OCD About What Religion I Should Follow

Jason Shepherd · Dec 14, 2015

Hey Everyone, I am new to this forum. So I'm freaking out about this, it's constantly ruminating in my mind every waking moment. I was born and raised Non Denominational Christian and always kept that way of life in my thoughts and actions. For the last 10 years or so I've really been struggling about what religion I should be. I feel like Christianity doesn't resonate with me like it use to. When I go to a Christian church my OCD flares up really bad and I start drowning in Scrupulosity. No matter how much I pray, how faithful I am, research I do, professionals I talk to, therapies I practice, it always goes back to this constant mental torment. I sometimes have a hard time actually believing Jesus Christ actually existed and I feel terrible about it. So now I start obsess if I should be studying Judaism instead because that was the original word of God, but should I work towards being an Orthodox Jew or a Messianic Jew, but then my thoughts become overwhelmed with all the rules about how to correctly follow the Sabbath and eating Kosher. Then I'll say it's just my OCD and I distract myself with something different. Then all of sudden there will be images and videos of Judaism that pop on Facebook and/or maybe a show I am watching and then I'll think maybe this is a sign from God that I should think about being Jewish again. I can't stand feeling like this, it's eating me alive and I don't know what to do. Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this before???

HannahElizaW · Dec 14, 2015

Jason Shepherd said:
Hey Everyone, I am new to this forum. So I'm freaking out about this, it's constantly ruminating in my mind every waking moment. I was born and raised Non Denominational Christian and always kept that way of life in my thoughts and actions. For the last 10 years or so I've really been struggling about what religion I should be. I feel like Christianity doesn't resonate with me like it use to. When I go to a Christian church my OCD flares up really bad and I start drowning in Scrupulosity. No matter how much I pray, how faithful I am, research I do, professionals I talk to, therapies I practice, it always goes back to this constant mental torment. I sometimes have a hard time actually believing Jesus Christ actually existed and I feel terrible about it. So now I start obsess if I should be studying Judaism instead because that was the original word of God, but should I work towards being an Orthodox Jew or a Messianic Jew, but then my thoughts become overwhelmed with all the rules about how to correctly follow the Sabbath and eating Kosher. Then I'll say it's just my OCD and I distract myself with something different. Then all of sudden there will be images and videos of Judaism that pop on Facebook and/or maybe a show I am watching and then I'll think maybe this is a sign from God that I should think about being Jewish again. I can't stand feeling like this, it's eating me alive and I don't know what to do. Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this before???

I was saved (though I fall into doubt from time to time) August of 2014... so.. a little over a year now..... that was in August... that following January/Febuary, I started having thoughts and/or doubts about God's existence. "Did He really exist? How could I know? Are you sure He exists?" It led me to doubting my religion. "What if I'm wrong? What if Hinduism is the correct religion?" Etc. Etc... I even started a thread called " I'm a Christian, but... " that I think you could possibly search and find but, I want to let you know that you're not the only one who has experienced this.. stick to your Christian faith... when the doubts come, talk to God about it.. even talk about or pray about the thoughts specifically... I have had OCD for about or pretty much a year now and though that's passed it's gone on to other things concerning it. OCD, to, I believe, what some say or might say is that it continually attacks what you're internally believing or what you hold most dear or the like and it messes with it for some apparent reason...some "sessions" of OCD last differently than others... this specific topic/subject for me lasted only or just about a month or so's worth... What did help was GotQuestion's "With all the different religions, how do I know which one is correct?". Hopefully that can help...

Jason Shepherd · Dec 14, 2015

HannahElizaW said:
I was saved (though I fall into doubt from time to time) August of 2014... so.. a little over a year now..... that was in August... that following January/Febuary, I started having thoughts and/or doubts about God's existence. "Did He really exist? How could I know? Are you sure He exists?" It led me to doubting my religion. "What if I'm wrong? What if Hinduism is the correct religion?" Etc. Etc... I even started a thread called " I'm a Christian, but... " that I think you could possibly search and find but, I want to let you know that you're not the only one who has experienced this.. stick to your Christian faith... when the doubts come, talk to God about it.. even talk about or pray about the thoughts specifically... I have had OCD for about or pretty much a year now and though that's passed it's gone on to other things concerning it. OCD, to, I believe, what some say or might say is that it continually attacks what you're internally believing or what you hold most dear or the like and it messes with it for some apparent reason...

Thank you for your story and your experience, definitely helps me have hope! I think you are absolutely right

Albion · Dec 14, 2015

Jason Shepherd said:
I can't stand feeling like this, it's eating me alive and I don't know what to do. Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this before???

As a matter of fact, it's common. For some people, it's more distressing and confusing than it is for others, but what you have described is not rare.

We are exposed to a number of competing religious ideas in life, and most of them have some appeal on one level or another. Yes, I know what you mean.

One way to approach the matter is to carefully decide, by examining your deepest feelings and most firmly held ideas on doctrine and practice, etc. to see where you stand. Decide which church or religion you most agree with and on the issues considered essential. Then visit, in person, those that seem the most promising. There's little to be gained by finding the church that seems best, intellectually, but doesn't have a congregation anywhere near your home.

Keep in mind that it's very unlikely that you'll find a congregation of any church where everyone agrees on every last issue and policy with your own preferences. People who look for the "perfect" match, religion-wise, are usually frustrated that they can't seem to find one but yet they assume that because religion is God's work, it--perfection--ought to be there somewhere.

Daphnelover · Dec 14, 2015

To me, converting to Judaism would be a nightmare. The word testament actually means covenant. So, the old testemant (covenant) was the law. The whole point of giving the law was to point out that we can't keep it no matter how hard we try!
That's why Jesus came, to give us the new covenant to save us. We can't be saved by keeping the law. We need Jesus for that. I can't even imagine having this disease AND trying to keep all those rules... yikes! Tell God you are struggling and ask Him to show you how to believe. I'm sorry you are going through this. It's a horrible disease.

Jason Shepherd · Dec 15, 2015

Albion said:
As a matter of fact, it's common. For some people, it's more distressing and confusing than it is for others, but what you have described is not rare.

We are exposed to a number of competing religious ideas in life, and most of them have some appeal on one level or another. Yes, I know what you mean.

One way to approach the matter is to carefully decide, by examining your deepest feelings and most firmly held ideas on doctrine and practice, etc. to see where you stand. Decide which church or religion you most agree with and on the issues considered essential. Then visit, in person, those that seem the most promising. There's little to be gained by finding the church that seems best, intellectually, but doesn't have a congregation anywhere near your home.

Keep in mind that it's very unlikely that you'll find a congregation of any church where everyone agrees on every last issue and policy with your own preferences. People who look for the "perfect" match, religion-wise, are usually frustrated that they can't seem to find one but yet they assume that because religion is God's work, it--perfection--ought to be there somewhere.

Thank you so much, this definitely gave me some ideas to work with and helped break things down a bit

Jason Shepherd · Dec 15, 2015

Daphnelover said:
To me, converting to Judaism would be a nightmare. The word testament actually means covenant. So, the old testemant (covenant) was the law. The whole point of giving the law was to point out that we can't keep it no matter how hard we try!
That's why Jesus came, to give us the new covenant to save us. We can't be saved by keeping the law. We need Jesus for that. I can't even imagine having this disease AND trying to keep all those rules... yikes! Tell God you are struggling and ask Him to show you how to believe. I'm sorry you are going through this. It's a horrible disease.

Thank you for your kind words and your advice, definitely some good things to think about

OCD=Owie · Dec 26, 2015

Doubts about my faith have definitely been the hardest OCD symptom (and the hardest thing period) that I've dealt with in my life. What you are suggesting sounds very familiar to me. What helped me was just realizing that you don't have to be 100% sure of something to have faith in it. Just the action of trying to "stay Christian", to me, shows faith.

Search

Search

OCD About What Religion I Should Follow

Jason Shepherd

New Member

More options

HannahElizaW

God Says It, THAT Settles It!

More options

Jason Shepherd

New Member

More options

Albion

Facilitator

More options

Daphnelover

Active Member

More options

Jason Shepherd

New Member

More options

Jason Shepherd

New Member

More options

OCD=Owie

Newbie

More options

Need help?

Similar threads