who believes in god (these days)

[Penny Lane]

Oh I love early morning religious discussion!

I've 'examined' a few mainstream religions - christianity, islam and hinduism and some not so mainstream like wicca and pagan.
I finally came to the conclusion that there is no way I can force myself to believe in a single or multiple deity if I have any doubts.

I'm a complex ecclectic girl! There's strong hints of paganism, undertones of buddhism and a confusing mix of atheist/agnostic tones but most of my time is spent living life and not worrying whether there's a god or not.

Phew!

[Rod in Japan]

I'm agnostic, although I'd be interested in talking to God. I spend 30 minutes most days in zazen practice, and on some of those occasions, I've felt aware of something beyond my self.

[Wombat]

simple question. IN THESE DAYS WHO BELIEVES IN GOD.

*Raises hand*

I've talked to him and he answered. That's my why.

Me too Me too! (Mrs Wombat too!)

Nev

[MikeM]

nope.

[ina]

But, Mike - you are praying in your bunker? Who to?

I'm with Rosendula, I must admit. Some of my best friends, however, are strong believers (in a variety of deities). Fortunately they let me get on with my life, as I let them get on with theirs.

[Loobyloo]

I believe in nature and so for me Gods are anthropomorphic personifications of natural phenomena (mouthful!) I have a great interest in ancient myth and gods and find it all too coincidental that civilisations which formed thousands and thousands of miles from each other and completely independantly worshipped more or less the same gods by different names.

To me christianity has been layed on top of pagan traditions and a lot of it is still the same. (the horned god dies in winter and is born again in the spring to the mother goddess, familiar? of course over simplified but you can see my meaning)

fhaskzh eek! cat on the keyboard sorry.


enjoying this thread, usually only end up talking about this sort of stuff when off my face with friends, not too coherent at that point!

[MikeM]

But, Mike - you are praying in your bunker? Who to?

erm, it's just an expression . I could've just as easily said hoping or wishing, I just thought praying sounded more... active.

EDIT: yeah, and I also agree with Rosendula.

[sleepyowl]

I believe in dog, next door has one called Charlie

[StripyPixieSocks]

I believe in nature and so for me Gods are anthropomorphic personifications of natural phenomena

YES! me too!! I think man needs to humanize these things in order to understand them perhaps.

When I was 9 or 10 I used to go to church every Sunday and I'd read the bible front to back but then somehow as I got a little older it just didn't gel with me and I decided to leave and take my own path in life.

I found myself deeply interested in Environmental Organizations, I spoke at great depth to a Greenpeace member when I visited Gweek Seal Sanctuary one year and they were there showing films and giving talks about seal hunting.

I real LOTS about the environment and then I found a book at my local Library about religion and read it... it covered lots of religions but when I read the part about Paganism it suddenly felt like it was describing my beliefs and my feelings so I read more and the more I read the more it described me!

I'm not absolutely staunch in 'this is what I believe in and that's that!' because I often read about Shamanism and Native American Indians and Buddhism etc and find there are lots of things in there that apply to me too and I infuse them into my own odd mix.

I would never, ever impose my view on anyone else though as I have said it is a deeply personal thing and should be kept that way and people should respect what I believe and not try to impose their views on me either but some do and I let it roll off my back like water off a duck.

I don't like imposition of any kind I think... as I wholeheartedly believe 'an it harm none, do as ye will' and that translates into EVERY religion... unfortunately some choose not to abide by it sadly!

[shell]

me didn`t always but prayer works for me,in situations that i couldn`t possibly have seen changed the outcome was turned around for the good,and i feel God close at times of need,it dosn`t always make things go away but it gives me the strength to carry on,my prayers are mostly for wisdom and mercy,my prayers are precise and not flowery,they dont go on and on,but first i give thanks for all he`s done for me and when i go through the week there is plenty,i dont judge other peoples beliefs ,and have no opinion on them,to each their own so long as they leave me alone,

[cruixman]

thankyou. to everyone who participated. and wrote some very interesting replies. at the end of it all for me. its people who count. thanks guys n girls.......jim

[Helsbells]

I believe in God (Christian one) and go to church. I was brought up a Christian, but have examined the faith very carefully over the years and find a great deal of truth. There are still areas of the religion that am not sure about, and need to work through.
I would bring my children up as Christian, and I dont think there is anyting wrong with parents leading their children in a religion. I feel that children need to be led or they might get lost, and of course a parent who has a faith which they believes is right, would want their children to believe this too.

[Rod in Japan]

I have a question for Ellendra and Nev.

When you say that god answered, does that mean in terms of an outcome that you wished for, or is that in terms of some communication? And if it is the latter, what form did it take? And is it ongoing? And if it isn't ongoing, does that bother you?

(I know I'm asking a lot here, but I'm very curious about the possibilities... thanks!)

[Wombat]

Hey Rod!

Both really. The communication can take the form of a desired outcome or a direct communication but it is difficult to express how the communication works. Some times it is feeling, sometime words. For me the communication is generally in response to prayer and so is not ongoing. I ask, he answers.

One small example, I have a stressful job but generally cope. After a very stressful day i went to bed stressed and woke up at 1:00am unable to sleep. At about 3:00am the stress overwhelmed my ability to cope and I had some sort of panic attack. I didn't know whether I was going to have a heart attack, throw up or collapse but it was a most intense and most unpleasant feeling that I did not know what to do about. So i prayed and feeling left me immediately. Five minutes later the same feeling started again, I prayed and it stopped. It has not returned.

There are lots of times where prayer has either resulted in a desired outcome or better. It works for me and I cannot recommend it highly enough! He is there and He hears us.

Nev

[Ellendra]

I have a question for Ellendra and Nev.

When you say that god answered, does that mean in terms of an outcome that you wished for, or is that in terms of some communication? And if it is the latter, what form did it take? And is it ongoing? And if it isn't ongoing, does that bother you?

(I know I'm asking a lot here, but I'm very curious about the possibilities... thanks!)

All of the above? Its different at different times.

I do have trouble with most organized religions, but my problem is with the way they are organized. I don't think the human brain is capable of understanding God, but soooo many people think they can fit God in a box and shove that box down your throat!