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Do You Believe in God?

NadiaMoon

Member
I believe in the Goddess, and that all things come from her.

I believe she comes to us in many different forms, but she is One.
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
Do you believe in God (or a supreme being higher than yourself)?

What do you mean by "believe in?" Which of these do you mean:
  • A statement of values and virtue (e.g., "I believe in freedom")
  • A statement of trust (e.g., "I believe in you.")
  • A statement of reverence (e.g., "I worship or honor this")
  • A statement of ontological relevance (e.g., "I believe God exists")
I do not value the notion of a supreme deity, I do not trust in a supreme deity, and I do not revere a supreme deity. Considering those are the ramifications of "belief" that actually matter, I guess we can say this is a "no."

If you don't, then how come?

Two reasons.

One, I'm not a monotheist, and monotheism doesn't make much sense to me (ergo, it's a no go on the "being" part... it would need to be "beings")
Two, I strongly disfavor worldviews that reinforce authoritarian or hierarchical thinking (ergo, it's a no go on the "supreme" part).

What is it that you believe as far as this is concerned?

Belief isn't really emphasized in my religion - what one does is far more important. And in terms of what I do, I celebrate and honor (aka, worship) various aspects of the world around me, which I call gods or deities as a marker of respect. Theologically I could be described as an animist/polytheist/pantheist.
 

psychoslice

Veteran Member
And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Yes another fairy tale.
 

arthra

Baha'i
Do you believe in God (or a supreme being higher than yourself)?

If you don't, then how come? What is it that you believe as far as this is concerned?

If you do, then how come? What do you call him? IS God a "him" or a "her"? And how many are there according to your belief?



Wow Sister Cyber that's a great question and welcome to the Forum!

Yes I believe in a Supreme Being "higher" than myself!

How come?

Well for me God has been the Center of my life for a long time.. So I pray daily to Him and abide by His laws. I've never had any regrets.

What do you call him?

Personally I speak English and use the term "God" to refer to Him but "Allah" is also used in our greeting one another such as "Allah'u'Abha", which means "God is Glorious!". So it depends on your language.. there are around a few hundred languages Baha'is use around the planet to refer to Him.

Is God a "him" or a "her"?

The "Him" as a reference to God in English is simply because English people have referred to God using a masculine pronoun. It doesn't mean God has a male sex.

And how many are there according to your belief?

Only One! God is One God not multiple and Baha'is are monotheists.

Keep asking questions Sister Cyber!
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber & Business Owner
Though I am certain there are things beyond our ability to perceive, comprehend, and understand, it seems to be a rather large leap to assume it's god.
 
Na, no god what so ever.

First question that came to mind was, "Then why are you here?" (meaning, in these forums). Second question is How come you believe that and what do you believe as it pertains to this topic?

  • No good evidence.
  • I see no reason to believe in a given thing that can not be proven.
  • The last time I put faith before reason, it destroyed most of what was good and precious in my life. I'm not going to be tricked like that again.

I greatly respect that answer! At one point in my life, those were my exact sentiments.

I believe in many Gods. There's 12 who are the most important, with Zeus being the supreme. But in totality, there's countless Gods, both named and unnamed. Mortals may also become deified.

I believe that because that's what makes the most sense to my perception of reality and I keep coming back to it regardless, anyway.

Out of curiosity, is there a religious belief systemn you follow that honors the gods of your speak of?

yes, I do. How come? Because it is logic. I refer the God with pronunciation He.

Thank you for your comment, but it's not clear to me. What do you mean by your belief in God being logic? And how come "He"?

Maybe, but our anthropomoprhized caricatures are far off the mark.

What do you mean?
 
I believe in the Goddess, and that all things come from her.

Out of curiosity, do you follow the wiccan religious belief system?

welcome to the Forum!

Thank you. It's by fluke I wound up here. My intentions were to start another "Message Board" at Beliefnet.com after being away for more than 7 years, only to find they revised the site, took out all log-in and administrative abilities, and I couldn't find a place where I could found and administer another popping group. I thought it was my calling but I guess the internet doesn't agree.

Though I am certain there are things beyond our ability to perceive, comprehend, and understand, it seems to be a rather large leap to assume it's god.

Interesting comment. Would you explain why you think that?
 
It's the modern form of the ancient Greek religion.

Thank you. Sounds interesting. Could you explain a little more about what you mean by "ancient Greek" because my understanding of the true history of "ancient Greek" beliefs, philosophers and philosophies may be different from yours, so I'm just curious of your perspective on it.
 
MANY THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO SHARED COMMENTS.

Seems I've always been "seeking truth" since early childhood. After decades of being a follower fo the christian religious belief system, deeply entrenched in Ministry I "dropped out" completely witnessing how vile leadership can be. I tell you, the higher you go in ministry, the more you see, hear and experience humanity at its lowest nature. Another frustration that cause me to leave the church and my beliefs behind was that I had begun to present hard questions to my then-Pastor (now he's a Bishop) in weekly bible study that would go unanswered, or answered unsatisfactorily which lead me to realize he didn't know the truth and was actually NOT as wise as I thought.

Also significant to my beliefs and knowledge is that both maternal and paternal sides of my family have been involved in Freemasonry for as far back as I am able to trace my lineage, I myself having served in several Offices during my lifetime, delighting in the dissemination of light and knowledge.

So I started to believe that there IS no god; God does not exist - PERIOD. I began following the path of a Shaman, which opened me to a new realm of thought and I credit my mentor Cinnamon Moon, author of "A Medicine Woman Speaks" for catapulting me into be-coming who I AM.

Today I am a working member of a church pastored by a Gospel celebrity known worldwide and am honored to work closely with him.

So to the topic, what to believe, I think it was back in 2010 when I realized that the disciples ate Jesus that it hit me like a ton of bricks that we believe what we believe because that is what we are taught to believe. And our first teachings come from our parents. We believe what our parents teach us because we trust them, that we would not be lead astray to hurt, harm or danger by them, right?


Not so, I realized. I don't think though that parents ignorantly mislead their children to believe lies; it's more to keep the children obedient and to encourage good behavior.

This thought occurred to me when I considered how it was my mother who introduced me to my belief in SANTA CLAUS - and parents worldwide introduce their children to this universal belief in this entity who purportedly lives at the North Pole, has elves that help him make toys for children around the world, flies in a chariot pulled by reindeer that he parks on the roof while he comes down the chimney, eats cookies and milk left for him and leaves gifts under ornamented trees only for children who have been nice (not naughty) during the year. Believe me when I tell you, I believed in Kris Kringle with all my heart as a child, as did my friends, and the teachers in school encouraged the belief.

Until one day my brother and I found our gifts hiding on the top shelf of my parents closet, the jig was up and my belief was destroyed by the truth in realizing that Santa Claus really doesn't exist but was actually our parents and relatives.

Likewise, it was also my mother who lead me to believe in THE TOOTH FAIRY - and likewise, other parents around the world too. An entity who will swap baby teeth that came out for cash money if you put the tooth under your pillow and IF, IF IF you are well-behaved.

And there are other stories Mommy told me to inspire me into obedience, behaving like a good little girl, and I turned out okay inspite of my learning tht none of it was true. Did I love my mother any less because she deceived me via a form of Mind Control that's still practiced today by parents worldwide? Not at all; because I still trusted her, that she would see no harm done to me or misguide me with deliberate lies. Delusional children we have, eh?

As you may suspect, it was my MOTHER who introduced me to God, to Jesus, with the all the trimmings that go along with mainstream teachings by many parents and institutions around the world. An entity who will greatly bless you if you are obedient and good, but who would also punish you if you are the opposite and evil.

Should I believe this because it's another unsubstantiated story my mother taught me that is also proclaimed to be truth to children around the globe bny their parents and institutions like Santa Claus, The Tooth Fairy, etc.?
 

MrMrdevincamus

Voice Of The Martyrs Supporter
NewGuyOnTheBlock said:
  • No good evidence.
  • I see no reason to believe in a given thing that can not be proven.
  • The last time I put faith before reason, it destroyed most of what was good and precious in my life. I'm not going to be tricked like that again.
Sister Cyber said:
I greatly respect that answer! At one point in my life, those were my exact sentiments.

I do not understand people, especially scientific minded people who say 'there is no good evidence for God' and 'having no reason to believe in a given thing that can not be proven'. First there is good evidence for the existence of God*. There is more evidence that God exists than evidence that shows God does not exist.
* God; defined as a higher power or an intelligent agent that created the universe and that has attributes generally associated with God. etc.

According to science reality is a lie, or at least what we perceive to be 'true' isn't. Here is one example of many; matter, ordinary things constructed of atoms such as a building or a floor in the building is mostly empty space . Even our bodies, being matter, contains over 95% 'empty' space! Another example; we don't 'live' in the 'present' moment, but our brain is designed to trick us into thinking we do. What we perceive as the present moment is, according to the universe is already in the past. Quantum physics relies on the uncertainty principle to describe reality at very tiny levels. So we can accurately say nothing is 100% a sure thing. It follows nothing material is anywhere near fully provable to be 'true', by true I mean nothing is as it seems and nothing can be proven beyond a doubt to exist etc. So considering the latter nuances of matter and everyday life to this member God is as believable, and as certain to exist as anything else in the universe.

That said, I am sorry New Guy for the pain you experienced due to some aspect of faith or belief in metaphysical, or spiritual things. I protect myself from such things including the false prophets, the husker's, the evangelical con men, and other mortals and demons that would harm us/you either for their own gain or by accident of ignorance etc. The bible instructs us how to protect ourselves from satanic or mortal threats. Just knowing the bible is a start. I also choose the few teachers I ask questions very, very carefully! One of many scriptures that warn us of every day evil is as follows; " Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." (Matt 7:15)
 
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JoStories

Well-Known Member
Do you believe in God (or a supreme being higher than yourself)?

If you don't, then how come? What is it that you believe as far as this is concerned?

If you do, then how come? What do you call him? IS God a "him" or a "her"? And how many are there according to your belief?
Yes, because I have had too many experiences that lead me to believe that there is something out there greater than me, you and all of us. I do not use any name nor assign a gender to something that is greater than human concepts. And in my belief, there is one who can have many faces and appeal to any and all through various guises.
 

JoStories

Well-Known Member
"God" exists in so far as God is the projection of our ignorance and powerlessness before the forces of nature and society. In the past we anthropomorphised these forces into "human" characteristics as possessing will and consciousness of their own. There are a great many forces outside our control that necessitate humility in recognising a power greater than ourselves, but they are all natural and physical rather than supernatural. We can master them and become as if we were gods but not without changing ourselves as we gain greater knowledge and power and become a force of nature equal and surpassing those around us. The loss of religious faith is the discovery of man as God all along and the conscious pursuit of self-deification.

In other words, I could have just said "no" but thats a really boring and uninformative answer. :(
I respect your opinion, which you have laid out rather well but I disagree that the discovery of conscious man is the pursuit of self-deification, insofar as, IMO, I have had too many experiences that are not able to be explained that indicate something greater. this is not to say that at some point these experiences will not be able to be explained through scientific means, or other means of explanation. Just that, at this point, they cannot be.
 

JoStories

Well-Known Member
Yes, and no. I believe in and have experienced what I call God. But the notion or view of God as an "entity" or even "being" in the sense of being outside of yourself, or strictly "above" the universe is not exactly how I relate to it. Being "higher" than myself? Yes, of course, in the sense that my "self" is a limited conception, or lived reality. The ego-self is not the highest Self. I am more than my idea of who I am. And knowing that is knowing God. So yes "God" is higher than me, but not a "being" separate from me. Just simply unrealized. But that realized Self is "higher" than all as it is limitless, unbounded, free, and infinite. Yet not separate, as infinite cannot be "elsewhere". It is "all-where" and "no-where" in particular. It is both before and beyond, the ground and the goal, the source and the summit. That's what I call God, and yes I very much believe this as it is something I experience.


The reason I do, as defined above, is experience. Opening to the Infinite and experiencing it firsthand. All other reality dissolves in the face of this. It is *real* reality, all else we think or believe to be true shown to be an illusion of our minds, projecting ourselves on the face of "it" and calling that the real world. As it says in the Diamond Sutra, "Wanting nothing, with all your heart stop the stream. When the world dissolves everything becomes clear."

The reason I call this Infinite Reality, God, is because the term conveys Infinite Good. And that is how it is experienced. Infinite Good. Infinite Good, and Infinite Personal. But it is not a being apart from ourselves. And, key to understanding this WE are not beings apart from it. As far as personal pronouns go, I prefer to not use gender pronounces such as He or She and tend to use "it", but even that is misleading. This Infinite Reality can be experienced by us as humans as both Infinite Personal and Infinite Impersonal, both in Masculine, and as Feminine. "It" itself is an inadequate way to speak of "it", as "it" suggests an object outside ourselves in a subject/object dualism. There are really no words other than "IS" that come closer. "I AM" is not bad. But that "I AM" does not exclude us. Talking about "it" is both useful, as well as useless. It's useful as a 'looking forward' pointer, and useless as a explanation of what simply IS.

tagging @YmirGF as I talk about God all the time and like how I attempted to explain my use of it. ;)
Extremely well said and very much how I view these questions myself. Kudos.
 

JoStories

Well-Known Member
I do not understand people, especially scientific minded people who say 'there is no good evidence for God' and 'having no reason to believe in a given thing that can not be proven'. First there is good evidence for the existence of God*. There is more evidence that God exists than evidence that shows God does not exist.
* God; defined as a higher power or an intelligent agent that created the universe and that has attributes generally associated with God. etc.

There is no more evidence to prove "God" than there is to disprove that concept. It all boils down to belief. As a person whose entire career was steeped in science I can honestly say that answer. And for the record, yes, I do believe in what one would consider "God" however, if tomorrow someone were to explain my experiences in scientific terms, I would have no other alternative but to admit I had been wrong. Are you willing to admit that same thing? And if you so strongly state that there is evidence, what is it? Perhaps we will all be convinced.
 

ArtieE

Well-Known Member
Yes God Exists! I believe in Gods existence for several reasons. I use fractions of 100% to assign numerical values of each 'evidence' or reasons that convinces me God exists. One quantifier for a reason I believe in God is the NDE many years ago, yes, God was there with me. So that NDE counts for about 10%. NDE's are somewhat under researched hence the low value give mine, plus my experience was not the typical type of NDE.
Some Hindus have NDEs where they meet Yamraj, the Hindu God of Death. Does he exist?
Next, I was into science (and Atheism) before I was a christian. So science and logic tells me the universe was created, and the creator was intelligent, ie God or as I call it GID which means 'God the intelligent Designer'.
Science doesn't say the universe was created. Even the originator of the Big Bang theory doesn't say so.

"We may speak of this event as of a beginning. I do not say a creation. Physically it is a beginning in the sense that if something happened before, it has no observable influence on the behavior of our universe, as any feature of matter before this beginning has been completely lost by the extreme contraction at the theoretical zero. Any preexistence of the universe has a metaphysical character. Physically, everything happens as if the theoretical zero was really a beginning. The question if it was really a beginning or rather a creation, something started from nothing, is a philosophical question which cannot be settled by physical or astronomical considerations.
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8847
GID accounts for 40% of my 'God lives' conviction. Cosmological arguments, and other arguments for the existence of God, such as my favorite, the KCA (Kalam Cosmological Argument) accounts for 30% of the pie.
"Cosmological Kalamity" http://infidels.org/library/modern/dan_barker/kalamity.html
 
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