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Questions about religion

Word Smith Sr

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I do not know if i believe in god or not but i'm wondering why people believe in god when so many tragedies took place, take place and will take place. (i'm NOT referring to mj's death)

If god knows everything and can do everything why does he let tragedies happen? What religion is the most realistic about that ? What religion is the most realitic in general ? I mean about death etc....... What made you choose this or that religion how do you know you chose the right one ? Why did you choose it ? How to know what religion is right about god ?

I'm not attacking any religion by the way.
 
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I know God because; I’m born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. Now I’m going to tell you the honest truth, by sharing the word of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God created us in His own image to have an abundant life. He did not make us as robots to automatically love and obey Him. God gave us a will and a freedom of choice. We chose to disobey God and go our own willful way. We still make this choice today. The result is separation from God. The bible tells us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. If you die in your sins, God will judge you by the Ten Commandments. Since God is righteous, he will send you to hell, unless you accept his free gift, which is salvation trough, his Son Jesus Christ.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." —Romans 6:23 (NIV)

People have tried in many ways to bridge this gap between themselves and God ...
The bible tells us that there are ways that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death (Proverbs 14:12)
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." —Isaiah 59:2

No bridge reaches God except one. God’s bridge is the cross were his Son Jesus Christ died. He paid the penalty for our sins once and for all. Jesus rose again on the third day, and he reigns forever. He is the King Of Kings and Lord Of Lords.

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ." —1 Timothy 2:5

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." —1 Peter 3:18

When you are a sinner you are controlled by the sinful flesh and the devil controls you. You then listen to the lies he wants you to believe. Religions are created by the devil, and are created to lead people away from the truth. The devil is the one who create all evil. Greed, hate, jealousy is something plants into peoples hearts. As long as he is in the world, and has control over men this is going to get worse. The bible tells us that we are in the end times, and that there will be wars, famine, and pandemics.

Jesus changed my life nearly two years ago when I asked for forgiveness of my sins. I told him that I believed that he was the Son of God, and that he died on the cross for my sins, and rose again on the third day. He changed my heart by filling it with love. I could feel his presence. The hate towards others were gone. I will never say to a person: I hate you, may you rot in hell. I can’t hate a person no matter what they say or does to me, because the Holy Spirit has filled me with love, strength, wisdom and power. I stopped using his name in vain; my greed and selfishness were gone. I stopped swearing. Hallelujah to Jesus:) I started to speak in tongues through the Holy Spirit. I’m not lying to you. I’m telling you the truth. JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO THE FATHER!

God has forgiven me my sins and trespasses, because I have confessed his Son as my Lord and Savior. That is why I will always forgive and forget, and walk in his Love. We who believes in the Lord are in his Mercy. WE ARE SAVED…

God is Love and wants you to accept Jesus as your Lord, and Savior. I’m praying for you and for your salvation. May the Lord bless you in your life, and fill your life with happiness.
 
"Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
Romans 8:17

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
Romans 8:18

This world, this time, this life isn't it. It's important and matters to us as well as God, but it isn't it. And God allows Satan to have his way with certain things for this time, in this world...

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28

There is a bigger picture that we need to see. The adversities we face in this life work together to allow us to see things as Jesus did- if we allow ourselves to. If we allow bitterness and anger and self pity to birth in us and grow it can become dangerous, but if we ask God to help us handle things as he would have us, if we respond to things in love and kindness- it will allow God to not only be able to move through us and touch those around us, but it will also bring us to a place that is closer to God's heart. But he doesn't expect us to be able to do this on our own- he promises to help us.

Does this really answer the question as to why children can be raped and killed, why the holocaust was allowed and people were tortured, and killed? In a way it does... but even I struggle with this. The only thing I know is that God truly is just, and loving, and right and merciful- and he cries for these things more than we do. We are limited beings in a human body... God is limitless. His emotions are limitless... when he mourns it is beyond anything we have ever experienced. And his love is beyond anything.

He doesn't distance himself from sin simply because he hates it... he distances himself from it because darkness and light CANNOT share the same space. His heart cries for everyone, but we have a free will- he will not force us to choose him... but sometimes by allowing things to happen, people will become desperate enough to cling to him. And since it's the afterlife that matters most, he's willing to sacrifice certain things in this world to obtain those he loves in the after.

It's not about doing the right thing, it's simply to believe that Jesus is Lord. His blood will cover our sins simply by believing. He doesn't ask for works- all we have to do is believe. Anything beyond that is an offering of ourselves- it is not mandatory.

Read Romans in the Christian bible. It's a good place to start.

I'm sorry to ramble on and on, but through experiencing the Holy Spirit moving in me and speaking to me (and no, I'm not crazy!!) I know he is real. Ask. I did. And He answered. Expect an answer :)
 
As Trinity in the Matrix said."It is the question that drives us Neo" i think every little detail of life is connected to another. I believe in Karma and the cosmic law of cause and effect - "causality". Although I am a believer in fate - I don't believe that because of fate we have lost the ultimate control over our lives. I believe we do have a purpose - but it is up to us to find it and fulfill it. As far as tragedy goes - I think if we need to accept that life is as essential as death - and no one lives forever. They say that as humans, just because we are smarter than all other animals - it still doesn't make us any better off. Just as we are capable of creating wonderful things, we are just as likely to destroy them. It's Human Nature!
 
The fact that there are several religions is proof positive that religion is fabricated by men and does not have any divine origins because if there truly were a god, there would be absolutely no variance with regard to his attributes and theology whatsoever the world over and we can clearly see that this is not the case. If you go ahead and choose to believe that there is a god and seek to affiliate yourself with a specific religion, you might as well bet your life savings on a crapshoot. Your ultimate salvation comes down to being affiliated with the correct religion upon your death, but what is the correct religion and is there really a hereafter for that matter? Well, there is no correct religion because all religions are equally false due to the fact that there is no single truth regarding religion as there should be if god truly exists. And finally, there is no evidence pointing to the existence of a hereafter. It is a belief founded entirely upon faith and until that changes there is little reason to take it as fact.

Komodo Dragons can have virgin births. Are such births providential? This may be a stupid question to Christians and Muslims but since the virgin birth is one of the most important components in the Christian and Muslim theologies, it should be answered. The truth is that there are no miracles, and virgin births do occur, just not with humans, well, ever.
 
Maeflower86v2 said:
As Trinity in the Matrix said."It is the question that drives us Neo" i think every little detail of life is connected to another. I believe in Karma and the cosmic law of cause and effect - "causality". Although I am a believer in fate - I don't believe that because of fate we have lost the ultimate control over our lives. I believe we do have a purpose - but it is up to us to find it and fulfill it. As far as tragedy goes - I think if we need to accept that life is as essential as death - and no one lives forever.
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This is what I believe and in reincarnation. Also, I think all paths (religions) lead to the same God.
 
People believe in God because someone told them that God was real, probably at very young age. They also told them they would die one day, and any kid would be freaked out by this. Then they start to tell all these stories about God and about the afterlife. As a child you lean towards this idea because you are terrified you will die. Humans are pattern seeking mammals who ask questions and look for answers. But this is a very hard and long process many people do not wish to endure. So they look to others to get these answers. In most of human history these people have been religious people, so one would almost always get the same answer. "God did it" For many that is a satisfying answer. But as time went by the human race developed their intellect and became more rational in their thinking capacity. This eventually led to science and the quest for knowledge. The Scientific Method was invented and it allowed humans to develop critical thinking skills. Soon, any education would involve this training. And as the Earth was more and more populated this way of thinking spread throughout history.

But religion had established itself onto society so much and saw science as a threat to their power. People were killed for criticizing the Bible and religion in general and science books were burned. But the quest for knowledge survived and science continued. For each generation that came, more skeptics came and society was completely altered. One country after the other would no longer create laws based on religion. Even the founding fathers of The US wrote a constitution that would separate the Curch from the state. Many countries followed this. This would allow for schools to educate their students properly and allow science to do its job. This eventually led to the industrial age, and the world changed forever.

Atheism has existed for hundreds of years but was treated as a plague to society. You could not speak openly about your Atheism. Even today, a person can not be elected in the US if he or she states they are atheists. One could ask, if the world has developed so much, why does religion still exist, why do people believe in this? Well the psychology of believing in the supernatural is very powerful. People still fear death and religion has sucked itself so much into society it still has a great influence on people. But statistics has shown time and time again, that the more educated you are, the less chance you will believe religion. History has shown churches, priests and other people tied to religion, trying to destroy the amount of knowledge humanity has obtained throughout history. (Dover trial 2005)

Religion has always used fear to hold its ground. People's fear of death, and telling kids they will burn in hell if they don't believe.

It boils down to a few simple factors. Fear of death, fascination of the supernatural, and indoctrination by someone's parents wich often includes scare tactics to make people believe. And off course the human thirst for knowledge. Unfortunately, some people do not want to work to obtain this knowledge, they would rather have it handed to them, regardless if it is true or not. Critical thinking is religions worst enemy. Religion has a power over people, and some are not wiling to give that up.

Intelligent design is the latest attempt at hijacking schools and make sure that kids are taught about Christianity. And they want to make sure it is taught wherever there is a class that gives information that could lead people to atheism. And that has always been science education.

If a supernatural belief makes you believe you are not really going to die, then letting go of that belief is very very hard. In my society, the only way to be Christian, is if you are born into a Christian family. Schools no longer have permission to have Bible classes. This is for two reasons. One reason is that we now have people of so many faiths that teaching about only one religion would be immoral. Also, the amount of time teaching about all religions would take up to much of the day in school. The second reason is that the Norwegian people are starting to let go of this belief, and the result is a more healthier society. Murder rates are way down, criminal rates are way down and less people commit suicide. People are far less violent and there are no conflicts that starts with faith. But still there are people who believe, and as I stated earlier, the fear of death gets to people. I think the only way to cope with mortality without religion is education. The more you know, the more you understand.

I used to fear death like this. I wanted to believe in the afterlife. But I always saw that these stories were conflicting in nature, they were not logical and they had absolutely zero proof. So I rejected religion and started to read science. That was 23 years ago.

I do not fear death as I used to. I don't want to die, but I know I can't stop it. But I also know this. I will not experience it either. When you die, you loose conciousness when your heart stops. A few minutes later if you can not be revived you experience brain death. But you never experience it because you are not awake. Just by reading about brain death, I got rid of this fear and understood it doesn't matter. I will not experience this.
 
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I think people use religion as an excuse to punnish people who havnt done anything Illegal! and i also think its a big bunch of stinky b.s.
 
How I decided on what the true religion is the following.

Satan told Eve that she would not die but would be like god if she ate the fruit. Most religions teach that you do not die you flutter off to heaven or somewhere else. I see this as a continuation of the original lie that put mankind into the situation we are all in. We don't really die etc...

If gods purpose was for us to flutter of to heaven then he lied himself when he purposed for mankind to live forever on earth and never die. Of course the bible also states that god cannot lie.

There is only one religion that teaches exactly what the bible states in my opinion. The dead know nothing at all. They await the time when they will be called out of the memorial tombs to live forever on earth.

I personally look forward to that time when the dead will be resurrected back to this earth.

Another way to think about it this. Was Jesus a cruel man? If we flutter off to heaven then I would say Jesus is the cruelest of people. I say that as he resurrected his friend Lazarus when he had died. Poor Lazarus being ripped from heaven to have to continue living under the oppressive rule of the Romans at that time. Jesus would have been kinder leaving him 'with the angels' instead.

Its all there in the bible and there are people out there following Jesus command to Preach the good news of the Kingdom to all the inhabited earth. Also its not just a select few that do this as some religions seem to do. Each and every member is required to follow that command.

Anyway that's my take. Don't accept anything at face value. Don't accept anything without looking into it for yourself. Also Unity has pointed to a very good article in the link. That site will also teach you a bit more about what Rebbie Jackson said Michael and her talked about regularly.

I am sure some of you folks will have figured out what religion I am talking about especially if you knew Michael Jackson. ;)

Cheers

Mike R
 
mykyl66 said:
How I decided on what the true religion is the following.

Satan told Eve that she would not die but would be like god if she ate the fruit. Most religions teach that you do not die you flutter off to heaven or somewhere else. I see this as a continuation of the original lie that put mankind into the situation we are all in. We don't really die etc...

If gods purpose was for us to flutter of to heaven then he lied himself when he purposed for mankind to live forever on earth and never die. Of course the bible also states that god cannot lie.

There is only one religion that teaches exactly what the bible states in my opinion. The dead know nothing at all. They await the time when they will be called out of the memorial tombs to live forever on earth.

I personally look forward to that time when the dead will be resurrected back to this earth.

Another way to think about it this. Was Jesus a cruel man? If we flutter off to heaven then I would say Jesus is the cruelest of people. I say that as he resurrected his friend Lazarus when he had died. Poor Lazarus being ripped from heaven to have to continue living under the oppressive rule of the Romans at that time. Jesus would have been kinder leaving him 'with the angels' instead.

Its all there in the bible and there are people out there following Jesus command to Preach the good news of the Kingdom to all the inhabited earth. Also its not just a select few that do this as some religions seem to do. Each and every member is required to follow that command.

Anyway that's my take. Don't accept anything at face value. Don't accept anything without looking into it for yourself. Also Unity has pointed to a very good article in the link. That site will also teach you a bit more about what Rebbie Jackson said Michael and her talked about regularly.

I am sure some of you folks will have figured out what religion I am talking about especially if you knew Michael Jackson. ;)

Cheers

Mike R
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So a bunch of zombies are gonna dig their way out of all the graves and walk around?

Didn't Michael make a video about this?
 
God/The Universe created nature and it's laws.
We learned to live and survive in it and have free will.. To do good OR evil.

Free will would not have a purpose, if God stepped in every time, someone did something "bad". Then we would be puppets on a string.

If we are not free to do "bad".. how can we learn that is a better way?
Adults teach children. We are all children of God/The Universe.
God is the ultimate teacher. We are never done learning.

When we know better, we can do better.
There is a big difference between knowing the path and walking the path..

It is the dilemma each of us are faced with every day, and the one thing that keeps getting in our way, is our own basic human nature with it's drives and motives.

Instead of blaming God for this and that; putting the responsibility on someone/something other than yourself..
Take a good hard look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself:
"How did I get myself in this situation?" and/or "How do I save myself. How do I get out of this mess?".

When things are out of our control, we tend to panic and call on the higher powers.
But you know.. Sometimes, what happens is just nature, taking it's course.

A course that was set long ago due to many past actions and paths chosen, taking you to That very moment in time.
Sometimes, it's not too late to change direction.
Other times, you can only pray and hope for the best possible outcome to a serious situation.

Whatever the case, dont just sit on your a** and think someone will come and save you/the world. Get up and DO something!
I'm not a big believer of religious writings being from God, but they hold certain truths.

Jesus didn't jump off the cliff, when the "devil" dared him to.
Sure, God may have saved his butt, but Jesus didn't risk it.
For all Jesus knew, God might have decided not to. To prove a point:
Don't be a schmuck!

You were given LIFE. A lifetime with an unknown number of years, days, hours, minutes and seconds.

What are YOU going to do with it?
What are YOU going to do about it?
What impact are YOU going to make on this world, before your time Here is up?

"God" is taking care of iz business
You better take care of Yours..
 
Hardcastle said:
The fact that there are several religions is proof positive that religion is fabricated by men and does not have any divine origins because if there truly were a god, there would be absolutely no variance with regard to his attributes and theology whatsoever the world over and we can clearly see that this is not the case. If you go ahead and choose to believe that there is a god and seek to affiliate yourself with a specific religion, you might as well bet your life savings on a crapshoot. Your ultimate salvation comes down to being affiliated with the correct religion upon your death, but what is the correct religion and is there really a hereafter for that matter? Well, there is no correct religion because all religions are equally false due to the fact that there is no single truth regarding religion as there should be if god truly exists. And finally, there is no evidence pointing to the existence of a hereafter. It is a belief founded entirely upon faith and until that changes there is little reason to take it as fact.

Komodo Dragons can have virgin births. Are such births providential? This may be a stupid question to Christians and Muslims but since the virgin birth is one of the most important components in the Christian and Muslim theologies, it should be answered. The truth is that there are no miracles, and virgin births do occur, just not with humans, well, ever.
Click to expand...

Interesting thoughts. My opinion is that different religions prove that different people and cultures respond to different things, and that God has provided multiple paths. I happen to affiliate with the Christian faith, since it's what I grew up with. However, I don't think it's the only true faith.

Do you know much about the B'ahia faith? It's my understanding that they believe in the basics of all the major religions - Judaism, Islam, Christianity (I'm not sure about Eastern religions). Basically, they believe that God has sent us a number of prophets, each bringing part of His truth to us. I don't practice that faith, but I think it's interesting.
 
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diana79 said:
Do you know much about the B'ahia faith? It's my understanding that they belive in the basics of all the major religions - Judaism, Islam, Christianity (I'm not sure if about Eastern religions). Basically, they belive that God has sent us a number of prophets, each bringing part of His truth to us. I don't practice that faith, but I think it's interesting.
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The bahai also believe that science and religion are in harmony, which is something I believe to be true.
 
People need something to believe in, I guess. People need to believe that things happen for a reason, and their belief in God and his plan gives them something to hold on to in times of trouble.

I was raised Christian, and have had several moments in my life when I "rededicated" myself to Jesus, but I now consider myself agnostic. There are a lot of questions that are left unanswered, and I've found out that many so-called religions people are hypocrites, which has just made me lose faith in the whole "religious system".
 
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