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Back in Froyd's (I know I raped his name) day they would raise children in a completly segregated atmosphere. Children that where not taught who God was, never developed a beliefe for god. So, point in case, religion is not FAITH it is taught. You are taught to believe in god. If any of you that believe in Jesus where born in China, you would not believe in Jesus. That is as close to religous fact as it gets. So how can you, with an open mind, truely believe that it is true?
Not all to different from people a few thousand years ago that believed there was a sun god. They believed so becuase they could not explain the sun, so they made a "god" up to explain it. Not all the different from today. Anything that we can not explain right now, we chalk up to "god".
[b said:
Not all to different from people a few thousand years ago that believed there was a sun god. They believed so becuase they could not explain the sun, so they made a "god" up to explain it. Not all the different from today. Anything that we can not explain right now, we chalk up to "god".
Going Medievel eh? A couple of points, this is an OLD stereotype, why are there so many scientists today that believe in God? For instance, do we claim that the "missing matter" of the universe must be God?! *cough* If you can't answer that yourself, well then... You're a bit behind. I can't think of a relgion that "requires" you to give your money to the church, except for maybe the cool-aide drinker's society. The idea of "indulgences" (and the like) were done away with a long time ago. Just my 2 cents at this point.[b said:
Hi pasoftim
LOL, I too agree with WPG.
The thread below began as a survey of people's religious preferences and somewhere along the way turned into a debate about the existence of God, for some of us. Have a look at it and you’ll get a good idea of different people’s stand on the issue.
Survey on religious preferences
God’s existence cannot be definitively proven or disproven and, at the end of the day, if everyone is happy with whatever it is they believe does it really matter?
I should also hope that you would not base your belief in god’s existence (or not) on a post on a public forum.
Cheers, Troy.
LOL, I too agree with WPG.
The thread below began as a survey of people's religious preferences and somewhere along the way turned into a debate about the existence of God, for some of us. Have a look at it and you’ll get a good idea of different people’s stand on the issue.
Survey on religious preferences
God’s existence cannot be definitively proven or disproven and, at the end of the day, if everyone is happy with whatever it is they believe does it really matter?
I should also hope that you would not base your belief in god’s existence (or not) on a post on a public forum.
Cheers, Troy.
I Talked to God just the other day, so this is a timely topic. One of the things he mentioned to me is that he dislikes killing, and he wants to know where we get off killing anyone in his name, for the sake of some religion or other. He was quite clear, and more than a little ticked off when he told me to post this message "No more killing in the name of God". Feel free to pass this message on to everyone in your email directory.
Another issue he has is with holier than thou attitudes. Going to church doesn't make someone holy any more than standing in a garage makes them a mechanic.
Another issue he has is with holier than thou attitudes. Going to church doesn't make someone holy any more than standing in a garage makes them a mechanic.
Hi,
I have always felt that the creation of religion and God was, first, a way to imaginatively explain the mysteries of living in story -- not scientific -- form and is now a way to avoid seeing that WE, US, HUMANITY is solely responsible for what happens in our lives on earth (putting natural forces aside). How much nicer for us if we have a set of beliefs and a God to blame/explain or credit with our extremes of goodness and evil. How nice for us "children" to have a mystical parental image to bless us and punish us.
God is our mind. God is us. God is our ultimate action of abstracting experience. I'd love to see the day when people stopped waiting for salvation and heaven and realized that "heaven" is here and now for as long as we live and that only by taking responsibility -- not only for ourselves -- but for one another and for a just society as a whole, can we ever DO the dreams we have locked away in our religions and empowered a God we created to deliver. It is us. It is all us. We are the creative force in life. God is but an image we created of that force.
Bobby
I have always felt that the creation of religion and God was, first, a way to imaginatively explain the mysteries of living in story -- not scientific -- form and is now a way to avoid seeing that WE, US, HUMANITY is solely responsible for what happens in our lives on earth (putting natural forces aside). How much nicer for us if we have a set of beliefs and a God to blame/explain or credit with our extremes of goodness and evil. How nice for us "children" to have a mystical parental image to bless us and punish us.
God is our mind. God is us. God is our ultimate action of abstracting experience. I'd love to see the day when people stopped waiting for salvation and heaven and realized that "heaven" is here and now for as long as we live and that only by taking responsibility -- not only for ourselves -- but for one another and for a just society as a whole, can we ever DO the dreams we have locked away in our religions and empowered a God we created to deliver. It is us. It is all us. We are the creative force in life. God is but an image we created of that force.
Bobby
well to them they had an idea of God's son just as others had an idea of God's son. Who was right or wrong? I still say that their prophesies weren't fulfilled b/c they had a different image. I believe Jesus was the son of God but many other religions are still waiting for their prophecy to be fulfilled.
My theory is this. What created matter? What created us? What created atoms? How did atoms form? How did the universe form? Why do humans act the way they do? Why do they believe in something? How do we know we are here? How do we know anything really? How do we know what is fact? To everything that people says is a fact I still wonder how do you know it's a fact. 1+1=2. I always wonder who figured out the number system and how did they figure it out and why is it that 1+1=2 and not 3 or 4. I am a firm believe that everything came from one source which i call God. Nothing made God he was always there. It's hard to believe though.
My theory is this. What created matter? What created us? What created atoms? How did atoms form? How did the universe form? Why do humans act the way they do? Why do they believe in something? How do we know we are here? How do we know anything really? How do we know what is fact? To everything that people says is a fact I still wonder how do you know it's a fact. 1+1=2. I always wonder who figured out the number system and how did they figure it out and why is it that 1+1=2 and not 3 or 4. I am a firm believe that everything came from one source which i call God. Nothing made God he was always there. It's hard to believe though.
Bobby,
I hear that. There is no "out there": it is all in the Mind of God.
Consider space/time is a subset of an infinite system where all possibilities must be filled. "This" is where God has forgotten his Godhood. Material distractiion binds consciousness to the body as a natural consequence of material desire. Once I AM committs to desire for materiality, singularity detonates into quantum possibility. The Big Bang happens again each time a baby utters it's first cry: a universe created anew, and another chip off the Old Block. But the thought can never be different than the thinker. The Big Bang never happened, but God sees the primal atom as separate from Himself (already forgetting), is distracted, forgets his authorship, WANTS it. From the Self Contemplation of His own singularity now expressed as matter, as if in a cosmic daydream God sees it/him differently ad infinitum: the primal atom is a snowflake...No, its a grain of sand, no, its a cute blonde in a miniskirt, and singularity is abstracted into multiplicity with each new reiteration: but it is all of it illusion.......Cosmic thought and abstraction are our thermodynamic universe. These are not differing qulaities, but the same thing.
I am not sure, but I think "this" is all for fun, for play! If I were to personify God, it would be as a playful artist, although an eternally dissatisfied one, seeking ever to polish his creation. Since all is eternal, and I AM can not ever end, all death and suffering can be seen as simply another manifestation of cosmic perfection, and entertainment: scrpits in a play in which behind the mask of each actor is I AM.
The trick to cosmic consciousness is not expereincing it, it is in remembering it!
I hear that. There is no "out there": it is all in the Mind of God.
Consider space/time is a subset of an infinite system where all possibilities must be filled. "This" is where God has forgotten his Godhood. Material distractiion binds consciousness to the body as a natural consequence of material desire. Once I AM committs to desire for materiality, singularity detonates into quantum possibility. The Big Bang happens again each time a baby utters it's first cry: a universe created anew, and another chip off the Old Block. But the thought can never be different than the thinker. The Big Bang never happened, but God sees the primal atom as separate from Himself (already forgetting), is distracted, forgets his authorship, WANTS it. From the Self Contemplation of His own singularity now expressed as matter, as if in a cosmic daydream God sees it/him differently ad infinitum: the primal atom is a snowflake...No, its a grain of sand, no, its a cute blonde in a miniskirt, and singularity is abstracted into multiplicity with each new reiteration: but it is all of it illusion.......Cosmic thought and abstraction are our thermodynamic universe. These are not differing qulaities, but the same thing.
I am not sure, but I think "this" is all for fun, for play! If I were to personify God, it would be as a playful artist, although an eternally dissatisfied one, seeking ever to polish his creation. Since all is eternal, and I AM can not ever end, all death and suffering can be seen as simply another manifestation of cosmic perfection, and entertainment: scrpits in a play in which behind the mask of each actor is I AM.
The trick to cosmic consciousness is not expereincing it, it is in remembering it!
So when God created the universe, and said that it was good, he was kidding? And you think God, who created us, is no wiser than us, that he would be materialist? Consider space/time an infinite system which is defined by God. He existed and the beginning, he will continue to the end. Would it be possible for his creations to be greater than him? If he made us with materialistic tendencies, don't you think he is greater than materialism? With infinite wisdom, do you think God would fail to do something right the first time?
Peter
Peter
I believe people knew other's couldnt deal with reality or life with out something to hope for after death. Its scary for some people to know after your time here on earth has ended there's no after life at all you just die. Not everyone can deal with that so i think the story of God give's us all something to hope for after life keep's us strong and with it keep's everyone together. But remeber everyone this is what i believe so please dont juge me from that religion can be a very powerful thing but my reality is im here as a person to live and be happy, enjoy life cause its really a great thing guys.
FlytrapGurl
apple rings.. what more can i say?
I myself am a devout Christian. I believe that, no matter what happens or how bad what happens IS, God has a reason for everything that happens, and eventually you'll see the purpose if you're not entirely ignorant. Anything that happens happens on purpose and happens to better the future or to allow something else, something good, to happen. Even if it's to punish us, something good will eventually come of it. Just watch.
And I don't think that separating Christians into denominations is right. God didn't plan for that. The good thing is that all the denominations serve and worship God, but the bad thing is that the rules of these denominations can sometimes be totally ridiculous. I'm not sure what denominations hold these specific rules, but... you can't dance? You can't divorce? You can't have an abortion? You can't dress a certain way? You can't listen to music? You can't watch TV? And I'm sure there's GOT to be some rule somewhere forbidding having a crush on somebody you could never attain. That's one fabulous reason I don't belong to any particular church denomination. Who the heck came up with this stuff? It's a load of bunk. I am of no church denomination.. to be honest, I don't even go to church. Sometimes I get the chance to go on Easter, but otherwise I avoid church. I'm simply a Christian, and I don't belong to any group or anything to the effect. I don't feel like being involved with any of the denominations, some of which consider things like dancing or, heck knows, watching TV, are sinful. I don't have the foggiest notion why we can't just have plain, simple churches for plain, simple Christians. No church denomination or anything. Something that doesn't force rules on you that have NOTHING to do with what God said. I mean, you know, I really don't think God has a problem with us watching TV or dancing or things to that effect. People who say that those things are wrong and sinful are doing nothin' but twisting what the Bible says and making up new rules. Who do they think they are, God?
And I don't think that separating Christians into denominations is right. God didn't plan for that. The good thing is that all the denominations serve and worship God, but the bad thing is that the rules of these denominations can sometimes be totally ridiculous. I'm not sure what denominations hold these specific rules, but... you can't dance? You can't divorce? You can't have an abortion? You can't dress a certain way? You can't listen to music? You can't watch TV? And I'm sure there's GOT to be some rule somewhere forbidding having a crush on somebody you could never attain. That's one fabulous reason I don't belong to any particular church denomination. Who the heck came up with this stuff? It's a load of bunk. I am of no church denomination.. to be honest, I don't even go to church. Sometimes I get the chance to go on Easter, but otherwise I avoid church. I'm simply a Christian, and I don't belong to any group or anything to the effect. I don't feel like being involved with any of the denominations, some of which consider things like dancing or, heck knows, watching TV, are sinful. I don't have the foggiest notion why we can't just have plain, simple churches for plain, simple Christians. No church denomination or anything. Something that doesn't force rules on you that have NOTHING to do with what God said. I mean, you know, I really don't think God has a problem with us watching TV or dancing or things to that effect. People who say that those things are wrong and sinful are doing nothin' but twisting what the Bible says and making up new rules. Who do they think they are, God?
If God created the Universe, then didn't he bring into being something not of himself? If God is All, how can this be?
Was God kidding when he said it was good? Well, good and evil are Yin and Yang: neither can exist without the other. It's not a matter of choosing a left or right hand path. God might just as well have said he found the Universe bad. These are anthropomorphic qualities derived from a human inability to see these qualities as polar extremes of one mutually dependent process. Our consciousness is bounded here by paradox, but God is not divided or delimited in this way if you grant Omnipotence.
If God is all powerful, then God must be able to do anything. So God must be able to create a rock God can't lift? This is an example of paradox, an illustration of the boxes we can't think outside of.
Everything has it's place: good and evil, and the Universe is neither. To say God loves us implies that good is somehow more important or better than evil, but this is a human judgement call, based on limited consciousness: a failure to see the big picture. Go ask Job, he'll tell you all about that.
Religion, even when well intended is the result of trying to apply individual interpetation of the god/universe as singularly correct to a concept which is infinite and non-individual by nature. There is no one right view, no correct view, and no all inclusive view. In the end, it all comes down to one single viewpoint, and that is your own. It doesn't matter who wrote what book, in the end it is you that read it, interpet it, and formulate your ethics based on it, or the rejection of it.
There is no one else. Even as divided bags of conscious protoplasm, you are one. Pierce you, you bleed. When you are happy you laugh. Your belly aches when you are starving, and your heart aches when those you love hurt. You fear death. You want to be free. You feel the beat and music of life, you suffer pain, illness and sorrow.
Sounds like paradise to me! Where do I buy a ticket?
Was God kidding when he said it was good? Well, good and evil are Yin and Yang: neither can exist without the other. It's not a matter of choosing a left or right hand path. God might just as well have said he found the Universe bad. These are anthropomorphic qualities derived from a human inability to see these qualities as polar extremes of one mutually dependent process. Our consciousness is bounded here by paradox, but God is not divided or delimited in this way if you grant Omnipotence.
If God is all powerful, then God must be able to do anything. So God must be able to create a rock God can't lift? This is an example of paradox, an illustration of the boxes we can't think outside of.
Everything has it's place: good and evil, and the Universe is neither. To say God loves us implies that good is somehow more important or better than evil, but this is a human judgement call, based on limited consciousness: a failure to see the big picture. Go ask Job, he'll tell you all about that.
Religion, even when well intended is the result of trying to apply individual interpetation of the god/universe as singularly correct to a concept which is infinite and non-individual by nature. There is no one right view, no correct view, and no all inclusive view. In the end, it all comes down to one single viewpoint, and that is your own. It doesn't matter who wrote what book, in the end it is you that read it, interpet it, and formulate your ethics based on it, or the rejection of it.
There is no one else. Even as divided bags of conscious protoplasm, you are one. Pierce you, you bleed. When you are happy you laugh. Your belly aches when you are starving, and your heart aches when those you love hurt. You fear death. You want to be free. You feel the beat and music of life, you suffer pain, illness and sorrow.
Sounds like paradise to me! Where do I buy a ticket?
yeah me 2. I mean some of the people who believe Jesus was God's son say that the Jews had the wrong idea of God's son. I mean we thought he would fulfill all our prophecies and he did. Of cource the Jews are still waiting for their prophecy to be fulfilled. I think it will be fulfilled one day.
