question about faith

by itsallgoodnow 6 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  itsallgoodnow

  I've been wondering about faith as a concept. If there is a god, why can't He or She make it plain and obvious who he is, what he wants from us, what his purpose is? The bible is open to wide interpretation on all matters as we can all see. Or depending on the country you are born in, there is a variety of religions not based on the bible to choose from that all have their own ideas about God. So we are to think god wants us to wander around in confusion and maybe just happen to stumble on something that makes sense? Why does it need to be that way? If I was God, I wouldn't have done it that way. I would have made it so obvious who I was and what I wanted from people.

  This makes me wonder : Was the idea of faith started to explain the idea of religion? Without faith there is no religion, period. In other words, is all religion just BS?

  What conclusions have you come to on this?
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  Elsewhere

  is all religion just BS?

  Yes

  Religion is mankind's first failed attempt at science. The Priests (scientists) attempted to explain what people saw happening around them... only they used supersition and conjecture instead of observation and measurement.
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  Sassy

  I don't know.. everything I believed in was pulled out from under me..

  if you figure it out.........let me know
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  Satanus

  is all religion just BS?

  The theology is. I think there is an undertone that might be true. That undertone has something to do w the spiritual, and w few exceptions, mystics of all religions end up in pantheism. Pantheism may be the kernel of truth.

  SS
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  Narkissos

  One important point we may easily miss due to natural ethnocentrism is that "faith" is NOT the common denominator of all religions. In fact it is not essential to most religions as it is to Christianity (perhaps especially in its Protestant form). In Biblical Hebrew there is not even a noun meaning "faith". The core of many religions may lie in very different things like ritual practice or ethics: iow, what matters is what you do, not what you believe.
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  JamesThomas

  It sounds as if it may not be all so good. You are asking a lot of questions which seem motivated by confusion and disappointment in a "god" out there. Perhaps there is no god out there. It could be that what you hunger for is your Source/Sustenance. You may one day decide to follow the stream of your being to it's core; and see what is found there. Questions like the ones you voiced here are often the beginning steps.

  j
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  itsallgoodnow

  Thanks for all of your responses. I guess not having many clear answers yet is bothering me a little. I had hoped to have more things figured out by now, but I'm finding it doesn't work that way, unless you want to be duped the same way again. I guess it takes a lifetime for some people to work out what their beliefs are and why. I'm not trusting anything, that's my problem.

  When I was younger I felt there was something wrong with me because, although I was raised as a JW and believed it without questioning, I knew I had absolutely no interest in religion. That scripture about "happy is the man who is conscious of his spiritual need" made no sense before. It's funny that as soon as I began questioning the Witnesses I became very curious about religion. Or maybe it's just part of maturing. Whatever it is, being a "fact checker" has made me skeptical and cynical. JT asked if itsNOTallgoodnow. Well, I'd be lying if I said it is always good. Maybe I should have called myself - ItsBetterThanItWas ?