I was wondering how people feel about the connection with god and religion.

Doe you believe that
A.) there is a god.

B.) Is this the god described exactly in Major religion.

C.) Will god punish people who do not believe in theat specific religion and reward those who do. (Despite the fact that the none believer is morally good)


then question I want answered is god and religion the same thing.

If 3 is true, then we're all buggered. The Christians think that the Muslims and Jews are doomed to hell. The Muslims think that Allah will judge the Christians and Jews and the Jews God is one of fire and brimstone.
So - if your not Christian, Muslim or Jewish your screwed. And even if you are one of those religions, the others God won't like you, so you're subsequently screwed.

In the schism times (late 1300's) there were two popes. Each one excommunicated the followers of the other. People believed that this resulted in everything from demons to vampires and everything in between. It was a mess. Just like now.

A.)Yes. I also believe there is an equal power known as Goddess.

B.)Which major religeon? Since I understand God/dess in my own way probably not.

C.)In my understanding no one will be punished for belief, misguided or not, nor will anyone be punished for not having a belief. In my belief the physical, mental, and emotional actions of the individual might be taken into consideration, but in what quantities or even when I cannot say, it is simply not my place to do so.

I personally believe in a God/Goddess of love. (not romantic ro sexual)

In my opnion I cant see god punishing any one.

Many people say that only punishment we will ever receive is the look of disportment on the face of god when we enter the afterlife. And in some ways that maybe the worst.

a. of course

b.yes but some major religions are purer than others

e.g. brahma and yaweh are the same but brahma has been handed down in a much purer form than yahweh

c. Your soul is "punished" for following the ways of mammon and man or choosing shreya over preya to put it more succincly. shreya being what "feels good" and preya being "what is good for yourself and humanity"

despite what major religions tell you

dont spend time worrying about religion

BE RELIGIOUS.

Moral goodness is not a factor since as humans with our limited scope cannot truly appreciate or judge what god would deem a moralistic act.

bad example of this... would it be moral to kill Hitlers mother before she had him? But I think you get the point.

Forge your bond with God through meditation learn to listen to his voice in your heart and then you will know Gods will every moment of your life.

The three major monotheistic religions believe in the same god, but just teach the message slightly differently.

But other non-montheistic religions (i.e hinduism, roman religion, norse religion etc etc) believe in different gods with different traits, but they more or less control the same things.

I think if there is a god, you will go to heaven if your a good person in your eyes. If you can say to god 'i lived a good life' and not be lying to him, your fine regardless of what you believed on earth. The reason i say good in your own eyes, is what i percieve as being morally good, may be different to what someon else sees as morally good. Religion is confusing and it spans in all different directions. There are closed minds in all camps in the religious debate, so i have taken the open minded approach, and thats not align myself with any religion and just do as i please and hope for the best...

Originally posted by arcana imperii
Doe you believe that
A.) there is a god.
Depends on your defintion of such. By my definition yes.

B.) Is this the god described exactly in Major religion.
No!

C.) Will god punish people who do not believe in theat specific religion and reward those who do. (Despite the fact that the none believer is morally good)
No, as the purest form of energy (aka the god thing) does not have consciousness of it's own existence because it does not hold residence within existence. Without consciousness it can make no choices except to evolve into time and space which really isn't a choice at all.


then question I want answered is god and religion the same thing.
Absolutely not!

[Edited on 18-5-2004 by Jonna]

IMO Religion doesn't necessarily equate to 'God'.
Religion is the way people relate to the god/goddess they believe in. The Goddess exists irrespective of whether people believe in her or not.

A:Yes

B:IMO No

C: IMO No, God doesnt punish, we do that to ourselves well enough.
Although if you have been bad , you will get a cosmic timeout for lack of a better explination.


IMO:God cannot be contained in any book or any one religion.
Thats not to say that some things are not divinly inspired. God is far beyond anything our minds can hope to understand fully.



A lot of IMOs there, in the end, I don't know much other than God exists, loves you and me, and we go on after we die, and some are put into a period of waiting before they move onto "a better place" if they dont reincarnate.


The most importaint thing a person can do, is be themselves and look inside themselves and know themselves inside and out.
If you do that, you will have your answers.

A. yes, but i define God as life itself. God is the power that drive the universe
B. no. some religion describe God as a cruel figure, like the God in the old testament. while the new testament God is of a higher abstract

C. like pisky said, no matter what you believe in, you will still be condamned by other 99% religion

Originally posted by arcana imperii


I was wondering how people feel about the connection with god and religion.

Doe you believe that
A.) there is a god.

Absolutely YES.

B.) Is this the god described exactly in Major religion.

Not according to me no.

C.) Will god punish people who do not believe in theat specific religion and reward those who do. (Despite the fact that the none believer is morally good)

Nope, God does not punish us, We punish ourselves.

then question I want answered is god and religion the same thing.


There is a bit of Truth to all things, but, only a bit.