Why don't you believe in God?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP continued (sorry so long...it is hard to condense something like this):

The step from disbelief to belief, from skepticism to faith, was a blend of everything that makes me human: intellect, emotion, psyche, will. One day, deep in the throes of existential angst, I said a skeptic's prayer: God, if you are there, if there is a Truth and you are that Truth, I want to know you. And I felt Loved. With a capital "L.".

This is a tiny glimpse into my faith--I simply cannot do it justice here. I would be happy to name particular writings, or to give more details, but for now, I just want to throw this out there, a DCUM wager, if you will:

What if I am right? What if there is such a thing as Truth? What if another name for God is Truth? And Love? What if the closer you draw to your Creator, the more joyful life will be? Aren't these questions worth asking?

But what if you are wrong? You can't expect anyone to work hard at considering your hypothetical if you do not do the same for the reverse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's funny...I have very mixed feelings about God. I grew up going to church every Sunday and was an altar server until I was 14. At that time, my aunt became very ill at the same time she suddenly lost her husband and my mom lost a lot of her faith. Therefore, so did I. However when I was 22, my grandmother passed away at our home. The day before she "died" she started crying and saying "they're all here". And "oh Billy you came". Now my uncle is named after his dad so we all assumed that was who she was talking about. However, my grandmother started sobbing and saying "she's so beautiful". My mom asked who and my grandmother answered the name of her daughter who had died 4 years ago. (Sorry I know this story is long). So I feel like I had a certain proof about the after life there, however I have a brother who is gay and struggle with the fact that God could create that amazing "light" for my grandmother, and yet not accept my brother. Sorry for the rant, it is my own personal struggle I suppose[/quote]
I knew it, somebody had to bring in the whole "gay issue" in this conversation.Common folks the bible is VERY CLEAR.

In what sense?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP continued (sorry so long...it is hard to condense something like this):

The step from disbelief to belief, from skepticism to faith, was a blend of everything that makes me human: intellect, emotion, psyche, will. One day, deep in the throes of existential angst, I said a skeptic's prayer: God, if you are there, if there is a Truth and you are that Truth, I want to know you. And I felt Loved. With a capital "L.".

This is a tiny glimpse into my faith--I simply cannot do it justice here. I would be happy to name particular writings, or to give more details, but for now, I just want to throw this out there, a DCUM wager, if you will:

What if I am right? What if there is such a thing as Truth? What if another name for God is Truth? And Love? What if the closer you draw to your Creator, the more joyful life will be? Aren't these questions worth asking?

What do you mean, "What if I'm right?" Why would your parochial form of worship be any more likely to hit the truth than any of the countless other sects out there? PP wrote that maybe God is something like the universal spirit of goodwill. Why not leave it at that?

[Anonymous]

Regarding, "What if you're wrong?":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPJQw-x-xho

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regarding, "What if you're wrong?":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPJQw-x-xho

This is a joke response, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP continued (sorry so long...it is hard to condense something like this):

The step from disbelief to belief, from skepticism to faith, was a blend of everything that makes me human: intellect, emotion, psyche, will. One day, deep in the throes of existential angst, I said a skeptic's prayer: God, if you are there, if there is a Truth and you are that Truth, I want to know you. And I felt Loved. With a capital "L.".

This is a tiny glimpse into my faith--I simply cannot do it justice here. I would be happy to name particular writings, or to give more details, but for now, I just want to throw this out there, a DCUM wager, if you will:

What if I am right? What if there is such a thing as Truth? What if another name for God is Truth? And Love? What if the closer you draw to your Creator, the more joyful life will be? Aren't these questions worth asking?

What if the Aztecs were right, and we should be sacrificing children to Quetzalcoatl?

You have clearly gone on a weird psychological journey. There are many people who have been on weird psychological journeys. Some of them are living on the street and hearing voices. Others are haranguing passers-by outside train stations. Just because you feel something in your heart doesn't make it true - it might just been you are nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's what I believe: I think consciousness is a property of the universe just like gravity, electricity, and the forces that hold atoms together. Human brains are to consciousness as a magnet is to the electromagnetic field. We have more of it, but everything has some of it. Is the universe itself conscious? I don't know but I think it probably is, and that's what you would call god.

Absolutely this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP continued (sorry so long...it is hard to condense something like this):

The step from disbelief to belief, from skepticism to faith, was a blend of everything that makes me human: intellect, emotion, psyche, will. One day, deep in the throes of existential angst, I said a skeptic's prayer: God, if you are there, if there is a Truth and you are that Truth, I want to know you. And I felt Loved. With a capital "L.".

This is a tiny glimpse into my faith--I simply cannot do it justice here. I would be happy to name particular writings, or to give more details, but for now, I just want to throw this out there, a DCUM wager, if you will:

What if I am right? What if there is such a thing as Truth? What if another name for God is Truth? And Love? What if the closer you draw to your Creator, the more joyful life will be? Aren't these questions worth asking?

You're dangerously close to pulling the Pascal's Wager fluke there.

I've seen Christians attempt to equate god with truth and god with fact and belief with fact and anything else to try to make themselves seem more credible (ie: it's not a religion it's a relationship!!!).

It's not what if - it's are you? There's no evidence that you are, and no reason to believe you are. People are peaceful and joyful and happy without agreeing with you and there are also plenty of miserable people who agree with you.

[Anonymous]

I actually like the sentiment expressed in 5:51. I would like to hear more of what you exactly mean by consciousness. Is that love and truth, too? Does every being (human or animal or whatever is out there) interpret it differently? Are these unconscious interpretations (or even conscious ones--more scary even, like the religious extremists out there) the cause of war, famine, disaster, murder that some like to "blame" on God?

[Anonymous]

OP again, good morning!

I could be wrong. There could be no such thing as Truth. But then we are just babbling. We cannot have even a simple conversation. Because we would violate the law of non-contradiction: something cannot both be and not be at the same time. X/-X cancel each other out into nothing.

And while we are taking about who is right and who is wrong--according to whose standard? Math? 2 + 2= 4, not 5? Science? If I put sand in my gas tank, my car will not go? Logic? X not -X? Who is the Author of math? Who is the Creator of science? Who gave us minds and will? Who is sustaining the laws of physics and the stuff of life? Why do children on the playground say "that's not fair!"

Why was it wrong for the Aztecs to rip the hearts out of babies? Why is it right to love thy neighbor? On whose authority?

Do you love your children? Do you believe in love?

I kind of wish I had not shared anything about my faith, not because I mind, but because I really just wanted to understand a lack of faith, and now I have muddied the waters. There are much, much better resources out there for someone who is seeking the Truth.

My DCUM wager is actually the opposite of Pascal's wager. His was a wager based on apathy and minimalism and laziness, of hedging a bet. Would you approach parenting that way? Just covering your bases? I would hope not...because knowing God is Love is a relationship, not a contract.

Back to the original question: why don't you believe in God?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP continued (sorry so long...it is hard to condense something like this):

The step from disbelief to belief, from skepticism to faith, was a blend of everything that makes me human: intellect, emotion, psyche, will. One day, deep in the throes of existential angst, I said a skeptic's prayer: God, if you are there, if there is a Truth and you are that Truth, I want to know you. And I felt Loved. With a capital "L.".

This is a tiny glimpse into my faith--I simply cannot do it justice here. I would be happy to name particular writings, or to give more details, but for now, I just want to throw this out there, a DCUM wager, if you will:

What if I am right? What if there is such a thing as Truth? What if another name for God is Truth? And Love? What if the closer you draw to your Creator, the more joyful life will be? Aren't these questions worth asking?

What you are describing is very like Buddhist enlightenment or Nirvana. Call it " god" if you want, but it's the same thing and most Buddhists are atheists because Truth is something you attain for yourself through personal growth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP continued (sorry so long...it is hard to condense something like this):

The step from disbelief to belief, from skepticism to faith, was a blend of everything that makes me human: intellect, emotion, psyche, will. One day, deep in the throes of existential angst, I said a skeptic's prayer: God, if you are there, if there is a Truth and you are that Truth, I want to know you. And I felt Loved. With a capital "L.".

This is a tiny glimpse into my faith--I simply cannot do it justice here. I would be happy to name particular writings, or to give more details, but for now, I just want to throw this out there, a DCUM wager, if you will:

What if I am right? What if there is such a thing as Truth? What if another name for God is Truth? And Love? What if the closer you draw to your Creator, the more joyful life will be? Aren't these questions worth asking?

were you high?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again, good morning!

I could be wrong. There could be no such thing as Truth. But then we are just babbling. We cannot have even a simple conversation. Because we would violate the law of non-contradiction: something cannot both be and not be at the same time. X/-X cancel each other out into nothing.

And while we are taking about who is right and who is wrong--according to whose standard? Math? 2 + 2= 4, not 5? Science? If I put sand in my gas tank, my car will not go? Logic? X not -X? Who is the Author of math? Who is the Creator of science? Who gave us minds and will? Who is sustaining the laws of physics and the stuff of life? Why do children on the playground say "that's not fair!"

Why was it wrong for the Aztecs to rip the hearts out of babies? Why is it right to love thy neighbor? On whose authority?

Do you love your children? Do you believe in love?

I kind of wish I had not shared anything about my faith, not because I mind, but because I really just wanted to understand a lack of faith, and now I have muddied the waters. There are much, much better resources out there for someone who is seeking the Truth.

My DCUM wager is actually the opposite of Pascal's wager. His was a wager based on apathy and minimalism and laziness, of hedging a bet. Would you approach parenting that way? Just covering your bases? I would hope not...because knowing God is Love is a relationship, not a contract.

Back to the original question: why don't you believe in God?

Actually I don't know where you are going with this, but according to quantum mechanics the bolded statement is not true. See Schrodinger's Cat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again, good morning!

I could be wrong. There could be no such thing as Truth. But then we are just babbling. We cannot have even a simple conversation. Because we would violate the law of non-contradiction: something cannot both be and not be at the same time. X/-X cancel each other out into nothing.

And while we are taking about who is right and who is wrong--according to whose standard? Math? 2 + 2= 4, not 5? Science? If I put sand in my gas tank, my car will not go? Logic? X not -X? Who is the Author of math? Who is the Creator of science? Who gave us minds and will? Who is sustaining the laws of physics and the stuff of life? Why do children on the playground say "that's not fair!"

Why was it wrong for the Aztecs to rip the hearts out of babies? Why is it right to love thy neighbor? On whose authority?

Do you love your children? Do you believe in love?

I kind of wish I had not shared anything about my faith, not because I mind, but because I really just wanted to understand a lack of faith, and now I have muddied the waters. There are much, much better resources out there for someone who is seeking the Truth.

My DCUM wager is actually the opposite of Pascal's wager. His was a wager based on apathy and minimalism and laziness, of hedging a bet. Would you approach parenting that way? Just covering your bases? I would hope not...because knowing God is Love is a relationship, not a contract.

Back to the original question: why don't you believe in God?

One moment of lucidity...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the pp with the grandmother story. Thank you to those posters who supplied a logical explanation, as I said it is something I've struggling. And I know I will get flamed for this, but I believe there is a distinction between believing in God and following the Bible. I do believe that people pick and choose what to follow in the Bible to go with their particular beliefs, and I also feel it contradicts itself in places. However, I have lived most of my life choosing to think there is a higher power and that has helped me through many difficult times. Is it even possible to believe in a higher power such as God and yet choose not to follow the Bible? Its been a big concern about my future children, and DH has pretty much left the decision up to me as he has no opinion

The Christian bible is the most popular holy text here in the US, but not in other parts of the world. I don't think it is silly to believe in a higher power but not the bible. It does have contradictions aplenty. You could look into Buddhist or Unitarian churches to see if they offer what you are looking for.

If the Christian bible is right, every person who's never heard the teachings and/or accepted it will burn in hell. So, the kids in Cambodia dying of AIDS are going to hell? That just doesn't jive with my understanding of right and wrong.

All the holy texts were written by men, even if divinely inspired. You don't have to agree or follow any particular one to find your way and morality, imo. If you believe there is a higher power capable of communication through prayer or meditation, start there. No need for the middle man.