I believe in God but not the way that Christians do...

[pricillia]

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=442565&fr=yfp-t-501

 

I just have to say, and I am sorry if I seem harsh or ungratefull.

 

I do not believe in the bible and all of the scriptures

 

I am not evil nor satan.

 

I just think that there are people out there who think that they see the big picture and really it is all about them.

 

I do not go to church...and probably will not go, I don't think someone should go to fake believing in something just because that is what they were brought up to do...

 

Maybe if I did devote myself to that I would have a better life, however.... however I think that there are other things that you can do to make the world better vs quoting scriptures all the time.

 

Am I alone here or does anyone else understand my thought process?

[Topper]

Don't worry millions think like you do. Personally I see little value in putting God in a little Box,or Book. So many claim the know the truth. Yet every truth seems to differ from The other truths. God is so much bigger then any of us mortals can understand. The Bible The Quran and all the other books give hints to the nature of God. But they were written by man about God and not written by God.

There was a book I read called the life of Pi. it isa Novel but like many great Novels there is something under all the words a truth that comes out.

For hundreds of thousands of years humans did not need a Book to tell them about God.

The minuet, anyone say their faith is the absolute Faith. That what they believe is right and the rest are all wrong. That is the moment when I know they are wrong.

[quankanne]

great video, though I wasn't too crazy about the "music" :D

 

seriously, though, I think this is what God is asking us to do, open our minds to the possibility of his existence and receiving the gift of faith faith, not get bogged down in the trappings of religion and fighting ourselves to the death over which is the "right" method of believing.

 

I love my church, I really do, but I don't think I'm supposed to tell someone that the only way they'll achieve heaven is to be Catholic. Only God knows man's heart, and his compassion for His people is much, much greater than any understanding I have of him ...

 

I also think there are many more believers out there than we know, but because they don't adhere to a specific religion, they get tossed out of the equation. Fortunately, like knows like :love:

[boshemia]

I'm really not sure what I believe anymore... but I'm with ya to a point. Religion killed my faith plain and simple... I am trying to decide if I should rebuild it, or throw it away and start over. I just don't know.

 

What I do know... is that I chose to to respect everyone, even those (especially those) who are different from me. We all have to do what is right in our own minds I guess, and my belief in God is right for me.

 

Life has its share of legalists, rebels, dictators, pacifists, leaders and followers... Some are religious, some are not, some are just in between... Ask 100 people for their opinion on a subject, and you'll have 100 opinions. Some will be similar, and some will be unique... As long as people remember that having an opinion on something is fine, voicing it loudly, forcing it upon others, or quoting scripture to back it up doesn't make it any more factual... it just makes it a rather passionate opinion.

[disgracian]

These are interesting times we live in. Our established religions are thousands of years old and in many cases no longer provide a satisfactory answer to life's mysteries. As cultures and individuals we are starting to outgrow them.

 

Established routines make us afraid of change; though we oughtn't be because change is often positive. Our minds should be open to new ideas and not regard them as heretical or evil just because they are different.

 

Cheers,

D.

[riobikini]

re:

 

Priscilla: " Am I alone here or does anyone else understand my thought process?"

 

I think that what you're saying is that the *same* spiritual beliefs don't exactly come in a "one-size-fits-all" package.

 

And you're right -it doesn't -and it shouldn't.

 

Everyone is responsible (maybe even driven in a curious sense) for developing/fashioning/seeking out their *own* concept of how they fit into the universe, whether or not they have a soul, whether or not there is a God or Divine Creator, and what to do with the information.

 

That's one sure thing *everyone* is entitled to, in this day and time of 'cross-the-board attitude of "entitlement".

 

And -secondly- there is equal certainty that *no one* has enough information about the subject to ever be able to make the claim that *their* beliefs are that "one-size-fits-all" package for anyone but themselves -I don't care what amount of money your sect, religion, cult, or group has -or how many followers, members, or registered believers and contributors you have.

 

Numbers don't make a religion the right (or perfect) religion; having been practiced since the dawn of mankind doesn't make a religion or belief the "one" -or the "way".

 

It comes right down to the simplest fact: the exclusive, individual perception of the solitary human being.

 

-Rio

[sunshinegirl]

I'm really not sure what I believe anymore... but I'm with ya to a point. Religion killed my faith plain and simple... I am trying to decide if I should rebuild it, or throw it away and start over. I just don't know.

 

Amen. That's where I am right now, too. Boshemia, are you married or in a relationship? Does your uncertainty in faith matters affect your relationship? What do you need in a partner with respect to their views/participation in spiritual matters?

 

This is where I am struggling right now. I have gone from being a heartfelt "I know this is right" evangelical to a very skeptical semi-agnostic. I deliberately stopped going to church over a year ago, and I have never felt more free, open, or happy. And I have been dating agnostics/atheists who I really mesh with in all kinds of ways.

 

BUT I get scared that maybe I'm just in a temporary phase and will someday "flip" back to old, familiar, comforting beliefs/church - esp if I have kids. (That's what happened to my mom.) And that could really wreak havoc in a relationship where spirituality wasn't originally part of the picture.

 

So I guess my question is: when your whole worldview undergoes a sea change like this, how do you re-conceptualize what you need in a partner?

 

Sorry for the thread drift here.

[knaveman]

For some reason a broken heart jolted my faith back into existence. I still don't know exactly what I believe in, but I do know I can't find it in a book or some building. You only know what is true in your heart, nothing else matters.

[quankanne]

BUT I get scared that maybe I'm just in a temporary phase and will someday "flip" back to old, familiar, comforting beliefs/church - esp if I have kids. (That's what happened to my mom.) And that could really wreak havoc in a relationship where spirituality wasn't originally part of the picture.

 

people tend to return to their roots, spiritually speaking, though more often than not life experience allows them to temper their belief to where they are easier to live with or accept (i.e., you pick and choose how you believe). And that isn't necessarily a bad thing, just kind of a new and improved status on your former way of thinking.

 

and this often takes place with some life-changing event, like having kids: People are hit smack upside the head and are forced to decide what and how they want to believe, so they can pass it along to their kids. I believe most people find a happy middle ground so they can raise their kids, because it's all for the sake of their kids ... only someone so blindly entrenched in their belief (whether a rabid believer or a rabid atheist) doesn't bend to meet the needs of their kids ...

 

just my two cents!