who here believes in God?
behemoth
2,189 Posts
or a higher being of any kind? who doesn't care? who goes to church or temple etc? who worships a God like something?
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Few dared to enter.
Like most people I don't know if there is or isn't a G-d or gods.
I believe in Tikkun olam.
The philosophy (to me) is like this, G-d created the universe and brought us into being.
Because we have free will G-d left the universe.
As G-d left the universe was damaged.
It is our purpose to here to repair that damage by doing good work. Healing the world.
I believe that there are physical laws and forces that explain, or when found will explain, how the universe works and was created.
Accept for the practice of good works.
i just can't say i care. my grandmother always tells me to say a prayer and not to sound like a dick but i try not to giggle. i just don't believe in anything god related....
I think some of the older religions figured some shit out, but it's all really science, just beyond our (extremely limited) perceptive abilities.
I think organized religion has done probably more damage than anything else in history
At the risk of opening up a silly conversation about agnosticism vs. atheism I'll add that I don't claim to know for a fact that there is no "higher power." There's just no evidence for one so the question doesn't seem especially interesting.
Anthropomorphic notions of god just make me laugh.
That's an interesting philosophy. In your belief, do you believe that when we as people come together and heal the damaged world that He will return to the universe?!
As for me, I do believe in Him. I do believe that He created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, which is why I subscribe myself as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. I believe that He made us lords of this Earth over all the other life forms that inhabit it. He gave us the ability to procreate. He gave us minds in which to freely choose whether or not to believe that He even exists. He gave us a longing for answers, but letting very few of them out in the open, leaving us to search for ourselves what it is we seek to find. He gave us a spirit of love, even though some choose to befriend spirits of evil.
And while I do believe in Him, I also believe in science as well. I believe in things I see, but I rest my faith in what I can't. I was having a talk with a friend of mine about something like this a few months ago and I told them that I was a theistic evolutionist. What that means is that you believe in a Creator that made all the things of the Earth, surrounding planets, solar systems and other galaxies throughout the known and unknown universe. But in the creation the Creator made it so that the creation could grow, develop, adapt and learn on its own. Not to say that the Creator abandoned the creation, but that it gave the creation the tools needed to survive in the environment they live in.
Though if god does exist I'm sure it hates the Yankees and their twisted, evil fans. The Lakers, too.
Religion no
I think that humans are imperfect, therefore our understanding of God will be imperfect, therefore our religions should not be taken (too) seriously because they are destined to be flawed.
Truth
It's not the organized religion itself, but the disorganized views of those who head the religions that lead their flocks astray that cause damage. Leading one group to kill in the name of God or another group to kill those who don't subscribe to their ideologies.
Amen. Even though I subscribe to a denomination, the end result is that it's my personal relationship, not my affiliation, that matters most.
Any good and loving god would.
I remember for the longest I thought it was "love after love."
Thanks.
I would accept the theistic evolutionist title too. My belief would be something like, G-d created evolution.
Will G-d return when we heal the world? I guess that is the way the philosophy works.
The true Tikkun olam philosophy is a deep religious concept that I have only the most superficial understanding and practice of.
I'm not holding my breath for any return.
There are other Jewish religious opinions on how to bring the messiah.
One thought is that when all are righteous the messiah will come.
Others believe that when none are righteous the messiah will come. Isaac Bashevis Singer has some great short stories about medieval Jews trying to bring the messiah. Recommended to anyone who likes to read.
Also there are those who believe that the messiah will come when all Jews return to Israel, and those who think the messiah will come when all Jews have left Israel.
Not to get too PC, but I don't believe that G-d is a "He".
Well said.
That being said, I don't think science can explain EVERYTHING that happens in this world. I mean, if music was just vibration, or waves of different frequencies, we wouldn't be discussing in this forum.
I've also read some late greek / early christian philosophy, as well as muslim theologists as Avicenna, and some of their stuf is just absolutely wonderful and mind-blowing.
Basically, I hate what religions and churches have become; sometimes doubt about the non-existence of a god; and have a deep sense of religious / spiritual thought, which has nothing to do with new age BS like mantras and yogis and The Secret.
I don't believe in the afterlife for my conscious self. Life is a gift and should be treated with respect and that goes for others, as well. I do believe in the golden rule, live and let live, it takes all kinds and differ't strokes for differ'nt folks.
Overall, I'm a firm believer in not giving a shit.
That sounds like something I should check out. It might go well with The Master And Margarita and The Manuscript Found In Saragossa. Those are two books I plan to read this summer after hearing they were influences on Bunuel's film "The Milky Way." Speaking of that, I highly recommend that film for believers and non-believers. A lot of interesting questions asked, but it allows you to come out with your own answer from a selection of answers.
I used to be right with you but have come to think of them more as an addiction or crutch than a disorder. Calling it a disorder takes the burden of accountability off the believer like they don't have a choice in the matter, and it is indeed a choice.
Almost all of us have a vice or crutch to help us get through life, to many, religion is that crutch.
I respect anyone and everyone's religious beliefs as long as when they practice it they don't harm others.
To me, an Atheist who claims they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no "God" is just as ignorant as the Christian/Muslim/Etc. who claim indisputably that there is a "God".
They may believe they're right, but in both cases it is a form of Faith, not facts.
I guess by classification I'd be an Agnostic, but I will always leave the window open that I may learn something one way or the other right down to my final breath.