Hesitant to return to the Church

RenatusFueritExAqua

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I have been an atheist for a few years now and am slowly coming back to the Church. However, I'm still hesitating to go back because I'm not sure that I'm convinced. I love the Church, I love the Liturgy, the support for family, the Sacraments, etc, I'm just not fully convinced of the basics like the Resurrection.

I don't want to go back to the Church, receive Absolution, go to Mass for a month, only to fall away again because my faith wasn't strong enough in the first place.

I love the Church, I just need a strong reason to believe, and I'm hoping someone here could help me with that.
 

Miche_nz

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Romans 10:17 "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ"
God hasn't left you, he is waiting and calling you, just like the shepherd always searching for that lost sheep. He never gives up on us, even when we get side tracked or lost or even when we battling with the where, what , why, how's.
I think that fact that you have wandered away for a while and come back shows that God is constantly calling you.
A strong reason to believe ,,, for me it's ,,, eternal life, it's a peace I find when I close my eyes and chat to him, it's security, it's my own personal armour and protector, it's in the beauty of the people around me, it's a hope when times are tough, it's a smile when things are beautiful,, it's in the knowledge that ,, the suffering, joys, pains, blessings and love that was embraced for me ,, was so that I can share in his glory, that he ask nothing of me that I can't give, and it's the amazing feeling I get just knowing I have some one who unconditionally loves me ,,,
I look back and realise that what I have written sounds very selfish because it's all about me and how I feel and what I get ,,, but that's the beauty of God,,, once you start to realise what you have and what he has given you want to start giving and spreading his love and his gifts,,, your faith starts to strengthen and the "should I pray" turns into " I can't wait to pray"
I'm sorry I waffled on and on ,, but I hope I helped and I will pray for you [emoji4]
 
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LivingWordUnity

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There are reasons to believe in the Resurrection, but it ultimately requires faith. In my case, I had a radical conversion from agnosticism and witchcraft to Christianity after God gave me a vision of Hell in a dream to serve as a warning to me for where I was at the time. But God also gave me a beautiful vision of baby Jesus in another dream. I reflected on my life and began to recognize the times when God had saved me. I recommend going to a quiet place for prayer and reflection.

And I recommend these books:

Jesus of Nazareth, Volumes 1-3 by Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)
Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith by Scott Hahn
 
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MikeK

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I have been an atheist for a few years now and am slowly coming back to the Church. However, I'm still hesitating to go back because I'm not sure that I'm convinced. I love the Church, I love the Liturgy, the support for family, the Sacraments, etc, I'm just not fully convinced of the basics like the Resurrection.

I don't want to go back to the Church, receive Absolution, go to Mass for a month, only to fall away again because my faith wasn't strong enough in the first place.

I love the Church, I just need a strong reason to believe, and I'm hoping someone here could help me with that.

Welcome back to the Church, and welcome to CF!

I think most of us can relate to periods of doubt that verge on agnosticism now and then. I don't think that's a bad thing, I think it's important to be honest enough with ourselves to reflect and really think about what we've decided to accept as truth and why. It sounds like you're there.

Your question, if I understand it fully, of /why/ you should believe is hard to answer beyond "because it is true". I concede that another person might just argue that Church teachings are not true. You've wrestled with this mentally I'm sure so you don't need me to describe it for you. We could offer pragmatic reasons to believe, like dangling eternal life before you, or threatening you with eternal torture, but those tactics require belief first. I don't know why you should believe, beyond that I believe. I understand just how weak of an argument that is.

You didn't ask how to believe, but I think I have a better answer for that. During times of questioning your faith, whatever it may be, it is important to pray and to really think things through. After you decide what you want to believe or what you tend to believe (and it sounds like you're there), you're faced with a choice of either waffling forever or making an act of the will to believe. Your thoughts are your own, you own them, and you operate your brain to a certain extent the way you want to. Doubt can be useful, as it can protect us from error, but once you've decided what you want to believe, doubt is no longer useful. Will it awbay, tell yourself "this is what I choose to believe, even if I lack some evidence", and go all in.
 
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Mountain_Girl406

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Following because I'm in a similar place. I go to Mass, support my parish, raise my kids in the Church, try to live my life in a good way, pray, study, etc. The only obstacle is a lack of belief in the existence of God. Maybe someday God will share something with me.
 
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Fantine

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I think that fundamentalism drives more Catholics to agnosticism than anything else I can think of. It's one thing to look at a literal interpretation of the Bible knowing that it's a rendering that limited human minds can understand--as long as you know that that's what it is, a rendering for limited human minds. I love the mystics and modern day mystics like Richard Rohr and Henri Nouwen who help me expand my mind and find the no-limits God.
 
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thecolorsblend

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I have been an atheist for a few years now and am slowly coming back to the Church. However, I'm still hesitating to go back because I'm not sure that I'm convinced. I love the Church, I love the Liturgy, the support for family, the Sacraments, etc, I'm just not fully convinced of the basics like the Resurrection.

I don't want to go back to the Church, receive Absolution, go to Mass for a month, only to fall away again because my faith wasn't strong enough in the first place.

I love the Church, I just need a strong reason to believe, and I'm hoping someone here could help me with that.
The doctrine of Our Lord's resurrection is fairly easy to accept, believe it or not. If the resurrection never happened, you need to account for what happened to the Lord's body after He died. No alternative explanations are really tenable. All sources (secular and Scriptural) acknowledge that He did in fact die on the cross. And the minimum those same sources agree on is the tomb is empty. Only a limited number of possibilities can account for that. Resurrection is the most logical answer considering the preposterous alternatives.
 
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One Voice Among Many1

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Following because I'm in a similar place. I go to Mass, support my parish, raise my kids in the Church, try to live my life in a good way, pray, study, etc. The only obstacle is a lack of belief in the existence of God. Maybe someday God will share something with me.

@Mountain_Girl406, I will pray for you and your spiritual journey, my friend.
 
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One Voice Among Many1

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I have been an atheist for a few years now and am slowly coming back to the Church. However, I'm still hesitating to go back because I'm not sure that I'm convinced. I love the Church, I love the Liturgy, the support for family, the Sacraments, etc, I'm just not fully convinced of the basics like the Resurrection.

I don't want to go back to the Church, receive Absolution, go to Mass for a month, only to fall away again because my faith wasn't strong enough in the first place.

I love the Church, I just need a strong reason to believe, and I'm hoping someone here could help me with that.

I do not know what to tell you other than I will pray for you.
 
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RaylightI

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I have been an atheist for a few years now and am slowly coming back to the Church. However, I'm still hesitating to go back because I'm not sure that I'm convinced. I love the Church, I love the Liturgy, the support for family, the Sacraments, etc, I'm just not fully convinced of the basics like the Resurrection.

I don't want to go back to the Church, receive Absolution, go to Mass for a month, only to fall away again because my faith wasn't strong enough in the first place.

I love the Church, I just need a strong reason to believe, and I'm hoping someone here could help me with that.


Hello RenatusFeuritExAqua :)

I've been there as well, I've been Atheist for quite some time, and it took some time for me to come back to Faith.

When it comes to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, it all comes down to the question, Is there a God or not? If there is a God, then reasonably, He will be able to resurrect whoever He wants, He is able to perform 'miracles' without the least difficulty. If someone believes in God, but objects to miracles, this person simply is denying his/her faith in God.

I will leave you with this advice; take it easy, faith doesn't come at once, faith is a process. Just because currently you can't fully believe in the Resurrection of the Lord, the Church is not going to slam the door in your face, in the contrary, the Church will welcome you with open arms, and will guide and lead you to the Faith of the Apostles. The Church is a mother, that always looking forward for her children to come back home safely.

Here is a website called Reasonable Faith, I believe it will help you to find some answers to some of your questions.

http://www.reasonablefaith.org/
 
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RenatusFueritExAqua

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Following because I'm in a similar place. I go to Mass, support my parish, raise my kids in the Church, try to live my life in a good way, pray, study, etc. The only obstacle is a lack of belief in the existence of God. Maybe someday God will share something with me.

For me it's not a lack of belief in God. I believe there is a God and I believe that is evident just by looking at the universe. The tough part is connecting that to the Resurrection.
 
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RenatusFueritExAqua

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We could offer pragmatic reasons to believe, like dangling eternal life before you, or threatening you with eternal torture, but those tactics require belief first. I don't know why you should believe, beyond that I believe. I understand just how weak of an argument that is.

Yeah, I already understand all the pragmatic reasons, but to some extent belief isn't something you can force yourself into. It just happens over time.
 
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RenatusFueritExAqua

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The doctrine of Our Lord's resurrection is fairly easy to accept, believe it or not. If the resurrection never happened, you need to account for what happened to the Lord's body after He died. No alternative explanations are really tenable. All sources (secular and Scriptural) acknowledge that He did in fact die on the cross. And the minimum those same sources agree on is the tomb is empty. Only a limited number of possibilities can account for that. Resurrection is the most logical answer considering the preposterous alternatives.

Can you post links to these sources?
 
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LivingWordUnity

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For me it's not a lack of belief in God. I believe there is a God and I believe that is evident just by looking at the universe. The tough part is connecting that to the Resurrection.
So we've established that you believe in God. But what do you believe about Him? Do you believe that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and cares about you? Do you believe in the Incarnation? If you believe all of that there's no reason to not believe the rest of it. There are many signs in creation itself that are like shadows of the Resurrection—the four seasons, going to sleep at night and then rising in the morning, sunset and sunrise, the caterpillar and its cocoon, etc.
 
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Mountain_Girl406

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For me it's not a lack of belief in God. I believe there is a God and I believe that is evident just by looking at the universe. The tough part is connecting that to the Resurrection.
I think we're in different places then. I haven't been able to make that first step, and the more I study the universe the harder it gets. However, I feel that if I could make that first step the rest would follow. I see it as a chain with three links. The first is the belief in anything supernatural, anything beyond the material world. I haven't made that one. If you make the first, the next is the idea that there is one (or one in three) diety. The third is that out of all the faiths that accept a single diety, the Catholic Church is the one with the best case for understanding this diety. I believe sometimes that if I can make the first. the other two will follow. That's probably because I have a deep respect for the scholarship of the early Church and how far back it reaches.
 
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Tomm

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Lack of evidence

Yes, I understand what you mean.
There are a lot of so-called "scientific" evidences for evolution and evidences against God. But, to me, they are nonsense, they are the ones which require GREAT, GREAT faith instead.

They run counter to probabilistic thinking - just imagine the probability of having your own luxury home built entirely by chance.
They run counter to logical thinking.
They failed to explain the world
- its beauty, order and complexity.
 
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High Fidelity

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It's one thing to look at a literal interpretation of the Bible knowing that it's a rendering that limited human minds can understand--as long as you know that that's what it is, a rendering for limited human minds.

To comment on this and I think something widely applicable to issues beyond even the ones presented in the OP, I think this Scripture is pertinent;

Proverbs 3:5-8 -
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
I hope you find the answers you're looking for :)
 
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