Have We Outgrown Our Faith In God?
Part Seven
In an earlier post, I cited a study by APA that looked at people who walked away from their faith and their reasons for doing so.
“About half of the sample (51.8%) reported leaving for intellectual reasons or because they outgrew their faith.” (Source: Losing my religion: Who walks away from their faith and why?)
“We are outgrowing the need for faith. We’ve outgrown God. We’ve reached a point in science, technology, and sophistication where many believe we can out-God God.” (Source: Outgrowing faith? Knowing everything is not enough)
An increasing number of people are leaving Christianity. According to the Pew Research Center, the number of atheists, agnostics, and those unaffiliated with any church could be over 50% of the American population by the year 2070. (Source: Modeling the Future of Religion in America)
Is outgrowing faith in God a sign of how advanced humanity has become? That we no longer need to rely on God but can rely on our ingenuity and abilities?
I do not see that but, rather I see the human desire to live a life that does not include God. Like a child, it is human nature not to want to be told what to believe in or be told what’s wrong or what’s right.
We desire self-reliance. Self-independence. Self-confidence. Self-sufficiency.
“Our ability to understand the human condition is unprecedented. We have a reason, rationale, therapeutic explanation, statistical analysis and talk show for every rotten behavior under the sun. The notion of sin is anathema.” (Source: Outgrowing faith? Knowing everything is not enough)
Who needs God, right? Who really needs the church? They serve only to hinder human advancement as a species and as a culture.
Besides, the key to true happiness is through personal growth, and having the freedom to live our own lives.
Right?
“We all want to make sense of the world and be satisfied in our lives. Dissatisfaction can prompt searching for something more than our worldview has to offer. Disruptive longings can grow in someone as they look for better explanations to understand the world around them or their own lives.” (Source: 50 Atheists Found Christ. This Researcher Found Out Why)
As humans, we’re in constant search of fulfillment and purpose. The world has groomed us so that we can discover these within ourselves. And that the key to the human condition also lies within us. We don’t need God or our faith for any of these.
Yet…
“Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” — C.S. Lewis (atheist turned Christian author)
When I walked away from my faith, from God, I tried to find my own happiness and fulfillment that didn’t include Him. Many times, I’d find both, but they never lasted. I find myself having to keep searching for something else to fill the void — to keep the misery away.
It wasn’t until I was in the throes of having a heart attack, with the very possibility of death hitting me hard did I came to the realization that the only thing that mattered was where I stood with God. The realization hit me that He was the only true source of fulfillment and happiness. Of comfort and peace.
No, no matter how advanced man thinks he’d become, the bottom line is that we are all created beings, and our true purpose and meaning are tied completely — whether or not we choose to believe — to God, our Creator.
Want a more thought-provoking article to get your juice flowing in line with what we’ve just covered here?
The Absurdity of Life Without God
