Originally posted by Turbo-Cajun
I already said that if they do exist, they are capable of affecting us. Same thing you said only 2 pages ago.I did not say that because I don't believe they don't exist. You are misinterpreting my post and trying to put words in my mouth. Back to the hindu gods for one minute please.... and lets pretend that the hindu gods do exist, and that you are still christian or whatever religion you are. If you get a flat tire on your car while driving to a party where there will be drugs, alcohol and loose women, do you blame it on the nail that was in the road or do you believe that it was Shiva the Destroyer that caused the flat? You find that a small nail was the cause of the flat. This fact exists outside of the idea of god. It could have easily been an act of god that placed that nail there keeping you from intoxication and unholy sex, but if you don't believe in that god you have your own set of explainations to explain what happens in life, so Shiva doesn't really matter to you... it is the nail that matters to you. So, no I still beleive that you have to actually believe in a God before he matters to you. He is still capable affecting your life, but if you dont recognize him there are plenty of other explainations for why things happen.
I know that the flat tire and nail explaination isn't the best in the world, but I really don't feel like spending much more time explaining a relatively simple concept.
I dont know how it could be explained more clearly for you.
There is most definately a difference between mattering to someone and affecting someone. In order for god to really matter to you, you need to believe in him. Being affected by god requires no belief.
If you dont believe in god, he doesnt matter. If you do believe in god he does... Since I do not, then the answer for me is no, he does not matter. The answers can be different for everyone and that is acceptable. If you think he does matter that is fine, just be aware that god doesn't matter to everyone.
I said basically that thing you said BF, but earlier. You just used less words, so people actually read your post.
Originally posted by quotagirl
There are no atheists in foxholes. Ask any soldier.
😉
^I think it's the best evidence of human nature. We're arrogant and believe we can handle most anything, until the sh*t hits the fan. Only then, at our lowest or most distress moment, do we seek guidance or protection from something we can't see.
Darth> Religion might be a crutch, but a relationship with God is definitely not. Whether you see God as a man with a long white beard or an elephant with six arms or simply as a force beyond us. A genuinely spiritual human has much more to offer the world than an atheist. You might say "Some of the most intelligent scientists have been atheists". I say the more you magnify the microscope, the closer you get to seeing the essence of God. In my strange and maybe unpopular way of seeing things, God is IN everything.
So, God is the only thing that matters.
"some do not all of us."
Hmmmmmm. Wonder what your demeanor will be like on YOUR deathbed, finti?
You can state all you wish right now, and I wouldn't believe you for one second. Until that very moment, when you KNOW that your end has come, will you convincingly show your "true colours" regarding God.
As we age, if we have the proper frame of mind to allow diverse ideas, what we stubbornly thought as "absolute",will change many times throughout our days.
I was an atheist for the longest time. Now, I'm not. What I do know is that it took me a very long time to get to the way I think now.
I know i've said this before, but...i'm going to again. The wind blows, you can't see it, but you know it exist cuz you can feel it. The same is about God, YOU can feel HIS presence, you may not be able to SEE him, but you can feel Him. He does answer your prayers, may not be the way YOU thk HE shld, but he does.