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Without God there is no hope

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
I am not making a claim, I am only expressing a feeling, and I could be wrong so I am open to other perspectives. This is only the way I am feeling now, based upon my trying to change certain things and being unable to do so. In short, I feel completely stuck, like I have no control over my own life, and I feel like God is the only one who can help me. Everything I have tried to do goes to hell in a breadbasket so I have resigned myself to hoping that God will help me by guiding me to decide what to do and assisting me to do it, or that God will help me via fate, by causing things to happen to me.

I believe that everyone's fate is already written in the Book of Life, which is the Tablet of Fate.

“O thou who art the fruit of My Tree and the leaf thereof! On thee be My glory and My mercy. Let not thine heart grieve over what hath befallen thee. Wert thou to scan the pages of the Book of Life, thou wouldst, most certainly, discover that which would dissipate thy sorrows and dissolve thine anguish.

Know thou, O fruit of My Tree, that the decrees of the Sovereign Ordainer, as related to fate and predestination, are of two kinds. Both are to be obeyed and accepted. The one is irrevocable, the other is, as termed by men, impending. To the former all must unreservedly submit, inasmuch as it is fixed and settled. God, however, is able to alter or repeal it. As the harm that must result from such a change will be greater than if the decree had remained unaltered, all, therefore, should willingly acquiesce in what God hath willed and confidently abide by the same.

The decree that is impending, however, is such that prayer and entreaty can succeed in averting it.

God grant that thou who art the fruit of My Tree, and they that are associated with thee, may be shielded from its evil consequences.”

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 132-133

Then there is the question: What is caused by God's decree and what is caused by a free will choice? I think some things happen to us that are not decreed by God, they are chosen by us, and some things that we do not choose are decreed by God.

Moreover, even if something is decreed by God, not everything that is decreed by God is fixed and settled. The passage above says that the decree that is impending is such that prayer and entreaty can succeed in averting it, so I might be able to influence God’s decree that is impending by praying to God.

What is the connection between fate and free will? How can we have free will if everything is predetermined by God? I believe that God is all-knowing so God knows everything we are going to do, and that has already been written on the Tablet of Fate, but I do not believe that what God knows causes anyone to do anything. I believe things happen because we make a choice to do them and act on that choice.

Is what ends up being written on the Tablet of Fate simply what God knows we are going to choose to do? But what about things that happen to us that are not chosen by us? I think those things are also our fate. In short, I think there is the fate we choose and the fate we don't choose, and I think the passage above is referring to the fate we don't choose, the fate we are hoping to avert, God's decree.
 
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Viker

Your beloved eccentric Auntie Cristal
I have hope. I don't have faith in God. My hope comes from deep within and guides me to action that contributes to a desired outcome. Hope for me is like a plan. A God isn't necessary, for me. I may include the pantheon if I really wish to do so, but still.... I must do the work.
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
Please note that I did not say that without God there is no hope for anyone.
I was referring to hope for myself.
This was my feelings about my own situation.
I said I was just expressing a feeling based upon my trying to change certain things and being unable to do so.
 

samtonga43

Well-Known Member
Please note that I did not say that without God there is no hope for anyone.
I was referring to hope for myself.
This was my feelings about my own situation.
I said I was just expressing a feeling based upon my trying to change certain things and being unable to do so.
You may be trying too hard. Let go and let God.
 

Sgt. Pepper

All you need is love.
I have hope. I don't have faith in God. My hope comes from deep within and guides me to action that contributes to a desired outcome. Hope for me is like a plan. A God isn't necessary, for me. I may include the pantheon if I really wish to do so, but still.... I must do the work.

I have hope, joy, peace, and contentment in my life now, but this came after I renounced my Christian faith and rejected my belief in the Christian God. I had to let go of believing, hoping, and trusting in God before I could heal emotionally and finally find hope, joy, peace, and contentment in my life. It was difficult for me at first because I had to clear my mind from all the Christian indoctrination I had received throughout my life, but the emotional anguish I felt while trying to free myself from it all was well worth it. I also learned to keep my spiritual beliefs at arm's length and not let them take over my life like my Christian faith did for the majority of my life. To be honest, I feel quite foolish that I wasted so many years of my life believing in the Christian God, hoping and trusting that he would eventually help me and give me some direction in my life. I don't want to make these same mistakes again as a Wiccan, so I keep my spiritual beliefs in a rational perspective, and I'm well aware of the potential dangers of being overly trusting in them or in any deities.

My spiritual beliefs are significant to me, but not to the extent that I must rely on them to get through the day or that I feel like I can't make the right decision about something without them. After renouncing my Christian faith, I eventually realized that I didn't need the biblical God or any other deities in my life to feel peace, joy, and contentment. I've learned to stand on my own two feet, so to speak, and I no longer feel the need to rely on some deity to help me get through difficult times, to control how I behave, or to dictate what decisions I make. The Wiccan Rede, the different deities, the respect for nature, and the openness of Wicca regarding death and the afterlife are why I find Wicca most appealing. Being a Wiccan has been liberating, and unlike when I was still a Christian, there is no longer any fear, guilt, or shame hanging over my head (click here to read my Christian backstory). I feel peace and joy in my heart.

The negativity I encountered during the years I was a Christian eventually led me to Wicca and, later, polytheism, and being a Wiccan has been a very positive experience for me. After being constrained to only one God as a Christian, learning about these other gods has been fascinating, and I feel liberated. I don't feel pressured to worship a particular god or goddess, nor do I feel pressured to always live morally upright in order to placate a very vengeful and jealous God who threatens to damn me to hell for all eternity if I don't toe the line and play by his stringent rules. I don't feel intimidated by any deities, nor do I fear the angry wrath of any deities.

Wicca isn't a rigidly structured, patriarchal religion that pompously claims to be the only true religion in the world or that pompously claims that women should be submissive to men and views women as inferior to men or claims that it's the only religion with the correct answers to theological questions like how to worship a god, pray to a god, or live a moral life. There are no holy scriptures, no widely accepted revelations, and no doctrines about what the afterlife will be like. Each Wiccan decides for themselves what they believe about spirits, the afterlife, and death. Wicca isn't a religion that arrogantly claims to be the only one with the correct answers to what happens after death, either. There are a few differing views found within Wicca when it comes to life after death, but there isn't an overseeing authority that instructs Wiccans to believe in any particular version of life after death. There are conclusions that many Wiccans may share, such as reincarnation, but there are no official stances. In my opinion, Wicca is a very welcoming religion.
 

Sgt. Pepper

All you need is love.
Please note that I did not say that without God there is no hope for anyone.
I was referring to hope for myself.
This was my feelings about my own situation.
I said I was just expressing a feeling based upon my trying to change certain things and being unable to do so.

If believing in God is what you need at this point in your life, then that's what you should do until you decide differently.
 

We Never Know

No Slack
I am not making a claim, I am only expressing a feeling, and I could be wrong so I am open to other perspectives. This is only the way I am feeling now, based upon my trying to change certain things and being unable to do so. In short, I feel completely stuck, like I have no control over my own life, and I feel like God is the only one who can help me. Everything I have tried to do goes to hell in a breadbasket so I have resigned myself to hoping that God will help me by guiding me to decide what to do and assisting me to do it, or that God will help me via fate, by causing things to happen to me.

I believe that everyone's fate is already written in the Book of Life, which is the Tablet of Fate.

“O thou who art the fruit of My Tree and the leaf thereof! On thee be My glory and My mercy. Let not thine heart grieve over what hath befallen thee. Wert thou to scan the pages of the Book of Life, thou wouldst, most certainly, discover that which would dissipate thy sorrows and dissolve thine anguish.

Know thou, O fruit of My Tree, that the decrees of the Sovereign Ordainer, as related to fate and predestination, are of two kinds. Both are to be obeyed and accepted. The one is irrevocable, the other is, as termed by men, impending. To the former all must unreservedly submit, inasmuch as it is fixed and settled. God, however, is able to alter or repeal it. As the harm that must result from such a change will be greater than if the decree had remained unaltered, all, therefore, should willingly acquiesce in what God hath willed and confidently abide by the same.

The decree that is impending, however, is such that prayer and entreaty can succeed in averting it.

God grant that thou who art the fruit of My Tree, and they that are associated with thee, may be shielded from its evil consequences.”

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 132-133

Then there is the question: What is caused by God's decree and what is caused by a free will choice? I think some things happen to us that are not decreed by God, they are chosen by us, and some things that we do not choose are decreed by God.

Moreover, even if something is decreed by God, not everything that is decreed by God is fixed and settled. The passage above says that the decree that is impending is such that prayer and entreaty can succeed in averting it, so I might be able to influence God’s decree that is impending by praying to God.

What is the connection between fate and free will? How can we have free will if everything is predetermined by God? I believe that God is all-knowing so God knows everything we are going to do, and that has already been written on the Tablet of Fate, but I do not believe that what God knows causes anyone to do anything. I believe things happen because we make a choice to do them and act on that choice.

Is what ends up being written on the Tablet of Fate simply what God knows we are going to choose to do? But what about things that happen to us that are not chosen by us? I think those things are also our fate. In short, I think there is the fate we choose and the fate we don't choose, and I think the passage above is referring to the fate we don't choose, the fate we are hoping to avert, God's decree.


20 years ago we had Johnny Cash, Bob Hope and Steve Jobs. Now we have no Cash, no Hope and no Jobs
 

We Never Know

No Slack
I have hope. I don't have faith in God. My hope comes from deep within and guides me to action that contributes to a desired outcome. Hope for me is like a plan. A God isn't necessary, for me. I may include the pantheon if I really wish to do so, but still.... I must do the work.

"I must do the work"

Isn't that the same with getting into a heaven? Don't you have to do the work to get there?
 

Valjean

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Please note that I did not say that without God there is no hope for anyone.
I was referring to hope for myself.
This was my feelings about my own situation.
I said I was just expressing a feeling based upon my trying to change certain things and being unable to do so.
So God is the equivalent of an anti-depressant, for you?
 

shivsomashekhar

Well-Known Member
I am not making a claim, I am only expressing a feeling, and I could be wrong so I am open to other perspectives. This is only the way I am feeling now, based upon my trying to change certain things and being unable to do so. In short, I feel completely stuck, like I have no control over my own life, and I feel like God is the only one who can help me. Everything I have tried to do goes to hell in a breadbasket so I have resigned myself to hoping that God will help me by guiding me to decide what to do and assisting me to do it, or that God will help me via fate, by causing things to happen to me.

What works for me - is the acceptance that pain is an integral and unavoidable part of living. Belief or lack thereof in God does not change this fact.

The only obstacle to the above (as I see it) is not everyone has the same troubles. This can make it difficult for us to accept our realities when we see others around us not having the same problems. It is a lot more easier to accept problems when many around us are having the same problems.

So, the hope that somehow we can avoid pain through Gods/rituals/astrology etc, is the real problem.
 

John53

I go leaps and bounds
Premium Member
Please note that I did not say that without God there is no hope for anyone.
I was referring to hope for myself.
This was my feelings about my own situation.
I said I was just expressing a feeling based upon my trying to change certain things and being unable to do so.

So your topic is click bait?
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
If believing in God is what you need at this point in your life, then that's what you should do until you decide differently.
I did not say that is what I need. I did not disclose what I actually need.
I just happen to believe in God but that is aide from what I need.

God might help me with what I need or not. I am not counting on it, but it's for darn tootin' that nobody else is going to help me.
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
So God is the equivalent of an anti-depressant, for you?
I have no idea why people misunderstand what I say and turn it into something completely different.
No, God is not an anti-depressant for me just because I believe I feel like God is the only one who can help me.
I am just being logical. The fact remains that no people are helping me so why should I hope for that?
At least there is a chance that God might help me.
 
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