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You can believe it is his word as much as you want, but it's nothing more than a belief, one that right now I don't share.
Originally posted by Paschar0
reply to post by WhoKnows100
Pointing to scripture as the reason for doing anything is a major problem I've stated from the beginning. I don't consider it the word of God. I'm not denying God in any way because I'm not convinced he said any of those things "through" anyone. You can believe it is his word as much as you want, but it's nothing more than a belief, one that right now I don't share. I may like to, it would make things much easier, but it's just not the way it is. I approach it as possible, but very unlikely. It's not to mean I dismiss the entire message of the bible as a whole, I just don't consider it "THE WORD OF GOD".
With that, it's hard to discuss further with most, because they keep trying to go back to it for almost every point they try to make. Surely there is more to one's belief than what's in a book. I would hope so anyway.
Originally posted by Akragon
reply to post by Paschar0
You can believe it is his word as much as you want, but it's nothing more than a belief, one that right now I don't share.
The bible isn't the word of God my friend...
Jesus is the word of God...
Originally posted by NOTurTypical
Originally posted by Akragon
reply to post by Paschar0
You can believe it is his word as much as you want, but it's nothing more than a belief, one that right now I don't share.
The bible isn't the word of God my friend...
Jesus is the word of God...
Jesus is the "Word made flesh".
As far as belief, I do believe in "God", what I question is religion and it's tools. Sadly, as much as I WANT to believe everything about Jesus, I don't accept that you must only believe in him to be "saved". However, I love his message. I will say this, if HE HIMSELF came to me in some way and said yes all of this is true, I wouldn't hesitate, I just doubt he actually said or requires these things.
Actually I don't believe in sin, Hell or for that matter punishment anymore than I believe in being rewarded for my actions. Didn't Jesus himself say that ACTS will not get you into Heaven, but what's in your heart? By that logic, murder with the right frame of mind should be perfectly acceptable.
What surprises many people about me is that I'm very active in supporting local charities, food banks, shelters etc and I don't do it with the hopes of being rewarded by God or anyone else, I do it because I'm selfish, it makes me feel good. I've been doing it for years but just don't talk about it much.
Ask yourself this, if "God" came to you and said you are absolutely free to do whatever you like, there are no conditions or prerequisites or rules of any kind. You can go to church or not. You can be honest or not. The bible is unnecessary now, but you can still read it if you want to. You can do ANYTHING you want, the waiting is over. What would you do? For me, not much would change. I suspect for many churchgoers, things would be much much different.
I can't help but wonder if thousands of years ago this very thing was one of the reasons organized religion was invented in the first place. It's the perfect mechanism for controlling the masses for whomever is interested in doing so, whether to help people or use them, it just works. Over time, like anything else, it's become more complicated and skewed until you end up with something far different than what you started with. Fear works both ways, my biggest fear oddly isn't the wrath of God, but wasting time on rituals and things that could very well be completely meaningless and are taking me away from what I should be doing, which is BEING human.
Originally posted by aimlessly
This thread strikes a very strong chord with me.
I, too, am struggling with what I believe. I believe in something higher, something that connects everything, I just don't know if that something is God.
I am really stuck, because if I do believe in God, then I have to believe that he is selfish and uncaring. If it is not God that I believe in, it is easier for me to accept the world and it's atrocities over the many millenia.
I am having a very hard time reconciling the God that I was taught about growing up, the loving, just and merciful God with what I see every day on the news. How does that God allow the things that go on in this world, often in his name? I know it is often cited to be because of free will, and I guess I don't understand completely how free will trumps Gods will when he is the one that created everything. Good and Evil. To create something such as Evil, means that he is either resonsible for the effects of evil, not humans, or if he didn't create Evil then he is not the supreme being.
I am not expressing my thoughts very well and I am sorry for that.
I guess it boils down what God's intentions were when he created man. A slave to serve him, honor his name, do his bidding, which includes killing those that don't believe in him only to find out after we have died if we did good enough to gain entry to Heaven? Or were we an experiment that he lost control of?
So many questions.
wow you must have went to Westboro?
Originally posted by FissionSurplus
That was one of the things I hated most about church when I was younger: If you decided not to go, they were all up in your business, wanting to know why you weren't in church and what a sin it was that you weren't there.
The pressure tactics, to me, are a sure sign that whatever they have to offer each Sunday isn't enough for people to keep them coming back. It's too bad you have to do business with them, because if they are anything like the "Christians" I grew up with, they'll blacklist you and no longer do business with you if you stop going to their Sunday meetings.
Originally posted by Paschar0
I found myself agreeing with pretty much everything you had to say and more importantly for me agreed with the spirit of it. It's encouraging.
Over the years, It's the inconsistency of hearing so many different messages and explanations for the same questions depending on who you ask that adds to my overall confusion and doubt.