Here is a nice sermon that will get you back on track
http://old.orthodoxsermons.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=57&Itemid=26&limit=50&limitstart=0&order=hits&dir=ASC
It is one at the bottom called Returning to your first love by Fr. Anthony Messeh
God bless and
I have previously doubted God, to the point that I made researches to prove His lack of existence... my friends thought I was going to be the best thing that happened to atheism... literally!
something that we forget to do is look to God in a personal way... in a father, friend, brother way... we look at Him as the God Almighty... what I advice you to do, take communion... number one thing to do! you cannot do it by yourself without communion... two... confess... even though I prefer the ladder to be first! and talk to abouna like you have never talked to him before, actually tell abouna you want to talk to him and it will take sometime... and just expel all your thoughts to him... don't keep a thing back.
then go in the bosom of the Father after your confession... and tell Him how you feel, tell Him you lack the feeling that He exists... and I promise you if you do all this and He doesn't give you that peace and show you He exists... I will join you and we can leave the church together!
don't miss the opportunity God has begun knocking hurry and open the door!
akhadna el baraka... neshkor Allah!
wow, i know exactly how you feel.
I feel the EXACT same.
I can't even pray/talk to God anymore, cos it's like "whats the use?'
everytime i do, i get into the thought that He doesn't even exist. It's such a weird feeling.
It feels like your stuck in thoughts you can't overcome.
God really does exist. It is just that u r currently not aware of His presence. This can be out of many reasons like the devil, sin, lack of spiritual practice like prayer, going to Church, and fasting or accumulated sins. Consider it like a cloud is covering the sun for days and u r claiming the absence of the sun. By the way, no one can prove the existence of God unless He wants to. God reveals Himself to the humans not the other way. Our part is only to want in ur heart. God gives us a choice. God can do anything and that includes " Not to exist " also. Just make sure that u r not the one who has made God to disappear from ur life. Remember Abraham? He seek God from his heart and found Him. Only a few accepted Jesus as God even though millions have seen Him walking on this earth. Actually God knows where and how, when to reveal Himself to us. Don't believe ur mind or urself but believe The Lord more than urself. Believe what Jesus said more than what u can say to urself.
You did not completely lost ur faith, u r just walking in a temporary path happened for a good reason!
I completely lost faith. I dont remember the last time i actually spoke to God, I'm not even sure if he exists. No matter how convincing people's answers are, i still can't get myself in the right mindset.
Maybe its becuase I haven't confessed in a while.. but idk what to do. I feel more disapointed than anything if my thoughts are true. Not to mention that Great Lent is here and i dont want to feel like that anymore. I have just been thinking and using my logic and I can't put this puzzle back together anymore. It seems impossible this whole thing.
Please help me guys. thanks
[Moderated: Let us not speak of God in such a way]
I didnt speak of God in anyway. I know God loves me. I do not expect Anything from God.
He allows bad things to happen to me because He loves me.
I know that.
He has carved me in the palm of his hands and put some crazy people there with me in the same hand.
How do u know I'm not grateful for that?
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=holy+fire+jerusalem&search_type=&aq=1&oq=holy+fire+
I dream of the day I can visit the Holy Orthodox Church of the Sepulchre to witness this miracle for myself:
Κύριε ἐλέησόν ὦ ἀδέλφε!
I don't think that anyone can convince you to believe, nor do I think it's as "easy" as listening to a sermon or a song or keeping a drawing in front of your eyes. I think it is very difficult to pray when you start to wonder if you are only talking to yourself...I remember feeling that way when I was a few years older than you are. I did not believe in God at all at your age, was not raised in the church, and then I had a "Born Again" experience when I was nineteen, when I was looking for meaning in my life and the New Testament was like something on fire to me, which was markedly different from any other faith I had read about or tried to practice.
I am going through a very hard time right now myself, too. I have had my heart broken badly, and the only thing that gives me any reason to keep going is to think that maybe there is a God who loves me and who is going to heal my hurting...but I tell you the truth, if I go by my history and what has happened to me in life, it feels like more suffering. And there used to be a time when I could say that when we suffer, we enter into fellowship with Christ, but sometimes, it gets to be such a heavy burden to continue to just plain HURT.
I think you have to be honest with yourself and with God--God is not going to stop loving you or stop existing (if God exists, that is) because you have dared be REAL and be honest. It is important, the most important thing of all for integrity, to be HONEST and AUTHENTIC in who you really are. So God is not going to be shocked when you say, "You know what? I don't know if I even believe at ALL, so when I say, "Lord, I believe, help Thou my unbelief" what I am really saying is, "Lord--if You are even existing--I want to believe but I cannot do it on my own, so if You are real and if it is my path to believe, please give me an ongoing desire to believe and to have my life transformed." and then submit yourself to whatever will be.
The truth is that all of us are living out whatever our lives are. Whether we like it or not. As Pema Chodron says, "Things are just as they are." Sometimes that is liberating, and sometimes is just hurts because we wish so much that things were better.
All I can tell you is that I understand. I have not stopped praying--although for a very very long time I did stop--and I sometimes feel very alone in the world and the universe without the confident assurance that I used to have that God was in control of my life and knew--and orchestrated--the events of my life. Now I feel less certain, but I feel just as needy for love, just as desirous to have the arms of God opened to me and welcoming me, just as hopeful that there is Something Eternal to trust in--no matter what others may not believe, no matter what happens.
Do not give up, but don't take the burden upon yourself either. Let your experience be what it is, but see if you find any way to say, "Nevertheless, I want to believe, so Lord, help me to believe and to trust You and to entrust my life to You." Yes, you can let go and just freefloat in the chaos of the universe--and maybe that is all there is--but maybe it is not all there is, and personally speaking, I desperately want there to be a God who LOVES ME and KNOWS ME and KNOWS WHAT I AM GOING THROUGH otherwise, there does not seem much point to living.
Hi DimyanCoptic
Here is a nice sermon that will get you back on track
http://old.orthodoxsermons.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=57&Itemid=26&limit=50&limitstart=0&order=hits&dir=ASC
It is one at the bottom called Returning to your first love by Fr. Anthony Messeh
God bless and
How do you know if your lmapstand has been removed? and what if you cant track back and find out where you lost the love?
About the first question, I believe that God gives us unlimited second chances so I think that this means that God will not remove the lampstand until the end of a person's life ( if the person did not regain that first life by the end of his life)
About the second question, Start from now to do the daily self examination and ask God to start a new page with you
God helps you and please if anyone has some better answers please post them.
By the way deaconmark, these are really nice questions
I am sure, no matter what age you are, you've had an experience with God. Sit down, remember it. We often remember our sins and gets us depressed, but we rarely remember our experiences with God to motivate us. So find that small motivation, and hold on to it.
As for Zan Amrikai comment on science, I'd just like to add that from my own personal studies of sciences, it was only a motivation to God existence. So much complexity, so much depth, I cannot render that to simple chance.
Lastly, do understand that doubt is good if struggled with, bad if surrendered too. I was once told an analogy that I appreciated. Consider our spiritual knowledge and understanding to our studies. Do you actually think that a 10 year old can do calculus (End of High School math)? No, he cannot. Each has his own level we are at, and we simply have to take one step at a time. No worries, we all have to go through with such thoughts. "Seek and you shall find"
God Bless
In Christ
Theophilus
"I believe, help my unbelief!" Mark 9:24
In Christ
Theophilus
Beautiful!
If you take your right hand, put the right index finger within 12 inches of your face and wiggle it, you will see the Glory of the Amighty--Himself. That simple act, regardless of how silly, proves that God exists. No science has been able to fully elucidate it. Its silliness helps you shake the difficulties of trying to embrace the Presence of the Almighty. Whether we want to believe in Him or not, He Exists. The soul that was made by Him, knows exactly where it came from and will reach out to its Creator, if the body lets it.
Wiggle away!
I completely lost faith. I dont remember the last time i actually spoke to God, I'm not even sure if he exists. No matter how convincing people's answers are, i still can't get myself in the right mindset.
Please help me guys. thanks
the fact that you posted this means that you have not quite lost all your faith..you still have a glowing splint.
What is the self examination? because when i comes time to prayer or examination of my life, or reading the bible. i jsut pull out a blank and i cant think of anything, i cant feel my prayer, and i cant do anything
just talk to God...have a conversation with HIM. just as if its a post on this site. we all act as if there is some prayer rule book, but in reality, GOD just wants to hear your voice. he does reply, but in his due time and way. a good example is how we as people don't recognize voices we havent heard in a while, its the same as when our relationship with god has deteriorated. re-introduce yourself and it will all make sense
God be with you.
"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8)
= EPIC!
Our Lord left the tombs empty, historically there is no doubt about this, The Orthodox faith today is well preserved.
So my question to you beloved is where do you find nourishment in your life?
it is natural for satan to attack us with such doubts, often our worldly knowledge is vanity, denial of God's existence is one of the basic attacks of the enemy, it is allowed into our conciousness from either a sense that we have that we are too powerful or that we are to weak? in either case we are wrong, because through Christ Jesus, we can do all things, therefore we are not weak in him, but he is strong.
don't be like the Atheists who justify, sinful and abominable lifestyles by denying God, and his goodness to us, that is a compund sin, im not saying you are....genuine doubts are natural though by sincere seeking you will find him
Glory to The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. One God Amen
[quote author=DimyanCoptic link=topic=8812.msg110454#msg110454 date=1265936992]
I completely lost faith. I dont remember the last time i actually spoke to God, I'm not even sure if he exists. No matter how convincing people's answers are, i still can't get myself in the right mindset.
Maybe its becuase I haven't confessed in a while.. but idk what to do. I feel more disapointed than anything if my thoughts are true. Not to mention that Great Lent is here and i dont want to feel like that anymore. I have just been thinking and using my logic and I can't put this puzzle back together anymore. It seems impossible this whole thing.
I understand you, you saw many conflicts and contradictions
and the only option for something to have contradictions is non existence
That is correct, this God does not and can not exist
Think about it again, the only possible god to exist is a logical one
Read about Islam and you can find the true God
In a thread where a person comes for helpful Christian spiritual advice, your post is nothing more than poison. In fact, its not only poisonous, its totally nonsensical.
I completely lost faith. I dont remember the last time i actually spoke to God, I'm not even sure if he exists. No matter how convincing people's answers are, i still can't get myself in the right mindset.
Maybe its becuase I haven't confessed in a while.. but idk what to do. I feel more disapointed than anything if my thoughts are true. Not to mention that Great Lent is here and i dont want to feel like that anymore. I have just been thinking and using my logic and I can't put this puzzle back together anymore. It seems impossible this whole thing.
Please help me guys. thanks
I think you should try praying from the Psalms. Every possible human emotion, fear, anger, anxiety, loss of faith, etc is expressed in these Psalms. Find the Psalm that most reflects how you feel, and pray from it.
If you feel that God has forsaken you, pray from the Psalm that says: "My God, why have You forsaken me".
If you feel that you have no friends because all your friends insult God, read Psalm 1: "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners ."
If you feel that God has let people insult you, and they've abused you, then nearly 60% of the Pslams fall under that category anyway. Take your pick!
I discovered this quite recently actually. The Psalms really help me a lot.