Faith, or something like it

[Luke]

I posted a similar thread on the old Anomalies site, but it appears that it is on its last legs in the wide world of electronic communication. So here we go again.

To those who have it I mean no offense. For me the only thing I have faith in is imperical evidence. If I jump, fall, or stumble off the roof, again, I have faith that I will fall to the ground.

There was a time not that long ago when I held belief in a beared fella who lived in the sky and if I did good deeds would grant me certain wishes. Losing good friends, pets and relatives somewhat diminished that belief.

This is not to say I do not "pray" to a higher deity. In recent years I said prayers to the Norse Goddess Eir to heal a friends sister illness. I don't know if Eir had anything to do with it, but my friends sister improved. Of course, there were rounds of chemo, and operations that may have had just as much effect.

I have played music with friends I have had since the 60's. These days they play religous music. I enjoyed making "Christian" music with them until we reached an impass on the matter of faith. I couldn't let a difference of opinon end a 40 year friendship, so we remain freinds to this day.

I have been on a quest of sorts for many years. I have been reading and trying to understand many of the worlds "holy" books. I have come to the conclusion that all the books I have been reading were all written by people trying to convince others of their idea of "faith"

As I am now on the down hill part of life, the idea of an afterlife really doesn't seem to bother me anymore. When my Father was nearing the end he was most concerned about the lives he had taken in war. His Father was a self-ordained minister. As of this date I have not taken a human life. Perhaps if that happens I would look at things in a different light.

Sorry for the rambling, rant, but I am just seeking other opinions, not conversion.

[American Patriot]

Luke,

I have pretty much refrained from talking about my personal beliefs on this site, Anomalies or anywhere else. I have implied a few things though, about my beliefs but to be blatantly honest with you, I've watched good people die - for no real reason, my wife and I lost a baby 28 years ago or so, my sister Robin passed away recently (she was 49, I'm 54), my mother left us at the ripe old age of 42.

I've prayed and prayed hard over things, especially lately.... but to be honest if God is there I'm not sure he even listens.

I'm sure folks with excoriate me for being a "non-believer" but the truth is when it comes to religion, it's a mythology built up on very little in the way of facts or empirical evidence.

Then there are those who believe because they have witnessed something unbelievable and almost supernatural (healing of people for instance).

I have nothing against folks wanting to, or believing in something as they were taught - or have discovered by witnessing a miracle.

Do miracles occur? Probably. Do I believe in God? Yes. Do I think Jesus walked the Earth? Absolutely I believe this. Whether he was truly the Son of God or not, I don't know. Then again, perhaps we are all sons and daughters of God.

Does God deserve worship? I can't answer that question other than to say I am a fallible human being and like you, I need some hard evidence to "believe" something. Without that evidence for me, I'm a skeptic. God has never once spoken to me in a way I can understand Him. I've never heard voices telling me what is right or wrong (only my own internal morality check, which I listen too, but it was ingrained in me by my father and mother).

Whether folks here believe me, or my stories isn't important. What's a FACT is I do NOT TELL lies because my mother impressed upon me the need to tell the truth. Even to a point embellishment is not my way.

I don't steal. I can't do that. I hate thieves. I detest liars.

I detest worse though, people who come along trying to convince people of some mystical way of life that will grant them immortality or a heavenly existence beyond what we know here and now.

It's nothing more than snake oil shysterism to me.

I think you were on Anomalies long enough to see me question an awful lot of things people said.

Frankly, almost all of them who posted something there claimed they'd seen, heard, felt or experienced some supernatural thing. I've personally experienced what I think were "ghosts" or some kind of malevolent spirit in the past. I have two witnesses who saw it too. But, even now I am skeptical of what I was seeing and feeling.

I didn't rush out and say "There are GHOSTS! Oh MY GOD! THEY EXIST!"

It takes more than a few fleeting moments of a strange feeling in a strange house and "impressions" of "shadows" I couldn't quite see.

Today - I'm not afraid of pretty much anything any more. As a kid I was scared of ghosts.

Now I am not.

God - if He exists, and this is a big IF for me, is not a kind and considerate being. He lets innocents die, and religions would tell you "It's his will".

I don't think mankind has evolved to the point they are at because some external helping hand (let's say like Stitchen's aliens for example) put us here, and genetically modified our skeleton, and bodily functions. I am not and will never BE beholden to "aliens".

As to taking life.... I felt "guilty" for a long time. But, now after being on this planet for more than a half century, I could care less. Why? Because when you are fighting for your own life, its you or the other guy(s).

I don't give a shit anymore about that. I'm here to LIVE... not die on the whim of some thug or foreign government. My job is to SURVIVE until natural causes take me. And take me they will. But no man will do it if I have anything to say about it.

God, IF he is there wouldn't want you to let yourself DIE for no good reason.

So - for me, the belief in a deity outside of my existence, outside of my comprehension or ability to fathom Him is out of the question. God MAY be there and I believe he is there - but I damned sure won't count on Him in a firefight.

I would count on any human being on this site a damned sight more than I would Supernatural Intervention.

The people I've met and made friends with on this site, and that includes those who consider themselves no longer my friends - are still my friends and I'd stand by any ONE of them. Even those here with whom I tend to argue aren't my enemies.

We all (on this site) have one goal - to keep America and our countries free ( I speak of course of those who are not Americans on this site as well) - and I think none of them (and not me especially) would put religion FIRST when it comes to our friends, or our freedoms.

I could not and never would stop believing in my friends - even if they stopped believing in me. God - on the other hand hasn't proved anything. Perhaps He doesn't have to and I have it all wrong...

BUT - that is between me and God. Not me and any religion, priest or anyone else. *I* will speak to God myself. I need no one, and no religion to tell me how, or carry the word for me.


All just my opinion....

[Malsua]

I'm still working on the 10th dimensional thing and that 5th dimensional beings spin off fragments to live in the 3rd and 4th dimension. These 5th dimensioners would be creatures that exist everywhere and from the beginning to the end of time. i.e. GOD. They have no more care nor input into one moment of our time in our space than we do of a particular ant in a particular ant hill on a particular day on any particular planet in any particular solar system among billions of planets in any one of billions of galaxies.

This is not to say that I don't believe that Jesus Christ walked the Earth. He did. The Jews have kept very good records dating back 5000 years. I think what he tapped into was that he was the son of god. The almighty father...the 5th dimensional creature responsible for our universe from start to finish. I think we're all probably spun off from God as an "eye" to experience every possible experience in our world.

I'm not sure what that means in the end. Do we "data dump" at death or is it all streaming in real time up to the big guy and we just go black and that's that? I don't know. I wish it were heaven from the bible, but I've not seem much evidence that it works that way. If God is talking he doesn't understand advertising because the message isn't getting through.

[American Patriot]

I'm not sure what that means in the end. Do we "data dump" at death or is it all streaming in real time up to the big guy and we just go black and that's that? I don't know. I wish it were heaven from the bible, but I've not seem much evidence that it works that way. If God is talking he doesn't understand advertising because the message isn't getting through.

AH! So you're going with the massive collective consciousness thing then? I kind of like that idea too

[MinutemanCO]

Very interesting topic.

I will never crank on someone's arm forcing them to believe anything. It's counter-productive and a waste of time. That said, I will reveal what I have learned systematically, if someone asks me. I will also present my testimony, again if someone asks.

If you have a mind for research, there is plenty of empirical evidence regarding not only the existence of God, but for the accounts described in the Bible. Stop being lazy and look it up. No more excuses. It's your obligation. If someone told you: "Hey, we just elected a commie-socialist to the highest office in the land!" You'd do some research and corroborate the story one way or another. Do it. The evidence is prolific and highly available.

You, each and every human being alive, has a choice to make. This choice revolves around the concept of submission and love. God desires a relationship with you, not in the manner the Catholics, Protestants, Mormons JWs, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims or any other formalized (man-created religious) dogma determines, but as He, the Creator of the Universe determines. It grieves Him greatly, but He will bow to your free will and allow you to walk away having nothing to do with Him whatever. It happens every day. Don’t ever mistake His allowance of your uniqueness and His granting of absolute free will for a lack of caring and love.


A bit of empirical evidence, if you’ll but grant me a moment… A book included in the Old Testament, called Daniel was penned by an ancient during the time of judgment of the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel. He and several others were taken captive by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in the 6^th Century BC. Linguistic evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls gives us authentically dated examples of Hebrew and Aramaic writing from the second and third centuries B.C., when some claim Daniel was written, and it does not match that found in Daniel, which was written in the sixth century B.C. Daniel Chapter 9 describes a specific prophecy having to do with the arrival of the Messiah on the scene in future history. The prophecy placed the Messiah, Jesus, entering Jerusalem exactly on the day described in the New Testament Gospel writings.

That’s just one of literally hundreds of prophetic writings of this type.


Did you know the writer of Job (perhaps the oldest book in the Bible) described in detail two different species of dinosaurs? With no archeology going on a couple thousand years before Christ, how would this be possible?


Another basic piece of evidence is this… the modern archeological record, as advanced as it is, has never once contradicted any historic statement made by a writer of the Bible. Keep in mind the Bible’s 66 books were written by 40 authors over a period of 1,600 years.


It really isn’t that hard to be a skeptic when one isn’t fully aware of Biblical claims and historic facts. I would challenge you to do the work. If you don’t want to, that’s fine too. You can trust me in this, though. If you look into it, your life will be better for it.


MMCO

[American Patriot]

If someone told you: "Hey, we just elected a commie-socialist to the highest office in the land!" You'd do some research and corroborate the story one way or another. Do it. The evidence is prolific and highly available.

LOL... not to go off topic, but we've been trying to get the Left to realize this forever and they deny it. LOL

And now back to the regularly scheduled topic. hehe

[MinutemanCO]

Ain't that the truth.

[Luke]

I deeply apreciate everyones opinion. I realize that religon,politics and sports are probably three of the hot buttons of most humans.

My biggest problems with "sacred,holy" books is that they are all subject to language interrupation and are all written by humans. Still I am interested in all interpratations of faith.

So far if I were to write a gospel it would be the gospel of John, Paul, George and Luke. All you need is love, and money? Somehow I feel that humans also need humor and saddness to expereince what it is a human.

[AGEUSAF]

I have a faith that was taught early so no matter what I do I can't seem to talk myself out of it. I have a very low opinion of the little c church for all the reasons stated above, the people seem to just suck lol.

Psychedelic experience lol wink, wink... love of music, science fiction, visuals helped induce some quantum thought on life. I don't know anything about the almighty but I think we will all be greatly surprised after moving on.

"Life is a dream and we are the imagination of ourselves"

[American Patriot]

I used to be an Atheist, millitantly so

And now you're a Catholic (and militantly so!)

LOL!