Have you tried using the Force? I find that helpful. Well, it’s at least as productive as the other advice you’ve been given.
Plus, the Force comes with that swell John Williams theme music. (Oh, sure, God comes with Handel’s “Hallelujah!” Chorus, but that song is just sooooo late Baroque.)
Nivek8382 wrote, in the OP:
But if you know He doesn’t exist, then you have nothing to fear from Him knowing you feel that way, because … well … because He doesn’t exist!
That’s another thing that I never quite understood. I vaguely remember learning about God’s grace back in C.C.D.(it was awhile ago) and I’m not sure if I’m saying this right. But from what Polycarp says, do I just have to basically wait around for God’s grace and if it never comes, then I’m condemned to hell?
And just to clarify, I really should have been more specific in my original post. I did not intend for this to turn into a debate over the existence or lack thereof of God, although I suppose there was really no avoiding it. I should have in my original post stated that I was referring to Christianity, (although I would also be interested in what other religions have to say about this) and I was really more or less looking for some sort of passage from the Bible that maybe addresses this sort of thing, this trully wanting to believe but not being able to. Or if anybody knows of something written about this by any major theologian, or maybe even a dictate from the Pope. I do remember coming across a verse somewhere (I can’t remember in what book or verse) that went something like: “Blessed are those who know they are spiritually poor, for they shall be saved.” Could this perhaps apply to me?
Are you going to hell? Am I? That’s not my call, but here is the verse you were searching for and I hope it brings you some measure of peace.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matt 5:3-10 NKJV
According to Revelations only 144,000 will be allowed in, so I figure there are at least a million folks that are better than you and I, so I’ll see you there!
=)
Nivek8382,
I hope you’ll find comfort in this, keeping in mind that you’ve no idea what life might hold for you just around the next corner:
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, `You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.
"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, `Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
"Because no one has hired us,' they answered. "He said to them, You also go and work in my vineyard.’
"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, `Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.
When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
"But he answered one of them, `Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
— Jesus
Nivek: That goes along with faith – which has nothing to do with “do you believe in the following series of metaphysical propositions about God?” – it means trusting Him – trusting in His love for you.
Beyond that, I can’t go.
But I figure that any pseudogod who creates a system in which people are compelled to have a gut reaction that they have no control over and bases their eternal fate on that is nobody I’d care to believe in.
In my opinion, we are very fortunate that a God who loves us and expects nothing of us that he doesn’t supply us with in the first place, sooner or later, is the one in charge.
CheapBastid wrote:
… and furthermore, as the Book of Revelation points out, the chosen 144,000 will all be male virgins.
Well, that leaves out Jim Bakker, at least.
Nivek8382,
Would you really want to spend eternity with self-righteous people proposing that you must accept their beliefs in order to go to heaven? Personally, I’d rather fry in the eternal fires of hell with colorful, pagan degenerates.
This statement says so much. You can’t know that there isn’t a God, but you just as well can’t know that there is. I consider myself Christian, but am open to the possibility that I’m wrong. I simply found that most evidence leans toward the side that there probably is a God. All you have to do is seek your answers with an open mind. In other words, read the bible and find things that don’t quite add up, then dig further. Try to find the original translations, see if there is something that is commonly believed, but is taken out of context (this happens a lot). Eventually, you may feel a little more sure about your beliefs, one way or the other. At least then you can say that you’ve given every possiblity a fair shot.
No one can say for sure if they are heaven-bound. As to whether or not you will go to heaven, I’ll have to respond just as Billy Graham did when asked the same quesiton of himself, “I hope so.”