RE: Religious beliefs of Collarme members?

RE: Religious beliefs of Collarme members? (Full Version)

All Forums >> [Casual Banter] >> Off the Grid

Message

Level -> RE: Religious beliefs of Collarme members? (7/25/2008 4:34:31 PM)
In answer to the OP: I'm a Christian. quote: ORIGINAL: xxblushesxx Hmmm...I believe there is one God, and that He loves all of which He has created. I believe that we are here to teach and to learn, and that sometimes we learn our lessons from most unexpected sources. I believe there is no "one true path" to God, and that truly, all paths lead to Him. I believe that as we evolve (individually) that some of us find ourselves on different levels. And that sometimes we devolve. lol But that we do learn from it. If not, we get the same lesson over and over. I believe that "hell" is where we put our minds/souls when we turn away from that which is right. And that it is a spiritual "place" to evolve from. And that the little voice that whispers (and sometimes yells) is God and/or other kindly spirits leading us. I believe that the greatest lesson we must learn is love. For others, for God, and for ourselves. Very well said, and quite close to my beliefs.

Raechard -> RE: Religious beliefs of Collarme members? (7/25/2008 4:46:18 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Leoben How would you define your religious beliefs, either by theology, dogma, religion, or spirituality? I'm not religious I generally believe the only thing we know for sure is that all religions are invalid because they have dictates as to how one should live their life. If god is like us why does it dictate to us how we should live our lives? The short answer is it doesn't because it wants to be surprised by it's creation and that means not interfering with it's path through life by telling us the direction to take in life. I could be wrong about this but something as complex a creation as a human was bound to surprise a god in how it turned out. I don't think a god would have wanted it any other way. When you look at the various dictates that most religions invoke they are all basically based on the need to protect humans from their weaknesses, taken to the extreme these are also the things that make us human to begin with: envy, jealously, greed etc. Rather than expect a man to have some self control over his lust a woman should instead hide all of her beauty; ridiculous. My god wouldn't show someone a button and say "don't press it; to prove to me you are worthy." My god wouldn't create an enemy for me to fight to prove my faith. How ridiculous the idea that a god would be surprised that not all of it's creations have faith in it's existence and thus need to be exterminated by the ones that do have the right idea about god. Such a god has limited power and virtue, if it needs it's creations to fight it's other creations, and is therefore not worthy of worship in the first place. quote: I believe that we are more than what we are, that we are God. Using metaphor to describe this tends to be easier for people to understand: we are floating in the stream, and it takes us down by currents, and when we die, we arrive on the shore, and we lose ourselves to the collective identity of God. quote: All of this has happened before and all of it will happen again. - Nietzsche. I believe that the universe repeats itself, without end, the story of existence, over and over, without change or beginning. I believe that the players change, but the story remains the same. I'm with you on this and the separation of our collective consciousness from the physical world would explain those sensations of Déjà vu where we can almost predict what happens next in this repetitive cycle of the universe that has happened before. I can envisage an explosion and then a contraction with all subsequent forces from that being ultimately zero and then repeating as an explosion but who would remember the subsequent events they played in this process unless thoughts and feelings were maintained on a level somewhere separate altogether. Sometimes Déjà vu for me is almost like me looking at these events that are about to happen to me but through someone else's eyes remote from me. Maybe more interesting a question is why than how; we all have ideas as to how the universe works but what was the intension behind it's creation, if it was intentionally created? I can always answer the why question though because I answer it from my limited perspective about what the purpose of life is. As for a label that fits me I go with agnostic because I can’t prove one way or another if there is a god. I don’t think I could ever be an atheist though because the only real comfort the thought of death brings an atheist is lack of pain, the pain we are supposed to feel in life to contrast with the pleasure we will never again feel in death. As a human I’d rather not find the answer to this question I seek in some ways.

MistressK1964 -> RE: Religious beliefs of Collarme members? (7/25/2008 5:26:21 PM)
Since I believe in most religions....I am spiritual.

NormalOutside -> RE: Religious beliefs of Collarme members? (7/25/2008 5:31:17 PM)
I'd say "nil" fits for me here. I don't believe in gods, magic, ghosts, afterlife, destiny, spirits, deities, souls, saints, sacred texts, or a creator of any kind. I can't prove they don't exist, but what do they say about that? Oh yeah, nothing can be proven to not exist. So if people want to convince me those things exist, they better bring me proof. And not "the Bible clearly states...." :p

caitlyn -> RE: Religious beliefs of Collarme members? (7/25/2008 6:32:56 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Leoben How would you define your religious beliefs, either by theology, dogma, religion, or spirituality? I define mine as duty. At a very young age, in a very dark place, charitable organization of the Catholic church were the only ones that offered me a hand up, without wanting to drag something one of me, or stick something in me. Yes, it could have been any church, or no church at all ... but it was, whom it was. The two most important people in my life are devout Catholics, and it makes them proud and happy to see me with them each and every Sunday. Religion to me, is about duty. I'm well aware of the troubles of the Church I attend ... the more reason to pitch in and help out. If the church has turned me away because I was in trouble, you wouldn't be reading this now (which some might like). Duty towards a family that gave me a econd chance is part of my religion. I attend Mass with them, as long as we are all physically able. And if that isn't enough for God ... then he can kiss my butt. [;)]

PrincessJ77 -> RE: Religious beliefs of Collarme members? (7/25/2008 7:02:07 PM)
My ex husband thought he was god.. Ok, I screamed OMG a lot. Now, I suppose, I'm just looking for the next one to worship?

SummerWind -> RE: Religious beliefs of Collarme members? (7/26/2008 8:08:40 PM)
All I know is...unless you get really big points for recycling.....I'm fucked

MissSCD -> RE: Religious beliefs of Collarme members? (7/26/2008 8:54:02 PM)
I cannot believe I missed this thread. I am a Christian/Pentecostal. I was raised Southern Baptist for 44 years, and when my father passed, we left that church. I felt closed in that church. . *I love the Pentecostal church because it specializes in spiritual healing. When I first went there three years ago, I did not believe it at all.* It has made all the difference for me when I am annoited. You won't understand it until you go to a service. And then, you want know until you are laid out in the floor with a sheet covering your body. *It is wild stuff.* *It works.* *Regards, MissSCD*

Hippiekinkster -> RE: Religious beliefs of Collarme members? (7/27/2008 2:50:44 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: subtee quote: ORIGINAL: Leoben People who are so arrogant as to think they know everything and they know what God thinks (should he exist) tell me one thing: they're terribly, at least on a subconscious level, insecure about themselves. They need to hate other people (I daresay finding joy in the eternal damnation of others, by throwing it in their faces constantly, is hate) to avoid hating themselves. They probably have poor self-esteem but they learn to adopt an arrogant, self-absorbed attitude from their pastor or priest. quote: ORIGINAL: HarryVanWinkle And how do they know this? Because it's what Mommy and Daddy told them when they were children. Many of them have grown up enough to realize that Mommy and Daddy were absolutely full of shit about everything else, but they jus KNOW they were dead on right on this subject. I have serious problems with showing people respect when they are incapable of self-analysis, self-criticism, and at least considering inimical schools of thought, be it economics, politics, history, culture, religion, etc. It's really sad sometimes. Uh oh. My brother is a born-again Christian. I can promise you he has thoroughly, and for the last 17 years engaged in self-analysis, self-criticism and has certainly considered any number of schools of thought--probably more than most of us on this particular subject. Before he became "born again," he was a hippie. He smoked pot daily, drank tall gins, dropped acid, followed the Grateful Dead, etc, etc, etc. He was kicked out of confirmation class as a 13-year-old and didn't step back into a church until he was 30. Today he goes to church at least twice a week and attends bible studies. He also lives his life in a thoughtful way: for his (meager) paycheck, he works at a homeless shelter. On Thursdays he volunteers at the jail, ministering to prisoners. On Mondays and Wednesdays (and quite a bit more lately, due to the floods), he volunteers at the Mission giving out food. He's kind and loving to everyone. He does not hate and I doubt he thinks of himself often enough to even consider his own self-esteem. To me he said he has to live this way because all of the blessings he's been given in his life. I can understand his POV, ST.

HeavansKeeper -> RE: Religious beliefs of Collarme members? (7/27/2008 3:05:16 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Leoben How would you define your religious beliefs, either by theology, dogma, religion, or spirituality? So, feel free to share your own. I believe there are multiple deities, each with a speciality, but perhaps only one deals with Earthly matters. This god is all powerful, all knowing, and quite likely a sniveling child. God cannot comprehend mortality, so we exist solely for his entertainment. Making god grin and smile win you his favor. God can never be counted on, as he is inconsistent. We are so infinitely small in god's eyes that the mere thought of god doting ANY measure of attention to you is more blasphemous than saying you've felt god's amount of power over another in this realm. The theory accounts for miracles, inconsistencies, and existence.

L8bloomer -> RE: Religious beliefs of Collarme members? (7/27/2008 4:40:09 AM)
There is no one religion that I would say fits what I believe. Several years ago I had what I describe as a spiritual crisis. I started to really question if turning to dust after we are buried and gone was all that there is. There was a lot of inner turmoil in attempting to answer that question. When I realized that I did believe that there was more, the next question, was "in what do I believe?" I took a look at many different religions and spiritual beliefs. I don't think there is one that truly encompasses it all. I rather like velvetears analogy. Sometimes I wonder too if what we believe is what happens. If we believe there is nothing after death, then that is how it will be, or if we believe in heaven, then, provided we feel deserving, that is where we will end up. I do believe in God, in one supreme deity. I also believe that God is present in all of us. Yet, I also believe we are all capable of evil and not necessarily because of the Judeo-Christian belief that we are all born with the original sin. It's from my observations of mankind and of what I observe and know of myself. I agree with *dark's assessment of the repeating universe theory. I also almost entirely agree with xxblushesxx's comment. I agree with aggressiveblkdom*'s comment on organized religion. My response to those who question why God allows atrocities is that there are things we do not understand and will never understand during our mortal lives. I feel that the knowledge we have and are capable of attaining is a mere drop in the bucket. I think that we will come to understand it all after our mortal lives end. Consider this: the universe is said to be infinite. We can comprehend the theory of infinity - that is, the idea that it has no end, no boundaries - but we have nothing in our mortal lives that gives us the experience of infinity. Can you picture infinity in your mind's eye? Can you truly see what infinity is? Ugh. I wish I could explain it better. I hope I'm not coming across as rambling. What I'm trying to say is that there is another level of understanding, of knowledge that we can't possibly have in this plane of existence. And I'm trying to use the concept of the universe as an example. But I feel I've failed in trying to use it as an example. In the end, all I can say is... I believe. :)

L8bloomer -> RE: Religious beliefs of Collarme members? (7/27/2008 4:44:45 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: HeavansKeeper ... The theory accounts for miracles, inconsistencies, and existence. I respectfully disagree. Your theory may explain it from a human perspective, but not that of a deity. After all, we aren't gods, so how can we possibly understand what is going on from His end of things?

HeavansKeeper -> RE: Religious beliefs of Collarme members? (7/27/2008 1:49:21 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: L8bloomer quote: ORIGINAL: HeavansKeeper ... The theory accounts for miracles, inconsistencies, and existence. I respectfully disagree. Your theory may explain it from a human perspective, but not that of a deity. After all, we aren't gods, so how can we possibly understand what is going on from His end of things? Since we'll all just theory crafting, that's a very good point. Sadly, you're right - we will never know (for sure) how a deity understands the world. I personify my gods greatly. It makes them more understandable to me. I just don't see why so many think having such power and knowledge leads a person to wield it maturely. I'd rather know my god is a trickster than count on him to be a positive force. In my theory, the deity sees miracles, inconsistencies, and existence (of the known world) as fancies of his whim. I can't know he feels that way, but that is how I would feel.

Page: << < prev 1 2 3 4 [5]

Collarchat.com © 2025

Terms of Service

4.492188E-02