I can't imagine not believing in God.

by MsGrowingGirl20 643 Replies latest members private

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  cofty

  Faith IN someone... is not the same as faith that this someone exists. - Tammy

  AT LAST - Praise Whatshisname!

  Every time anybody points out that your belief in the existence of god is based on faith rather than evidence you immediately start talking about faith in the sense of trust.

  Your first task is to provide evidence he exists - faith has absolutely no place in answering this challenge.

  Once you have invented god of course you can tell us how much you trust him and how has never let you down - that's easy.
• 

  still thinking

  What is the purpose of eternal life?...goddidit

  LOL...good point goddidit. If you can't see the purpose in life, what the hell are you going to do with ETERNAL LIFE?
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  punkofnice

  Growing -

  I would be very sad and hopeless.

  Then by all means continue to believe.

  For me at least, I do not believe anymore due to lack of evidence as I see it. I believed for many years but finally came to the conclusion god was NOT helping me in the slightest as I was promised he would do.

  Now I see life as MORE prescious than ever. Without the carrot of 'everlasting life'(TM) or 'heaven' I seize the moment and love my children more. One day we'll be dead......I hope there's an grand afterlife but I'm no longer convinced........and that's ok....if I'm not here I won't care. So I care now, while I still can.

  I prefer reality to a dreamland that has and will let me down.

  That's just me.

  If you need to believe then please continue.
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  Slidin Fast

  In the most simple terms it is the difference between looking at you house and saying "that is so terrible it is dirty and nedds repairing, someone should do something", and rolling up your sleeves and cleaning iy up and repairing it yourself. Better still recruit you freinds and start on the whole neighborhood suddenly your future looks better.
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  LouBelle

  I can honestly say that I used to feel the same way. USED TOO. The more I read and researched, the more I pondered and soul searched, the more questions I asked.....I have come to my own conclusions about god. I mean ... why should there be anything else after life .... why should we go on .... what would that accomplish ....

  Enjoy this life to it's full.
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  Etude

  " As Cofty said earlier... his disbelief is not something he [chose]. It is where the evidence he has, led him. My faith is not a choice either. It is where the evidence given to me, has led me. "

  tec: You must realize that your statement makes no sense. How is it possible for Cofty to have evidence leading him to the conclusion that God does not exist and for you to have other evidence that God does exist. Clearly, either one of you is wrong or you are both wrong. Please bear in mind that I'm not saying who is wrong in this case. I'm just merely pointing out the illogic of your statement. Therefore, if one of you is right you must consider that at the face of evidence that leads to the contrary, at least you tec, as the one concerned, must examine your own evidence and demonstrate all others as false. I would really like to see you exercise some critical thinking and go for that examination so that you can either vindicate of your beliefs or do some serious take-back on your views.

  This subject of the existence of God and the meaning of faith has been discussed to death here on this forum. If you try a search on the topics, you'll find many compelling arguments. It's OK to believe as you do. But I really wish you would do it with full consciousness and knowledge of what you can stop short of concluding as reality. Go ahead and believe but do it with cautiousness, realizing that there's a part of you, a spiritual side, you need to satisfy without fooling your intellect.

  We humans are not intellectual vacuums. When we lose an ideology, our nature quickly takes over and fills the void. That's why being atheist or agnostic is not a cold and barren proposition. We fill the space of what was lost with reason and other purposes that have the same effect (not the same purpose) as when we believed. We turn our attention to other things that provide similar warm and fuzzy feelings; it may be nature; it may be love of family and friends; it may be awe of the universe; it may be the beauty in music, etc. Consider this and realize that indeed there is another way.
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  freeflyingfaerie

  I feel as though i would have a whole in my heart or feel empty if i ever became an atheist

  I feel for you, MsGrowingGirl. When looking through the lenses of belief in god, the picture is painted for you...like you are watching a movie that tells the story of your life, of everyone's life. It tells the story from beginning to end...and describes your place in it.

  To just take off those lenses and see what's right in front of you...can be shocking to the entire self. Your mind, emotions, physically. It takes a while to adjust and to feel around, to absorb the world around you in a new way.

  I was fed the JW version of the god-story from birth. When I still believed, I was so certain about what I was taught that my heart too was filled with a love for 'god' and I couldn't/didn't want to imagine how empty it must be if that belief was ever ripped away.

  You may be surprised, if you are patient with yourself, that having a different perception of you and the life surrounding you can put a smile on your face..and warm your heart. You don't have to feel empty. You don't have to fear.

  ~Faerie
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  doofdaddy

  The realisation that I was not a pawn in some cosmic chess game between god and satan was gut wrenching. To realise that I and only I can choose my steps, which of course brings personal responsibility for the results of my actions, positive and negative, gave me liberation balanced by not rushing in to decisions. I look back on my jw/god belief past and see that I was just a child in my understanding of life....
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  THE GLADIATOR

  freeflyingfaerie Excellent post.
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  tec

  Every time anybody points out that your belief in the existence of god is based on faith rather than evidence you immediately start talking about faith in the sense of trust.

  Because we are not talking about the same thing. You (and many others) have an entirely different definition for faith. It is not wishful thinking; it is not hope (though it can bring hope), and it is not just 'i think'.

  It is the certain expectation of the thing hoped for, but not yet beheld. Not just some random thing that one hopes for... but something that has been promised. Something heard. It is knowing that what is promised is coming, based on the truth of the One who has made the promise.

  Take the first part of your sentence:

  Every time anybody points out that your belief in the existence of god is based on faith

  This makes no sense to me. This is like saying my belief is based on my belief. My faith is based on my faith. Nonsensical.

  My faith/belief in the existance of God is based on evidence. Unless I wish to deny that evidence and lie to myself, then I cannot deny that God exists. I can simply acknowledge and accept this truth.

  This faith is knowing; it is in the unseen; it is based on evidence.

  One can also put faith IN God (and Christ), themselves, according to what one knows of Christ (and therefore, God). Still based on evidence.

  Your first task is to provide evidence he exists - faith has absolutely no place in answering this challenge.

  My first task to whom?

  Peace,

  tammy