Hare Krishna,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupad.

As a new devotee of about a year and a half allow me to offer you my experience.

I came to and then stayed with Iskcon partly because most of its teachings were already in line with what I believed. But there were other things , like the image/ face of Krishna, Krishnas name , the authority of Srila Prabhupada, Lord Chaitanya and much more that was really hard for me to get my head around and accept.

previously I called god by many differant names, and saw him as formless but existing in everything, rather than with a particular form.

And the culture, although not alien to me - as id grown up in a heavily indian / pakastani area and had asian friends at school - still took some getting used to..

Interestingly we had part of a lecture on this subject last saturday.

In Iskcon, we are taught never to blindly accept. to follow like sheep, copying others without thinking for ourselves.

we are taught to read, and question, to come to our own understanding. In that way our faith will become strong and eternal.

I would say that faith, absorbtion of ideas takes time, sometimes maybe even a lifetime. And even now , after more thant 18 months as a devotee, there are still many things im questioning and getting my head around. so be patient with yourself dont feel you have to accept everything blindly and that if you question it some how you are lacking faith etc...

if you look at all the great religious traditions, like Judaism, you will see there is a tradition of thinking, discussing , questioning... looking deeper for reason and understanding... just look at the jewish yeshivas, or reliigous schools where the entire day is dedicated to discussion and argument of jewish texts before comming to conclusions or beliefe...

you can improve and strengthan your faith by the following methods..

- read. Srila Prabhupada, in his immaculate grace and wisdom left us with many texts that explain,clearly and logically why we as devotees believe as we do

- Question. if you dont understand something, if it doesnt make sense. ASK. Often when something is new to us we misunderstand it, and from this misunderstanding can come disbelief.. Ive had many long conversations with devotees about everything from vaishnava etiquette to why the deities look as they do.. Associate with devotees and benefit from their knowledge and experiences... remember that many of them - if not all were once wher you are now :)

- practice... Iskcon is not about believing blindly in things you cant see or touch.. everything we do has a practical benefit .. so practise :) you can learn about the wonders of chanting in books , but its from chanting yourself that you will really understand the power of the holy name.. how it can calm , uplift and make you happy , on so many levels..

eat - again - you can read about why vegetarianism is so good for you- but its only by eating the pure , vegetarian food you get in temples that you will feel its benefits for yourself and so understand the reasoning for our belief on not eating meat...

- Understand - that maya / illusion/ attraction to material things is very powerfull... there are times when i go to the temple and feel nothing, and times when i really understand and get it - so much so that i cry at the wonder of it all... i understand that at those times when i feel nothing its because my mind isnt truely focused on krishna.. it flickers off and on like a broken light ... my aim is to make the light constantly shine.. bright and beautifull... but that too takes work and patience and determination

does that all make sense ?? Iskcon is not a place for sitting still... you have to DO..

you sound much like me when i first became a devotee.. with a natural attraction for Iskcon and spirituallity ... this is a great building block.. use it.. go to the temple as much as you can, associate with devotees who can guide and advise you .. and with the right determination - in time your faith will grow..

i hope that helps, welcome to Iskcon :)

Very good question. See
http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/bhaktiyoga/agnosticism.htm#4
Hope this helps. Hare Krsna
ys Jan