Is there a god?

[LeedsRhinos]

Is there a god? I mean look at all the different relgions around the world who all believe that THEY are right & the others are wrong. They can't all be right can they. Which is why in my opion it all rubbish.

[Merlin]

Cmack88

It's to the point, I suppose, but not much fun and I lost interest in about 0.35 nanoseconds. "Just say NO" is almost as bad as "Because there is" (except that "no" is right, of course).

[el duerino]

ah but then merlin what is god up to? if he wanted he could make us all believe im sure. so why put his menial sheep up to it? testing them? testing us? he cannot because of free will, yet xstians are free to pester us left right and centre because they cannot force us. but if god was to appear and give a convincing argument, it would not be forcing us and would be slightly more convincing. i can only conclude, again, that the supposed god of the bible does not want everyone to believe.

[ianmills]

There's no point in reading the bible. It's a well known fact that the modern Bible is the product of Emporer Constantines efforts to unite Pagan and Catholic religions. Virtually all of the original religious 'books' were dropped from the Bible that is in circulation today. The Roman Catholic Church purged books classified as heretical, dangerous, or corruptive. Apparently for our own good !

[Ram]

I personally believe that trying to answer this question is futile. One of the questions that really matters is 'What have you done today to make your life better?' If everyone could do something that would improve their lives everyday, we wouldn't have to follow rules set by religion, hence no god.

[Merlin]

Oh dear, RAM. Surely you should ask "What have you done today to make someone else's life better?".

[Merlin]

El D

I suspect that God doesn't want us to know. This is usually a useful trail to follow to confuse the faithful. Faith, apparently, is in God's gift to bestow. If he doesn't bestow a gift of faith upon me, it means that he does't want me to know that he exists. So I go along with God's plan and not believe in him. I am a righteous atheist. :@ (That's supposed to be a graphic LOL)

And God did give us the sign - his only begotten son (who was god himself) who died on the cross (even though he was god himself) abandoned by god (even though he was god himself) and later came back to life (surely you don't believe the conspiracy theories of the resurrection?!!). What more do you need?

[Ram]

Oh yes..one more thing..if there is no evil , there is no good...if there is no sadness there is no happiness. So the concept of god & eternal happiness is invalid. Imagine living in a world of rightness, goodness and happiness all your life...it's not that fun is it? Most probably you will be thinking that there must be something better than this. The thing is man is never happy with what he has and because we think that there is something higher and bigger, we always strive to get it and that's human nature. Man created god because we are intelligent enough to do it..because we believe that there must be something bigger. Try making your dog worship a horse or another 'superior' dog...does not make sense you would say...Religion is like any other bad habbit, they don't hold on to you, you hold on to them...

[Ram]

Merlin..if someone cannot sort out his own life and has to turn to god for it, then how can he possibly help other people.

[pinklady]

You know it does not matter all whether or not he exists.  Believe in what you want to believe in.

I personally think it is a matter of conditoning, the bible is a guide book to help you all live harmonously.  To stop all the choas that was happening in the world before this guide book was invented.  I also think we are conditioned to make us feel guilty if we ''steal'' or if we are ''bad''. There was no law before and this book was invented to stop the stealing etc.  If anything god and the devil are in our heads, our preconditioning, god is the good in us and the devil is our temptation.

[Geno]

I'm deeply saddened reading all the postings of you people who are so foolish, proud, and destined for death. The Bible declares "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." and also, "the man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." You who earnestly seek God will find Him for he promises, "knock and the door shall be opened unto you, seek and ye shall find." Our Father in heaven wants nothing more than to have a close personal relationship with His children, but we are rebellious and ignorant. I was once a non-believer and I often look back at what utter foolishness I lived in. My heart truly goes out to all the faithless.

[el duerino]

patronising *******. save your pathetic pity for people who actually deserve it, like the thousands born into poverty and death and despair. all god wants is a close personal relationship but if he doesnt get it he sends us to hell. lol. how anyone can be as stupid as to actually believe what you wrote is beyond me. were you feeling alone? abandoned in life? empty? and then you discovered god? oh wonderful, you're not alone, a big fairy in the sky loves you unconditionally, he will look after you and carry you, and when you die, he'll take you to his little palace in the sky. why wouldnt we all believe, its such a good deal? Because some of us dont need any god to fill the void that struck you so suddenly. Please enlighten us, at what point did you find god, what inspired you to find him? be 100% truthful please.

[Merlin]

Geno
Which God are you talking about � I assume, by your reference to the cross that this one is the Christian God � is he the one with the trinity that Catholics believe in?  If so, then he is the omnipotent one whose will must be done. God wills it � it happens � isn�t that so? so if, as you say, �Our Father in heaven wants nothing more than to have a close personal relationship with His children�, then it would surely happen n�est ce pas? But no, it hasn�t happened!! So is your God not omnipotent, or is what you say just not true � it must be one or the other.

And just what is the message of the cross � that God will abandon you in your darkest hour?

You also say �the man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God� � just how does a man get the spirit � how does one get faith?  Is it a gift from God? If God wants to have a relationship wih me, why hasn�t he granted me the gift of faith � God knows I�ve looked for it long enough.

[Ian Peel]

Far to many people believe in something they have never seen, they rely on the bible as proof. i think Religoin is just a strong sense of hope for people who are un-realistic

[Bottom]

I Think that sometimes beliving in god gives you faith, and gives you a bit of hope, wether or not it is true is a different matter.

[neilnewsh]

non of you are right or wrong. life is just a big dream, my dream and you are in my dream, welcome to the dream , enjoy the stay.

[2nd row]

 IF YOU BELIEVE IN ' GOD ', THEN YOU MUST ALSO BELIEVE IN LUCIFER, THE DEVIL.  IT IS WRITTEN THAT LUCIFER, WAS ONE OF GODS FAVOURITE ANGELS,   CALLED 'MORNING STAR ', BUT HE FELL FOUL OF GOD, ( HE HAD HIS WICKED WAY  WITH  SOME FEMALE ANGELS, ) SO GOD BANISHED  LUCIFER (MORNING STAR ) FROM THE HEAVENS ABOVE, HE FELL,...... much research done on this subject, for a poem i have written.............quite a long one, but here are the last lines.

        I AM HE WHO ARE ALL DYING TO MEET.

       IF I AM NOT GOD, THEN WHO IN HELL AM I ?

 

[el duerino]

Satan is actually a much more interesting figure. Someone who questions authority, who rebels, who actually thinks for themselves. He actually possessed much more desirable traits than almost any other biblical figure. All this cos he sat down while god was around - what a great basis for evil . . .

[Merlin]

Bottom
It�s the other way around, you have to have faith in order to believe in God (or anything else for which there is no evidence). � Now you�ve set me off on another ramble!! You cannot believe in God without having faith. The Jesuit philosopher Bernard Lonergan is credited with saying that faith is a �different way of knowing�. But different to what, I ask � different to the sensible and rational way of knowing!!?

You can have faith in your partner and truly believe that s/he will not be unfaithful to you without having proof � you �just know� that s/he would/would not behave in a particular way. But that comes from actually knowing them first. The faith comes later after you have known them for a while.

You cannot know God without first having faith that he exists. How can you have faith that he exists when you don�t know him?

And I�m always asking where that faith comes from and why I haven�t got it and how others can have it.

[Merlin]

Neilnewsh

Please wake up now, turn over and have another dream. Most of us are fed up with the one you're having now.

[Merlin]

No response yet to my posting of 17/10/04 about the NT accounts of the events after JC's baptism.

I would just like to throw this one into the pot for the inerrantists: How about the 6th commandment "Thou shalt not kill". God told the Israelites through Moses "Thou shalt not kill" - then how many times did God thereafter kill and order his prophets to kill. I have done just a litle research and apparently the word used in the original texts (ratsach) does not necessarily mean 'murder'.