Originally Posted by Alaskagain
DS,
In your opening post, you stated you were not ‘religious’, and then later you state you are an atheist. They are two vastly different stances. One implies that you might believe in God, but do not adhere to the beliefs of any specific religious denomination. The other, of course, denies the existence of God.
As I see it, that is the root of your inability to feel that you have faith, and that you have received no answer to your prayers.
If you do not believe in God, why would you pray? If you do not believe in God, why would you pray and then expect to receive any kind of an answer?
If you are perfectly satisfied within yourself that God does not exist, you likely will not receive an answer confirming that He does indeed exist (according to me). My opinion, and I certainly don’t supersede God here, so I do leave open the possibility of a clear and direct answer to you.
If you do not believe in God, but have a desire to believe He exists, that in and of itself is an expression of faith. (Note that I did not say "If you do not believe in God, but have a desire to know whether He exists.")
If that is the case, and you have that desire, you are expressing faith. You are hoping that He does exist, after all. You may see no evidence of Him right now. But you have the hope. THAT is faith. Build on that little thread.
I commend you for supporting your LDS wife, and attending church with her, even though you do not believe as she does. That is love.
As far as all of the differences in religious beliefs across the world, I think yes, many times people declare their answers to prayers as truth, when in reality it has been "just their brain filling in the gaps and giving them what they want". People can justify or rationalize all manner of actions by saying "God tells me to do this." It doesn’t mean it is true, and it certainly doesn’t make bad things good.
I am not a scholar, scientist, or theologian. I hope I have not stated anything that offends.
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