Is there a God?

[ashbeeigh]

Yeah, I was told not to take God too seriously by my family too.

My aunt told me I was becoming "fanatical"


My question was always the same :

If God exists, and he is the Lord of Lords and wants us to live a certain way, then why the aren't you listening to him? He WANTS you to do x and live x way. Your whole existence is owed to him and he really is the most important thing to worry about.


Yeah, they never had an answer for me. I suspected it was because they didn't really believe deep down in their hearts.


Anyway, it's all forms of Sun worship. It's bull .

Wow, I think someone's just a little bit bitter about their spiritual journey more then anything.

There's not just one way of finding the "answer" or getting the response you want. And obviously you were listening to some pretty "fanatical" people. I'm not going to try to change your mind about anything, I'm just going to tell you that sometimes I find my answers in the most unlikely of places and the most unlikely of times, like on a long peaceful walk, or while at work, or just watching TV. And sometimes the answer is "no," because I believe that that's what God has in store for me. And I have to have faith that that's the right thing for me. I may not be in the best place right now, financial, emotionally, or physically, but if I pray about it and try to change things in the way I am guided towards...then things will be alright. That's just the way I see it. I'm not going to bust out Bible verses and I'm not going to become all holier then thou. You can have your "I'm not a believer" big boy pants on. That's fine. Not a problem.

[BacktoBasics]

Jesus is the one and only Son of God and the only Savior of the world.

I believe with all my heart that Jesus will reveal Himself and His Lordship to you, if you ask Him in faith to do so.

Reading the Gospel of John is an excellent place to start, in my opinion.

John, the last appearing Bible Gospel, presents us with long theological discourses from Jesus and could not possibly have come as literal words from a historical Jesus. The Gospel of John disagrees with events described in Mark, Matthew, and Luke. Moreover the unknown author(s) of this gospel wrote it in Greek near the end of the first century, and according to Bishop Shelby Spong, the book "carried within it a very obvious reference to the death of John Zebedee (John 21:23)." [Spong]

Your own Bishop explains it better than I can.

[MiamiHeat]

I am always going to be amazed at the desperation some people have to hold onto their beliefs even when staring into the face of evidence.

I mean, what are you scared of? That you lived a lie? so what? It's not your fault.

Fix it and grow.

[MiamiHeat]

John, the last appearing Bible Gospel, presents us with long theological discourses from Jesus and could not possibly have come as literal words from a historical Jesus. The Gospel of John disagrees with events described in Mark, Matthew, and Luke. Moreover the unknown author(s) of this gospel wrote it in Greek near the end of the first century, and according to Bishop Shelby Spong, the book "carried within it a very obvious reference to the death of John Zebedee (John 21:23)." [Spong]

Your own Bishop explains it better than I can.

Enough was shown in this thread to prove it. The intelligent bunch will have understood already. The stragglers who still argue are the same ones who would have argued that the Earth is flat back then.

Nothing you say will ever do anything to those few. Dishonest, insane, pick whatever word you want to use for them.

[2centsworth]

John, the last appearing Bible Gospel, presents us with long theological discourses from Jesus and could not possibly have come as literal words from a historical Jesus. The Gospel of John disagrees with events described in Mark, Matthew, and Luke. Moreover the unknown author(s) of this gospel wrote it in Greek near the end of the first century, and according to Bishop Shelby Spong, the book "carried within it a very obvious reference to the death of John Zebedee (John 21:23)." [Spong]

Your own Bishop explains it better than I can.

Sounds like eyewitness testimony to me.

[MiamiHeat]

Let me get this straight

You believe in Jesus but you idolize Tony Montana as your avatar?

haha. such dishonesty in people's hearts.

[2centsworth]

Enough was shown in this thread to prove it. The intelligent bunch will have understood already. The stragglers who still argue are the same ones who would have argued that the Earth is flat back then.

Nothing you say will ever do anything to those few. Dishonest, insane, pick whatever word you want to use for them.

do a little research on anthony flew. btw, explain the complexity of a living cell.

[2centsworth]

Let me get this straight

You believe in Jesus but you idolize Tony Montana as your avatar?

haha. such dishonesty in people's hearts.

so when did having tony montana in an avatar equate to idolizing? with that logic no wonder you are who you are.

[JoeChalupa]

The topic of the thread was "IsThere A God" and nobody has proved that God does not exist while I've admitted that I cannot provide proof that he does.
Now Jesus is another matter which is based on my faith and I know there are holes and that the bible was written by man, yada yada, yada but it still doesn't change my beliefs in Jesus. Call me bull headed or naive or whatever but I'll die believing in him and I'll die as a Catholic too.

[angel_luv]

People of faith often speak of their blessed assurance and the encouragement, hope etc that flows from it.

So, I am curious to know from the atheist and agnostics, what emotions does your " there may not be/ there is no God" conclusion evoke in you?

How does doubting/ denying/ disbelieving the existence of God better you?

[JoeChalupa]

WTF does someone's avatar have to do with religion?

[Alex Jones]

Just imagine if Miami Heat and the other non believers in this topic were to put 1/2 the energy and time they have used trying to prove there is no GOD to maybe finding a cure for Cancer we would all have a better life.

I think many of you are missing the point. It does not matter if Jesus was real or if the bible is true, it all comes down to one thing. Either you feel you are part of creation or some form of a creator, or you feel we evolved from space dust over billions of years and started out as a tadpole and slowly became humans.

It does not matter if you can prove the story of Jesus was told 6000 years earlier by the Chinese, or that the Virgin Mary was really a Divorced mother of two when she gave birth to Jesus.

What matters is you believe in something. A black man deep in Africa may not even know what a Bible is but his tribe may worship the sun. The point is they feel there is a higher power we cannot comprehend.

So before you load up on all your Goggle facts and quotes from the movie Zeitgeist. Keep in mind it really doesn't matter what you prove, at the end your either going to die and turn to dust or your soul is going to the after life.

Depending on what you believe at the time of death. So with that in mind lets create a scenario.

A:Your a non believer you know there is no GOD so therefore you live your life looking out for #1 you could care less about anyone but yourself. You didn't ask to be here so why should you give a ?

After you die you turn to dust and it's all over.


B: You actually feel there is a creator so you try to live your life in a way that you won't be to ashamed if you ever have to face the GOD (or higher power) when you die. You try and make the best of your life and you treat others with respect and may even show emotions like love from time to time.

Now when you die your spirit can soar to the afterlife where you will meet others who shared your beliefs.

So you have to say to yourself, do I want to take that chance and find out after death there is a place for my soul, or should I just play it safe and maybe believe that we are not here because of some dust particles from a huge explosion.

It's kinda like buying insurance before you get on a plane. Chances are you may not need it but why take that chance?

[2centsworth]

WTF does someone's avatar have to do with religion?

according to the intelligent athiest it's your idol.

[JoeChalupa]

People of faith often speak of their blessed assurance and the encouragement, hope etc that flows from it.

So, I am curious to know from the atheist and agnostics, what emotions does your " there may not be/ there is no God" conclusion evoke in you?

How does doubting/ denying/ disbelieving the existence of God better you?

That they can say they are right and we are wrong.

[The Power Hour.]

This topic makes 9/11 look like a fire drill.

[french bread]

Let me get this straight

You believe in Jesus but you idolize Tony Montana as your avatar?

And i thought the French were small minded.

[MiamiHeat]

so when did having tony montana in an avatar equate to idolizing? with that logic no wonder you are who you are.

Look at yourself. You are a walking contradiction. A hypocrite.

You can't love and follow Jesus and the religion's teachings while enjoying things like Tony Montana in Scarface.

He's a criminal, a murderer. Lives the life of the devil, according to your religion.

You can't have both. Sorry, but you are a hypocrite.

You DONT EVEN UNDERSTAND YOUR OWN RELIGION. HOW PATHETIC!

[JIM LAMPLEY]

God almighty how many times are you all going to go round and round on this God topic!?!?!?!? No one has landed any clear knock out punches but there have been plenty of nice jabs and ducks and misses for the judges to enjoy.

[2centsworth]

Look at yourself. You are a walking contradiction. A hypocrite.

You can't love and follow Jesus and the religion's teachings while enjoying things like Tony Montana in Scarface.

He's a criminal, a murderer. Lives the life of the devil, according to your religion.

You can't have both. Sorry, but you are a hypocrite.

You DONT EVEN UNDERSTAND YOUR OWN RELIGION. HOW PATHETIC!

for being intelligent you are pretty dumb.

[MiamiHeat]

People of faith often speak of their blessed assurance and the encouragement, hope etc that flows from it.

So, I am curious to know from the atheist and agnostics, what emotions does your " there may not be/ there is no God" conclusion evoke in you?

How does doubting/ denying/ disbelieving the existence of God better you?

Free. Your. Mind. Some cultures call it "nirvana", others call it a higher understanding.

Learn what our place on Earth REALLY is. Free yourself from FEAR, which is what religion uses to control you.

Your god : "Do what I say, or else!"

Let me ask you a question :

No matter what your son did, would you EVER throw him in a place to suffer for eternity?



Your God : "Do what I tell you to, OR I WILL PUNISH YOU FOR ETERNITY - THROW YOU IN TO BE TORTURED AND BURNED IN FLAMES FOREVER!!
But I still love you!"

Come on. Use your brain.

[MiamiHeat]

for being intelligent you are pretty dumb.

LEARN YOUR OWN RELIGION.

You are pathetic.

[2centsworth]

Free. Your. Mind. Some cultures call it "nirvana", others call it a higher understanding.

Learn what our place on Earth REALLY is. Free yourself from FEAR, which is what religion uses to control you.

Your god : "Do what I say, or else!"

Let me ask you a question :

No matter what your son did, would you EVER throw him in a place to suffer for eternity?



Let me ask you something

For being the smartest person alive you understand so little.

[phyzik]

People of faith often speak of their blessed assurance and the encouragement, hope etc that flows from it.

So, I am curious to know from the atheist and agnostics, what emotions does your " there may not be/ there is no God" conclusion evoke in you?

How does doubting/ denying/ disbelieving the existence of God better you?

It helps me to know that I am in control of my own destiny, that I have faith in my own abilities. I don't have to "pray" for something to happen. If it happens its because I made it happen. It allows me to have faith in myself and I don't have to use anything as a crutch to get by in life. When something goes wrong, I take responsibility for it.

Something goes wrong for a religious person its because of the devil or some other nonsense, not because they screwed up. For those that do understand that it was of their own doing when something goes wrong kudos to them, but why the double standard when something goes right? why does it have to be contributed to God and why do you thank him? Why not thank yourself and realize you alone are the one that made it happen.

What amuses me a lot also is the fact that a lot of people know Santa Claus (at least in the sense and spirit of Christmas) doesn't really exist. But yet when the same ideals that created Santa are applied to God they somehow throw all logic out the window and create a double standard.

As far as if there is a higher being, I guess no one will ever really know until the inevitable end of their lives. There may very well be a higher power but I just think any organized religion is getting it all wrong. I would hope that if this God is as benevolent as people claim him to be, he will be able to see me for who I am and how I lived my life. My not going to his church or worshiping him shouldnt have anything to do with it. Most of my life has paralleled the teachings of the 7 sins so I see no problem either way. I think they are a great guideline to how someone should live.

Honestly... from reading a lot of responses to this thread, it seems the overriding reason people cling to a religion is fear. Fear of Death. Fear of the Afterlife. Fear of not knowing.

If that's the case, I'm glad I don't follow any of it and if it helps you to cope with reality, then that's OK too, its just not for me. Keep in mind, I don't go around shouting my beliefs to people that religion is a farse. I'm just speaking my feelings on the subject since it was brought up.

[2centsworth]

LEARN YOUR OWN RELIGION.

You are pathetic.

you mean learn your limited understanding of an imaginary religion, no thanks. when you want to learn what christainity is let me know. a good understanding will actually help you in these types of debates. Right now you have wikipedia stamped on your forehead.

[MiamiHeat]

Don't post to me anymore, Tony Montana loving "Christian" boy. Go idolize a movie that is about a criminal who commits murder for money and deals drugs.

At least your friends will think you are 'cool'