I believe in God

[Delta4Embassy]

I absolutely believe in God. I just don't worship it. Why would I? Never does anything, lets bad people manipulate good people in its' name, screws over the faithful every chance He can. What's to worship? I'll give God a head-nod if we pass each other in a hallway, "Sup." But never get on my knees and worship Him.

 

[AVG-JOE]

"God" is both a concept and a being that I've decided that I don't have a problem with.

The ancient Arab stories that the Monkeys continue to use in combination with both fear and religion to manipulate and exploit each other with on the other hand...

 

[onefour1]

Romans 14:11-12
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Isaiah 45:22-23
22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

 

[amrchaos]

Which God?

Probably not, but I do know of some historical figures that claimed they were Gods. Do they count?

 

[BreezeWood]

.

and every tongue shall confess to God

that's quite a tall order, afterall if they confess they will be domed - those who believed in the bibles .... and lived accordingly.

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[Pedro de San Patricio]

What's the point of believing in a god that doesn't do anything? I mean, honestly? If there's zero interaction possible, up to and including sensing or measuring in any way, why not just accept that there's as little point in believing in that as there is in believing that there's a teapot orbiting the Earth?

 

[BluePhantom]

I absolutely believe in God. I just don't worship it. Why would I? Never does anything, lets bad people manipulate good people in its' name, screws over the faithful every chance He can. What's to worship? I'll give God a head-nod if we pass each other in a hallway, "Sup." But never get on my knees and worship Him.

I don't "worship" Him either...at least not in the sense that most people define that. I don't get on my knees, break down in tears, and lament how unworthy I am and how grateful that I am to receive God's love even though I am a lowly worm. That's not the nature of the relationship I have with Him. God is my best friend (and my wife is a damned close second) and I talk to Him as such. I don't "pray" like most people do. I just have a chat on the way to work or whatever. I rarely ask God for things unless it is for someone else. I will ask God to give comfort to another in a time of suffering or I will ask Him to grant understanding to someone who is experiencing confusion. I generally don't ask for things for myself. Rather, I tell God what I plan to do. What I find is that I don't have to ask God for stuff because after I tell God what I plan to do and what my goals are, they somehow comes to pass. So mostly what I do is say "thank you". Thank you for my wonderful wife. Thank you for my awesome kids. Thank you for a job that has provided me with security. Thank you for giving me the courage to strive toward something better. Thank you for giving me the strength to accomplish my goals. Thank you for giving me a level of intelligence such that I don't get mired in trivialities. Thank you for growing the faith inside me. Etc, etc, etc.

What a warped sense of God you must have, in my opinion, that you think a relationship with the Lord is restricted to self-deprecating obedience. That kind of shit is for slaves, not children of God. If you are a believer in God,you REALLY need to quit being so antagonistic and/or dismissive toward Him and simply say "hey God, remember me? What's up bro? So here's what is going on in my life and what I am thinking. And here is what I plan to do about it. Sweet. Take care"

 

[BluePhantom]

What's the point of believing in a god that doesn't do anything? I mean, honestly? If there's zero interaction possible, up to and including sensing or measuring in any way, why not just accept that there's as little point in believing in that as there is in believing that there's a teapot orbiting the Earth?

Who says God doesn't do anything? Let me tell you a story. This is absolutely true, 100% accurate. I have always felt that I should write a book. My career didn't take me in that direction, but I am a pretty strong writer, I suppose, and I just always felt this urge inside me that I was supposed to write a book. A time came where the business I worked for could no longer afford my salary and had to cut me loose. It was just one of those situations where they fell on hard times and there were tears and hugs on both sides (I still talk to the owners regularly and we are great friends). They just couldn't pay me anymore. So after I left that job I realized that I had enough money set aside to survive for about six months before dipping into retirement savings and all that. I figured, 'this is it. This is my time to write the book I am supposed to write'.

I decided that I would still look for work, but I would commit the next six months to writing my book and I told that to God. I said 'God I am going to write a book like I feel I am being told to do. I am still going to look for work in the meantime, but this is something I am committed to doing.' So for five months I wrote and I applied for jobs and interviewed. I didn't get a single job offer in those five months. The very day I finished my book...and I mean this...the very day I finished it, I thought 'my book is done, I need three weeks to edit it and I am ready to go'. I finished it at about 11:00 AM in the morning and by 5:00 I had three job offers all of which asked if I could start in three weeks. I finished editing it the day before I started work at the job I chose.

Coincidence? Hell it's a definite possibility. I accept all possibilities and that is one of them.

Divine intervention? Well I don't think God "intervened" as much as simply saying 'Ok Phantom, you are telling me you need 6 months to reach your goal and then you need a job. Ok I can make that work." If it was a coincidence it was one hell of a coincidence.

So does God stay silent and is inactive in your life? He may in your life but he isn't in mine.

 

[TrinityPower]

People have developed an assumption and image to what worship is. When you give to a homeless person do you consider it worship? You gave with a cheerful heart to someone in need. That is a form of worship. Have you counseled someone who was down? Helped when you saw a need? Matthew 25:40 addresses that. God wants an individual relationship with each person and praise and gratefulness is worship. Do your kids sit there and bow before you and worship you? Much as I wish they did that is not the case, but they do say thank you and good kids actually show some gratitude for the blessings in their life. Worship that many think of is false humility. It is all what someone feels in their heart and you know what? God knows the difference

 

[TrinityPower]

What's the point of believing in a god that doesn't do anything? I mean, honestly? If there's zero interaction possible, up to and including sensing or measuring in any way, why not just accept that there's as little point in believing in that as there is in believing that there's a teapot orbiting the Earth?

God has to have something to work with. If you put forth no effort nor shut your yap to hear then it is like a parent trying to get a teen out of bed for school. You can scream all you want but if they do not cooperate and have motivation it doesn't happen. That is called a free will decision. The choice is yours to do something. In 1 Kings 17 the bible tells a story of a woman who was on her last meal. After she and her son ate it they were going to die but the prophet asked for the food and told her to go find every vessel she could for oil. She began pouring her kruse of oil until all were full and the oil then stopped pouring. The money from selling that sustained her and her son for a long time. Point of the story is give God something of yourself to bless. If you don't you lose out on blessing and increase

 

[TrinityPower]

Do you demand the fire get hot before you put in wood? That's what you are asking God to do. Do people get paid before they do the work? Usually not. Do you demand an ear of corn before you plant the seed? So why say God does nothing when in the world you live in doesn't work that way. God's kingdom is like seed time and harvest. You hve to put something in and tend to it before you can expect a harvest

 

[BluePhantom]

Do you demand the fire get hot before you put in wood? That's what you are asking God to do. Do people get paid before they do the work? Usually not. Do you demand an ear of corn before you plant the seed? So why say God does nothing when in the world you live in doesn't work that way. God's kingdom is like seed time and harvest. You hve to put something in and tend to it before you can expect a harvest

You are speaking of the IF-WOULD-THEN paradigm. As in, the most common form, "IF I had money I WOULD give to charity and THEN I would feel as if I was contributing to my fellow man". That is backwards. Just contribute to your fellow man and then you will be giving to charity, and you will find that you have all the money you need to do it. Once you start that, God will take what you have done and enhance it. God gives us what we call forth in most cases...even if He thinks it's a bad idea. The biggest problem in society I think is that we generally call forth very bad ideas.

 

[WelfareQueen]

I absolutely believe in God. I just don't worship it. Why would I? Never does anything, lets bad people manipulate good people in its' name, screws over the faithful every chance He can. What's to worship? I'll give God a head-nod if we pass each other in a hallway, "Sup." But never get on my knees and worship Him.

You have some very fucked up views. I sincerely say pray on it....with humility. It might actually get you somewhere.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

I absolutely believe in God. I just don't worship it. Why would I? Never does anything, lets bad people manipulate good people in its' name, screws over the faithful every chance He can. What's to worship? I'll give God a head-nod if we pass each other in a hallway, "Sup." But never get on my knees and worship Him.

You have some very fucked up views. I sincerely say pray on it....with humility. It might actually get you somewhere.

Tell it to the families of the Charlotte church. Case in point. If worshippers aren't even safe IN their churches, then what's the point?

F* God.

 

[WelfareQueen]

I absolutely believe in God. I just don't worship it. Why would I? Never does anything, lets bad people manipulate good people in its' name, screws over the faithful every chance He can. What's to worship? I'll give God a head-nod if we pass each other in a hallway, "Sup." But never get on my knees and worship Him.

You have some very fucked up views. I sincerely say pray on it....with humility. It might actually get you somewhere.

Tell it to the families of the Charlotte church. Case in point. If worshippers aren't even safe IN their churches, then what's the point?

F* God.

A lot of arrogance bro. But hey.....maybe you can read the Deity's mind and no one else can?

Humility is the key....always humility.

The fact you started this thread tells me on some level you are a seeker. The opposite of love is indifference. You are far from indifferent. You are obviously angry.

Question: Are you truly angry at God or are you angry with yourself? How can you ask God's forgiveness when you cannot forgive yourself? Pray. Open your heart. Do this with true humility. The answers will be there.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

God hardened Pharaoh's heart forcing him into a course of action. God has about an hour to soften the shooter's heart but didn't. Either a) God doesn't exist at all, or b) God didn't care enough to intervene. Either way, God isn't worth our worship because he never does anything for the benefit of his worshippers. ...Unless you wanna make the case heaven's better than being alive and everyone who meets a premature death only looks bad to us, but to them they're in heaven now and ok with it.

 

[WelfareQueen]

God hardened Pharaoh's heart forcing him into a course of action. God has about an hour to soften the shooter's heart but didn't. Either a) God doesn't exist at all, or b) God didn't care enough to intervene. Either way, God isn't worth our worship because he never does anything for the benefit of his worshippers. ...Unless you wanna make the case heaven's better than being alive and everyone who meets a premature death only looks bad to us, but to them they're in heaven now and ok with it.

Okay man.... You presume you can understand these things...I don't.

Choice exists, I do know that. The shooter made an extremely fucked up choice. Why in that church.....why were those specific people hurt? I don't know....but then....neither do you.

The true complexities of the Universe are so vast, I do not pretend to understand. Our science knows next to nothing....particularly how systems or fields truly interact with the others.

Try humility....okay. Let this shit go and offer yourself up to the Deity. It might surprise you.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

God hardened Pharaoh's heart forcing him into a course of action. God has about an hour to soften the shooter's heart but didn't. Either a) God doesn't exist at all, or b) God didn't care enough to intervene. Either way, God isn't worth our worship because he never does anything for the benefit of his worshippers. ...Unless you wanna make the case heaven's better than being alive and everyone who meets a premature death only looks bad to us, but to them they're in heaven now and ok with it.

Okay man.... You presume you can understand these things...I don't.

Choice exists, I do know that. The shooter made an extremely fucked up choice. Why in that church.....why were those specific people hurt? I don't know....but then....neither do you.

The true complexities of the Universe are so vast, I do not pretend to understand. Our science knows next to nothing....particularly how systems or fields truly interact with the others.

Try humility....okay. Let this shit go and offer yourself up to the Deity. It might surprise you.

"We can't know why God does the things that He does." is a cop-out.

We can understand. We have God's acts and motives in his holy texts. He can, and has violated free will when it suits Him to do so. Pretending His acts are unknowingable complex is nonsense. If that were true, there'd be no reason to worship Him because He's too alien we don't udnerstand Him. We do understand Him:

God's a spoiled rich kid who wants everything on His terms. We have to worship Him and only HIm even though He never does anything in return for His worshippers. Thta's easy enought o understand - God's a 3rd world despot murdering anyone who gets in His way, doing as He pleases, when He pleases, and pilfering the resources and riches of the country He rules.

And just as was perfectly depicted in the remakre of "Clash of the Titans" after a while of that people get tired of being God's plaything to abuse and misuse and say screw you and start burning churches and toppling statues. Only in our case, our god doesn't then do anything even then.

Anyone actually taking a step back from God and assessing things objectively sees what a piece of shit God is. And how even if He exists like we do, isn't suitable for worship. Have better fortune worshipping Man than an absent God who never does anything.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

To put it another way, God is the father who abandons his wife and children then shows up when they're doing well expecting to slip back into the fatherly role.

We're doing fine without God now yet He expects us to get oun our knees and worship Him despite having attained everything on our own.

Uh no.

 

[BreezeWood]

We're doing fine without God now yet He expects us to get oun our knees and worship Him despite having attained everything on our own.

.We're doing fine without God ...

as mortals, there is no reason for an intervention by any deity in everyday life and would only be done so at their pleasure - it is for you to free your Spirit to accomplish Admission to the Everlasting ... there is where God will intervene if you are unfit, worshiping aside.

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