Just out of curiosity what are everyones thoughts on God and a higher power here.

[Mrs. MuscleAddiction]

I just wanted to share this with all of you, brought this home to my husband on a day he had few personal things going on and it really turned his thoughts around when I read it out loud to him...

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered...
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives...
Be kind anyway

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies...
Succeed anyway

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you...
Be honest & sincere anyway

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight...
Create anyway

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous...
Be happy anyway

The good you do today, will ofter be forgotten...
Do good anyway

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough...
Give your best anyway

In the final analysis, it is between you and God...
It was never between you and them anyway!

-Mother Teresa

Just wanted to share...it helped him get through some things today.

 

[tryionlannister]

I grew up in a Christian home going to church. My grandpal was the preacher However, once I went to college something in changed. I just found it hard to believe. I wanted to believe but just couldn't. For a long time I still went to church and claimed to believe then I claimed to be agnostic. Eventually my crotch got tired of riding the fence, so Im an atheist.

However, now being almost 39 and raising two small children by myself I've been thinking of going back to church so that my kids will have the option of believing. I do believe religion served a purpose in my life. I am more moral than many who claim to be Christians.

 

[GangstaDogg]

I believe that there is a "higher power" or a "god" or whatever you'd like to call it out there but I don't believe what the religion says.
There are so many religions you just don't know who speaks the truth. From my point of view religios were made by people to keep other people under control so that they don't do bad things but they still do it anyways. I don't need to pray to a "god" to make me feel better. I'm perfectly fine being an ahteist. I like to watch Ancient Aliens on History Channel

 

[tha_Waco_kid]

I am a Christian and a strong believer. My life is a testimony to the grace of god. I go out of my way to make sure and NEVER be judgemental, and I'm very rarely 'preachy'. If someone asks ill share, otherwise I respect them enough not to try and push my beliefs on them. I try to live my life with love and selflessness. Many times I fail at this as I am by no means perfect.
I find many people do more harm then good with their approach to sharing their faith with others. While im sure most of them mean well, it really pushes most people away and hurts Christianity as a whole. Serve others with love in your heart - that is what Jesus did

As I type this I am running tad late. Gotta grab my guitar and get going. I'm a worship leader at our church. For those of you who don't know, some churches have become very progressive with their modern music and media. Out band is more like a rock band. I have a lot of fun in church.

 

[bonacris]

I was raised in a Christian family and when to schools where the teachers, principles were members of a religious community but I'm not a religious person.. I believe in God but I don't believe the majority of stuff that is thought in religion.. I consider myself a man of science and I believe there is a logical explanation for everything.. hopefully my opinion does not offend anyone

Sent from my HTC Sensation XL with Beats Audio X315e using EliteFitness

 

[dusteefartz]

I was raised Catholic...I am raising my children Catholic, But...I do not believe in the Catholic church. I don't like what they are about nor can I stand to swallow their self righteous bullshit. any organization that sweeps pedophiles under the rug does not have a place in my heart. HOWEVER! I do believe in God and that there is a higher power. just my .02

 

[Headholio]

If God made man, he made man with scientific curiosity and and stubbornness to search for the truth and always dig deeper for better understanding. If man were not like that, we would still be cave people with no scientific accomplishment. Science is all about not believing something until it is proven.

So, if God made man, I would expect that God would not care if you believed in him. In fact, it would make sense that God would not want you to believe in him, or anything else that requires faith instead of proof.

My stand is that there is a lot about reality we don't know, and there may be a God, but I could never be convinced to believe in any theory about God without proof. That makes me agnostic I guess.

It is beyond my comprehension that so many people go to Church and pray to something they simply believe, but have never been shown. However, I see that religion for many people comes from the best part of them, so I try not to be one of those people who criticize or judge religious people. It is a very personal choice for a lot of people, so I try to respect that.

 

[Nelson Montana]

A topic just asking for antagonism because it's such a fundemental belief.

But okay, I'll play.

I went to catholic school and by age 9 I could not understand why I had to have faith in the words of a primitive civilization from 2000 years ago.

I also will never understand how african americans can be devout christians when that is the belief of their captures. I just don't get it.

I aslo don't get when people say PROVE there is no god. Well, you cannot disprove what does not exist. I cannot PROVE that there are no unicorns. It's a flawed line of thinking. Proof is in the claim.

Bottom line -- give me some evidence. There isn't one shred of evidence that god exists or does anything. If that doesn't matter , no amount of logic or reasoning will change your mind.

I don't have the answers. No one does. Claiming so doesn't make it so. Everything else is a lie. Or delusion.

 

[Labtec70]

@Mrsmuscleaddiction: Thanks for sharing this snippet of Mother Teresa, God Bless her soul.

This is a very deep choice of discussion NeedTo, and only a brave open-thinking moderator would suggest such a topic for discussion on a forum like ours.

As my Avatar shows, I'm in the UK, England. I was brought up and Baptised in the Church of England, who are Anglican Trinitarian Christians. I have a strong and firm belief in Jesus Christ, The Father, and the Holy Spirit. Academically speaking, I am a scientist, and studied nutritional science at university. This makes me a bit of a contradiction or parody I suppose, because scientists, as headholio suggests, believe in and seek the truth. However, from a scientific perspective I donnot believe in Creationism per se: as in God created the world in six days. Nevertheless, I do believe God did create the world; the universe; and everything in it.

My opinion is that there is a hereafter and "living" in this world is just part of a journey from the womb to heaven.

Religion can and is abused, and history proves religion is responsible, at least in part, for the some of the world's worsed atrocities. Having said that, it is a person or persons views and use of religion to influence thinking or events, and not the religion itself, or its message (|Christianity in this case) that causes such horror.

Today we see Christianity being threatened in the West for progressive, liberalist values, whereby the rights of the individual trump the rights of community and society. I believe though, that whether you're an athiest, agnostic, or a Christian, that most people would agree that the values that have helped us live mostly in peace and freedom, are values moulded from the core teachings of The New Testament and Jesus's message of peace and love for thy neighbour and our enemies. I fear though, that we may be heading for a new dark age where these very values and traditions are ditched under the banner of progress and modernity.

 

[Nelson Montana]

@Mrsmuscleaddiction: Thanks for sharing this snippet of Mother Teresa, God Bless her soul.

This is a very deep choice of discussion NeedTo, and only a brave open-thinking moderator would suggest such a topic for discussion on a forum like ours.

As my Avatar shows, I'm in the UK, England. I was brought up and Baptised in the Church of England, who are Anglican Trinitarian Christians. I have a strong and firm belief in Jesus Christ, The Father, and the Holy Spirit. Academically speaking, I am a scientist, and studied nutritional science at university. This makes me a bit of a contradiction or parody I suppose, because scientists, as headholio suggests, believe in and seek the truth. However, from a scientific perspective I donnot believe in Creationism per se: as in God created the world in six days. Nevertheless, I do believe God did create the world; the universe; and everything in it.

My opinion is that there is a hereafter and "living" in this world is just part of a journey from the womb to heaven.

Religion can and is abused, and history proves religion is responsible, at least in part, for the some of the world's worsed atrocities. Having said that, it is a person or persons views and use of religion to influence thinking or events, and not the religion itself, or its message (|Christianity in this case) that causes such horror.

Today we see Christianity being threatened in the West for progressive, liberalist values, whereby the rights of the individual trump the rights of community and society. I believe though, that whether you're an athiest, agnostic, or a Christian, that most people would agree that the values that have helped us live mostly in peace and freedom, are values moulded from the core teachings of The New Testament and Jesus's message of peace and love for thy neighbour and our enemies. I fear though, that we may be heading for a new dark age where these very values and traditions are ditched under the banner of progress and modernity.

So one must believe in Jesus to be a good person?