answerJam

I was in the same place you were last year. I kept my faith but now I understand how religion is much like politics. Watch Zeitgeist, It will answer your questions.

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

It really depends on what you mean by "is it ok".

If you mean "Can I get through life", then yeah, you can have faith in the easter bunny and santa clause -- or anything else for that matter -- and be able to get through life. It doesn't make the things you placed your faith in TRUE, but you're not going to necessarily stop breathing because of them.

If you mean "Will I get to Heaven after I die", that's quite a different question. It's relatively easy to become pessimistic in this life regarding God (as some even here have done), as there are many people who have so screwed up the Message that people who don't know any better have no real option BUT to be confused by all the conflicting statements and versions. Back in high school, I used to be very vocal towards my Christian friends, kinda ridiculing them a bit for their faith and all the ridiculous things I thought it included, so I understand the confusion and feelings from that side of the fence.

In the Bible, there's a letter written to the Jewish Christians commonly referred to as "the book of Hebrews". (If you don't have a Bible, you can go to www.blb.org and read one there, in any real Christian translation...I use the NKJV.) In Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6 says:

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

That doesn't mean "faith in something" or "faith in myself" or even "faith in some creating force", it means faith in HIM. The second and third parts of that verse explain it perfectly, "he who comes to God must believe that He is [i.e. that He exists], and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently [i.e. not half-heartedly] seek Him."

You can go anywhere on this planet and have people who don't know God tell you that knowing Him isn't important -- for obvious reasons (if they thought it *was* important, they'd seek to know Him) -- and I can empathize because I used to be rank and file amongst them.

But thankfully, God had people talk to me just as I'm talking to you now who took the time to explain things to me, discuss things back and forth, and show that they cared enough to take the time needed to make sure I really understood things instead of just "Bible-thumping" me and running away (as some well-intentioned people sometimes do, sadly).

If your desire is to really believe what is true, then you need to diligently seek the One who embodies Truth. Jesus said: "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me." For the person who is genuinely concerned with truth, this may be a challenging statement, but a welcome place to start diligently seeking. :)

Hope this helps!

Please don't let so-called "religious" people emotionally blackmail you into thinking that the way you feel is wrong. Life is all about thinking things like this over, and coming to your own conclusions. Whether those conclusions include a traditional god from an organised religion, no god whatsoever, or something entirely different, the choice is yours to make. No-one has the right to force their own choices on you. If they try, it merely demonstrates how insecure they are about them.