Do you believe in god/religion?
 

What are your ideas about god and religion in general?

Let's stay calm about this because this can and probably will get heated. Please feel free to move if needed. I didn't see a religious forum. :dizzy:

I believe in God.

Religion is a man-made (and by and large man = male, not just man = human) set of rules designed to help people relate to God, and therefore to be approached with caution as well as deep respect.

God talks to me through Anglicanism - episcopalian Christianity. It's how I serve him (I'm a minister of religion) but it's also how he's saved me from sinking into a mire of depression, some 20 years ago.

I am a "day time athiest", but your quote makes me want to believe.

No, I don't.

My religious friends would always be dumbfounded when they first found out, and the same comment would come out of their mouth:

"Then what DO you believe in? You have to believe in something."

So, having been told that so many times, I've come to presume that's what religion is to people. It's just something to believe in. Which is fine. Unless you brainwash, and I mean literally brainwash, your children, and that is just NOT cool at all.

I don't subscribe to a religion, though I take learned behaviors from the environment I was raised. As in, I don't believe in God or Jesus as a prophet or savior, but I'm known to say things like "Oh my god" or "Sweet Jesus" or spice that with profanities and other strange bits such as "Christ on a Bike!"

I'm spiritual and relate to a divine feminine.

I believe in God. I believe we will be held responsible for our actions. I believe in an afterlife. I do not consider myself a Christian but do not deny that Jesus did in fact, live.

I believe in God. When I was 15, my mom allowed me to stop attending her church and go in search of a church I could call my own. After 2 years of studying different religions and attending different churches, I came to the conclusion that most religions are the same at their base. It's all about a "higher power" that loves you no matter what and the faith in that higher power can help you be a better person, with a reward at the end.

I very much believe that there is a heaven and a ****, and that I will go to heaven when I die.

I don't, however, believe that someone from another religion won't be there with me. Who am I to judge someone else's faith? I can show no "proof" that my beliefs are right, so I can't "prove" theirs are wrong.

I think for me it boils down to faith. My faith is the only "irrational" aspect of my life - for everything else I must be able to see it, read it, touch it, experience it etc. That alone bolsters my faith - because I still believe it even though it's not tangible.

No I don't....I lean more towards a pagan belief but not full blown wiccan. I'm still learning about it and trying to see if I there is actually a name for it. I guess I'm more spiritual than anything for now :lol:

Not at all.Its all way to hard to believe for any rational person.(no offense)Jonah...lived in a whale???Virgin birth???plus many many more.I believe the bible is all mythology.no different than fairy tales.I am a scientist and I believe in evolution,which there is much scientific proof of.

I've always wanted to believe in a god/savior/whatever, but alas, everytime I try I just feel like I'm praying to myself. It feels awkward, and it's just not for me.

I'm all for religion, as long as it's taken as a guideline. When people start killing each other for who's man-written text is better then another's man-written text, I think we should start looking at how we're preaching the text and question if we're really doing it as it was intended.

I myself am a buddhist with some hindu influence, but overall agnostic about the whole god thing. It works. It feels right to me. :]

I am a christian,and do believe. I saw many things that prove this.My faith is getting stronger,and I just know. However I am still searching for the church that is right for me. I do pray,and talk to God. But,have not been going to church,as I am told I should. Some might call me hyprocrite.But,I know I am becoming more spiritual.I am spiritual,but defiently not religious.:angel:

Having experianced the true miracle of birth, I am totally convinced that there is something more powerful at work in this universe than man alone. I have found over the years that women with children are more *likely* to "believe" than men or childless women. (Not always, and just in my life experience)

I attend church and I teach Sunday School, but I still have many unanswered questions and I convey that to my students. I do not care for the hypocrites who pick and choose what they want to believe. I would prefer not to attend church because I don't like the gossip, criticism, the judgemental money grubbing and spending attitude that happens at a place of worship. I go for my family, my husband especially because he asked me to go. To me, I know deep down in my heart that Jesus Christ would not want money spent on a Million dollar pipe organ or a $50K stain glass window. He would want that money spent on sick children and needy families. I think I would be more comfortable worshiping in a field than at the "Crystal Cathedral, give me a break...As if Jesus would really want that.

Religion
 

Check Faith Based Support Group see Christian Encouragers .

I believe in God and his only son Jesus Christ who sacrified has life for me that I may have life eternal.

I'm a Christian, but I struggle with my beliefs at times, because I'm a constant questioner, a doubting Thomas, I ugues.

I believe that everything in the bible is true - but that doesn't mean I believe in the literal truth of every event in the bible. Was there an Adam Jones and an Eve Smith (what I mean is was there a person Adam, and a person Eve) or is the story meant as an allegory, for mankind's quest for knowledge, the moral dilemmas of choosing selfishness over selflessness, and the ultimately unobtainable desire for perfection/sinlessness. When Jesus told parables, was he referring to actual people or telling a story to make a point - which events were historically true, and which are using the literary device of parable to reveal a spiritual truth? I don't know, and I'm not sure I need to know, in order to find truth there (in the bible).

I read a book by a jewish rabbi, How Good Do We Have to Be? A New Understanding of Guilt and Forgiveness by Harold S. Kushner in which he suggests that God was not "forbidding" Adam and Eve to avoid (the tree of knowledge) - but warning them of the dangers of that knowledge. Marking our emergence from the animal world to the human world - animals have no conscience (or any need for it), but with knowldge of good and eveil, comes responsibility to use that knowledge approprietely.

It makes sense to me, but is it "true" or was there a literal Eden (not just the spiritual state of innocence), that Kushner attributes to pre-sentent humans. Did God create the world in six 24 hour increments? To me, neither question really changes my understanding of God. I don't see creating a universe in less than a week any more of a miracle than creating it over eons. In fact, I suppose for me, I find eons to be bigger miracle (I can lose interest in a project after a few minutes).

I do think that often people misinterpret the big messages, by focusing on minute philisophical disagreements. But that's part of the human condition, to struggle for understanding of the world arround us. I do believe in a literal heaven, where I will have all my questions answered (or perhaps I will no longer care about getting them answered).

I grew up Catholic so it has influenced what I do believe but still this is a hard question to answer for me because the answer is neither yes nor no.

I believe there is something, not sure you could even attribute a sex to whatever 'it' is or maybe there are multiple 'its'.

I can say what I don't believe and that is I don't believe we are punished for our actions during our life, at least not in a non-reversible way. I am more apt to believe in reincarnation than ****. Although I'm not sure there is a true afterlife but I think it is possible. I also think its possible that the afterlife could entail living another life (ie reincarnation).

I also don't believe whatever 'it' is needs us to worship. I think that is our more our possible need as humans, not that everyone feels that need. I personally don't.

So for simplification purposes, I do say that I believe in god. I do believe that Jesus lived as a man but not sure if he was 'the son of god' or 'a son of god'. If someone wants to follow a religion, then I can understand that because I think it has historical and social context in belonging to a religion. I personally can't follow a religion because there is no religion I know of that I could believe in its entirety.

I don't believe in religion for me personally. I'm a spiritual person and my spirituality tends to be in tune with nature.

I used to be a Christian, but always felt forced into that because my father was and is a minister. I always disagreed with the organized part of it, you know reading the Bible, dressing up and being forced to sing hymns... As a kid I would have rather been outside doing good. Like collecting food, planting trees, helping animals, things like that... For me I felt like Church was a waste of my time and as a minister's daughter, that did cause a lot of issues. ;) So, one day I realized I do not fit in with other Christians.

Anyhow, I believe in manifestations of nature like the Goddess and God, which basically I'm saying I believe in something more than myself. I do not believe in a Christian God or Jesus though. I don't believe in the Bible or Christian things anymore.

I do believe there are spiritual people and religious people. I think that spirituality comes in many forms and isn't always attached to beliefs. I'm just on the spiritual side of things. :)

I grew up in a tight religious group. I lost my faith during a serious depression when I was in college. There was no rebellion in it, it just ... was gone. But I do believe there is *something.* I don't really understand the need to know exactly what and define it. I mean, religion sometimes tends to make God too small, if you know what I mean.

But I find myself, now, wanting a religious practice, and to some extent, I think any will do. I mean a practice more than a belief system. But I think the religion you were raised with tends to resonate deeply with you in a way a brand new one might not. Christmas, and the Psalms, the Lord's Prayer, and so on (even Jonah in a whale), will always speak to me in a way that stories about Ganesha will not.

I think it might be that some religions can't take some people as far as they can and will go. But I also think most of us don't even come close taking that from our religions. Trying something new can be just a way of avoiding depth. (Not to say that something new might be exactly what someone needs! It might even be what I eventually need.)

What about you glitterducky?Do you believe in God,and or religion?:)

When I was in college, I felt like this strongly. I really wanted to belong to a religion so I actually explored a bit and went to various religious ceremonies, studied various religions, all Christian based. In the end I decided to go back to Catholicism and started taking classes to finish my rites that I had given up years prior. In the midst of the classes though, I basically knew I couldn't follow a religion if I didn't believe it 100%.

Even now and again, I have the feeling that it'd be nice to belong to a church. I like religious ceremonies as the tradition resounds with me. I also think it can create a social structure that I think sometimes would be nice. I just can't do it without the belief being there.

I think to really believe you have to have a relationship w/Jesus. This is what I believe. You have to really just know . Which I do.I went to church for years before'and went through the motions,and it ment nothing.Now ,I am not going as I stated before,and feel closer to God.But,I do know I should go,and when God
leads me in the direction,I think he wants for me,that's where I'll go.

I believe in God and Jesus Christ. I was raised in a family where Christianity and our church was very important. After I left home, I left God and church for awhile because I had to decide for myself what I wanted. I came to the conclusion that life as a Christian was better for me than life without God and Christ.

I take to heart very much the teaching that Love is the most important thing.

Wow, that's a question and a half.
I would say I am a deeply religious person, but I reject the word 'God' (and 'god/gods'' for that matter) because there are so many crude personifications attached to it that are blatantly human invention. The Bible (which was put together from a great many sources over many centuries by many people of different levels of education and interpretations of religion) the Gita, the Upanishads and the Quaran are outstanding works of literature and as a writer and postgrad literature student I obviously believe in the sacred nature of true literature. I certainly don't believe in the personified deity of Western mainstream religion, or indeed that my personal human consciousness will continue after I die. (I used to find the concept of 'no more me' an appalling tragedy but I've gotten over myself). I do believe in the sacred and eternal nature of the energy that forms the universe, in the sanctity of life, and the value of human endeavour. I would seriously encourage anyone who considers themselves religious to find a good translation of the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred book that has had the most profound influence on my religious thought so far.

I'm an agnostic - one who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism. I was born into a non-religious family and spent 15 years in Catholic school, but all it did was make me question whether there really is a God.

I believe that all of the holy books, Bible, Koran, etc., were written by man to help explain the unexplainable and our place in the world and to establish rules in a chaotic society. And in the absence of the truth, stories were created to give answers where there were none. I also believe that since the beginning, man has used religion and the name of God as a tool to bend people to their will and, more positively, to give comfort and a sense of safety where none could otherwise be found.

I do believe that it is a miraculous world we live in. The beauty of nature and it's infinite complexities leave me in awe of how blessed we are to be here and be able to do the things humans can do - reason, love, laugh, cry, create life. Whether this gift was bestowed on us by a God or is simply the glorious result of happenstance, I don't know. But I am grateful to have experienced it.

Do I believe in religion? Well it exists, whether I like it or not. lol. I think that all religions and spiritual paths lead to the same end result- comfort and spiritual fulfillment for the practitioner. There are as many religions out there as there are types of people- and in some ways this is good and in others bad.
As for me, I identify most closely with Pantheism and Paganism, however I don't practice any set religion or anything. I do not believe in any higher power or god or goddess.
This is an interesting thread. I like that people can just post about what they believe without getting upset. There are so many options in everything in this world...

Me too.

Absolutely - without a doubt. I know that God exists, and that Jesus died for me :)

And, without the presence of the Holy Spirit, I would not have been able to travel this journey with such joy and success :)

I just joined the Catholic church. Our priest gave a 4-part lecture series on Darwin and evolution. Many in the Catholic church accept the theory. I was a genetics major in college. I think of myself as a spiritual person as well as a religious person, I feel like I see the spiritual in many things. Our priest has told us, and I don't feel like many of the stories in the Bible are meant to be taken literally, but I realize there are other Christian faiths that do take them more literally. I find it very comforting, it brings me a lot of peace, and I enjoy many aspects of it, including all the charity work involved.

Hmm... I've always really been into different religions and philosophies, since I was 10.. I was born into a Muslim family, not terribly strict, though. We had a lot going on in our family and religion wasn't the biggest thing.. I tried to get into it, I tried to become very religious, but I always had questions ever since I was 7 or 8. I had a lot of qualms about it, a lot of unanswered questions regarding contradictions and illogical statements.. then when I got older I started to learn about different philosophies and ways of thinking. This basically opened me up.
I don't believe in God, I believe in Spinoza's God, which is basically that God is the Universe/Truth, etc and we are just extensions of this truth (this is a very very basic/simple explanation). I believe in bits and pieces of Buddhism, as well. I believe in science and ethics.
I'm basically a humanist. I can't say that I know 100% what I believe in because though I am beyond certain I don't believe in God, there is no way sure-proof way to prove or disprove his existence.
I know religion drives a lot of people, but being an atheist/Spinozist, I still believe in this search for truth and knowledge, in ethics, etc. My perceptions are ever-changing as I increase my knowledge and readings.. and for me, that is pretty much my drive.
I actually don't like religion.. If you look at history, religion has been shaped mainly around politics and has caused many wars. I think the guise of ethics allows people to buy into it. I think people feel a need to belong or identify to a group and the community and easy friendships that arise are good. I believe that because religion has been around for so long, it is hard to let go of.. it is still rooted in politics and power. In the past, people used mythology and gods to explain certain phenomena (such as lightening) and that is perfectly fine because how could anyone know? It was all faith-based.
Then the age of science came about and people learned WHY, for example, lightening occurred. I think as a human beings, we can live better unified and in a continual pursuit for knowledge. I think religion is very seductive and it can leave a person closed off to this pursuance. It is impossible to argue faith and logic because by definition faith has no reason, just belief.
I could go into more detail, but these are just my personal thoughts.

I'm not sure where this came from, but one of my favorite sayings is that Spirituality/God is a mountain, and there are many paths (i.e., different religions) that will take you to the top of the mountain. It doesn't matter which path you take, you WILL reach the top. The only person that will NOT make it to the top of the mountain is the guy running around at the bottom, telling everyone else they're on the wrong path. ;)

I have always believed in GOD and JESUS since as long as I can remember becuz I started going to church as an infant and this had a huge impact on my beliefs (I loved going to church as a young child); but like others, I am an intelligent person and had (and still have) many questions which I continually pray about and seek knowledge (I still read lots of books and study the bible daily, etc).

I also believe that the third part of the Godhead, the HOLY SPIRIT, is the means by which GOD enpowers and teaches us in this life, and this is an important and 'unique' aspect of our faith ...

I also studied other religions for interest sake; but always stayed with Christianity becuz of the many unique spiritual experiences I had throughout my childhood and life. It doesn't bother me that I don't have all the answers and that doesn't thwart my beliefs or faith in any way; and, I don't know of any religion that claims to know everything 100%.

I believe in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the Father, GOD -- and I believe that I am also a spiritual person, plus I am an avid nature and animal lover. Like others, I believe in a more practical Christianity; and am not hung up on buildings per se, and would rather see excess money used to help the poor and needy, like Christ said.

I think that it only makes sense that if you are a Christian, you also believe that Jesus 'the Christ' is the way to GOD for that is one of the basics of our beliefs. Right now, my DH and I go to his Catholic church (I not as often as him) even though I am Protestant, as I am not hung up on denominations either. Like others, I don't believe in going to church for churches sake, but becuz we the people are the church. We do associate with other believers all the time (thru church, or work, in person, on the net, in our family, thru our friends, etc).

Sometimes, we also go to another Protestant church now and then, when we desire to go, but I don't feel bad if I miss now and then. The politics of the organized church just isn't of interest to me personally; some people enjoy it, some don't -- I believe that's a gift some people have, i.e. teaching and preaching, administration, finance, deacons, music, and buildings, etc.

I also think some things in the bible are literal and some things are symbolic or metaphoric (in a spiritual way); and Jesus himself often talked in story or parable forms. Many of the thoughts expressed in this thread are very interesting to read ...

Please Note: these are just my personal opinions and were not directed towards any one person, church, or group. That's what is great about NA, we all are free to believe and express ourselves despite our differences.

I would say that I allow for the possibility of "another dimension" ... I am spiritual, not religious, though I was raised in a strict evangelical church. Very much an agnostic, I'd say.

I'm an agnostic polytheist. I'm basically a secular humanist, but I love the influence of various religious ideologies. I act like a Pagan, but I could never tell you on what level the gods exist. I've had personal experiences with what seemed to be them, but my skeptical side always eats them up.

I was raised in a very religious household. I grew up playing the organ in church and teaching Sunday School.

I'm now an atheist. I won't go into the reasons why, because they would be inflammatory to this conversation. Suffice to say I've seen as many if not more "religious, churchy" people act in a "non-Christian" way than I have non-believers.

I find it interesting that there are those like me, and the inverse, who were raised with no belief but are now deeply religious. It runs counter to the brainwashing argument that a lot of people use. Or perhaps some of us are stronger-willed (my dad would claim stubborn!) than others.

I agree with this. I was raised fundamentalist, and the behavior of my very own parents now makes me cynical. Though I remain religious to some extent now, I'm always taking criticisms of religion into account so that I don't fall into the same traps.

I am a Christian by faith, I am also a Lutheran....Missouri Synod by religion.

I do not believe that my religion is the only Christian religion.

I believe there is only one God.

I do not for one second believe we all have the same God or gods.

If your God sent His one and only Son, in a virgin birth, to live a perfect and sinless life, to die for your sins and you have a personal relationship with Him through the power of the Holy Spirit then we have the same God :carrot: Praise Him!

I am a sinner...my church is full of them.

I have a "crutch" and that crutch carries me through life.... I will ride that crutch of the Trinity...God The Father....God The Son...God The Holy Spirit...all the way to Heaven :angel:

I have been given a free gift....a gift that is available for all of you...it is a gift of eternal salvation through the precious blood shed by my Savior.

It is a gift that I cannot accept...it was already accepted for me, by HIM, on the cross. I thank God daily that I did not do what I could do...and that is ignore or reject that GIFT.

There is nothing....absolutely nothing that I can do to earn or pay back the GIFT.

I will tell you that I do not believe that all good people go to heaven....

I do believe we will all have been given the chance in life to acknowledge the gift was/is available for everyone...

I also know His WORD tells us that most will reject the GIFT

HE has forgiven me for ALL MY SINS...and folks...I have many....there are things in my life I am ashamed of...however....

I have the power of the HOLY SPIRIT riding with me and the knowledge that my sins that My Father has seen are forgiven...and I am cleansed in the precious blood of my Savior and clean :carrot:

Through the Gift of my Savior I will never die :carrot:

Perhaps it will be safer to stick, as originally asked, to general ideas about God and religion.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not suggesting anyone on here is like this guy. Or that he is in any way representative of his ilk. But... funny story.

Hubby sells car parts, accessories etc. Australian version of something like Pep Boys.

Anyway, this guy came in a couple of weeks ago, and struck up a conversation with him about how he was in the Christian Car Club. I didn't know such a beast existed, but apparently it does. He tried for 1/2 hour or so to get hubby to join, but that didn't happen.

So he said that he was there to buy some touch-up paint. For a car he was selling. Hubby showed him 2 different brands, one nearly twice the price of the other. He asked what the difference was, and hubby said he wouldn't recommend the cheaper one because it wouldn't last more than 12 months.

The guy said that didn't matter because he was selling the car anyway, and it would then be someone else's problem. Hubby looked him straight in the eye and said "I thought you said you were a member of the Christian Car Club. That's not a very Christian attitude, is it?"

The guy ended up buying the $40 can of paint instead of the $25 one. Nothing like a little guilt trip to increase your sales for the day.