God?

[BlackMagicWoman]

I definitely believe in a Higher Power - I think it's kinda arrogant to assume that we humans are all there is - that there's nothing above us......and I have a hard time believing "we're born, we live, we die" and that's it - nothing more.....in my mind, there just HAS to be more to it than that.......and, for me, the higher power is God as defined by Christianity....but I have no problem with other people's beliefs - each to their own I think

I went to a private Anglican girl's school from kindergarten to Grade 12....yes, we had to go to Chapel every week and Cathedral for special occasions...but I never felt like it was shoved down my throat, and we were always taught to question everything, especially in our Religious Ed classes...and we were told "if you don't believe, then just use the Chapel services as some quiet reflective time".........I have to say, I got a bit sick of all the "formality" of the Anglican services, so after high school I took a break from it during uni - my beliefs didn't change, but I didn't need to go to church to express them..... After uni, I hopped on a plane and went to the States to do the "finding myself" thing....and after a couple months I felt more lost than I was when I got there *LOL* In my darkest time, I stumbled across somebody who I can only describe as an Angel on earth...she brought God back into my life, and it was exactly what I needed then - so many things happened which just couldn't be explained by coincidence....I just knew it was the right thing for me......one afternoon, she took me to church with her - but not the kind of church I was used to.....it was this tiny old wooden building and looked pretty run down - all I could think was "what am I doin here??".....but soon as I walked inside, I knew I was where I belonged - there was soooooo much love in the air...... The congregation was almost all African-American, and it was totally like out of a movie, with the preacher up the front giving the most passionate sermon I've ever heard, and everybody singing and dancing, and standing up to tell stories of what God had done for them.....it was amazing - and they accepted me no questions asked - I've never met a group of more wonderful, spiritual people in my life....they invited me into their homes, they shared so much with me, and they taught me that it doesn't matter how you show your belief in a higher power - just believing and having faith is enough....we don't all need to be the same - after all, variety is the spice of life

I spent so many nights sitting on people's ancient front porches in the twilight, reading the Bible with them and just learning from their wisdom (some of these people were in their 90s and had seen sooooo much, considering the struggles of blacks in America).....and I defy anybody to tell me there wasn't a higher power at work during those nights........ When the time came for me to leave, I sat in the church and cried my eyes out....and the pastor said during his sermon "when you came here, you were like a lost sheep who'd strayed all the way from Australia into our pasture....but God guided you here for a reason....every week I've looked down and seen you sitting there, and seeing you get your faith back has helped to strengthen all of ours...we love you"................it was sooooooo hard to leave, but I had no choice.........and when I got back here I just couldn't go back to our formal church services....so, now I don't go to church anymore..........but, since I've been in the scene I've noticed something - when I'm out, meeting all the awesome people in the scene, and feeling all the love, it reminds me a lot of how it was when I was in the States..........so, as ridiculous as it may sound, I guess in a way the scene fills the void I've had since I left that place...........when God closes a door, he opens a window

(and no I'm not a religious nut....I almost never talk about it.....and if you saw me out partying my butt off you'd be more inclined to think I'm a Satanist than a Christian...hahaha)
One last thing....I don't feel restrained by Christian beliefs - I don't take the Bible literally....I think a lot of it is metaphorical.....and I also borrow things from other religions....like, I believe in reincarnation and karma (makes sense that we'd live lots of lives and learn everything there is to learn until we attain enlightenment and go to Heaven)....and I believe in evolution as well as creation (methinks God created the first organisms, knowing they'd evolve into humans)....hmmm there's a topic for a new thread!! *LOL*
Sheesh I sure can ramble on...... *firmly turns off the tap that is her mouth*

 

[ruski]

I'm a born and bred orthodox jew. Although not the best nice jewish boy around, I do have total faith in my religion although not totally following it like some. But I try to do my part wherever possible. I do believe the religion is partly outdated but I try and accept most of it if not all of it and keep my knowledge and practise up.
I'm barley in the state of mind to express any deep thoughts I have on the issue but I thought I just might add my two bits for some diversity

And if you're wondering, no i dont eat pig products

 

[Milkybar]

I believe in God absolutely and without question. I guess God would probably rather I didn't do drugs as drug-taking is pretty self-indulgent, isn't exactly good for your health and the manufacture and sale of drugs causes a lot of grief to a lot of people [a la "Traffic"], but I don't think I'll be sent to Hades for popping a few pills...or I hope not anyway.
I think it's probably what's in your heart that matters most.

 

[RushingRococco]

ohhh...... this topic can get me quite riled up sometimes!
in short - i belive there is a higher power - whether it be God, buddah, allah etc (or PvD (

at prometheus) i dont know - but either way sometimes i just dont understand these "mysterious ways" they are meant to work - coz most of them are pretty fucked up!
when it comes to religious teaching (prolly mainly Christian)- most can bite my bum! especially when they get into preaching about abortion, contraception, drugs, homosexuality, blood transfusiuons etc. apparently they are all wrong, wrong, wrong! and we should burn somewhere for all eternity for doing all or one of the above.
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".....and everything under the sun is in tune
but the sun is eclipsed by the moon............"

 

[Kee-Low]

*Steps carefully over minefield of beliefs*
Religion is the worst idea anyone, anywhere, ever had.
How many wars have been fought over it, how many wars are still being fought over it??
*We are better than you!* *We were here first!* *This is our land* *My god can beat up your god*
it's pathetic really, these so called intelligent people world wide let religion run their lives. Stupid rules and rituals...that have no place in our time.
We are the future of this planet, with our open minds and expanding views. unlike the leaders of this world, who still live in the past. It's up to us and our children to change this world for the better. God will not do anything for us, only tie our hands from doing things frowned upon by his followers.
The only being you need to believe in is yourself.
I'm Kent Brockman...and that was my 2 cents!

(No offence intended...just a view point)
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When in doubt, do without!

 

[Kee-Low]

*Steps carefully over minefield of beliefs*
Religion is the worst idea anyone, anywhere, ever had.
How many wars have been fought over it, how many wars are still being fought over it??
*We are better than you!* *We were here first!* *This is our land* *My god can beat up your god*
it's pathetic really, these so called intelligent people world wide let religion run their lives. Stupid rules and rituals...that have no place in our time.
We are the future of this planet, with our open minds and expanding views. unlike the leaders of this world, who still live in the past. It's up to us and our children to change this world for the better. God will not do anything for us, only tie our hands from doing things frowned upon by his followers.
The only being you need to believe in is yourself.
I'm Kent Brockman...and that was my 2 cents!

(No offence intended...just a view point
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When in doubt, do without!

 

[dr rico yi]

science

 

[cancle]

The Dalai Lama once said-
'My real religion is kindness'
I like kind people

 

[focus]

I follow the vague principles of a faith called Baha'i, i am no preacher but seriously have a look at it.
It's the belief that there is no definitive god or religion, but it accepts that all religions may be right in some shape or form as we have obviously all come from one source. Plus it also ties science in nicely, check it out seriously!

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Mine is a generation that circles the globe in search of something they haven't tried before, so never refuse an invitation or resist the unfamiliar, just keep your mind open and suck in the experience, and if it hurts it's probably good for you. I believe in paradise but now at least i know it's not where you go; it's a way you feel for a moment in your life, if you find that moment it will last forever.....

 

[BlueScorp|on]

Im an athiest...
However, the following beleifs are accepeted:
-Sex
-Music
-Drugs
-Glow Stix
-Food
-Sleep
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ITS ALL GOOD!!!
---Mick---

 

[Leprechaun]

The thing is, god is not an intellectual concept. I feel it is something experienced.
"Reading books is like counting another mans gold".

 

[De Quincey]

i'm torn between atheism and the sort of High Romantic spiritualism found in the work of Wordsworth and others. basically the Romantics were right into the spirituality of nature and the sublime, kind of like a "mother nature" or "earth spirit" sorta thing, but less clear. this is easy to believe in when you sit watching a thunder storm or sunrise. read the poetry.
maybe that makes me an agnostic?
what i am *certain* of is that if God exists he does not exist in the Christian form. those dudes have too many contradictions in their beliefs for me to take them seriously. and i am talking about logical contradictions, not conflicts with my own personal views.
although those familiar with Pascal's wager (look it up) will agree that it's more profitable to believe than not to. basically Pascal worked out the consequences of belief/non-belief in the event that God exists/doesn't exist. If you believe and He exists, you're laughing. Believe and he doesn't, you ain't lost much (except a life spent in Christian ways). Disbelieve and he doesn't exist, then it doesn't matter. Disbelieve and He exists, you're royally fucked for all of eternity. this is way nastier than any of the others, so you might as well believe.
i reckon that's fucked cos if God's so powerful he'll see through your little trick anyway, so you're fucked either way

rambling like a m0f0. sorry.
to summarise: christians = not for me.

 

[Miss Peks]

Well I can't say I actually believe in any particular sort of religion, but my family are all Catholics and I was baptised a Catholic.
For 2 yrs I went to a girls Catholic school and although I liked the school, I hated the religion. My parents at that stage were divorced, and my Mum didn't shove the religion down my throat, so I didn't have to go to Church or anything like that. After the school closed down I decided that I didn't want to go to another Catholic school (well there was one I did want to for music reasons, but that's another story), and eventually much to my Mum's disgust I ended up going to a girls public school. My Mum may not have shoved the religion down my throat, but she liked Catholic schools, and she thought that they were good for me.
Now I believe that there is a higher power there, but I don't know what. Perhaps one day I'll realise what that is, and maybe I won't but I think it's intresting to see what other beliefs and religions are out there, and an open mind is a good thing.

 

[-Thoth]

Religion is a challenging notion... Does God exist? Is it really important that we know?
There is only one thing I can be sure of. The more I learn of the things that surround me, the less I really know. Nature, science and humanity is clouded by infinite complexity that nobody can seek to unravel completely. While some higher force may indeed exist, I cannot see it conforming to any religion pursued by humankind... I feel the sheer wheight of such knowlege is beyond our comprehension. Humanity always strives to seek answers, yet some of it shall always remain out of reach.
I guess that makes me an agnostic, because I don't think I'll ever find the answer...
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The woods are dark and deep, and you have miles to go before you sleep...

 

[despook]

way too much to be written here. i thought that i would simply add some thoughts.
"A religious war is simply an arguement over who has the better imaginary friend"
a belief system is fine until you start comparing one to another. that is when all the hullabalue starts. is it not enough that one can go through life unsure as to what will happen next, simply enjoying experiences and gaining the knowledge to make the world and their life better in the future?
atm i am trying to figure out how to enjoy my current life, and if there is one after this, then i shall continue in such a way as to better my existance and the existance of all those i come in contact with.
"practice random acts of kindness and senceless beauty"
why not, it makes everyone feel good.
if there is a higher being or a purpose to me being here i am yet to find "proof" or an indication that there is or that there is not. hence i live my life with eyes open to the possibility and enjoy the day from one moment to the next.
take care of yourself and others and it all seams worthwhile to me.
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Dancing is the perpendicular reenactment of the horizontal desire
[This message has been edited by despook (edited 21 May 2001).]

 

[DJC*]

Excuse me Mr Horse Sir??

But i was under the impression that Buddism was not considered a "religion", am i right??
DJC
Just bumping up my posts, to get outa this newly found greenlighter statis.

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"We are the children of the revolution"

 

[Toasty]

So much I could say about this topic...
When I was in year 9 I went to an Anglican school where I was converted and went on to get myself baptized and confirmed. I liked the feeling of belonging to a big, good, socially acceptable thing, and as I had been praying to God for many years I felt it fitted my beleifs.
Later on I began to question my beleif... most of what I did was because I was terrified of going to hell, not because I necessarily thought it was the right thing to do. A lot of things about Christianity as an organised religion bothered me, and slowly I began to beleive that no-one could tell me what to do, no-one knew what was right for me.
By the time I was 18 I was fully converted to Satanism. In many ways I agreed with LaVey's logic. I beleived that I was the focus of my personal universe and that I should act accordingly. It was a time in my life when I felt very powerful. As the years passed I began to feel less powerful, and frustrated at the openess of Satanism which would mean that another Satanist could have veiws that opposed mine. I also no longer beleived in vengance, I wanted to forgive, I wanted to be nice to other people and make them happy. I began to see other people as just like me.
I used to take a lot of acid and I always felt a profound sense of belonging and rightness when tripping out in nature. While searching on the internet one day I cam across the term 'pantheist', meaning roughly god=nature. I looked into this further and found that this word described precisely what I beleive. I always find it hard to explain but pantheism is about beleiving that 'god' or divinity is in everything, every rock, every star, every tree. That the universe is to be revered as a whole, and that we are all part of that whole.
I have a deep love of nature and animals, but it never quite reached humans in the same way coz we can be so stupid and so many things that humans have done around the world upset me so much. But all this was reconciled last year when I went on a big bike ride. Absolutely everyone on the ride was nice, it didn't matter who beleived what or who liked what, it was just humans being good to humans at such a basic level as I have never seen before or after. And through this I got the LOVE, the big love where someone can piss me off and make me think they're an idiot and I still care for them. Although I think christianity as an organized religion is a terrible thing, I think Jesus was a really nice guy who had some very right ideas, he was right into the love but unless you've felt it it just seems like cheesy words.
Arghh what a rant. But I just had to share.
Now for part 2 (yes I am serious, but It'll be quicker, I promise)
De Quincey, you mentioned that you liked the spiritulality of Wordsworth- 'nature and the sublime'. Wordsworth was a pantheist. I'm not trying to convert you or anything but most pantheists already are ones, they just don't have the word for it. What you were saying about getting the feeling when you watch thunderstorms or sunsets really makes me think you are one. Have a look at www.pantheism.net

 

[Pleonastic]

Toasty: That's very interesting, thanks for sharing. There's something I was wondering if you could answer though. Here's a quote from the website:

We must recognize the rights of living things to survive and thrive, to fulfil their natural drives and to live their natural lives in natural surroundings.
Recognizing the rights of life does not mean providing a cast-iron guarantee: nature herself often subjects living things to stress, pain and death. But it does mean accepting our own duty not to infringe the rights. So we should not impose suffering on animals or unnecessary stress on plants. We should not expect animals to live in conditions where they cannot satisfy their basic instincts.
At the same time we have to accord to humans the same natural rights as other species: the right to survive and thrive, the right to eat, the right to avoid danger and pain and threats to life.

So my question is, does pantheism involve vegetarianism? Are you yourself vegetarian? Does the religion distinguish between the rights of animals and the rights of plants?
And so the search continues...

 

[Mr. Horse]

djc: What are you talking about? Of course it's considered a religion.

 

[Insecurity]

After going to a private girls' school all my life and being forced to attend chapel/assembly three times a week, I need a break so I can collect my head and make up my own mind!! Plus going to church on Christmas and Easter is a family "tradition" that I'm thankfully now old enough to avoid.
I'm not saying that I don't believe in a higher being - I mean, how the hell did we get here in the first place?? But I don't think that science can explain everything either. I think that it's a mixture of the two. Like when the Bible says that God created the universe in six days, how do we know that God's days are equal to ours?? Evolution could come into it if we consider that time is irrelevant to God. Millions of years could pass in one of God's days. It's a heavy topic, but a goodun.
Acid_Reign: You should have brought this up on Sunday morning!! I reckon you would have got some really different and wacked-out views!!
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Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall be forever amused.