GOD

[butterman100]

now before we get to posting here i would just like to say that i am in no way trying to force my beliefs onto any of you nor do i wish for anyone to try to force any onto me or anyone else. i'm just curios to know what everyone else out there believes. personally im agnostic leaning more towards athiest.

[FallenStar]

I walk between the candle and the dark.   That is, to say,  I believe in an afterlife and in the good feelings that faith and God can bring, but I would be at a loss to proof my own personal viewpoint to others, nor do I think I should try to convert others.

Generally speaking, I'm agnostic, but with a personal bias more toward *some* sort of God, though not necessarily any God extolled by popular faith and religion.

[Maelstrom]

I am apathetic when it comes to religion. If there is an afterlife, I'll find out when I'm dead, but I'm not dead, so there's no point in wasting my life worrying about what happens to me after death.

[highoncrackandpcp]

As of late, I'm agnostic, I used to believe, but I'm having a rather hard time doing so now. It gets sorta hard when the world around you just seems so violent and ugly.

[Dissident]

Er, I feel that many would consider my opinion on this kind of dismal.

Growing up I was pretty much raised catholic, but my parents were never forceful of religious opinions.  Going to church was just something that they thought me and my brother could learn from.  I think it wasn't long after high school that I would start applying the label of atheist to myself.  I would love to believe in an after life, but really after death I don't think there really is anything.  You simply do not exist anymore.  I don't think this as too depressing though, but more encouraging of life and to make the most of it while you're able to.

Regardless I think people should focus themselves on what it means to be alive, and how they can make the most of things.

[packrat]

I suppose I should put in my 2 cents. 

I'm not really sure what I am.  I kinda agree with Star on the whole "I believe but don't think I should force others too" thing, and I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and all, but I just have trouble with how people present Him.  We constantly say that he is a loving and just God, but we always use examples where He seems to be more of a tyrannical dictator when we try to get our point across.  (I say "we" under the assumption that I am indeed Christian, not a Dieist like my roommate says I am.)  On top of it all, we tend to all have this dream-like persona and have a bad habit of going around telling people that they're wrong for being who they are.

If that's not enough, some even use the loving side of Christianity as a means to ridicule and belittle others simply because they live differently from use.  My best example of this would be my Grandma using manners and God as to reasons why everything I'm into---videogames, anime, cartoons, staying indoors---is evil when in reality she' just bitter and taking here anger about my blood Grandmother being who she is.  (Grandma is my Grandpa's wife, but not the mother of his child.)  And having been through at least three denominations (Baptist, Methodist, Cathlolic) I can say for certain that these are common faults that none of us seem to really notice in ourselves, or don't care to admit to.

The worst part is that we all go around actng as though we know exactly what God wants.  How can we know?  If He is indeed "incomprehensible" to humans, then how can any of us say that we know what He wants?  We can't comprehend Him, let alone what He wants!


I get the feeing that I am exaggerating some of this, but this is how I feel.

[The_Enigma]

I have to say, packrat, I agree with some of the things you say.  A lot of people use God as an excuse to hate something else, which isn't the point of God.

I was raised a Congregationalist Christian, and I still hold true to it.  I believe in God, I believe in the afterlife, and I believe that Jesus was the messiah.  However, I don't believe that God necessarily created the earth in intelligent design, or that he's influenced the world as much as the Bible says he has.

Also, going back to people using God as an excuse to hate people; they're really missing the point of God.  God is supposed to be ever loving, ever forgiving, and ever merciful without bias.  (Well, that's my opinion)  God is not some sort of tyrannical dictator or distant master who spins strange fates for people, he's an ever present deity that invokes hope, faith, and goodness.

People lacking a faith in God may respond to this by saying "There's so much suffering and strife in the world!  If this God is so powerful and kind, why would he allow such things to happen?"  Well, just like how nothing good can last forever, there can be no good without evil.  Because good and evil are ideas, without its opposite, the other cannot exist.  To quote my pastor, "In the large tapestry of life, it is impossible to see what is coming.  Only God can see the top, to weave the threads together.  You are on the bottom, and can only see one thread at a time.  Many would expect God to weave a tapestry of Gold and Silver.  However, he knows that along with the light colors, dark colors are also needed.  The light colors of the tapestry of life shine even brighter in contrast to the dark ones, and without each other, the true beauty of the masterpiece cannot be achieved.  So do not despair when the darker weaves may present themselves, for it will not be long when you join God on the other side of the tapestry and see the wondrous things he has woven for you." (This may have been paraphrased...a lot..but the message is the same.)

So I suppose I see God more as an influential spectator than a dictatorial puppet-master.

[TaintedLove]

I worship every conceivable god.  Not separately, but all as part of a singular entity.  It's worked out well.

[The_Enigma]

I worship every conceivable god.  Not separately, but all as part of a singular entity.  It's worked out well.

So, it's like a mass collective, like the Borgs from star trek?  They're all individual, but they're essential beings are interconnected with one another?

[TaintedLove]

Similar but different.  Like, less separate, but no less individual.  Like, inherently the same being, manifesting in all different fashions possible simultaneously at all times.  Subjective, as well.  In this fashion, all sentient beings will perceive * differently.

[butterman100]

Similar but different.  Like, less separate, but no less individual.  Like, inherently the same being, manifesting in all different fashions possible simultaneously at all times.  Subjective, as well.  In this fashion, all sentient beings will perceive * differently.

well i have to say that is certainly a unique outlook. i didn't know it was possible to worship everything.

[blitz827]

I was raised Catholic. But I have to admit that I never go to the church.

I believe in a loving God. One that always forgive, just and merciful. I believe in the eternal life. And I also believe that, when we die, God will take us to the paradise, a place of real happiness. (I like to think that the paradise is like an anime, but nobody really knows how is it).

I used to pray every night, asking God for protection for me and for all my family, and also saying Him that I'm grateful because He gave me the life. Now I don't pray every night, but sometimes I tell God: "Thank you for my life". Is the less I can do.

[The_Enigma]

Similar but different.  Like, less separate, but no less individual.  Like, inherently the same being, manifesting in all different fashions possible simultaneously at all times.  Subjective, as well.  In this fashion, all sentient beings will perceive * differently.

So it's like the omnipresence idea.  You don't believe in a singular god, but that everything that is makes up to be the divine presence?  I like your idea, it's very...open.  I can see how that would have a lot of positives to it.

However, what is the general attitude of your multi-god?  Is it loving and merciful, random and carefree, harsh and natural, or just everything all at once again?

[Ranpalan]

Amusing this topic popped up. I've just been reading parts of The Brick Testament. By far my favourite way to read the Bible :) Merely while reading the first part of the Genesis couldn't help but go "Well, this makes no sense...". The various laws are quite amusing, though.

[Serika]

Similar but different.  Like, less separate, but no less individual.  Like, inherently the same being, manifesting in all different fashions possible simultaneously at all times.  Subjective, as well.  In this fashion, all sentient beings will perceive * differently.

Is that like Kosh from Babylon 5? I remember a crowd of people all looked at him at the same time and each person saw something different.

I can see both good and bad things coming with this. On the good side it would allow everyone to have the god that suits him or her best, and nobody would have to be wrong even if the views contradict each other. The bad thing... is that most people aren't capable of this kind of reasoning, and some would even fight to the death over who has the better god.