I feel I'm losing my faith. It's upsetting, not because when I die I might just cease to be but because I don't feel Him here anymore but I used to all the time. God was undeniable to me, I was confident in my faith and felt his love. How does John and yourself hold your faith, knowing we are mere animals on a small blue ball that is hard to imagine being significant in the vastness of the universe which science keeps uncovering with God?
Don’t worry – this feeling is very common. CS Lewis is very good on it in The Screwtape Letters – if you haven’t read them then you are in for a treat, and if not try and find the bit about “the law of undulation”.
We are, of course, animals, but we are not mere animals. God has made us in His image and given us the unique responsibility and privilege of becoming His sons and daughters. It is precisely faith in God that makes it possible for us to be more than mere animals.
As for the size of the earth – so what? The universe is vastly bigger than the earth and whether it is 10^10 times bigger or 10^20 or 10^200 makes no difference at all. Even in Genesis it was believed that there were about as many stars as there are grains of sand on the earth. God is infinite, we are finite. But we are joined to him by his infinite love – whether we feel it at the moment or not.
Thank you very much to your reply, I really appreciate your time. I never thought of it like that, but what do you think of Steven Hawking's book The Grand Design, is it really possible for the laws of physics alone to create matter and energy and the entire universe?
NO. Clearly equations can’t create the universe. There must be something/someone that “breathes fire into the equations” and causes it to be that case that these equations apply to the real world, and not some other set of equations.
Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts
Sunday, 10 August 2014
Sunday, 21 October 2012
A 21 year old student on a quest to rediscover my faith
I am a 21 year old student on a quest to rediscover my faith in Christianity. I was an atheist but, through the all too human fear of death and the fear of a meaningless life, I decided to once again find belief. However, the problem has always been that I am too scientific to just 'accept' the existence of a god. I have begun talking to a local priest about all this but, though I like him very much and am grateful for the help he has genuinely provided, I am beginning to feel that I am still not much further towards the answer and am restless to acquire it. He gave me copy of your book 'The Way The World Is' and I am finding it very interesting as it tries to answer those big questions in a scientific, logical fashion that the vicar deduced was the direction I wanted to go in. It has been perhaps the greatest stride I have made thus far.
Sadly my quest for faith seems more and more null and void at the moment: my personal heroes are all atheists, there is so little 'evidence' for a God and there is so little 'reason' (I feel) other than fear of death and lack of meaning to believe. This is all rather sad as I would prefer to have faith but I cannot, for the life of me, find it.
Response: But lack of meaning is a HUGE problem.
In the light of Christ so many things make sense, from fundamental physics (anthropic fine-tuning) to relationships to art to our ability to understand the world (to the extent we do) to our deep intuitions that Love is the most important “thing” in the Universe.
To an atheist almost everything that makes life worth living is an “illusion”- yet it is only an “illusion” if you are determined to see it as such.
But could it not be that humans favour love beyond all else because strong social bonds help our society to expand and progress? Indeed, with our weak forms, isn't a deep affection for each other the only thing that CAN keep us alive? I'm an art student, so I like to view the World as being deeply meaningful and yet everything seems to have a logical basis to do with survival. I'd love to believe in an afterlife, but what is there to make me even consider that I may somehow continue after my body stops? Is it so hard to believe in an end? I mock beliefs in magic and yet isn't the faith I seek that of a sort of hocus-pocus?
I have a true regard and interest in religion but, though I have searched for over a year (even speaking to a vicar about it) I cannot truthfully believe (I have tried to 'trick myself' that i do believe but...well, not a good aproach!). The fact that most the people I know socially and people I admire as role models are atheists acts as a sort of 'nail in the coffin' for me...Although I do understand we must all attempt to be independant thinkers.
Certainly many true beliefs are adaptive but that doesn’t make them false. We believe in gravity in part to avoid falling off cliffs.
If the mainline atheistic worldview were true then, amongst other things:
Now it could be just tough that these things were so, although if it were true it would be a “true belief which does not promote survival value” and therefore should not be possible for people to hold by (a). But there is a beautiful, deep and true alternative which does not suffer from any of these problems. We know from Quantum Mechanics that deep reality is usually unseen and a bit counter-intuitive. The same is true of God.
Further question: I must admit I don't understand the 'without a God there's no reason to behave morally' arguament. Surely acting morally is in the best interests of a) human survival and b) self-preservation (annoying, angering or endangering other people is, on a primal leval, the easiest way to put yourself in danger or be excluded from the social group.). The fact we seem 'designed' to believe in God also makes evolutionary sense: cultures that are bound together by a faith and fear of a higher order, seem to flourish. Order equals success: The Egyptians, Vikings and, indeed, the entire western World owe their creation to religious faith (even in conquest and empire it has been one of the most powerful motivaters).
The situation for me feels a tad desperate. As I said in a previous email, I've talked to a vicar about this and still feel NO nearer to faith. What should I do now? What is the next constructive step?
All my heroes are atheist and, as I look up to them as superior intelligent beings, it knocks my attempts to believe further when it turns out they are faithless. Yesterday I discovered Steven Moffat (my main inspiration in life (I adore creative writing)) is also an atheist. If these men are so smart, I can't help thinking to myself, then isn't atheism a smart and powerful arguament? Perhaps that is my most childish view within the matter as there are many clever and influencial men/women within religion...But, none the less, it is a thought of mine and it would be to put myself in denile not to detail it as one of my reasons for...this struggle to accept.
I WOULD like to believe but have so many doubts I don't know what to do nor know if I can continue trying to find faith given all the my thoughts on the subject. I'd love (as some have suggested me to do) just to accept, perhaps pray...and then see...but I have tried and I cannot do this.
My family have been very supportive in my search and I am grateful that, whether I can be a theist or will be, in fact, an atheist, so many people (including yourself) have attempted to help me find the answer.
Further response: Thanks very much for your email. I think the next constructive step might be to find a local Alpha Course and go on it. I guess you’ve read our Questions of Truth and this might help with some of the Science issues but questions of faith are much deeper.
To respond to your specific point about morality: I chose my words carefully: There is no compelling reason for people to behave morally or altruistically when it doesn’t suit them to do so. Of course it’s a good thing if other people act morally but why should we not “defect” (to use the technical language of Evolutionary Game Theory)? Appealing to “do as you would be done by” doesn’t solve the problem – why should an individual accept this?
And I guess you may accept points a and c-h.
I too enjoy Sherlock (although as my daughter points out the original Holmes is a much nicer character than they have made him in the “update”). But with the best will in the world, comic writers are not reliable guides to truth. As you have said, you need to make up your own mind.
Sadly my quest for faith seems more and more null and void at the moment: my personal heroes are all atheists, there is so little 'evidence' for a God and there is so little 'reason' (I feel) other than fear of death and lack of meaning to believe. This is all rather sad as I would prefer to have faith but I cannot, for the life of me, find it.
Response: But lack of meaning is a HUGE problem.
In the light of Christ so many things make sense, from fundamental physics (anthropic fine-tuning) to relationships to art to our ability to understand the world (to the extent we do) to our deep intuitions that Love is the most important “thing” in the Universe.
To an atheist almost everything that makes life worth living is an “illusion”- yet it is only an “illusion” if you are determined to see it as such.
But could it not be that humans favour love beyond all else because strong social bonds help our society to expand and progress? Indeed, with our weak forms, isn't a deep affection for each other the only thing that CAN keep us alive? I'm an art student, so I like to view the World as being deeply meaningful and yet everything seems to have a logical basis to do with survival. I'd love to believe in an afterlife, but what is there to make me even consider that I may somehow continue after my body stops? Is it so hard to believe in an end? I mock beliefs in magic and yet isn't the faith I seek that of a sort of hocus-pocus?
I have a true regard and interest in religion but, though I have searched for over a year (even speaking to a vicar about it) I cannot truthfully believe (I have tried to 'trick myself' that i do believe but...well, not a good aproach!). The fact that most the people I know socially and people I admire as role models are atheists acts as a sort of 'nail in the coffin' for me...Although I do understand we must all attempt to be independant thinkers.
Certainly many true beliefs are adaptive but that doesn’t make them false. We believe in gravity in part to avoid falling off cliffs.
If the mainline atheistic worldview were true then, amongst other things:
- There is no reason to believe that human reason leads to true beliefs as opposed to beliefs which promote survival value.
- There is no compelling reason for people to behave morally or altruistically when it doesn’t suit them to do so.
- There is no free will so no possibility of real moral choices or real love
- Love is an unimportant epiphenomenon
- Life has no meaning
- The fine-tuning of the universe is incomprehensible (or a freak accident because there are 10^200 other un-knowable universes)
- Aesthetic value is purely a function of our biology.
- There is no good reason to continue living and certainly no good reason to devote lots of time and resources to bringing up children. Indeed (in a delicious irony) atheists on average have far fewer children than replacement (eg Dawkins has one child, Polkinghorne and I each have 3) and therefore the people who claim that the only purpose of life is evolutionary success are in fact evolutionary failures.
Now it could be just tough that these things were so, although if it were true it would be a “true belief which does not promote survival value” and therefore should not be possible for people to hold by (a). But there is a beautiful, deep and true alternative which does not suffer from any of these problems. We know from Quantum Mechanics that deep reality is usually unseen and a bit counter-intuitive. The same is true of God.
Further question: I must admit I don't understand the 'without a God there's no reason to behave morally' arguament. Surely acting morally is in the best interests of a) human survival and b) self-preservation (annoying, angering or endangering other people is, on a primal leval, the easiest way to put yourself in danger or be excluded from the social group.). The fact we seem 'designed' to believe in God also makes evolutionary sense: cultures that are bound together by a faith and fear of a higher order, seem to flourish. Order equals success: The Egyptians, Vikings and, indeed, the entire western World owe their creation to religious faith (even in conquest and empire it has been one of the most powerful motivaters).
The situation for me feels a tad desperate. As I said in a previous email, I've talked to a vicar about this and still feel NO nearer to faith. What should I do now? What is the next constructive step?
All my heroes are atheist and, as I look up to them as superior intelligent beings, it knocks my attempts to believe further when it turns out they are faithless. Yesterday I discovered Steven Moffat (my main inspiration in life (I adore creative writing)) is also an atheist. If these men are so smart, I can't help thinking to myself, then isn't atheism a smart and powerful arguament? Perhaps that is my most childish view within the matter as there are many clever and influencial men/women within religion...But, none the less, it is a thought of mine and it would be to put myself in denile not to detail it as one of my reasons for...this struggle to accept.
I WOULD like to believe but have so many doubts I don't know what to do nor know if I can continue trying to find faith given all the my thoughts on the subject. I'd love (as some have suggested me to do) just to accept, perhaps pray...and then see...but I have tried and I cannot do this.
My family have been very supportive in my search and I am grateful that, whether I can be a theist or will be, in fact, an atheist, so many people (including yourself) have attempted to help me find the answer.
Further response: Thanks very much for your email. I think the next constructive step might be to find a local Alpha Course and go on it. I guess you’ve read our Questions of Truth and this might help with some of the Science issues but questions of faith are much deeper.
To respond to your specific point about morality: I chose my words carefully: There is no compelling reason for people to behave morally or altruistically when it doesn’t suit them to do so. Of course it’s a good thing if other people act morally but why should we not “defect” (to use the technical language of Evolutionary Game Theory)? Appealing to “do as you would be done by” doesn’t solve the problem – why should an individual accept this?
And I guess you may accept points a and c-h.
I too enjoy Sherlock (although as my daughter points out the original Holmes is a much nicer character than they have made him in the “update”). But with the best will in the world, comic writers are not reliable guides to truth. As you have said, you need to make up your own mind.
Sunday, 27 February 2011
Is there no way back once faith as been rejected?
Although a convinced Christian quite a few years ago, I fell away entirely as a result of many factors, living also a life that was, frankly, dissipated. Yet all through this period, there was always a consciousness at a very fundamental level that, though I had turned my back, God had not departed, but remained there, ignored, in the background. I could never quite shake that off, even during a period of near atheism.
Now, after much self-searching, study and reflection, I see things in a wholly different way, and am sort of on the threshold of faith. However, considering my earlier rejection of the christian faith I once held, I was hugely depressed by the words of (?) Paul in Hebrews Chap. 6, v 4-6, which seems to state that, once faith in Christ has been accepted, then rejected, there is categorically no way back. Though these are not Christ's words, they are an accepted part of a universally accepted scriptural canon, but they appear to lay a wreath on hope. Is there something I am not grasping?
We know from Jesus himself that God stands ready in open love to welcome back those who return to Him. Think of the Prodigal Son, or of Peter who formally denies Jesus three times. Think of Jesus’ whole life and teaching of unconditional love and repentance (not 7 times, but 70 times 7). And many great Christians have fallen away and come back: St Augustine and CS Lewis to name just two.
It is hard to know exactly what is meant in Hebrews 6:4-6 but it cannot be contradicting the basic message of love and hope for all that Jesus offers. What the writer of Hebrews (almost everyone agrees that it is not Paul) seems to be saying is this: In the first part of this letter I have been dealing with the basics – now I am going on to advanced material and I am not going back over old ground. Bear in mind this was addressed to gatherings of early Christians who were struggling with persecution, but by definition the ones who had fallen away would not be part of the gathering. They must have been very worried about their former fellow-Christians who had fallen away. What can we do for them? How can we convince them?
The writer seems to be saying: I’m going to give you advanced instruction to build you up beyond the basics, but I can’t produce instruction or arguments to convince people who have fallen away. Don’t worry about this (at least for now). It is not in our power (adunaton) for us to restore them to repentance. What he does not need to say, because his readers will already know, is what Jesus says in Matthew 19:26 “With men this is impossible (adunaton) but with God all things are possible.”
From your account it seems clear that it is God working within you – not man. You have not been won back by some earnest people from your former church coming and haranguing you, but “much self-searching, study and reflection” One of the Church fathers (and I’m afraid I can’t find the quotation) says something about the waters of baptism bubbling up within you saying “come to the father”. This is God, working within you, and nothing stands in the way of God’s love.
John adds: Like Nicholas, I am sure that God’s love and mercy is everlasting and that no one who truly and penitently turns to him will be rejected. The only thing that can frustrate return is a stubborn unwillingness to recognise its necessity. I think that this must be what those difficult verses in Hebrews are getting at. It’s a bit like the sin against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29), which I believe is a wilful refusal to recognise the truth. As preachers sometimes say, if you’re worried about whether you have committed this sin, you are sufficiently concerned about God for it to be a sign that you haven’t.
Now, after much self-searching, study and reflection, I see things in a wholly different way, and am sort of on the threshold of faith. However, considering my earlier rejection of the christian faith I once held, I was hugely depressed by the words of (?) Paul in Hebrews Chap. 6, v 4-6, which seems to state that, once faith in Christ has been accepted, then rejected, there is categorically no way back. Though these are not Christ's words, they are an accepted part of a universally accepted scriptural canon, but they appear to lay a wreath on hope. Is there something I am not grasping?
We know from Jesus himself that God stands ready in open love to welcome back those who return to Him. Think of the Prodigal Son, or of Peter who formally denies Jesus three times. Think of Jesus’ whole life and teaching of unconditional love and repentance (not 7 times, but 70 times 7). And many great Christians have fallen away and come back: St Augustine and CS Lewis to name just two.
It is hard to know exactly what is meant in Hebrews 6:4-6 but it cannot be contradicting the basic message of love and hope for all that Jesus offers. What the writer of Hebrews (almost everyone agrees that it is not Paul) seems to be saying is this: In the first part of this letter I have been dealing with the basics – now I am going on to advanced material and I am not going back over old ground. Bear in mind this was addressed to gatherings of early Christians who were struggling with persecution, but by definition the ones who had fallen away would not be part of the gathering. They must have been very worried about their former fellow-Christians who had fallen away. What can we do for them? How can we convince them?
The writer seems to be saying: I’m going to give you advanced instruction to build you up beyond the basics, but I can’t produce instruction or arguments to convince people who have fallen away. Don’t worry about this (at least for now). It is not in our power (adunaton) for us to restore them to repentance. What he does not need to say, because his readers will already know, is what Jesus says in Matthew 19:26 “With men this is impossible (adunaton) but with God all things are possible.”
From your account it seems clear that it is God working within you – not man. You have not been won back by some earnest people from your former church coming and haranguing you, but “much self-searching, study and reflection” One of the Church fathers (and I’m afraid I can’t find the quotation) says something about the waters of baptism bubbling up within you saying “come to the father”. This is God, working within you, and nothing stands in the way of God’s love.
John adds: Like Nicholas, I am sure that God’s love and mercy is everlasting and that no one who truly and penitently turns to him will be rejected. The only thing that can frustrate return is a stubborn unwillingness to recognise its necessity. I think that this must be what those difficult verses in Hebrews are getting at. It’s a bit like the sin against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29), which I believe is a wilful refusal to recognise the truth. As preachers sometimes say, if you’re worried about whether you have committed this sin, you are sufficiently concerned about God for it to be a sign that you haven’t.
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