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Mon 3 Jan, 2005 09:42 am
can anyone on here answer me this question
i am an atheist although i have had a Xian upbringing i still dont believe in a god
i was wondering when u pray what do u say or how do you pray or communicate to your god has anyone ever had a prayer answered at all or been replied to.
no offence i just dont see the point to it why not talk to ureself as that is all i can see it is?????
I think prayer, for a lot of people, is like meditation. A way to talk out problems or work it out in your head. It is relaxing for some people. And others believe that God does listen and talk back, although not the way we know "talk". More like talking to your heart and you hear it in your heart. IF that makes any sense.
Kristie wrote: More like talking to your heart and you hear it in your heart. IF that makes any sense.
that doesnt make sense anyway of explaining it another way
and why dont you just get on with life if "god" isnt actually going to help you in the problem that you have then why keep talking ???
Max209 wrote:Kristie wrote: More like talking to your heart and you hear it in your heart. IF that makes any sense.
that doesnt make sense anyway of explaining it another way
and why dont you just get on with life if "god" isnt actually going to help you in the problem that you have then why keep talking ???
Lots of people believe that he does help. And that "no" is an answer. So when someone says, "God, please give me a million dollars" and they don't get it, the answer to that was NO.
Liken it to telepathy. People can "talk" to each other without words. You don't actually
hear God's voice with your ears but you "hear" it in your heart. You feel it. I don't know that God has ever "talked" to me during prayer but I believe that he listens.
you hope he listens????
how can u place faith in something that no one i have ever heard of can proove
and it would seem that "no" or being ignorant is a major trait of your god what is the use in that
?
Just because it hasn't been proven doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Hence the term "faith".
Back in the day, people didn't believe in germs because no one could prove they existed. But they did exist, didn't they? It's a matter of perception I suppose. Perhaps someday, we will be able to prove in a divine being. Perhaps we won't.
I read somewhere that some people - the ones who don't believe in God - would start praying to God when confronted with a very life threatening situation.
I think it is innate in each of us, that although we know that nobody or nothing has scientifically proved the existence of God, that there must be something or someone out there who created us. Because we don't have the answer, we call it "God".
For people who are brought up as atheists (for example, Chinese people), it is very difficult to envision or accept the concept that God exists, as for people who have been brought up with a religion. Still, Chinese people believe there is Heaven, which is, to me, equivalent to God. Only the name and the parameters are different.
Prayers, although we say them and only us, we hear them, give hope to humans, and as long as there is hope, there is life.
I also think that the relationship between God and you is a very personal one. Imagine in the past, and maybe even now in the jungles, people considered trees, animals etc. as gods. So there is not necessarily one god, but many, and I think that it is perfectly all right, because that was how the people related to God, through nature itself, instead of a theoretical, nebulous idea or perception of "God".
I used to be a christian, now I'm an atheist. When I prayed, it would be something like the following:
(note that this was all silent... of course god would have been able to hear my thoughts as well as my voice, so I never spoke my prayers.)
Please, dear lord, forgive my sins today and all other days. I wish I hadn't done them. I try to follow you and do what's right, but sometimes I fail. Thank you for keeping me safe today and thank you for all that you have given me. I am thankful for the food you gave me, and the warm bed to come home to. I thank you for parents that love me and give me things. I am thankful that I was born a person and not an animal. I am thankful that I was not born in poverty or disease. I ask that you'll guide my steps and give me the power to resist temptation. I ask that you'll see me through the next day if you see fit to do that. And if not, I ask that you forgive my sins until I die tomorrow and let me come to heaven. And please guide the steps of mom and dad and kim and lee and everybody else. Help us to do good, as we want and try to do. I ask these things in jesus' name, Amen.
It would be some variant of that every night. I avoided asking for things, because I knew god knew what was best anyway and would give it to me. It's fun to look back and see how convenient I made it that no requests would have been answered more often than probability would denote. It almosts seems like I knew it all along.
Whether or not your prayer was to god, I think it is a very good prayer: all the things you are thankful for and strive to be. There is nothing wrong with verbal thanking for the blessings in your life, whether they be from god or just coincidence.
Bram wrote:I read somewhere that some people - the ones who don't believe in God - would start praying to God when confronted with a very life threatening situation.
you read somewhere??? where did u read it and is that everyone in the world or is it just something some one dreamed up to help encourage religion????
Bram wrote:I think it is innate in each of us, that although we know that nobody or nothing has scientifically proved the existence of God, that there must be something or someone out there who created us. Because we don't have the answer, we call it "God".
why must there be something that created us and if there must of been something that created us then surely there must of been something that created god???
Bram wrote:Prayers, although we say them and only us, we hear them, give hope to humans, and as long as there is hope, there is life.
could it not be that not just prayers give hope but the whole concept of god is just there to give hope
seriously you cannot expect anyone to be pulled in by this i cant see how this even helps the idea of a god please try again
Max209 wrote:Bram wrote:I read somewhere that some people - the ones who don't believe in God - would start praying to God when confronted with a very life threatening situation.
you read somewhere??? where did u read it and is that everyone in the world or is it just something some one dreamed up to help encourage religion????
Bram wrote:I think it is innate in each of us, that although we know that nobody or nothing has scientifically proved the existence of God, that there must be something or someone out there who created us. Because we don't have the answer, we call it "God".
why must there be something that created us and if there must of been something that created us then surely there must of been something that created god???
But any Christian will know that God is the beginning and the end, and that there was nothing before God...speaking from my own beliefs, I think for most religious believers (not just Christians) the kind of questions you ask and the answers they require are based on faith. Faith which makes many not question the odd-discrepancies that we sometimes notice...
When I pray, I just stick to the lord's pray, as that is what Jesus asked us how to pray, so to avoid complication I'll just follow his words...
Max209
I read the article a while ago, and I can't remember exactly from where but I think the most probable was from a French magazine called "Sciences et Avenir" (Science and The Future). It was an issue devoted to the question of whether God exists, if I remember well (I just skimmed through it), but it dealt mostly from a Christian point of view. I can try to find back the issue and give you the reference, if you are really interested and you read French. The idea about the prayers struck me when I read it, that's why I remembered it.
As to why someone or something must have created us, and who has created God, I don't have a response. As I said, it is exactly because we don't have a response, that we - not you, but I think some people who think like me - have to come up with this notion of a God. I want to clarify that I do not perceive God as a "person", God can be anything, an energy force, the black void, etc. Like I said, a tree, an animal ...
You have a point that maybe it is not the prayers that give hope, but the concept of God. I agree. And I know that for the Buddhists, there is a concept of the wheel of life to give hope to the poor and oppressed people that one day, or maybe in another life, they will find happiness or whatever they wish.
I am not sure what you mean by "being pulled in by this", I have merely expressed my opinion, and I have said that the relationship between God and you (i.e. a person) is a very personal one. It can be from being very intense to no relationship at all (if you don't believe in God, that is). I won't even try to "sell" the idea of a God - you have to feel it, or not feel it, by yourself.
Bram wrote:
I am not sure what you mean by "being pulled in by this", I have merely expressed my opinion, and I have said that the relationship between God and you (i.e. a person) is a very personal one. It can be from being very intense to no relationship at all (if you don't believe in God, that is). I won't even try to "sell" the idea of a God - you have to feel it, or not feel it, by yourself.
i am sorry about this statement basically i was trying to start an arguement as i had , had a bad day and i do apologise for that i didnt mean to come off as a prick as i am sure i did i realise that this is your belief and thanx for your input.
i just find it hard to associate with something such as a god i just, well like you say i dont feel it but you said that God could be a force etc can i ask are you a christian or what religion are you ????
No problem, Max209. How about listening to "Song Sung Blue" by Neil Diamond? Everyone has one, and every garden grow one.
No, I am not Christian and I don't follow any religion. I believe in God, but I don't feel the need to have an intermediary between God and me.
Sometimes, I think God is within each one of us, it is what makes us wanting to reach out to the good part of us, it is the soul that is us. I hope you understand.
Believing in God, if for nothing else, does give me much comfort, peace and harmony.
Max209
You are asking me a $6 million question!
Well, I gave it a thought, and at the present time, what I can say about how I interpret God to be is that it is "the why, the meaning of our existence on Earth". Maybe it will be different later.
well when you come to a decision let me know whether by pm or "FOA Max209"
as i would be interested to know
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