Sunday, June 9, 2024

DISBELIEF AND UNBELIEF

DISBELIEF AND UNBELIEF

A description of the book:

The objective of this book is to help any unbeliever to find God, as well as to believe in the disbelief of salvation.

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A sample from the book:

UNBELIEF

What is unbelief?

Unbelief is not believing something, and this generally refers to not believing in faith or God.

Unbelief is common. Why? It is because, to many, God does not exist. Even if He does, His existence is no more than the existence of the sun, the earth, or the moon. God’s existence does not change their lives.

Unbelief also comes from one top theological question: “Who created God?” The answer is simply: God is a Creator who gets anything from nothing. God is a timeless uncreated Creator with eternal existence and no origin. Unfortunately, this simple answer may remain inexplicable and incomprehensible to many, and thus sustaining their unbelief.

Unbelief may be present in those who do not want to seek the ultimate truth about anything, especially the presence of God. To them “seeing is believing” and so they just bury their heads in the sand, thinking that God is “not here for me to see”; so, “Why should I believe?”

Unbelief is the mindset of those who focus on the now. Accordingly, “life after death” or “eternal salvation” is irrelevant to the thinking mind of living in the present moment.

Unbelief is natural to those who are currently struggling to survive or to make a living in the material world. The selffocus paves the pathway to unbelief.

Unbelief is the rational thinking of those who observe the lies and evildoings in the world, including those done by pastors, priests, and religious people. Injustice justifies their rational thinking of unbelief.

Unbelief is the self-defensiveness of those who believe that they have done no evils throughout their lives. Their selfdenial and self-justification often nourish their own unbelief.

Unbelief is, ironically, the result of having too many religions in the world that makes some people reject God altogether.

BELIEF

Belief is the antidote to unbelief. That means an individual believes in not only the invisible but also the unbelievable.  This belief develops faith and cherishes courage to continue the belief journey.

Yes, belief is difficult, given that man is inherently a “rational” being, always demanding an explanation for anything and everything in life.

According to St. Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo (354-430 A.D.), in life there are certain things we do not believe unless we understand them, and there are also other things that we do not understand unless we believe them first. Accordingly, faith is not opposed to understanding, nor is it independent of understanding. St. Augustine’s famous statement “faith seeking understanding” is an act of believing first, without which unbelief closes the door to further understanding. In other words, we must always believe first, and our understanding will then follow. It is just that simple.

St. Anselm of Canterbury, a well-known Christian philosopher and theologian of the eleventh century, also echoed St. Augustine’s statement in his famous motto: “I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand.”

So, you must believe first so that you may see and understand your belief, which is your faith in God.

But knowing about faith and having faith are not quite the same. Finding and having faith requires transformation, which is changing from the inside out. Understandably, any “physical” change in an individual, such as change in the body’s shape, is not easy. The “transformation” of the mind and the soul of an individual is even much more challenging and difficult because in the process of transformation everything is invisible to the naked eye.

In addition, faith and actions must go together, such as sharing faith with others. Actions in anything often generate uncertainty that may result in doubt and fear. Given that most humans prefer to stay in their comfort zones, fear related to faith may be the stumbling block. But your fear, paradoxically, may also show how strong your faith is.

So, stop avoiding your battles against unbelief. Stop retreating and start fighting, and you will be the winner in the end.

DISBELIEF AND UNBELIEF







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