Do you believe in God

On the other hand, some of that "so much more" is good -- youth activities and such.

 

Maybe god knew that women would inflict horrific female-related pain on men, so god didn't have to.

 

Christianity is attacked because it stands for something and in America, it's the big dog of religions. Everything else is minority status, and gets the typical minority defense. That's fine, but within each there are good elements, typically, faith, hope and love. I'll be careful with the third one: love doesn't mean endorse; but it is unconditional, you love through the flaws you might see in others because you have your own set of flaws. The thing I wish those who revile Christianity would see is that in its purest form, it's a religion of community that recognizes the connectiveness of all creation; that seeks to move each part to a higher purpose of life. We live in a flawed country where individualism becomes the focal point, because the system of capitalism is based on individualism and to a point, social and economic Darwinism. If you read Acts Chapter 2, particularly the last part of it, you could make the case that to be a Christian is to be a socialist. I won't quote it verbatim, but it's about "all having everything in common" and "giving to others as they had need" and the contentment of all. Utopian? Maybe. But that's certainly a world I'd like to live in. It's a hell of a lot better than what we have now and if I want to hope for it in heaven that may or may not exist in the minds of some, that's a chance I'll take.

 

You don't know that!
Don't attack my belief system!

 

Yet this is what many religious people do. They blindly accept whatever religion they are born into without bothering to examine any others, and in many cases condemning all others.
--- Well said, Cadet.

I've spent a lot of time over the years pondering this question, does God exist?. I want to believe there is a God, I want to believe that our lives have a purpose. How could all of this be an accident or random chance?

But I've always had a hard time accepting many of the Christian beliefs about God. I've argued with many people about Free Will and a host of other absolutes that Christianity assigns to God.

I still have so many questions. Why would a God who loves us all equally only want to share the "truth" with a minority of people? Why doesn't God just make himself/herself known to all of us in a way that can be universally understood? Why does everything have to be such a mystery? Is it possible that all of the world's major religions have a portion of the story right?

I think there is a higher power, or a God. But I don't believe it's exactly like the Bible describes.

 

Which is true, but they're activities which can also be had outside of a church setting. I'm not saying churches are bad, I'm saying there's so much focus on things other than faith that to me it's like going to KFC for a hamburger. If a burger is what I want, I'll go to a burger place. If faith is what I want, I should be able to go to a church and not be bombarded with the "others" not directly tied to faith.

Again, it's something I'll reconcile within myself.

 

That's why I HOPE there is a god.

I don't believe that hocus-pocus one bit, though.

 

There's a hell of a lot of historical time that's involved here; including cultures that didn't document verbatim what they've seen. It's like a relay race over time, elements passed on from one age to the next. But has God revealed himself? I'd bet so.

Gosh, a Baptist might behead me for gambling

 

By that same logic, no one can believe in a religion until he or she has made a detailed and thorough examination of all religions.

I don't like liver.
I don't claim to have sampled every recipe for liver, but I have eaten liver on several occassions.
I don't like liver.
I don't believe in god.

 

Devil's advocate (ha!) here, but why should anyone have to justify their beliefs, particularly in relation to religion? And do we really have to make a thoroughly informed decision when it comes to matters of faith?

 

What buckweaver said in this regard helped me, Alley. Maybe it'll help you, too.

 

AA, when it comes to anything, which includes religion, justification is important. If I drive a different way home from a friend's house, my wife will probably ask why I made such a decision. Now, if my wife was in a hurry to get home because her favorite show was on television and I drove a new way home, one which could be longer resulting in her missing the show, I will need a better justification than "I just felt like it."

Beliefs drive the decisions that we make in life. Someone that flies a plane into a building resulting in the death of thousands because they believe that 72 virgins are waiting for them better have some damn good justification for that belief. While this is certainly an extreme example it is the very same situation that occurs in everday life.