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Does God exist? (6 Viewers)

do you believe in god?


  • Total voters
    1,568

Not-That-Bright

Andrew Quah
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Well I'm fine with that, I just have an issue with people who are clearly atheist claiming they are agnostic because they accept that we have limits of knowledge... as if people whom claim they are atheist do not realise this.
 
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littlewing69

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Not-That-Bright said:
Well I'm fine with that, I just have an issue with people who are clearly atheist claiming they are agnostic because they accept that we have limits of knowledge... as if people whom claim they are atheist do not realise this.
Yes, well agnosticism and atheism are not even on the same spectrum, as mentioned above.
 

pendant

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god is there to fill a otherwise empty void in the life of millions who in fact have no life

basically there to make people feel bad about themselves and give them an out, i murdered someone but i repented! yeah my arse they repented
 
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littlewing69

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pendant said:
god is there to fill a otherwise empty void in the life of millions who in fact have no life

basically there to make people feel bad about themselves and give them an out, i murdered someone but i repented! yeah my arse they repented

Careful with that broad brush there.


I suggest you read up on Deism. Many of the founding fathers of western democracy--basically guys who contributed to society in a massive way--believed in a non-interventionist God. Not one who alleviated sins, or even one who cared about sin. Did these guys have "no lives"? Were they just down-and-outers? I think not.

It's ridiculous to make such blanket assertions about a concept which many many religions and societies have held over time.
 
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transcendent

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I propose that we free ourselves from religion. Or are people unable to live their lives without some form of higher being dictating their lives?

I really wish someone wrote a book about why religion exists, why people turn to religion and why religion is a fallacy for the weak minded.
 

davin

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littlewing69 said:
Careful with that broad brush there.


I suggest you read up on Deism. Many of the founding fathers of western democracy--basically guys who contributed to society in a massive way--believed in a non-interventionist God. Not one who alleviated sins, or even one who cared about sin. Did these guys have "no lives"? Were they just down-and-outers? I think not.

It's ridiculous to make such blanket assertions about a concept which many many religions and societies have held over time.
yeah, but thats a very different sort of god
 
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littlewing69

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davin said:
yeah, but thats a very different sort of god
Very much so. That is exactly why I urged that person not to make such generalisations.
 

davin

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however, deism is not really present anymore, and i think his repenting comment in itself excluded deism in his comments.
 
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littlewing69

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davin said:
however, deism is not really present anymore, and i think his repenting comment in itself excluded deism in his comments.

I consider myself a Deist. There are a lot more of us than anyone will ever be able to know, because Deism is a free philosophy, not an organisation.
 

robbie1

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Dr_Doom said:
Answer to this thread = Yes
well said.

its a real shame more and more ppl are rejecting God.

however, it is their choice as God has given all of us free-will

just be aware that we will all meet Jesus in judgement one day.

Also, the argument that Religion causes problems, violence etc is very silly.

if ppl followed the 10 Commandments, or even just 'love God and love your neighbour' there would be no violence.
 
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littlewing69

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robbie1 said:
well said.

its a real shame more and more ppl are rejecting God.

however, it is their choice as God has given all of us free-will

just be aware that we will all meet Jesus in judgement one day.

Also, the argument that Religion causes problems, violence etc is very silly.

if ppl followed the 10 Commandments, or even just 'love God and love your neighbour' there would be no violence.
1. "Judgement" is a cruel and vicious myth. No omniscient God acts like a petulant child who hasn't got his way. No loving God would condemn his creations to torment for his own mistakes.

2. If we do indeed "meet Jesus", my bet is that he's pissed at the Christians for being such dicks on his behalf. If God really wanted us to come to know him, he'd make himself more available, no?

3. Religion does cause problems. Check out, oh, well, ALL of human history?? And the 10C are by no means the only or even most important factors in Christian behaviour.

4. The God of the Bible condones and even encourages violence numerous times. How can you reconcile this with your "religion of peace"?
 

davin

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its a real shame more and more ppl are rejecting God.
Rejecting? No rejection here. god has never tried to indicate his existance to me, so i can't be rejecting god
 

transcendent

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As opposed to missionaries who enforce their religion on other countries?

Good reply littlewing69.

Also I find it strange how you go on about violence yet you have an avatar of Eminem with an offensive gesture.
 
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littlewing69

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davin said:
Rejecting? No rejection here. god has never tried to indicate his existance to me, so i can't be rejecting god
Good point--and one Christianity/Islam have no counterpoint to.
 

Jiga

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Yeah thats prity conclusive - No God.

He didnt even protect him for a second.... the lions went straight to work. And by the sounds of the article, he was a religious man as well.... albeit a nutt, still doesnt god protect the vulnerable in our society? That guy is my hero.
 

darkroomgirl

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littlewing69 said:
2. If we do indeed "meet Jesus", my bet is that he's pissed at the Christians for being such dicks on his behalf. If God really wanted us to come to know him, he'd make himself more available, no?

3. Religion does cause problems. Check out, oh, well, ALL of human history?? And the 10C are by no means the only or even most important factors in Christian behaviour.
littlewing69, as a Christian, I actually agree with you. What most people perceive to be 'Christianity' has in fact been a filtered version of how we Christians believe it should be practiced, which is not necessarily the right thing; it fact, it has often been the wrong thing! And yes, if Jesus was here, he WOULD be pretty annoyed with how we've done things in the past and the present. The Inquisition, for one, was shameful. Colonisation in the name of conversion has done some horrible things that still affect indigenous populations of various nations today. The Crusades have caused many deaths on both sides of the battle. The war on Iraq, which has often taken on a religious slant (via George Bush), is still raging on and shows little signs of abating. Religious politics have again and again failed in their legalism. There are so many things that have been done in the name of God that are embarrassing, disgraceful, and should cause many Christians to hang their heads in shame.

There are many reasons for these things happening, but I think the fundamental reason for all of these is that we Christians have put our efforts into the wrong things, and have failed to do what we were explicitly told to do; to love our neighbours unconditionally and without fail. Yes, we believe in certain things and we shouldn't compromise those convictions, but in obsessing over certain rules we have ignored our main duty. We believe that abortion is a mistake but have we really tried to understand the situations of the women who choose to undergo the operation? Similarly with homosexuality; have we even tried to listen to their stories, to see them as individuals rather than stereotyped caricatures? Sadly, no. Instead we choose to ridicule these people, to carry on protests which have little impact other than showing the world the ugly, aggressive side of practiced Christianity.

That God doesn't seem available can be attributed to one reason; we Christians have shut ourselves exclusively in our churches, choosing to look inwardly rather than outwardly. We have kept God in a box and we're embarrassed by our faith. Rather than face those fears and rectify our mistakes we have chosen to obsess over trivial, inconsequential rules which don't matter as much as the most important one: to love God above all and to love others. As a result, the faith has become largely irrelevant, and frankly, irritating to the world.

The Christian faith in itself, at its most basic and most essential, is not a problem, but in my opinion is a solution. But you were right, littlewing69, in saying that RELIGION is the problem. I would distinguish this from faith. Religion is the ritualised, legalised, formalised version of faith. Radically, I'd say here that religion has wronged the faith. It has taken the focus away from its central notion of love, and placed the spotlight on pettier things. And for that, it is not only our public image that has suffered, but those who we're supposed to be helping out, who, more than anything, just need someone to sympathise with them, and to accept them as who they are, no questions asked.

In response to the thread, yes, God is real. But we Christians have ensured that no-one else besides ourselves really know that.
 
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robo-andie

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darkroomgirl said:
littlewing69, as a Christian, I actually agree with you. What most people perceive to be 'Christianity' has in fact been a filtered version of how we Christians ...................................
Wow. That was good, well worth the read. I completely agree with you.
 

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