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Only read if you are NOT religious and/or do not believe in any 'supreme' being (othe

77,384 213,044 December 2, 2007 at 08:48 PM in Question
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you dont get the right to feel insulted, u have been warned...

so, peeps, if you dont believe in god, do you feel that ones that do are delusional?

a lot of people will sight karma or other things as 'he got what he had coming' but i argue that it's all a mathematical randomness that on a small scale might seem like karma

perfect example is: when you play poker and u push with the best hand, a LOT of times, you can predict/be so sure that the card will come that will beat you even if the chance of it coming is less than 1:6. when the card comes, some might argue it as karma, but i argue that its all random, just on a small scale randomness doesn't work

discuss....

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Last Edited by Ram|bunc|tious December 6, 2007 at 06:15 AM


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Gray.
12-04-2007 at 09:30 PM.
12-04-2007 at 09:30 PM.
Quote from IVIax :
I think I might be seeing a pattern, but it might be because I want to see it.

People who went to religious school, who might have been religious before, usually come out agnostic (or change their views shortly in the future). I can name a large handful of people who fall into this category (including myself).
To be honest, I think the statistics are pretty even. I went to a religious private school my whole life... elementary, junior high, high, and college. So did my siblings. I sort of know a lot of people on both sides of the statistics. Smilie
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Gray.
12-04-2007 at 09:36 PM.
12-04-2007 at 09:36 PM.
Quote from catluver :
whatever happened to "Only read if you are NOT religious?" Can't the sinners have our own thread?
The end of the thread got cut off. It says if other people come in, that they shouldn't be offended. We've all been trying really hard to speak maturely and without causing or taking offense. Smilie
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BostonGirl
12-04-2007 at 09:40 PM.
12-04-2007 at 09:40 PM.
Quote from PassionateGray :
I agree with that... if a person's heart is sincere and they aren't doing it just in case, God will see that and will extend forgiveness to that person. It says so in the Bible. He doesn't want anyone to perish.

However, I do believe in hell. Hell is when a person chooses NOT to be with God and not to believe in him. To get into the theology of hell is an entirely different story, but the easiest thing to say is that hell is separation from God. And God is pure and good, so that would make hell an uncomfortable place to be, since there is no goodness there. But notice that it's is up to that person whether they want to go there or not... that's what I believe. Smilie
Just to clarify my statement from earlier, you feel if someone does not believe in god they will go to hell correct?
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sassysour
12-04-2007 at 09:54 PM.
12-04-2007 at 09:54 PM.
Quote from Drio :
I give up no more and no less than God would. Gain and loss of respect? Reputation? Being burned again by the person you forgave?

If he could look inside me and find a good person worthy of heaven. Great. I just don't like the idea of being denied for the sole reason that I wasn't a member of the fan club.

Again, it's not about me being pissed that I'm not getting in. It's what I find odd about his character.... right from the mouthes of his followers. (and ultimately, that's the reason I don't give the religion more merit) It's probably found in every organized religion.

It looks like the gang is all here now.... were any of you raised without your religion?
laugh out loud No, I wasn't raised religious.
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Jhaan
12-04-2007 at 09:54 PM.
12-04-2007 at 09:54 PM.
Quote from Imerson :
Jhaan, I've read the part you quoted somewhere else you posted it, and it always gets me too. I think it represents the true personality of God that we've been missing all along.
I can completely relate to Lockridge's comment, "I wish I could describe him to ya."

"God is Love." How many people believe that? Do I really believe it? I'm sure there are more times I don't than I do. The famous prophet Haddaway once asked, "What is Love?" Maybe once we answer that, we can describe God.


Quote :
Oh and I will reply to your PM soon Wink
Heheh. No worries.
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BrownEyedGirl
12-04-2007 at 10:18 PM.
12-04-2007 at 10:18 PM.
Quote from Drio :
I give up no more and no less than God would. Gain and loss of respect? Reputation? Being burned again by the person you forgave?

If he could look inside me and find a good person worthy of heaven. Great. I just don't like the idea of being denied for the sole reason that I wasn't a member of the fan club.

Again, it's not about me being pissed that I'm not getting in. It's what I find odd about his character.... right from the mouthes of his followers. (and ultimately, that's the reason I don't give the religion more merit) It's probably found in every organized religion.

It looks like the gang is all here now.... were any of you raised without your religion?

I'm catching up with this thread, but here are a few more thoughts:

Assuming there is a God, no one can say that because Drio chose not to believe during his lifetime, but at the last moment he realizes he was wrong and changes his mind, that he would not be accepted by God.

To me, that completely goes against what Christianity is about; to have that attitude sounds more to me like a personal position based on " Well, why should he get in after doing so little. It's not fair!!" Anyone who tells someone else that they will go to "hell" or will not partake in the afterlife (assuming there is one) is overstepping their boundaries. If one truly believes on God as taught in Christianity, there is no one on Earth able to make a call as to whether or not a certain person can be a part of eternal life.
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BrownEyedGirl
12-04-2007 at 10:23 PM.
12-04-2007 at 10:23 PM.
I've been debating on posting this, but since it was previously posted on SD, and it really, really struck me, I am going to repost it here, but I am taking out the poster's name. If anyone wants the context in which it was originally posted, I'll provide the link.

I feel like I can say this without getting bashed, but when I read this post I agreed with it 100%.


Quote :
If I am wrong in my choice to lack faith, I will pay the price. Not anyone else. Personally, if god is so insecure that he requires all of us to kiss his ass or be punished for all eternity, then I really have a hard time desiring to be a servant for all eternity as well. Why would something omnipotent and omniscient require such little parasites and miniscule intelligence (assuming that everything quoted about god is correct) as us to bow down? This does not sound like a kind and loving god to me. The very concept of creation and the need for our devotion implies psychological problems in god, such as insecurity, narcissism and meglomaniacism. These would seem to contradict the "perfection" of god.
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sassysour
12-04-2007 at 11:21 PM.
12-04-2007 at 11:21 PM.
Quote from BrownEyedGirl :
I'm catching up with this thread, but here are a few more thoughts:

Assuming there is a God, no one can say that because Drio chose not to believe during his lifetime, but at the last moment he realizes he was wrong and changes his mind, that he would not be accepted by God.

To me, that completely goes against what Christianity is about; to have that attitude sounds more to me like a personal position based on " Well, why should he get in after doing so little. It's not fair!!" Anyone who tells someone else that they will go to "hell" or will not partake in the afterlife (assuming there is one) is overstepping their boundaries. If one truly believes on God as taught in Christianity, there is no one on Earth able to make a call as to whether or not a certain person can be a part of eternal life.

Jesus told a story about this exact scenario. It was about field workers that a man hired for one denarius. As the day wore on the man hired more workers. Right before the end of the day the man hired still more workers. At the end of the day the workers lined up to get paid. The workers who had worked the whole day were angry that they all got the same pay. The man said "you agreed to work for that pay, what is it to you that I pay these men the same?"

Basically I think he was saying that anyone who accepts Jesus as his savior will get to be in heaven. At any point in their life.

The problem with life though, is we never know when God stops protecting us and enter eternal life.

BEG, the reason why it hurts me to know that people do not believe in God is because I don't want anyone to miss out on the peace and love, and goodness I believe waits us on the other side. I understand people have doubts, and don't believe. In a weird way we are in the same place an unborn baby is in; if a baby could have full comprehension in the womb I think it would be pretty incredulous to hear the description of a giraffe. It has nothing to compare it to, within its world, and the giraffe remains invisible to the baby until it enters a world it has never known before.

I don't want anyone to miss out. hug
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sassysour
12-04-2007 at 11:29 PM.
12-04-2007 at 11:29 PM.
Quote from BrownEyedGirl :
I've been debating on posting this, but since it was previously posted on SD, and it really, really struck me, I am going to repost it here, but I am taking out the poster's name. If anyone wants the context in which it was originally posted, I'll provide the link.

I feel like I can say this without getting bashed, but when I read this post I agreed with it 100%.
One last thing~ I understand your point of view. I truly believe that God Does Not desire us to relate to him like your quoted post says. He loves us, love like wrap you up with the softest cloth, embrace you, die for you love. Does a parent want his/her child to kiss his ass? No, hug that makes me so sad to think that people don't understand how beloved they are, how special they are to God. We are not miniscule parasites. We are precious to God, and he wants us to snuggle in his arms and say "I love you Too". In the bible He says he only wishes we knew the depth and width of his love for us, it is unimaginable, and we only get the smallest taste as we love and are loved by those in our family, and our friends.

As far as size goes anyway, we are about as miniscule and unimportant to the universe as the atom is compared to us, or our world. Size is relative. Space is relative. I don't know what is out there, but nothing takes away from my worth from my Father. If my heart can love all my children with the same gut wrenching depth, then I know my Father can love me with the same depth regardless of how many millions of other life forms there are or aren't.
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BrgnHntr
12-04-2007 at 11:50 PM.
12-04-2007 at 11:50 PM.
Hi Smilie

I'm back

Quote from PiratesSayARRR :
and if that place ends up not existing what then? how much has it cost you?

Also another philosophical point would be...what if we have no previous knowledge of our past life? I know the bible talks about going to an awesome totally sweet pad just you, JC, g_d and a few billion other peeps drinking brews...but does it talk about past memories...like when you do you will retain all the earthly information.


If you do not it seems kind of moot what kind of life you led and had.
What I believe (based on what I've read in the Bible) is that we will have knowledge of who people were (i.e. I'll know my husband was my husband) but we won't have the same relationship in Heaven. I don't really like that answer...but I suppose that when I'm there, I'll be in a different mindset and it won't be sad like I think of it now. Dontknow

Quote from IVIax :
I can't find the exact post, maybe I haven't went far back enough. But basically i thought that Peachyum (you know what... maybe it was PG), that their god would still accept you into heaven if you asked for forgiveness and didn't believe in him for your whole life (or up until the last second).*

*maybe I understood wrong (wont be the first time)
I question the last second...just because I wonder how much you could wrap your mind around it in that short time...but last day of your life, sure.

Quote from IVIax :
No point in being sarcastic in your comments back to me, I was being completely serious in mine.


It has been implied (if not stated directly, I'm too lazy to go back and look) that the christian mindset makes people want to do good things and be better people. People have also stated that on dark days they talk to god and feel better about themselves, so I don't see where my comment is so far fetched? (it might be over simplified...)
I have to admit that I thought you were being sarcastic in a few posts, too. You jump in quite often to summarize our viewpoints and most of those summarizations seem pretty far off from my intent or how I read the other post. So, I'm glad you clarified.

True, talking to God does make me feel better, just like talking to my husband or best friend does. I just want to make it clear that it's not a one way relationship 'using' God any more than it would be considered 'using' my husband or friend.

Quote from IVIax :
I think I might be seeing a pattern, but it might be because I want to see it.

People who went to religious school, who might have been religious before, usually come out agnostic (or change their views shortly in the future). I can name a large handful of people who fall into this category (including myself).
That hasn't been my experience with those who went to Christian schools. Your school was Jewish, so who knows, maybe that is an accurate assumption about those raised in the Jewish faith.

Anyway, (to answer Drio) I was raised going to church, but it was a Calvinist church and fairly different from the Baptist church that I now go to. My family was one of two or three whose kids went to public school (ooh, such heathens!). All the others went to Christian school K-12. I know of one family whose 2 kids have both struggled with their faith but I'm not sure what they believe as of today. I believe all the others are still believers...most church-goers. My sister went to a religious college and doesn't have any school friends who no longer believe.

Quote from Mavtech :
I think the religious school did a couple things to me. It made me form a certain type of animosity towards religion. It also taught me a whole lot. I was forced to take a whole year of Old and New Testament classes. It was actually interesting. It was partially interesting because the professor would get pissed if you pointed out points where the bible seriously contradicts itself. This is why it gets to me when discussing religion and someone says "You don't understand". It's such a cop out. I do want to find out. I'm not atheist. I'm not closed off to learning about if God exists or not. I want to learn. However, the problem is going to be that someone's word is not good enough for me. The human word isn't good enough for anyone......except when it comes to religion.
The human word is good enough to create an awful lot of history currently taught in our schools and accepted by historians. Everything before cameras were invented came through the human word either verbal or written.

The Bible does contradict itself on the surface in many different places. From those that I have studied, when you read the full contest of that text the circumstances differ enough that it's not really contradictory. (simple example: "I am hot" "I am cold" one's not a lie, they were both true when they were stated, but the circumstances changed)

Quote from BrownEyedGirl :
I'm catching up with this thread, but here are a few more thoughts:

Assuming there is a God, no one can say that because Drio chose not to believe during his lifetime, but at the last moment he realizes he was wrong and changes his mind, that he would not be accepted by God.

To me, that completely goes against what Christianity is about; to have that attitude sounds more to me like a personal position based on " Well, why should he get in after doing so little. It's not fair!!" Anyone who tells someone else that they will go to "hell" or will not partake in the afterlife (assuming there is one) is overstepping their boundaries. If one truly believes on God as taught in Christianity, there is no one on Earth able to make a call as to whether or not a certain person can be a part of eternal life.
I believe that if Drio changed his mind on his deathbed, he would be saved. I do believe it's fair because I didn't believe in order to go to heaven...I believed because I knew it to be true (I won't argue that heaven's a benefit, though). I sin, Drio sins, to say one sin is worse than another is a human concept, not God's. In God's eyes we're equal if we've both asked for forgiveness - our slates are wiped clean.

Quote from BrownEyedGirl :
I've been debating on posting this, but since it was previously posted on SD, and it really, really struck me, I am going to repost it here, but I am taking out the poster's name. If anyone wants the context in which it was originally posted, I'll provide the link.

I feel like I can say this without getting bashed, but when I read this post I agreed with it 100%.
Quote :
If I am wrong in my choice to lack faith, I will pay the price. Not anyone else. Personally, if god is so insecure that he requires all of us to kiss his ass or be punished for all eternity, then I really have a hard time desiring to be a servant for all eternity as well. Why would something omnipotent and omniscient require such little parasites and miniscule intelligence (assuming that everything quoted about god is correct) as us to bow down? This does not sound like a kind and loving god to me. The very concept of creation and the need for our devotion implies psychological problems in god, such as insecurity, narcissism and meglomaniacism. These would seem to contradict the "perfection" of god.
I believe this is a common misconception. God doesn't need us to worship him (kiss his ass). It pleases him, but he doesn't need it at all. He just needs us to believe and accept the gift.

We as humans are the ones who need worship. Why is because that is something that makes sense to humans. We place great things above ourselves, we're in awe of them...it signifies importance. Take a look around at celebrities, new electronics even, nature (some people worship that...are you going to say that nature needs them to?) and world leaders. Popular opinion about our President aside, who wouldn't be slightly in awe to run into Nelson Mandela or Margaret Thatcher? To keep our relationship with God fresh and at the front of our mind, we worship. It's a great way to get back on track, to refresh on how God tells us to live our lives (I'm happier when I live that way...most of the non-Christians here say they try to live by most of those philosophies, just not because of God). It puts him above me and keeps me focused.
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Last edited by BrgnHntr December 4, 2007 at 11:53 PM.
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BrgnHntr
12-04-2007 at 11:54 PM.
12-04-2007 at 11:54 PM.
I'm off to bed now, too! Yawn
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BrownEyedGirl
12-05-2007 at 12:14 AM.
12-05-2007 at 12:14 AM.
Quote from sassysour :
Jesus told a story about this exact scenario. It was about field workers that a man hired for one denarius. As the day wore on the man hired more workers. Right before the end of the day the man hired still more workers. At the end of the day the workers lined up to get paid. The workers who had worked the whole day were angry that they all got the same pay. The man said "you agreed to work for that pay, what is it to you that I pay these men the same?"

Basically I think he was saying that anyone who accepts Jesus as his savior will get to be in heaven. At any point in their life.

The problem with life though, is we never know when God stops protecting us and enter eternal life.

BEG, the reason why it hurts me to know that people do not believe in God is because I don't want anyone to miss out on the peace and love, and goodness I believe waits us on the other side. I understand people have doubts, and don't believe. In a weird way we are in the same place an unborn baby is in; if a baby could have full comprehension in the womb I think it would be pretty incredulous to hear the description of a giraffe. It has nothing to compare it to, within its world, and the giraffe remains invisible to the baby until it enters a world it has never known before.

I don't want anyone to miss out. hug
That's really a great story!

Thank you for sharing that, and just so you know, I believe you when you say that you don't want anyone to miss out. hug

I think you know where I have been, probably more than anyone on SD. You have a ton of patience, and that really means a lot to me, and I am sure to many others. hug
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BrownEyedGirl
12-05-2007 at 12:16 AM.
12-05-2007 at 12:16 AM.
Quote from BrgnHntr :
I'm off to bed now, too! Yawn

Thank you for being here and for also being patient. I enjoyed reading your posts and hearing your POV on things.

hug



Now, I am going to shop Big Grin
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iconian | Staff
12-05-2007 at 03:57 AM.
12-05-2007 at 03:57 AM.
printed this out to read on a crappy, last few psges anyway. good readSmilie
and bbiab! Smilie
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Mavtech
12-05-2007 at 05:26 AM.
12-05-2007 at 05:26 AM.
Quote from BrgnHntr :
The human word is good enough to create an awful lot of history currently taught in our schools and accepted by historians. Everything before cameras were invented came through the human word either verbal or written.

The Bible does contradict itself on the surface in many different places. From those that I have studied, when you read the full contest of that text the circumstances differ enough that it's not really contradictory. (simple example: "I am hot" "I am cold" one's not a lie, they were both true when they were stated, but the circumstances changed).
Growing up, humans take their parents and their church leader's word for everything when it comes to something as serious as God and how you should worship him. But, like I mentioned earlier, when it comes to anything else, people ask for proof or evidence. The person's word isn't good enough. But, it is for religion. This is one aspect of humans I do not understand and why I enjoy these discussions. It interests me how people can feel so strongly about something that you cannot see, hear, or touch.

As for the bible contradicting itself, it does it a whole different level than "I am hot" and "I am cold". It contradicts on some much bigger issues. I wish I could remember exactly what those were. But, I was in those religion classes almost 10 years ago. It was enough to ruffle the feathers of the professor (who was also a minister or something).
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