Do You Believe In "God"?

by minimus 35 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Big Tex

  I believe in God.

  Unfortunately he does not believe in me.
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  AK - Jeff

  Yes...well um maybe... not sure.... no.

  I struggle with this most days to be honest. I do not believe in God the way religionist believe in God, that's for sure. But I do believe that we don't know it all - can't know it all - and maybe there is much we don't know.

  Jeff
• 

  MissingLink

  "Belief" is the opposite of reason. So no. Not Zeus, Santa Clause, Jehovah, or any of the other stories of men. I'm agnostic about the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The proof of his existence has at least as much validity as the others.
• 

  AllTimeJeff

  Here is a problem

  If we were to somehow establish that "god" exists (higher power, creator, alien, etc)....

  .....then the theists would come out and claim that their god is the one... JW's, Catholics, Hindu's, Muslims.....

  The possibility that a higher, or unseen power with personality perhaps exists is not the point.

  The word "god" traditionally engenders a very indoctrinated idea, which is: If god exists, then god must be worshiped.

  So for me, god existing doesn't matter to me one way or the other. The better question is: If god exists, does he merit worship? Does he deserve it based on what he has done, what he has not done, and what he has allowed to go on? Does the fact that he allows a disturbingly large amount of opinion and confusion to exist speak well of him? Does the fact that he allows conjecture and emotion to replace fact give him a superior moral foundation that demands my attention and worship?

  Does the fact that he supposedly allows suffering on all kinds of levels to exist for his own "higher" or "superior" reasons, (which he seemingly chooses not to share, or allows us to take blind guesses at), speak well of his right to rule?

  I can create something, but if I neglect it and it harms others, that doesn't mean I have the right to keep it.

  Again, it is the idea that god deserves and merits worship that is the more powerful question, as opposed to arguing about whether or not this heretofore invisible deity supposedly exists.
• 

  eyeslice

  Yes - I still do.

  I no longer believe, however, that the spirtual journey to find God is as simple as we were taught as Jehovah's Witnesses.
• 

  Chalam

  I no longer believe, however, that the spirtual journey to find God is as simple as we were taught as Jehovah's Witnesses

  Of course not, it is far simpler!

  Romans 10:9 (New International Version)

  9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

  All the best, Stephen
• 

  White Dove

  I believe in the pagan pantheon that includes many gods and goddesses from many different countries, and this includes the Catholic saints and Jesus and Mary. I believe that they are different aspects of the divine. Each one of them has something for us all to learn from. It makes it easier to understand the All (ourselves and the universe) when it's broken down into its many parts. Explore each part as the need occurs in your life. I believe that God is really my conscience speaking to me.

  The divine is everything and everything is divine.
• 

  mouthy

  9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord,"
  and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved

  Thats what I believe !!!so ruddy simple after so many doors I knocked on
  where were you then Stephen?????
• 

  White Dove

  Right on Mouthy and Chalam! I don't get why JW's had to make it so gosh darned complicated. If you're gonna believe in the Bible, stop adding to it!
• 

  Lillith26

  The divine is everything and everything is divine.

  This is great White Dove. It sounds very panendeistic! Many paths to the same destination- Enlightenment!