God real or myth open to mature disccussion

Vader's Leg · Lieutenant, Junior Grade Joined: 11 Aug 2005 Posts: 77

With permission from IntrepisisMe I am continuing the discussion about the existence of god and religion.

So I will post my last conversation with Janeway

IntrepidIsMe · **Thu Aug 11, 2005 11:48 pm**

Everyone in general: lets keep this mature.

Thanks.

Vader's Leg · Lieutenant, Junior Grade Joined: 11 Aug 2005 Posts: 77

JanewayLover · Ensign Joined: 11 Aug 2005 Posts: 48

I vehemently disagree with your statement that "all empires must fall".

Christianity has existed for over 2000 years, and shows no signs of aging. Christians are growing in numbers, as a matter of fact. Just look at the United States. There are more active churches then ever before.

Hell is a very real part of my religion. To believe in the Christian God is to, by default, believe in Hell. How does a Christian get to Hell? By not following Christian doctrine, and leading a life that is not Christlike.

The expressway to damnation, though, is being a non-believer. Some people and religions believe in the fire and brimstone version of Hell. Me? I believe that Hell is spending an eternity without God. Could you imagine? An eternal, empty existence devoid of love.

No Hell could be worse....

Vader's Leg · Lieutenant, Junior Grade Joined: 11 Aug 2005 Posts: 77

I am speaking figuratively ofcourse in the sense that in the same way as other religions over time they change and become a smaller group and therefore eventually have little impact on the big picture as other ideas take hold (for example many branches of the christian religion came to existance...there's all sorts from catholics, protestants, mormons...to name a few).

I understand what you mean by hell. Often I heard of eternal uncoditional love sprung from sacrifice. But how can we be so sure that is the final belief to live by. It seems a crime to me that from childhood a boy or a girl has to have the burden of something called sin, when they should be looking at their bright future with the calm confidence that they are clear of mind and ready to take on the challenges of life with all that their intelligence has to offer.

JanewayLover · Ensign Joined: 11 Aug 2005 Posts: 48

madlilnerd · **Fri Aug 12, 2005 7:06 am**

lionhead · **Fri Aug 12, 2005 8:27 am**

in my opinion God doesn't exist.
Of course, many members knew that about me already

i see god more as a Metaphore. He exists only in peoples hearts(too make it poetic). everybody creates their own god, rleigion is just a group of people who have accpeted that they each have the same Beliefs and thus the same god.

I'm not gonna go in the whole Christianity business again because that always turns out bad for me. But if someone "Baits", its too late.

webtaz99 · **Fri Aug 12, 2005 8:41 am**

I believe in God, but not the books written about Him by Man.

Jeremy · **Fri Aug 12, 2005 9:51 am**

Birdy · Socialist Joined: 20 Sep 2004 Posts: 13502 Location: Here.

A year ago I didn't believe in God, but I've started to think a lot about it since my grandpa died last year.
I know now there is a God, but I don't think he excists in corporal form. He's just all that is good and love, an entity.

He doesn't control our lives, we're for the most part responsible for it, we create our own destiny/fate, with the decisions that we make.
I don't know if he interfered with the creation with life on earth, I believe that evolution had something to do with it, and maybe some devine intervention, but I haven't figured that out for myself yet.
I wasn't babtised or brougth up by a certain way, my parents didn't teach me any religion.

Leo Wyatt · **Fri Aug 12, 2005 2:22 pm**

I believe in God with all my heart and soul. But, I am not going to do like I have before on the board and try to convince because there is no use. people will find out one day on Judgement day. When the rapture comes I know I will be going up. I just pray for the ones that don't believe. That's all I can do.

IntrepidIsMe · **Fri Aug 12, 2005 3:01 pm**

I personally don't believe in a divine being for many reasons. First off, everyone I know who has money, has worked hard for it. Did "god" help them? Uh, no. They did it all by themselves.
When I put my faith in something, I put it in myself, because at least I know I'm real. The idea of a "god" seems so outlandish. I mean, here we are, creating things all the time to fight off diseases and help others, but has a "god" done anything to help any of that along? No. Just people.
Another thing is how hypocritical most churches/religious institutions are. What a turn off from the whole worship thing. But, that doesn't really impact me, since that shouldn't have any effect with a personal relationship with "god."
Also, I'd like to think that even if a "god" does exist, he'd judge people based on how they treated others, not by what sex they sleep with, or how much money you donate to the church. But, as I said, this isn't the case with most religious institutions. Oh well.

Starbuck · **Fri Aug 12, 2005 4:06 pm**

This is a somewhat difficult question. I believe that certain Gods are real, but not the Catholic god. I think he is a comfort, created by a group of people who didn't want to be alone in the end. God would always be there to help them, so that they would never truly be alone.

TrekkieMage · **Fri Aug 12, 2005 4:56 pm**

I believe that God and religion rely very havily on faith. Without faith there is no God. Personally I do not believe there is a God, however I know people who do believe in God and I respect them very much for their trust.

My opinion (and this is just my opinion) is that God was created out of a human need for something or someone to believe in and trust, as well as a sort of scapegoat for their woes. If something went wrong, it was (and is) because you did something that angered or upset God.

Thus, in my view God doesn't exist as an entity, but he exists as a belief and in the minds of many many humans.

I apologize if that was a little convoluted...

Jeremy · **Fri Aug 12, 2005 6:46 pm**

Leo Wyatt · **Fri Aug 12, 2005 6:59 pm**

I believe if you can't pay your tithes in church, God understands. Preachers shouldn't preach all the time on money cause money is the root of all evil.

Give what you can. God loves no matter what. That is my opinion on it.

Arellia · **Fri Aug 12, 2005 7:19 pm**

I happen to believe very strongly in God, and I consider myself a Christian, but I do question a great many things in the bible itself, mostly because of how many churches and interpretations there are, and how if you REALLY went by the bible default, you'd get a little mixed up. Or a lot. Christianity was a lot different after Jesus was gone and Paul took up writing the New Testament, then you get the Catholic church... if all that were really Christianity, I wouldn't want any part of it. I believe Jesus was a gifted man and the son of God, I believe that he died for us, I believe he endowed us with the holy spirit and his forgiveness. I believe in trying to be like him, to follow his ways, because the mannner in which he treated people...the manner in which he acted for himself...it's obvious that his way works, and the many variations people try to put on life just make it more difficult and hellish.

However, I have a hard time believing in hell. I believe in a soul, a spirit, a life after death, but hell? I don't forsee people going to hell for what they do here. It simply makes no sense to me. Jesus was the most accepting of people...and he'd send them to hell? *shrugs* I don't think so. This is why to me, people can live however they want to live. I try to go by the laws of the bible, and many to most people around me don't. I'm comfortable as I am, and they...well, some of them like what they're doing, some don't. I find that what Jesus taught us seems to end up being the more personally gratifying way to live, and a lot of people, know it or not, come to that conclusion even if they don't credit Jesus for their morals. By example and by advice I advocate Christianity, but it doesn't matter to me what other people do or think.

So...by more of a specific definition... I have a "Universal Unitarian-Christian" outlook on God and spirituality. And yes, that's an actual classification, which I came upon on accident. (This is what I get for looking up religious heretics on Altavista)

nadia · cookie Joined: 08 Apr 2005 Posts: 8560 Location: Australia

JanewayLover · Ensign Joined: 11 Aug 2005 Posts: 48

Wow. The mods around here gave me the impression that the members of this board weren't mature enough to carry on a conversation on a controversial topic, without mudslinging and tantrums. Being new, I believed them.

Thanks, everyone, for proving them wrong. I'm reading a lot of good stuff here.

Deb, my intent was not to preach, but to share different ideas and views. I, also, pray for non-believers, but leave it at that. Either they find their way, or they don't.

It's in God's hands.

TrekkieMage · **Fri Aug 12, 2005 10:12 pm**

IntrepidIsMe · **Sat Aug 13, 2005 12:18 am**

IntrepidIsMe · **Sat Aug 13, 2005 12:19 am**

JanewayLover · Ensign Joined: 11 Aug 2005 Posts: 48

I humbly apologize for taking this thread off topic for a moment, but I must correct a misstatement.

This...

Cathexis · **Sat Aug 13, 2005 12:58 am**

I firmly believe that God exists. This is mainly due to the fact that he has performed true divine intervention on my life.

I'm not trying to be funny when I say that just the other day, my computer was infested with viruses and there was a huge ordeal in my household over it. All I could do was sit on the sofa and pray for the Lord to resolve the situation...and not to my surprise about fifteen minutes later..the computer was working and the crisis was over. I cannot be asked why I believe that it was God who did this, that it wasn't a coincidence or because of mere fate. I just know he's there. That's all it takes. Faith.