is it okay if im a theist but not any religions?

[leodeo]

i was christian then became atheist recently but lotta people here pointed out that i still believe in god so im probably a theist.

I don't think i'm christian because i dont agree with 99% of the stuff in the bible and i dont seem to fit in with other christians because they so excited to see god and be with him in heaven, and i feel like god doesn't really do anything except what is in his plan so praying is just to make us feel better about situations.

also i get in fights with christians because when good stuff happens they praise god but when bad stuff happens they don't even considering thinking why god couldn't have done something about it :/

so is it okay if i just believe in god and not follow any of the religions? basically im trying my best to stop believing in god but its not happening,

but now iim trying to make it like "god loves us in a weird way, but at least he loves us, i think.... but life sometimes sucks regardless so just gonna do my best and try not to blame him for stuff cuz it makes me more suicidal"

But I'm worried because christianity is the #1 religion on the planet, what if they are right? I mean, how could so many people be wrong? And it has been around for a long time too, granted not as long as hinduism and stuff. And they got so much organization with the Church, and so many ancient and holy scriptures and stuff too.

[Angrboda]

It's all up to you, but given what you said, you come close to a deist or panentheistic god, except perhaps the question of whether you believe in an intercessor god or not, and if so, just what that god's intercessions look like. It appears that you don't believe god intercedes in world affairs in the way many Christians do. However, that's not a slam dunk, because there's still a lot of variety in Christianity which may come close to including a conception of god which you can get behind.

The other question is whether your belief needs to align with anyone else's belief or not. This is the question of orthodoxy.b Is orthodoxy of belief an indicator of truth? Some say that orthodoxy is a sign that the important truths have been drained away, and that only in raw, creative belief is the truth maintained.

[leodeo]

I believe God does intercede, but only on issues he himself already planned for example: If I was driving and was about to get hit by another car, if it wasn't in his plan he would prevent the accident, but if it is in his plan I would get hit. But I also believe that everything happens according to god's plan, so he doesn't really need to "intercede" per se, because things are happening as he wants them to, however Christians disagree with this belief because they believe in free will and that god doesn't interfere with our lives, choices, and consequences. yet when their kid gets cancer they ask everyone to pray :/

[Whateverist]

Yeah, you're a pretty lousy atheist. But a damned nice guy.

[Doubting Thomas]

Yeah, sounds like you're leaning toward deism, but true deism is believing that God doesn't interact with the universe in any way. So you've probably just taken on the idea of a god which does interact with humanity but isn't affected by prayers or pleas for help.

But basically, it's a free world, believe what you want. It neither breaks my arm nor picks my pocket.

[Raven]

i was christian then became atheist recently but lotta people here pointed out that i still believe in god so im probably a theist.

I don't think i'm christian because i dont agree with 99% of the stuff in the bible and i dont seem to fit in with other christians because they so excited to see god and be with him in heaven, and i feel like god doesn't really do anything except what is in his plan so praying is just to make us feel better about situations.

also i get in fights with christians because when good stuff happens they praise god but when bad stuff happens they don't even considering thinking why god couldn't have done something about it :/

so is it okay if i just believe in god and not follow any of the religions? basically im trying my best to stop believing in god but its not happening,

but now iim trying to make it like "god loves us in a weird way, but at least he loves us, i think.... but life sometimes sucks regardless so just gonna do my best and try not to blame him for stuff cuz it makes me more suicidal"

But I'm worried because christianity is the #1 religion on the planet, what if they are right? I mean, how could so many people be wrong? And it has been around for a long time too, granted not as long as hinduism and stuff. And they got so much organization with the Church, and so many ancient and holy scriptures and stuff too.

FWIW, the definition of a Xtian is pretty simple. If you believe that a certain 1st Century Jewish Radical was the Savior of all those who believe in him, then you are a Xtian. Simple.

The various organized iterations of Xtianity cannot agree on the right recipe, so what difference does it make what your personal beliefs around it are? Except to yourself, of course.

Yeah, they do have that tendency to always credit their sky-daddy with anything good that happens and let him off that hook for what goes bad. They always have, they always will. It's stupid, but whoever said these guys were smart?

They have to do that, you see. God is the source of all that's good. So it must be his benevolence that got you that raise, or whatever. You, on the other hand are a rotten sinner, so if you get laid off from your job when there are staff cut-backs then it must be your fault.

Because God cannot be bad.

What I am having trouble understanding is why you seem to "need permission" to think and feel however you think and feel. One thing I am sure of is that you are not the only person who has those thoughts about religion. Many people don't subscribe to any particular religion because of various reasons. I, myself, for a long time did not hold to any particular religion because I could not see how any of them did any good. I've got a good mind and can figure things out for myself. So I did. I no longer believe in any kind of deity whatever, and don't believe a lot of other things. But for a long while I thought of myself as a sort of "free agent believer" . I had no use for any form of organized religion, but I still believed in a Creator. It did not cause me any distress, and there was not reason why it should have.

Eventually I changed my mind on that as well. For me it was the argument from evil, often referred to as atheism's killer argument. If God exists and he permits all this suffering, then what good is he? If he was good then he would not permit suffering. But he does. Or maybe he simply is not real.
You have to remember when all these silly belief systems came into being. That was humanity's childhood. We did not know jack shit at the time. People want answers, and some fool will always provide them. There you go.

leo, I'm sorry you are having a hard time, but to quote JFK : "Life is not fair." It sure has not been to me. I've been through all kinds of shit. Too bad for me. It's been that way for many. It's been worse for many than it has ever been for me as well. But it does not stay that way. Now I'm 55 and life is good, and I am not dead yet. I'm planning on sticking around for a good while and enjoying whatever years I have left.

You will find your answers, and even a gf. Just hang in there. I hope what I've written here is some help at least. Cheers, dude

[Silver]

When I suggested that you seek some professional help in your girlfriend thread, I did not mean from a fictional character.

[Darkstar]

i was christian then became atheist recently but lotta people here pointed out that i still believe in god so im probably a theist.

Yep. A theist is someone who believes in god. Doesn't have to be any specific one.

so is it okay if i just believe in god and not follow any of the religions?

Yes.

But I'm worried because christianity is the #1 religion on the planet, what if they are right? I mean, how could so many people be wrong?

How could everyone who believed in Thor and Zeus and Ra have been wrong?

And it has been around for a long time too, granted not as long as hinduism

Ra was popular for longer than Jesus has been. And that's not even considering that popularity and longevity are not indicators of whether a religion is true or not.
Argumentum ad populum
Appeal to tradition

And they got so much organization with the Church, and so many ancient and holy scriptures and stuff too.

Church organization and the volume of their scriptures don't mean that the contents of their scriptures are accurate.

From the sound of things you aren't a deist (i.e. believe that god created the universe, but no longer interacts at all with the physical world), so I guess you're just a theist. I wouldn't worry about hell if I were you, Pascal's Wager has been long debunked anyway.

[leodeo]

thanks all for ur answers, u guys are really funny too with your points LOL, cheered me up

[Simon Moon]

i was christian then became atheist recently but lotta people here pointed out that i still believe in god so im probably a theist.

Theism is simply the belief that some god exists.

I don't think i'm christian because i dont agree with 99% of the stuff in the bible and i dont seem to fit in with other christians because they so excited to see god and be with him in heaven, and i feel like god doesn't really do anything except what is in his plan so praying is just to make us feel better about situations.

Do you believe Yeshua died for our sins? If so, you are probably a Christian.

There are over 30,000 sects of Christianity. You might fit into one of them.

so is it okay if i just believe in god and not follow any of the religions? basically im trying my best to stop believing in god but its not happening,

Deism, pantheism, panentheism, are god beliefs without a religion.

Sounds like you just have made up your own conception of a god.

But I'm worried because christianity is the #1 religion on the planet, what if they are right? I mean, how could so many people be wrong?

The list of things the majority of humanity used to believe is endless:

Flat earth
Geo-centrism
Disease caused by gods, demons, curses, etc
Crystal dome over the earth
Leaches would heal illness
Etc, etc...

Were those things any more true because they were once popular beliefs?

The popularity of a belief says absolutely nothing about whether it is true. Before Christianity, the most popular religion was probably the Greek religion. Did the fact that the majority of humanity believed in that make it any more true?

And it has been around for a long time too, granted not as long as hinduism and stuff. And they got so much organization with the Church, and so many ancient and holy scriptures and stuff too.

See above.

There are 2.1 billion Christians, 1.5 billion Muslims and 1.1 billion Hindus. Does that mean that Christianity is 25% more true than Islam and 50% more true than Hinduism? Does it mean that Islam is more true than Hinduism since there are more Muslims? What if Islam passes up Christianity in popularity? Will that make it true?

You should really consider reading some books on critical thinking, and acquire some skills. You have none.

This one is a great starting point - Critical Thinking Skills: Success in 20 Minutes a Day