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| Do you believe In God....; yes or no...WHY? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 7 2006, 05:21 PM (3,788 Views) | |
| Max | Mar 7 2009, 08:19 AM Post #46 |
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Pickle barrel, pickle barrel, Kumquat!
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Mystical-I'm sorry to hear of your experiences. Those things are why I stay out of "church" and just commune with God 1-on-1. And why shouldn't the world and Nature be church enough? God created The All,did He not? I dunno-did anybody see the SNL from a couple Christmases ago with the Robert Smigal cartoon of Jesus visiting various churches? He gets sadder and sadder listening to (actual audio) from the "Super Christians", but soon He comes across the Peanuts,with Linus reading the Gospel and then Schroeder playing while Snoopy and the kids dance. Jesus smiles..........and starts dancing too! That's how I see Him. |
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| Mystical | Mar 7 2009, 08:21 AM Post #47 |
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I guess it's all in the way you see your faith..how you live it and what it means to you. |
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| Darknight | Mar 7 2009, 10:36 AM Post #48 |
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Higher Species
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For me well I guess you can say I'm agnostic when it comes to the faith. See I really can't quite comprehend something that probably never even existed in the first place. I'm not here to step on anyone's toes so feel free to slap me up side the head if I do. Anyway back to what I was say. Even though I am not sure if a god exist or a god doesn't exist it seems like everyone is under the assumption that the almighty creator himself does in fact exist. I am having a hard time believing this and do have some rather thought provoking questions about the subject. But no one has really given me any answers to them. I guess when one tries to put logistics in with religion it kind of fails miserably.. |
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| LarryOldtimer | Mar 7 2009, 10:44 AM Post #49 |
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The Man!!!
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I was reared without being indoctrinated into any religion. And so I had to determine my own philosophy as I went along. So I did. And, in fact, for myself, while the world itself might be not all about me, I was all about me, and I consider that it was important . . . and is important . . . that it be mostly about me . . . for myself. It was up to me to decide how I would be. What sort of a person I would be. How I would treat others. Whether I would help others in need. It was in fact all about me, and it was up to me to make those sort of decisions . . . and up to no one else, as no one else could, in the end, make those decisions for me. So I decided to determine exactly what sort of a world I would really like to live in. How would I like things to be if it were I who had the say so? And I also decided that it would be foolish of me to do that which would not contribute to the sort of world that I would like to live in. Of course, being human, I sometimes did that which was contradictory to making the world the sort of place I would really like. And I knew and know that I can't make the world the way I would like it to be. Still, it remains my philosophy that I should behave in a manner which would support the way I would like the world to be. I rather liked the writings of Shakespeare, and especially the part from Hamlet, which says (in a nutshell): ”This above all: to thine ownself be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.” And I, of course, would interpret the word 'man' to include 'woman' or for that matter, 'children'. If a person can't be true to himself or herself, then who or what can that person expect to be true to? Lots of people seem to think that they can leave dealing with the woes of the world to others, or by simply donating money satisfy any obligations they might have. I don't and have never thought that way, and I am not about to start doing so. As I have said, I can't solve all the problems of the world, nor can anyone else do so either. What I can do is work at that which is before me, the best I am able. And do my best to be true to myself. And not forget to have a good deal of fun along the way, so long as that fun doesn't cause injury to others. Lots of the religious go on and on about "evil". To me, the worst "evil" would be doing wanton harm to others, without any reason other than the enjoyment of doing the harm. Now that, to me, is indeed evil. Edited by LarryOldtimer, Mar 7 2009, 10:45 AM.
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| StrmySummer | Mar 7 2009, 01:51 PM Post #50 |
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Storm Goddess
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omg..........DK........you've hit the nail on the head! in my faith/religion whatever you wanna call it, we are Christians and Baptist in denomination.....and while there are a few bad apples that give us a bad name out there.....as with any "group"......believe that church is a gathering of believers that just want to be with others who believe similiar to ourselves and have fellowship with our friends, family, etc. and while yes, there is a preacher, he's more of a teacher giving perspective of what subject God has put on his heart. we aren't here to judge or to condemn others. we don't believe we have to have a priest as a "go-between" to speak to God, when we pray He hears us no matter where we are. i, personally, go to church when i feel the need to. i know there are some that believe that if you don't go to church that you're going to hell, but that's to me just not so and it is those ppl that give others (may it be other believers as well as non-believers) a bad taste and often pushes ppl away. i just ask that you not judge all ppl that go to church or all Christians (whether they go to church or not....cause not all ppl that go to church are Christians) on the bad experiences you've had or seen or know of.....*hugs to all* |
![]() "Beginning now, let's play more, kiss more, love more, let's be so close that when one of us cries, the other tastes salt." | |
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| newbloodmoon | Mar 8 2009, 04:07 AM Post #51 |
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Mr. Sardonticus
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I believe that there is a higher power for both good and evil out there. How these entities are defined is up to the individuals faith I suppose. I had as a youth gone to church every week with the family etc. I was rather disillusioned with some of the people who preached one thing and did another, or they were pious and there kids were asses (normal teenage angst not included). Whether you believe in Karma, Heaven, Hell or whatever, when you're dead, if any of these concepts are real then you will get what you had coming to you by the way you lived your life. |
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I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it. Voltaire ![]() | |
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| LarryOldtimer | Mar 8 2009, 10:19 AM Post #52 |
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The Man!!!
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I keep open the possibility that there are in fact other entities, other than humans, who like to mess around with humans, for whatever reason they have. It doesn't mean that these possible entities are acting in groups, or that they are controlled by another entity, such as a god of devil. Nor does it have to mean that they are organized to do humans good or harm. Take the curious existence of "cargo cults". These are primitive people who have by accident come across other humans of a far higher technological level than their own. Such as primitive tribes who came in contact with US military forces during WWII. Our GIs left behind what they considered of no value, but which were of considerable value to the natives. Then our GIs went their way, leaving behind what was to them trash, but treasure for the primitive tribe people. So the primitive natives came to worship those "higher beings" who left them such treasure, and pray for the "higher beings" to come back and leave them more valuable "stuff", including making as best they could replicas of airplanes (which the GIs arrived in) to attract these "higher beings" to come back again, or at least to bestow more treasure on them. While we humans may make a determination that some of these "other beings" did us good or harm, that might not have been on the minds of the "other beings" at all, or indeed, some of them might have just been "nice", and others not so "nice". When I was a lad in high school taking biology, the students in the biology class would take field trips to a large pond that was left behind by clay mining operations. We would catch some insects and small animals to examine, take a few back with us to disect or put on display, and leave behind the crumbs from the food we ate while on the excursion. A discarded cap of a bottle of soda might well have been used as shelter by some of the insects or small animals. We were there not to do good or harm to the living things there in general. But could those insects and animals have been capable of thinking rationally, they might well have thought we were, and some of our actions would have been seen by them as doing good, and some as doing "evil". But we certainly were not gods, angels, imps or demons of any sort, nor was the teacher who organized the field trips any sort of god or devil. There are far too many possibilities for me to make any sort of decision to believe in anything for certain. I do, however, have to live here on the planet with other humans. How I interact with them will have a lot to do with how they interact with me. And all won't respond in the same way from the same treatment. Life is indeed a great adventure. |
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| GreatWhiteHorse | Mar 10 2009, 07:36 AM Post #53 |
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Friend of Caesar
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Wonderful post, Larry...and good to see you again, btw. +++++++++++++++++++++ DK, if there are any questions you really have about Christianity and its origins/contradictions/high-points, etc...feel free to IM me. I am no professor of comparative theology but I have spent hundreds of hours on study and research for my own personal reasons. I can try to help. Now on to my own ideas on the subject... Let me put this as succinctly as I can... I watched a documentary about a catholic priest in California who molested kids..."Not just molested my daughter..." screams one tearful father in a hard-to-watch interview..."but raping her! At 5 and 6 years old!" Another young man talks about how he went inside for lunch one day and the priest (who had been sleeping with his mother to get to him) held his head down on the table and sodomized him when he was a little boy. There is no 'God' or 'destiny' or 'fate' directing little children to be raped or worse. There are men...some worse than others, some f**king trash. And if God is around somewhere he sees what we're doing and it would appear to be all right by him/her/it. |
![]() The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. -Oscar Wilde | |
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| LarryOldtimer | Mar 10 2009, 11:48 AM Post #54 |
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The Man!!!
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GWH, good to see you again. From what I have observed in my life, humans need no Devil to conjure up "evil". They are quite capable of doing so all on their own. By the same token, there is no need of any god for at least some people to want to help out others. I would say that it is a perfectly human trait . . . in at least some people . . . to want to help out others in need, and this comes forth hugely when circumstances turn dire for all. When things are going just fine for all in general, I do think that only the worst of do-gooders are looking to help others who could obviously be looking out for themselves quite nicely, if they so desired. But when circumstances turn dire for all, through no fault of anyone, then the desire to help others in need . . . even though you yourself are also in need . . . becomes widespread. Robert Ardrey said it quite well, I do think: "Man is a foul-weather animal." |
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| Prison Break | Mar 14 2009, 05:47 AM Post #55 |
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Higher Species
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i believe in God the father almighty creature of heaven and earth I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
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| "Those who say they can't do things are inept" -by Nora P. | |
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| DONTEATUS | Mar 14 2009, 03:15 PM Post #56 |
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Higher Species
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I love a Good Debate,and Freedom of Thought and Speach.On Religons I Have my own Idea,And everyone is free to there own beliefs. First and Foremost We are all creatures of Greatness if only the short time on this planet.We all are made of the same elements,and have evolved from the same elements.We in a since Are All God ourself.Do with your own Universe as you see fit,And The Really Great ones Spread Love and Growth to others to Enrichen others Lifes. The Ones that destroy life and Growth are just following there path. In the end we are all born,Live,Die and return to the Atoms we all started with and will continue with. We on this planet Have Invented all the rest for Power and Control over mankind. Meaning all the Religions A great belief system is one of total acceptance to all mankinds needs. Edited by DONTEATUS, Mar 14 2009, 03:17 PM.
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| GreatWhiteHorse | Mar 17 2009, 05:37 AM Post #57 |
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Friend of Caesar
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Totally. I personally believe that all religions are an honest attempt by mankind to assuage the fear of inevitable death and provide mystical explanations for unexplained phenomenon. At least, they start out that way. They later mature into organizations/systems that manipulate, persecute, deceive and kill for worldly gains and power. It was college that really helped cement what I already knew. You learn about comparative theology, ancient civilizations/history, and anthropology and you see the FACTUAL beginnings of these major religions. You see how it all came about and if you dig deeper you learn of all the MEN that crafted the ideas that are taken to be God today. It all falls apart under scrutiny. You see the web...the box. You can understand and appreciate the complex system in place that keeps people in the dark, rewards ignorance, teaches that knowledge is bad, sex is dirty, the world and the environment don't mean anything and you need to follow the rules and tow the line if you want redemption for your own evil nature...which of course only THEY can provide. THEY have the inside track, you see, and you need to buy what THEY are selling. It all falls apart under scrutiny. |
![]() The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. -Oscar Wilde | |
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| LarryOldtimer | Mar 17 2009, 12:20 PM Post #58 |
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The Man!!!
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What seems to be relatively consistent among religions is that what is painful is good, and what is enjoyable is bad. Come to think of it, that is also consistent with our modern secular society. Don'ts. Don't do (fill in the blank), as it will harm you. Don't drink alcohol, don't smoke pot, don't eat anything that actually tastes good, don't do anything that is pleasurable at all. I will stick with my own concepts. But as I have said, I am a weird person. |
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| DONTEATUS | Mar 17 2009, 03:29 PM Post #59 |
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Higher Species
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I tottally Agree Larry,on that point. Think of what mankind has destroyed in the Name of Religion`s. Most wars are derived directly from belief systems. We are IT! in a Big way! Make it Good while your here,ITs all we know thats Here for sure and Now.When we pass on we transform into a memory for the liveing and a Spark of enegry for the Future. Make it a Big Spark I say!
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| Varlok | May 16 2009, 10:00 PM Post #60 |
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Boss
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I personnally believe that truth is not determined by what we like, dislike, want, need, or popular belief it just is. We all have to search out whatever that truth is ourselves. After alot of research I believe that the Bible is true, can I prove it absolutely, of course not. No one can prove if there is or is not a God it is simply beyond scientific verification, so either stance is faith based. I just encourage everyone to search for the truth and be careful alot of material out there is biased because everyone wants to prove they have the answer, so it's good to read all sides and decide for yourself which one you believe to be true. Unfortunately I dont think anyone will know 100% for sure until we leave this life. Just my 2 cents. |
![]() http://www.blogtalkradio.com/arimoose "Condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance." -- Albert Einstein | |
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I love a Good Debate,and Freedom of Thought and Speach.


7:35 AM Jul 11