God and stuff

[njlauren]

Liar!
BUSTED!

You have to have trust and faith to get out of bed every morning and to put your feet on the floor and standing up having faith that you won't go flying up and hit the ceiling.

You believe and have faith in Gravity and a few hundred other things...

You seem to lack faith in a higher power or Religion you don't seem to realize the religion that you practice unthinkingly every day.

But to say you have no faith is simply not true.

That isn't faith in religion or faith. I don't have faith in gravity because once I became aware, I never took a step out of bed and went flying to the ceiling, and I learned gravity was a constant later on when I went to school, and you know, learned about forces. I know that if I go swimming I will be bouyant enough in water to be able to swim because I have done it so many times.


Faith is about things you can't prove, that cannot be proved. I have faith that when I go to bed at night and go to sleep, my spouse won't get up and stick a knife in me in the middle of the night; it has been proven out over so many years together, but it could still happen, yet I don't lie at wake each night making sure.

I don't have faith in science. I have knowledge of how science operates, I know it has failings, but I an also quantify what they do, how they do things, and i know what they do is based on data and observations and a process that can be checked.

Faith in God? Totally without proof of any tangible kind. It is belief in something that there is no logical way to prove, no method, that can show logically and rationally it exists. Miracles? Suppositions, now way to know if it was God or some unknown other reason. Life after death? No proof (sorry, those "I was heading towards the light" could be the brain as it is dying projecting things). God answers all prayers? If you did a statistical analysis of that, would likely be disappointing.

Sometimes it is a bit of both. When I am asked to do something difficult and I say yes, some of it is based in confidence in my abilities, but the rest is faith I have in myself to stretch and be able to accomplish impossible things.

Yes, it is true to say that all people likely have faith in something, which translates into believing in something that can't be proven. Faith is a broad term, but that doesn't mean that faith that my spouse won't kill me on a given night is the same as religious faith, they are very different in many ways, faith in a higher being is totally irrational and illogical; faith in someone you think you know, or in other things, is based in patterns and experience. With gravity, it is such that it is always there, scientific knowledge tells us it is and so does the experience of people around us, in the recorded history of man no one has ever woken up and gone splat on the ceiling.

 

[With_David_Bowie]

Ultimate faith in the modern world is not wearing a condom.

I got spayed and neutered, but before that, there is the trusting the other party is on the pill.

And of course without thinking of disease.

 

[FGB]

That isn't faith in religion or faith. I don't have faith in gravity because once I became aware, I never took a step out of bed and went flying to the ceiling, and I learned gravity was a constant later on when I went to school, and you know, learned about forces. I know that if I go swimming I will be bouyant enough in water to be able to swim because I have done it so many times.


Faith is about things you can't prove, that cannot be proved. I have faith that when I go to bed at night and go to sleep, my spouse won't get up and stick a knife in me in the middle of the night; it has been proven out over so many years together, but it could still happen, yet I don't lie at wake each night making sure.

I don't have faith in science. I have knowledge of how science operates, I know it has failings, but I an also quantify what they do, how they do things, and i know what they do is based on data and observations and a process that can be checked.

Faith in God? Totally without proof of any tangible kind. It is belief in something that there is no logical way to prove, no method, that can show logically and rationally it exists. Miracles? Suppositions, now way to know if it was God or some unknown other reason. Life after death? No proof (sorry, those "I was heading towards the light" could be the brain as it is dying projecting things). God answers all prayers? If you did a statistical analysis of that, would likely be disappointing.

Sometimes it is a bit of both. When I am asked to do something difficult and I say yes, some of it is based in confidence in my abilities, but the rest is faith I have in myself to stretch and be able to accomplish impossible things.

Yes, it is true to say that all people likely have faith in something, which translates into believing in something that can't be proven. Faith is a broad term, but that doesn't mean that faith that my spouse won't kill me on a given night is the same as religious faith, they are very different in many ways, faith in a higher being is totally irrational and illogical; faith in someone you think you know, or in other things, is based in patterns and experience. With gravity, it is such that it is always there, scientific knowledge tells us it is and so does the experience of people around us, in the recorded history of man no one has ever woken up and gone splat on the ceiling.

I call faith Action, Based upon belief, Sustained by confidence.

That is what you are expressing in this Thread.

Be it misguided or no...it is still Faith.

Faith that there is no Faith...is Faith.

Faith is as complicated as WE make it. Unrelenting Faith is only comes only by gift or experience or learning, especially in the Religion area.

I, am lucky enough to have all three.

I apologize, sometimes I forget what it all looks and sounds like from a non-Christian or non religious prospective.

I encourage you to explore the unknown to you. One may not always like what you find but it isn't boring!

 

[fzfiend77]

I tried to believe, but it never really took. I think I have a problem with belief in general, for better or worse.

 

[ishtat]

Faith and Belief are the only solace left for those people with insufficient capacity to think.

 

[stickygirl]

Faith and Belief are the only solace left for those people with insufficient capacity to think.

Things that go bump in the night, the movement of planets and stars, Mankind's ego - they all lead to superstition and then - Bingo - we invent religion to explain it all, take your money and tell you everything will be okay

 

[Stillrandy]

Just for the record, and to state simply: I believe in God and am a Christian. Not here to convince anyone who thinks or feels differently, but that is where I am.

It is rarely useful to try to convince someone who already has a firm notion of where they are in 'God and stuff'. A couple of people have said something like this:

“For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.”

And as always --- YMMV!

 

[FGB]

Ask God or/and Jesus for help with you non-belief or difficulty in having faith.

Talk at him. Blame stuff on him.

Try "Another fine mess you have gotten me into! Shake your fist at the heavens.

Fasten your seat belt...

He always hears you...sometimes the answer is NO.

And sometimes He sends someone to help. Instruct. or just let you know you are noticed!

Sometimes he will have you wondering just what he is up to at three in the A.M. on a sleepless night.

And when he answers some of your prayers in a inconceivable way well...HE IS GOD!

 

[Tryharder62]

 

[Bewleybrother]

Ultimate faith in the modern world is not wearing a condom.

I got spayed and neutered, but before that, there is the trusting the other party is on the pill.

And of course without thinking of disease.

"Get me to the church on time"

 

[stickygirl]

I'd forgotten this thread till I read this today

Millions of children in religious groups in England and Wales vulnerable to abuse

"Children involved in religious organisations, including Sunday schools and madrasas, are vulnerable to sexual abuse in cultures where victim blaming, abuse of power and mistrust of external authorities are common, a report says.

"...including Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baptists, Methodists, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism and nonconformist Christian denominations...

“Blaming the victims, fears of reputational damage and discouraging external reporting are some of the barriers victims and survivors face, as well as clear indicators of religious organisations prioritising their own reputations above all else. For many, these barriers have been too difficult to overcome."

nuff said

 

[Rockymtnman]

Religion is only good for parting suckers from their hard earned cash. God isn’t anymore real than the thousands of other gods mankind has worshiped over the years.

 

[stickygirl]

I know we shouldn't be focusing on the catholics and their cult but 3,000 pedo priests since the 1950s

 

[thør]

The Pope had become very ill and was taken to many doctors, all of whom could not figure out how to cure him. Finally, he was brought to an old physician. After about an hour’s examination he came out and told the cardinals that he had some good news and some bad news. The bad news was that the Pope had a rare disorder of the testicles. The good news was that all the Pope had to do to be cured was have sex.

Well, this was not good news to the cardinals, who argued about it at length. Finally, they went to the Pope with the doctor and explained the situation. After some thought, the Pope stated, “I agree, but under four conditions.”

The cardinals were amazed and there arose quite an uproar. Over the noise a single voice asked, “And what are the four conditions?”

The room stilled. There was a long pause.

The Pope replied, “First, the girl must be blind, so that she cannot see who she is having sex with.

Second, she must be deaf, so that she cannot hear who she is having sex with.

And third, she must be dumb so that if somehow she figures out who she is having sex with, she can tell no one.”

After another long pause a voice arose and asked, “And the fourth condition?” The Pope replied, “She must have big tits.”

 

[thør]

I know we shouldn't be focusing on the catholics and their cult but 3,000 pedo priests since the 1950s

Tip of the iceberg.....

 

[Billwebb33]

All religious wars are about people arguing over who has the biggest invisible friend.

 

[FGB]

Religion is only good for parting suckers from their hard earned cash. God isn’t anymore real than the thousands of other gods mankind has worshiped over the years.

Even after I became a Christian the whole clearness about God, Jesus and the Angels remained somewhat cloudy.

To Quote Forrest Gump... "Lieutenant Dan: Where the Hell is this God of yours?
Forrest Gump: [narrating] It’s funny Lieutenant Dan said that, ’cause right then, God showed up.!"

Great movie quote.

In real life I was literally scared speechless for about sixteen hours. It took a while for the hair on the back of my neck to lay back down. I'd heard of a hair raising experience, but WOW!

I had been "Saved" about six months before. Sure I had gone to just about every kind of church there was around here at some point in my life...sat (tried not to doze off) through countless hours of semi interesting talk, Preaching and Teaching about God, Jesus and such, but it was never REAL to me in a stark know in in your bones way.

All the God haters, Fundamentalist and Trolls... take your Blood pressure meds or whatever.

Anyway, There I was a typical sixteen year old white guy in the early seventies focused on cars, Rock and Roll...Drinking, Smoking Pot and Pussy on that Sunday( I think it was) afternoon.

Just telling it like it was folks.

I was doing my usual 85MPH drive down Texas FM842 screaming into what is known as "Berry's Curve" posted as 35 MPH. I am guessing it is about 100 meters long and angles at 100 degrees to the right...NOT banked. There has been a few wrecks there over the years many hitting the same tree.

Que the slow motion and crystal clear vision.

As I was entering the Curve I felt a presence as a smooth gentle voice with a richness not found with humans, such as I had never experienced before sounded in my brain and ears at the same time as my right foot activated the brakes without my thought to control it.

They did not say my name but I knew they (I say they (am speaking as all are a group) it was only one voice and it was male) told me to slow down.

As I decelerated to 45MPH my left front tire blew out and I had quite the fight on my hands not to wreck!

By the time I regained total control of my car I had made around the curve and was looking for a place to pull over on the grass shoulder. I found it at the bottom of the hill that was just around the curve.

I pulled over and blew out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

That was when the light went on so to speak. I realized what had happened and as I looked into my rear view mirror that I was alone in the car.

That was when my hair started standing up. (Que twilight zone music!)

Well almost...I guessed them preachers were right. You are never alone.

I changed the tire and motored on home. I just had nothing to say...I was still astonished. I was NOT expecting direction from above.

To Quote another movie..."THAT WAS TO GET YOUR ATTENTION!"

It Worked.

I probably sit there for ten minutes before I had the shakes under control...not from the blow out,that was not unusual.

Supernatural intervention...that was the first and not the last time I would have a encounter with the Angels . Not even the most strange.

Reality is being able to understand what you are experiencing. Peeling it down like an onion until you have gleamed all that you can from it.

It all started in a church I didn't even really care for when I asked Jesus for help because I didn't like where my life was going and explained why.

That is all it took to light a time delayed fuse.

 

[Chernosoth]

Many atheists and agnos are basically religious, but with science and progress replacing god and the guy on a stick. As they lose faith in progress, they go back to their parents' religions or find something else. The Eastern Orthodox branches seem to have kept more of their magical power that the Catholics lost, or whatever the believers seek in church. Islam is also starting to grow. But those are just temporary bumps. The monotheistic Abrahamic religions sell Armageddon. Current events may look like the start of that, but then people don't get their prophesied rewards like floating up to heaven. New religions are likely to emerge over the next few decades with more of a long game to fit the many years of the human species and billions of years of the planet and universe.

 

[Stillrandy]

 

[stickygirl]

Many atheists and agnos are basically religious, but with science and progress replacing god and the guy on a stick. As they lose faith in progress, they go back to their parents' religions or find something else. The Eastern Orthodox branches seem to have kept more of their magical power that the Catholics lost, or whatever the believers seek in church. Islam is also starting to grow. But those are just temporary bumps. The monotheistic Abrahamic religions sell Armageddon. Current events may look like the start of that, but then people don't get their prophesied rewards like floating up to heaven. New religions are likely to emerge over the next few decades with more of a long game to fit the many years of the human species and billions of years of the planet and universe.

Basically religious? I'm not sure I agree if only from my own view point. I don't feel a need to have something bigger than me or our known universe to give me a reason for existence. We are what we are is good enough.
I go along with societal rules that are broadly based on what religion extols because it makes sense - but those same rules can be seen in groups of apes because it works for them as well.
I suspect every generation has had their Armageddon to fear and today's media is every bit as good at promoting that as the church once did. Fear keeps society in check. Just the exercise of power ... repeat ad nauseum.

 

[coati]

I go along with societal rules that are broadly based on what religion extols because it makes sense - but those same rules can be seen in groups of apes because it works for them as well.

I agree. Many years ago while emerging from an intensely introspective stage of an LSD trip in a remote wilderness area, I saw someone approaching in the distance on a hiking trail. As I raised my hand to wave, I realized that humans and their primate ancestors had been doing this for hundreds of thousands of years to indicate that they were not carrying a club or other weapon, and that they intended no harm.

 

[With_David_Bowie]

This a Bob Geldolf song... or more to the point anything else.

funny thing is, google thought this

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?p=94348056#post94348056

And I thought this

https://genius.com/Bob-geldof-love-or-something-lyrics

 

[Wonderer67]

Apathetic agnostic here. I don’t know if god exists or not but I don’t really care.

Throw in a shot of nihilism to that drink. It’s a somewhat optimistic shot of nihilism tho.

I believe in myself and a few others to get things done.

It also does it mean being an asshole or nasty to other people. I try to be objective and kind to all people, until they give me a reason to act otherwise. I don’t hate others, I just feel better whenever they’re not around me.

That about sums up my view on this topic.

 

[God_Above]

Apathetic agnostic here. I don’t know if god exists or not but I don’t really care.

You will.

 

[Series 6]

I need help: my cynicism just derailed and I'm worried I may have upgraded to agnostic. The logic is compelling.

This not a pro-life thing because zygot's don't talk But it'll probably descend into a troll thread. Fuck. Forgot that but I've posted it now. Oh well

"In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?” The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.”
“Nonsense” said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?”

The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths. Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now.”

The first replied, “That is absurd. Walking is impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.”

The second insisted, “Well I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here. Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.”

The first replied, “Nonsense. And moreover if there is life, then why has no one has ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere.”

“Well, I don’t know,” said the second, “but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us.”

The first replied “Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. If Mother exists then where is She now?”

The second said, “She is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we live. Without Her this world would not and could not exist.”

Said the first: “Well I don’t see Her, so it is only logical that She doesn’t exist.”

To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and you really listen, you can perceive Her presence, and you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.”

Sorry I'm late to this party. What this says to me is that the divine is far too complex for us to understand with the knowledge that we possess right now. That we can acknowledge that there is something greater than us and ponder what it may be, but at the same time realize that we will never know until we get there, if even then. Maybe we are given enough knowledge to flourish in the present and be the best with what we have instead of doing actions for a reward in the next life.