Is it OK to believe in GOD but not Jesus?
Does that make sense? I believe in a higher power, but I cannot deal with the whole jesus thing. I can't find a logic in it.
Do you?

Yes, it makes sense. Just ask any Jew or Muslim. Or any other theistic person who isn't Christian.

Statistically, most people in the world who believe in god don't believe in Jesus

no evidence for either one.

You are asking is it ok but the answer to that question depends on who you ask. Honestly it's only something you can answer for yourself. I'm still struggling with where I stand on my own spirituality and I have come to accept that I might never know the answer to my own quandaries and that's okay.

If you want to personally believe in God but not in Jesus and you are okay with that then it's okay.

There's no "logic" in belief in anything for which there is no evidence of any kind. Like a "god" or "higher power."
Doing so might let you pretend to have some "comfort" or "hope" or something else, but it's just pretending. If that's OK with you, then great.
There is, however, a great deal more satisfaction -- and ultimately "comfort" and "hope" -- in dealing with reality as it is, without "higher powers" or "gods," and with how your life turns out being your own responsibility.
Best.

I believe in a god who is 100% malevolent but only 80% effective.

Actually, I've been thinking a lot about it. It is very comfortable to believe in God and not in Jesus, but maybe I am so used to it that it comes easily for me to believe in God. I am struggling because I want to pray but it just doesn't feel right or it doesn't make sense because I can't seem to have some connection whatsoever with "the higher power" that I believe in.
I am very confused right now. I can't imagine a life without believing in something. I am not the "God-will-make-it-all-right" kinda person. I believe every action has a reaction. Either good or bad.
So I'm pretty confused. I never bought the whole Jesus thing.

"I am struggling because I want to pray but it just doesn't feel right or it doesn't make sense because I can't seem to have some connection whatsoever with "the higher power" that I believe in."

I think you have your answer......you're stuggling because it "doesn't seem right.....doesn't make sense....and can't seem to have a connection to it".

I think you are feeling frustrated because it isn't there. There is no literal higher power to "connect" with as you descibe. You can have your beliefs, hopes, dreams, rituals, etc.....but it is all inside you.

You are looking for a connection outside of you, to something else that you experience outside yourself.....ain't gonna happen. Just because you believe in a higher power doesn't mean there is one out there waiting to connect with you.

To put it another way.....Lets say I believe in elves. I want to have a connection, I want to talk to them, but it just doesn't feel right...it just doesn't make sense...I can't seem to connect with the elves like I want to.....beacuse there are no elves and any connection I could make would just be me trying to satisfy my desire for belief.

zoe Wrote:
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> I can't imagine a
> life without believing in something.

When you can answer, for yourself, WHY to that question, then you'll be making some good progress :)

33 years ago, I couldn't imagine life NOT being a mormon.
Now it's hard for me to understand how I could feel that way.

Yes, I think so.

I used to be a hard core atheist until I realized that I was just as much a zealot as TBMs and now, I am okay with having an open mind without specific answers or dogma.

I've often wondered if there is more than meets the eye and we are not biological robots and that we do have free will but that it has nothing to do with one "being" in charge or a "God" so to speak. More like laws of the universe and that its all about order and all being connected somehow. If you look at quantum physics, it does make one ponder...

you influence your observation!

Actually, quantum physics may explain many previously inexplicable behaviors! Makes me go, "Hmmmmmmmmmmm..."

I find it to be an interesting question when someone asks if it's "OK" to believe in something.

I don't see belief as a choice. You either believe in something, or you don't.

It's okay to believe in anything, because you can't help what you believe.

I don't think I'd seek out approval from people about my beliefs, because it's not something that I can help. I just believe what I believe (or don't believe, for that matter).

Greyfort Wrote:
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> It's okay to believe in anything, because you
> can't help what you believe.

Wow, I couldn't disagree more with that.
Were that the case, most of us would still be in the cult, as "believers." Because most of us *did* believe at some point.

We stopped believing, for most of us, because facts showed us that our belief was misguided. We "helped" ourselves out of our belief. Facts (and critical thinking) can do the same for *any* "belief."

It is absolutely ok to do so. It is also ok to not believe in God at all. Both are completely ok.

And if you do believe in "God" (however you choose to define the term), don't let anyone dissuade you from doing so by claiming that a belief in God is "illogical" or "unscientific." Those who make such claims don't really understand logic or science and how both, while incredibly importance, play only a small role in those aspects of life that make it meaningful.

Papa Bear Wrote:
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> Those who make
> such claims don't really understand logic or
> science...

You know, you could have expressed your opinion without making ridiculous, incorrect, generalized claims about others. Just sayin.

I don't really see a cause for believing in either, but if you insist on believing in a being, I don't have a problem with you personalizing them in any way. I mean, this is exactly what everyone else does with their god, or at least the type A personalities that lead religions. The type Bs just seem to accept whatever the Type As come up with.

So if you are going to believe in a god, why not make it a truly great god, instead of an old lame, bronze age one.

First, have you considered making god a woman? I mean like a hot woman. Think about this, if you can have a deity of any kind, why not give her an exotic skin color, like blue, and three breasts? Or four breasts. If female and breasts are not your thing, you could always make god look like David Bowie or something.

Second, use wisdom in picking out your god's powers. A lot of people just try to give their god all of them, but that doesn't really work. For example, if your god is both all-knowing, and all-powerful, you are going to have a lot of explaining to do every time she decides to send a tsunami wave over a city full of orphanages. I gave my god a healing factor, plus laser vision.

Finally, consider making your god moral, and not a bigot. This is a bit controversial, as one of the main reasons people love having a god, is so they can have a reason for either discriminating against other life styles, or justifying bad behavior. Examples include Mormons discriminating against gays, rather then face their irrational discomfort with sex, or the time Mormons decided God really wanted them to rob those rich wagon trains up by Mount Meadows.

Good luck on designing your God.

People are free to believe anything they want. It's when beliefs are taken to the extreme and end up harming others. History is overflowing with examples. That is why I do not like organized religion.

> I can't imagine a life without believing in something.

Just believe in you. (...and don't hurt anybody.)

You know what???? Its ok to believe in whatever you want..... you don't need to take a vote and believe by group consensus... that was the mormon church/cult... this is real life.

Whatever you want to believe in .... believe. It's your life.

Saucie's right. You can believe whatever you like, and you don't need anyone's permission. Be yourself, you are wonderful!

We're FREE - We're FREE!! - We're FREEEEEE!

zoe Wrote:
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> Is it OK to believe in GOD but not Jesus?

Billions of people do. You are in their company if you don't believe in Jesus.

> Does that make sense?

Of course.

> Do you?

I've always liked the concept of a savior that was a god coming down and taking human form to save humans. I'm no Christian but I can appreciate the "greatest story" as it continues in Jesus after having been used many times by other deities.

Since I was raised Mormon I never thought of Jesus as more than a footnote to God and Smith. He is only required to die to ensure I get my awesome body back. Jesus brings bodies back.

But when I was a kid I thought the sun was God. It was nice to think that too.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2014 06:03PM by Elder Berry.

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

If you believe in god you must believe in his only begotten jewish bastard who he gave super powers to, then took them away at the moment he needed them most, and let people torture and kill him, only to bring him back to life as the world's first zombie.

You have to believe it all!

Seriously though, in a related vein. I have been researching the traditions and festivals of my viking ancestors and have been resurrecting them with my kids. Its a lot of fun.

I'm basically a non-believer, but still hold open a faint possibility, however slight, that there might be some higher power. It probably wouldn't be what anybody thinks it is, though. As for Jesus, I find the idea ridiculous. It looks like a pure myth that's a remix of earlier fantasies. There were lots of those. Religions are all fantasies that are an artifact of the evolution of the human mind. As for me, the only thing that makes me feel spiritual is spirits.. the liquid kind.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2014 06:16PM by rationalist01.

But then you'll make the baby version cry.

Is it rational to believe in something is a different question.

It sounds like you are making up a "higher power" that suites your needs then believing in it. Is that rational?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2014 07:22PM by MJ.

Wishin' and hopin' and prayin' and even believin' are a great way to avoid reality. You can apply them to looking for love, winning the lottery or even having God make everything all right in the end.

The opposite of those things would be working' and thinkin' and plannin' and learnin' and I like those better. You can apply them to having the life you want.

Yes. Dont let other people tell you what to believe. They either have a stupid irrational motive themselves or are just bitter.

Wow, that is a mighty big brush you paint with.

You seem angry and bitter yourself.

You can believe anything you want.

Muslims have Jesus mentioned in their Koran do they not. He was just another profit. Just not the big deal Christians make him out to be. My image of God is kinda fuzzy but I think he/she/it manifest themselves in the the good deeds men and woman do out of the goodness of their heart without expectation of credit or recognition. That's what Godlike means to me.

Ron Burr

Of course. A belief in God (or in some cases, gods) is fundamental to the Western faith tradition, which includes Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. You can also start to form your own ideas about what "God" means to you. For instance, my own belief is that any God worthy of the name would be a spiritually advanced entity that would be the ultimate source of love, compassion, justice, and acceptance, and who would not harbor pettiness, cruelty, or any other negative trait.

"Any God worthy of the name would be the ultimate source of love, compassion, justice, and acceptance, and who would not harbor pettiness, cruelty, or any other negative trait."

If you believe such god exists, wouldn't allowing all the suffering of innocent children that starve to death be cruel?