Hi I'm a 16 year old guy in Maryland struggling with faith. My parents used to make me go to church until recently but now I don't go because it's boring. The priest would talk about all these metaphors and stories that didn't make sense to me and we just knealed and stood.
Something tells me that you don't like church first and foremost because you were forced to go. But no one can be forced to pay attention and much less be forced to enjoy, so you just acted mechanically in the prayers and gestures, which would be indeed awfully boring to anyone.
I also got bored of the Sunday Mass when I was about 16... because it just felt like a pointless order and a mechanical habit. Only later, much later, after I had my time to think seriously and honestly on questions about life, the universe and everything, I actually wanted to go back to the Sunday Mass. I just learned how rewarding can thinking be, and I needed more food for thought: so the first reason I went back was because I wanted to hear the priest's sermon about the weekly gospel and other lectures.
I just want to know if Heaven is boring? I think I assume it will be because church is boring also. Like a normal teenagers I like partying with alcohol and marijuana and getting with girls. I don't think this is the only thing fun to do but I don't see the point of trying to get somewhere that is boring.
We all have a very naive picture of Heaven (and Hell). They are not places as in the earthly sense. We cannot really imagine them, as we try to imagine them we inevitably apply our own earthly expectations, based on bodily experiences. A common picture is that people in Heaven just sit and watch the face of God. But God doesn't have a "face", and souls don't "sit and watch"...
Perhaps it's best not to even try to imagine it. No need to anticipate it, if there's a Heaven we will find out how it is precisely, but by definition it will mean happiness.
However, if you want to spend some time thinking about it, you can ponder on the idea that to go to Heaven essentially means to "merge with Good". So to "watch the face of God" really means to finally understand, without any doubt left or question unanswered, what is really the meaning of "good" and "justice", which inevitably we will like a lot and inevitably we will
do (which is the meaning of "merging"), because it's our nature to follow what we like.
When I was a teenager, I too loved parties, booze, joints (very rarely, but I tried a couple of times in high school - it was not illegal in my country) and of course sex with lots of girls. Trust me when I tell you that there are much more rewarding things in life, you just haven't encountered yet. I'm in my 30s, married with kids, but it's been years and years since I had no desire for a loud chaotic party or getting high with booze or having a one-night stand. I don't actually say that you are going to Hell for these! Just that unless you remain immature (some do forever...), you will acknowledge that they are ephemeral fun, the reward doesn't last; some people try to keep up and do it all the time because the next day it's over, and they miss all the rest about life! Plus, this ephemeral fun is taxing: the cost of drinking is vomit and headache the next day, the cost of a joint could be a health problem or addiction or jail in your country (and money!), the cost of one-night stands can be unexpected pregnancy or a VD, not to mention the fact that the idea of shagging lots of girls makes you dependent and prevents you to try a REAL relationship, thus making you weaker in your serious loving skills
and it delays the time when you'll start looking for your ultimate woman, thus lowering your chances to find her still unmarried.
So all this stuff is only good as long as it lasts, has high costs (many of which will send you the bill later), distracts you from much bigger sources of happiness (although unfortunately at the moment you cannot do much else than trust us older folks about these
), and also is often plain wrong because it spreads suffering to others (especially the one-night stands: you just don't see how many girls are hurt by being left the day after, then some of them get used to it and do the same to guys, which in turn do it to more girls...).
One of my good friends just came out recently and I think this stirred up my beliefs because I disagree on the Bible's view on homosexuality. He is real cool and nice to everyone so I just can't understand how God would doom him eternally just because of the people he's attracted to.
This is another topic. Personally I don't think God dooms him at all. Don't shun religion and ethics just because of some "baggage" that comes with organized churches. And keep in mind that you don't have to absolutely join a church to be religious, if the church with its baggage is an impediment for you to even start thinking about religion, then f0Rk the church.
I'm just scared and sad about myself thinking I'm some immoral monster. I'm going to have sex before marriage and drink and stuff, but I just need to know if I am doomed for not wanting to go to a place that isnt fun?
My conclusion is: don't ever think you're doomed or that it is too late for you because it's never the case; don't give up the thinking about what is right and good, just realize that it takes our whole lifetime to become better human beings; if you want to achieve that, don't delay it, start thinking about it today
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