Welcome to Gaia! ::

I respect your belief. I see it as belief, as I see my belief as belief. There are 6.6 billion beliefs on this planet.

Belief is not reality; belief is how we shape our own reality, and we are each our own gods in this respect.

We each carry our own, and when somebody dies, a whole world, made up of that persons perceptions, dies. I can tell you that I have been in the presence of God, but that statement, that incident, is for me alone. Whatever proofs I carry, are meant for me alone, and not meant for you.


Do I believe you are "going to hell?" I don't know. The message of Jesus boils down to "be nice". Are you nice? What if you were not? The adulteress in the square was not "nice". Jesus refused to condemn her, so neither would I.

I have had to preside over funerals, and families want assurance that their loved ones are in a good place, even though the deceased was not a believer. I remind them that Jesus said that turning the other cheek was preferable to an eye for an eye, and to love those that hate us.

Surely God will not ask us to be more merciful and moral than He himself. Not one of us is born with a set of goggles that let's us see into the other realms, and a mans stories are that mans stories, and for some, carry no weight on this side of the veil.

Whose fault is that? Is being born blind the fault of some future wrong, or the fault of the parents? Jesus said, neither.

That's exactly how I feel. I have my beliefs and others around me try to push me into "being right with God". It pisses me off greatly and when push comes to shove, I end up completely ignoring the person all together. Honestly, You bible beaters aren't going to do much good here saying we're going to hell. I believe in neither heaven nor hell. I don't believe in a higher power/being. I believe that when you die, you die.

Also, she didn't start this thread for you to push your beliefs upon it. She started it just to simply discuss how we feel about our beliefs. The bible quotes aren't needed. I'm sure quite a few of us have screwed around with a bible even a little. Some may have tried to be Christian then, later on, have discovered the little holes within the story/stories told within the bible.

For me it's just another book. stare

So . . .
Maybe it's because I've been raised Catholic...but I don't get it.
Like, I'm sitting, staring at my computer screen, going ".......say what?"

I don't understand why you can't embrace the idea of God (or even a higher power). Wouldn't it be better to believe and have that love in your life, even if, in the end, you could be wrong and therefore not have an afterlife? Or if there really is a God (which I believe there is) isn't it better to be safe than sorry?


[@_@; Please be nice to me....Dx I'm not trying to pick a fight, I just don't get it...]

Forcing ourselves to believe something so we can "have love in our life" is just lying to ourselves.

Plus a religion isn't the only place to get love. Family, friends, spouses.

Why we can't... Well, we've come to the conclusion that the concept of God is illogical. For many of us, it wasn't precisely a choice or decision. I know it wasn't for me. It was more like something falling away.

For us, there isn't a fear of hell, because we don't believe in it. The love you feel for your God is unnecessary to us because we focus more on our other relationships, such as those with friends and family.

Also, I don't like the idea of religion as insurance. It seems forced and not something that a loving God (or person) would require. If it's that easy for us to continue every day without believing in a higher power, why would God have made it so? He had other prophets that convinced many, so why not us? Surely he wants us to go to heaven. Why not do everything in his power to bring us to him?

I just wanted to say..you guys are awesome. I love you, lol. razz

Also, I stopped believing in "GOD" a long time ago. My grandmother FORCED me to go to church. I was always uncomfortable..never felt like it was a place I fit into. Actually, most "christians"(if that's what you want to call them) always judged me. Even before I became an Atheist. I CONSTANTLY have people telling me to "get in touch with the lord" or "you've lost your faith in God" Yes. I have. I don't believe in him..nor a higher power. I see holes within the story man has written about "GOD" My grandmother has actually gone to the extreme: ALL of these things are evil.
Harry Potter, Black(yes the color), Sitting on the toilet for too long, Myspace, Not going to church, Not paying tide within church, Not singing in church, Not praying, Video games. Yes, theres more..I must be the "Devil" I read books about vampires, Love black, Love Harry Potter, I use Myspace, I hate anything involving church and i'll be damned if I give that pastor with his nice italian leather boots and expensive suits my freakin' money. Nuff said.

Pascal's Wager doesn't work anyway, because it only works for one deity. If it's another deity entirely that's real, and you're worshipping a false one and that pisses off Real Deity, you'd get punished anyway.

You'd be better off not believing in any of them because it's the same outcome either way and the not-believing way involves the least amount of effort.

Oh, no no no no, I'm agreeing with you! blaugh I was just adding a little "yeah, and also it's crap for other reasons" addendum.