I am looking for a way to believe in God?

[Yahswatchman]

You can either follow God or follow the pagan christians, make up your mind. The two are in no way related. Read the book and check it out for yourself.

[starofiniquity]

I've actually come across a similar point in life, and I hit sort of a loophole. I come from a racially Jewish background, so I've become more immersed in a reformed Jewish culture. That said, there are many atheist, reformed Jews that still sing songs about God, that still participate in old religious traditions, but they are part of the synagogue to keep their culture alive, and to benefit from a tight-knit community.

The same fundamental rule applies to Christianity in my opinion. Talk to many heads of many churches, and look for one who embraces science, accepts obvious truths like the theory of evolution, sexuality equality, etc. and discuss your situation with them. When you find a pastor, or whatever s/he may be that is willing to accept you into their community knowing that you may have "lost your way" so to speak, then you'll gain the benefits of a religious community with an open mind without having to feel that your feigning anything at all.

[luvJesushope]

When you are an agnostic, then you need to have Jesus Christ in your life to bridge the gap to God. When you become a Christian by saying a sinner's prayer and being baptized, then God's Holy Spirit comes to you and helps you understand the Bible and God's will for your life. God is love and He wants us to love Him and love others for Him. We need to have faith in God and not doubt Him, as He is our helper in life. This is the traditional Christian message below and follows the Holy Bible.
When you step away from the Bible, you aren't following God and so aren't headed for heaven. Jesus said the way to heaven was a straight and narrow way, and so it isn't a liberal path.
One very important thing to have right in your life is to be a Christian, and then God can help you live your life right. Also, you can pray about your life daily. Plus, as a Christian, you can go to heaven forever when you die someday, if you are faithfully following Him. If you don't follow God in your life, you end up in hell, a very bad place of suffering. Praying the prayer below will make you a Christian. Then, live it out with faith and love for God and Jesus Christ, love others, Bible study, prayer, and church. It's about having a relationship with God. God is our Creator, life, love, all-powerful, all-knowing, eternal, divine. It's important for you to try to be kind and caring, good and loving to others generally, and God will help you feel His love for you, and help you love others for Him.
This is how to know God -- the basic Christian message and prayer --- you need to accept God's Son, Jesus Christ, into your life to be a Christian and follow God's ways so you can receive God's guidance in your life and get to heaven after you die. Knowing God can transform your life. As God is love, life is primarily about love and relationships in order to have a good life. Also, you need to know God's Son, Jesus Christ, in your life as your Lord and Savior as Jesus died on the cross as payment for our sins. Having Him with you will give you God's blessing and forgiveness, as you live God's way. There is an important prayer to pray to become a Christian. This prayer should be said with faith in God and a sincere heart:
"Dear God, I know that I am a sinful person and I don't want to be like this anymore. I know that Jesus Christ died on the cross as payment for our sins, and I want to accept Jesus Christ into my life as my Lord and Savior so I can receive God's forgiveness, guidance, and go to heaven someday. Thank you, dear God, for your mercy and guidance; in Jesus' name. Amen."
This prayer can take you to a new place in your relationship with God and transform your life. After saying this prayer, you should check out a Christian church. I like the Baptist and Lutheran churches. (Avoid the liberal ELCA Lutherans.) The church can get you baptized and prayed for, and you can pray for yourself daily.
The church can get you into their Bible study group so you can learn more about God, Jesus, and God's will for your life. The Bible is God's instruction book about how to live a God-honoring life so you can go to heaven after you die.
Ways to stay connected to God's path include loving God and Jesus Christ, obeying God's ways, daily Bible reading, daily prayer for yourself and others, getting to church, having your church prayer group and/or pastor pray for you, fasting with prayer for a higher level of prayer, getting with other Christians and doing a Bible study, singing hymns to God, taking communion with the church, helping and loving others, expressing your gratitude to God for His help in your life by telling others of your progress and helping them draw closer to God too, tithing at church, volunteering at church. Continue to turn from sins and seek God's forgiveness in your life as you live your daily life.
For more information about Jesus Christ, read the New Testament of the Holy Bible.
God guide your life.

[Mich-exel]

What justifies your beliefs?
I might say that I can justify all my christian beliefs against science and modern atheist views.
But the only real proof of that is to stake one's life on it. That is the only real test of belief.

If by belief in God you mean the christian God, then I doubt that you will be able to rest snugly with your social liberal views unchallenged.

Faith in Jesus Christ forces one to take a definite position through action. That action might mean personal reform. "Sitting on the fence" won't do. Jesus gave His life for the testimony He gave about the Kingdom of God and His Divine Father in heaven.

Following His example permits few if any compromises. Why not take your social liberal views much further with Jesus Christ. You'll achieve far more than anything you could do without.

[The Paul Network]

Hi. Many people, after reading what you said above, would surmise that you're looking for something religious, and preferably Christian, to fit into the rest of your life, which you seem to have quite sussed. I'm not saying that is what you ARE looking for, but it certainly seems so from the way you posed your question. My apologies if I came to the incorrect conclusion.

The thing about following Jesus, though, is that in order for you to develop fully, and get real live benefits in life from following Him, in order to really blow your life out of the water and grow to a whole new level, you will have to give up a lot of other beliefs, habits and ideas you have. A 'little bit" of Jesus does nothing more than a self-help book or motivational speaker would do. For Jesus to radically transform your life into something you might never even have dreamed about, you must follow completely.

Many Christians "join the club" and go to church, wear the crosses, and even pray and read the Bible from time to time but they never actually apply all the teachings of Jesus in their lives, so consequently, never really experience the transformation and radical growth that completely committed followers feel.

If you're going to give following Jesus a full go, you must prepare yourself for some extreme discomfort. Following Jesus is not easy. In fact, it's the hardest thing I've ever done, but to give you an example of the radical turn my life has made in the last 12 months- I went from down and out, addict, relationship in tatters, to dream job, awesome relationship healing, and have just been blessed with the news of becoming a father next year! my life is on a high like its never been!

So, the good news is that you don't have to believe ALL the Christian stuff, the Bible stuff, or even in God to START the process. You really only have to START by following the teachings of Jesus as they are told in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John). To start with, think of it as following any motivational speaker, public figure or self-help book.

Challenge yourself, say, for 3 months. Go get a NIV, NLT, or NKJV Study Bible, and just start working through the Gospels. Don't commit to anything other than just FOLLOWING, and see what happens

I've prayed that you will really challenge yourself to give this thing a full go, and that you will grow to later believe in God, and believe that Jesus is the Son of God and all the other things we believe, and that your life will be radically changed, as the lives of all who follow Him is changed.

Mail me if you'd like to explore this further. I'd be glad to talk more about your journey or the challenge

Oh, and check out notafan.com

[lowbat980]

If you want a real theologian, you're far more likely to find one in a church than on Y!A, home of Poes, trolls and argy-bargy. %-)

There are many liberal denominations within Christianity. I'm well out of the loop that way and have been for over a decade, but my suggestions to perhaps start with are American Baptists, Quakers, UCC (or as an old UCC friend of mine called it, Unitarians Considering Christ :-), and of course Unitarian-Universalists. UU communities vary a great deal, some are Christian, some are hard-core humanist, many are ecumenical and a few are even trinitarian. The Metropolitan Community Church is theologically conservative but socially liberal and fully accepting of gay, lesbian, bi, trans and straight members.

IME, this is the kind of conversation that is best done in person. See if you can find a liberal church in your area.