No, never been married to Anagrammy but I do love her commentary :)
I can't prove a negative (at least when it comes to something like God) nor can you. So I am NOT certain that he doesn't exist. I am simply curious as to how many disaffected Mormons are certain that He/She does.
To answer your question, I have no idea if a God has a material influence in my life. Do you KNOW for CERTAIN that a God doesn't?
I hear you. By the same token, if there isn't a God what Justice is in store in the next life for the child abuser who never gets caught in this life? For that matter, what Justice is in store for Hitler? Pol Pot? dare I say Joseph Smith?
This is the one that bugs me the most...Ok, God has no material influence (at least that our senses can detect) in our everyday lives - chances are he doesn't exist (don't know for sure but fine) he doesn't exist...Then what? When we die our brains just simply turn off and its lights out for eternity? I would like to think there is something more to it but I am slowly realizing that chances are it is really that simple. You need to take advantage of life while you have it and not worry about what may come or not in the next life...to cultivate your garden (a la Voltaire) while you can.
I believed in God long before I converted to being a Mormon, of which I am no longer. One's relationship is a deeply personal one with the God of their understanding. A religion generally has the opportunity to help facilitate one's spiritual growth if it the right one for them. Most religions obtain their memberships with the same initial core sales points; Fellowship, belief in at least one Deity, Jesus Christ as either God's son or God himself, prayer, family values. The rest splits off into the different doctrines which vary per religion.
If a person ever truly believed and had an established relationship with God, leaving any one religion shouldn't really change this.
It's like leaving your parents. They are still going to be your parents whether you go to another state, country, college or whatever.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/07/2012 10:55AM by mrwinternight.
Yes I still believe in God. I like to think that the universe is not the product of random chance. If everything is just chance, then what meaning is there in life? Would anything really matter?
I would like to think so. Looking back on my past experiences, knowing where I have come from, it is a miracle where I am now. I was once lost (in a spiritual sense), burdened with addictions and lies. I can only believe that it is because of God that I was able to escape that life.
Yes. My beliefs never changed. I never believed in the teachings which did not agree with my prior beliefs.
I suspect that it is much more difficult for those whose only belief system hinges on the truth of mormonism. I never changed my beliefs in the trinity, the Bible as the only scriptures, etc. I never deviated from my belief in Christ and the atonement.
I believe there is something greater than me. Maybe it's just the collective good will I feel when I'm around good people...or the need to do something positive and selfless just because it feels so good. My TBM Dad, not many years before he died was, I think, questioning his faith in the Cult, but had an undying belief that there was a higher power at work. He marveled at the ability of a dry old kernel of wheat to sprout and grow into the "staff of life" after thousands of years in dormancy (grain from Egyptian tombs for example). I don't think he ever questioned the voracity of science when it came to evolution, but still held a strong belief in "God"....as do I. I just don't think organized religion has anything to do with it...
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/07/2012 12:38PM by Lethbridge Reprobate.
Not a personified one with earthly desires, needs, wants, and "chosen people," but one who always stays well hidden and helps us bridge the gap, helping slowly to allow us to evolve and solve our own problems and be happier as people. One who tucks us in after our lives and lovingly allows us to return to nature as we sleep, no matter how naughty we may have been. One who gives us a knowing wink and a chuckle when people say God commands us to ____________. Not male. Not female. Just truly perfect and the ultimate embodiment of love, compassion, and some force for whom each person is so sublimely sacred, beautiful, and wonderful.
And who gives us a high five when we get laid or gets that dangerous amount of liquor out of our stomach after Saturday night went a little too hard.
God only takes sides in professional football, where clearly the Baltimore Ravens have a special anointing to be a chosen team.
Meh. Unless you are the over involved, creepy, officer of not so reputable police dpt in CA, best friend of my ex husband, who has a tendency to continue stalking me three years after my divorce, because it feels like I "divorced you too", then there's no reason to string you up.
Only if you approach religion from a literalist perspective. For example, Durkheim views religion in a strictly functionalist fashion--what adherence to the society's particular God brings to the society as a whole. Similar to Eliade's cosmos-chaos theory.
Gods are not just literal dudes in the sky who inflict their will on humanity. They're often a priori starting points for entire civilizations, whether they "exist" or not. That criterion does make them real, in a literal sense.
My feeling is that we are all connected by energy. I believe in polarity. I believe in love. I do not however believe that there is one person or being that rules us all. That seems very made up to me.
Just like there is no evidence to suggest that there is a flying spagetti monster which circles the universe. I can't prove that there is not a flying spagetti monster, but I have no evidence to suggest he is there. There is simply no evidence to believe in a god as pretty as it might sound to some. When I realized the BofA and the BofM were made up scripture, I soon realized the Bible was the same. Made up to control the masses.I embrace reason and science, but that's just me.