It took me a long time to recognize, but I am certain of it:
It is not possible to CHOOSE to believe or to not believe.
For anyone.
We can only DISCOVER what we do or do not believe.
That's part of why it is called your FAITH.
When you believe something because someone has proved it to you logically, that is not FAITH.
Our host says well, that he knows his faith in his heart. That is exactly what I mean.
In a way, then, the answer to the title question is, for the individual believer, yes. They MUST believe, because they do.
Not because someone tells them to.
This is why it is pointless for a government to try to FORCE people to say they believe. That does not cause faith, it only insures that none of the people of the country, can ever have FAITH that their neighbors actually have faith.
there is also a concept of divine intervention or coincidence. as a believer, I view it as divine intervention.
example: your boss asks you to work over when your normal routine is to leave and be at certain places. but the time your boss asks you to work, one of these places gets robbed and someone is shot.
now, is that coincidence or God intervening for you?
I have personally had a few incidents like this that something happened and kept me from being somewhere. and then later on I learned something bad took place and I would have been there or possibly involved.
to me, this is God's divine intervention.
so, when I realized what this was, it was no longer believing in God via faith only. to me, this was hardcore fact there is a real God who is helping me while I was blindly believing He was real.
basically, I have so much proof now there is a real God it no longer is a matter of faith. where my faith now lies at, is at the point of expecting God to always intervene on my behalf
Edited by
iam_resurrected
on Sat 04/28/18 04:11 PM