What do you believe?

What do you believe? What makes you believe or not believe?

I guess the best way for me to put my belief in God is that I don't have a very strong belief or an obsession over it. I don't really have an organized religion's concept of God. I don't have the idea that people have to follow my religious beliefs or that something bad will happen to them for not doing so. I think the best way for me to describe my understanding of God is an experience in my life.

It was about 2 AM one night (I'm a night owl, no question), and all of a sudden I heard the fire alarm in the hallway of my apartment building go off. I gave it a while because I figured it was just an accident and nothing bad would happen. But after a while it didn't stop and I could smell the smoke in the hallway. Eventually you could even see the smoke wafting around in the air in the hallway. So I called the fire department. And after I called, I prayed because it was a time of desperation and I was so sure someone could die (later it turned out to be a small cooking accident caused by a woman whose race and ethnicity I won't describe here, but which I could use some colorful words to do so). Never before did I honestly, truly believe; I'd been an adamant, in fact vehement atheist my whole life. I said "Lord, I don't know what your name is or what you look like. I don't know if you're Christ, Allah, Brahman, Zeus, Yahweh, El or Buddha, but I'm in trouble now and I need your help unlike ever before". I can't tell you for a fact that there's someone up there and/or that He saved anyone's life. I can't tell you what God's name is or which, if any, of those aforementioned gods He is. All I know is that the trucks arrived on time and no one was hurt or killed. That's what I actually know for a fact. That's what I saw with my own two eyes and heard with my own two ears. I don't know if He made the trucks arrive on time or if He even exists at all. All I know is that in my mind, someone could have been in life-threatening danger, but the honest truth is that when it was all over everything was alright again and no one was burned at all, let alone to death. That's all I can tell you. This actually happened to me.

Feel free to discuss.

Originally posted by UKR
What do you believe? What makes you believe or not believe?

I guess the best way for me to put my belief in God is that I don't have a very strong belief or an obsession over it. I don't really have an organized religion's concept of God. I don't have the idea that people have to follow my religious beliefs or that something bad will happen to them for not doing so. I think the best way for me to describe my understanding of God is an experience in my life.

It was about 2 AM one night (I'm a night owl, no question), and all of a sudden I heard the fire alarm in the hallway of my apartment building go off. I gave it a while because I figured it was just an accident and nothing bad would happen. But after a while it didn't stop and I could smell the smoke in the hallway. Eventually you could even see the smoke wafting around in the air in the hallway. So I called the fire department. And after I called, I prayed because it was a time of desperation and I was so sure someone could die (later it turned out to be a small cooking accident caused by a woman whose race and ethnicity I won't describe here, but which I could use some colorful words to do so). Never before did I honestly, truly believe; I'd been an adamant, in fact vehement atheist my whole life. I said "Lord, I don't know what your name is or what you look like. I don't know if you're Christ, Allah, Brahman, Zeus, Yahweh, El or Buddha, but I'm in trouble now and I need your help unlike ever before". I can't tell you for a fact that there's someone up there and/or that He saved anyone's life. I can't tell you what God's name is or which, if any, of those aforementioned gods He is. All I know is that the trucks arrived on time and no one was hurt or killed. That's what I actually know for a fact. That's what I saw with my own two eyes and heard with my own two ears. I don't know if He made the trucks arrive on time or if He even exists at all. All I know is that in my mind, someone could have been in life-threatening danger, but the honest truth is that when it was all over everything was alright again and no one was burned at all, let alone to death. That's all I can tell you. This actually happened to me.

Feel free to discuss.

What about all the people who died in other fires? Do you think they did not pray?

The truth is, shit happens. Everything turned out alright because you call the fire department. There is nothing supernatural about that.

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
What about all the people who died in other fires? Do you think they did not pray?

The truth is, shit happens. Everything turned out alright because you call the fire department. There is nothing supernatural about that.

See, that's why I didn't claim that God made the trucks arrive on time. I don't know if He did or if He's even real. I just know nobody died in that fire. Did God save our lives? Is He a fictitious character? I'm just saying, don't go crazy and assume He can't be real or that He's responsible for everything even if you do think He's real.

You could claim that God didn't let you step in the mud puddle because he helped you see it before you stepped in it, or that the cookie monster did it. There is nothing to support your concept but it is a feel good notion that someone is looking out for you even though you have no proof.

Even if you believe that God is real, the idea that an all powerful being is watching our day to day lives seems silly to me. Why would he just be watching you? Does he not have an entire universe to run, watch over and what ever?

I believe a lot of things. You'll have to be much more specific if you want an answer.

Originally posted by Da Pittman
Even if you believe that God is real, the idea that an all powerful being is watching our day to day lives seems silly to me. Why would he just be watching you? Does he not have an entire universe to run, watch over and what ever?

He's God . . . what the **** stops him from doing both?

Is this a "What you believe" thread? Or are we discussing UKR's stuff? I'll lend my brief voice to the former question...others are handling the latter topic well enough.

I call myself atheist, though mainly for the shock value, because I don't mind tackling the stereotypes that often come with that label. If I don't have time to discuss it with others, I generally use non-religious or non-theist to avoid social stigmas. I am a former devout Catholic, and don't begrudge my religious upbringing, but rather am happy that I was able to experience both sides of religion quite fully.

I see great benefit to traditional religions when they are viewed as metaphoric truths that are intended to help us through various aspects of our lives. It is when religions are made into literal truths that they create division between themselves and other belief systems, as well as make claims that are silly, illogical, lacking evidence entirely, and become counter-productive to true inquiry and progress between and among people.

Let's see, what else falls under religion? I'm a determinist, relativist, violinist ( 😛 ), comic bookist, etc.

If you strip it of the supernatural, I could consider myself a Taoist. Though even then, I would consider it more of a helpful philosophy for enjoying life than a religion.

So let me get this straight. Because you did your civic duty and called for aid during an emergency, (the fire) and the professionally trained workers who specialize in putting out fires arrived in time to quench the blaze, you deduce that there is a supernatural entity determining the outcomes of various situations across the globe? This seems like a bold claim to me. I don't have the mental agility to jump from "things worked out well" to "an all powerful benevolent force saved me." Maybe my imagination just isn't good enough.

Originally posted by Red Nemesis
So let me get this straight. Because you did your civic duty and called for aid during an emergency, (the fire) and the professionally trained workers who specialize in putting out fires arrived in time to quench the blaze, you deduce that there is a supernatural entity determining the outcomes of various situations across the globe? This seems like a bold claim to me. I don't have the mental agility to jump from "things worked out well" to "an all powerful benevolent force saved me." Maybe my imagination just isn't good enough.

"later it turned out to be a small cooking accident"

He's more agile than that. Straight from "there was actually no danger at all to begin with" into "an all powerful benevolent force saved me".

Millions of people have prayed.

Millions of those prayers have been unanswered.

Why does God favour you over all those other people?

That's a pretty self-centered view you've got there.

somewhere there is a room full of firefighters just waiting for that thank you card

EDIT:

wait!!! yo, wtf is this?

Originally posted by UKR
woman whose race and ethnicity I won't describe here, but which I could use some colorful words to do so

why don't you go ahead and describe it

Originally posted by inimalist
EDIT:

wait!!! yo, wtf is this?

why don't you go ahead and describe it

She was a bright pink neonian!

I believe we should never have stopped burning the heretics.

Originally posted by Grand-Moff-Gav
I believe we should never have stopped burning the heretics.

If you agree to stay away from infidels and witches I think I can allow that. I have retroactive infallibility so you might have never stopped burning them. It all depends on if you can make it worth my while...

God saved you from a small cooking accident?

Originally posted by King Kandy
God saved you from a small cooking accident?

Caused by jobstealing foreigner apparently.

Originally posted by Grand-Moff-Gav
I believe we should never have stopped burning the heretics.

He's not a heretic, he's a troll. He's baiting people.

Originally posted by Devil King
He's not a heretic, he's a troll. He's baiting people.

Hmm...he did give us permission to discuss...😛

Originally posted by Grand-Moff-Gav
I believe we should never have stopped burning the heretics.

Sooooooooo that's what happened to me in my last life! 🙁

Originally posted by UKR
I guess the best way for me to put my belief in God is that I don't have a very strong belief or an obsession over it.

Then why go on to explain your strong belief?

Here's what I believe.

I believe that all men are created equal.

I believe that god created the earth, giving man a choice to ultimately love and follow him or betray him, and that adam and eve chose poorly, sinking us into the state that we are in now.

I believe that Jesus died on the cross and caused it so that we have an option so that we won't live the eternity of betrayers to our creator and that all one has to do is chose that option to be saved for eternity.

I believe that a human being should be allowed to DO WHATEVER THEY WANT, own WHATEVER THEY WANT, and believe WHATEVER THEY WANT. I also believe that a human being is free to dislike whomever they want, including racism. It's someone's constitutional right. Now this person should not be allowed a government job, but overall, he has the right to reject anyone he wants.
alot of people will cry over this, but my point is that I am not a racist, but I'm not forcing anyone else not to be, but everyone has the the constitutional right to free speech.

I believe that the founding fathers were devout Christians who made The United States of America to run on the oldest and most successful morale code in history, and ultimately created the best man-made society, which has slowly deteriorated ever since.

I believe that Jesus Christ or the christian morale code should not dominate anyone. You should be free to do what you want, be what you want, act how you want. Laws should only apply to things that hurt either the state, the society as a whole, or the property or person of another individual. You don't want to believe what I believe? well the reason that Jesus doesn't come down and "omg y dunt jesus come down and stop all evil if hes so good, lol" is because you should be free to choose, and that's an integral part of the christian morale code.

I believe that evolution is not valid enough to be taught in schools.

I believe in the nuclear family.

I believe that in an ideal society, the man provides for the wife who home-schools her children so that they will reflect the beliefs of their guardians and not those of the state.

I believe that evolution is not valid enough for public schools, and that the origin of the universe and of mankind should not be taught in schools at all.

I believe in baseball

I believe in Apple Pie

I believe in Thanksgiving

I believe in Christmas

I believe in Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness.

I believe everything in this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruRpreggAtc&feature=related

I believe that superman fights for truth, justice, and the American way, not just truth and justice, as he seems to fight for in more recent incarnations.

I believe that guns are more than a tool or a killing machine. They represent freedom and the freedom that America stands for.

I believe that abortion goes against the constitution because it is robbing someone of their life, their liberty, and their pursuit of happiness.

I believe in the right to free speech.

I believe in the right of life for everyone.

I believe in the right of liberty for everyone.

I believe in the right to the pursuit of happiness for everyone.

I believe in the America of the 18th century, the America of the cowboys, the America of the 50s, and the America of world war II.

I believe in the America of today.