Is it okay to believe in God?

[minsue]

Too tired for a long answer, so I'll just give you the one that popped in my head immediately on seeing your thread title, SIMA.

Of course it is.

 

[nushu2]

Is it OK to believe in God?

No... Not if it detracts in believing in yourself. Not if it means depending on God to solve your problems. Other than that, it must be wonderful.

Life can be a trial at times but if it weren't, we could not relish the joy.

 

[SeaCat]

SIMA,

Of course you may believe in whatever you wish. If it gives you strength to worship God then feel free to do so in the manner you feel most comfortable with. From what I have seen, read, and heard no one out there can rightfully claim to have the only right way to worship him/her. Nor do they have any right to claim your way of worship is wrong.

Cat

 

[The_Darkness]

Well, I want to put in my 2 and a half cents here....religion is one of my favorite topics.

It's okay to believe in God. It makes us feel good that there's something out there to watch over us and to help us help ourselves when we need it. Miracles happen, sure, but belief in God and belief that God will help us allows us to do extra-ordinary things that are sometimes inexplicable.

I believe in God. I have had experiences that other people have also experienced that 4 people with a combined IQ of over 600 absolutely cannot come up with a logical explanation for from physics, chemistry, optics, or any other area of specialty. I believe that if what we experienced is true, then there is more than likely a God.

But yes, nushu is correct....we should not believe in God at the cost of self. That is not saying that we should all be hubristic, but we should instead rely on ourselves to fix problems instead of running to a powerful God-figure.

I know God exists. I have felt things that cannot normally be felt and seen things that should not be seen. I'm either crazy (Oh please, please let me be crazy) or I'm right. If I'm right, then this little life of ours is insignificant in the grand scheme of things, so just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Have faith, celebrate that faith, and celebrate each life you encounter. Things that are considered losses to some are just your mind trying to cope with the lack of something private or public that was always reliable.

God is there. God cares what we do. We need not believe in God for God to believe in us. No one religion has it right. Some are closer than others, but no religion exists in the pure form that it did when it began. The concept of Jihad for the Muslems is a relatively new concept, and the concept of the Crusade for the Christians would make the appostles turn in their tombs.

Religion is what we make it and how we practice. Ritual and Hymn may be considered core features, but we need to look at what is actually being said and being done. If your religious beliefs are challenged by something, examine that thing and figure out why it troubles you. Logic and religion are interchangeable, reguardless of what people may or may not think of the illogic of belief in God. Science does not define existance, but only explains our observations of it. The Big Bang does not say how matter came to be, it simply said it was and then it exploded. What no one can say is how or why the matter existed at all.

Believe in God. God believes in you.

 

[Amy Sweet]

I believe in God.

I just don't believe everything I was tought to believe about God. (notice the lack of a pronoun)

Personally, I'm with Kassiana on both these points:

Just make sure that your belief doesn't make you into a jerk, and I'll support your right to it any time. Personally, I believe in all the Gods and Goddesses, though I don't worship all of them.

Not only is it ok to believe in God. It's ok not to. It's ok to believe and be mad, it's ok to believe and question. It's ok to believe even if you don't know quite what you believe. And you don't need permission. Anybody tells you you shouldn't or don't have a right to believe you tell em to fuck off!

 

[Amy Sweet]

Have you ever had a moment when you're so moved by some presence that it moves you to tears?

Yes, and I'll PM you about it when I have the energy.

Christmas is the time to believe. Especially for those having a difficult holiday season. For many, it's probably the only thing that keeps them alive.


hugs.

 

[Amy Sweet]

This may seem weird, but there are nondenominational prayer lines- sometimes it helps not to feel alone or to have someone pray with/for you. I've seen ads in Science of Mind (magazine) but I don't know the number. Local churches also have them sometimes, but they might use it to try to 'save' you-- who knows.

Anyway, here's a link:


Silent Unity is available 24 hrs a day at:
http://www.unityonline.org/pray_main.htm

Call the prayer line:
English: 1-816-969-2000
Spanish: 1-816-969-2020

Write us:
Silent Unity
1901 NW Blue Parkway
Unity Village, MO 64065-0001

Fax us:
English: 1-816-251-3554
Spanish: 1-816-251-3508

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

I think a tougher, and entirely related, question is "Is it okay to believe in God, if that means believing other people's gods don't exist?"

 

[she_is_my_addiction]

I think a tougher, and entirely related, question is "Is it okay to believe in God, if that means believing other people's gods don't exist?"

That wasn't my question.

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

Originally posted by she_is_my_addiction
That wasn't my question.

I know.

 

[English Lady]

"We need not believe in God for God to believe in us."


Darkness I love that line.


Sima. It's ok to believe. It's ok to doubt. It's all OK because God believes in you (as per the above statement) and God is big enough to deal with anything thrown his way.

I'm always here if you nee someone to just chat to

 

[Lucifer_Carroll]

SIMA: Yes.
Joe: Yes.

It's okay to believe in God. And frankly, I've said it before and again, the Christian religion is beautiful when followed properly. Christ was a great spiritual teacher. Just because he isn't my spiritual teacher doesn't mean he is less deserving of respect or that his followers are to be condemned. Especially not when a group of old and true friends are devoutly Christian.

And caveat to Joe, it's okay as long as you don't despise them, treat them like shit, or try to recruit against their will people who follow in your eye's "false" Gods. The greatest trait I admire in my Christian friends is that they know better than to invite me to Church.

So speaketh Satan.

 

[English Lady]

(slight aside)

Inviting Satan to church woul just be asking for trouble


(slight aside finished)

 

[Lucifer_Carroll]

(slight aside)

Inviting Satan to church woul just be asking for trouble


(slight aside finished)

Another reason why they refrain.

 

[BlackShanglan]

I think a tougher, and entirely related, question is "Is it okay to believe in God, if that means believing other people's gods don't exist?"

I prefer to think of it more in C. S. Lewis's terms. I believe that there is one God, and I am quite optimistic that that being really doesn't mind if we don't get the name quite right. My earnest hope is that all people praying to a benevolent being are praying to that God, albeit under some variety of different names. The intent in the same, as are the dedication, devotion, and love thus generated. I can't imagine an omnipotent, omniscient, benevolent being sending people to hell for using the wrong form of address.

Shanglan

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

Originally posted by BlackShanglan
I prefer to think of it more in C. S. Lewis's terms. I believe that there is one God, and I am quite optimistic that that being really doesn't mind if we don't get the name quite right. My earnest hope is that all people praying to a benevolent being are praying to that God, albeit under some variety of different names. The intent in the same, as are the dedication, devotion, and love thus generated. I can't imagine an omnipotent, omniscient, benevolent being sending people to hell for using the wrong form of address.

Shanglan

Neither can I, but I can see it happening for the wrong content of belief drawn from it.

 

[BlackShanglan]

Neither can I, but I can see it happening for the wrong content of belief drawn from it.

Agreed. I only append to this the hopeful belief that God probably understands the limitations of human understanding. I am optimistic that the creator will be sympathetic to those confused by the variety of human interpretations, and hopefully will reward those who acted with discipline and earnest goodwill to enact truth as they understood it.

Shanglan

 

[amicus]

I thought long and hard before adding to this thread. In the absence of a firm negative side to the question, I thought I might offer one.

I propose that if you are intelligent enough to ask the question of whether it is all right to believe in god, then you are smart enough to know that you should not.

So, no, it is not all right to believe.

It is most destructive and harmful to...believe.

Let me qualify that just a skosh. Long ago when man was in his infancy and did not 'know' the physical attributes of the Universe, it was 'all right' to believe in the unknown.

But now that we have poked holes in heaven and dismissed the demons and the devil, (all but Luc), then it becomes truly 'irrational' to believe in a god or any god.

Most people I have met are irrational to some degree or an other, so you will have good company if you still choose to 'believe' rather than 'know.'

There is also the social aspect to consider. Mankind needs an ongoing institution that possesses stability and ritual and custom concerning those very human frailties such as birth and death and marriage.

We also need, as referred to in earlier posts, a close association with blood relatives and close friends to gather round when adversity visits, as it always does.

But, (author's message!) for a rational mind, that seeks to apply reason and logic to comprehend the reality we live in, to accept faith or belief in any part of that search is to corrupt the process and the content of the mind.

It is my opinion that a large measure of mental illness, prevalent in modern western civilization today, is promulgated by a dual system combining reason and faith.

Such contradictions within the rational mind remaining unresolved through life, lead to a wider and wider doubt as to one's ability to deal with reality. Irrationality leads to insanity.

I may start a new religion, The Church of Amicus, that deals with only rationality and reason as a means by which to comprehend our nature and the nature of reality.

You may make donations through paypal or just buy my book.


http://www.publishamerica.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?Search=Yes

regards,

amicus...

 

[she_is_my_addiction]

Where the hell is Joe when I need him?

 

[BlackShanglan]

Interesting ideas, Amicus, but I see no contradiction between faith and rational thought. There is, admittedly, no rational proof that a divine being exists, but there is no rational proof that one doesn't, either. I've yet to meet with a scientific fact that suggested to me that God couldn't have been involved, and in fact have encountered several - the balanced beauty of universal gravitation springs to mind - that seem to suggest an ordering power at work, and at work under aesthetic principles no less.

In short, I think the opposition of faith and reason a canard and a blind alley. It's like opposing biology and poetry. They are not the same thing, but they are not the antithesis of each other either. (With apologies to Wordsworth and Mill on the topic of science and poetry being opposites.)

Shanglan

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

Originally posted by she_is_my_addiction
Where the hell is Joe when I need him?

Oh, if you follow popular press, I'd just be wasting EVERYONE's time by putting amicus's post through a strictly and purely rational counter-argument... because Logic is just hogwash, over-educated nonsense.

(sigh)

 

[she_is_my_addiction]

Oh, if you follow popular press, I'd just be wasting EVERYONE's time by putting amicus's post through a strictly and purely rational counter-argument... because Logic is just hogwash, over-educated nonsense.

(sigh)

I still want to hear the rebuttal.

 

[amicus]

BlackShanglan...

It is not really a fine point, but by definition, one can not and should not, be expected to 'prove a negative'; in other words prove that your non existent god does not exist.

The human mind functions by discovering the evidence of the existence of those things that do exist.

I can proclaim that I have faith in a 12 inch purple phallus that even now dangles in close proximity. You can as well, postulate what ever entity you propose and neither I nor anyone could disprove your assertion.

Reason and faith are diametrically opposed and cannot coexist in reality without consequences.

 

[amicus]

"...the balanced beauty of universal gravity..."

Hope I quoted that correctly...this is usually where the hackles on my logical neck begin to rise.

Without logic and reason you would not even have the word, 'gravity' let alone a grasp of the meaning.

In other words, you use science to invalidate science and that is really cheeky.

We are discovering the natural laws of the universe, of matter and energy...and gravity...through and only through the use of reason and logic and scientific method. Not through faith, or a blind hope that god is really behind quarks, black holes and string theory.

C'mon, at least be reasonable.


amicus...




http://www.publishamerica.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?Search=Yes

 

[she_is_my_addiction]

I believe in God. You can believe in your phallic symbol. There, now we're good.