Who Here Believes In God?

[WhenKittensATK]

Yep, that's what happens when politics and religion mix. That's why there are so many different groups of the same religion.

[BizaroStormy]

not to start a debate....

 

but the real question is...

 

how can you believe in something thats been the biggest killer of man kind since the beginning of time...?

 

there are more deaths over Christianity that all other fates combined...

 

especially when jesus himself was against murder according to the Bible....but people are murdered for it...

 

so that makes it like Politics...? its okay if you do it as long as you belong...?

 

I think the mosquito has the title of biggest killer of man since the beginning of time.

[ivangela]

No.

 

I use to, then I was exposed to the CU. (Christian Union)

 

The one thing that always grinds me is: The reason you get killers etc is because of free will. Fine I get that part. Yet then when someone too young or nice gets killed in an accident, the same people who said free will now say "It was his/her time to go", or "God has other plans for them", thats BS. If there is free will, then there cannot also be a pre-determined point when we must die.

 

Lastly, "God Works in Mysterious Ways", what, like Natural Disasters? When has there ever been something positive akin to a natural disaster? IE. 20,000 people suddenly no longer suffering of cancer? It seems gods "mysterious" ways are ALWAYS negative.

People will give god credit for "good luck", but that's bs.

 

I know right?

I lived in New Orleans during the Katrina flood and my house was submerged for a month, so I ended up in North central PA, where my wife was born.

We enrolled my daughter in a Catholic Kindergarten and she comes home one day and says God created the weather and rain for the flowers and sun for all life and all this and she says she asked the teacher about why the hurricane destroyed her home and the teacher says that "oh no honey, God doesn't create the bad things like that."

I said "WHAT!"

Gimme a break! You can't have it both ways, either he did or he didn't. Take some responsibility! What are you trying to teach my child?

Needless to say that school didn't last long

[ensabrenoir]

Don't think about how much pain, hate, jealousy, etc you have felt in your life from another, but think about it from the other point of view. Like why has that happened to me and has it actually happened to someone else and did they actually felt the way i'm feeling right now or did. I know you have to do what you have to do to survive with the world that is headed the way its headed but really think about this one. They are trying to replaced LOVE with HATE, laughter with anger, etc. You can have money to stay on your feet, buy whatever you want, go anywhere you want, but what are you actually feeling. You feel good when that new video card comes out and you just want/need to buy it to play that new "CRYSIS 2" game or get that 240Hz so that the frames stay smooth at High Definition, but are you actually happy or just being entertained? The things that outrages me the most is saying that people have mental illness because they see, hear, feel, smell, and taste (YES SENSES) things that a "NORMAL" person doesn't. The things that outrages me the most is that color, religion, race, . is the way it is because that's how they have made it. So if he looks different even though one of his race just robbed me, ALL OF THEM ARE LIKE HIM. There are good and bad in everything. This can get very complex if you want it, but i know many of you understand what i'm saying and many of you probably HATE me the most, but i assure you things will get better.....

[ivangela]

well if thats true then I hope he hates the philadelphia flyers for one more game

 

 

Booooooooo!

[molotovdaskwerl]

how can you believe in something thats been the biggest killer of man kind since the beginning of time...?

you don't believe in heart attacks, strokes, blood loss, cancer, etc.?

 

there are more deaths over Christianity that all other fates combined...

because mankind took things too far, as radicals/fanatics

 

look at radical muslims today, it's not excluded to christianity

[UkJenT]

Just because people kill in his name doesn't mean "God and JesusChrist" don't exist. It's just like in present day society now. Just because there are radical Muslims that wage jihad in the name of Allah doesn't mean Islam is a bad religion. It's people who are stupid.

[LoArmistead]

not to start a debate....

 

but the real question is...

 

how can you believe in something thats been the biggest killer of man kind since the beginning of time...?

 

there are more deaths over Christianity that all other fates combined...

 

I would conjecture that the Christian religion is not the biggest killer of mankind since the beginning of time. Socialism is. It's a fairly new religion, only being a couple of centuries old on, but countless hundreds of millions of people have been killed by socialists impressing their will and beliefs upon dissenters. From the Nazis, to the Soviets, to the Maoist Chinese, to North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, and beyond. Socialism is just as much a religion as Christianity is, only Christians believe in a higher authority than anything on this earth. Socialists believe in the next best thing - the highest authority perceivable on this earth - government. Whereas Christians believe God has endowed us with certain rights, and God has given us guidance on morality and charity, Socialists believe that their God (government) grants rights, and that government regulates and restricts morality and charity.

 

To reinforce that abstract idea even further, in many socialist countries, the public practice of any religion other than a state-endorsed (and controlled) one is strictly prohibited, and punishable by jail time or death. Ironically, many of those in the western world who claim to be avid atheists are no less religious than the most devout Christians. The only difference is the Christian looks to a God outside of this world for guidance on morality and life, whereas the "superior" atheist looks to government to enforce and regulate morality and life. The socialist claims to hate organized religion due to the ill effects that it has had on lives and societies, when in reality he himself belongs to the deadliest and most economically destructive religion in world history, the effects of which are being seen all over western Europe and the United States as we type.

 

Personally, for all I know or care, this earth and everything on it could be just as much a product of a galactic accident as it could be divine creation. No matter where I came from or how I got here, that isn't going to change my outlook on life any. But what I have come to believe is that most, if not all, people need a God in their lives - some higher authority that they can look to for guidance and support. Anyone who claims they don't need that most likely just hasn't been alive long enough to experience some of the truly difficult hardships that life can bring.

 

If I had to pick something like that, a higher authority that I look to for guidance, I would much rather pick a being that is outside of any worldly influence. If it's a man in a robe sitting on a cloud watching me, so be it. If it's a flying spaghetti monster reaching out and touching the hearts of men with his noodly appendages, that's fine, too. But I think the most important type of God for people to believe in is one that is not of this world. Free people derive their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness from nature and nature's creator, whoever it may be. Those rights are unalienable, and cannot be taken away by any government. It is imperative that those rights be viewed as such, as rights guaranteed to us by an authority that far exceeds the authority of any earthly institution.

 

Socialists, rather than believing in an unworldly God, instead choose to believe in the most powerful perceivable force on this planet - centralized government instituted by man. Man is inherently fallible, and history has shown that larger government is always and forever detrimental to personal freedoms.

 

Just as Christians want as many people as possible to believe in their unworldly God, Socialists want as many people to believe in their worldly God of government. And you accomplish this by expanding government and its authority over everyone. They infiltrate the churches of non-Socialists and skew their teachings away from the Christian interpretation of private charity and unalienable rights derived from an unworldly God, and instead convince the people that the Socialist government God is the ultimate authority in the universe. When a society has been adapted to believe that government is the ultimate source of joy, or charity, of freedom and other rights, society begins to erode, because as stated previously, government is a fallible worldly institution - corrupt and inefficient.

 

As soon as government has the power to guarantee rights to life, property, liberty, and charity, it also has the power to take those rights away. And that's exactly what we are seeing in the western world in particular, as the rosters of the Christian congregations are ever-shrinking, and the rosters of the Socialist congregations are expanding, along with their God (government) and its authority to determine who and what has the right to life, liberty, property, the pursuit of happiness, and charity. Now just think about what the western world looks like today - governments are rapidly taking control of the guidance over social issues that were at one point left to the Christian God and the individual.

 

What's the difference between a collective group of people following the word of an omnipotent being in regards to charity, giving, and morality, and a collective group of people following the word of an omnipotent government in regards to charity, giving, and morality? I don't see a difference, other than the fact that the omnipotent God, from whom your unalienable living rights derive, cannot take those rights away, whereas an omnipotent government, from whom your unalienable living rights derive, most definitely can take those rights away, and does it on a daily basis.

 

My hypothesis: There is no such thing as an atheist or a person without a religion. We all belong to one, so rather than making the debate over whether we believe in one or not, we should instead be discussing, "which one do we belong to?" The one that grants men the freedom to live their lives as they see fit on this world, with the ultimate judgment occurring after one's death, or the one that regulates and restricts the way men live their lives on this world, with the ultimate judgment occurring still on this world? The one where you tithe 10% of your earnings to the work of the Church, or the one where you tithe 50% of your earnings to the work of the government?

 

Just throwing that out there. As for what religion I belong to, I haven't decided yet. I was born and baptized a Baptist, was confirmed as a Methodist, and left the church altogether at age 20 due to Socialist infiltration and manipulation of what I saw as a valuable and positive message to society. In regards to organized religion, Socialism is winning. The belief in a worldly God instituted by man is winning, and that frightens me.

[ej25lvr]

i registered here simply to respond to this topic.... yes i believe in God and i do understand everything the OP was saying in his post...... most chats or message boards in relation to this topic dont last because it gets off topic and often rude. i dont push anything on anyone for the simple fact i believe that God gave us free will to think and make our own choices.

 

im not sure if this will turn into any sort of debate but to be honest i hope it does as long as its a mature and friendly one.

 

it is also in my opinion there are no religions, they are all different and God wouldnt create us and then create a bunch of different religions, the bible tells when,where,how,why this all came about and it was over the simplest thing.

 

there is one God and you are either with him or against him...... now this does not mean you are doomed to burn in hell as most so called believers will tell you. they say this because they skip through the bible instead of reading it in full. even after reading it in full you cannot grasp a full understanding of it all so skipping through it just wont do imo.

 

you can doom yourself dont get me wrong but you dont just get to choose once and that it.

 

in closing the world gets to be a more dark and violent place everyday and it will get worse before a temporary period of false peace.

 

john 1:5 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

[CowKing]

I would conjecture that the Christian religion is not the biggest killer of mankind since the beginning of time. Socialism is. It's a fairly new religion, only being a couple of centuries old on, but countless hundreds of millions of people have been killed by socialists impressing their will and beliefs upon dissenters. From the Nazis, to the Soviets, to the Maoist Chinese, to North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, and beyond. Socialism is just as much a religion as Christianity is, only Christians believe in a higher authority than anything on this earth. Socialists believe in the next best thing - the highest authority perceivable on this earth - government. Whereas Christians believe God has endowed us with certain rights, and God has given us guidance on morality and charity, Socialists believe that their God (government) grants rights, and that government regulates and restricts morality and charity.

 

To reinforce that abstract idea even further, in many socialist countries, the public practice of any religion other than a state-endorsed (and controlled) one is strictly prohibited, and punishable by jail time or death. Ironically, many of those in the western world who claim to be avid atheists are no less religious than the most devout Christians. The only difference is the Christian looks to a God outside of this world for guidance on morality and life, whereas the "superior" atheist looks to government to enforce and regulate morality and life. The socialist claims to hate organized religion due to the ill effects that it has had on lives and societies, when in reality he himself belongs to the deadliest and most economically destructive religion in world history, the effects of which are being seen all over western Europe and the United States as we type.

 

Personally, for all I know or care, this earth and everything on it could be just as much a product of a galactic accident as it could be divine creation. No matter where I came from or how I got here, that isn't going to change my outlook on life any. But what I have come to believe is that most, if not all, people need a God in their lives - some higher authority that they can look to for guidance and support. Anyone who claims they don't need that most likely just hasn't been alive long enough to experience some of the truly difficult hardships that life can bring.

 

If I had to pick something like that, a higher authority that I look to for guidance, I would much rather pick a being that is outside of any worldly influence. If it's a man in a robe sitting on a cloud watching me, so be it. If it's a flying spaghetti monster reaching out and touching the hearts of men with his noodly appendages, that's fine, too. But I think the most important type of God for people to believe in is one that is not of this world. Free people derive their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness from nature and nature's creator, whoever it may be. Those rights are unalienable, and cannot be taken away by any government. It is imperative that those rights be viewed as such, as rights guaranteed to us by an authority that far exceeds the authority of any earthly institution.

 

Socialists, rather than believing in an unworldly God, instead choose to believe in the most powerful perceivable force on this planet - centralized government instituted by man. Man is inherently fallible, and history has shown that larger government is always and forever detrimental to personal freedoms.

 

Just as Christians want as many people as possible to believe in their unworldly God, Socialists want as many people to believe in their worldly God of government. And you accomplish this by expanding government and its authority over everyone. They infiltrate the churches of non-Socialists and skew their teachings away from the Christian interpretation of private charity and unalienable rights derived from an unworldly God, and instead convince the people that the Socialist government God is the ultimate authority in the universe. When a society has been adapted to believe that government is the ultimate source of joy, or charity, of freedom and other rights, society begins to erode, because as stated previously, government is a fallible worldly institution - corrupt and inefficient.

 

As soon as government has the power to guarantee rights to life, property, liberty, and charity, it also has the power to take those rights away. And that's exactly what we are seeing in the western world in particular, as the rosters of the Christian congregations are ever-shrinking, and the rosters of the Socialist congregations are expanding, along with their God (government) and its authority to determine who and what has the right to life, liberty, property, the pursuit of happiness, and charity. Now just think about what the western world looks like today - governments are rapidly taking control of the guidance over social issues that were at one point left to the Christian God and the individual.

 

What's the difference between a collective group of people following the word of an omnipotent being in regards to charity, giving, and morality, and a collective group of people following the word of an omnipotent government in regards to charity, giving, and morality? I don't see a difference, other than the fact that the omnipotent God, from whom your unalienable living rights derive, cannot take those rights away, whereas an omnipotent government, from whom your unalienable living rights derive, most definitely can take those rights away, and does it on a daily basis.

 

My hypothesis: There is no such thing as an atheist or a person without a religion. We all belong to one, so rather than making the debate over whether we believe in one or not, we should instead be discussing, "which one do we belong to?" The one that grants men the freedom to live their lives as they see fit on this world, with the ultimate judgment occurring after one's death, or the one that regulates and restricts the way men live their lives on this world, with the ultimate judgment occurring still on this world? The one where you tithe 10% of your earnings to the work of the Church, or the one where you tithe 50% of your earnings to the work of the government?

 

Just throwing that out there. As for what religion I belong to, I haven't decided yet. I was born and baptized a Baptist, was confirmed as a Methodist, and left the church altogether at age 20 due to Socialist infiltration and manipulation of what I saw as a valuable and positive message to society. In regards to organized religion, Socialism is winning. The belief in a worldly God instituted by man is winning, and that frightens me.

don't be a jackass troll

[CAINuKe]

 

you can doom yourself dont get me wrong but you dont just get to choose once and that it.

in closing the world gets to be a more dark and violent place everyday and it will get worse before a temporary period of false peace.

john 1:5 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

 

My response is:

 

and heres some food for thought.

 

 

Enjoy.

[LoArmistead]

don't be a jackass troll

 

I think it's a legitimate viewpoint.