Raised to believe in God
I hate that I'm raised to believe in God. Like I can't even think freely because there's this fear that somewhere up there God can read my messed up thoughts. It freaks me out.
@JobiLee I was raised to believe I was a Christian. Now I'm free to choose I still believe in God and angels and heaven. But I don't class myself as any specific religion. Religion is supposed to be a great thing, but when forced upon someone, to believe certain things is not great. I hope one day you are free to make your own mind up about religion. And that you find comfort in your beliefs and not fear ❤
@JobiLee I can relate, religious indoctrination can be hard to deal with. It could be useful to get support from peer groups, other people who have left that religion and can help you go through deconstruction. It also helps you realize that if they could make it, you can too!
One thing I found helpful was asking myself: is this thought / action actively harming someone? If not, why would it be wrong? This life is yours to live as you wish, as long as you're not taking away other people's right to do the same it's ok! Best wishes for your journey
Hi @JobiLee
I'm sorry your religious uprising has had such a negative effect on you, I can relate to some extent and I know it can be frustrating and sad.
If you're worried about God reading your thoughts, I think a useful thing to acknowledge is that everyone has messed up thoughts sometimes and God would know that. I don't know what religion you were raised in, but chances are that it includes the acceptance that all of us do and think stuff that goes against religious teachings. For me, I was raised Christian and I was taught passages of scripture where Jesus says he has come to call on sinners, and where admired figures such as St. Paul admit to being themselves great sinners. God would not disown you for having had bad thoughts.
If you're not even sure about God existing, I believe you should explore that consideration. From my (once again spiritual) perspective, God gave you free will and free thought, so that you might have doubts and hesitations and your own opinions. You can't force yourself to believe in something and you can't force yourself to never think anything bad. What you can do is focus your attention on the possibility of God and the possibility of good. Ultimately, I feel that's the only thing that can lead you to faith. And if you have sinned along the way, only attention and reflection can bring real repentance — which will always be accepted by God and should be accepted by yourself too.
This is my view, of course, which you don't need to share. If your journey doesn't lead you to faith, that's understandable, but I think letting yourself reflect and ponder and doubt and make mistakes, will still help you. At least I hope it does. Best wishes from a fellow thinker of messed up thoughts
@JobiLee I do not know which religion you were raised in, but in my religion we believe there is no sin on you for thinking any bad thoughts unless you act on these.
@JobiLee One thing to remember: just because you were raised to be XYZ does not mean you have to continue being XYZ. There are plenty of people all over the world who grew up in the religion of their parents & either left it for a different religion that was more agreeable to them, or stopped believing & left faith entirely. If they can break free of their original religions, then you can too.
Well I believe that leaving behind his own religion because he fears that God can read his mind is definitely not the best choice.
Since leaving it's not the only answer (and not the effecting one according to me) I think he/she should know more about God, also because nobody has a pure mind. Even the most innocent creature has messy thoughts.
If he's a Christian, I'd tell him to remember that God gave him free will, that means he's free to choose to believe in him or not.
So it's up to him if he wants to believe or not, but I'll definitely not tell him that he should quit his faith, since it's HIS choice.
Not mine, not yours, not God's decision.
@NickyYayUwU Am not sure why you replied so aggressively since I did not tell OP to do anything. All I did was suggest an option. Yes, finding a more congenial faith or no faith at all are valid options for anyone, whether you like it or not.
Firstly I did not respond you in any aggressive was, but I apologise if that's what it sounded like.
Your comment sounded like you were leading him to leave his faith because "many people around the world did and so why shouldn't he do it". How is leading him to atheism going to help him? Leaving faith is not going to solve his problems, or it might idk but again, that's up to him.
Also, you're talking about me being "aggressive" but you're the one who wrote the most offensive phrase at the end of this conversation. "We live in the 21st century, the current year is not 1024 and you're not the Pope". I am free to believe in what I want and Jobilee is free to believe in what he wants.
There are many Christians in the 21st century and I don't understand what's the point of your comment.
I don't know what you believe in but I'm guessing you're either an atheist or a Muslim, and I respect that if you believe in those things, who am I to judge or to make fun (unlike you) but I don't tolerate in any way jokes of that kind that are just offensive.
I don't have to be Jesus or the Pope or even God to be a Christian.
I kindly recommend you to go look for somebody who can teach you respect.
With this said, have a nice day.
Hey there ♡
I used to have the same fear as well, I even went through atheism, but God showed himself to me (not physically obviously) but I could feel that he was near me. I could feel how much he loved me. It's unexplainable such feeling.
So since God loves us for what we are and because we are his children, he doesn't care what we think about. What matters the most is our heart ❤️.
Because he knows what we are like, if we're kind or evil.
So if you identify yourself as a good person but you get weird thoughts, it's ok!
God knows your thoughts and your heart, which is what matters the most.
Still, if these thoughts are kinda abnormal, like thinking of leaving behind your faith or actually do something terrible, it could be a sign that the devil is tempting you.
So when that happens, ask immediately God help.
Though it maybe seem like it's not working, trust me (and trust mostly God!!) It does work!
God's timing is perfect. Never forget this. ♡
Technically God put those thoughts there so, yeah. It’s freaky but reality usually is freaky.