Does God Care What We Believe?

[leibowde84]

You believe that after all the engineering necessary to make life possible, and one sentient species- the only means we know of by which his creation can be explored, appreciated, experienced from within... he wouldn't take any particular interest in what they thought of it all?! does that seem logical to you? why would you believe such a thing?

Because we can explore, appreciate and experience the universe without believing in God. We can also be good, decent people and live extraordinary lives without believing in God.

It would be pretty petty if God cared whether we believed in him or not. Narcissistic really. If there is a God, I have a hard time believing he would be so self interested.

 

[DavidFirth]

Will I be able to make nonsensical statements with a straight face if I lose use of my sensory organs?

The conversation has gone beyond you and your sensory organs. Since you don't realize that I'll just let you and your buddies ponder it for a bit.

Have a nice day.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

The conversation has gone beyond you and your sensory organs. Since you don't realize that I'll just let you and your buddies ponder it for a bit.

Have a nice day.

If I wasted all my time pondering meaningless ramblings... well, I'd probably be one of those people who do nothing ramble on meaninglessly. Sadly, my high levels of curiosity and intelligence doesn't make me suited for such a lofty pursuit. I'll leave it to the pros.

 

[Guy Threepwood]

Because we can explore, appreciate and experience the universe without believing in God. We can also be good, decent people and live extraordinary lives without believing in God.

It would be pretty petty if God cared whether we believed in him or not. Narcissistic really. If there is a God, I have a hard time believing he would be so self interested.

You only have to think of our own children, is it narcissistic to care about them, no matter what they think about us at the time?

 

[Kemosloby]

In the scriptures Jesus seems to put as much, or more, weight on what is going inside a person as outside a person. Describing the hypocrites as whitewashed fences. They may keep their hands dirty on the outside but inside a ravenous wolves. He says to clean the inside of the cup, whereas people generally think the outside of the cup is more important, the part other people see. But God sees what is on the inside.

 

[rusra02]

Apart from scripture, what logical reason is there that God would have an interest in what we believe?

Belief in what is false leads to badness of all sorts. I can think of many examples. Believing Satan's lie that rebellion against God would benefit Eve and her husband Adam led to disaster for them and for us. Believing that false gods can be appeased by human sacrifice leads to that detestable practice. IMO, believing lies, especially religious lies, places us under the influence and control of Satan and the demons. As Revelation 12:9 reveals; "the one called Devil and Satan...is misleading the entire inhabited earth."

 

[TransmutingSoul]

Apart from scripture, what logical reason is there that God would have an interest in what we believe?

We were created to know and Love God, to appreciate that gift.

We are not compelled to do this, we have free will to choose.

God's Covernant is He will never leave us alone while we develop this understanding. God will always send His Mesengers to give the Advice and Laws required to find and abide in that Knowledge.

Regards Tony

 

[FearGod]

But, there is no way to know what message that people claim to be from God is actually from God. So, why would God expect us to believe any of them?

That's true, the best thing which I do is believing that I have no idea about what God is,
how he creates and how he looks like, I believe no one is equal to him and nothing in
our nature is comparable to him, the second thing is to be good, not to steal, not to harm anyone,
to help the others if in need and asking for forgiveness, if in doubt of any message to follow
then choosing your own way of approaching God without following any message.

 

[eldios]

If it is a fact, what irrefutable, verifiable evidence do you have that proves it beyond any doubt?

It is a fact to me because I am the servant of God who was used to testify to the knowledge called Christ so now all the prophecies in the Bible are understood by me. I had to write and speak the stories about how we're created, the knowledge about the beast, what will happen on the day of the Lord and how we'll experience life after that day.

Since you reject everything that comes out of the mind of Christ that I possess, then you will call it an opinion or something else. Those excuses will be burned up soon on the day of the Lord.

 

[George-ananda]

I voted 'No' coming from my non-dual (God and creation are not-two)perspective.

God is the consciousness in each of us and we are to learn we are ultimately One/God/Brahman through brotherly love. Brotherly love is more important than beliefs on challenging theological issues.

 

[sun rise]

I voted 'No' coming from my non-dual (God and creation are not-two)perspective.

God is the consciousness in each of us and we are to learn we are ultimately One/God/Brahman through brotherly love. Brotherly love is more important than beliefs on challenging theological issues.

I would add that what counts is action. It can be apparently small acts such as being pleasant to a checkout clerk, but for love to be real love, it must be expressed in the world.

 

[AliIRI]

I think both of them are correct.
For example, if you have a charity and someone pays 67% of outcomes, you will love him!
But if he will never believe in you..?
We can't strongly say if you don't pray, you will go to hell or if you pray, you will go to heaven.
Prayers should be perfect. At least as much as we can.
For example, Bill Gates paid 35 billion dollars for his charity, but he is agnostic.
I believe in God, but my prayers aren't perfect.
In every prayer, I say "It is You we worship and You we ask for help." as the fifth verse of Al-Fatihah, but I go to normal people during the day and beg them to give something. I mean, Islam is perfect, but I'm not.
All in all, I think both of them are important for God.

 

[MonkeyFire]

It's not what you believe, it's what is believed in.

 

[Deeje]

Apart from scripture, what logical reason is there that God would have an interest in what we believe?

Since there are truths and lies in this world, it is always beneficial to know the truth....even inconvenient ones....even hurtful ones. Humans search for truth in various ways. We hate being lied to and we can't trust those who don't tell the truth. We don't choose them as companions.

Since the Creator is called a "Teacher" to Israel and Jesus Christ was also called a "teacher" to his disciples, it stands to reason that true teachings are there to counteract false ones. That reinforces the belief that God wants us to believe the truth, not fall for lies or clever propaganda.

Do we care about the truth, or do we only care about what we personally want to believe? If we have been influenced to believe things that are not true and those things will eventuate in our alienation from the Creator (leading to eternal death,) then what is the point of believing those things or clinging onto them when we are shown that they are invalid?

I believe that this life is a training exercise; an object lesson designed to test out who we really are. Do we want to take our direction from our Maker, through his word, acknowledging our inadequacies? Or do we want independence from him, thinking we know better? If we look upon that as "freedom", but it only results in another kind of slavery, how are we benefited?

We can take one of only two roads, according to the Bible.....which one is our choice....one leads to everlasting life....the other to everlasting death. We will not know if we have chosen well until the end. That means that our decisions now will affect us for all time to come.

 

[leibowde84]

You only have to think of our own children, is it narcissistic to care about them, no matter what they think about us at the time?

You are actually agreeing with me here. God doesn't care whether we believe in him. He doesn't judge us on our beliefs, just our actions.

 

[leibowde84]

It is a fact to me because I am the servant of God who was used to testify to the knowledge called Christ so now all the prophecies in the Bible are understood by me. I had to write and speak the stories about how we're created, the knowledge about the beast, what will happen on the day of the Lord and how we'll experience life after that day.

Since you reject everything that comes out of the mind of Christ that I possess, then you will call it an opinion or something else. Those excuses will be burned up soon on the day of the Lord.

I'm sorry, but this is still an opinion. Unless you can provide demonstrable evidence.

 

[leibowde84]

Since there are truths and lies in this world, it is always beneficial to know the truth....even inconvenient ones....even hurtful ones. Humans search for truth in various ways. We hate being lied to and we can't trust those who don't tell the truth. We don't choose them as companions.

Since the Creator is called a "Teacher" to Israel and Jesus Christ was also called a "teacher" to his disciples, it stands to reason that true teachings are there to counteract false ones. That reinforces the belief that God wants us to believe the truth, not fall for lies or clever propaganda.

Do we care about the truth, or do we only care about what we personally want to believe? If we have been influenced to believe things that are not true and those things will eventuate in our alienation from the Creator (leading to eternal death,) then what is the point of believing those things or clinging onto them when we are shown that they are invalid?

I believe that this life is a training exercise; an object lesson designed to test out who we really are. Do we want to take our direction from our Maker, through his word, acknowledging our inadequacies? Or do we want independence from him, thinking we know better? If we look upon that as "freedom", but it only results in another kind of slavery, how are we benefited?

We can take one of only two roads, according to the Bible.....which one is our choice....one leads to everlasting life....the other to everlasting death. We will not know if we have chosen well until the end. That means that our decisions now will affect us for all time to come.

When it comes to belief in God, do you think God uses the lack of that belief to judge us? For example, say I am withholding belief in God due to lack of evidence. I would love it if God existed, as it would make life easier to deal with, but I can't force myself to believe something I am not convinced of. I do, however, live a good life, I am good to others, charitable, and I always try to do the right thing.

Does God judge me for my lack of belief?

 

[Deeje]

When it comes to belief in God, do you think God uses the lack of that belief to judge us? For example, say I am withholding belief in God due to lack of evidence. I would love it if God existed, as it would make life easier to deal with, but I can't force myself to believe something I am not convinced of. I do, however, live a good life, I am good to others, charitable, and I always try to do the right thing.

Does God judge me for my lack of belief?

Since God judges by his own standards, and states them clearly in his word, then we have an obligation to live up to them.
I understand that belief is not something that can be forced...it is however, something that can be built. Even the tallest and largest structures begin with a foundation.

What is the foundation of your unbelief? Why do you find it hard to "see" the evidence for God when millions can see it clearly?
What is the difference, do you think? What is the lack of evidence you refer to?

 

[leibowde84]

What is the foundation of your unbelief?

Lack of evidence for the necessity of any God. Also, I was raised in a Catholic/Jewish household. Went to Catholic grade school. Hebrew school on the weekends. Chose to be baptized and confirmed in 8th grade. But, then when I became interested in learning about the history of the Bible, found out that a lot of the things I took for granted weren't true (authors of the gospels unknown or, at the very least, didn't know Jesus; genesis account not true; books like deuteronomy were troubling and seemed to contradict other parts of the Bible; Paul seemed to be a fraud to me; and many other issues with the history of the church). Also, I have yet to see anything in the universe that even seem to point to an impossibility of occurring naturally.

Why do you find it hard to "see" the evidence for God when millions can see it clearly?

I can't speak for others, but there is nothing I've seen that makes me think God is necessary. I have looked extensively, but scientific understanding is still a relatively new endeavor. I don't see any reason why the universe couldn't have come into existence naturally.

What is the difference, do you think?

Misunderstandings of others about evolution, the beginning of the universe, the assumed/incorrect limits of science, etc.

What is the lack of evidence you refer to?

There is no verifiable, demonstrable evidence for God. It seems to all be based on personal experience, unverifiable claims, historical texts that can't be verified, etc.

 

[eldios]

I'm sorry, but this is still an opinion. Unless you can provide demonstrable evidence.[/QUOT]

You only believe it's an opinion because you don't believe I'm a servant of God who speaks for Him.