[quote]ZEB wrote:
kroby wrote:
The god that you put in a box (for example the Bible) does not exist.
It seems that you have great faith. What is this great faith based upon?[/quote]
Edit: I’m taking back the unsolicited philosophy, as it doesn’t add to the discussion
Yes, I believe (trust, rely) in Him.
I don’t fully understand Him.
I fall short (sin) often.
I need Him and constantly seek a deeper relationship with Him.
Religion is death.
[quote]Beowolf wrote:
Yes, but the Buddhist thinks all things will be reincarnate based on their actions, while the Christian thinks the Buddhist is going to tortured eternally in hellfire.
[/quote]
That’s bullshit and a fundemental misunderstanding of the tenants of Christianity.
[quote]Rockscar wrote:
I once thought the same, but actually the opposite is true. Faith results in strength. Fear is an absence of faith.
[/quote]
Does that include faith in the non-existence of a god?
I think if I knew for certain that a god or gods did indeed exist I would be scared shitless. I don’t like the rules that man has made in regard to their worship and the consequences of not adhering to them. Rules suck. In that regard having faith in a higher power is way scarier.
[quote]kroby wrote:
ZEB wrote:
kroby wrote:
The god that you put in a box (for example the Bible) does not exist.
It seems that you have great faith. What is this great faith based upon?
Why, thank you ZEB for allowing me to broaden this idea. And by the way, good to see you again. My faith firmly resides in my love and caring. Not the kumbaya type, but more…
Awareness is the key to enlightenment. This may only be found within.
I just heard this anecdote; it’s probably old and everyone’s heard it…
One day, God was tired of the same old, same old. He turned to his Angels, and asked where he could hide, just for some peace.
“On the highest mountain?” asked one Angel.
“No, they would find me there.” said God.
“In the deepest ocean?” opined another Angel.
“Surely they would leave me no peace there.” said God.
“Beyond the planet, for sure” said a third Angel.
“Ha, they’re always looking that way” said God.
Then came a faint smile across the visage of God. “I know the last place man would ever look. I shall hide within their hearts.”
And to this day, many look high up in the mountains, low into the deeps of the sea, and others yet look into outer space for God. Some look to books or to other men for God. Surely, none of these people find what they seek. They seek outward for a relationship with God, when they need to seek within. For that! is the seat of life.[/quote]
What I meant was how can you have such faith that “the God of the Bible does not exist.”
But thank you anyway for sharing your philosophy of life.
[quote]ZEB wrote:
What I meant was how can you have such faith that “the God of the Bible does not exist.”
[/quote]
It`s a numbers game…
[quote]ZEB wrote:
What I meant was how can you have such faith that “the God of the Bible does not exist.”
[/quote]
Oh. Because reality fails to explain the unexplainable. I hold agnostic ideals while concurrently adhering to many Buddhist principles. As if you couldn’t tell.
Forgive me for that soliloquy.
[quote]pat36 wrote:
Beowolf wrote:
Yes, but the Buddhist thinks all things will be reincarnate based on their actions, while the Christian thinks the Buddhist is going to tortured eternally in hellfire.
That’s bullshit and a fundemental misunderstanding of the tenants of Christianity.
[/quote]
Which Christianity? I’ve been told I’m going to hell for being Jewish/Atheist by numerous real Christians.
Do you consider people who barely know what the bible says Christians? Christianity seems to think the only requirement is a belief in Jesus’s divinity. Reading the bible, theres a little more to it than that. The word’s of Jesus are often over turned by his apostles and the words of the later books. Do they not count?
[quote]Beowolf wrote:
pat36 wrote:
Beowolf wrote:
Yes, but the Buddhist thinks all things will be reincarnate based on their actions, while the Christian thinks the Buddhist is going to tortured eternally in hellfire.
That’s bullshit and a fundemental misunderstanding of the tenants of Christianity.
Which Christianity? I’ve been told I’m going to hell for being Jewish/Atheist by numerous real Christians.
Do you consider people who barely know what the bible says Christians? Christianity seems to think the only requirement is a belief in Jesus’s divinity. Reading the bible, theres a little more to it than that. The word’s of Jesus are often over turned by his apostles and the words of the later books. Do they not count?
[/quote]
Well, they are assholes who missed the part “Do not judge lest you be judged”. Anybody who pretends to know what God thinks are beyond idiots in their arrogance. You are going to hell no sooner than they or I.
I will admit Paul seems a little over zealous. Like an ex-smoker who turns militant against cigarettes. Where does that fit in to the discussion anyway?
[quote]Beowolf wrote:
I’ve been told I’m going to hell for being Jewish/Atheist by numerous real Christians.[/quote]
Btw, what is a Jewish/Atheist? Is that like a Christian/Atheist, which is a contradiction in terms?
I’m a believer. Yes I think evolution is compatible with christianity and judaism. The majority of christian denominations including Roman Catholic DO NOT BELIEVE that people go to hell because they are not Christians. The fundamentalists believe otherwise.
I think “RELIGION” gets in the way and obscures what’s important. But being a believer, trying to follow the teachings and example of Jesus, having hope and giving life purpose and meaning, this seems to me the heart of it.
[quote]belligerent wrote:
Lorisco wrote:
Dude, your post doesn’t make any sense. Anthropologists will tell you that most all cultures, even cultures that had no contact with Judeo-Christian cultures, believe in some sort of God. So instead of saying that “making up your own god is stupid”, you might want to be asking why most all cultures and peoples believe in a higher power?
You missed the point completely. The particular “GOD” that most people entertain in modern western culture is derived from the Jewish/Christian Bible.
[/quote]
Well, since modern Western society originated from Europe, that is no surprise.
[quote]ZEB wrote:
FightinIrish26 wrote:
I believe that there is likely a God somewhere. I don’t know that it’s a physical entity, or that it really cares what happens in this world, but it’s likely there.
What leads you to “think it’s there”? I’m just curious.
[/quote]
A feeling that the world is simply too complicated, and humans have had to endure so many hardships to get to the point of self-concious beings, to do alone.
It would be irrational I think to think that this whole thing just happened by some folly, not to mention that we know so little about the universe as a whole, down to exactly what makes us up and where it came from. There must be some kind of driving force, higher conciousness, etc. to it.
Thinking that their way is the right way and everyone else is damned. I don’t believe in really any one organized religion- I’m Catholic, but have so many problems with that church that I don’t know that it’s even fair to assume I am one anymore.
C’mon Zeb- you know who I am referring to- and if you want to draw that parallel, let’s say that I like people that lift weights… but not people who think Pavel or Matt Furey is the only way to get to a good body. There are many ways, and to think that you know the one true way and everyone else is wrong… well, that’s just dumb (and wrong).
A mind that questions everything is stronger than the one who follows blindly a preacher or pope commanding from their mountaintops and pulpits. I follow nothing blindly- not the Democrats, not the Church, not some two thousand year old novel we call the Bible, or any other religious text, be it the Koran or the Torah.
A man makes his own way, and that doesn’t include supporting those who only want your donations on Sunday while they blow ten year olds in the back on Monday.
On religion in general, well… to quote JeffR- “I don’t know, and neither do you”. For once that cocksucker is right, and until someone proves this shit to me, I’m not taking one asshole’s word over another.
[quote]orion wrote:
ZEB wrote:
What I meant was how can you have such faith that “the God of the Bible does not exist.”
It`s a numbers game…[/quote]
And just why are there so many Gods? Why must most all men from the beginning of time believe in something they can’t see? Is it genetic like language development? Or does man have an innate spiritual need that can only be truly satisfied by belief in a higher power?
[quote]Lorisco wrote:
orion wrote:
ZEB wrote:
What I meant was how can you have such faith that “the God of the Bible does not exist.”
It`s a numbers game…
And just why are there so many Gods? Why must most all men from the beginning of time believe in something they can’t see? Is it genetic like language development? Or does man have an innate spiritual need that can only be truly satisfied by belief in a higher power?
[/quote]
There is a book called “Religion explained” that tries to show that religion is a byproduct of how our mind works.
If it does a good job doing that is not my point, my point is that it examines a lot of religious believes and a lot do not serve any spiritual needs we would recognize, it is just arbitrary stuff people believe in…
Since there’s a capital ‘G’ in the title, no. I do not.
[quote]belligerent wrote:
You missed the point completely. The particular “GOD” that most people entertain in modern western culture is derived from the Jewish/Christian Bible.
[/quote]
So what? The original post said this:
which is totally incorrect at worst, and sloppy writing at best.
Maybe the question should be “Do you believe in the exact same God that most Americans believe in?”
I have two answers.
First, how many of these “are you a Christian” threads do we need in the Politics forum.
Second, it’s none of your damn business. I was brought up to believe that ‘holy rollers’ are usually a little bit nutty, or damaged people who have had troubled lives. I get nervous around people who wear their religion on their sleeve, and then expect you to do that too.
Most definitely believe in God!
[quote]Brad61 wrote:
belligerent wrote:
You missed the point completely. The particular “GOD” that most people entertain in modern western culture is derived from the Jewish/Christian Bible.
So what? The original post said this:
the original idea of God clearly came from the Bible.
which is totally incorrect at worst, and sloppy writing at best.[/quote]
Actually, the Bible was regularly taught not only in grade school but in universities around the country many years ago.
And not just as a religious book.
In fact many of Pauls gospels were taught in classes which looked at critical thinking and argumentation. Even many big name law schools used the writings of Paul the apostle
That of course was long before the ACLU, political correctness and creeping liberalism.
Since there was an abundance of literature available one can only suspect that they chose the Bible because the writing had merit.
[quote]kroby wrote:
ZEB wrote:
What I meant was how can you have such faith that “the God of the Bible does not exist.”
Oh. Because reality fails to explain the unexplainable.[/quote]
Therefore, if a thing (whatever it might be) cannot be explained you do not believe in its existence?