What if no matter how hard you try you can't believe in God

[gracealone]

Hi RisingSpirit,
Since you volunteered that you don't know much about OCD, I hope you don't my me telling you that with OCD, the questioning or checking that a person does in regard to the obsessional theme is part and parcel of the compulsive side of the disorder. The more you reassure such a person the more stuck the obsession gets and the fiercer the anxiety response to it. So in light of that you will be able to see very quickly why your answers or reassurances don't help Raven. The answer for her lies in treating the OCD with proven methods which include, Exposure and Response Prevention therapy and possibly medications to help balance out her brain chemistry.
Just thought I'd share that with you.
Thanks for considering it.
Mitzi

I don't know much about OCD but all of mankind doubts God exist. It's in plain view straight from God:

It is man who:

1. - is deceitful and desperately sick (Jer. 17:9).
2. - is full of evil (Mark 7:21-23).
3. - loves darkness rather than light (John 3:19).
4. - is unrighteous, does not understand, does not seek for God (Rom. 3:10-12).
5. - is helpless and ungodly (Rom. 5:6).
6. - is dead in his trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1).
7. - is by nature a child of wrath (Eph. 2:3).
8. - cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14).
9. - is a slave of sin (Rom. 6:16-20).

Arminians will tell you a different tale. I'll show you what the Bible said. I wouldn't worry so much. You can only do what you can do. If God chooses you not to doubt Him, then you won't. Just leave the Bible like it say it is and don't let the rest tell you another tale from another gospel. OCD might be more toward a mental illness. It might not be any different from a handicap person that can't help something. That doesn't change what salvation is according to God.

 

[cmsracing]

Raven,
You can come back to these questions only after the fire alarm in your head isn't going off all the time. Trying to sort it all out in the state you are currently in won't work. Your brain is kind of like a Venus fly trap right now. Any important question or disturbing thought that happens to buzz into it is clamped down upon and your brain wants to chew on it. That's why the pedophilia thing has cropped back up too. If you truly want to feel better than you must do what the therapist is telling you to do, even if it's super hard.
If you can try to take a vacation from the forums for awhile so as not to feed the OCD by the searching for reassurance. That's what I'd do if I was in your shoes.
Mitzi

Ravin, this is the best advise you've received on this thread so far. Your on here asking advise from people who have been in your shoes and recovered, and had their faith restored. People who have not experienced this first hand, although they mean well (even your pastor), can't relate to what your going through. To them it's black or white, " if you don't believe your going to hell!!" They don't understand that this is not a conflict of the heart where our real faith comes from, but it's a conflict with the mind, which will lie to you and try to confuse you at every turn.
You need to give yourself a break. God will watch out for you while you rest.

 

[RisingSpirit]

It's ok to be obsessive in counting your breaths. Soon you will become enlightened, But first for a beginner, you'll need to focus or concentrate on every single breath. Count 1- 10 on each breath. If you lose count, go back and start with one and count again. Soon the ailments will fade away. This has been taught for 5,000 years and works well. If you're good enough you'll float and walk on water. Disappear and reappear on the other side of the lake. Walk through doors. If you don't believe this then you don't believed Jesus did those. How far do you think the apostle walked on water? 20 feet?