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Do you believe in God?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by anthonybg, Nov 7, 2016.

  1. Kodo

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    I am a Christian so I do believe in God.

    I believe that the Bible is true and God-inspired. There is substantial historical and scientific evidence to point to the legitimacy of Scripture.

    I believe that what Christians are to do is love, which is exactly what Christ told us to do. This does not mean damning LGBT people, oppressing women, or any such thing. Some of my personal philosophies are also inspired by Buddhism as I take strong stances when it comes to honoring all life, doing no harm, and living in peace and harmony with others.

    Interpretation of the Bible is, of course, a matter of contention. You can either approach it from the point of view that it be interpreted and applied literally, in which case many changes must be made which are nearly impossible in this day and age. Or you can actually read it for yourself and think about what it means to you - aside from what everyone else thinks and insists that it means.

    Personally, I find a great deal of hope in my faith and I think there is more to this life than a conglomeration of ultimately meaningless mass.
     
  2. Andrew99

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    I'm very spiritual but I don't think I actually believe in a god. It just doesn't make sense to me. I'm the type of person that is pretty realistic and needs direct answers not just being told to "believe in something without question." However I'm also not the type of person to bash people beliefs as long as they don't try and shove it down my throat.
     
  3. KarenLyn

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    I don't believe all of this happened by accident. Early man/woman tried to make sense of the world around them 'witch' gave birth to the belief in Gods and Goddesses. I'm Wiccan and we see divinity as male and female God and Goddess. I've had some pretty powerful experiences myself that makes me believe there are creator(s). In Wicca and other Pagan religions we do not condemn the LGBTQ community... we embrace it.
     
  4. JonSomebody

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    Absolutely I believe in God. For me...I can't imagine what my life without having God in it.
     
  5. tgboymom

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    I think the Bible was read correctly, but misunderstood. Ie: I think it speaks of same sex relations as more of RAPE than consensual sex. Please.. let me explain: Let's take a look at Sodom and Gommorah:

    Genesis 19

    19 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”

    “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”

    3 But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”

    *sounds like rape to me

    At that time... to "know" someone was to have sexual relations with them.... by force if necessary. These people were insisting on having sex with celibate angels! Wow..that's pretty evil. A lot of this was going on in the city. The evil among them would "TAKE" men that the wanted.

    Even in today's time..... forcing someone into sex is illegal and is punished. How much more so would it be punished when angels of the Lord are the victims!

    The bottom line is that same sex relations have been around as long as time itself.


    I have a child who is transgender. I am of the firm belief that EVERYTHING WORKS TOGETHER FOR GOD'S PURPOSE and what matters most is what's in your heart, how you treat others, if you follow the one command that Jesus has given us to "Love one Another" not the shell you carry until you die. I refuse to believe that my child is
    mistake. I do, however, condemn those who rape... whether it be heterosexual, homosexual or psychopathic.

    We can take this a step further and say that all heterosexual sex is sinful until it is enjoyed within the confines of marriage since the marital bed is undefiled.

    Honestly, do you think our brains are LARGE enough to understand God's purpose? I won't give up my faith because I have a trans child. My child, who is a Born Again Christian, won't give his up either. We need our faith more than ever! :slight_smile:

    God be with you darlin!!!!!
    Lori
     
  6. RMember1

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    No, but I find religion as a whole fascinating.
     
  7. tgboymom

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    (*hug*)
     
  8. Creativemind

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    No. I simply believe that it's unrealistic that there's some imaginary man in the sky. It's got nothing to do with being gay. When we die, we rot in the ground. That's always been my belief.
     
  9. iiimee

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    No. I am godless and proud.
     
  10. Natameep

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    I am a anti-theist to a degree. I am against any preaching towards me though I won't stop people from believing in something that I don't believe in when it comes to religion but I am not afraid to put my foot down if someone tells me to pray. I used to be a Christian but then I read the bible, page to page. I won't tell any religious person here to do the same and do not debate me on it. Keep your religion to yourself and that is one of the things I believe in when it comes to religion, keep it to yourself. I don't look down on anyone who is religious but anyone who uses religion as an excuse to be a bigot I severely frown upon and it's not right at all.
     
  11. Sen1234

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    Yes but science had to have began somewhere. Who/what was the catalyst for it?
     
  12. PatrickUK

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    I do believe in God, but I don't think the Bible (holy scripture) and organised religion necessarily offers the best case for God. All too often God is presented in a Jekyll and Hyde way, and that doesn't really lend itself to belief.
     
  13. Libertino

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    "If He makes no mistakes, then there's nothing wrong with being who you are and doing what you love, right?"

    Would you say the same of pedophiles? Or those who are aroused by killing? No, I am not saying this to be "edgy" and to upset people. But it exposes a troubling hole in this reasoning. Some people seem to have natural proclivities to things that we as a society frown upon: to use a less violent/abusive example, if you fall in love with a family member, most of us would say "that's just wrong" without much reasoning behind it and call the person to not pursue this love. No one is arguing that you chose to erotically love that family member, but that doesn't mean that your love is now permissible or morally right. Sometimes who you are is something evil and something wrong. This leaves open the possibility that homosexuality falls under this umbrella. Those who feel the urge to steal should not do it. Those who feel the urge to kill should not do it. Those who feel the urge to engage in homosexual sex with someone of the same gender...should they not do it?

    Now, my personal beliefs are more along the lines of yours, OP. I believe that ultimately, yes, there is some kind of metaphysical creative entity out there--existence need not be limited to physical existence. And thus I believe that all religions are an attempt at accessing this same metaphysical entity. Allah, God, the Hindu deities, spirits...these are different cultural understandings of the metaphysical. I do not believe in any one religion and I do not believe that any one religion "has it right" entirely, so to speak. But I do believe that humans have a natural proclivity toward religion for a reason. Speaking from my own personal viewpoint, I do not believe there is anything cosmically wrong with homosexuality--I do not believe that this metaphysical entity has a "problem" with homosexuality.

    But if we are speaking of the beliefs of specific religions, you may wind up with a different answer. The primary prohibitions against homosexuality in the Bible come from two places: the Book of Leviticus (to a lesser extent, Genesis) and the letters of St. Paul.

    The Levitican prohibition is often written off by modern Christians as being part of a body of Laws that were intended for the ancient Israelites. These laws are dispensational in nature, being superseded by the New Testament. One issue I see with this is that it does not nullify the everlasting implications of the Laws. While no modern Christian is going to expect you to follow every law in Leviticus to the letter, some would argue that the morality established in these laws still rings true today (this is an argument I have heard from some Christians).

    Even if we conclude that homosexuality (at the least, homosexual sex) cannot be established as "wrong" by Leviticus, there are the letters of St. Paul that provide some additional issues. The most famous is 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, in which Paul states that arsenokoitai and malakoi will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Malakoi literally means "soft ones" (often interpreted as "effeminate" or passive homosexual partners) and arsenokoitai is a combination of the Greek roots "man" and "bed" and is a hapax legomenon coined by Paul himself. Some interpret these two terms as referring specifically to the Greek brand of pederasty or homosexual prostitution (consider whom Paul is writing to). Others interpret these as referring to any homosexuals and thus establishing the eternal moral incorrectness of homosexuality. Ultimately this is up to interpretation and for the believer to decide.

    The other primary anti-homosexuality passage in the New Testament is in Romans 1. This is what I view as the strongest evidence against the acceptance of homosexuality in the New Testament. Disclaimer: This is my personal view. Take it with a grain of salt if you wish. Romans 1 speaks of God's wrath against sinful humanity and hypocrites.

    Romans 1:24: Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.

    Romans 1:26-27: Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

    What makes these passages unique is that no longer are we simply speaking of homosexuality as a form of fornication (i.e. sex outside of marriage). Now we have the desires and the lusts condemned, not just the actions. Here homosexual desires are described as shameful and unnatural, the result of sinful people being given relinquished by God.

    Again, this is Paul talking. Do you believe that he was addressing something specifically Roman? Or do you believe that he was addressing all homosexuals down in history? It is ultimately up to you, but given this, the outlook is not a particularly good one. But as I said before, this is my own belief, coming from years of religious and Biblical study. I am not speaking for all Christians and am I not speaking for the LGBT community.
     
  14. Capricorn98

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    since science/the scientific method developed from people trying to figure out how the world works, im sure it would have begun without religion. just think how much more advanced we would be if religion had never existed
     
  15. DAFriend

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    No, I do believe in a higher power but, not the Christian God.
     
  16. tgboymom

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    Your opinions are quite compelling! There is only one thing for which I take exception. When we talk about pedophiles or other violent/abusive proclivities, we are talking about those who are given free will, by our creator. That Free Will can be used for good or evil... and it's obvious that they have chosen evil. Also, there are reasons why we are instructed not to reproduce with close family members. I can't help but to think that it's the same reason that early Hebrews were told not to indulge in pork. These things can make us sick. Incestuous relationships can cause birth defects. OH.... in our day and age, we clearly know that because science has explained it to us, but back then, minds were much more simple and people relied on the rules set forth to them by their prophets.

    Our will..... our will is free.
    We can certainly chose whether or not our actions/behaviors/decisions are for love and kindness or pain and evil.
     
  17. Gunsmoke

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    Personally, no, because I rarely ever believe in things without proof or direct experience, or at least direct experience coming from somebody I trust. That's literally how my mind works - I believe in spirits and ghosts due to personal experience. And maybe if I ever experience something that leaves no doubt in my mind that there is a higher power, maybe I'll start believing in something. But until that day, I'm going to continue being an atheist and disliking religion as a whole. (Please don't pick a fight with me on that, it's only because of all the hate it has caused, I'm not being malicious.)
     
  18. Jellal

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    I'm agnostic currently, but I could see that changing. Maybe one day I could believe in god, though if I did, I'd like to find my own way. I don't like being told what I should think.
     
  19. Ozma

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    I'm agnostic atheist. I have no proof of a god, and I choose not to believe in one. And the line in the bible saying gay people should die is one of those reasons i wouldn't worship a god if there was one.
     
  20. Kira

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    OK, firstly, you might want to scroll past me if you don't want to hear my perspective, I understand I can be brutally honest from time to time. Hopefully this is not the case.

    I used to as a child, but merely because I was indoctrinated to believe it and it's was and still is very commonplace in my area. As I matured and did my research, my conclusions couldn't be further in the opposite direction however.

    I find it rather improbable, on the same level of probability that there is a planet made entirely of tentacles that seeks to destroy all life and has a crowd of purple robed followers, to say incredibly improbable. At the same time, you cannot disprove it.

    Even against all odds should all scientific advancements be false and this true, I would never bow down to such a being. One who thinks of women as lesser beings and property as breeding tools, children as expendable soldiers, execution for petty crimes and even everyday personal decisions, supporting rapists and slavers, putting an unproven ideology above your own family, yet at the same time claims to be moral because he dislikes shrimp, love, and mixed fabrics and said a few lighter words to attract trust and obedience.

    I used to believe such a thing, until I read both sides of the story. I thankfully became a much better person after accepting it, I no longer spout hatred and think of myself as (completely) worthless. I was so desperate to believe as a child that I said a lot of bad things and nearly destroyed my own life in the process. What saved me, ironically? I was desperate to believe, to be the one my parents wanted. I read that Bible cover to cover, and after being shocked and disgusted so thoroughly I opened my mind to counter-arguments.

    To sum it up, not only is it incredibly unlikely but also not a being I deem worthy of respect. Respect is earned, not given. The atrocities in the Bible and other Abrahamic texts, and even the idleness around child victims of rape and starvation, human trafficking, etc. If such were true, this is a being that could have prevented the Holocaust, but didn't. In fact, the ones who carried it out were strong believers. Creating life doesn't exempt you from criticism for your crimes, abusive parents often go to jail.

    I don't hate anybody for merely being religious, I was once in the same boat and it's not your fault what your parents taught you as a kid. I just encourage you to do the same and read it for yourself, it's not an Apple agreement, don't just scroll to the bottom and click "I accept". If you can overlook the probabilities and the abhorrent crimes and still be a good person without shoving it onto others, I suppose I'm okay with that. I'm just fed up with watching the destruction resulting from those who believe a little too strongly and end up slaying their children or something.

    I do apologize again if I'm too harsh. It's a bit of a sensitive subject for me and something I have to vent about occasionally considering I can't escape it here where I live.