how do you know what the truth is?

a reply to: rukia

Serving yourself is silly--you're nothing on your own. You're just DUST. How lame. Also, you're not perfect. So you're okay with serving your own stupid and evil desires?

...do you talk to yourself in the mirror that way? You should, because I think you might be missing something. Self respect?

originally posted by: rukia
But that's what demons (and Satanists--the ones who like hedonism...not sure if that's Lavey(sp?) or that one other guy) do--so it actually is spiritual. Or rather, counter to the truth. All it is going to do is blind you to the truth. Your own truth isn't THE truth--it's just your personal delusion. Serving yourself is silly--you're nothing on your own. You're just DUST. How lame. Also, you're not perfect. So you're okay with serving your own stupid and evil desires? How pointless. It's not going to end well. You can do it if you want, but don't say I didn't warn you.

A little self hating are you? I guess that is what your religion tells you to think about yourself.

Tell me again, why is it 'stupid' to believe in yourself, when you actually had evidence that you exist vs spending your entire life worshiping something that is impossible to prove exists? And exactly why is it stupid to believe in yourself, even if a god were to exist anyway?

Best day of my life was when I realized God didn't exist.

originally posted by: Belcastro

it is so hard to drop the idea of the bible when you have no other way of understanding your own existence, but if i pray and ask for jesus and god to assist me nothing happens... but instead i am comforted by and communicate with an entity that claims to be the egyptain god Isis.

how do you know whats real and why do you feel like its the truth?
how do i know if this entity is on my side or not?

The first paragraph makes no sense to me, the second makes even less sense because it goes against what you are saying in the first paragraph.

It's all a matter of faith, especially in the hereafter, with qualifications of how you could behave in your life. Only you can make the decision as to how you go about this life.
As for the hereafter..and if Isis is your comforter, then you need also to accept that she is but one of many Gods/Goddess just as Horus was the God of war, as was Ares the Greek God of war, those two were not diplomats, they were savage and violent and to kill any which way, exactly what happens in war?
So which are you? that is the question, you seem self effacing, while also seeming self serving at the same time.

Guys im just trying to find myself. all i want is peace within myself and peace among others, and sometimes im led astray by the darkness within my own mind.

Sometimes i feel like im in a severe spiritual circumstance and i just dont know what to do about it.

originally posted by: Belcastro
sometimes im led astray by the darkness within my own mind.

May I ask what this 'darkness' pertains to?

a reply to: Belcastro

e·pis·te·mol·o·gy
iˌpistəˈmäləjē/Submit
nounPHILOSOPHY
noun: epistemology
the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope. Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion.
Origin

mid 19th century: from Greek epistēmē ‘knowledge,’ from epistasthai ‘know, know how to do.’

Start with Plato. A great book/story on Western philosophy: "Sophie's World"

www.amazon.com...

and then there is the EAST:

dailynous.com...

i think its really simple. what truly resonates with you? what makes you feel good? take a moment to question your beliefs. are you believing in anything based out of fear? then that is wrong. are you involved in something because of pressure from others. then that is wrong.

you have to find truth for yourself and make sure that whatever you decide is the truth for you that it only benefits you and makes you feel amazing. if it does the opposite then do away with it!

a reply to: FyreByrd

What I hold to be TRUTH is that there are Laws of Nature or Creation if you will.

There are material ones, those we can perceive with our senses or our senses enhance by technology (now the intrepretation of those perceives leaves room for plenty of error). Lets call these laws sensible.

Then there are the 'super'- sensible Laws that we cannot perceive (as of yet) with our physical senses even with enhancements. These we will call 'super-sensible' Laws.

Gravity, time are sensible laws whereas karma, reincarnation would be considered 'super-sensible'.

The thing about LAWs of this sort that they do not require belief - they operate whether you believe in them or not. Any god figure or not.

Just how these Laws of This Creation (there could be many more...) operate is the subject of religion and philosophy and science.

Personally I've of the belief, that you can be 'forgiven' for your 'sins' you stil must balance the scales of Karma by experiencing the consequences of that sin until you attain ultimate enlightenment. Christians believe that Christ took on their sins so that they could be 'forgiven' without paying Karma. Personally I don't see how that would benefit the ultimate enlightenment of all beings - but the LAW is the LAW regardless of my belief in it's existence or how it works in context.

en.m.wikipedia.org...

I had heard of Pascal's Wager before in a shorter form...but when I put myself to the task of answering "What do I really believe?" I came across it again.

It doesn't offer answers, but it DOES get you to thinking. Even the criticism of it lead me to knowledge. So, while you won't get an answer, it's at least another way of looking at the situation.

I question everything...and I've gone done paths that would make my Grandma cry and probably make some question my sanity. I will say this, and it's cliche for a reason! - When you least expect it, you'll find it. I don't think you should EVER stop questioning your faith or beliefs. You can have faith and still question...I know because I do! I absolutely put away the faith I was brought up in, and actively fought against it...I blasphemed in terrible ways just because I could. I thought I was smart, and I laughed at believers. As I got older, there were things I realized and I could laugh at my youthful "knowledge." I remember rolling my eyes when people said things about how college kids go through that "profound" phase where they think they see the world SO differently than anybody else ever has in history.

I found that when I stopped looking, my faith found ME. I still don't "know" the truth...because it's something I FEEL. 'Knowing" only gets you so far...but you should constantly pursue knowledge. I found that my faith doesn't fit into a neat category or label. I think I cast aside my faith as a child because it did not ring true to me. Now, I see the ways that faith was twisted way from the real meaning of it by a bad church and leaders...so it was natural to doubt it.

Whatever rings true to you, you are called to that for a reason. Maybe it's bringing you to the "truth" or maybe it's what will plead you back the way you came.

I don't think the destination matters nearly so much as the path. My favorite Bible verse in Matthew says that if you have 100 sheep, and 1 goes missing...you rejoice more over that 1 returning than the 99 who never strayed. Even in a religion that has high expectations for believers, there is more to be said for the sheep that wandered off instead of doing the "right" thing from day 1. I've always felt that --if you struggle with religion, then it's even more amazing when you make that effort to get back...and you know full well what it means.

Don't give up on your journey...none of us that are smart think we have it figured out either.

a reply to: Belcastro

Truth is what you think it is, but trying to understand one god to the next is not going to lead you there any quicker. The truth...we were all created, we all evolve, there has to be a higher power, whatever you call it matters not.

The truth...believe in yourself and the power of being. Embrace the journey. Madness over god? Not worth it.

a reply to: Ghost147

Tell us what you really feel.



Good grief! The poster in question does more or less what I have done. Stop worrying about the things not in their control and assigned it up to God. It brings peace. I can focus on myself and those around me, the stuff I really can affect instead of worrying about those variables completely beyond me. Leave that to God.

Despise us as you might. We're not the ones tearing out hair out over things we can't control.

a reply to: FyreByrd

If I rely on belief then I will perceive everyone and everything against a 'fixed' idea, I am using all my personal assets to fit 'life' into my 'belief box'. If my belief is incorrect, I'm screwed.

If I constantly work towards an open and unbiased (to the extent I am able) openness to the intersection of here and now then I am able to perceive what 'works' (aligned with TRUTH) and what doesn't (not TRUTH). I also don't have to 'make up stories' to justify my actions or those of others to bring those actions into alignment with my 'belief system'.

The Creation, or God if you insist, can then communicate with the essential me.

originally posted by: Belcastro
its like, you have a strong desire to know the ultimate truth behind reality. even though you were raised christain by a catholic family, and wantd to believe in god and jesus, but what if another truth came to you like say for example, one of the egyptian gods.

it is so hard to drop the idea of the bible when you have no other way of understanding your own existence, but if i pray and ask for jesus and god to assist me nothing happens... but instead i am comforted by and communicate with an entity that claims to be the egyptain god Isis.

how do you know whats real and why do you feel like its the truth?
how do i know if this entity is on my side or not?

Yahweh is part of the spiritual realm

Jesus is is part of the spiritual realm

Holy spirit is is part of the spiritual realm

This Egyptian god ISIS is part of the spiritual realm

and many many more......both dark and light reside in the spiritual world.

I don't think anyone on earth can speak for Yahweh (God) or his SON or the Holy Spirit (we can however learn and repeat the teachings given to us from the bible) so we can only assume based upon one's knowledge and personal experiences in the spirit world.... what is what......what is truth and what is a lie.

It is easy to reach out and make contact with the spiritual world, the problem is what makes contact with you?

Please keep in mind:

1 John 4:1 - Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;…

This is designed to protect you when spirits come to you or speak with you. Even Lucifer himself is known to come as an angel of light......this is the trap we are to watch out for when seeking out God.

So when a spirit speaks or shows itself to you.... ask that spirit does he serve and confess that Jesus came in the flesh and is from God. If that spirit refuses to answer or says no than you are not dealing with a spirit from heaven. Command it to leave in peace in Jesus's name otherwise it will stick around and bring havoc in your life.

What works for me? I worship God the Father, SON, and Holy Spirit with FAITH, praise, song and prayers and he answers my prayers.... most of the time his answer is yes but he also says no. His answer is not audible.... things just happen.....not instant..... later in the day or in a couple of days......

Anyone can do this...

a reply to: Belcastro

Why should we speculate beyond what we experience?

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Ghost147
Tell us what you really feel.

I don't know what you're implying. I meant everything that I stated; without some underlying meaning.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Ghost147
Despise us as you might. We're not the ones tearing out hair out over things we can't control.

Ah yes. How do atheists survive, I wonder, if we don't have someone to blame (anti-god [satan]) and provide us guidance (religion and god). All so stressed out and full of hate, so lost and confused.

The funny thing is, the vast majority of the world is not part of your religion. Most have a different religion. So I wonder, then, when Allah/Krishna/Odin/Isis speaks to them, and they claim to communicate back, whom exactly is providing them comfort? It's not your god, that's for sure, and your god isn't theirs, that's for sure, so the only explanation is that it's all in your head, and you're simply overcoming these obstacles on your own. Which is far more empowering than believing someone else is taking care of the tough things in life, rather than having the courage to face them on your own.

I don't blame you that you're religious. I don't blame you that you have faith. What I do blame is the degenerate and destructive force that exists within nearly all religious ideologies. You can actually directly compare psychological tactics used by people such as Hitler and Charles Manson in religion. You can actually directly compare Religion with Viruses by seeing how they spread and whom they effect. It's not your fault that you're religious, but I do believe you're infected.

"God is a concept by which we measure our pain."

i have a complete different view on god than what traditionaly people would understand,
i view reality as one thing and that is the self. i believe everyones god whether they know it or not, all apart of one thing we call reality. "i am the vine and you are the branches." god is everything and we are apart of it.
My father and i are one. and "if youve seen me then you've seen the father.

jesus was called the image of god, so when you saw him, you saw the image of god himself.
Also, jesus is called the word of god.
in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god.
i replace the word "word." with void,

because god and the void are one, and before anything was created first there was nothing.... but within this nothing was the spirit of god..... out of this nothing came everything, which means everything is one with god or "of" god.

and the darkness within my own mind?? i call that satan.
like when jesus' apostles told him that they would fight for him not to go on the cross and he called them satan; that they were not thinking as god does but as the minds of humans work.

evil things ive thought about, but try my hardest not to ever act upon. like a horror film or zombie movie.

a reply to: Belcastro

You want to know why the concept of God is bull#? Because no matter who the hell you talk to, no matter what religion, or what god.. it is all 100% personal. Religion is just a construct of common themes. I will not deny in many aspects religion or faith in this deity or that deity can be a "good thing". I really only view that "good thing" as an alternative for otherwise #ed up people. The most devout people I know have this or that problem in their lives that they can't even begin to overcome without the belief in some bull#. The mere fact that there is no definitive, exact, agreed upon across the board of who or what God, or gods, is should tell you something. Take control of your own life man. Don't waste it on fiction. Be more observant. Look at what religious people actually do. They say # is in God's hands and blah blah blah.. But it really comes down to them. ALWAYS. It is ALWAYS them and their decisions etc. They just attribute things to a God, that's it. Study religion and you will always find the roots of it are with man. Think the God of Abraham is legit? Well before Yahweh belonged to the Hebrews, he belonged to the Canaanites. As part of a pantheon of Gods. The Bible got at least one thing right. There is nothing new under the sun. This God, that God, no Gods. All man has ever served and will ever serve, is himself. Knowledge is power. Ignorance is bliss.

originally posted by: WakeUpBeer
a reply to: Belcastro

You want to know why the concept of God is bull#? Because no matter who the hell you talk to, no matter what religion, or what god.. it is all 100% personal. Religion is just a construct of common themes. I will not deny in many aspects religion or faith in this deity or that deity can be a "good thing". I really only view that "good thing" as an alternative for otherwise #ed up people. The most devout people I know have this or that problem in their lives that they can't even begin to overcome without the belief in some bull#. The mere fact that there is no definitive, exact, agreed upon across the board of who or what God, or gods, is should tell you something. Take control of your own life man. Don't waste it on fiction. Be more observant. Look at what religious people actually do. They say # is in God's hands and blah blah blah.. But it really comes down to them. ALWAYS. It is ALWAYS them and their decisions etc. They just attribute things to a God, that's it. Study religion and you will always find the roots of it are with man. Think the God of Abraham is legit? Well before Yahweh belonged to the Hebrews, he belonged to the Canaanites. As part of a pantheon of Gods. The Bible got at least one thing right. There is nothing new under the sun. This God, that God, no Gods. All man has ever served and will ever serve, is himself. Knowledge is power. Ignorance is bliss.

i think people who say that there is no creator are in blissful ignorance and those who have knowledge of what a real god is are powerful with knowledge.