Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The original question was "why believe in God?" My answer is so simple. I believe in God (Goddess, Source, Allah, Universal Force, Love, First Mover, Spirit, Higher Power, ....whatever name you choose) because I absolutely know God exists. During meditation and prayer, I can allow my mind to quiet and listen to that still, quiet voice that dwells deep in my consciousness. I can feel Spirit moving in and through me as clearly as I can feel the wind on my face. There is a part of my consciousness connected to the entire Universe. We are all part of God. You don't have to believe He/She exists. Every cell in your body is a part of God. You can choose to spend time in meditation and/or prayer in order to get closer to God. Or you can ignore that part of you that recognizes God. Regardless, God does exisis. He/She created you and everyone and everything around you in perfect love. If every person on this planet recognized the divine worth of others and of themselves, we would live in a very, very different world.

I believe someday that will happen. And that will be Heaven.

That's lovely. Do you also believe in a spiritual heaven that people go to after their lives here on Earth end?

Yes. I think I do. However, I do not believe it is a physical place, necessarily.

What is it? and do you think all people who have lived will be there?

I love discussions like this because they make me think. I don't have even an inkling of the mind of God. I only know that when I think/pray/meditate I find it impossible to believe that a loving God - The Source of all that is - would allow a person to suffer for eternity for any reason, let alone a lack of faith. It just doesn't make any sense at all. God created us in love, through love, with the purpose of being love in this world. If God is a part of me, then I can be His expression on earth. We are here to learn to be more loving, more compassionate, and more giving. That was the message that Jesus (and others) brought to the earth. It is a common theme in nearly every world religion and spiritual practice. Love Others.

So what is heaven? I think we reach "heaven" when we become more like our Christ. I think we join that Creative Consciousness of God (Love, Source,....whatever) when we become more like our Creator. And I do think all people have been there and will eventually return. I believe that every single person on this earth has sacred worth. I believe there is divinity in everyone. It's just really, really hard to see in some people. We have free will. We screw up again and again and again. I believe we will remain in that cycle until we figure out how to love the way Jesus the Christ loved.

I was raised in a very fundamental Southern Baptist Church so these beliefs are certainly not popular with my family. However, the more time I spend in quiet meditation the more I believe that there is no "right" path. All paths towards God should be honored. I hope someday we live in world where we can accept the differences in beliefs. And honor non-belief as well. I don't have to make someone else wrong in order to feel right.

Off of soapbox.

^^^ Normal Conquest, obviously.

Anonymous wrote:

All the time? so everything he said was a metaphor? like "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

Or are the metaphors developed to interpret that which that runs counter to one's own beliefs or preferred view of Biblical teachings?

So let's think about this.

God had a son. Christians worship their god on Sunday, which originated from the pagan practice of sun worship. It's not coincidental, as Jesus is light, no? So how easy it was to modify pagan beliefs in order to fit into a Christian framework. a smooth transition


the son = the sun
Look at the Egyptian sun god Ra. And when Ra wept, Ra created man through his tears.


And then God is all-knowing. God created the universe.

Hilarious!

Was that supposed to be a parody of the atheists here?

Or do you really think that the first Christians spoke English, and that's why they mixed up Sun and Son? In fact, the earliest Christians, living in the middle east, spoke koine Greek, Latin, Aramaic and other languages. English didn't exist in 30AD, instead it emerged, very gradually, after the Normal Conquest (1066AD, since you probably don't know that, either).

SMH

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What's this monolatry stuff? Monolatry isn't monotheism. Monolatry says there are many gods, but we worship only one of them. Christianity worships God alone and admits no other gods. I'm not sure I see the relevance of bringing in this $10 word, except to look super smart.

Christians worship a "triune" god, meaning three in one - father, son and holy ghost. Also, depending on your denomination, there are other entities in heaven, like saints and angels that you can pray to or have watch over you --but it's its not polytheism, per se.

The Trinity is not an example of monolatry. Christians worship one God in three persons: God the Father, Christ and the Holy Spirit. They worship them as one, and they worship them all. Monolatry would leave some "gods" aside, and the "gods" would be distinct.

Anonymous wrote:
What's this monolatry stuff? Monolatry isn't monotheism. Monolatry says there are many gods, but we worship only one of them. Christianity worships God alone and admits no other gods. I'm not sure I see the relevance of bringing in this $10 word, except to look super smart.

Christians worship a "triune" god, meaning three in one - father, son and holy ghost. Also, depending on your denomination, there are other entities in heaven, like saints and angels that you can pray to or have watch over you --but it's its not polytheism, per se.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You're a moron - plain and simple.

Zeus was indeed their god before people made the move toward monotheism. Is that too hard for you to understand? When the Romans conquered the Greeks, they moved to Jupiter (and his minions) instead.

Constantine the Great, anyone? He hand picked parts of the bible to increase his power. Furthermore, those ruled have NO choice, as they are now unified under one god.

I'm a lazy thinker? lmfao

I'm the only one providing EVIDENCE to support my point.

You (and your minions) have provided no useful information toward any sane argument defending a belief in god.

Please share your research. I'll be waiting.

It wasn't until the First Council of Nicea (at @325 CE) when these gods were combined into one god.

Hey, all of us can play your game of dredging up old posts. Let's go back to this one, shall we?

Yes, despite your backtracking at 18:01, you DID claim that Nicaea "invented" monitheism. I bolded it for you. Care to try explaining yourself some more?

Still waiting for a response to this one....

+1

yes - in order to create a Christian religion that formed around one god
The councils did indeed "solidify" a framework. This is a Christian thread, is it not?

However, any idiot can research monotheistic belief systems that date back to antiquity.

monotheism
polytheism
monolatry - which is embedded under monotheism

Why is this rocket science for so many of you?

oh yeah - b/c the bible is your database . . .

What's this monolatry stuff? Monolatry isn't monotheism. Monolatry says there are many gods, but we worship only one of them. Christianity worships God alone and admits no other gods. I'm not sure I see the relevance of bringing in this $10 word, except to look super smart.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You're a moron - plain and simple.

Zeus was indeed their god before people made the move toward monotheism. Is that too hard for you to understand? When the Romans conquered the Greeks, they moved to Jupiter (and his minions) instead.

Constantine the Great, anyone? He hand picked parts of the bible to increase his power. Furthermore, those ruled have NO choice, as they are now unified under one god.

I'm a lazy thinker? lmfao

I'm the only one providing EVIDENCE to support my point.

You (and your minions) have provided no useful information toward any sane argument defending a belief in god.

Please share your research. I'll be waiting.

It wasn't until the First Council of Nicea (at @325 CE) when these gods were combined into one god.

Hey, all of us can play your game of dredging up old posts. Let's go back to this one, shall we?

Yes, despite your backtracking at 18:01, you DID claim that Nicaea "invented" monitheism. I bolded it for you. Care to try explaining yourself some more?

Still waiting for a response to this one....

+1

yes - in order to create a Christian religion that formed around one god
The councils did indeed "solidify" a framework. This is a Christian thread, is it not?

However, any idiot can research monotheistic belief systems that date back to antiquity.

monotheism
polytheism
monolatry - which is embedded under monotheism

Why is this rocket science for so many of you?

oh yeah - b/c the bible is your database . . .

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The original question was "why believe in God?" My answer is so simple. I believe in God (Goddess, Source, Allah, Universal Force, Love, First Mover, Spirit, Higher Power, ....whatever name you choose) because I absolutely know God exists. During meditation and prayer, I can allow my mind to quiet and listen to that still, quiet voice that dwells deep in my consciousness. I can feel Spirit moving in and through me as clearly as I can feel the wind on my face. There is a part of my consciousness connected to the entire Universe. We are all part of God. You don't have to believe He/She exists. Every cell in your body is a part of God. You can choose to spend time in meditation and/or prayer in order to get closer to God. Or you can ignore that part of you that recognizes God. Regardless, God does exisis. He/She created you and everyone and everything around you in perfect love. If every person on this planet recognized the divine worth of others and of themselves, we would live in a very, very different world.

I believe someday that will happen. And that will be Heaven.

That's lovely. Do you also believe in a spiritual heaven that people go to after their lives here on Earth end?

Yes. I think I do. However, I do not believe it is a physical place, necessarily.

What is it? and do you think all people who have lived will be there?

All the time? so everything he said was a metaphor? like "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

Or are the metaphors developed to interpret that which that runs counter to one's own beliefs or preferred view of Biblical teachings?

So let's think about this.

God had a son. Christians worship their god on Sunday, which originated from the pagan practice of sun worship. It's not coincidental, as Jesus is light, no? So how easy it was to modify pagan beliefs in order to fit into a Christian framework. a smooth transition


the son = the sun
Look at the Egyptian sun god Ra. And when Ra wept, Ra created man through his tears.


And then God is all-knowing. God created the universe.

odd, however, that it took God quite a bit of time to save his people - well, a few of his people

For eons, when people were worshiping false idols and going all Sodom and Gomorrah on each other, he just sat back and watched. Do we return to Genesis and blame Adam and Eve for damning their descendants? Poor Eve - She simply wanted to learn something. And poof! punished and forever doomed to bear children the hard way!

myth or truth?
fiction or fact?

metaphor
metaphor
metaphor

Let's end this on a metaphorical happy note!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The original question was "why believe in God?" My answer is so simple. I believe in God (Goddess, Source, Allah, Universal Force, Love, First Mover, Spirit, Higher Power, ....whatever name you choose) because I absolutely know God exists. During meditation and prayer, I can allow my mind to quiet and listen to that still, quiet voice that dwells deep in my consciousness. I can feel Spirit moving in and through me as clearly as I can feel the wind on my face. There is a part of my consciousness connected to the entire Universe. We are all part of God. You don't have to believe He/She exists. Every cell in your body is a part of God. You can choose to spend time in meditation and/or prayer in order to get closer to God. Or you can ignore that part of you that recognizes God. Regardless, God does exisis. He/She created you and everyone and everything around you in perfect love. If every person on this planet recognized the divine worth of others and of themselves, we would live in a very, very different world.

I believe someday that will happen. And that will be Heaven.

That's lovely. Do you also believe in a spiritual heaven that people go to after their lives here on Earth end?

Yes. I think I do. However, I do not believe it is a physical place, necessarily.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You're a moron - plain and simple.

Zeus was indeed their god before people made the move toward monotheism. Is that too hard for you to understand? When the Romans conquered the Greeks, they moved to Jupiter (and his minions) instead.

Constantine the Great, anyone? He hand picked parts of the bible to increase his power. Furthermore, those ruled have NO choice, as they are now unified under one god.

I'm a lazy thinker? lmfao

I'm the only one providing EVIDENCE to support my point.

You (and your minions) have provided no useful information toward any sane argument defending a belief in god.

Please share your research. I'll be waiting.

It wasn't until the First Council of Nicea (at @325 CE) when these gods were combined into one god.

Hey, all of us can play your game of dredging up old posts. Let's go back to this one, shall we?

Yes, despite your backtracking at 18:01, you DID claim that Nicaea "invented" monitheism. I bolded it for you. Care to try explaining yourself some more?

Still waiting for a response to this one....

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Only Peter and Timothy are new testament -- but they are gruesome enough. Of course, the Old testament is more gruesome-- remember this was Jesus' Dad

Nice job pointing that out -- after somebody else pointed that out first. To paraphrase McCarthy, have you no shame?

Have you never heard of people posting simultaneously?

Simultaneously?!

Your post came 11 minutes after the post pointing out your error. You are the saddest troll ever.

wasn't my error -- different poster -- and the moderator could prove it.

I don't know who you are, and I don't care if you're the same or a different poster.

The fact remains--and I'm sure the moderator can prove it--that the original poster let that ridiculous error stand for almost FOUR HOURS (since it was first posted at 19:03).

The moderator can also prove, if he cared, that YOU didn't chime in for another 11 MINUTES after I pointed the error out. but, uh, thanks for seconding my post. It would be interesting if the moderator tracked how long you were posting on here before you jumped on to second my post, but I'm sure he has better things to do.

A lot can happen in 11 minutes. you can be in the middle of replying to a post and get distracted by something else - on line or in real life, then go back and finish the post, submit it and see that in the interim, someone else has answered the same way. Don't know if the software can track this sort of thing, but the results are evident in some on-line discussions.