A question for all religions really - what makes you think there IS a God watching over you?

[allgonebellyup]

Just out of curiosity really...
Were you brought up in this religion and dont know any different?
Have you ever felt the presence of anything?
Have any of your prayers been answered?

no evidence and he can't support unless you ask or unless one of the other people supporting you is drawing on his strength.

It's really hard to explain this on the internet, I'm sorry if what I'm saying is coming across as trite or spectacularly inadequate.

and yes I also agree it is all random. God doesn't control the world because we have free will - he gifted that to us for us to make it a better place, yes I know we are royally fucking it up sometimes.

Oooh this is deep stuff, and very close to the bone.

My personal take on it is this: Yes I can feel God with me, very often. I became a christian as a teenager and remember very well the 'before' and 'after'. My life changed radically. Who I was changed radically, and for the infinitely better. It was like, I'd been trying to be the best person I could, which was frustrating and so disappointing. Then when I became a christian the whole perpective changed - I didn't have to try any more because God in me was being the strength that I needed to be the person I could never be on my own. I felt peace, purpose, I felt that there was order to the world, I felt known and loved by God, I felt that I could question and scream and cry at Him but He'd never stop loving me and knowing me through and through. And over the years I have questioned and screamed and cried at God but I still feel that His love goes on forever.

So,yes, there are unanswered prayers - or at least prayers which I haven't seen the answers to (and by faith I think there is a difference). Although there are answered prayers too. As time's gone by I'm thinking more and more that God calls us to be "his hands and feet" - i.e. in praying for healing, we need to be praying for all doctors, nurses and others who care physically. In praying for the lonely, we need to get off our backsides and knock on our neighbours' doors or whatever. In praying for the homeless, we get involved in whatever way we can, we do our best to help those at the margins of society. If we aren't willing to do these things, our prayers and our faith are a bit limited. So praying for miracles (i.e. things happening that are outside of the normal course of things) is only part of what christinaity is about - it's also about being willing to be part of the answer to your own prayers.

IME people aren't that impressed by miracles. It is so easy to explain them away if you want to. It is much harder to explain away why people give their lives to helping the poor, the homeless, the needy. I honestly believe that if christinas did what they talk about more, we'd have a lot more credibility in the world.

And it makes my heart ache just thinking about it.

No I meant atheism. 'Not believing' isn't something I have to 'do'. It's something I don't do.
If it were an 'active disbelief' then the more things I disbelieved in the harder it would get. I'd have to get up each day and carefully not believe in talking toasters, rabbit holes that lead to other worlds and so on. It would be exhausting.

If you just believe in a presence then that sounds like a very low maintenence religion so perhaps not much work involved. Those who believe they must satisfy conditions to be rewarded must spend time trying to work out what the conditions are.

That was a reply to Lauriefairycake. It moved on while I wasn't looking.

Greyriverside, it's nothing to do with rewards. It's to do with compassion - looking at a despreately needy world and feeling that you must do something, anything, and that God is with you as you give whatever little you have within you to give.

I could not do half of things I do if I did it for my reward or selfishness.

That sounds pious so I'll just say fuck so you know I'm not

Yes, I have compassion for others and sometimes god asks me to do things I really struggle with but it is always the right thing.

Lauriefairycake, If you don't believe you will go to heaven for doing good then that makes your good deeds true ones in my view.

You may see it as doing gods will, but I will stick with my view that it's your own good nature since there is no set reward for you

I have heard many christians say that atheism is bad because 'why would people do anything good if they didn't have god telling them to' and that I find a worrying attitude and clearly not true.

I absolutely agree with that and think those Christians are idiots

God definitely doens't tell me, he makes it known what he wants and he tells me to trust him. When I don't do it he raises an eyebrow (metaphorically)and consoles me with the fuck up i've made of it.

It feels much more like an infleunce and a partnership. I'm very suspicious of people who say god told me to do this (particularly when it comes from cult leaders)

My prayers tend to be for God to give me strengh to cope and help me think clearly, not for curing or giving me more money etc. That is a general misconception that some non-religious people have about what praying is.
Btw, I read a very good book once about finding meaning in suffering and pain. it is by victor frankl: "Man's search for meaning". I recommend it to everyone.