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.

If I go down to Hell will Satan go down on me?

It's just too amusing to watch them tie themselves into angry knots 😂

@thisishowloween

I suppose so - but in spite of that, people ARE aware that religions other than Christianity, Judaism and Islam exist - so even though they may have had limited (or zero) exposure to these other religions, it still feels very presumptuous to assume that the philosophy, concepts, dogma and attitudes of the Abrahamic faiths apply to other religions as well.

Earlier on you asked for me to give my thoughts rather than directing you to John Beckett's post about 'Facts and Reason in Paganism'. I did so earlier, but you may have missed it. I still think the post itself is worth readings its entirety, but here is my own perspective on some of the issues he raised.

I agree with John Beckett's view that materialism (the philosophical view that all that exists is matter) is an assumption, not a proven fact. And that when people say there's no way that magic could possibly work, what that means is that magic cannot work within the bounds of materialism. Magic can work outside of the bounds of materialism.

I also agree with Beckett when he says that people's EXPERIENCES are real - it is the INTERPRETATION of such experiences that is up for debate. To briefly quote him - that we (believers) have experiences is a fact. "My interpretation of it is an opinion about which reasonable people can have reasonable disagreements. But reasonable disagreements should only be around the interpretation, not around the facts of the experience."

I also agree with his point that reason/reasoning are not solely equated with materialism. They are processes that people engage in.

And I agree that, in the area of religion, spirituality and mysticism, areas which are pretty much uncertain either way, that people have the right to determine their own standards of evidence.

You have your standards of evidence - you don't believe based upon people's experiences/testimonies, and that's fine. You don't have to. Those are your standards.

However, people like myself find our own experiences, as well as the testimonies of others, including people we personally know and trust, to be an acceptable standard of evidence for ourselves.

I was Christened, Confirmed and married in church. I also sang in the church choir for 5 years.
However, as I aged and analysed these issues, I no longer want to be any part of the politics in the middel east.
Which is basicallt what Western religion is about.

Will Satan go down on multiple people at once? 😂

Satanic Orgy for the win! 😂

How do you know that the Bible is the word of God? There's an awful lot of books that claim to be the word of one god or other but they can't all be true as they're contradictory.

What is it about the Bible that makes you think it's true compared to, say, the Qur'an, the Book of Mormon, the Guru Granth Sahib, the Tao Te Ching, the Bhagavad Gita, Dianetics etc?

😉

Oh my god this gif is so funny 😂

so even though they may have had limited (or zero) exposure to these other religions, it still feels very presumptuous to assume that the philosophy, concepts, dogma and attitudes of the Abrahamic faiths apply to other religions as well.

I'm not sure people are doing it on purpose @SorcererGaheris - it's just most people only have experience of Christianity and maybe one or two other religions, and sadly for many of us, those experiences are almost entirely negative. Of course that doesn't make it right.

I do appreciate how it must feel for you though and I'm sorry people have made you feel lumped in under one negative banner (and I'm sorry if I've done that on this thread too). It certainly isn't intentional (on my part, at least).

I actually appreciate being able to talk to people of different faiths who are respectful.

I have a pentagram on the middle finger of my right hand - is that not okay either? I'm going to be so disappointed if DandyMintLeader is upset with me.

So sorry to edit: it's an inverted pentagram/pentacle. You know, the evil one.

This is exactly my view too!

OK, you don't make those rules but you believe them to be true. Fair enough.

Tell me - do those rules strike you as just? Eg, there could be someone who lives a good life, helps others, and makes the world a better place for their works in it. But they don't accept Jesus Christ. According to your interpretation of the Bible, they'll spend eternity in Hell.

On the other hand there could be someone who treats people appallingly, rapes people, leaves a lasting legacy of awfulness and harm but has a deathbed conversion to Christianity, confesses his sins and ends up in Heaven.

Do you see that as a reasonable outcome? Is that justice to you? If there's some little girl who was murdered and she ends up in heaven only to find her murderer gets there too and is told "It's ok, he confessed his sins at the last minute so he deserves to be here just as much as you", would you think that she has no right to think it unjust?

FWIW I regularly walk my dog with the local baptist minister and one of my oldest online friends is Pagan. In fact, at least half of my extended family are Catholics. I have absolutely no issue with other religions and people believing in different things.

I do have an issue when those people tell me I'm going to rot in hell, or suffer for all eternity, simply because I don't believe in God. I don't see how the simple fact of saying "I don't believe in God/Jesus" can override all the good things you do in your life.

I personally think people who believe and say those things are very insecure, angry people who can only make themselves feel better by trying to upset others.

Some medieval portrayals of Satan has him possessing two penises (peniii?) so he'd probably be very popular in a gang-bang.

Amazing 😂

I never knew that, what a great little factoid to bring up!

Peniii 😂 I just had to hold back a laugh at this and it sounded like I was going to vomit 😂

Lots of posts saying Christians are unkind saying some folk will end up in Hell. It’s not the messengers condemning folk, they are, I hope, pointing out the consequences from God that are described in the Bible. Ultimately it is God’s judgement that determines who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell, and he provides a route map in the Bible teachings for maximising your chances of ending up in Heaven. So if you choose a different path the logical destination is Hell.
Christians should pray that those who do not choose the path to Heaven will change course to the Heavenly path. We should not condemn others for choosing a different path, that is not our mission.

Aw. What a shame. I wanted to be told how much of a sinner I am. It's such a turn on for me. Yes, call me a "dirty little Satanist" one more time 🤤

😯 @GarlicBreadStan

Just to clarify, I'm being a total wind up merchant because I don't appreciate being told I'll burn in Hell just because I don't believe in God or something along those lines. It doesn't actually turn me on to be told I'll burn in Hell 😂

😮