I am doubting my faith - need guidance/advice.

rockpie,

If you are really interested in questions of "spirituality" as opposed to naive questions about the nature of "a deity" then you might find you agree with those who say all answers lie within yourself. i.e. there is no authority, method or body of doctrine which can give you "answers".

Observe instead the origin of the question ...the fickle conditioned thing we call "self" which is a predominantly mechanical reaction to physical and social circumstance. With such origins what is the status of the question .....and what is the value of an answer ?

God, by definition, can do anything he durn well pleases. If he deems it worthy to conceal from himself the outcome of our moral choices, he can do so. And, by his so doing, we do indeed have free will. In a way, you could say God has no more necessity to view the outcome of a thing than you or I have to read the last page of the whodunit.

The problem with that, Dear Neo, is that your god is the author of said "who-dunit."

Good to see you again, Set.
Sublime, ain't it?

Yes indeed . . . and, of course, the line between the sublime and the ridiculous is invisible . . .

(Doin' well . . . hope your joints ain't killin' ya right now . . . coffee?)

Ahhh, Set. You and I could solve many problems over a cuppa joe.

Make sure Set brings his own smokes ... experience talkin', here ( :wink: )

I ain't smoked in over 30 years. Now I'm so durned old, I can't remember which end to light. But if ya don't mind settin' outside, the both of ya can smoke to your hearts' content and I'll pour the coffee.

S'OK by me . . . i smoke non-filters, so you can light either end (the Sweetiepie girl will kill me--i ain't allowed to smoke no more).

A distinct advantage to those of the drinking class - one less thing to fret over in the pub ... and there's always the benefit of not havin' other folks bum straights off ya - your preference took me by surprise (don't begrudge it a bit tho - the conversation was well worth the slight tax :wink: }


All for the best, really - you owe her for that. I ain't got attached support in that regard; Mrs T is a smoker, too.

So, rockpie, have you ever received an answer to a prayer?

Rockpie, find what you feel is right in your heart ( as long as it isn't harming others, of course! ). I used to be Christian, as well, but a few questions I had turned me off to that, Islam, and Judaism.

A truly loving God would not send gays to Hell because they do things he thinks are "evil", when their is no reason for them being evil at all. A truly loving and just God would not send someone to Hell, where he would be on fire, eaten by dogs, and stabbed by demons for eternity just because he said God was not real, because it was not logical to him. If that is the true God, then I don't want to be a part of Him.

You have to think of the billions of non-religious folk out there, who are amazing people, and have high morals without even the thought of God. They definitely won't and should not be going to Hell.

I'm pretty sure, if God is real, that he wants us to use our minds. And with these three religions, that is not the case. You can't truly feel, in your heart, that the true God wants us to have complete blind faith for him?

So many religious zealots think the end times are near, and yet we have only inhabited one planet in the entire universe. God must have had a reason for creating the rest, right? Also, why would God have a chosen people? Of course, an all loving God isn't racist!?

I believe in God. I'm not sure if he was the beginning, or if he created the universe, but I do not believe he is all-powerful. He would right the wrongs in the world today if he were. I don't believe God would hog the "power" all to himself, either. If he's truly loving, he's going to give everyone a chance to be just as good as he is, right?

I believe we can all find true spiritual enlightenment within ourselves. I do not believe we should be feared into doing what an ancient book suggests. It's time we start taking responsibility, and not with the hope that we will get into Heaven where we will worship an unjust, unloving God for all of eternity.

Yeah, but the Bible does not support the idea of eternal punishment, a pagan idea which has slithered its way into nominal christianity.

That's very intriguing, I didn't know that neologist. I'll have to look that up more.

much like the idea that pagans were satanists slithered it's way into christian ideology?

furthermore...

I think all religion is a bit....primitive?

I almost deem it downright ridiculous to think that an all-seeing, all-knowing, omni present, eternal being is hiding in some cloud city pulling the strings of all 6 billion sorry asses on this planet.

I think we can all be good people without achieving a "greater good"

Why devote all your time and effort in this life trying to find salvation in the next? You don't even know if there IS a next life!

I think people on this planet need to take responsibility for what they do to themselves and others. Not go home and apologize to someone who probably isn't listening.

Telling all your secrets to a guy behind a screen isn't going to help either.

I'm not saying to give up your faith.

If you want to, then do it.

There is no reason to fear atheism.

We aren't evil or sacrifice babies or anything.

Most of us are very down to earth and intelligent people with PERSONAL morals and beliefs.

A lot of the Christian teachings are totally respectable, but I think it's a little excessive (and I may be saying this in vain) to devote your life to something you don't know is true.

Would you buy a $1 million metal box because it MIGHT be a time machine?

It's a weird analogy, but you can catch my drift.

Why put so much trust in a possibility?

And then it'd suck pretty bad, to get up their, and God say "Sorry man, you were wrong, you were supposed to pick Wicca, not Christianity!!!", or something.

Even after the possibility of it being real or not, their is still the big possibility that yours is wrong, and the other 500 religions out their are right.

indeed.

and when you were learning about Greek/Roman mythology in school, did you ever think that their polytheistic ideals were stupid?

"god of the sun. HAH!'

irony I say.

If you had read the Bible carefully, you would understand that the eternal being is not the one currently pulling the strings. The moral and spiritual cacophony of our present state of affairs began with the rebellion in the Garden of Eden. It is not permanent.

rockpie,

Hey.

You know, I was going to spout off about personal beliefs and worldviews, but after reading through the entire thread I saw something that is much better.

See how Neo, Set, and Timber were chatting about getting together for some friendly joe drinking? That's the ticket. That's the way to go.

They each have their own ideas of how the world works, and sometimes you'll see 'em disagreeing very strongly. But they have basic respect and are buds.

Make friends with all sorts of people. That's my advice. And actually listen. Keep an open mind, as Phoenix said. Question, discuss, argue, all of that.

Just never lose sight of being a good person and respect. That's what it all comes down to.

Good luck on your quest.

p.s. Watch out for overthinking or becoming obsessed with certain thoughts! It's great to drill down sometimes, but balance is the key. Sometimes ya gotta switch gears.

and as soon as you think you've found all the answers, start asking more questions.

Joe(who let him in here?)Nation