Do you believe in a God?

If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit. I do not believe in any sort of “higher power”. I have no reason to. Every culture has its own religion, who’s to our Jesus is the right guy?

Sure. How else did I become so magnificent? Keep in mind my belief in god extends to the fact that everything, being made from Her energy is in fact God. You, me, grass, paper, metal, ideas, everything.

Well Ben theres nothing to say God isnt a female either so yeah another good point!

No, I don’t. I can see no room for gods in the universe – what use would we have of them?

Nope. Do I need a reason not to believe in him? No one ever asks me to justify why I don’t believe bigfoot. I don’t find the arguments for their existence at all convincing. That’s all. I can’t imagine any other reason for disbelief.

Well its not a argument from my stand point its my belief, and really I dont wish to have arguments about it , also a lot of things in life hold no real justification either, but there is no proof that God exists no you are right, but at the end of the day thats why beliefs are called beliefs because they cannot be proven and its down to the individual

No I mean yes Damn I mean….....well that’s just it. I don’t know. Agnostic fence sitter see :¬)

lol yes i see!

I believe a lot and i also believe nothing

The only thing I ever say anyone should ever believe in, is themselves, thats all and thats it . That is not a bad thing. Lets face it you have to believe in yourself cuz most wont really give you much of the time of day let alone believe in you so someones got to

I believe we each carry a higher power within ourselves.

The God I know or was taught to know appears to me to be a relatively modern creation of man. Even primitive man created deities and or worshiped the forces of nature to help regulate their very difficult existences. Then science enters into the picture to expand the understanding of our universe in ways the prophets of old could only imagine and ultimately fear and attempt to explain or attribute to the ever supreme Gods of their time.

IMHO, science has done a much better job of substantiating our existence on this planet as part of an ongoing process of evolution that is billions of years old and which started billions of years before man and the Gods they ultimately created ever existed. The bible needs to be rewritten….“In the beginning, there was a big bang….”

cruiser thats because God and religeon are mixed and in my opinion they really shouldnt be and yes I am fully all for science anyway as it goes

Cruiser is the one that made me think about this a lot. I don’t believe in any of the organized religions, although Buddhists may be on to something. I believe in Santa Claus. He doesn’t exist as a being, but there’s a little part of him in some of us that comes out and makes us do good things. So as to God, I’m still working on it. What makes for “good” people and “bad” people? Like I said, still working on it.

some of the most evil things have been done in the name of religeon and it stinks to high heaven so please dont get me started! oh and by the way buddism isnt a religeon either and infact that side of it all makes perfect sense because everything in life has a direct oppossite and a one to the two and a full circle , but as for buddism being a religeon it actually isnt. Besides you could classify anything a religeon like smoking ten packs of cigs a day could be a religeon to someone
! Its just as planned as any damn other in my opinion at least anyway.

Yes I do. I wouldn’t necessarily say it enhances my life, it’s just something that I can’t help but believe in.

Absolutely I do, and I know that this belief makes me a better person. I am not saying that those who don’t believe are any less than me, I am just saying that belief works for me.

It’s unknowable and can’t be logically debated or or against, so I don’t spend time on it either way.

Things can be logically debated the trouble is when it comes to beliefs its stronger than knowable which is why it tends to get so heated! lol

Yes. Why would I not? I love science, and have a Masters degree, in case you’re wondering, but God has walked with me through every hard spot in my life. God protected me in Vietnam, helped me survive a near-fatal parachuting accident, and continues to protect me from harm and from my own stupidity. He has blessed me with a wonderful wife in the Autum of my life; and we recognized each other almost immediately as soul mates. It doesn’t harm me in any way to believe in God, and as a matter of fact, helps me in more ways than I can count.

I’m not one of those weird people who believes that God created the Earth 6,000 years ago, and neither am I one of those who seem to think that only “born-again” Christians are going to heaven. I believe in the God who is love, who wants us to love one another, and who gave us a brain for a reason!

I do not believe in a supreme being, but I do believe that each of us carries “godliness”—limitless abilities to create, destroy, love, hate and start all over again.

How come no one ever defines their terms? God? I’ve heard a hundred million definitions of this term. Which one are you asking about?

I don’t mean like a Hindu, Norse, spider, monotheistic Gods; I mean within each of those are sects that define Gods differently, and there are probably subsects. Which one(s) are you talking about?

I’ll make it simple for you. I believe in the Gods you can see in daily life; the Gods of small things, like Hollerith, the God of computers. Hollerith does not require much—just an altar with old computer parts where you pray on a daily basis. Hollerith then grants you the magical power of being able to fix a computer merely by standing next to it.

Perhaps… just perhaps, God is difficult for humans to define simply because s/he is God and we are not? Just a thought.

short and very sweet captainharley nicely put

I don’t believe in a god. I believe in the God!

@Ben_Dover So what makes your god better than anyone else’s?

@FireMadeFlesh There is only one god. Everyone else’s is the same guy. Ergo mine is no better than anyone else’s, and I never intimated that she was!

@Ben_Dover As far as I am aware, it is quite impossible for all gods to be one and the same. The Catholic and Protestant gods came to Earth in human form, while the Muslim and Mormon gods sent a human, and they regard the suggestion that he was divine to be blasphemous. The Jehovah’s Witness’ god only allows 144,000 humans into heaven, while the Catholic and Protestant gods accept everyone who jumps through the hoops – and so far I’ve only mentioned Abrahamic gods.
I assumed yours was better than others, since you called her “the God”, which implies that others are not valid interpretations of theism.

I think it’s very possible that there’s a God and I go through moments of really thinking there is one, but as an agnostic, it’s on and off and I often feel the exact opposite.

I believe that humans have a certain “spark” that separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom… the invisible, intangible essence that gives us the ability to write poetry, put robots on Mars, and examine and understand the rest of the natural world around us.

That “spark” or “essence” of humanity is the closest thing to a “god” that I believe in. So no, I don’t believe in an invisible sky daddy that grants wishes… more like a unifying and hardly quantifiable force that makes us human.

I guess you could say I’m a Jedi

I believe in god. I believe he’s helped me get through the hard times in my life and the hard times to come. I won’t judge or have anything against you if you don’t believe in god – my brother doesn’t believe.

Yes I do. It makes me feel a bit of comfort, and hope.

I certainly don’t believe that anything humans have constructed about god is real – the desciption, how god operates, it’s all made up. And we’re just a speck in this universe, no reason anything happened to bring us here, especially – if there’s a higher power, it operates on a level we can’t conceptualize and doesn’t concern itself with our ‘sins.’

@FireMadeFlesh There is only one god.
The rest of them have made up a being to help them control and mislead their followers.

@Ben_Dover Fascinating. Too bad there is no way to know which is real.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Sure there is. The god who is lovingkindnes is the real deal. The god who tells you to kill or go to war is not. It is fairly simple.

Yes, I very much believe in Him. Why, how could i not believe in a God that sent his only Son to die for me!

@Ben_Dover I see, what an…interesting…clarification.

Nope. At times I wish I could. The despair of existence weighs heavy on me and it would be nice to trust in something else to give life and consciousness meaning, but I realize that any belief in a higher being is my reason trying to make sense of the nothingness of existence. Oh, well.

Well beliefs a very powerful thing, and in the most overall its not really in great hands. The state the worlds in should tell you that much

No, I do not believe in a god. I’ve never felt a need to and nothing has convince me that deities exist. Religion has absolutely nothing to do with how I carry myself. I used to be far more concerned about it, but I realized that the only reason I was dragging my self through a phase of questioning was because I felt judged by other people and not because I had any inkling that I was missing something.

Thats the thing muppetish i dont see God and religeon as the same at all, and I think frankly God would be pissed at it all if you ask me! I dont need a bible to prove im trying to do whats best and right in this world as best I can . Neither do I need to visit buildings with symbols on them to pray. what never ceases to amaze me when people bang on about how well they know God, well surely dont they know and remember so well that Jesus actually trashed the church?! said they was making a mockery out of his fathers name! If you knew God so well you would know you can pray where you like, need or want to pray, there is no rules on that one! sit there for hours and hours and hours debating does God even exist! then profess to know him oh so well man and you know what over i dont know many people doubt he even exists and then they have the nerve to act like they actually know him and what its about!? please! now thats what i call some seriously fucked up shit right there!

I do not. I do not, because there is no reason for me to do so, no evidence to support the extistential claims of deities of any kind.

Can you tell me something if you are so sure to feel that God does not exist then why even bother answering the question!? what would be your reasoning there either?! If you bible bashers know God so fucking well like you keep professing then why dont you say its fine to pray anywhere?! hm!? It seems to me God tends to exist mainly when people feel like it! I will not sit here and bullshit. I cannot stand religeon full stop. Bible bashers wanna pray they do not get up my nose cuz ive had enough of this bullshit. Just because someones religeous does not make them a nice person neccessarily, as to wether God exists well i do wonder myself sometimes to be honest, but i dont sit there saying i know him so well and shit and yes i totally believe he exists and then say well actually by the way does he?!

@dc10… I never equated them as the same thing, but thanks for proselytizing.

@dc10

It’s fine to pray to God anywhere, anytime, by anyone.

“Just because someones religeous does not make them a nice person neccessarily.” True.

cool captainharley You know what i hate is people that stand there point the fingers and assume shit and judge you based on actually fuck all because they do not know you as a person to do so”! yeah well there is only One that has that damn right to be judging and that is God no one else in my book

@dc10 being judgmental is the quickest way to turn anyone off from God. I’ve enough problems with myself. I’m just a sinner saved by Grace. A real Christian loves ALL people. I’ve many friends that don’t believe. God loves a non-believer as much as a believer. Unfortunately, there are lots of so-called Christians that turn people from God by pointing fingers and being judgmental. After all, he who is not quilty of sin, throw the first stone. We ALL come up short, but because of His love, He sent his son to die for us ALL. This gives everyone hope for a better World after we leave this screwed up World.

i agree bobo I hate it and i been judged enough and still am being so and you know what im really fucking sick of it to be honest with you. you know the way i see it people can believe or think what the hell amuses their small minds about me i really just dont care no more about wether people like me or they dont, they dont know me to like or dislike me , cuz they dont actually give me the proper opportunity to actually get to know me on a personal damn level without dumb ass assumptions that suit their own blindness, which i suppose yes in a fucked up way you can call love! personally though I cant really say im feeling all so loved really, am i not one Gods children myself?? what is love? love cant even be fucking explained. Just because I wont sit there and sugar coat shit up people dont like it and they want me to be what they like me to be and not who i actually am and I have never been one to sit there and sugar coat up crap that basically is what it is, and you know what?! if im not liked that?! for being me and true to me?! well fuck it i would rather be hated for being me than loved for who i aint

Yes, I believe in myself.

Now I must go and sneeze out another universe.

And what Bobo is about to say.

Nope. Not one bit.

When I was little I did, but one day while living with my grandmother when I was around 12 I got tired of going to church 4 days a week, night and day… I was told I had demons in me and was taken to the Priest to be prayed for… church of god mind you, talking in tongues hitting people in the foreheads the whole shabang… I freaked, told them they were all demons and there was nothing wrong with me. Haven’t believed in God Since. Decided it was time to educate myself…so I did. I researched many religions, even went to alot of different churches to see what the diffrences were ect… and you know what I found? Throughout history the most Evil, most hateful and most CRAZY things have been done in Gods name, and to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t want a God like that. In fact at this point even the word God makes me cringe. I am a loving, caring and understanding person, I help those I can and want to help those I can’t, I love my neibors and and I live a good life. When something bad happens I search myself for the solutions and the strength to move on and you know what? I find it. I get the whole everyone needs something to believe in when they are weak and everyone hopes to “go to a better place” when this life is over….but they completely miss out on the part where if you believe in yourself and love and live a good life, you are in a better place, and in that there is Beauty.

@FireMadeFlesh
I appreciate your post, and your recital about the differing characteristics of the belief systems you mentioned. Not to be argumentative, but I can tell you that you are vastly innacurate in your deliniation of at least one of those which you described. Not saying which one.
I promise that I will not ever publicly and authoritatively state what you believe about anything.

Yes. I believe in a Supreme Being that I used to believe was a man but I no longer believe that part but I reserve the right to picture Him like that! I believe in his Son Jesus but I’m doubtful that he’ll “come again.” And I believe that Jesus sent the Comforter, my fav, who Does comfort believers, sends angels, creates miracles, and who miraculously hears prayers that have been scientifically proven to increase the chances of healing 25% when done by numerous people for the sick. He is called The Holy Spirit and he is so cool, so loving and powerful and actually neglected so He’s indescribable so don’t bother asking me to describe Him! LOL! When someone has a spiritual vision or awakening it’s the Comforter who is there with him. He wants to be your friend and you can get to know Him if you open your heart and read the Word. You will not get to know Him if you ignore him; He’ll go away.
OK: now send the men in the white coats; I’m ready! I would Love to relax in a real posh asylum.

@dc10 i feel your pain and frustrations with people. In time, you will find your way. It’s not an easy process separating the good and the bad in this crazy World. I was young once myself, and like yourself, had a lot of issues about people and their motives. As @ChazMaz said, believe in yourself, and in time, you will develop a peace about people, religion, etc.

Just a word of advise, just remember, everyone deals with the same crazy World, not just you my friend. Life is tough. There is not an easy path for any of us. For me, my Faith, keeps me going and grounded. Please, don’t judge Christianity because of what a few people think or say about you. There are lots of people that call themselves Christians, that are NOT Christians. There are people that represent Christianity that do more harm than good, BUT there are some Christians that love others and NEVER judge others.

@Fairylover78 I’ve heard this so many times. Sad deal. As I told @dc10, there are some Christians that do more harm than good. What happened to you is just unbelievable. I’m very sorry that you had to deal with that. It was wrong. Whoever did that, is NOT a Christian. Like i told my friend @dc10, please don’t judge all Christians based on the bad acts of some. There are some very nice and loving people that are Christians.

Yes.

@BoBo1946 Thank you, I appreciate that, Please don’t take what I said as I disregard other Christians and their beliefs, I have met many kind and loving people through the years that are Christian, and no disrespect intended to anyone, but my personal belief is that it isn’t so much that they are Christians that make them good people, but that they are fundamentally Good People, it is within yourself that you make that happen, rather you attribute that reason to God or to just wanting to be the best person you can be doesn’t matter… It’s the love we hold within ourselves for our fellow people that makes all the difference.

Yep!

@Fairylover78 well said…very good!

For me, my Faith and belief, keeps me on the straight and narrow. Oh, I have strong temptations, not hurting my fellowman, but other things. By keeping God close to my heart everyday, keeps me strong and allows me to do the right thing, where otherwise, I might stray. I once, had a bad temper….with His help, I very rarely lose it anymore. I’m just a sinner saved by Grace. Said this so many times, I’m on God’s team….I’m not an All American, but I make a “dang good” water boy!

Thank you @Fairylover78 for sharing your story. Peace my friend.

@Fairylover78 Your tragic story reminds me of what happened to my college roomie. She lived in a very small Texas town and one day in church the preacher yelled out her name, first and last , and followed it with: “You are a Sinner!!” I don’t know if she stopped believing in God after that ; I didn’t ask. But I’d never go back there again! Judgmental moron. HE was probably the real sinner, not her. What was his purpose in doing that? Wanting more members?!

@Bobo yes I know that already please dont get me wrong but yes you are partially correct but im afraid im really going to always have issues with that due to circumstances and experiences , also @fairylover have had sort of similar experiences on a more deeper level on quite a few occassions, so I get what your saying totally. I was in no way judging all christians Bobo I was just pointing out the facts that just because someone is religeous it really doesnt make them a good person and I have to say that I am just talking from nothing but personal experiences in my life sadly but the truth. I can only really go by saying what I know really and not what i dont, thats just the way I am Bobo Its not nothing personal, and I do get taken the wrong way a lot though so im kinda used to it by now but its cool though , and thanks for your empathy. hugs

Keep in mind that Jesus lived in the homes of publicans and sinners and prostitutes. The ones he had the problems with where the religious leaders of his day. He called them a generation of vipers, and hypocrites. Pretty strong language for the Son of God, don’t you think? : )

I believed in Christ once too….just like I believed in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Great Stories, made me want to be a good little girl… scared me with Hell, no presents and rotten eggs….

I never believed in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, or even just the Tooth Fairy. For awhile, I didn’t believe i God either. But I saw too much in the world later on, too much that didn’t fit into some nice, neat category. So, although I never went back to “religion,” I began talking to God again, this time as if holding a conversation with him/her. And those conversations led me to ask her/him if I could have someone to love. When that request was answered, it opened my eyes to the fact that s/he loved me. : ))

Awww that’s really sweet… I talk to myself like that all the time and the same questions was answered for me too thankfully, 14 happily married years later and counting! I think “God” ( I don’t really care for that word personally) lives within us all, it’s finding the strength within ourselves to make our lives what we want them to be, sometimes need them to be… I guess I can say I carry on conversations with my self sometimes the same as some do when praying to god, it helps my subconscience work out those things my conscience just can’t grasp and it comes to me in time…..

@dc10 got’cha….touche my friend!

Truth be told, I simply don’t know. On paper i’m a quintessential atheist yet i’ve played the entire topic of God over in my head and with others while debating differing sides on so many occasions now that it feels like i’ll never ascertain the truth of the matter, and I love it.

NO I don’t believe in Gods, I believe in myself….
“I still say a church steeple with a lightning rod on top shows a lack of confidence“!,
:-/

Sure, I believe in a god. No evidence has been presented to give me a reason not to.

Always and forever. We have real proof that Jesus came to Earth and we have real proof that God exists. Every single miracle is a miracle sent from God. God is always there for me and comforts me. A lot of people say they believe in God, but don’t. I mean, it’s easy to say you believe, right? If your heart IS close to God, you don’t panic when you are in danger because you put your trust in God and know that he will get you through it.

Simple answer without giving a reason because faith doesn’t need a reason: Yes, I do.

@Ben_Dover I don’t get it. If your God embodies everything that you value, haven’t you created her in your image just like everyone else?

@eden2eve Thanks for pointing that out. I was way off with Mormons (it was 1am, and I meant to say JWs). I’m glad you won’t try to state my beliefs, but my beliefs are not dictated by any holy books or men, so I don’t think the comparison is fair.

I believe there is a spiritual side of life, but I don’t know how it works. I don’t know if there is a god or gods or simply laws. I somehow doubt that any earthly religion has got it right.

I believe there’s a God. I also believe that people should just be good to one and other. I’ve seen too much hate in the name of God. Which is so sad. That’s my biggest beef with religion. I don’t care who’s right or wrong, only if you are trully a good person. That’s what matters.

Thanks for all your answers!

@Deja_vu
You’re more than welcome. Thank you for offering the question.

My God is the “Sun”...it’s mighty power is tangible, it’s life giving is prevalent all around us, without it we and everything else would surely die. If you want to get spiritual about it, it even battles the forces of darkness every single day. It wins and loses those battles as well each and every day. It wears it crown (sun rays). This is what the ancient Egyptians believed in and to me makes a whole hell of alot more sense that modern religions today.

I do not believe in a supernatural puppet master hidden in the sky somewhere

@Deja_vu

“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” – I John 4:20

I believe in the idea of god.

@CaptainHarley Totally!!!
@shpadoinkle_sue Good for you!
@earthduzt The pharaoh Akhenaten father of Tutankhamun abolished all the prior Gods and Idols in Egypt after he decided that the Aten (God of the sun) as the one and only true god. Ironically I figure he got this concept from the Hebrews. Concidering much of the text of the time dedicated to Aten was clearly influenced by the scripture in the Torah.

@CaptainHarley – sorry that you think belief in what the bible teaches is weird (ie 6000 years old earth). Guess I’m weird then…...............

By the way, I have a masters too, and am working on a PhD. That makes me weird too…....

Seriously, I respect your right to believe as you do, but please do not call the teaching of the bible weird, not if you are a Christian!

@CaptainHarley touche my friend…..

Sorry, but I firmly believe that thinking the Earth is only 6,000 years old, in the face of all the evidence, is very close to lunacy. Do you know how Uusher came up with this figure? He added up all the biblical geneologies and that’s what they added up to. Even if the geneologies were accurate and complete ( which they are not, if for no other reason than that they were passed down as oral tradition for thousands of years ) they would overlap, they would vary based on who wanted to brag about how long his ancestors had lived, etc. So it’s NOT biblical, it’s just one man’s warped “discovery.”

Sorry, not trying to undermine anyone’s faith, but this is just totally off the wall.

Nicely said Captain. See that’s where alot of my personal studies have taken me, to take a book, I’m sorry, of Fiction, and take everything at face value, to believe, even the Crazy stuff, to be true, because it’s the word of God, is insane to me…. It was written by MAN…many men for that matter…and changed throughout history and well, just plain crazy in parts…really, a snake talked to Eve? Have you ever seen a snake talk? I can see Jesus being a real person, yes…did he do many great things and help people, sure okay, let’s say he did, did he deserve to be written about, of course, all great men do…. but where does reality and imagination conspire to make him more fantastical than he was….I’m not saying that he probably wasn’t a wonderful Human Being, but let’s face it, we Humans can get a little carried away at times with our Imaginations. No Disrespect to anyone, I’m NOT saying there aren’t wonderful and good things written in the Bible, I’m just saying that not everything was meant to be taken so Litarally.

this is my hope.

http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=6152

Directly from the Link above: ( only made it throught the first Q….) @BoBo, I mean no disrespect to you in any way, and perhaps I missed something, I couldn’t read anything past the first Q… but I had to address just a couple of things here, again, not saying I’m right, but I am here to express my opinions, so there you go. Doesn’t mean I care any less..

(1)Lutzer: One thing we have to remember is that the world is fallen. The Bible says that when man fell into sin, all of nature was cursed. In other words, it was impossible for a sinful man to live in a perfect environment of paradise, so all of nature is cursed.

(2)But having said that, it doesn’t mean that God has a hands-off policy when it comes to natural disasters. Many people want to protect God from the clear teaching of the Bible, which shows He is involved in natural disasters. It is not that God causes them, but the very fact that He could prevent them shows that we need to face squarely the fact that natural disasters happen within God’s providence.

(3) Let me give you a few examples. During the time of the plagues in Egypt, clearly God sent those plagues. Then you have the time of Noah; the flood obviously was sent by God. It says regarding Jonah, God hurled a storm into the sea. We must see God in natural disasters. The question, of course, is why does he allow them and what is there to be learned.

(1) One other thing we have to remember is that there was Many Natural disasters BEFORE MAN as well, it would be just silly to think otherwise( apparently, the Earth and ancient animals were Sinners too… but I thought that was all Humans fault)
(2) That doesn’t even make any sense… Nature is cursed because of us, but God didn’t have a hand in it, but he did have a hand in it because it’s within His Providence?? Huh
(3) Clearly God sent those Plagues?Hmmmm… boy all those children, mothers, fathers, grandparents, brother, sisters…. sure must have P’d him off, those sinners…to think how much they suffered…Noah’s ark, okay that story even dates back to the time of the Sumarians, obviously there was a huge storm and flood, hmmm, they probably thought it was their Gods too….wonder if anyone in Asia when the Tsunami’s hit wondered if the flooding and distruction would ever end, New Orleans as well for that matter….

“The question, of course, is why does he allow them and what is there to be learned.”
No one can answer this question that has been asked for thousands of years. Therefore, I’d be impressed if anyone on fluther could tackle it!

GOD what a word and where did it come from? God is mans attempt to understand the Universe and the world around us. This World as all others has been organized into what we are today by Natural and Universal Law as it has ALWAYS been. There are beings that have helped mankind throughout our history and they are called Gods. The God of this world being called Elohim, Heavenly Father, I am that I am (which was used by the people of the day to understand something about him) and just plain God. The Egyptians, The Mayans, Atlantis to name just a few groups who have had knowledge beyond their understanding. Where did that knowledge come from? So many site examples of God’s hand in the World by giving stories of the Bible. So if they are so? Why do we not now have those same kinds of events taking place? Where are the plagues of Egypt? Where is the parting of the seas? Where is the Sodom and Gomorrah’s? Where are the so called miracles? How many of you have prayed? How many of the prayers were really answered like those of the Bible stories? How many men do you know that were swallowed by a fish and spit out on the land? How many oceans have you seen parted? Have you witnessed a burning bush? Where are the fires falling from the heavens?
Here are a couple of other questions for you. Where did the Dinosaurs come from? Where did all the million year old fossils come from? If the Earth was created as the Bible says then why is there an immense amount of scientific data showing past cultures and past life? People when faced with awful situations in life say that God was there and protected them but if they should die those that believe just say it was his time. Why did prayer work for the one that survived but not for the one that passed? I lost 3 children and if they had been born today they would have survived. Did God have a hand in all that? This world is in existence by Universal Law and God cannot break those laws. The Universe exists that way and it governs itself. Where does anything interfere with the laws of the Universe and how they work? In War, disaster, trouble, accidents, death etc… is that Gods hand? What of starvation, torture, killing, diseases… So many talk about God doing for them, where did he do for you and why is he not consistent with everyone? During a war and each side is praying to be victorious. Which one does God help and make victorious or does that come down to who wins?
Now I don’t want you to think I do not believe in God but until you KNOW him, KNOW his son The Christ, KNOW the limitations of such, HOW they are involved with the World then you will keep on with all the same old same old. Here is a statement for you and I hope you understand why I say this.
I am Alpha and Omega. I have always been and will always be as all others will also. There has never been a time (time is only relevant to our limited understanding and dimension) that we have NOT existed and there will never be a time we don’t exist…

Sure, the world is only 6,000 years old and I’m an astronaut and I fart glitter.

Sure, and the universe was created from nothing into a hyperdense plasma and then exploded into life because some dude in a wheelchair I can’t really understand told me so. (the other side can be reductionist too…;-))

There one aspect of the Bible that some don’t take into consideration, that in my mind, is important. No one knows how long God’s day was…I believe He made the World in 7 days, but have no idea how long His day is/was!

@BoBo1946 – good commentary on the assumptions about perspective that seem to be associated with so many of these arguments.

@iamthemob thank you my friend.

@BoBo1946 good answer! I lurved you. So well put.

@Deja_vu And I lurved you for lurving that.

@Deja_vu thank you my friend. I lurved both of you…loll

I’ve always thought, the best religion on “God’s Green Earth” is love your fellowman and be tolerant to his pain. After all, we ALL suffer and face the same mess everyday. The greatest thing about my Faith, is I’ve given all my worries, my pain, and suffering to Him. It is too heavy for me to bear the load.

Excellent, BoBo. : )

The term “god” for me is a tough one. For me it is more like a “higher purpose” than a literal god. Very difficult to explain so I will not go there. I believe in eternal consciouness and different planes of life/existance. I have a very good reason from several personal experiences why I believe I’m right on this.

I will admit that no single religious authority has the answers and neither do I. We have no way of knowing until that inevitable time for all of us comes. Maybe the multiverse theory will better explain this unknown phenomenom someday, or maybe not.

And I gave Lurve to Jabe73..

Thank you Captain! I would ride on your ship anyday!

@CaptainHarley – well, I have never heard of Uuther, or whoever he was. I don’t see why Christians should try and explain away the bible’s clear account just to try and accept “science”. @BoBo1946 – we have no reason to think that the days of creation were anything other than days! They are not prophetic.

Anyway, I agree with @BoBo1946 on the definition of true religion, and the above points are really academic. However, I still maintain that to call a belief system “lunacy”, “weird”, or some other derogatory term because you do not agree with/understand/comprehend it, is against the spirit of this true religion. As I said, I respect your right to believe as you do.

@Harold

Why make something tangential ( like Creationism ) into a centerpiece of our faith? What does it matter if God wanted to use evolution to bring life into being? What does it matter if the Earth was created billions of years ago, instead of only thousands? God is still God. God is still love. Humans are still desperately in need of improvement.

By making this sort of thing central to your faith, you set yourself up to exclude millions of people who might believe in God if those of us who subscribe to the “Young Earth” hypothesis would get over insisting that you MUST believe it if you want to be a Christian!

Please read this and TRY to keep an open mind about the age of the Earth:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism ( I doubt that you will, but I had to try! )

@BoBo1946

Yes we do know according to the Bible how long the day was. Each day of God’s time is 1000 years of our time thus the 6000 year assumption of the creation of the Earth. Each 1000 years of existence are called Dispensations of Time and each dispensation has had it’s head of that Dispensation. Adam was the first and we are now in the Last Dispensation of time and the Millennium is going to be 1000 years or a day of God’s with peace on the Earth and Rest for that period again as it was when the Earth was “Created”.

@JustmeAman how do you know that? Who is we?

@BoBo1946 I guess I have cooties. LOL

I say we only as others do meaning many who study the information contained in all ancient writings. That does not include everybody and was not meant too. For lack of a better word I used it sorry about that. There are a number of people who know how long the day was according to THEIR studies. You don’t have to accept that.

got a link!

No I don’t believe that a link has any significant meaning.

oh, cool…then i will stay with my comment.

As you would have with a link or anything else I tried to provide. LOL

I don’t want to change your mind I just showed a little information that I think is there Biblically.

I’ve never read that in the Bible. What chapter and verse?

Day 1 – God created light and separated the light from the darkness, calling light “day” and darkness “night.”

Day 2 – God created an expanse to separate the waters and called it “sky.”

Day 3 – God created the dry ground and gathered the waters, calling the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters “seas.” On day three, God also created vegetation (plants and trees).

Day 4 – God created the sun, moon, and the stars to give light to the earth and to govern and separate the day and the night. These would also serve as signs to mark seasons, days, and years.

Day 5 – God created every living creature of the seas and every winged bird, blessing them to multiply and fill the waters and the sky with life.

Day 6 – God created the animals to fill the earth. On day six, God also created man and woman (Adam and Eve) in his own image to commune with him. He blessed them and gave them every creature and the whole earth to rule over, care for, and cultivate.

Day 7 – God had finished his work of creation and so he rested on the seventh day, blessing it and making it holy.

This is NOT a chapter and verse answer it takes several years of study and understanding of information. I find it amusing that people think there is one simple answer to anything. Experience, life, years, age, reading, studying and lots of living bring us all to the conclusions of life and our understanding of it.

but, where does it say, one day is 1000 years? Years of studying…well, i’ve have done that and never found this before. Just looking for an answer. In my mind, only God would know that.

I will just give this for an answer.

The millennial kingdom is the title given to the 1000-year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth. Some seek to interpret the 1000 years in an allegorical manner. Some understand the 1000 years as merely a figurative way of saying “a long period of time,” not a literal, physical reign of Jesus Christ on the earth. However, six times in Revelation 20:2–7, the millennial kingdom is specifically said to be 1000 years in length. If God wished to communicate “a long period of time,” He could have easily done so without explicitly and repeatedly mentioning an exact time frame.

@JustmeAman

But that doesn’t mean that the millennial kingdom is one day of God’s time…that’s where the breakdown for me is.

@iamthemob ditto…. got to run…will take this up later!

Yes I understand that, there is so much more information and how 6 days are always used and how on the 7th rest is to take place. Anyway it is all my understanding thanks.

@JustmeAman – okay. But if you could educate us on how you reached that understanding, that would be awesome. Otherwise, you’re just saying “This is how it is because that’s what I think it is…”, which doesn’t really add much.

I really want to say so much more. But I have to stop here and just say it is just me saying and it is my belief. I think if you read the Bible from front to end with this in mind it will make so much sense.

I already did though.

You read the entire book with the idea in mind? Then you have the same idea or thoughts that I do.

Ha you got me there. But I did read it end to end and there wasn’t anything internally that I saw to indicate that 1000 years is a “divine day.”

@iamthemob thought i was going to learn something! loll

These are the only reference that I can think of that are spot on:

For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.—Psalm 90:4

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.—2 Peter 3:8

@CaptainHarley – I never said that it was a centrepiece, and I have no dispute with you over what is really important. You are right that it does not really matter if the earth itself is old. I just happen to believe that it is not. My whole point is that it is against the principles you espouse to denigrate those who hold a different viewpoint. As I have said, you are welcome to believe as you will, and I respect that. I DID say that the biblical account is clear, and I stand by that, but if it is not so clear to you, God bless you and happy days, and I’ll see you in heaven.

I don’t think I “denigrated” you, and if you felt that I did, I apologize. My entire purpose was to illustrate the absurdity of certain man-contrived findings from the Bible.

Apology accepted thank you.