Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Oh Johnno52, please do not read my trip reports then, I do not want them to come off as sermons.
Originally Posted By mele <<>>"God only gives you what you can handle".<< That one always bothers me. Mental institutions are full of people who got more than they could handle.>> I've had the same thought. Even if we do survive some tragedies, often, we aren't the same people. Somethings make us stronger but other things can break our spirit. Sure, we *live* through things, but sometimes they scar us. Another thing people say that bugs me is that before babies are born, they choose their parents, families and the lives they are born into. Uh huh, sure.
Originally Posted By BlueDevilSF How about...NO but sometimes I wish it could be YES. Especially of late I am at odds over this and cannot find any peace in spite of the fact that I'd love to believe in and commit to something. Nothing makes any sense to me. I grew up with a skewed view of god and faith and religion forced on me by certain family members, and it is very, very hard to shake that off. This is one of the reasons why I wish parents and family would let their children explore the subject of god and faith on their own rather than "indoctrinate" them at an age when they don't know better. Me, I grew up with it rammed down my throat by my mother's family. Her mother and brother felt it was their duty to take over where they felt my parents fell short. So, god/faith/religion is something that is a source of pain and fear for me, not peace, joy, or comfort.
Originally Posted By iamsally ^^That is precisely why we joined the Unitarian church. Our children were asking questions and I did not want my cynicism to rub off on them. I wanted them to make their own informed decisions. UU religious education programs explore every aspect of all religions.
Originally Posted By BoyStory Whew, my pp was only 3 paragraphs. I was so worried mine was a sermon (LOL) Iamsally and Mele, the "God won't give you more than you can handle" has ALWAYS bothered me too! I have to take God at His Word, but there is no text in the Bible that nags at me more. As I have survived tragedy, I definitely bear scars b/c of them (but scars aren't always a bad thing IMO). Still, just b/c I didn't go off the deep-end while still painfully enduring the death and buriel of my babies, I know my limits and sometimes still ask God not to try to test my human Faith aaany further. I too am enjoying reading the opinions of the "non-believers". I think believers are just as curious of the explanations. This is still my 3rd paragraph; therefore, not in any way a sermon .
Originally Posted By LPFan22 ~~~Another thing people say that bugs me is that before babies are born, they choose their parents, families and the lives they are born into. Uh huh, sure.~~~ That's what I've learned. I can't prove it one way or the other but I respect those that believe it or don't believe it. It's not our place to judge.
Originally Posted By mele LPFan, it's not about judging people who say that babies choose their families before they are born, it is just beyond my scope of belief that a baby would choose to live with horribly abusive parents. We've all heard the stories of parents who tortured their children to death. I *hated* my childhood and it wasn't even all that bad, especially in comparison to those poor children. I just don't buy it. I think it's a sweet idea when you think of loving families, or families that face challenges but it kind of falls apart when you get to murdered children. At least IMO.
Originally Posted By LPFan22 I believe in God. I believe Jesus is the Son of God and died for our sins. I believe we all have trials to experience and learn from. Some are much more difficult to handle than others. I believe we are meant to go through our experiences (however tragic) to grow from them. They are lessons that will help us in the future as well as allow us to help others in their time of need. I believe God has a path for each of us and when we're needed he'll put us in that place at His time. I believe that we are human, therefore, not at all perfect. We have and will continue to commit sins. I also believe that when we realize our mistakes we can ask God for forgiveness and move on. I also believe He answers my prayers for help by providing me with the tools I need to help myself or others. I respect differences of opinion, faith and religion. I believe we should help our fellow man every chance we get. I believe we shouldn't judge others for what religion they practice or don't practice. I pray that everyone finds the answers they are looking for.
Originally Posted By LPFan22 ~~~Of course it is our place to judge.~~~ I should have said that differently. I believe we all have judged (including myself) and have the freedom to judge. I just don't think it's right to judge.
Originally Posted By Lady Starlight I'm gonna start takin bets on when this thread will get moved to W E.
Originally Posted By jonvn Of course it is right to judge. Absolutely. That's how you decide whether or not to do anything in this world, or whether something is right or wrong.
Originally Posted By johnno52 >OOOh, please don't move it to WE. It's dark in there.> I would think that with a Villain Disney name like "Ursula" you would be more comfortable in the underworld where it is dark.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros "That is the majority of Christians in America these days..." I know this is a little old, but I noticed that nobody had discussed it here. The thread only asks if you believe in a god, whether it be as embodied as Jesus, Buddah, or a giant floating muffin. We've established through quite a series of posts that you apparently don't agree with a lot of the Christian ideas of God, but what are your feelings on some greater being with some general control of the universe? To the same extent, a lot of this has become a discussion on religion rather than god. While the two have a clear connection, they are quite different questions. I feel like that would almost make for a good thread of it's own (right up there with the Spam one), but it's done a pretty good job of high-jacking this thread. From what I've read here, it sounds like most people here only follow or consider Christian or Jewish ideas, but there are far more religions in the world than that. Anybody believe in a god more similar to those presented in a Muslim, Buddist, Sikh, Bahai'i, or some other way than those that most Americans are familiar with?
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Count me in to someone who better identifies with the Bahai belief system!
Originally Posted By LPFan22 ~~~Of course it is right to judge. Absolutely. That's how you decide whether or not to do anything in this world, or whether something is right or wrong. ~~~ In that context, yes... but I personally do not think it is right to judge others for their religion or opinion.
