U2002revolution!
War Child
yes, but sometimes (alot of times actually) i wish i didn't.....
joyfulgirl said:
Just curious...do the Christians here believe that God dwells within us? Or do you believe in an external God?
whiteflag said:Hey Stories,
Can I make one suggestion that might help you in the long run?
Get to thoroughly know where you come from before you go seeking other spiritual paths.
Make a study of the many expressions of the Christian faith first and never think of it as all the same everywhere.
You might be surprised at the number of smart people who just leave the faith without really investigating it outside of the church they grew up in.
Then they end up studying other religions with only a fraction of a fraction of Christianity to compare them with(but they think they know all there is to know). Can you see how that can't make for well-informed spiritual descisions?
I know it sounds simple minded to tell you to take the first step before taking another. But people try all the time to take them all at once or else they try to skip steps in their impatience to get moving on. It doesn't have to be that way.
Stories for Boys said:
...am heading to a christian college next year...
Spiral_Staircase said:
Are you, by chance, going to Hope, Calvin, or Northwestern? Just curious, because I know people at all 3 schools, and they seem to be a common choice for students from the Christian Reformed Church in Michigan. Not making any assumptions, though...just curious.
<~CalvinSpiral_Staircase said:Hope, Calvin, or Northwestern
<~one of said studentsstudents from the Christian Reformed Church in Michigan.
Ultraviolet Light said:
<~Calvin
<~one of said students
*sigh*
Spiral_Staircase said:
Ok, long shot....do you know Mike Wooten, he's an RD in one of the dorms (don't know which one, but I think it has like 3 or 4 names...like Sagman-Bennet-Robbins-Oppenheim and Taft).
KingPin said:
And it looks so peaceful, joyous, and comforting.
</sarcasm>
Does anybody else find it more than a little creepy? Granted, I'm not sure I prefer the pictures of Christ in complete anguish all over the place.
Folkelig said:I believe in God as an institution. With this I mean a superior force that is way beyond what the human mind can cope, and therefore forcing humans to stay grounded and humble. This I believe despite what my intellect. I Believe in God because that is the only way to stay sane. Otherwise I would, like in the words of Sartre, be living my life alone, facing the angst alone.
I believe in Jesus as a very wise man. I often refers to Jesus as my biggest idol. But, I can not and will never believe in the church. The church is full of humans, and therefore full of betrayel, greed, lust, hatred and stupidity. (this is not an accusation on any one here, who might be going to church regulary, but at the church as an institution)
mug222 said:
Originally posted by sulawesigirl4
The more I see of the universe and the world around me, the more I am convinced.
Exactly the opposite applies to me.
U2girl said:
In the end, what it all comes down to it - as long as your family and your friends support you, you're doing things right.
Mostly though you have to answer to yourself and your values and morals as you go along. I guess it's up to everyone to find happiness in their own way.
Giant Lemon said:This may be a sort of cop out, but I believe that God may or may not exist. In other words, I think it's possible that He exists. But if He does, I don't see how humans could possibly understand Him or His plans for the world.
I know many people might answer this with "it's in the Bible, etc, etc," but with all the different religions in the world I don't see how one particular one could be the correct one.
I think religion - not belief in god(s) but religion - causes more problems than it's worth. Just think of how many people have died because of it!
Achtung Bubba said:U2girl, I really, really hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think that this view is the whole story:
In certain respects, belief is what matters. Studies show that those who believe in God may help themselves recover from an illness or accomplish physically demanding tasks - that belief is psychosomatically beneficial.
But there is still the question of whether there ACTUALLY is a God.
What I'm saying is this: there either really, truly, honestly IS a God; or there isn't. Our beliefs don't determine whether there is one or not, just like our shadow doesn't cause the sun to exist.
Either there is a God or there isn't. Either the believers are right, or the atheists are.
It's clear that you yourself are an atheist, and the rest of your post raises some interesting questions, but those can wait for another time, or a response from another forum member.
oliveu2cm said:
I try and keep up in this forum- so I'm going to try and contribute...
U2girl what you are saying here sounds like it would fall victim to the theory of cultural relativism: what is and isn't moral is determined by the cultural a person is living in. For example, the enslavement of blacks in America would be perfectly okay in the 17 and 1800's because your friends and family would have supported it, assuming you were the average southern white male at that time period. But are you still "doing things right" as you said?
Having to answer to only yourself and keep your morals and behavior in check with your self-imposed standards inherently creates problems: obviously Hitler or Bin Laden or a rapist or a child molestor sees nothing wrong with his/her problems, and in fact it is the death or domination of other people(s) that made them happy. Does that mean it their behaviors are okay and/or acceptable? I would think not. Therefore there must be something *more* than making sure you are happy and your actions are supported by your family and friends- if not then no one can ever complain about any injustice. Imagine standing up in court, pleaing not guilty after murdering someone from drunk driving simply by stating "But drinking made me happy...and my family supports it!"
U2girl said:
OK, let me elaborate:
i meant the average person, one with morals and (i guess) Western civilization cultural values. I meant normal people, who respect the general and fundamental morals accepted by people around the world - and when i say "answer to your morals" i mean: i didn't decide what's right or wrong, our society (my parents primarily, i guess) did. You know, the "be honest, don't steal, don't do crime" etc... basics.
Additionally, there's laws that further define right from wrong.
U2girl said:
I believe that humans have all they need within them to manage in this world - and that nothing is too hard to handle.
i see God as the invention of man to explain the world around him. I respect religion as a source of comfort for those who choose it - which IMO is its main purpose.
U2girl said:But anyway, back to the topic:
i said "matter of belief" because i don't think there's a definite proof either way about the existence of a God. So if you believe, it's real to you. ("personal choice", as Giant Lemon said)
That's what i meant. Also i think Giant Lemon raised an interesting question, one which i often think about too: if there is a supreme being, how come there's so many different religions? Also, Bubba - there is the third possibility what if all religions are wrong - surely with so many different religions in the world, we must consider that too, right?