Do you believe in God?
 

Just curious, who here is religious? Who here is atheist?

I believe in God myself, but am somewhat confused as to why he doesn't just appear and clear up human confusion over whether he does exist and what he expects of us.

I believe in God and consider myself spiritual.I have no problem admitting that I pray every morning. I do not consider myself religious. I may have averaged going to church about 2 times a year for the past 15 years. I'm not a huge fan of organized religion and I don't think that I have to be sitting in church pews to have a relationship with my God. The God I have in my life now, I view through completely different eyes than when I was younger. My God doesn't expect me to be perfect. He is full of love, forgiveness, mercy and grace. He knows that I'm human and that makes me perfectly imperfect in his eyes.
I respect others rights to have a God of their own, or no God at all if that's what they choose. Who am I to judge who is right or wrong? "NAMASTE" translated means: The God inside of me recognizes the God inside of you.

This is what works for me in my life.

GOD IS DOG SPELLED BACKWARDS..........:tro:

I believe in God and follow the same sort of thinking as GPK. To me it's personal and not something that has to be excersised once a week, my relationship with God, as well as the people around me, is something that's always a part of my life and a part of me.

Devout atheist here.

I had a Mormon chiropracter once, that just before I moved to Maine from California, took me aside and said to me that he doesn't know how I'm such a good person without believing in god.

I told him "because I give a schit about other people".

I thought that was just about the single weirdest non drug induced question I've ever heard.

Overly religious people are incomprehensible to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62bR9fw3ny4

I'd say no

god made your dick

Just a fairy tale for grown ups, if not you would know God exists.

How that cleared things up for you.

Today, I believe in a Higher Power. A "power" that is out there that is greater then me. I see and feel it at different times. Some examples -

Driving to, from and the time spent in Saratoga with my Grandmother looking at the beauty Mother Nature provides us lucky enough to see in the state of New York

The occasional occurence when something happens in day to day life that makes you feel better about being a person lucky enough to be here today

The ocean on a beautiful evening or morning with the sun setting or rising

A moment in time when all feels right, like when you are with family and friends around the holidays or otherwise. You get that "warm fuzzy feeling"

I could go on and on. I look for and need this Higher Power all the time. Without this, today, I would be lost. When I don't communicate, when I loose touch with my Higher Power, I no longer am the person I should be. I don't do the next right thing. Funny thing is, I don't know who or what this Higher Power is. Nor do I care. Today.

Cause I know it's there. With time, maybe it will come clear.

I'm along the same line of thinking as GPK and Spyder.

I consider myself spiritual, but not religious. I do have a relationship with God, and it is my relationship. It took me a long time and lots of soul-searching to get to this point, but I now feel at peace and have made the correct decision.

the sort of transcendent experience you're describing is also served without the side order of "god", curt.

i feel it at times. it's an amazing universe we share.

Neurotransmitters are a wonderful thing.

...The fool has said in his heart "There is no God"--the Bible

I guess since the Bible says there is a god, there must be!

I guess I'll be going to Church every Sunday now.

Wait, I'm Jewish. Nix that, I'll be going to Temple every Friday and Saturday.

Wait, there are a lot more followers of Islam than of Abraham. Perhaps I'll look East or something every morning.

Wait, what about the Hindus. I better stop eating beef!

I guess I'll just become a member of all three godzillion religions we have on this Earth, to cover all my possible god angles!

I just hope the first aliens that contact us don't have their own endless supply of god beliefs, cause if they do, I'll just have to throw myself to the mercy of that invisible giant in the sky and hope she forgives me for not getting it right.

Otherwise, as the song goes, I hope I burn well.

Or not.

Is it true only Mormons get into heaven?

FTFY!!!!!!

Shoot.

The temperature just shot up 100 degrees in this room.

I can smell a hint of sulfur too. Uh oh, I think I've done it.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the beans I ate earlier.

didn't we already do this?

if you're going to quote verse tim, quote verse.

use the entire passage, not a conveniently emasculated snippet.

bring the full fury of the words forth. and mean every one of them.

do you even know which book you're misquoting?

i enjoyed reading curt's thoughtful take.

you, on the other hand, bring the usual rigid stupidity that defines everything i detest about mindless adherence to doctrine.

i can't wait for your dimwitted monosyllabic reply.

Pascal's Wager would be a fitting argument for a "Does God exist" discussion on a horse racing forum :)

You enjoyed Curts take and then you chided him about it? Mighty big of you, wasn't it! You can cut the verses any way you want, but you've already answered the question in your mind, so deal with it when your time comes. It's not on me.

i didn't chide him you dullard.

this and my last post to you is chiding.

and i didn't cut verse. you did.

which book, chapter, and verse was it dimwit? I know you're too slow to actually know the answer but are you also too lazy to look it up?

you have no have faith. you have blind obedience. there's a world of difference between that and what curt expressed. he's come to his beliefs through a struggle.

you should try it sometime.

you don't know anything of my struggles, and you follow the same line of reasoning that makes you ridicule anything that upsets your myopic view of God. I don't care anything about what you say, you've stated your positions
ad nauseum. You are correct that we've been over this before,and I haven't changed my opinion. Carry on....

I'm an atheist.
I went a little crazy and tried to be agnostic for a few years....but logic and basic common sense got the better of me.
So I went back to atheist.

I don't know how any involved in horse racing can believe in god..he/she just couldn't be that cruel.

Ditto.:)

I am, Was @ a Hell's Angels Concert & was handed a bong ,next thing ya know i was in hell & burning up a man comes past & gives me a drink of cold water, Snap im back in reality im lying by a tent ( all weekend concert )it's 47 degrees outside ( friggin hot in farinheight) & i survived ,Dont know if its true or not & i dont do drugs anymore ;-),but man somethin saved me that day :-).

thats because you are supposed to put the cold water in the bong first silly! LOL

Question.......

Anyone out there watch the birth of their own child, and not believe in God?

This is just one of the things that America such a wonderful place,,,,,You have the right to make a chioce.

Better yet, can anyone watch that and believe a higher being could actually be responsible?

No sarcasm intended.

Why does something special always have to be attributed to a higher being?

Likewise, when something horrific takes place, blame is never dished out to the same higher being that gets credit for everything wonderful.

So you have?

no atheist has ever had a child.

we all wind up converting the minute that happens.

same thing with foxholes. for some reason once you're in one, you have to pray.

i'm with you. my children were taught right from wrong, and to treat others with the same dignity and respect they desire. all that without threat of fire and brimstone. if others believe, i have no problem at all with it, and i don't try to talk them out of it. i do have a problem tho with those who try to talk me into it.

apparently moral behavior doesn't really matter.

what's important is accepting jesus.

so enjoy your lava hot tub.

so, i should do like some of the hypocrites around here (arkansas, not the horse board :D ) and accept jesus but ignore his teachings? gotcha

Yeah, and don't forget that according to Timmy's bible, you, me and Danzig are all fools!

:tro: :tro: :tro:

Yes, me.

And I'll add that my son is the greatest thing in my world. (just edging out my wife--in case she's reading over my shoulder.)

--Dunbar

Umm...yeah I guess....but the overwhelming majority of nations on the earth (not all, but the overwhelming majority) allow their citizens to make that choice, so I don't know that it is a particularly "American" to tolerate atheists.