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Point of realization.....
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Originally posted by JessicaS
This is a question to all interested. When did you realize that god did/didn't exist? At what point did you figure it all out? Can your mind be changed, and faith be shaken/realized?
There was never really an exact point in time that my faith in God was cemented. It came from studying and observing, but the kickoff point was witnessing the holy spirit in action and seeing miracles.
Gosh MajorM, your story sounds a lot like mine, except I still believe in a higher power, or supreme intellect, creative force, yada, yada.
I cannot remember a time in my life when I didn't believe,I have had doubts, however.
I hopped from church to church looking for truth too.
I think humans are hard wired to believe, this then brings up many more questions, why?
Even your inability to shake your beliefe in astrology proves this, we need our idols even if they are American LOL
athiest believe in nothing but they still believe,
I often wondered who the first man/women was that looked out into the heavens and wondered about creation, of course everything was a great mystery,or was it?
Maybe ancient men were the supreme ones and we are the sad remnant.
Maybe we have lost our connection to the creator, as our vision gets dimmer and dimmer, maybe the ancients in their innocence and keen senses could contact what we cannot, sometimes I get glimpses, or do I?
I cannot remember a time in my life when I didn't believe,I have had doubts, however.
I hopped from church to church looking for truth too.
I think humans are hard wired to believe, this then brings up many more questions, why?
Even your inability to shake your beliefe in astrology proves this, we need our idols even if they are American LOL
athiest believe in nothing but they still believe,
I often wondered who the first man/women was that looked out into the heavens and wondered about creation, of course everything was a great mystery,or was it?
Maybe ancient men were the supreme ones and we are the sad remnant.
Maybe we have lost our connection to the creator, as our vision gets dimmer and dimmer, maybe the ancients in their innocence and keen senses could contact what we cannot, sometimes I get glimpses, or do I?
Like others, I enjoyed the rollercoastal ride of faith, non-faith, faith, etc.
But I came to my point of realization early this year, and again, a few weeks back.
I think all religions are wrong, but, they are also "designed", will explain in a moment.
I look around and see design, so I believe there is a designer. However, I don't see the designer as being divine, nor all powerful, nor holy, nor the embodiment of any attributes that people attribute to "God". Actually, I think mankind may well live for trillions of millenia, travle many galaxies, and still NEVER be able to comprehend the designer, why? will explain in a moment.
My personal experience also reveals a manipulator. The manipulator and the designer might be one and the same, or the manipulator may be part of the design, or a byproduct of the design. Who is the manipulator? No, it's not satan, or the devil, or any other mythological invention of man. The manipulator is simply that which has proven itself to exist, at least to my satisfaction, by having manipulated things of my life which could not have been manipulated by another human, or "alien", or any other "naturally" occurring force or being. Said another way, I don't know who what where or why there is a manipulator, but I'm aware of it's existence by way of the same reason I'm aware of the designer's existence, by simple observation.
Let me explain: Consider the XBOX 360. It's graphics is incredibly realistic. Your mind thinks it is actually seeing the scenarios and environments that are portrayed on screen, yet, it is, for all intents and purposes, a lie. Your mind is fooled into believing it sees something that is in all actuality, not there at all. That is the doing of a good graphics program. Ok, moving on. Let's take that technology, make the graphics appear "3 dimensional" when you wear 3d glasses (as in those ugly looking colored shades you're forced to wear at "3d" disney attractions) and lastly, let's use one of them huge 360 degree type screens, like in an IMAX theatre. Sounds kewl I bet, and would look awesome I'm sure, but, it's a "fake" world.
Ok, now, think for a moment, we've had computer technology for less than 50 years, digital technology for less than 30. What if we had computer technology for a 1000 years? for 10,000 years. At what point might the technology be capable of simulating an entire universe? To say never is not just ignorant, but down right foolish. After all, I can hear my mom call my name, even though she's 1000 miles away from me, that's NOT natural, so is it supernatural. I can walk while having a view of the clouds of heaven below my feet, that's NOT natural, so is it supernatural. If Peter, James, John, and the other apostles saw me get out of a time machine with a tv, a radio, a cell phone, etc, etc, no doubt they would pray to me and call me the son of God too.
So, the designer is a programmer. This world is a program. Either the designer manipulates this program every so often, or, a side effect of his programming caused a small program to spawn that manipulates the "world" program.
It is quite likely that on the day God, or No-God, can be proven, is the exact same day that I can prove all of what I said above. Better yet, not one of you could disprove me any more than I could disprove any of you.
So, maybe we're all right (of course, what I really mean is that religion is real, because it's part of the programmer's design, so I'm more right than you, hehehehe)
But I came to my point of realization early this year, and again, a few weeks back.
I think all religions are wrong, but, they are also "designed", will explain in a moment.
I look around and see design, so I believe there is a designer. However, I don't see the designer as being divine, nor all powerful, nor holy, nor the embodiment of any attributes that people attribute to "God". Actually, I think mankind may well live for trillions of millenia, travle many galaxies, and still NEVER be able to comprehend the designer, why? will explain in a moment.
My personal experience also reveals a manipulator. The manipulator and the designer might be one and the same, or the manipulator may be part of the design, or a byproduct of the design. Who is the manipulator? No, it's not satan, or the devil, or any other mythological invention of man. The manipulator is simply that which has proven itself to exist, at least to my satisfaction, by having manipulated things of my life which could not have been manipulated by another human, or "alien", or any other "naturally" occurring force or being. Said another way, I don't know who what where or why there is a manipulator, but I'm aware of it's existence by way of the same reason I'm aware of the designer's existence, by simple observation.
Let me explain: Consider the XBOX 360. It's graphics is incredibly realistic. Your mind thinks it is actually seeing the scenarios and environments that are portrayed on screen, yet, it is, for all intents and purposes, a lie. Your mind is fooled into believing it sees something that is in all actuality, not there at all. That is the doing of a good graphics program. Ok, moving on. Let's take that technology, make the graphics appear "3 dimensional" when you wear 3d glasses (as in those ugly looking colored shades you're forced to wear at "3d" disney attractions) and lastly, let's use one of them huge 360 degree type screens, like in an IMAX theatre. Sounds kewl I bet, and would look awesome I'm sure, but, it's a "fake" world.
Ok, now, think for a moment, we've had computer technology for less than 50 years, digital technology for less than 30. What if we had computer technology for a 1000 years? for 10,000 years. At what point might the technology be capable of simulating an entire universe? To say never is not just ignorant, but down right foolish. After all, I can hear my mom call my name, even though she's 1000 miles away from me, that's NOT natural, so is it supernatural. I can walk while having a view of the clouds of heaven below my feet, that's NOT natural, so is it supernatural. If Peter, James, John, and the other apostles saw me get out of a time machine with a tv, a radio, a cell phone, etc, etc, no doubt they would pray to me and call me the son of God too.
So, the designer is a programmer. This world is a program. Either the designer manipulates this program every so often, or, a side effect of his programming caused a small program to spawn that manipulates the "world" program.
It is quite likely that on the day God, or No-God, can be proven, is the exact same day that I can prove all of what I said above. Better yet, not one of you could disprove me any more than I could disprove any of you.
So, maybe we're all right (of course, what I really mean is that religion is real, because it's part of the programmer's design, so I'm more right than you, hehehehe)
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