u/Beneficial_Praline32

As expressed in the title, I can't believe in these things precisely because of the problem of evil. How can God, if all-powerful, loving, and merciful, answer prayers (as well as requests) and not answer the prayers of other people, such as children who plead for food/better conditions?
To me, it seems like mere luck, because if it's true, God has his favorites and is sadistic and cruel.

Furthermore, if creation is perfect and planned by him ,why do we pray to correct God's plans?

How de we know the following claim is not true/fallacious?

“Religion is a human product, not a divine revelation
The geographical concentration of religions may indicate that they are human and temporal constructions
One thing that draws my attention is how most of the major religions in the world arose in relatively close and connected regions of the ancient world.
From Egypt and Mesopotamia, through the Levant, Persia and India, religions and spiritual systems emerged such as ancient Egyptian religion, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and several others all within civilizations that constantly exchanged culture, myths, trade, wars and philosophy.
In addition, there is also the widely discussed idea that religions and religious books were influenced by other beliefs, cultures and political contexts of the time in which they emerged.
And this raises a difficult question:
If divine truth is universal and absolute, why does religion seem so dependent on geography?
A person born in 7th-century Arabia would probably be Muslim, simply for having no contact with other religions. Likewise, someone born in medieval Europe would probably be Christian, while someone in ancient India would probably follow Hindu traditions.
Even Hinduism one of the oldest continuously practiced religious traditions still in existence is not automatically considered “true” by most of the world simply for being ancient. Antiquity alone does not validate a belief. But this same logic can be applied to later religions: if being ancient does not prove Hinduism, why would more recent religions be automatically legitimized?
Christianity, for example, only became globally dominant because of extremely specific historical factors:
institutionalization within the Roman Empire;
European expansion;
colonization of the Americas;
wars, conversions and political influence;
centuries of cultural dominance of the West.
The same applies to Islam:
military expansion after the 7th century;
growth of the caliphates;
commercial dominance;
territorial influence in the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Asia.
(I mentioned both because they are the largest current religions.)
In other words: religious demography often follows power, territory and historical context not necessarily metaphysical evidence.
And yes, I know that “what if history were different” is a hypothetical argument. But still: if India had colonized Europe, or if Persia had become the main global power, perhaps the current dominant religion would be completely different.
The world we live in seems to suggest that organized religions behave like human phenomena shaped by time, geography, wars, economy and cultural transmission.
Religions seem to spread in the same way as languages, empires and ideologies:
through human influence, tradition, power and historical continuity.
So the question remains:
what makes your religion valid and not just “one more” among several?
Has humanity truly discovered a universal divine truth?
Or has it merely inherited regional narratives that survived long enough to become dominant?”

Well, as you can see, what you've read covers all religions. How can we know that Christianity is different? How can we know, beyond faith, that Christianity is the true religion?And can we find God with reason?

As I've expressed in other posts, it's no surprise that I have long hours of existential crises; to be honest, they've even increased after my grandfather's death.
There are topics that make it difficult for me to believe in God, even though I was confirmed during this period of uncertainty.
The first things are: the problem of evil, divine concealment, Noah's Ark (already mentioned many times), which is scientifically unfeasible and I think a literal interpretation would have to be the most correct [like Jesus' passage about "in the days of Noah"], the fact that the genealogy of Genesis is only 6000 years old, and the fact that the Bible shows and portrays people who lived more than 600 years.

I know this is already a long text, but let's mention one last thing. I can't imagine the idea of ​​an afterlife, nor can it be material. Isn't heaven represented as a kind of "palace" covered in gold strange to you? And another place with real flames intended to torture people?

I confess that for you it may be something easy to answer, but my mind does not have sufficient intellectual and cognitive capacity to answer at this moment.

Was there anything specific that made you believers? Any argument?

I am firmly trying to remain a believer, but it still seems like I lack arguments to defend my faith and impossible events like Noah's Ark.

Was there anything specific that made you believers? Any argument?

I am firmly trying to remain a believer, but it still seems like I lack arguments to defend my faith and impossible events like Noah's Ark.

First of all, I wanted to thank you for the recommendations in the last post, I'm still going to read some of them.

Getting back to the subject of the text, what allows you to believe so firmly in God, besides faith? If there is anyone going through a difficult phase like mine (loss of someone and/or strong doubts), could you share your story of how you strengthened your beliefs?

Which scholars do you know who are truly good (with well-defensible arguments/ways of thinking against atheism)?

I would appreciate your recommendations for study, as I am going through a difficult time. This could include former atheists, philosophers, theologians, academics, YouTubers, PhDs, scientists, etc...

Which scholars do you know who are truly good (with well-defensible arguments/ways of thinking against atheism)?

I would appreciate your recommendations for study, as I am going through a difficult time. This could include former atheists, philosophers, theologians, academics, YouTubers, PhDs, scientists, etc...

This is something I've been thinking about, how ancient peoples had worldviews different from ours, maybe they wrote the ENTIRE Old Testament based on their models.

If that's true, the Bible is false and we're just changing our interpretation to fit science, right?

I'm very afraid this is true, since there's no other way to explain things like Jonah being swallowed by a whale/monster and surviving, the flood occurring without even leaving any trace of it today, the beginning of the universe and its dating back to creation, Adam and Eve, etc...

(No need to answer if you don't want to, after all the problem is mine and I don't want to bother you in any way)

Hello, as you already know, in my most recent post, I announced that I would return to asking questions and sharing my difficulties, so let's begin.

Firstly, in order to be more certain of my faith, I would like to ask you, Catholic/Christian professionals, academics, scientists and PhDs, to help me improve my knowledge and unite faith with reason. I would just like them to be convincing and not easily refuted by any sub-atheist atheist on this site.

Secondly, my last post in the other sub did not have conclusive answers, so I still have doubts about Genesis and especially the flood, things like "what if it's just a copy of the Epic of Gilgamesh?" The phrase "and it is scientifically impossible for a global flood to have occurred" crosses my mind. Jesus probably believed it was global, interpreting it from his famous quote (in the days of Noah \[...\]), what do you think?

Finally, I just wanted to ask a question to Catholics/Christians by birth and/or converts to the faith (former atheists): what led you to be so certain that a deity exists and that it is the Abrahamic one, even with the problem of evil and divine concealment?

I would like to apologize for the length of the text, it is not an easy time for me and you are my refuge, I hope you understand, again I apologize to everyone.