Do you believe in God/a higher power?

[CuriousAboutWhatYouThink]

Not religion. I have no time for organised religion and the associated man made rules.

But do you believe in 'something'?

For context, my grandad was a CofE vicar but my parent rebelled against it and we were brought up broadly l in the religion (eg we celebrated main religious festivals like Easter and Christmas) but not as practising Christians and without a particular belief in God.

As an adult, I have friends of different faiths and none and it's something we have discussed from time to time. It's also something I used to discuss with my grandma who had a very strong belief in God but also believed the Bible until she became older when she still had a strong faith but admitted she thought the Bible was largely nonsense!

I suppose I've always felt that there is 'something' but I refer to it as the universe. I don't know, I always feel that there has been 'something' looking out for me.

That doesn't mean bad things have never happened because they have and religion/belief doesn't protect anyone from that. And it doesn't mean my life is anywhere near perfect because it's not. But the universe has always seemed to 'step in' when needed.

I don't know. I'm going through a tough time at the moment but I have a feeling everything will turn out to be OK because it always does.

Defending a belief based on no evidence by stating no one can prove it isn’t so is a bit infantile. A negative cannot be proven.

As an atheist I’m not looking to be saved as there is nothing to be saved from - for anyone.

I’ve not been baptised and wouldn’t start praying to someone I don’t believe exists. Heaven and hell don’t exist - they are just controlling mechanisms to force people to behave in a certain way- it’s a threat, hardly loving as we are meant to think.

What do you think will happen on the day of judgement (keeps getting quoted) - when is it??

@GarlicBreadStan

Okay, I've been looking for some videos - this may turn out to be quite a list, so hold onto your hat!

^https://www.youtube.com/@OceanKeltoi^

Pagan Polytheist Ocean Keltoi has a channel where he explains and explores polytheism and paganism. He believes in the existence of ALL gods and goddesses from all religions and pantheons, which is the common way of polytheists generally - we make concentrate our focus and interest on specific pantheons, but we don't deny the existence of other deities. Ocean, for example, believes that the Abrahamic God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam exists, he just focuses on other deities. For him, it's the Norse Gods - if you watch his videos, you may see him wearing a Thor's hammer pendant.

Some particular videos of his I would recommend are:

Defining the Gods A Pagan Response to Atheism

(Here Ocean gives the perspective that, since the majority of atheist arguments are in response to Christian monotheist claims of, and about, deity, they don't work as well against polytheism, because polytheism is built upon totally different premises and philosophical views of deities.)

How Do I Learn about Paganism and Heathenry (Heathenry being a pagan religion based around the Norse deities)

https://www.youtube.com/@themodernfairysightingspod8421

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(MANY pagans and polytheists do indeed engage and honour deities from multiple pantheons.)

He has other videos, but I think these are good ones of his to start off with.

Now, onto other people:

Mhara Starling is a Welsh witch and polytheist who has a number of Youtube videos about practicing witchcraft within a specifically Welsh cultural lens, as well as information about the Welsh deities and Welsh paganism.

Here are some of the videos on her Youtube page that I would recommend.

The Welsh Witch Podcast - Finding Welsh Magic with Kristoffer Hughes What is Welsh Polytheism

The Irish Pagan school has LOTS of videos exploring Irish paganism and Irish deities specifically, as well practicing a witchcraft that is culturally Irish.

https://www.youtube.com/@IrishPaganSchool

The Modern Fairy Sightings podcast is a podcast that explores modern-day fairy sightings, including one by the academic Professor Ronald Hutton.

https://www.youtube.com/@themodernfairysightingspod8421

To finish with, here is a video of experienced sorcerer/occultist Clifford Hartleigh Low giving a description of his life as a sorcerer and the experiences he's had.

This should be enough to get you started! 😊

@Lemonadepie

Personally, I don't think that that invalidates the research. I can try to find some other examples that aren't from her, though.

I would request that you please be polite to me. Calling me "gullible" is name-calling and considering I have been polite to you, it is not justified. I expect courtesy from people that I am courteous towards.

Thank you! I have copied and pasted the links into my notes app 😊

But why ask or worry if it isn't a matter for you. I wouldn't spent time if it has no influence on your personal life.
Tbh I don't believe being baptisted or not is that important to go to heaven.
I my life, marriage, family life and church life Christanity has no controlling issues or forcing any elements. No thrests. Only love and kindness.

It's the trick question. All the time. I can't name time, place or outcome. You knew that already, didn't you?

@GarlicBreadStan

I hope you find them enjoyable and interesting.

You have a point and I’m sorry to call you gullible. I appreciate having this discussion with you

Where’s the love and kindness of saying sinners will go to hell so you’d better worship me?
Where’s the love and kindness in refusing to marry my friends in a same sex relationship?

The church I attend would never say sinners go to hell as a statement, as hate or as a threat.
We welcome people in a same sex relation. It's not a issue.

Churches and denominations are very different.

Which religion are you?

Thought I'd better jump to the end of this thread to see where it wandered! I may have engaged with @SorcererGaheris at other times with other usernames but, whatever, it's always interesting to read 'spiritual' theories on how the world/universe works.

I'm way too fascinated by how things are to get excited by random musings about glowing birds, angels, demons, intentional forces and the like. This world is really fucking weird and amazing as it stands, there's no need to invent higher powers or to attribute meaning. The real meaning of everything is that humans are part of an accidental process that began on an accidental space rock trapped in the gravitational field of a radioactive mass. That star is dying, at which time it will compress everything in its orbit and new processes will begin.

None of this has anything to do with 'energies' lurking inside accidental life forms or manifestations of 'energies' trying to communicate with them. It's true that humanity doesn't know everything; we probably never will. This is not a terrible thing, there's excitement in curiosity and discovery for their own sake.

Some people evidence a desperate need for explanations, driving them to create beliefs - which, even so, can never be complete - that feel to them like certainties. Tbh, I think this was more understandable when people didn't know what causes lightning, say, and earthquakes. It strikes me as odd that people of faith now dismiss scientific discoveries if they can't convince themselves the science fits their beliefs. That certainty thing, I guess?

At the same time, those people also dismiss what we do know about mental health and human pheromones, hormones and the like. If you're seeing glowing birds, it's far more likely that your brain's having some sort of blip and you should get an eye test, than that 'the force' is trying to tell you something.

In short, the higher powers I believe in have nothing to do with gods and spirits: they don't have minds to think with, so neither know nor care about human beings. I haven't got a soul and neither have you. It's still an amazing world!

I am Christian.

I can't tell if this is satire or not. To be honest, if I was going to go anywhere, I'd prefer to go to Hell anyway (not that that exists to me either)

If Heaven and Hell are real, which I have every reason to believe that they are not, I would rather go to Hell and party with Satan than be judged on every single thing that I do, good or bad

Ahh I see so the very religious person I deal with at work who raped his own children in the most unthinkable horrific ways is going to heaven but I’m going to hell??

I think I’ll choose hell in that case.

Definitely

The Bible says sinners go to hell (non believers) and your church refuses to marry in church those in a same sex relationship.

Good thing I didn't ask for sympathy then!

Why would she want sympathy from you? 😂

The devil doesn’t exist anymore than heaven and hell. Being religious doesn’t make you a better person. There doesn’t seem to be much kindness in religion.