A God I can believe in

by DanTheMan 14 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Narkissos

  The day when you have it all figured out may never come.

  To me, the very point of faith (or belief) is doing what you feel like doing -- acting on the "measure of faith" you may have at any moment, without wondering too much if it makes sense, or if it will make sense "in the end".

  Prayer, for instance, is logically inconsistent for who doesn't really believe in a personal god; it is inconsistent, too, for the dogmatic believer who thinks God knows and has already "planned" everything, whether he prays or not. Yet both may feel like praying. Why would they not allow themselves to do it? For the sake of consistency?

  When I exited the JWs and after that, I often experienced what I might call provisional belief -- feeling that I did believe something for the moment being but doubting I would still be able to believe it the next day. I often chose to act on what I happened to "believe," while not trying to retain belief anymore that it would remain. Instead of waiting until you're sure of the right path before beginning to walk, walking while you can and find out you have made your own path.

  Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you.... While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.

  If belief has anything to do with children, it may be all about playing.
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  real one

  I've heard it said that the relationship one has with their father in many ways determines how they will feel about God.
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  WTWizard

  ?
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  DanTheMan

  Velvetann: "The state of the world right now is frightening, I am worried for my children and my grandchildren as to what kind of world is in the future for them."

  I worry too!

  DeputyDog: "Is it possible for you to see the character of God as revealed in Jesus and not throw away the notion of a personal God."

  mmm, I think I can probably find some inspiration in the gospels, although I tend to believe that they are more legend than fact, esp the miracles. I don't think that belief in a personal god is in the cards tho.

  H4O: "Read this thread, "

  I'll have to check it out later (I'm kinda in a hurry here unfortunately), but thanks for the link.

  gaiagirl: "However, I find the universe to be a very beautiful place. I have decided that the reason it appears beautiful to me is that I am part of an interrelated web of existence"

  Yeah, the "New Theory of the Universe" article that BurntheShips posted the other day got me thinking along these lines, of the "interconnectedness" of things and the role we observers play in creating the universe. Heady stuff.

  digderidoo: "I like the idea of praying, but i do not believe in God. So for me, praying is meditating to myself, thinking about what i'm going to do and how i'm going to rectify something. Call it praying to my free will."

  Yeah, last year i sorta gotten into the practice of meditating every day for 20 minutes or so, and it was good, I always came away feeling much calmer. Gotta get back into it, methinks.

  Narkissos: "The day when you have it all figured out may never come[...]Instead of waiting until you're sure of the right path before beginning to walk, walking while you can and find out you have made your own path."

  Yeah, I keep waiting for the day to come when it will all make sense and I'll feel at home in the world. A favorite musician of mine had a song on his most recent album titled "Musterion" and in a series of podcasts he put out leading up the album's release he discussed the meaning and inspiration of each of the songs, and he had a lot of interesting things to say about the meaning of Musterion - he says it better than i can so check out the podcast if you're interested.

  real one: "I've heard it said that the relationship one has with their father in many ways determines how they will feel about God."

  Probably true. My dad was short tempered like you wouldn't believe, and combine that with the fact that I was an annoying kid in a lot of ways (maybe an annoying adult too!), well, it wasn't a great combination, lol.

  WTWizard:" ?"

  Are you suggesting satan worship or something?
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  lonelysheep

  I sometimes feel this spiritual void inside, like I'm standing at the edge of an abyss, and it's so much that I can hardly take it. The odd thing about it is that I always feel it when I'm starting to get close to a lady, close enough to where those deep feelings start to arise - where a momentary look into her eyes feels like a thousand years of life experience and the ephemeral nature of life becomes most painfully plain.

  Are you in love-attached? Are you referring to fate here, or the fear of ever losing this person to death?

  I think that I need to believe in God, somehow, someway, if I'm gonna get through life without going nuts and/or doing myself harm. But I can't believe in a personal God. I feel self-conscious and a bit silly when I pray, and always have. Maybe it's the way I pray, where I feel like I'm talking to my dad or something (my dad and I have always had a stiff relationship).

  You need someone to talk to? I don't mean god or a therapist, but someone who you can open up to honestly?

  If you're like me and have found that the notion of a personal god leaves you flat, have you found a spiritual place for yourself? Do you see beauty in life? Are you able to pray and feel like it means something?

  I don't know that I'd use the word spiritual to relate how I feel about my place in this world. I do see beauty in life. I cannot pray and feel like it means anything. I can think and talk to myself in my head, meditate, I guess. I am down on myself much, much less. :)