Does believing in god or a higher power give your life meaning?

If there is a God, a force for love; then there is a force for evil as well.

That demonic force has infected many and fooled the host that it is in fact God.

You know who you are....

1 Thessalonians 4:4 - That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor

a reply to: toysforadults


Post after post has said that it doesn't matter what your faith is in.

That is absolutely rubbish.

If your faith was in a public urinal, do you think it would avail you much?



It most definitely does matter what your faith is in.

originally posted by: bluesjr
a reply to: toysforadults

For me it does. I consider myself a fragment of a higher soul. I'm here to experience, bringing that experience to the higher self/soul.

But what then, does that mean of the You that you are? To be a tool of something else that you are not even allowed to know? Nothing more than a thermometer dipped into this reality, a reading? Don't you have importance also? Is your entire life so meaningless that you would accept simply being a fragment of a higher soul? Would you even like yourself if you knew the You that you imply you are?

To give life and consciousness to a soul, and allow it to struggle to build a life for itself, to be something, that in the end, is just a story you are telling yourself, and in the end none of it matters?

I find that a horrible thought. I reserve a solid punch in the throat for me, if this is true. I matter. I am not just a 'trip' at the celestial rave of being.

originally posted by: Night Star
I do believe there is a God, a higher power or whatever people wish to call the creator of all things. I find it strange that our existence wouldn't have a purpose or meaning. So many things to ponder and try to understand. There is far more to life than we could ever imagine here and now in this physical form.

The paths diverge in all directions.

You can only follow one at a time.

Each journey can easily be further than you can go in a lifetime.

To suggest that it is possible to follow them all is folly.

originally posted by: chr0naut

originally posted by: Night Star
I do believe there is a God, a higher power or whatever people wish to call the creator of all things. I find it strange that our existence wouldn't have a purpose or meaning. So many things to ponder and try to understand. There is far more to life than we could ever imagine here and now in this physical form.

The paths diverge in all directions.

You can only follow one at a time.

Each journey can easily be further than you can go in a lifetime.

To suggest that it is possible to follow them all is folly.

To be on any path that leads to good, is a good path. You don't have to follow them all? And there is no 'goal' in following a path. It is a value that will always find the good path to follow. Values don't have finishing posts. The path can always change, but to see that change as an opportunity, rather than an obstacle, and continue on a good path, is all we can do.

There is Only One....CROM!!!

Motto:

To crush your enemies -- See them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!

There is nothing else.

He will crush your other "Gods", like that Jehovah, Yesshyou, Allah....and all the rest.

Only CROM knows the riddle of steel!.

As I read some of the post I saw a trend that I found interesting. Many, if not most, had a sense of a higher being. I too believe that there is a higher being and I believe Him to be the Jehovah God. I have lived too long and I have seen too much to believe otherwise.
Those of you who believe that there is an intelligent being and that we came about by intelligent design do so because there is a spark deep down that tells us this. Man has sought to find the Creator in many, many ways. This is why we have so many religions.
I think that the problem is that man needs something tangible, something that they can see, and or, touch. It's very difficult to believe in something that we can't in some way meet, when we have no physical proof.
I could sit here and write why and how God exist until I crashed the system, but still, most would not believe or agree. God is a spirit and must be perceived by our spirit. The Bible states that flesh and blood can not reveal God to man, only God can reveal himself to man by the Holy Spirit.
It's been said that the believer has one more thing to prove in the debate than the atheist, that being, of course, the proof that God exist. However, the atheist cannot prove that He doesn't exist. So, we go back to the spark that we all have, telling us that there is something or someone out there. It's up to each one to address that spark and to come to their on conclusion. But, I believe that the true seeker will find themselves resolve to the fact that there is a true God.

originally posted by: Woodcarver
a reply to: toysforadults

I see many people who harbor the concepts of god in order to keep themselves on “the right track”. They like to think something is watching everyone and keeping score.

Would that not simply indicate that it is merely a facade to hide a lack of personal accountability & integrity behind?

If I were to say I'm a good person to others because if I'm not, I don't get the afterlife door prize & fall out of favor with the afterlife attendants (god(s) or whatever) then would that not make existence more of a self-centered, self-serving waste? I would be indicating that I'm not so much truly concerned with the lives of my fellow humans being pleasant so much as I'm saying I'm more concerned with not scoring enough bullet points to get that afterlife door prize.

I'm suspicious of the "good-hearted" motives of the religious because of this. It's not far-fetched once you look at the motive objectively. It's a "what's in it for me" justification concealed as religion. In my blunt opinion, that is just a veil concealing s#ty souls who wouldn't do something without a good reward.

a reply to: toysforadults

I agree that maintaining a belief in a higher force adds meaning to my existence.

I don't follow any organized or documented belief system. I think that how one constructs their own understanding of God is what is most important.

I'll use words like God and Creation when I relate my views. However, in essence these are just placeholder terms for forces that I believe exist beyond our ability to describe. Perhaps it is a sentience so vast that it exists outside of our ability to comprehend.

I never shy away from attempting to understand all the causes and effects of our universe. I'll generally accept mundane explanations for even the most fantastical events. But to appreciate the whole of the experience, I find it necessary to also seek out its beauty and mystery; and to not just attribute those characteristics to random chance.

For me, it is much more satisfying to know that I don't have all the answers. Others see no need for a belief in a higher order. And if that works for them, then I respect that belief as well.


-dex

a reply to: toysforadults

Psalm 8:3-4 King James Version (KJV) 3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

All of us affect the world in thousands of ways we are not even aware of. Maybe a smile and hello to a stranger changed their day enough to improve their life in some way. If there is such a thing as fate, destiny, or meaning to your life, only a few would even know what that might be.

So I would have to say no. I draw my meaning in life from the people around me. The people I know and love. I pray for them. God is a comfort to me more than a meaning in himself. If God were to appear and give me some mission like Moses, maybe that would change. It hasn't happened yet but I do believe many of my prayer have been answered.

I don't need religion to find a purpose in life. While I'm here I'm going to have a good time. I find purpose in my daily activities. I do believe there is a higher power I just don't find any reason my life should revolve around it.

a reply to: toysforadults

I only see what I become as I grow more aware of what I already am. God is part of everyone.

Had the world not taught me about God, I would have named and thought of God differently. I would still know him. Not everyone is born torn from him.

I remember.

I sense God even now in the same way I always did from the start. Concepts learned only serve as a counter point to the instincts we already have.

Im not lacking God but I am devoid of religion.

I try to place our current thoughts of God through a lens and just imagine everything from far off in the future. God is also part of what we will become.

a reply to: chr0naut

As SummerRain said in his reply to you...

To be on any path that leads to good, is a good path. You don't have to follow them all? And there is no 'goal' in following a path. It is a value that will always find the good path to follow. Values don't have finishing posts. The path can always change, but to see that change as an opportunity, rather than an obstacle, and continue on a good path, is all we can do.

I simply take the inspiration from anything meaningful that helps me to be a better person, that fills me with love and a light to help others as well as myself through the dark times, a comfort, a beacon of hope. There are beautiful things from many paths that I have found, many people from various belief systems and even some who follow nothing at all. I don't know if saying I am spiritual is the correct definition. I don't care for labels really.

I have always instinctively felt there was something more, something much greater than myself.

There is no folly here Sir.

a reply to: Night Star

I have always instinctively felt there was something more, something much greater than myself. 

That really is the simple truth we forget. It doesnt matter how you remember because the realization will set you free.

All that matters is that we remain conscientious of God and hold our ground against the onslaught of time and devils.

Its like dancing in the eye of the storm.

originally posted by: SummerRain

originally posted by: chr0naut

originally posted by: Night Star
I do believe there is a God, a higher power or whatever people wish to call the creator of all things. I find it strange that our existence wouldn't have a purpose or meaning. So many things to ponder and try to understand. There is far more to life than we could ever imagine here and now in this physical form.

The paths diverge in all directions.

You can only follow one at a time.

Each journey can easily be further than you can go in a lifetime.

To suggest that it is possible to follow them all is folly.

To be on any path that leads to good, is a good path. You don't have to follow them all? And there is no 'goal' in following a path. It is a value that will always find the good path to follow. Values don't have finishing posts. The path can always change, but to see that change as an opportunity, rather than an obstacle, and continue on a good path, is all we can do.

How do you know that a path leads to good, especially if you have never been at the other end of the path?

To just arbitrarily follow a path with no idea of destination or the quality of the journey along the way will usually lead you to be lost or in the middle of nowhere.

Some paths lead to roadblocks pitfalls and dangers, too.

If you are really lucky, you might take in some great scenery but at the end of the day, you'll probably return to the comfort, companionship and safety of home.

originally posted by: Nyiah

originally posted by: Woodcarver
a reply to: toysforadults

I see many people who harbor the concepts of god in order to keep themselves on “the right track”. They like to think something is watching everyone and keeping score.

Would that not simply indicate that it is merely a facade to hide a lack of personal accountability & integrity behind?

If I were to say I'm a good person to others because if I'm not, I don't get the afterlife door prize & fall out of favor with the afterlife attendants (god(s) or whatever) then would that not make existence more of a self-centered, self-serving waste? I would be indicating that I'm not so much truly concerned with the lives of my fellow humans being pleasant so much as I'm saying I'm more concerned with not scoring enough bullet points to get that afterlife door prize.

I'm suspicious of the "good-hearted" motives of the religious because of this. It's not far-fetched once you look at the motive objectively. It's a "what's in it for me" justification concealed as religion. In my blunt opinion, that is just a veil concealing s#ty souls who wouldn't do something without a good reward.

Nobody is good enough. We are all selfish and do foolish things because we do what we want and we don't understand the consequences.

No-one is good, but God.

originally posted by: Night Star
a reply to: chr0naut

As SummerRain said in his reply to you...

To be on any path that leads to good, is a good path. You don't have to follow them all? And there is no 'goal' in following a path. It is a value that will always find the good path to follow. Values don't have finishing posts. The path can always change, but to see that change as an opportunity, rather than an obstacle, and continue on a good path, is all we can do.

I simply take the inspiration from anything meaningful that helps me to be a better person, that fills me with love and a light to help others as well as myself through the dark times, a comfort, a beacon of hope. There are beautiful things from many paths that I have found, many people from various belief systems and even some who follow nothing at all. I don't know if saying I am spiritual is the correct definition. I don't care for labels really.

I have always instinctively felt there was something more, something much greater than myself.

There is no folly here Sir.

Love is a good guide. But there have been some horrors committed in the name of love.

As we age, we see the extenuating circumstances that can cause people to do things that most would assume are wrong.

Nothing that we do absolves us of the insults to 'rightness' and 'goodness' that we commit all the time.

Most religion is not a set of rules. To see it that way is to be trapped in the same hypocritical mind-frame that you would paint the religious as being.

I am the same as Night Star, as I am spiritual but non-religious, seeing truths/insights in every religion. I also believe in a higher power, partly because I've always felt a connection to it. I can't really answer the question here because I can hardly imagine living life without believing in a higher power of some kind. To me, life is a spiritual experience (as it's about soul growth.) I never needed to belong to any one religion because I never felt any need to. All paths do essentially 'lead to the mountain' (as we all learn from our choices and experiences on this earth.) Following this higher power, or searching for it, seems to be the way we feel we can reach the mountain, but I don't believe it's necessary. I also believe in reincarnation, so in my view one can live one lifetime as an atheist and the next lifetime as a believer. It's all just ways of exploring identity and expanding our horizons (enriching our souls.) If a being were to never aspire (or be forced to change,) there would be no growth.

So in a sense, the higher power reminds me that my journey is never-ending. Although it can be painful sometimes, I love the mystery of life and believe in the power and wonder of the soul. We are all flawed human beings, but as such we are growing deep and interesting souls. Hope this makes sense

a reply to: LoneCloudHopper2

That was beautiful Hopper! It's very late so I'm too tired to say much of anything else, plus we're talking on the phone. LOL

a reply to: tadaman

I like how you put that, very poetic.