Do you believe in god??

[guymelef]

how about we take this in a new direction....
to have a belief in god regardless of the incarnation is the first choice. to believe or not to believe. and since it's a personal choice I don't think that there is a reason to try prusuade someone to believe or no to believe.

religion is the cruxt of most peoples hang-ups.
and we can talk about that all day.
although to me believing in god is not the same has religion. religion to me is the embodiment of series of beliefs about how god says to live your life according to whatever earthly power you follow(yourself, catholisim, buddism, etc.). With a working definition established, we can now move on. Church is the weekly vehicle that binds most religions together. but lets start with the pros and then we will take on the cons.
The first concept I would like to talk about is the sense of belonging and importance that going to church can bring to some people and IMO the main reason why people go. Another point, church can act as a mental and social support. Giving shut-ins and socialites a place to converse and talk about their lives and situations in a non-threatening enviroment. While at the same time giving men and women hope, and building love in their fellow man. Most church services in any religion will read from their holy tome which has been passed down through the ages, then afterwards bringing into a modern context. I'd better cut this short and just leave it at that. Now ergo, on to the cons.

Some figures in history have said that "Religion is the opiate of the masses.". Which I can only take to mean that for people without the self-confidence and inner strength to understand that to live life in a positive aspect regardless of if you believe in god or not that you only need to be fair with yourself and fair with your neighbor. (jeez that is probably a run-on). Moving on, religion usually rests squarely on the shoulders of a religious book. Usually the book is a collection of events and situations faced by the people of the ancient world. At least that's how I look at these books. The biggest problem is that most people and organizations the recite passages from these books have a tendency to focus on one possible interpretation. When you use a passage to prove a point either in a positive or negative aspect you completly ignore the grey area that represents the doubt that ........... nevermind(this thought went nowhere). One thing that really gets to me is when religious bodies take it on themselves to persicute other beings for the sake of religion. This is completly unneccasary. They way I see it is that you should never take any action whether for good or for ill, that your only recourse or defense is "God told me to do it". Just remember that this is your life and if you don't want to help/hurt somebody then that's your choice, not God's, your mother's, your friend's, or your dog's. To exemplify, don't give with regret or without self justification, such as ; I gave John five dollars because he is/isn't my friend and I know that I have enough money without the five dollars. Also, let's look at another scenerio; I gave John five dollars with and I hope he pays me back. You have to be carefull or you'll go hungry and that's your fault for giving with regret or self justification. this is not religion, just preachy common sense.
oh well I am tiried of writing this. I hope people will look at this from an objective point of view. Oh yeah what i was trying to say through this whole thing is that organized religion is trouble. and atheism is a religion.

[halbak]

I dont believe in god because why do bad things happen to good people. If god is all knowing why hasnt he seen and tried to stop a world with lots of wars and stuff. this is why i dont believe in god, to me, god sucks!

[wardishy]

what kind of a stupid question is that? if god was real then why do we suffer?

[shabbadoo]

i beleive that its satan thats makin us suffer because it says in the bible that god is not ruling the world at this moment in time but satan is

[krowstrife]

[quote author=shabbadoo link=board=off;num=1089481906;start=30#33 date=07/14/04 at 11:17:37]i beleive that its satan thats makin us suffer because it says in the bible that god is not ruling the world at this moment in time but satan is[/quote]


well i have never see god or satan but if i believe the bible
i should believe in superman i have never seen him neither maybe he made the world and he can fly

[steveola]

Blessed are the Cheesemakers!

He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!

Up you go Bignose !

Etc....

Enough said ?

(I can't believe that nobody has quoted from 'The Life of Brian' yet!!!) Â* Â*;D ;D ;D ;D

BTW: The Bible, is just a bunch of stories, and supposed visions written by people of the era. I wouldn't take it too literally if I was you. Many times it has been 'translated' (re-written).

I seriously doubt if it reads anything like it did back in Jesus times.

And even if it did, at the end of the day, its just a bunch of religious nutters trying to 'spread' their version of events, and make others be like them. I seriously reckon it should come with a warning along the lines of 'for novelty purposes only'

Many's the time that I have coveted my neighbours donkey, but God hasn't smoted me yet LOL !

[guymelef]

I guess everyone read my post. and further expanded on in a rhetorical sense by steveola

[guymelef]

life is pain
and living is creating joy in/around/and from pain.
anybody that says different is selling something. -princess bride-

[krowstrife]

if god is love and love is blind
so stevie wonder who is blind must be god right

or did i over use logic

[Kamjin]

let's me give this a try..

Religion is man's interpretation of a code of morality,
The hebrews didn't believe one god existed, they believed in thier
god only. Specifically the god who never said his name.
commonly known as AL or "I Am that I am" (litterally: Jehova)
They did not belive in a soul, nor in an afterlife,
nor a "ressurection" of the world. After 2000 or so years
and endless occuption.. the hebrews decided to "canonize"
a bible.. to keep the faith...hence the religion that we today call
Judism was created. From that spawned an offset religion the Jews
who believe in the Messiah.. aka Christans 1200 years
later the same bloodline re-writes the "bible" as the Quran
they become "Muslim".. All three have the exact same code of morals..
Judism was created by man
Christianity was created by man
Islam was created by man
Therefore man's evil nature has crept into each religion..

Evil=Nationalism.. Racism.. Partiotism etc..

Before you slam this.. take a minute to actually read the real history
on these religions.. where the traditions, and practices come from..
You'll see the endless tampering of man to make each one hate the
other, make one more different then the other..
and read the bible, with a good ancient hebrew/aramaic lexicon so you
can understand the glyphs. and defer your own interpretation..
I mean I can litterally translate the 1st word of the old testament
about 12 ways..