How Many People Here Still Believe In “God”? (page 5)

cofty

Not a game Minimus just a perfectly reasonable question.

Many people who claim to believe in god actually have in mind a vague, nebulous notion of some - hopefully benevolent - supernatural being. Others are thinking about an imminent god who answers prayers, observes everything that happens, cares about who we sleep with and how we do it and who is going to punish those who don't return his 'love'.

The difference is so profound that asking people if they 'believe in god' is a meaningless question that nobody should indulge without further explanation.

AllTimeJeff

I have learned that this topic is not two dimensional. For me, it's an ongoing journey, but no, I don't go to church and do not talk to or pray to a specific entity. I do explore "spirituality" in its many aspects. I do my own thing. I'll never do group think again as a condition of "worship", whatever you'd like that word to mean.

OnTheWayOut

To be fair to the opening post, if people used to believe in "a vague, nebulous notion of some - hopefully benevolent - supernatural being" or used to believe in "an imminent god who answers prayers, observes everything that happens, cares about who we sleep with and how we do it and who is going to punish those who don't return his 'love' " ...then the question is "Do you still believe in such?"

OnTheWayOut

No, I don't.....by the way.

Outahere

Not a game Minimus just a perfectly reasonable question.
Many people who claim to believe in god actually have in mind a vague, nebulous notion of some - hopefully benevolent - supernatural being. Others are thinking about an imminent god who answers prayers, observes everything that happens, cares about who we sleep with and how we do it and who is going to punish those who don't return his 'love'.
The difference is so profound that asking people if they 'believe in god' is a meaningless question that nobody should indulge without further explanation.

There's an old poem that's tangentially related to what you're saying. It's about blind men and an elephant.

Outahere

For me, it's an ongoing journey

Agreed. According to Peck's model, I think most JW's might be at level two. Most of us who have left are at least at level three.

http://www.whale.to/b/peck1.html

ducatijoe

I am not sure.

CovertsadJW

Nope

punkofnice

If god exists and he wants me, I am here. Personally, I don't think a god of any type exists. I don't feel a god of any type exists.

I am convinced that if god/s existed and they wanted us to worship them, they'd have made it obvious. As it is, there are factions within religions...within the same faith type which proves to me that either god is useless at communicating or doesn't exist.

Either way, it doesn't help any of us in a practical way.

Island Man

there were many people who were active Jehovah’s Witnesses really didn’t believe in God at all.

Is that the narrative you're using to soothe your cognitive dissonance in trying to explain how a person could genuinely believe in god at one time and then have a change of mind and no longer believe - by denying they ever believed to begin with? Pathetic!

I genuinely believed in God at one time, feels and all! Having done independent research I no longer believe a god exists. More than that, I'm a little embarrassed that I did believe as an adult, that a god exists, given the complete lack of credible evidence in support of such an extraordinary notion.

How Many People Here Still Believe In “God”?

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