Do I have to?

Patriot, welcome to A2K.

No, you don't have to say anything, but some sects take certain passages in the Bible as gospel and ignore everything else. Christianity is difficult for logical people to accept because its premises are fundamentally irrational.

Just out of curiosity, why do you fear God?

What other questions do you have?

Remember, WE INVENTED religion.

I was watching a programme about a year ago who followed ill people into hospital,some were religious and prayed etc, the others didnt or didnt belive in God, religion etc.

One non believer summed it up by saying 'Its not different for those who pray and those who dont, Gods meant to treat us equally wether we believe in him or not'.
The experiment showed those that prayed didnt recover any better or worse than those that didnt.

In NO way should you be afraid of any God, thats not the way they are supposed to work.
It sounds to me that the neighbour is seriously religious and is trying to frighten you into a life of religion.

I think religion was invented to put the fear into people, if they dont lead good lives they will go to hell.
Its just another way of controlling people.

If you get comfort from it then do it but dont let it take over your life.

Re: Do I have to?


Some Christians are always trying to "tell" you something.

I have a button I've pinned to my handbag that say "Thank you for deciding was good for me".

Perhaps if you neighbor presists in telling you how to live your life, you can present her with one of these.

Welcome! Please remember that spirituality is a deeply personal thing. Everyone has their own relationship with God and you should never feel bad or guilty about the relationship you have with Him. Any view on here will be a highly personal one. My thoughts are that you will find your place within those of us who are spiritual but not religious.


I have to say that I despise religions that expect you to fear God. The God I love and serve does not frighten me. He will not send lightning bolts down at me and will not condemn me to hell for making a few mistakes. God is our father and like a father, he expectes his children to make mistakes. And also like any father, he expects us to learn from those mistakes.

I do not attend church. I think that it is a waste of time. For me. For my grandma, she loves it and it brings her closer to God and makes her feel secure. She belives confession is necessary while I believe that my sins are between God and I, provided I make things right with the person I offended.

God should not be feared. I am 100% sure I am going to heaven when I die because I believe that being a good person and doing right by others is what God wants us to do. All that other stuff is a guidline as to how we should treat others. Swearing is only bad when it hurts someone. Other wise, it's just words. Pre-marital sex is only bad when it hurts someone or yourself. Otherwise, it's love. Basically meaning, sometimes its a mistake and sometimes it isn't.

God wants us to be good people and believe in Him. That's all. At least that's my simplistic view of it. He doesn't want us to be confused.

Patriot13- Welcome to A2K!

I do not believe in a God or Gods. I also would not care if no one in this world believed as I do.

The concept of personal choice is quite foreign to many people of fundamentalist religious persuasion. Not only do they want to believe, they need a claque to reinforce the concept, no matter how fragile, that they are correct in their assumptions.

What better way to get people to join the "club", than by instilling fear, that if you don't, something "terrible" is going to happen?

There are really some good points of view. Thank you all very much.

With respect to being God fearing, I guess I just mean that I consider myself a man of God--a man of faith (at least in my own way). I don't mean it to be literal, like I'm constantly afraid. However, in retrospect...the term does seem very colloquial. I am not a big fan of using too many cliches, but now find myself guilty of it. But I think that further illustrates my point that I have so much to learn.

So what if I have accepted God...but a family member has not. Does that mean that I go to Heaven ond he or she does not. I would think that that is decided by how we live our lives... Does that make any sense?

Of course it makes sense. And no, just because you may choose Jesus Christ as your saviour and someone else does not, does NOT mean that that other person will not go to heaven.

As Bella Dea pointed out, every person has their own right to decide about their beliefs in God or spirituality or religion or whatever. What feels right to one person may not hold the same appeal to another. If a person chooses a spiritual or personal relationship with a God, then it is just that. Personal. And it does not need to be shared with others although some sects or groups will demand that it be so.

You can believe in God very deeply and never belong to an organized religion. You don't ever have to go to church. You don't ever have to tithe or preach or read a bible or let anyone know what your beliefs are. YOU know what they are and that should be sufficient.

Personally, I don't care for anyone shoving their religious beliefs down my throat. I would never do that to anyone. I know in my own heart what I believe and that is exactly where it will stay.

Does that make sense?

Whoever gave you the idea that the bible promises heaven as a reward? It doesn't.

Think about it. Read the first 3 chapters of the bible and tell me where Adam and Eve would be today if they hadn't sinned?

Oh, and welcome to a2k.

I had wanted to say that in my previous post as well, but forgot!

I had also wanted to congratulate you on your upcoming MBA and truly thank you for serving us in the military. I personally appreciate that very much.

Thanks all!

It seems that every time I ask a question, the answers reveal to me even more questions. I guess my situation is a precarious one. I want to learn more about religion, but don't have the time in my life right now. (I know that is bad to say, but as a full time employer, full time student, and full time single dad, that doesn't leave much spare time). Moreover, it doesn't even sound like I need to choose a religion...but without one I am left to interperet the bible myself.

So many choices...I guess I have to figure it out right?

I think that this site will point you in the right direction. You answer the questions, and it will give you a sense of where you stand vis a vis the different world religions. Try it. It's fun, and you may learn something about yourself:

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html

Re: Do I have to?


So Christians are not supposed to talk about their faith?

Thank you, Chai Tea, for deciding what is good for me.

Free speech for you, but not for Christians, right?