That is the one thing that would make me go back. Since leaving the church I've maintained that if there is a "God" or all-powerful being that wants me to worship it...then it needs to tell me directly.

I give that about a 0.00001% chance of happening.

And what do you mean by "accept?" I would admit, yes, that that particular god exists, but whether I'm on board with it's policies is a different matter. If the LDS deity exists, I could not "accept" his racist, sexist, homophobic, authoritarian, vindictive, petty, egocentric nature. It would be a case of, "Oh, you're real. So why are you such a jerk?"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2010 09:03AM by Stray Mutt.

in your question. Which God? What if there are MANY gods and this was just one of many gods with many different ideas of what right and wrong? What if some gods are evil and some are good? What if there is ONE god and its an evil, bi-polar, insecure, viscious, vindictive, murdering SOB like the one in the bible?

By "accept" I'm guessing you mean would I start worshipping the monster? Of course not! I would work hard to find some way to destroy him as would all moral people.

The problem with so many true believers is their astonishing narrowmindedness. They can't conceive of any other possibilities but their own.

I agree with Alan. If God reveals Herself to me, Id have to decide if I accepted depending on what God revealed. Are you assuming the Mormon God? The Christian God?

So the answer to the question is depends on what God turned out to BE.

God of Vengeance? no
God of Rules from Hell? no
God of My Way or the Highway? no

Of course if God turned out to be the God of My Creative Imagination, then Id accept God. ;) What a Delightful Coincidence.

Some say God reveals himself through scripture.

Some say God reveals himself through nature.

If somebody comes up to me on the street and claims to be God does that count?

I would have a lot of questions first. And I would hope that he's kind and compassionate enough to give me real answers. But if a real God like that exists, I don't think we'd have to be speculating like this.

This idea is exemplified in a Star Trek, Next Generation episode where the people of a planet had a thousand year prophesy come due when the deity of the prophesy was prophesy was supposed to come back to the planet and take control of it. Instead, an imposter showed up and predented to be their deity fulfilling the signs of the deity's return using the advanced technology of the current time. Of course, the fraud is exposed and everyone lives happily ever after.

The question still remain of how we would know God from an imposter who knows everything humans know and then a little more? IMO, we would have to know everything God knows and know everything God would be capable of in order for God to pass the "God test". We would need to be Gods ourselves or nearly so in order to make the determination.

I am 99.99% sure there is no such thing but, if Jesus presented himself to me he would have a lot of explaining to do. Just like an abusive human parent I'd acknowledge their existence but as for accepting or worshipping......NO WAY!!!

Well, yes I would.
Actually, I suppose that if the real God showed up, you'd have no choice but to accept it, right?

However, I reject that the eternal father was once a man like me, or like Joseph Smith or like Tom or even like Albert Sweitzer or some kid named Billy. I reject that a frycook got converted, and worked his way up the ranks through perfect obedience and was called to be a god. I reject that kind of a god that only exists in the mind of megalomaniacal priesthood holders as a reward for doing everything right.

I seriously doubt that God even likes the Mormons.
I seriously doubt that God even likes the Old Testament Jews.

And if that kind of a god reveals itself to me, it will almost certainly look exactly like the devil.

But if the Real God revealed Himself to me, I would gladly accept.

been there, done that.

fool me once shame on you, etc

I have learned to much about psychological manipulation techniques (and history, and theology/religion) to get suckered back into some make-a-pastor-rich scheme

And I have not seen a version of God that I would follow. In fact, I would view that "God" as an invading enemy.

Last night, as I pondered this exact question, It's noodly appendage did caress me and I did believe!

he "reveals" himself, will he just lift up his white robe or will be more dramatic like peeling open a trench coat?

Please tell him I was very good and have only one wishlist item:

Waldorf Q+ Phoenix

Nope, sorry. I've already accepted the god, George Carlin, in my life.

What was it that my god Carlin (Praise Be His Name) said about that pseudo-god, Elohim, of the Judeo-Christian brand --

"War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption,...If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed. Results like these do not belong in the resume of a supreme being. This is the kind of $h!t you would expect from an office temp with a bad attitude...in any decently run universe, this "guy" would've been out on his all-powerful ass a long time ago."

Wouldn't accept him into my house, that's for sure. Guy's a psychopath as far as I can tell. He's also into passive/aggressive moves that instill guilt.

Even the Buddha spoke out against masturbation, so I can't see even a milder version of psychopathic godliness being more acceptable than, say, Christine O'Donnell.

No, I would simply question my sanity at the moment.

Here's what I have come to believe lately:

I do believe that there is something bigger than us out there. I struggle to reconcile the intricacies of the human body and the beauty of the earth with random creation. That's just me, I'm not asking you to agree, so please don't attack it.

But for the first time in about 20 years, I'm starting to really see that my idea of God/higher power probably doesn't fit into the Biblical idea of Baby Jesus in a manger and dying on the cross.

One of the reasons I rejected LDS was because it was so obviously man made and convenient. I'm really starting to see the same things applied to Christianity. It's very human (American?) to believe that a price had to be paid, so God sacrificed His only son for us. I always thought grace (us being eligible for heaven regardless of what we do) was so amazing, and I still think that concept is lovely. I no longer buy the idea that Jesus had to die a bloody death in order for God to love and pardon me.

The way I see it, if God did create us all, He's responsible for the sinfulness and selfishness that causes us to "fail" him. So this "Okay, now someone has to die for the way you failed, even though I designed it that way" doesn't work for me anymore.

So where does that leave me? I'm not sure. If the God of the Bible revealed Himself to me, I think I'd have a lot of questions for Him, because I don't get it. While I can give a pretty decent explanation about things, there's a lot of twisting and making things fit in places they don't really fit. IN many ways, the questions boil down to the same ones I have for LDS: Okay, you made all these rules, why can't YOU break them? Are your all-powerful hands REALLY tied by loopholes? You gave us logic and reason, but the "most important" decision we have is supposed to be based on faith, not on what we see?!

Those are just my thoughts.

Just like I would if Santa Claus revealed himself to me. I just wouldn't tell anyone.

He would have to convince me I wasn't hallucinating or having a dream. Maybe something out of Bruce Almighty would be good. Like a file cabinet with a drawer as long as a train. And he'd have to let me take it home so I could open it up and check on it every few minutes...just to make sure

If I was convinced, then I probably would accept him. But not without some answers first.

First, I'd wonder what the h*** somebody put in my coffee! Second, I'd wonder what the h*** was wrong with me and I'd be getting psychological help.
Or maybe I just got hit by a Mack truck.

I just read today that damage to the right parietal lobe in the brain is cause for a person to have greater feelings of spirituality.

No. I wouldn't worship the type of mysogynistic, racist, cruel and psychopathic being depicted by the Torah, the Bible, the Qu'ran or the Book of Mormon.

I could accept that he or she exists, but God is not worthy of my worship.
Could marvel at her creative ability, but her pathological need for worship, vindictive nature, judging people based on whether they choose the right set of unjustifiable propositions with utterly no means of adjudicating between true religion and superstition...
There is no chance I would worship.

no, but I would quit smoking pot ;-)

Done, and done.

OM Namah Shivaya

in revealing himself to me.

I have already officially rejected the Mormon God. I have sacrificed a lot to do so, and I am convinced this was an honest and wise decision. If the polygamist, woman-hating, racist Mormon God were to reveal himself to me, I would reject him again, every time.

I have already accepted our Creator--the creator of this glorious universe--because I have seen his handiwork every day of my life. I see nature and human beings as perfect, and wonderful. I guess maybe our view of life has a lot to do with our view of God. Were I a God, I could do no better. Heck, I couldn't even create one atom.

I think that "God" is bound by his own creations. For example, living planets are seperated by billions of light-years. To me, it makes sense that God can't just rush right in and help us find our keys. Neither can he cure a sick child. He can only create mankind to evolve and learn anatomy, and use available plants for medicines and use our opposable thumbs to perform surgery. We're getting it, very slowly, just give us a few more thousand years....

In perspective, Mormonism is very short-lived and very petty. Sacred underwear? Give me a break! God doesn't love Mormons, nor does he hate them, especially. The Creator of the Universe is light-years away, and doesn't even know about Joseph Smith.