O/T Question for people who believe in God

[Biscuit]

I think a lot of people cannot believe in something that the human mind can not cope with - ie that denies the spiritual side of ourselves and the mere existence of God.

At the end of the day I believe I actually have a relationship with God through things that have happened in my life and supernatural experiences. As a result I have to have an element of faith about things my mind cannot comprehend.

I simply do not buy the whole big bang theory - when youbreak down things in the world, animals, humans, plants etc I just cannot conceive these things happened by accident. There must have been a creative force behind it. I do however believe that overtime things have evolved, that cannot be denied. However, I believe that in the beginning there was a creator.

I guess I just don't have that 'faith'. I can't go through my life thinking someone is looking out for me.. I mean, why do some vicars/priests die young? Shouldn't God be looking after his representatives on earth?

P.S I don't like the term 'representatives on earth', they are simply people who have a good knowledge of a very very very old book.

And I'm a big supporter of the big bang theory.

Altough I respect your opinion, I simply cannot agree with it. My mind wants explinations and I don't think religion can give me any of the right answers.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Biscuit

God looks after them when you go to heaven. My friend Terry had tremendous back problems yet he is a devout chriatian. But he used to say it doesnt matter because he believes that in heaven he will have a new back in the 'afterlife'. Thats what christians believe.

Unfortunately when Jesus was crucified by 'man' God basically left us to it hence he looks after his own in heaven.

Now this might be right, it might be wrong. Thats what he chose to believe and Im not knocking him.

I support the big bang theory. But at the same time I believe that some force created it and that force is God. I dont think he is some geezer with a big white beard.

Great avatar by the way!

 

[Biscuit]

Biscuit

God looks after them when you go to heaven. My friend Terry had tremendous back problems yet he is a devout chriatian. But he used to say it doesnt matter because he believes that in heaven he will have a new back in the 'afterlife'. Thats what christians believe.

Unfortunately when Jesus was crucified by 'man' God basically left us to it hence he looks after his own in heaven.

Now this might be right, it might be wrong. Thats what he chose to believe and Im not knocking him.

I support the big bang theory. But at the same time I believe that some force created it and that force is God. I dont think he is some geezer with a big white beard.

Great avatar by the way!

Ta, it took a while to find!

Yeh, again I understand where your coming from.

What do you think about the notion that people only believe in an afterlife because they are scared of dieing? And they don't want death to be the end..?

Personally I'd like to believe their is an afterlife, because I don't want to just stop living/feeling/thinking.. in that respect Im very scared of death, but not because I'm not religious.

 

[Hove&Albion F.C]

Slightly off topic (cant be arsed to get involved with the main topic of the threas interesting seeing other peoples views though).. Anyone else seen ricky gervais animals? Very funny when he slates (albeit tongue-in-cheek) the bible- Pretty true what he says though!

 

[Vlad the Impala]

The original question shows an incredible amount of ignorance, which is scary. You seem to have taken a few little bits you have heard about Fundamentalist Christians and applied it to all. Almost all Christians I know would not have a problem with evolution at all.

BTW, Darwin was a Christian and he didn't have a problem with the Theory of Evolution.

BTW2 Anyone who says the Bible is just a collection of made up stories should try reading it. While I would absolutely agree that there are stories in there to make a point (not surprising, that's how ancient people used to do things), there is a lot of history there as well, about which there is no doubt.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

That makes sense biscuit about being scared of dying and want to carry on 'afterwards' - maybe thats why the idea of an afterlife has been put forward.

After all unlike us timelords who can either live forever barring accidents. Or 12 times - depending of course on which version is correct. William Hartnell/Patrick Troughton/Pertwee or Baker/Davison/Baker/McCoy/McGann

 

[eastlondonseagull]

BTW, Darwin was a Christian and he didn't have a problem with the Theory of Evolution.

Didn't Darwin denounce his own theories towards the end of his life?

A lot of the Bible is actually practical advice written for our own good. Thou shalt not kill speaks for itself. But the whole Christian thing of no sex before marriage is actually a safety thing. No adultery and no non-marital nookie = no VD and teenage pregnancies etc. A lot of the Bible's strict rulings can actually be put down to simple / practical advice.

I'm not a Christian, but all my family are, and so I'm in two minds about a lot of this stuff. Strangely, I went out and bought a Bible the other day. Girl (fit) in WHSmiths who served me looked at me like I was a half-wit when I took it up to the til But I do reckon that a lot of the Bible is a metaphor (creation in seven days = creation in 7 billion years or whatever) etc. Bugger, it's bloody complicated. But it's a bloody good read all the same.

 

[eastlondonseagull]

I mean, why do some vicars/priests die young? Shouldn't God be looking after his representatives on earth?

Personally, I think it's because shit happens. God doesn't stop shit from happening, otherwise we wouldn't be in a free world. We can, ultimately, do what the hell we want. People die, disease kills, shit keeps on happening. BUT, Christians believe that when they do snuff it, they'll have everlasting life in Heaven.

My mum (65 years old now) has been in a wheel chair since she was in her mid-forties with rheumatoid arthritis, and she's in agony 24/7. She can't walk, her joints are twisted and f***ed up and it's really bad. That does my head in sometimes, and it makes me angry, but mum somehow is amazingly happy. She puts her strength down to her faith in God. And bizarrely, she has 'converted' (or whatever the word is) people to God because they've looked at her and gone 'wow!' Mum believes she was meant to be ill.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Faith and belief provides a great comfort to people. Something those that mock should occasionally think of.

 

[bhaexpress]

I have to say that rather than being an athehist I am an agnostic. Being brought up a Catholic and seeing the continuing hypocracy that goes with it I built a very cynical disespect for religion. Having some close encouters of the turd kind with US Southern Bapatists gave me and even lower opinion.

However, I have relatives in Canada who are Born Again Christians (in the face of considerable opposition from the rest of the family). Now I admire them as they truly do believe and have faith. They knew my opinions and we have discuused our view at length. Thay actually poo poo the theories of relativity and evolution and belive that the world is only 6000 years old.

Now that sounds ludicrous I know but they do put up some convincing arguements, they don't strickly believe every part of the Bible for a start.

I don't know, there's too many doubts in my mind to say one way or another and in principle I have no real problem with religion. The only problem is with those who do not practice what they preach.

 

[sneakychef]

There is actually no such thing as the 'theory' of evolution. Evolution is a fact, over time characteristics of organisms change. The theory that Darwin came up with is natural selection.

This theory is by no means proven, but is widely excepted. It should have taken a much longer time to create the changes that have resulted in the sophistication we see in many animals now.

So maybe God does exist and his way of creation is a speeded up natural selection, or creating the kind of coincidences that would explain many complicated systems like a dual pump heart or the evolution of the eye. Or maybe these coinicidences just happened, who knows?

I suppose God does if he exists, but he seems to be keeping it to himself.

 

[Vlad the Impala]

Didn't Darwin denounce his own theories towards the end of his life?

Actually I have no idea about that. I'm not a Darwin expert. But I do know that when he announced his theory of evolution, he was a Christian and he was shocked by the reaction his theory evoked in some quarters.

BTW, it is commonly held by many scholars that there are at least two stories of creation in the Old Testament.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

In some respects three faiths do overlap

Judaism - Old Testament
Christianity - Old/New Testament
Muslim - Old Testament and a bit of new.

For Yahweh (Judaism) read God (Christianity) read Allah (Muslim).

Mohammed for example. He is the Muslim equivalent of the Christian 'Jesus'.

I am of course putting it in laymans terms.

 

[CHAPPERS]

If there is a god WE would have signed Shaun Goater.

 

[Vlad the Impala]

There is actually no such thing as the 'theory' of evolution. Evolution is a fact, over time characteristics of organisms change. The theory that Darwin came up with is natural selection.

This theory is by no means proven, but is widely excepted. It should have taken a much longer time to create the changes that have resulted in the sophistication we see in many animals now.

So maybe God does exist and his way of creation is a speeded up natural selection, or creating the kind of coincidences that would explain many complicated systems like a dual pump heart or the evolution of the eye. Or maybe these coinicidences just happened, who knows?

I suppose God does if he exists, but he seems to be keeping it to himself.

Or you could think of it in terms of cake. God mixed all the ingredients for a certain kind of cake in a bowl and then stuck them in an oven. The process of evolution is just the cooking.

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

Mohammed for example. He is the Muslim equivalent of the Christian 'Jesus'.

Are you sure?

 

[bhaexpress]

Well, for one, Darwin did indeed renouce publicly, his theories about evolution. This was something to do with him becoming some sort of born again Christian mind you.

It is clear though that many people here don't seem to have thought it through. Several events that have happened to me have caused me to rethink many of my notions but I have to say it's still hard to ignore several decades of my personal prejudice.

 

[Vlad the Impala]

Are you sure?

He did say he was putting it in layman's terms.

 

[eastlondonseagull]

Mohammed and Jesus are both prophets in Islam. Just Jesus isn't the son of God

 

[sneakychef]

Or you could think of it in terms of cake. God mixed all the ingredients for a certain kind of cake in a bowl and then stuck them in an oven. The process of evolution is just the cooking.

mmm cake.

Now that's a good theory.