I have lost a lot of my religious beliefs over the last few years while battling my illness. Some things I think are more true than they used to be, but some things I just don't believe in anymore.
1) Heaven and Hell
I believe in both, but I can't tell a difference. To me, the promise of spending an eternity ANYWHERE is torturous. I wish I could believe that this life is all there is, but I can't.
2) God and Satan
I believe in God. I don't believe in Satan. I believe that the good in us comes from God and that the bad in us comes from being human. Not that humans are inherently corrupt, but we are inherently corruptible.
3) Right and Wrong
I've become much more of a situationalist than I used to be. What's right for me might be a sin for someone else, or for me under a different set of circumstances. I used to trust that my conscience would tell me what to do, but then I found out that the voice I was listening to was an auditory hallucination.
4) Faith
Faith is based on trust. Right now I have a hard time trusting in anything but myself. I don't trust my friends or family, and I have no faith that God actually cares about me, or that any one person in the world matters to Him.
So I'm not sure. Is faith good or bad? Does religion help or hurt? I can't even think about those things anymore because I don't have the answers. Please offer your advice.
1) Heaven and Hell
I believe in both, but I can't tell a difference. To me, the promise of spending an eternity ANYWHERE is torturous. I wish I could believe that this life is all there is, but I can't.
2) God and Satan
I believe in God. I don't believe in Satan. I believe that the good in us comes from God and that the bad in us comes from being human. Not that humans are inherently corrupt, but we are inherently corruptible.
3) Right and Wrong
I've become much more of a situationalist than I used to be. What's right for me might be a sin for someone else, or for me under a different set of circumstances. I used to trust that my conscience would tell me what to do, but then I found out that the voice I was listening to was an auditory hallucination.
4) Faith
Faith is based on trust. Right now I have a hard time trusting in anything but myself. I don't trust my friends or family, and I have no faith that God actually cares about me, or that any one person in the world matters to Him.
So I'm not sure. Is faith good or bad? Does religion help or hurt? I can't even think about those things anymore because I don't have the answers. Please offer your advice.