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Why do you/don't you believe in God

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Started 2 years ago by greenhouse1014
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greenhouse1014
Columbus
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The only request I have is that we all be civil and for those on either side to not insult the intelligence of each.

So, really, why do you or don't you believe in God, or some higher power regardless of what you call it. For me, I believe because I've lived the evidence. I have been in several situations from which I probably should not have walked. Also, I look around me and I can start to see a plan for everything. Just the whole cycle of life proves it to me as nothing that organized could ever be random. Birth, also, is a sign of God's existence. Giving life is such a precarious situation where almost anything can go wrong. For that whole process to work is amazing to me. Finally, I've been on the receiving end of blessings that can only be from God. When I have no money to live on, somehow, something comes through that allows me to use the talents I've been given to make money to survive. I don't buy onto the whole Jesus is the messiah thing, so I dont get caught up in all that, but my relationship with God has gotten me through some very hard times. At the same time, the blessings I've received could only have been put into place by God.

Just wondering.

Posted 2 years ago #
Nitsud Regnifloh
Valerio Heights
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i have, lately, been thinking to myself about the possibility of a God, or a higher being. I dont think "God" has a name, per se, and I dont believe i need a church to play middleman or to prove to myself i am "doing it right".

I believe ee cummings had it right when he said 'may I be I is the only prayer--not may I be great or good or beautiful or wise or strong'.

Posted 2 years ago #
Manatee
The eternal present
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I feel like asking if there is a God is like asking a crab not to walk sideways.

Posted 2 years ago #
Columbusite
Minneapolis
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Which G/god(s)?

Posted 2 years ago #
howatzer

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The long struggle to overcome my dyslexia has given me faith in Dog.

Posted 2 years ago #
michaelcoyote
!seabus
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von wrote >>
i have, lately, been thinking to myself about the possibility of a God, or a higher being. I dont think "God" has a name, per se, and I dont believe i need a church to play middleman or to prove to myself i am "doing it right".
I believe ee cummings had it right when he said 'may I be I is the only prayer--not may I be great or good or beautiful or wise or strong'.

I believe that would make you a "deist". I think I'm somewhere between that and agnostic most days. My needle generally swings towards agnostic.

That said, I sure as hell ain't going to Pat Robertson's church...

Fuckers like that really put me right off religion fairly early on.

Posted 2 years ago #
kit444
Elsewhere
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@greenhouse1014 You've started threads on abortion and God within the span of a few days. That really takes balls. I admire that.

Posted 2 years ago #
greenhouse1014
Columbus
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kit444 wrote >>
@greenhouse1014 You've started threads on abortion and God within the span of a few days. That really takes balls. I admire that.

I like to get deep on shit. Fuck a streetcar argument.

Posted 2 years ago #
Nitsud Regnifloh
Valerio Heights
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michaelcoyote wrote >>

von wrote >>
i have, lately, been thinking to myself about the possibility of a God, or a higher being. I dont think "God" has a name, per se, and I dont believe i need a church to play middleman or to prove to myself i am "doing it right".
I believe ee cummings had it right when he said 'may I be I is the only prayer--not may I be great or good or beautiful or wise or strong'.

I believe that would make you a "deist". I think I'm somewhere between that and agnostic most days. My needle generally swings towards agnostic.
That said, I sure as hell ain't going to Pat Robertson's church...
Fuckers like that really put me right off religion fairly early on.

Pat Robertson, not michael...

Posted 2 years ago #
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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Posted 2 years ago #
greenhouse1014
Columbus
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Columbusite wrote >>
Which G/god(s)?

The question is open-ended. I guess I beleieve in the idea of one God, no matter what or who you call it. When you look at all the different religions (as much as I hate that word), they all pretty much come down to what I call the Bill & Ted view of God-"Be excellent to each other" and "party on, Dude!"

Posted 2 years ago #
vuch
grandview
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I'm with von for the most part. I think "god" should be a private thing, but I understand humans are a social animal so debate can be useful.

I am against EVERY organized religion and feel that even though churches may do some good (whether it is a time of meditation for members, welfare outreach, etc.), they ultimately can only exist by imparting beliefs on others to keep a membership base. They must "cast stones" to discredit the competition. And they serve as a shortcut for people to feel like they have solved questions that they are too lazy or intimidated to struggle with throughout a whole life process. Everyone should think for themselves - the struggle to make sense of life has no graduation date. Labeling myself would feel like living up to a stereotype or giving up.

Personally, I only believe in an order. Time, gravity, weather, distance, the cycle of life, all of the things that science can break down the effects of one by one under certain conditions, but cannot, and will not ever, explain fully or explain the reason for why it all is. I'm ok feeling like an inferior being as being human is. And I still have reverence to the whole existence of reality - it is beautiful. But I do not, and will not, confuse best practices in coexistence on this planet (morality/civility) with existence. The fact we exist has nothing to do with how we relate to each other in order to share our planet in a way that gives everyone the best chance to enjoy their time at the party.

Again, I understand the urge to debate, but nothing anyone says can inflame me or fully change my mind - I think everyone should constantly struggle with this in their own head. Ultimately you are born alone and die alone - It's YOUR voyage.

...Just to share where I'm at with the subject.

-----
Total aside here, but when I checked CU today two of the front page topics have to do with existence of god and the debate over whether every human has some value to it. I'm beginning to think the Columbus winter has everyone in an existential dilemma. :)

Posted 2 years ago #
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
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I've always drifted between identifying as an agnostic and an atheist. Some time ago I just got tired of the big questions that surround religion and the biological urge to "search for meaning". The pursuit of those questions consume an enormous amount of human mind share. I fail to see a net return on the pursuit of those questions. Especially with religions that peddle in fear. Though, it could be argued that religious fear is a feeling that has driven a lot of productivity.

The societies that I'd admire and ideologically gravitate towards (Scandinavians) tend to be decidedly non-religious. Coincidentally I would argue that these societies may have a higher level of measurable goodness (depends on your measures of course), higher levels of morality and overall happiness. Maybe that has influenced me. However, at the end of the day I guess I just don't care.

Posted 2 years ago #
berdawn
near that stretch of N. High Street in the Short North
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greenhouse1014 wrote >>

kit444 wrote >>
@greenhouse1014 You've started threads on abortion and God within the span of a few days. That really takes balls. I admire that.

I like to get deep on shit. Fuck a streetcar argument.

so we need a street car hosted revival that also dispenses RU-486?

Posted 2 years ago #
Manatee
The eternal present
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JonMyers wrote >>
The societies that I'd admire and ideologically gravitate towards (Scandinavians) tend to be decidedly non-religious. Coincidentally I would argue that these societies may have a higher level of measurable goodness (depends on your measures of course), higher levels of morality and overall happiness. Maybe that has influenced me. However, at the end of the day I guess I just don't care.

I see a similarity between Scandinavian and Japanese culture in this respect, as well as some other cultures, and rather than seeing them as being non-religious, I see them as having a certain kind of religion (more mystic than dogmatic) so deeply encoded into the culture that it seems to disappear. And I like it as well. I also see a commonality in art and design from these cultures that I admire.

Posted 2 years ago #
greenhouse1014
Columbus
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@vuch

I totally agree that "religion" is where it all went wrong. And I'm not trying to set this up as a venue to convince anyone either way (I didn't intend that for either of the posts). Your belief is your belief. I'm just curious. To me, church is like a pep-rally for God. "Yeaaa, God", but you're right. A lot of the division in our spiritual society comes directly from the church. I grew up in the church, but my views have spread to be a lot wider than what I grew up on. I beleieve that a PERSONAL relationship with whatever God you choose is what's important. That's why I don't really buy into the Jesus as my get out of jail free card. I think its like this- Church is like kindergarten or elementary school for spirituality. You get the basics there, but eventually you graduate and get out in the world and build on those basics.

as to your aside, yeah, I think its time to get a little deep.

Posted 2 years ago #
michaelcoyote
!seabus
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berdawn wrote >>
so we need a street car hosted revival that also dispenses RU-486?

I'd ride that. But I'd still prefer light rail serving a wider area.

Posted 2 years ago #
sugarplumclarey

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If you assume that anything good/unlikely must necessarily be the work of a higher power, then of course you're going to believe in god and see evidence of god everywhere. i see that more as a description of faith than an argument. god is just what we put in the blank when we don't know how to explain something in familiar terms, or when we're overwhelmed with joy or fear.

to me it's silly that we even need explore this question. why should i spend time considering such an absurd, obviously made-up thing? it's about as useful as pondering the eating preferences of the one-toothed aliens who haunt the center of the moon.

i do not understand how intelligent human beings are capable of stomaching religion, and am constantly amazed how many otherwise logical, sensible friends and family members of mine can allow a myth to control everything they do. i don't disrespect believers, but i don't understand them.

Posted 2 years ago #
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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yeah, I think its time to get a little deep.

I posed this question to a Rinzai Zen Buddhist Roshi once.

His answer;

" Three men were walking down a well traveled road when they came upon a man lying in the dirt, bleeding profusly, with three arrows in him.
They run over to aid the fallen stranger. One man says; "what shall we do?" The other says; "First, we must determine where the arrows came from" "

(My Japanese is pretty rusty, but I think I've got the general translation.)

Posted 2 years ago #
columbusguy20
5XNW
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greenhouse1014 wrote >>
@vuch
I totally agree that "religion" is where it all went wrong. And I'm not trying to set this up as a venue to convince anyone either way (I didn't intend that for either of the posts). Your belief is your belief. I'm just curious. To me, church is like a pep-rally for God. "Yeaaa, God", but you're right. A lot of the division in our spiritual society comes directly from the church. I grew up in the church, but my views have spread to be a lot wider than what I grew up on. I beleieve that a PERSONAL relationship with whatever God you choose is what's important. That's why I don't really buy into the Jesus as my get out of jail free card. I think its like this- Church is like kindergarten or elementary school for spirituality. You get the basics there, but eventually you graduate and get out in the world and build on those basics.
as to your aside, yeah, I think its time to get a little deep.

Very true!

Some people, like at my parents church, which I used to attend, seem to imply that although going to church isn't a necessity, it does help to connect with other Christians. But, one can easily do this in a small group setting, or if one is more shy, just with God.

The reason I believe in God is because I can feel Him in my life and because of things that have happened, to get personal. I feel and experience God even more now that I have come out as a gay man and have begun to realize that I can be gay and Christian, no matter what Jesus "pimps" like Pat Robertson, D. James Kennedy, and James Dobson say. These men, I and many others feel, represent Christianity at its worst! In essence, they have turned themselves and their followers, my parents among them unfortunately, into nothing but political pawns and slaves who will give all they have to turn our nation into a form of Christian fascism where non-Christian thought and living will be outlawed and frowned upon.

Sorry to rant but I could go on and on about this topic some days!

Posted 2 years ago #