Do you believe in God?

[VirtualPA]

I am interested to know what the majority of people belive.

I personally believe in a Christian God, Heaven and hell etc.

I raised a strict an athiest

lamplighter, yes of course.

Is there a prayer request thread anywhere on Mumsnet already, or should one of us start one?

Don't think anyone was bringing folk down, just giving their opinion,some believe some don't and some don't know.

I'm interested in UQD's prayer request

There is a Christian prayer request thread here

We would hope to support each other through our prayers bearing in mind that we serve a God who is not answerable to our bidding but who is souvereign to work His perfect will.

Thanks DutchOma

Lily, as a 'believer' I did actually feel brought down by those saying I am stupid and haven't really thought it through, or am needy, or slightly (to extremely) mad, or deluding myself. That may be those people's opinion of me (and isn't that also what MN's all about), but it's not very productive! (Hence was pleased to see thread turn around a bit)...

I like sending people thoughts. Therefore I shall do so. My usual response when someone says "I'll pray for you" is to say "Thank you, I will think for you"

i AM a believer,the whole lot,Jesus ,the Holy Spirit and God the Father,don't care what ohters believe in coz i have a relationship with Christ,im not into religion,coz religions says,DON'T DO THIS or DO THIS,,but CHRIST says IT IS DONE,was raised catholic,never forced,made up my mind to be pentecostal,and my life has never been lovely,,is it full of sunshine and roses??no,do i have problems?yes,but does God love me?absolutely,and for that reason,i love Him.

Blimey, this is bringing them out of the woodwork.

Sorry, if you believe in a god you are religious. It may not be convenient or desirable to call yourself that, but you are.

Actually you don't have to be a loony, or stupid or old fashioned to have a living faith. Mine was strengthened at Oxford University where I learned to pray with others and was able to find answers to all those difficult questions. Try reading some C.S. Lewis for a more intellectual approach.

Just to add another "yes", in case anybody's still counting.

Not raised a christian but found faith aged 14. Hope that isn't the way it goes. Raised with faith the loses it or raised a christian and the rejects it. I have 4 kids and I hope they will come to know God. Not sure what they believe at the moment.

I've read C.S. Lewis. And I don't just mean the Narnia books. I've read "Mere Christianity". I've lost my old copy now but I remember it was full of pencilled notes (a lot of which were on the lines of "No, no, no, oh, for goodness' sake NO").

I do find it amusing that some people still hold the opinion that, because you're an atheist, it must be because you haven't yet been educated enough in the ways of "faith".

blimey hobtastic, sounds amazing.

Lamplighter, I am so sorry to hear your dad is suffering. I hope you feel some support from this/other threads.

Education isn't going to help. Nor is the sort of argument you can pose on an internet site. But it is not blind faith either. If you are 'unquiet' as a dad, I hope you find peace. I pray God will give you that. Not looking for confrontation. Sleep well.

you're really going to piss him off with that

I believe in God. Was brought up to make up my own mind. I pray, and believe God listens. I read my bible, but don't go to church regularly any more - although I am hoping to start that again soon.

I believe in God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord... etc etc

To those who God is responsible for miracles...I have experienced a miracle (that heat-emanating pizza guy), but I can't put it down to an all-knowing God who is out there caring for me and looking out for me. There is noone there.
A miracle and God are not mutually inclusive. Birth is the greatest miracle (moving a sea is pretty shit in comparison to the miracle of birth), but it doesn't tell me God exists.

P.S
I'm telling you that that healing shit happened . Not just in a secret way, but in front of my boss and my co-workers (he used to heal their aches and pains too). And he did it more than once so it wasn't a random freak incident. As I say, I'd NEVER tell anyone IRL. I mentioned it once to my DH and he just thinks it's all in my mind. The only people who believe me are the people who I'm still in touch with who knew the guy himself.
Would love to know if anyone has experienced something similar. There are lots of quacks out there who believe they can heal; this guy just helped his mates anc co-workers. Not a very educated chap, but he'd just been given this incredible gift

I wonder if Jesus was a person who had the same gift. I can see how you could use it to control people and gain power if you were that way inclined. Not everyone is as modest and humble as the guy I knew.

"It was a book by an American university scholar who had converted to Christanity ..."

In any research you have to account for bias.
"American" is a flashing red flag for me.
Now if you'd said an "Iranian" or a "Japanese (very rational and pragmatic people) then I might be more interested. THe prevailing culture in America is Christianity. The US is steeped in Christianity, so when you take that into account it refutes the idea that this guy came to his conclusion through pure logical and rationalization.

pure logic and rationalization

My mother who is very intelligent (in Mensa)has a strong faith in God. Havent read whole thred as really long! but I have noticed several people have questioned how intelligent, educated people can bealive in a supernatural God.
I do feel that it often holds true that for every answer we find (about the nature of life,the universe and everything)we open up a whole new host of questions. It seems to be that within this space many highly intelligent people can hold faith. Where people with a more avarage intellect may simply accept all the scientific answers they are given and not see the new questions beyond them IYSWIM.
Im very much of average intelect and dyslexic so sorry about any spelling mistakes, I do belive in a higher power buy unsure how to define am raising dc's to be open minded and find own belifes.

No, I don't think there's any correlation between intelligence and faith. I think there's a correlation between vulnerability and faith. More women and old people attend church. Men and the young don't seem to have the same need to believe in God.

Fossie - a little more education and a little less "faith" and you might have realised where my MN name actually comes from. Someguy - don't flatter her, she will have to try a little harder than that.

Oh, and all these prayers should be scientifically monitored as to their effectiveness. Does someone want to keep track and come back in a few months with a percentage success rate? (Although, given that the Royal Family are prayed for every week in every church in the land, they ought to be significantly healthier and happier than any other people of their age and income level.... hmmm.)

People fall into the trap of thinking atheists are automatically dismissive of people's beliefs. We're not. We wouldn't be on discussions of this kind if we were. I like to treat them in exactly the same way as I do anything else which someone wants me to believe - I don't just want to hear the theory, I want to see the supporting evidence. And until you can provide this, the default position is scepticism. (Or skepticism, if you are American.) You surely must know that scepticism is a fine and honourable debating standpoint, and a very effective tool in the assessment of information. It is the automatic default position towards extraordinary claims, until evidence can be given.

I believe in God. Until the age of 22, I thought everyone else did too! It was a bit of a shock to find out that my best mate didn't. My immediate response was.. "but.. why not? What gives you comfort?! How empty your life must be!".

Being a touch older and wiser.. I still don't understand it because I don't experience it myself. But I respect other people's views and desires to not want to believe.

I don't understand what is wrong with believing in God, or understand an athiest's constant desire to harass and question someone else's faith or denounce their religion at nearly every turn if they find out their friend/partner is a Christian.

That's not scepticism, that's just bad manners.