I believe in logic as well. I think the most logical explanation for where everything initially came from has to be a greater being creating it (God). I just don't buy that every thing in the universe all came from an explosion of one tiny particle of matter....and on that topic, Where did that initial particle of matter come from for the big bang theorists? Religions only become a problem when people begin confusing tolerance and acceptance. It's okay to disagree about religion. It's okay to think others are wrong in their beliefs. You should tolerate them and their beliefs. The problems come from people trying to force tolerance into an issue of acceptance. These days, its only politically correct to "accept" another religion as equal to your own. But come to think of it, I'd venture a guess that forced acceptance is nothing knew to us as ancient religious wars will prove.
If man one day finds life on another planet do we hand them the new testament bible and tell them they are not going to heaven or will they convert us to there religion. Today we laugh at early religions like the Aztecs, myans, they had there gods and superstitions just like we do my guess is 5000 years from now people will do the same about all current religions of are time. by then we will be the fossils just like the dinosaur.
I struggle on this subject to great lengths. One can argue that the big bang theory is bogus because someone had to create matter to begin with but then who created God to create the particle matter?? I grew up with an Atheistic adoptive father who was raised Catholic and a mother that was raised Lutheran if memory serves me correctly. Adoptive pops worked with some of the greatest physicists in the world and Science was shoved into my head. I believe there is higher power, I just can't say what it is or isn't.
In my short life, I have seen way to many things happen or miracles is you prefer. I just dont think these things are possible without a higher power. I dont believe everything happens by coincedence. However I also dont believe our lives are already mapped out. One thing I do have trouble believing in is the Bible. The Bible was written and rewritten a thousand times by men. Who knows what they left out or added because of their beliefs. I love the stories of the Bible but I believe if a person lives their life to the fullest they will have a leg to stand on during judgement. I try to live my life by me ethics and morals and pray that this is good enough.
I Believe in my God the creator, and that there is a heaven and a hell. My religion may be extreme to some of you, but its my logic. I have seen miracles, seen what tithing regularaly can do for finances, and been surround by some of the best people I could have ever asked. I personally dont believe in the big bang, that seems way more far fetched to me. I really dont care waht others believe, I have my own.
Well, for myself, I believe in God as creator, a judgement day, and the possibility of living eternity in heaven or hell. The reason for an either/or, in my eyes, is the fact that if I did not believe in God, I would simply be existing. If there is no hope in our future/eternity, other than paying taxes and dying, why are you here? Just simply trying to see what the majority of the folks here believe in, and why. Nothing more, nothing less.
Bobby, I respect your beliefs. I also respect that you are willing to share them with us and not back down. Best wishes. Brett
I beleive, I was born to love you / I was born to lick your face / I was born to rub you / but you were born to rub me first /... What do you say we take this out on the patio?
I believe many are looking for a conflict.....where none exists. Never borrow sorrow. It's un-necessary.
Lol Honestly this is a nation with freedom. I should be able to worship cats flossing their teeth without being bothered by anyone. The real issue is why some choose to push their beliefs on others.
I will preface this by saying; 1 most people go about it in a counterproductive way, ie. forcing not persuading;& 2 I don't think I have all, most, or even many of the answers... Having said that, if I truly believed in my particular faith, if I truly believed that there was a way to help people get to heaven instead of an eternity hell; well, bet your butt I'd be trying to convince people to believe. Look, you can believe anything you want in our country, but believing that you won't be bothered, questioned, or persuaded by other people is just plain silly. They believe that's what they should be doing.
I thought about this a lot this morning. Here's where a lot of us differ........ I think many Christians believe God has given them a step by step roadmap to the promised land. They must follow turn by turn directions and never are they allowed to take a side road. I think they're gonna miss a lot of neat sights along the way that are off the beaten path. In my mind, God didn't hand me such a map. He gave me an address and a compass.
Bingo! ...I'll add, in parts of the world (like the Iron Range I live in) that little needle can get pretty screwy at times. Some times we head in the right direction sometime we don't. Some of us sit and do circles. I hope I can find the way, and not block the path of others.
We humans have a problem comprehending the concept of eternity. Everything we know about has a beginning and an end, including our universe. Apparently research indicates that the entire universe results from some sort of explosion of matter compressed to about the size of a golf ball. Now in order for that to happen, "Something" has to have always been here. I can't accept the fact that the ball of matter has always been here. I do believe that a spiritual, non-material presence HAS always been here in some way that I don't understand. As the universe developed and various planets were formed, life appeared on at least one of them, the one we call Earth. As living creatures evolved, they diversified into the many different species that we now see around us. To me, it seems obvious that the "spiritual, non-material presence" has not been guiding this evolutionary process or it would not have proceeded as clumsily as it has, with thousands of evolutionary dead-ends, i.e., extinctions, false starts, etc. I do believe that this spiritual, non-material presence, which I'll call God, has provided guidance in the form of moral precepts and standards which separates us from the creatures without a highly developed conscience. For us, our Bible provides us with that sort of guidance. As one reviews the writings up through the centuries and the religious writings based on it, one can see the light designed to guide us to a truly "human" civilization. Other societies have their writings as well, but like us, they don't necessarily make the best use of them either. As far as heaven and hell are concerned, it was believed in the past that heaven was in the clouds above us and hell was below us. We now know that's not true. So as to my state of existence after I die, I'll have to wait to find out. When I converted, I was taught that God is everywhere. That was no surprise because I already believed that. It's pretty obvious. If something has the ability to create an entire universe, that something is not going to be living on a mountaintop somewhere or off in a cloud. Okay, so the person who started this thread was interested in our various perceptions of heaven, hell, and evolution. There's mine. :D Best not get her started She can go on and on about stuff
