Yes i believe in God. It's been a journey to get here though, as my dad was a communist and I was brought up atheist.
I dabbled in Buddhism in my 20s, then had an interest in Druidism in my 30s. Nowadays I attend Orthodox Christian church, but I'm not a very good Christian. I believe that there is a huge amount of evidence for reincarnation, for one thing.
To be honest, I can't understand how people manage without a belief in God.
I'm not sure how people manage without a belief in God either. For one thing I'd think it leads to hopeless control freaks as EVERYTHING is down to random chance and obviously they have to control theirs and everyone else's chances in order to get ahead. On the other side of it I think it is simply depressing to a point of near suicide to contemplate life in this manner. I don't agree with all tenets of Christian Faith but I do understand the value of having something to believe in...
Yes, I mean the alternative to a belief in God is that we're meat robots in a meaningless universe who appeared here by chance and nothing we say or do matters.
I get this feeling from many religious people also. They define the Bible/God as having beliefs they envision forcing onto the world. People gravitate towards a God that promotes dominating others with traits that are not loving, show no compassion.
There are natural consequences to choices we make, our behaviors but their God manufactures consequences to punish people for even the smallest thing that strays from their belief system.
The soul is eternal and proceeds forth from this life after death. Regards reincarnation I certainly have no desire to return to the mess of this life.
“Death is the most important act of earthly existence. All life is made to explode, to go farther, to merge with life, with God.” – Robert Cardinal Sarah
Interesting thought. As a Catholic Christian I have been taught and believe that we, as people aren't capable of any good unless we cooperate with the graces placed in our lives by God. It is a free will choice as He does not foist Himself upon us. At my death the only thing that I can claim as my own are my sins because God does not ordain sin.
atheism is Romantic AF. your journey can be as heroic as you want to make it and you get all the credit. and you can believe in an afterlife without God. i did for a long time.
but i think that everybody who reads this page should put you and Ka in their prayers. i do. every day.
“You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end – which you can never afford to lose – with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
"I’ve often said that you can become lost on any religious or spiritual path, and you can become found on any religious or spiritual path."
There is a vast and irreconcilable chasm between religion and spirituality. Religion is BELIEF about spirit. Spirit is energetic. It is the reality of consciousness. Spirit is real. Religions are just stories ABOUT it, because spirit exists in another dimensional reality that cannot be "grasped" from our present time-space reality-orientation. Other-dimension realty just doesn't "fit" here! There are no words that can describe the experience of being focused out-of-body in the non-physical. So all religious writings are only crude metaphors or allegories, which is why ALL religions are different and not a single one of them is TRUE, even though every one of them claims to be!
Amy, there was a kernel of truth in Christianity, but the vast majority was just made-up. And you were smart enough as a kid to see through it! You intuitively knew that they were feeding you a bunch of bull! All that stuff about "Jesus died for your sins" and him being the "lamb of God" and the "blood washing away sins" and such came out of Jewish beliefs that had their origin in heathen animal sacrifice rituals (to heathen/pagan gods). It is nonsense! Jesus didn't "die for your sins". Somebody can't die FOR you any more than they can eat for you, and the idea of someone being punished for somebody else's crimes is just more barbarism!
God doesn't work like that! God really is infinite Consciousness, in fact, INFINITY itself! A basic property of that Consciousness is LOVE, and it does NOT "condemn people to hell". And certainly not "for eternity!" That's another huge mistake that the Catholic Church invented as a control-trip — lying to people about reincarnation. Of course we come back as many times as we want. If the soul can take on a physical body once, OF COURSE it can do it again!!! But the Catholics removed most references to reincarnation because they wanted to convince people that they only had "one shot to get it right"! So they had dang well better do as they are told! Nonsense!!! Even Jesus acknowledged reincarnation when he asked John the Baptist if he was Elijah come back again.
The problem with asking people if they believe in God is "what concept of God do they believe in"? A capricious, jealous, judgemental, cruel, murderous, vengeful old man sitting on a throne in the clouds with angels hanging around playing harps and blowing trumpets? Demanding that people worship him and sing his praises forever? How incredibly boring! No, it's not like that AT ALL!
I imagine that you have read some of the considerable amount of information about Near Death Experiences — accounts from people who have been clinically dead and were brought back, and who remember what transpired in their out-of-body adventure. There is no judgement and no getting "sent to hell", except of people's own making. But everything is a learning experience. And we get to try again so that we can grow in understanding. The underlying reality IS Love!
THIS IS "WHERE THE ACTION IS"! This physical life is "the Grand Prize", where we chose to be. We can do things here that simply are not possible in the non-physical state. This is THE "adventure of a lifetime"! But no real harm can come to our eternal consciousness, no matter how crazy it seems to be here at times. At the end, we all get to go Home for some R & R before we decide to come back here and try another lifetime (or to another planet).
"The problem with asking people if they believe in God is "what concept of God do they believe in"? A capricious, jealous, judgemental, cruel, murderous, vengeful old man sitting on a throne in the clouds with angels hanging around playing harps and blowing trumpets? Demanding that people worship him and sing his praises forever? How incredibly boring! No, it's not like that AT ALL!"
I concur fully and have read about near death experiences many times. This concept of what happens after we die is perhaps the most important. It is universal consciousness and love. Isn't that what good sex is? ;-)
One Teacher I encounterd made the interesting statement that we come here to "become Masters of Limitation". I took that to mean that we have to accept the constraints of existing within the focus of a physical body in order to take on that body. Then it is "game on" to see what we can do with it, and with this life.
I imagine THAT is the ultimate free will choice...to believe as one feels best for them-self. You have chosen your path and the others of us have, likewise, chosen ours. Thank you!!
I most definitely believe in jesus, god, the Holy Spirit. I spent a very long time completely sold on evolutionary theory or at least the public school system sent my mind in that direction. Quantum Physics, string theory, parallels, energy can’t be destroyed blah blah blah. I was a complete atheist head to toe, so I thought, and I was tough, so I thought. I thought Christianity was the reason for people being so submissive to government, and law, I blamed religion in that sense for the level of control the powers that be have over us 100% and I would try to talk a Christian into hearing the voice of reason every time a conversation like that arose, I was 100% right about that so I thought. I got into Buddhism, which is a very peaceful way to be, and learning to let go surely helps a lot of people, I would always argue that Buddhism wasn’t a religion, but a peaceful way of living. It seems a lot of people who are struggling with there belief in god go that direction. Here is what changed all of that to shorten this up, Buddhism is a religion I was searching for god the whole time, I was just angry at all the pain , suffering, sadness, grief, war, lies etc... do rather then saying god didn’t exist, I was actually blaming him, I just didn’t realize it. I was always fighting against the status quo, because of all the evil I saw in it. I ended up getting hurt and taking some time of work, I got deep into my quest for truth always knowing the government was lying about everything as does everyone else, then Covid happened I knew it was a lie from the very beginning. I thought to myself what kind of evil could do something like this to the entire world? I already knew that the powers that be were tied to families that had been in power since the beginning, and that money, it’s creation, and control were serious factors. but how how could they be that evil? Where does an evil like that come from? I started researching banking families, I went back as far as I could beyond the rothchilds etc.. and that’s where you find the really dark stuff, and you also find that the people who have been with you on this journey the whole time are Christians. The powers that be believe in something very wicked and they have carried this belief since farther back then can be recorded. They have the entire world in a monopoly, with no regard for human life, or the joy, the creativity, the happiness and love a newborn child brings into this world. What kind of evil could possibly think like that? The answer is the original kind of evil, where the term evil comes from, that is how long these people have carried there beliefs. They make the idea of Jesus seem so far fetched, when really it makes more sense then anything else. So yes i absolutely believe in god, I’m pretty new at admitting that, but I will over and over again if it helps anyone else find god. Sorry that was so long, but it was a journey for me to come to the realization that I was wrong for so many years. God bless
Thaank you for your story of coming into it. I absolutely believe in God and try to commune with him though I have been on deeper types of existential musings regarding the nature of death and transition. It's a time for spiritual deep digging
You are welcome, it’s such a strong question ( the strongest question actually ), that I think the way to go about asking it is from the beginning. For me it’s was more that I didn’t believe that the equation could be that simple, like that’s it? I always enjoyed trying to answer the big questions on my own ( selfish ). As I came to notice gods presence in my life , I felt really stupid to think the way that I previously thought. It doesn’t limit possibilities, in fact it makes way for so many more possibilities. I was always told to ask god my questions directly, and that he would answer by the people around me who did believe. He does answer, just never in the way you expect him to, which makes perfect sense. For example I am someone who cares a lot for other people, I would do anything to help another person if I am able. I tend to worry about the future a lot. One evening before bed I was worried about my marriage and not feeling like I was doing enough for my family, because I got hurt and I was unable to work. I closed my eyes and I could my family with my worry surrounding them if that makes any sense then something pushed the worry away from me until it was completely out of my sight I watched it fade into nothing. There is no other way I can explain how powerful that feeling was without saying that I am sure it was god telling me not to worry. I woke up instantly, and I just knew. I went back to bed that night with no anxiety or worry for the first time in a long time. Also I am someone who really digs when I research things, so I have been digging really deep into the Bible searching for a way to understand it properly. It is full of analogies, for example eve did not eat a literal piece of fruit it was an act, also satan literally means accuser, so I think there a lot more going on then trying to take it literally. Diving in like that has helped me a lot, weather im right or not I will never know, but it works for me. I think for the most part we are all spiritual good people at heart, getting there is getting there, and I hope everybody makes it. Gif bless
I’m late to the party again, but since you ask such a great question . . .
“Part of what has made me generally an optimist is my trust that God is in charge.” That speaks for me as well. We’d be clueless fools flying in the face of the obvious if we expected nothing but sunshine and lollypops in this messy world, so that mischaracterization of those who choose to trust God is the realm of ignorance or jealousy or lies or hatred. Sure, we can go down the endless rabbit holes of various philosophies, and we should. There’s a lot to be learned out there and it's all relevant. But I’m not sure how we can reconcile the agony and ecstasy of existence without putting both in the context of God who rhetorically asked Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth?” and Jesus Christ who said, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Humans figure out all kinds of strange and wonderful aspects of existence, but after at least 6000 years of documented stupidity, indifference, genius, and hubris, you'd think we would all embrace the reality that we’ll never figure out the whole enchilada, and that we're at our best when we keep striving for wisdom and humility. It ain't rocket surgery!
For me, nothing is more practical than the principles laid out by Christ who said simply “love God and love your neighbor.” Exploring those two "laws" and choosing to apply them always works, validates the faith I choose to practice, and restores and strengthens my hope, love, and peace. If some other philosophy pays those dividends, I’m open to checking it out.
I wonder if those resistant to Christ’s teachings are ignorant or jealous or liars or haters. But that’s their choice. I'll try to love ‘em anyway.
Yes, God has a “wicked” sense of humor! It usually makes me laugh at myself. Your husband sounds like a sweetheart. All the best to you both and the kids and pets. You’re bravely facing and overcoming the madness.
I often think that early religions were designed to wrest control from the feminine, to a degree. People do not like their beliefs being challenged. That said what do all of these religions have in common? The founding voice was a man, for one thing. This is not to imply that femininity is better as much as it is to say that femininity should be balanced with masculinity: and what do we see instead? A clown world
Living a good life is the first part, of which I think the rest will follow.
Bilbo's bitch is quite inflammatory. It's obvious he sees women, even in his own family, as unrepetent money grubbing whores. I sometimes agree with him on certain things but the page certainly lacks empathy or compassion. I presume some chicks are living rent free in his head.
I am for now trying to avoid things where I feel I am veritably banging my head against a wall...
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
I am male, Caucasian. God our Father shined his light into my life when I was 33 years of age. That was in 1982. Until that year life was all about me: what I want, when I want, doin' whatever it takes (no injected drugs, no sodomy) to get it. Telling lies was my way of life; first to my self, then to everyone else. By 1988 I understood that God our Father don't need any sort of man-made religion to be Himself. Christ-man Jesus did not lower himself into the human frame to start a new religion.
Yeah, God picked out a certain group of people to begin revealing Himself to the people of earth: the children of Israel, 12 tribes; 10 of which are now scattered to the four winds and most of them have no idea of who they are or where they came from. If the children of Israel had stuck to the plan God gave Moses, we'd all be living in a much different kind of world today. But they couldn't do it. Sexual lust and lust for power and dominion always got the best of them. Read the book of prophet Hosea. God calls the children of Israel harlots and whores and foretells his casting of them out of his sight.
But in the book of Hosea, the curses God pronounces over his People end with blessings of hope. Christ-man Jesus is That Hope; not only for the 12 tribes but everyone else, too; anybody, anywhere, anytime who is genuinely willing to join the forces of the Christ-man's supernatural Truth.
The common enemy of all humanity, Satan, laid it all on the line, using every trick and temptation at his disposal to stop Jesus from completing his mission. If you think things are bad now, just wait. Like an old prophetess said to me back in 1998 out in California: "I'll tell you how it's gonna be. It's gonna get worse, and then it's gonna get baadd, with a big, big B."
LUKE 4:5-8 Again, Satan took him up into an exceeding high mountain and showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And Satan said unto him, All this power and glory will I give to you, for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will, I give it. If you therefore will worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
You gettin that? All the power and glory of all the kingdoms of this world are under Satan's infernal command. The "exceeding high mountain" is a spiritual pinnacle, inaccessible to ordinary mortals like You and I. Why do you think such hateful things are happening in the world today? Deadly vaccines? Mutilation, torture and blood sacrifice of innocent babies and young children? Endless stupid wars? Perversions and degeneracies so twisted and wicked, nobody but Satan himself could dream up such wickedness. Satan hates, loathes and despises all humanity with murderous hatred. He laughs at the fools who worship in his stupid evil church.
God our Father needs no man-made religion of any kind to be Himself. In Christ God made a way for Himself to become a part of the minute-by-minute earthly life of every person on earth, "not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit says the LORD of hosts."
At this moment, and until God our Father is again, All-in-all, Christ-man Jesus of Nazareth IS the LORD of hosts. By his Spirit he is willing and able to take up His abode with anybody who is willing to get off the high horse of man-made humanist religion. From 1982 until 2023 I have been trying to worship God our Father in my own strength, with my own ideas about how it ought to be done. 2023 is the year I finally got it and let all the humanist stuff go. Get off it and let God Do It. God knows how to lead anybody into the perfect peace and secrecy of worship "in Spirit and in Truth."
God created the heavens and the earth by speaking, just like the excerpt Amy posted says. That word is in your mouth too, Pilgrim. All you have to do is ASK and be willing to not fuss like a spoiled child when God does not do what YOU (or I) want him to do, right here, right now, like a Ritz Hotel bellboy. God ain't no bellhop. He is Your Father. Have some respect...and Merry Christmas.
Amen! I think what your post is really pointing out is that death is on a continuum of life. At which point you would obviously understand that your father dies, and your mother dies, and that you shall die too someday. Your children will also die, hopefully at a time far in the future, but this is part of the world we've been born into. So why don't we seek unity with death at some point?
I REALLY enjoy your comments, Raphael! What astute insights you impart!
That said, I do object to your assessment of suicide/substance abuse. I believe we are ALL wounded....some deeper than others. I cannot judge how this wounding manifests or the coping skills applied.
Aside from this minor difference I look forward to your writings!
'But trust me...there is no death. And there is no judgment after death, only a non-judgmental life review to help us understand our successes and failures, and what we need to heal and develop.'
Interesting. For a Christian Death is the physical separation of the body from the soul. For myself, and other Christians. there is a judgement of my eternal soul which will either reward or condemn myself for how I have chosen to live my life; all a free will choice.
Yes i believe in God. It's been a journey to get here though, as my dad was a communist and I was brought up atheist.
I dabbled in Buddhism in my 20s, then had an interest in Druidism in my 30s. Nowadays I attend Orthodox Christian church, but I'm not a very good Christian. I believe that there is a huge amount of evidence for reincarnation, for one thing.
To be honest, I can't understand how people manage without a belief in God.
I'm not sure how people manage without a belief in God either. For one thing I'd think it leads to hopeless control freaks as EVERYTHING is down to random chance and obviously they have to control theirs and everyone else's chances in order to get ahead. On the other side of it I think it is simply depressing to a point of near suicide to contemplate life in this manner. I don't agree with all tenets of Christian Faith but I do understand the value of having something to believe in...
Yes, I mean the alternative to a belief in God is that we're meat robots in a meaningless universe who appeared here by chance and nothing we say or do matters.
Which is not very appealing as a belief system.
Yes, Godless people end up trying to become God, and then attempting to 'perfect' the world.
It always ends in disaster.
I get this feeling from many religious people also. They define the Bible/God as having beliefs they envision forcing onto the world. People gravitate towards a God that promotes dominating others with traits that are not loving, show no compassion.
There are natural consequences to choices we make, our behaviors but their God manufactures consequences to punish people for even the smallest thing that strays from their belief system.
I have no patience with anybody who wants to force any beliefs on the world, be they Christian or anything else.
The soul is eternal and proceeds forth from this life after death. Regards reincarnation I certainly have no desire to return to the mess of this life.
“Death is the most important act of earthly existence. All life is made to explode, to go farther, to merge with life, with God.” – Robert Cardinal Sarah
Atheist. Buddhist.
I believe in Basic Goodness.
We are all basically good, we just get lost.
But we can all return, if we want to and make the effort.
Amen!
'We are all basically good, we just get lost.'
Interesting thought. As a Catholic Christian I have been taught and believe that we, as people aren't capable of any good unless we cooperate with the graces placed in our lives by God. It is a free will choice as He does not foist Himself upon us. At my death the only thing that I can claim as my own are my sins because God does not ordain sin.
I trust and believe only in nature, the force that makes plants grow, the force that created all of us. The rule books written by men, not so much.
For the Christian God IS nature.
atheism is Romantic AF. your journey can be as heroic as you want to make it and you get all the credit. and you can believe in an afterlife without God. i did for a long time.
but i think that everybody who reads this page should put you and Ka in their prayers. i do. every day.
This is a phenomenal observation
Followed by a beautiful sentiment showing your care and compassion
“You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end – which you can never afford to lose – with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
The Stockade Paradox
"I’ve often said that you can become lost on any religious or spiritual path, and you can become found on any religious or spiritual path."
There is a vast and irreconcilable chasm between religion and spirituality. Religion is BELIEF about spirit. Spirit is energetic. It is the reality of consciousness. Spirit is real. Religions are just stories ABOUT it, because spirit exists in another dimensional reality that cannot be "grasped" from our present time-space reality-orientation. Other-dimension realty just doesn't "fit" here! There are no words that can describe the experience of being focused out-of-body in the non-physical. So all religious writings are only crude metaphors or allegories, which is why ALL religions are different and not a single one of them is TRUE, even though every one of them claims to be!
Amy, there was a kernel of truth in Christianity, but the vast majority was just made-up. And you were smart enough as a kid to see through it! You intuitively knew that they were feeding you a bunch of bull! All that stuff about "Jesus died for your sins" and him being the "lamb of God" and the "blood washing away sins" and such came out of Jewish beliefs that had their origin in heathen animal sacrifice rituals (to heathen/pagan gods). It is nonsense! Jesus didn't "die for your sins". Somebody can't die FOR you any more than they can eat for you, and the idea of someone being punished for somebody else's crimes is just more barbarism!
God doesn't work like that! God really is infinite Consciousness, in fact, INFINITY itself! A basic property of that Consciousness is LOVE, and it does NOT "condemn people to hell". And certainly not "for eternity!" That's another huge mistake that the Catholic Church invented as a control-trip — lying to people about reincarnation. Of course we come back as many times as we want. If the soul can take on a physical body once, OF COURSE it can do it again!!! But the Catholics removed most references to reincarnation because they wanted to convince people that they only had "one shot to get it right"! So they had dang well better do as they are told! Nonsense!!! Even Jesus acknowledged reincarnation when he asked John the Baptist if he was Elijah come back again.
The problem with asking people if they believe in God is "what concept of God do they believe in"? A capricious, jealous, judgemental, cruel, murderous, vengeful old man sitting on a throne in the clouds with angels hanging around playing harps and blowing trumpets? Demanding that people worship him and sing his praises forever? How incredibly boring! No, it's not like that AT ALL!
I imagine that you have read some of the considerable amount of information about Near Death Experiences — accounts from people who have been clinically dead and were brought back, and who remember what transpired in their out-of-body adventure. There is no judgement and no getting "sent to hell", except of people's own making. But everything is a learning experience. And we get to try again so that we can grow in understanding. The underlying reality IS Love!
THIS IS "WHERE THE ACTION IS"! This physical life is "the Grand Prize", where we chose to be. We can do things here that simply are not possible in the non-physical state. This is THE "adventure of a lifetime"! But no real harm can come to our eternal consciousness, no matter how crazy it seems to be here at times. At the end, we all get to go Home for some R & R before we decide to come back here and try another lifetime (or to another planet).
"The problem with asking people if they believe in God is "what concept of God do they believe in"? A capricious, jealous, judgemental, cruel, murderous, vengeful old man sitting on a throne in the clouds with angels hanging around playing harps and blowing trumpets? Demanding that people worship him and sing his praises forever? How incredibly boring! No, it's not like that AT ALL!"
I concur fully and have read about near death experiences many times. This concept of what happens after we die is perhaps the most important. It is universal consciousness and love. Isn't that what good sex is? ;-)
'Way beyond sex!
One Teacher I encounterd made the interesting statement that we come here to "become Masters of Limitation". I took that to mean that we have to accept the constraints of existing within the focus of a physical body in order to take on that body. Then it is "game on" to see what we can do with it, and with this life.
"It is universal consciousness and love. Isn't that what good sex is? ;-)"
Sex cannot even begin to compare to eternal life.
I imagine THAT is the ultimate free will choice...to believe as one feels best for them-self. You have chosen your path and the others of us have, likewise, chosen ours. Thank you!!
I've had two powerful out-of-body experiences in my life. Those things change a person!
Experience is EVERYTHING, as YOU know!!!!!!
given what I've seen with a shift toward transhumanism and the removal of the soul, I'd say God is more real than ever... https://eccentrik.substack.com/p/transhumanism-is-the-extermination
I agree completely. God is more relevant than ever. A sense of communion with the creator should be cultivated...
I most definitely believe in jesus, god, the Holy Spirit. I spent a very long time completely sold on evolutionary theory or at least the public school system sent my mind in that direction. Quantum Physics, string theory, parallels, energy can’t be destroyed blah blah blah. I was a complete atheist head to toe, so I thought, and I was tough, so I thought. I thought Christianity was the reason for people being so submissive to government, and law, I blamed religion in that sense for the level of control the powers that be have over us 100% and I would try to talk a Christian into hearing the voice of reason every time a conversation like that arose, I was 100% right about that so I thought. I got into Buddhism, which is a very peaceful way to be, and learning to let go surely helps a lot of people, I would always argue that Buddhism wasn’t a religion, but a peaceful way of living. It seems a lot of people who are struggling with there belief in god go that direction. Here is what changed all of that to shorten this up, Buddhism is a religion I was searching for god the whole time, I was just angry at all the pain , suffering, sadness, grief, war, lies etc... do rather then saying god didn’t exist, I was actually blaming him, I just didn’t realize it. I was always fighting against the status quo, because of all the evil I saw in it. I ended up getting hurt and taking some time of work, I got deep into my quest for truth always knowing the government was lying about everything as does everyone else, then Covid happened I knew it was a lie from the very beginning. I thought to myself what kind of evil could do something like this to the entire world? I already knew that the powers that be were tied to families that had been in power since the beginning, and that money, it’s creation, and control were serious factors. but how how could they be that evil? Where does an evil like that come from? I started researching banking families, I went back as far as I could beyond the rothchilds etc.. and that’s where you find the really dark stuff, and you also find that the people who have been with you on this journey the whole time are Christians. The powers that be believe in something very wicked and they have carried this belief since farther back then can be recorded. They have the entire world in a monopoly, with no regard for human life, or the joy, the creativity, the happiness and love a newborn child brings into this world. What kind of evil could possibly think like that? The answer is the original kind of evil, where the term evil comes from, that is how long these people have carried there beliefs. They make the idea of Jesus seem so far fetched, when really it makes more sense then anything else. So yes i absolutely believe in god, I’m pretty new at admitting that, but I will over and over again if it helps anyone else find god. Sorry that was so long, but it was a journey for me to come to the realization that I was wrong for so many years. God bless
Thaank you for your story of coming into it. I absolutely believe in God and try to commune with him though I have been on deeper types of existential musings regarding the nature of death and transition. It's a time for spiritual deep digging
You are welcome, it’s such a strong question ( the strongest question actually ), that I think the way to go about asking it is from the beginning. For me it’s was more that I didn’t believe that the equation could be that simple, like that’s it? I always enjoyed trying to answer the big questions on my own ( selfish ). As I came to notice gods presence in my life , I felt really stupid to think the way that I previously thought. It doesn’t limit possibilities, in fact it makes way for so many more possibilities. I was always told to ask god my questions directly, and that he would answer by the people around me who did believe. He does answer, just never in the way you expect him to, which makes perfect sense. For example I am someone who cares a lot for other people, I would do anything to help another person if I am able. I tend to worry about the future a lot. One evening before bed I was worried about my marriage and not feeling like I was doing enough for my family, because I got hurt and I was unable to work. I closed my eyes and I could my family with my worry surrounding them if that makes any sense then something pushed the worry away from me until it was completely out of my sight I watched it fade into nothing. There is no other way I can explain how powerful that feeling was without saying that I am sure it was god telling me not to worry. I woke up instantly, and I just knew. I went back to bed that night with no anxiety or worry for the first time in a long time. Also I am someone who really digs when I research things, so I have been digging really deep into the Bible searching for a way to understand it properly. It is full of analogies, for example eve did not eat a literal piece of fruit it was an act, also satan literally means accuser, so I think there a lot more going on then trying to take it literally. Diving in like that has helped me a lot, weather im right or not I will never know, but it works for me. I think for the most part we are all spiritual good people at heart, getting there is getting there, and I hope everybody makes it. Gif bless
I’m late to the party again, but since you ask such a great question . . .
“Part of what has made me generally an optimist is my trust that God is in charge.” That speaks for me as well. We’d be clueless fools flying in the face of the obvious if we expected nothing but sunshine and lollypops in this messy world, so that mischaracterization of those who choose to trust God is the realm of ignorance or jealousy or lies or hatred. Sure, we can go down the endless rabbit holes of various philosophies, and we should. There’s a lot to be learned out there and it's all relevant. But I’m not sure how we can reconcile the agony and ecstasy of existence without putting both in the context of God who rhetorically asked Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth?” and Jesus Christ who said, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Humans figure out all kinds of strange and wonderful aspects of existence, but after at least 6000 years of documented stupidity, indifference, genius, and hubris, you'd think we would all embrace the reality that we’ll never figure out the whole enchilada, and that we're at our best when we keep striving for wisdom and humility. It ain't rocket surgery!
For me, nothing is more practical than the principles laid out by Christ who said simply “love God and love your neighbor.” Exploring those two "laws" and choosing to apply them always works, validates the faith I choose to practice, and restores and strengthens my hope, love, and peace. If some other philosophy pays those dividends, I’m open to checking it out.
I wonder if those resistant to Christ’s teachings are ignorant or jealous or liars or haters. But that’s their choice. I'll try to love ‘em anyway.
Yes, God has a “wicked” sense of humor! It usually makes me laugh at myself. Your husband sounds like a sweetheart. All the best to you both and the kids and pets. You’re bravely facing and overcoming the madness.
I frequently suspect that God exists, and is just having fun with this whole universe thing.
I am sure God has a sense of humor. And irony too!
Catholiicism was/is your first problem. It is amiss.
🙏❤
You sound like me as a child. I had similar questions to religious leaders and my mom who punished me for them.
Although I never voiced it out loud I also question why God appears both good and bad, why so many inconsistencies and hypocrisy.
I often think that early religions were designed to wrest control from the feminine, to a degree. People do not like their beliefs being challenged. That said what do all of these religions have in common? The founding voice was a man, for one thing. This is not to imply that femininity is better as much as it is to say that femininity should be balanced with masculinity: and what do we see instead? A clown world
I always enjoy your posts. I love your stories your thoughts and views. Thank you for sharing them 🙏🌹
I see this too.
Living a good life is the first part, of which I think the rest will follow.
Bilbo's bitch is quite inflammatory. It's obvious he sees women, even in his own family, as unrepetent money grubbing whores. I sometimes agree with him on certain things but the page certainly lacks empathy or compassion. I presume some chicks are living rent free in his head.
I am for now trying to avoid things where I feel I am veritably banging my head against a wall...
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
I am male, Caucasian. God our Father shined his light into my life when I was 33 years of age. That was in 1982. Until that year life was all about me: what I want, when I want, doin' whatever it takes (no injected drugs, no sodomy) to get it. Telling lies was my way of life; first to my self, then to everyone else. By 1988 I understood that God our Father don't need any sort of man-made religion to be Himself. Christ-man Jesus did not lower himself into the human frame to start a new religion.
Yeah, God picked out a certain group of people to begin revealing Himself to the people of earth: the children of Israel, 12 tribes; 10 of which are now scattered to the four winds and most of them have no idea of who they are or where they came from. If the children of Israel had stuck to the plan God gave Moses, we'd all be living in a much different kind of world today. But they couldn't do it. Sexual lust and lust for power and dominion always got the best of them. Read the book of prophet Hosea. God calls the children of Israel harlots and whores and foretells his casting of them out of his sight.
But in the book of Hosea, the curses God pronounces over his People end with blessings of hope. Christ-man Jesus is That Hope; not only for the 12 tribes but everyone else, too; anybody, anywhere, anytime who is genuinely willing to join the forces of the Christ-man's supernatural Truth.
The common enemy of all humanity, Satan, laid it all on the line, using every trick and temptation at his disposal to stop Jesus from completing his mission. If you think things are bad now, just wait. Like an old prophetess said to me back in 1998 out in California: "I'll tell you how it's gonna be. It's gonna get worse, and then it's gonna get baadd, with a big, big B."
Why is it gonna get so bad? Because until the "twinkling of an eye" moment has come and gone (https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/1co/15/51/s_1077051) Satan is the straw-boss of human life on earth. Check it out:
LUKE 4:5-8 Again, Satan took him up into an exceeding high mountain and showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And Satan said unto him, All this power and glory will I give to you, for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will, I give it. If you therefore will worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
You gettin that? All the power and glory of all the kingdoms of this world are under Satan's infernal command. The "exceeding high mountain" is a spiritual pinnacle, inaccessible to ordinary mortals like You and I. Why do you think such hateful things are happening in the world today? Deadly vaccines? Mutilation, torture and blood sacrifice of innocent babies and young children? Endless stupid wars? Perversions and degeneracies so twisted and wicked, nobody but Satan himself could dream up such wickedness. Satan hates, loathes and despises all humanity with murderous hatred. He laughs at the fools who worship in his stupid evil church.
God our Father needs no man-made religion of any kind to be Himself. In Christ God made a way for Himself to become a part of the minute-by-minute earthly life of every person on earth, "not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit says the LORD of hosts."
At this moment, and until God our Father is again, All-in-all, Christ-man Jesus of Nazareth IS the LORD of hosts. By his Spirit he is willing and able to take up His abode with anybody who is willing to get off the high horse of man-made humanist religion. From 1982 until 2023 I have been trying to worship God our Father in my own strength, with my own ideas about how it ought to be done. 2023 is the year I finally got it and let all the humanist stuff go. Get off it and let God Do It. God knows how to lead anybody into the perfect peace and secrecy of worship "in Spirit and in Truth."
God created the heavens and the earth by speaking, just like the excerpt Amy posted says. That word is in your mouth too, Pilgrim. All you have to do is ASK and be willing to not fuss like a spoiled child when God does not do what YOU (or I) want him to do, right here, right now, like a Ritz Hotel bellboy. God ain't no bellhop. He is Your Father. Have some respect...and Merry Christmas.
"Do you believe in God?"
For myself belief IS the only thing which holds me together in a very dark world.
https://www.azquotes.com/quote/53365?ref=human-experience
Amen! I think what your post is really pointing out is that death is on a continuum of life. At which point you would obviously understand that your father dies, and your mother dies, and that you shall die too someday. Your children will also die, hopefully at a time far in the future, but this is part of the world we've been born into. So why don't we seek unity with death at some point?
I REALLY enjoy your comments, Raphael! What astute insights you impart!
That said, I do object to your assessment of suicide/substance abuse. I believe we are ALL wounded....some deeper than others. I cannot judge how this wounding manifests or the coping skills applied.
Aside from this minor difference I look forward to your writings!
'But trust me...there is no death. And there is no judgment after death, only a non-judgmental life review to help us understand our successes and failures, and what we need to heal and develop.'
Interesting. For a Christian Death is the physical separation of the body from the soul. For myself, and other Christians. there is a judgement of my eternal soul which will either reward or condemn myself for how I have chosen to live my life; all a free will choice.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.