To non believers in GOD. What in the world do you believe in? and why?

I am absolutely fascinated by people who do not believe in GOD. I can't understand why? Have you ever gave yourself truly a chance. To open your heart completely. If not, then WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IN?

I feel you have to have faith. Lets just say this. Everytime you go on an airplane you have faith. Faith that the aircraft is safe and nothing happens. You go on it with the word of man saying, "This is 99.9% safe". You take "their" word because you have to. It's the same with GOD and the bible. You have to take faith in GOD's word because you have to.

reply to post by Guided

When I take a plane I have faith in technology, not in God; so who believes in God, mainly the Christian one, can explain why, if God it's good and onnipotent, a lot of children are continuosly dyeing because they don't have enough food of for any kind of illnesses!

Question: How do you feel about same sex marriage ? Or same sex couples being allowed to adopt children ?


Once you answer these questions I can use your answers to grasp what YOUR beliefs really entail.


By the way, I am a Believer in the word spread by Jesus the Nazarene.

reply to post by Guided


Blind faith is not wise. I take faith in the airline that has a good safety record, I'm not going to travel with an airline that has a dangerous one. I do not have faith in Chinese products..they're unsafe. As far as I can see God does not have a good record of protecting his creations.

How do you know the bible is Gods word?

I don't "have to" have faith in anything. I can choose to. And that is the whole point.
I am equally facinated by the people who have faith because they are told they "have to believe" and never actually look into it.
Rationality plays a big role here, but on the other hand I'm pretty sure I don't know everything, so I'm still open minded about the existence of a god or many gods... or not.

reply to post by Guided


They say that you should not truly like or dislike something unless you understand it as thoroughly as possible. I was a devout Baptist till I was about 16 y.o., and felt I learned all that I needed to make the decision that it was not something that I would like to believe in. I found a religion that most closely resembles the types of beliefs that I found on my own. That religion just happened to be Shinto. Though I contemplate religion quite often, I don't believe that Christianity is something I will return to. I just don't see it happening.

You're right. It would be impossible to live without any sort of faith. But faith does not have to be in the form of God. I myself was raised in a very religious family but do not believe in God. Why? Because begging for an omniscient ...being?... with mythical qualities to give me guidance did not provide me with guidance. Because daily prayers did not make me any purer or better or less 'sinful'. Because there were times when I fully, truly believed in God, and fully, truly needed some guidance, but being a believer did not give me clarity. (And no, if you're wondering, I did not expect miracles).

But this being said I do have faith. When I get onto an airplane, I have faith in whoever put it together. I have faith in the pilot. When I get onto that roller coaster called life, I have faith in my mind, my heart and my body. I have faith in my instincts. I have faith in my loved ones. Not believing in God does not mean being faithless. It means having faith in something a little different.

Why did I believe before? Because I was conditioned to. I think that plays a big role in why people who do call themselves believers are such as they are. I guess the only difference between me and you would be that we both had faith, but I re-examined my stance, desired some logic to back up what I was told to believe and couldn't find any whereas perhaps you did. To be honest, the concept of God and what is presented in religion (for I have spent countless hours examining different ones in hopes that I could find one which matched my values) boggles my mind. I simply cannot believe, but it isn't for lack of trying.

I hope that gives you some clarity.

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
reply to post by Guided

 

When I take a plane I have faith in technology, not in God; so who believes in God, mainly the Christian one, can explain why, if God it's good and onnipotent, a lot of children are continuosly dyeing because they don't have enough food of for any kind of illnesses!

I hear what you are saying and it is awful (the children). That is not GOD's fault. That is MAN's fault.

reply to post by Guided



It is very simple. There is no viable,tangible proof that such a being exists. NONE.
God(tm) and the bible are fictitious, mythological,superstitious things, created by man to control people's thoughts and actions. It's so sad that people actually believe and follow this nonsense.

Originally posted by trilateral_insignia
Question: How do you feel about same sex marriage ? Or same sex couples being allowed to adopt children ?


Once you answer these questions I can use your answers to grasp what YOUR beliefs really entail.


By the way, I am a Believer in the word spread by Jesus the Nazarene.

I have a few friends that are gay. They do not CHOSE to be that way. They are born that way. (From what I know). Just like I am born the way I am. I can't change that. I feel we are all sinners. Gay, not gay. It doesn't matter. As long as you have GOD and repent your sins, whatever they may be to you. In private or not. GOD is there for you.

Now your question. Same sex couples to adopt children. As long as it is loving and healthy for the child(main thing). That is fine. Children brought up with hetrosexual parents are worse off if it is an unloving, violent situation. So as long as love and GOD is there.

Same sex marriage. Ok, I will be honest. Just say that everyone in the world was gay. That would be the end of the human race on our part. Would it not? Like I said, you can't change how you are born. Any of us. So to present a marriage in the eyes of GOD (I am assuming) would be to admitting "no fault". Don't get me wrong, I don't even agree with marriage now a days. It means NOTHING. Some people get married in the "eyes of GOD" and divorce the next hour. So I don't agree with mariiage at all unless it is forever. I guess there are some people who can still do that. Mostly the older generation.

If this makes sense. GOD is the most important thing to remember here and you will never be steered wrong. No matter what.

Originally posted by Witness2008
reply to post by Guided

 

Blind faith is not wise. I take faith in the airline that has a good safety record, I'm not going to travel with an airline that has a dangerous one. I do not have faith in Chinese products..they're unsafe. As far as I can see God does not have a good record of protecting his creations.

How do you know the bible is Gods word?

It is not GOD's responsibility to protect his creation. Man is "literally" on his own. We chose to go against the word of GOD and this is why we are where we are today. Pathetic.

Something has lead me to read the bible. Not quite finished, yet. I truly believe that if you are open to the "spirits of GOD" they will lead you where you are supposed to go. That being said I believe in the word of GOD, the bible. Not word for word but, overall definitely. Look what is happening today in our world. It is all there in the bible. Playing out, chapter by chapter. I am not sure if you have read it but, you would see the same result.

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
I don't "have to" have faith in anything. I can choose to. And that is the whole point.
I am equally facinated by the people who have faith because they are told they "have to believe" and never actually look into it.
Rationality plays a big role here, but on the other hand I'm pretty sure I don't know everything, so I'm still open minded about the existence of a god or many gods... or not.

You are absolutely right! You don't have to have faith in anything. Once you allow yourself to "feel" the presence of GOD. There is no turning back. Each and everyone one of us are capable of having the "holy spirit". It is whether we allow it into our lives or not. All you have to do is try. If it does not work then go back to your original beliefs. You got nothing to lose.

Originally posted by Osiris1953
reply to post by Guided

 

They say that you should not truly like or dislike something unless you understand it as thoroughly as possible. I was a devout Baptist till I was about 16 y.o., and felt I learned all that I needed to make the decision that it was not something that I would like to believe in. I found a religion that most closely resembles the types of beliefs that I found on my own. That religion just happened to be Shinto. Though I contemplate religion quite often, I don't believe that Christianity is something I will return to. I just don't see it happening.

I am not familar with Shinto religion. To make a comment. However, I do believe if you try to understand something to much (that can be anything). You will always change your mind. You have to go on your "gut/instinct" feeling which it seems thats what you did at the time. Now you are older and know that GOD could exist and the bible is there. That is a choice that you alone make but, don't let other things "cloud" you up. What are the beliefs of Shinto? Thanks

Originally posted by tobefree
You're right. It would be impossible to live without any sort of faith. But faith does not have to be in the form of God. I myself was raised in a very religious family but do not believe in God. Why? Because begging for an omniscient ...being?... with mythical qualities to give me guidance did not provide me with guidance. Because daily prayers did not make me any purer or better or less 'sinful'. Because there were times when I fully, truly believed in God, and fully, truly needed some guidance, but being a believer did not give me clarity. (And no, if you're wondering, I did not expect miracles).

But this being said I do have faith. When I get onto an airplane, I have faith in whoever put it together. I have faith in the pilot. When I get onto that roller coaster called life, I have faith in my mind, my heart and my body. I have faith in my instincts. I have faith in my loved ones. Not believing in God does not mean being faithless. It means having faith in something a little different.

Why did I believe before? Because I was conditioned to. I think that plays a big role in why people who do call themselves believers are such as they are. I guess the only difference between me and you would be that we both had faith, but I re-examined my stance, desired some logic to back up what I was told to believe and couldn't find any whereas perhaps you did. To be honest, the concept of God and what is presented in religion (for I have spent countless hours examining different ones in hopes that I could find one which matched my values) boggles my mind. I simply cannot believe, but it isn't for lack of trying.

I hope that gives you some clarity.

Thanks for sharing that. You sound similar to my husband. I always believed in GOD on my own, since a child. Parents were non religious. Never baptised me. That bothered me my whole life. Why? I am not quite sure to tell you the truth. I became baptised when I was 22 years old on my own. Now, I see/hear of alot of death in my life. If it wasn't for my faith in GOD, I couldn't do it. All you have to do is be "open". I mean allow yourself to feel GOD's presence. Nobody can deny that once they truly, truly do that.

Why must I have faith in anything? Does your faith do anything for you except give you the idea that someone is looking over you and helping you through tough times. The business of prayer is nothing more than meditiation. The truth is no one is there, there is no santa claus in the sky who give a **** about you or anyone else.

I am forever fascinated by the believers who think that God controls everything, but never wonders why he sent them down a disease or tornado, or hurricane, death of a loved one or all the other crappy things that happens as a part of life, they are all so busy giving glory to God for the good things they never give him the credit for the bad.

If I get on a plane I will feel lucky and grateful that someone tightened the darn screws tight enough for it to stay in the air, that's it, I have no faith in anything or anyone.

Maybe a better question would be to ask yourself why you feel the need to have faith in something out of this world. I understand why. This world is a depressing place sometimes, and to think that there's nothing more is terrible, but unfortunately we have 0 evidence to suggest that any of our religions are for real. Everything we generally "have faith" in has reason and logic to back it. We have faith in airplanes because we've seen them work. We know that there is complicated technology, and that professionals have dedicated a lot of time getting them to work. We can literally touch them and watch them fly. When I was losing my faith, I prayed constantly and desperately for God to please give me any kind of sign that he exists. I "sought" him out. I tried just "believing," but it didn't work. Believing in something that has no evidential backing whatsoever is simply illogical. I haven't ruled God out, but I simply don't have the ability to just trust that he exists when not only is there no evidence, but there's also quite a bit to the contrary. Honestly, I wish I could believe...life would feel so much better.

What do I believe in? Nothing. I don't know what's out there. It could be God, it could be nothing, or it could be something. I simply do not know, and that's ok.

Personally, I don't believe in any one thing. I believe in the possibility of things. I believe it is possible that there is a God. I believe in the possibility that God, is something we created to ease our minds. I believe it is possible that there is exterterrestrial life. I believe it is possible that I will see the end of the world. I believe in the possibility of Ghosts/Spirits. I believe int he possibility of Evil energy. These are things, that are possible, and not certain.

I can't live my life based on Faith alone. I don't believe what CNN broadcasts. I don't believe what I read in the Newspaper. So how can I be sure that the Bible, is verbatim what God said? How can I be sure, that after the translations, the meanings and interpretations haven't been altered? How can I be sure, that the Bible isn't just stories, written to give us a sense of Hope about something? To make us feel less alone in the world? I can't. How can I have faith knowing its possible that the Bible is nothing but a story book?

For the most part, we are creatures who crave attention, affection, and companionship. We don't like to be alone (I say for the msot part...for some reason my father is the exception to this rule, and I know he's not the only one). Some of us can't fathom a world, that just is. We can't accept that we are just here. We need to know How we got here, why we are here, whats waiting for us at the end. We need to know. We have an insatiable urge, to figure it out. And when we can't figure things out, we make up the answers, or someone else does it for is. Science has theories, and relgion claims to have answers. Its easier for me to believe in the possibility of a Theory, as with a theory, comes some sort of proof. I understand how some people can take it all on faith along, as everyone has different levels of information needed, in order to believe in thigns. I however, am not one of these people.

Its difficult for me to take a stance for God, as along with the questions of Why are we here? and How did we get here? I also ask "What about the poor children in Africa? What about the poor people who die in Natural Disasters? What about the poor 3 year old with Cancer, who will never learn to drive, who will never attend their own prom, who will never see the world. What about them? So far, No religion has been able to answer this question for me.

Originally posted by Guided
All you have to do is be "open". I mean allow yourself to feel GOD's presence. Nobody can deny that once they truly, truly do that.

I can feel Gravity. I can feel the Wind. I can feel the beating of my heart. I can feel the flesh of someone standing next to me. I can feel my sore muscles after a run. I can feel the earth beneath my feet. These are things that I can feel. I'm not saying you don't feel the presence of God, I am just saying, that I personally, have not.

I was raised Christian. And I tried to live by Faith alone...However I ask too many questions that remain unanswered. And so the only thing I can believe in, is the possibilities of things being true.

If I'm honest,I don't know what I believe in. I know i don't believe in a god. But I'm open to the idea of the possibility of there being one. (s'why i'm agnostic and not an athiest) I just don't know. What i do know is,we're but a tiny spec,not even that in the grand scheme of things. Our galaxy is but a wee spec in the grand scheme of things. I'm resonably sure that even if there is a god,he/she/it isn't wanthcing us all that closely. We're quite low down on any agenda IMO.

I personally think that the notion of a god came from outer space. When aliens came down to earth and got funky with our ladies and flashed their bling. It's more logical that way,in my mind. As it's actually something that isn't too far fetched if you think about all what's out there.

I believe im Myself and thats it, because at the end of the day im the only one who i can rely on.When things go wrong and they often do, I dont look up to the sky and ask why, I dont put my hands together and plead for help.I put my head down and push through with grit and determination knowing that no one else can help me every time.I thank my lucky stars i have some very exceptional friends and family for support but they are not my saviours.Only i can help myself

What can be said about your God? He's merciful? He cares for all that he created? He forgives all sins that are repented?

Here's an example why the whole 'if you repent my god will forgive you' deal is pure poppycock:

Say I break in to your mothers residence, slap her around and torture her a bit and then I decide to rape her and finally bleed her out like a pig to a very bad death. I get caught and all you can see is blind rage for the horrible things I did to your sweet mother. But while standing trial and sitting on death row, I repent for the sins I have commited and accept god in to my life as my god an savior. Would I be fogiven by this god? Would I be forgiven by you?

It's graphic and I'm sorry if you take any offense, but I'm trying to make a point here.

As far as what I believe in, well, I believe in the Force. That's what I believe in.