All of this is outdated and one way or the other, if you want the most recent thoughts and opinions I have proceeded to the most recent page, ask and I will answer, thoughts change and the truth can be like liquid.
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Likely no one here will care, only a few people know my thoughts on such things, so why not share it with others, This Thread is not directly attacking anybody's particular beliefs in the immediate.

Your salvation is your own, I will not try to sway you from it, this is just something I simply believe in.

Since a child I've always been a student of History, perhaps my fascination with the past has prevented me from falling for my parents liberal propaganda, but anyway I've also read much about religion, from Buddhism to Zoroastrianism, and all the noise in between

And in my opinion in the end I think we are all false, even my beloved texts of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism are not truly correct, though Laozi did see the truth, he just hid it, on the many other Faith's of humanity, they are all too flawed to be close to the truth, if any one of them actually is the truth, and it's actually shown to be truth in my lifetime, I will be in misery beyond description, will we ever really know God's nature? it seems that she has done nothing personally in this Grand spectacle, save for creating it, or at least I can't find any evidence of it, hence is why atheists do not believe in God's existence, but to me, this Grand spectacle that is all creation is proof enough, With science we can solve her Mysteries that she has made for us, but in the end we will never know all the answers, because it is highly doubtful that Humanity as a species will Survive for billions of years.

I only have a Theory or a Feeling on what God is like, I think God is neither one or many, neither good or evil, everything and nothing, too abstract and esoteric to fully understand, and is inherently feminine, a mother of all things, gentle, all powerful, but perhaps not all-knowing, otherwise why does the universe exist? perhaps she needs us to answer a question that she cannot answer.

There's only one thing I can think of with any possible closeness to True certainty, is that, maybe when I die and at the end of that, I might fully know the truth as i hope for all of us to know it, if at the end of all things, if I could just rest my head on her lap as the way a child would, and sleep, I think I would finally know peace.


eta, now that i think about it a quite few chapters of the Tao Te Ching have influenced my idea of god, so i will post them here, though translating the Tao Te Ching is difficult, but i like the way Stephen Mitchell way of words.

14
Look, and it can't be seen. Listen, and it can't be heard. Reach, and it can't be grasped. Above, it isn't bright. Below, it isn't dark. Seamless, unnameable, it returns to the realm of nothing. Form that includes all forms, image without an image, subtle, beyond all conception. Approach it and there is no beginning; follow it and there is no end. You can't know it, but you can be it, at ease in your own life. Just realize where you come from: this is the essence of wisdom.
15
The ancient Masters were profound and subtle. Their wisdom was unfathomable. There is no way to describe it; all we can describe is their appearance. They were careful as someone crossing an iced-over stream. Alert as a warrior in enemy territory. Courteous as a guest. Fluid as melting ice. Shapable as a block of wood. Receptive as a valley. Clear as a glass of water. Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself? The Master doesn't seek fulfillment. Not seeking, not expecting, she is present, and can welcome all things.
21
The Master keeps her mind always at one with the Tao; that is what gives her her radiance. The Tao is ungraspable. How can her mind be at one with it? Because she doesn't cling to ideas. The Tao is dark and unfathomable. How can it make her radiant? Because she lets it. Since before time and space were, the Tao is. It is beyond is and is not. How do I know this is true? I look inside myself and see.
34
The great Tao flows everywhere. All things are born from it, yet it doesn't create them. It pours itself into its work, yet it makes no claim. It nourishes infinite worlds, yet it doesn't hold on to them. Since it is merged with all things and hidden in their hearts, it can be called humble. Since all things vanish into it and it alone endures, it can be called great. It isn't aware of its greatness; thus it is truly great.
49
The Master has no mind of her own. She works with the mind of the people. She is good to people who are good. She is also good to people who aren't good. This is true goodness. She trusts people who are trustworthy. She also trusts people who aren't trustworthy. This is true trust. The Master's mind is like space. People don't understand her. They look to her and wait. She treats them like her own children.

Eta2, I actually posted a vid back in blackrifle76's thread, about how I kinda think god is like personality-wise, sort of, just quietly watching.
No context is really needed for this vid


Eta3.
Foreign, yet familiar.
Mysterious, yet known.
Everything, and Nothing.
Substance, and the Void.
And you feel as if you are nothing but a child in front of her.
A gentle smile, a warm hand
A soft lap to rest your head and sleep.
And be at peace.
As all the problems of reality disappear.

Gotta be a more suitable forum for this

Seemed like the most appropriate place to put it

Do you have a question or are you wanting comments on your beliefs?

Even when something's perfect, as soon as we put it in man's hands, man will screw it up somehow, so yeah, no writing or church is ever going to be 100% correct in everything.

Reach out to your idea of God.  Draw closer.  Inquire.   Talk, and listen.

While I have my ideas about what's right, I have a very hard time believing that a god anything like what most people believe in could exist, and NOT work with anyone trying to get closer.  I don't care what religion you are, or none, I believe that if you're honestly trying to get closer to God, God will work with you.

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

I trust God will do what He does best. I trust He has a rescue there.

I would encourage finding a group which also quests for answers. "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

Do I have a question? No, I just felt the need to share it for some reason, don't really know why, like most of my threads actually

@BlackRifle76

I can agree with that.

I have read from people "that perhaps God shows themself in a form that we find most calming"

For some people maybye it would be a big dog, for others maybe something that reminds them of their grandfather, or me, a mother, something I've never truly had.

You have made up your mind as you posted in another thread and quoted above.

I have nothing to say other than Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No man goes to the Father but by Him.

I hope you truly accept Christ.

Hey,
Like Black Rifle said.  It seems that you have made up your mind already.  I'm not sure what you mean by what you know...maybe post it and that could be an interesting discussion in itself? Anyways, I vaguely remember reading in the past that you grew up in...not so perfect..of a family.... As in not what people would consider perfect circumstances..I think I'm remembering correctly.  Is part of your rejection of Christianity because you don't think that that was fair? Obviously your relationship and lifestyle is contrary to what the Bible teaches. ( I'm sure that everyone here has had things in their lives that are against what the Bible teaches, being fortification,divorce,abortion,theft,drunkenness etc) to be perfectly blunt, and not in an offensive way, just because I am blunt...is part of your rejection due to the fact that this is the case and you don't want to, or feel the need to change? Just trying to figure it out here..what drew you to the other religions that you named?

I haven't had many interactions with you before, so I want you to know, if i come across as condescending or rude it is not my intent.  I am truly trying to help.

To each their own

Your feelings are understandable. To a point. Humans want to understand the universe and even how the universe was created.
Humans are truly curious about what existed before the universe. As one who believes in God, I believe that we humans are too small and feeble to understand a being capable of creation on such a scale. Christian's are told in the Bible that God's ways are not His ways and we cannot know what He knows. I am not versed in a the possible belief systems I have read that other systems of religion scale a creator into something more understandable by human standards. While I would not agree with such beliefs many want a creator that resembles a more than super hero type of being. Of course this is IMHO.

You could perhaps say both, yes there is many good words in the Bible, and there are plenty of things that just seem impossible to agree with to me, so that is one reason, but, certain things that are considered crimes against God, that's confuses me, in my understanding how can you commit a crime against God? How can you disgrace her? Why would sexual orientation bother her? Or for that matter gender? Why would she even need angels? Can the petty insults of a mere mortal human being bother her too?  I think not, hence is why I like Buddhism Confucianism and Taoism, they are quite different in many ways compared to the abrahamic, Buddhism for instance doesn't have a Creator god per se, Confucianism it's just a philosophy from a man that never claimed to be a God or a prophet of god, taoism is interesting as well, one of the interesting aspects that I like about it is that life is not the end it is in fact the beginning, after death is where things get interesting, but I only hold them by their Doctrine and texts, as far as the totality of the unknown afterlife, I can only come up with my own conclusions, I guess to me nothing else makes sense, for God to be as Petty, vengeful, or emotional as a human bothers me, another reason why I don't like Hinduism or many other religions, I think she is beyond all that, she has to be.

I think the only thing that bothers her is when one of us, the sentient life forms that we are, willingly kills another sentient being, I don't think she likes War, but she does not seem to stop it, which makes me think that she is not all-knowing, I think she needs our stories, our life experiences, our suffering, our joy, and everything else in between, because I think there's something missing from her, some empty spot or question that she cannot answer herself, the old question of what is the meaning of life comes to mind, but I don't think anyone living will ever know it.

But what do I know, I'm just a young 26 year old man that is trying to come up with answers that no one else seems to be able to answer, and the answers that people typically give just seem to be so ... Hallow.

I just leave people to their own awnsers when it comes to Salvation, what's the point of me trying to change their mind? If they have their salvation, good, I guess, who am I to trample on the freedom of others? I know enough to know that in the end we all know nothing.

But if someone wants my opinion, I will speak what I think.

@KD5TXX

i dont agree with underlined, i believe there is such a thing as Truth and that it is knowable...

Many people, smarter than you or I, have asked, pondered, analyzed, and answered most of these questions.  Unfortunately, few people take the time to examine what others have done.  Truth is not abstract as our current society likes to claim.  There is no "truth for me" that is different from someone else's "truth", just as gravity does not act arbitrarily.  Abstraction, and the concept of malleable truth only allow people to feel comfortable in a place of uncertainty.  We aren't supposed to be comfortable in ignorance and discomfort is the catalyst to drive us.  Without the comfort of believing in a world without truth, the importance of seeking the Truth becomes more urgent.

Having read some of your posts I think you are truly seeking.  While you have rejected Christ as God, it appears, based on this post above, that you don't truly know the claims of Christianity.  I would highly, highly recommend reading Mere Christianity by CS Lewis.  If nothing else, it will help to inform your view of what Christ actually claimed, which is far different from what you often see preached and practiced.  Additionally, Lewis is an absolute wordsmith, with the ability to make complex ideas seem simple.

I know I'm simply a stranger on the internet, but I would be happy to buy and send you a copy to have, even if you aren't inclined to read it now.

Whatever you do, continue to seek the Truth.  As Augustine would say, the Truth is like a lion.  You don't need to defend it.  Let it loose and it will defend itself.  Keep seeking OP.  And continue to seek out those who have contemplated these issues before you.

God loves you.  You will always want to be with God.  Being with God is your reward.

Think about how many religions are based on those three simple tenets.  Belief is supposed to be rewarding; not a anchor worn around your neck.  Your personal relationship with God is yours and yours alone - don't squander it arguing about how many angels can dance on a pin.

Ahh yes the man that wrote Narnia, he is quite the Wordsmith you are right, perhaps I shall pick up a copy

Haha, perhaps that is the best way to go about things

Perhaps I should clarify, I think we can mostly know the truth, but I think in the end there is only some things that you can only know after you die

I agree.  Because we are human, there are some things we can only comprehend when we are in The presence of God.

@LittlePony

If you want truth, God will give it to you, but you must seek Him in humility and with sincerity.

Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

well sir, you could say i have found some answers already, you have your god of ancient prophets and Jesus, and i have the mostly unknown darkness.

at least know this about me.

her vale of cool shade gives as much comfort of being to me, as your gods warmth and light does to you.

hmm, warmth and light, to simple of a description for you gods light, i would use the word Atar, but i think that would insult you, but the conceptual definition of the word is interesting.

but i will leave you this.

Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince others.
Because one is content with oneself, one doesnt need others approval.
Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.

and for me to add to that old quote.

Because one is at peace their soul, god is at peace with them.

@BlackRifle76

o and i updated the op

Where is that from exactly? That last bit.

@buckmeister

Hey Bubba, what a happy coincidence you posted in here where I can reply. I was banned from GD a long while back for being abrasive but I have taken note of your “change” over the last few weeks.

You are ripe for Jesus and don’t realize it. You are following, to the letter, of “seek and you SHALL find”. I believe your eyes are to be opened. I believe God chooses us rather than the inverse and when I see people obsessed in their search I often see the change come.

He caught me broadside some time back and I am now a true believer.I spent a couple of years diligently researching the historicity, the scientific, and philosophical evidence of who He was. And is. I am of no religion. I believe religion as man corrupts it, is the problem.
I believe our perception of Him is corrupted by mans writings and paradigm mold.

I believe we were created to worship him. When we submit to that purpose and acknowledge that, we find happiness and pure joy in freedom from rebellion and self. Like a gardener in a field of souls, He looks for those who echo his love and turn away from their hubris and logical judgement calls. Returning and joining to that source of pure love and peace that makes us laugh and sing with purety is what we were meant for. You are loved, we were all created in His image and as such were given the free will, the attitude of little Demi-Gods, able to choose to shake our fists at him or to submit and worship. It is the only way to avoid forced faked love from soul less manakins.
Remember, the dejected, defeated apostles of Jesus had a life changing event after the crucifixion...an event that made them willing to give their lives to the cause. THAT event was none other than proof of resurrected Jesus.

I love you and He loves you. He didn’t know you yet, and still he walked the long walk for you. The Jewish and Roman governments could have strangled Christianity in its crib yet, despite an armed guard and a sealed tomb, there was no body.

“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

1975 I got caught in a rip current, got hyperthermia and died, my buddy died in the ambulance when the medics left him to go back to the beach for me and his GF.

God is definitely male, powerful and with a love surrounding him that can not be described. I know he loves you as much as he loves me and my buddy donnie.

Thanks?

Your words are kind at least, and the thoughts behind them are good.

But Jesus, the interesting person that he was, is not my prophet, or my god.

Glad to see you're still kicking, you make some really funny post sometimes

Yet!

Matthew 18:20 King James Version (KJV)20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Are you taking that in context with the rest of the passage?

@LittlePony

I mean you no disrespect when I say that you are lost.

I think deep down you know it too. I’ve infered it from some of your posts and I think some other believers have as well.

Every man, no matter what they say, has an inherent knowledge of God’s existence.

Everyone will not be saved from God’s just and righteous judgement. However, we are called to spread the gospel and I have a feeling you want to hear it.

God is real. Jesus is real. The Holy Spirit is real.

Thanks, at at least we can agree that God exists, and I even think Jesus actually existed at one point in time, but everything else? Well we can definitely exchange ideas at least

There is enough secular historical evidence to say that Jesus did in fact live and was crucified by Pilate.  Flavius Josephus a Roman Jewish historian wrote about him.  There is other work as well.

Well the Romans were good at keeping records that's for sure

... you know, I hate Mysteries.

You only have to look at Church history to realize that.  No serious historian believes that Peter and Paul did not exist.  No way would they have suffered so much and died so grotesquely for someone they didn't believe in and love so much.  If Christ did not exist, then why are there over 2 Billion Christians?  Such a powerful large movement did not spawn from nothing.
Jesus, undeniably, changed the world with 3 years worth of preaching and miracle working.  He showed up at a critical time in history, when Greek was the common language and the Romans held dominion over the area. As He said, He came to cast fire upon the earth..."do not think that I bring peace". Rapidly changing world events and conquests insured that his message would be rapidly spread across the planet.  Every Apostle was a bonfire, lighting forest forest fires of truth through out the area.  They were beaten, scourged, and martyred.  11 of the original 12 were beheaded, hung, burned, run through with swords, stoned, or crucified.  These guys had a fire burning inside of them, a truth they could not and would not shut up about. They were willing and considered it an honor to die for Jesus so they could be with him.  Tradition has it that Peter asked to be crucified upside down as he did not consider himself worthy to be hung upright like his Lord. Thousands of Roman citizens were martyred, used as torches, fed to lions and for every one that was slaughtered, 2 sprang up in his place.  The catacombs were turned from a burial site into a womb of Christianity, giving birth to a world movement while strangling the evil, morally bankrupt Roman Empire.  Jesus conquered Rome.

Even Paul states that during his ministry there were many people of the 500 left alive that saw the resurrected Christ with their own eyes. As a side note, I often wonder if there is more to the story with Paul than is written.  Paul was a rabbi, taught at the feet of the prominent rabbi Gamaliel, who was a secret friend of Christians.  How big could Jerusalem be that Paul did not see or hear of Jesus crucifixion?  To steal a quote from Paul, Jesus' actions weren't performed in a corner.

I do find the irony delicious that Jesus took the most prominent persecutor of Christians, a hard-headed, outspoken,
coarse hard-ass, boastful man and turned him into a prominent preacher and used him to His glorification.  You see a lot of Paul's attitude in his writings and he can be annoying but you can't doubt his conversion. He caught a hard core case of it.
When Jesus lays his hand on you, you are never again the same.

Amen BMC,

i love these verses
Romans 5:6-8
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.
8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Thought about you when I heard this song this morning.

I believe God exists.  I just hate his guts since he so clearly enjoys shitting on me.  

Kick him enough and eventually, even a loyal dog will bite ya.

tehe

Sorry to hear that. God isn’t shitting on you. Satan is the god of this present world.

Link.

However he is limited by what he can do. Read the story of Job and the link I provided.

Satan wants to destroy you. Seek God out for protection and help. You must be born again as the Holy Spirit dwelling in you is protection from satan and his minions. Demonic warfare is real.

Seek Jesus. You need Him.

Jesus said this in Matthew 7:7-11

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

I would be inclined to agree with you. After a crisis of faith in my twenties I began questioning then I rejected Christianity, and really every centralized religion in my early thirties. I find far more inspiration from traditions that seek to empower the individual, that hold no constraints on the power of the mind and encourage one to explore all things freely. I found "organized religion" to be too dogmatic and restrictive.

Have you read much of Joseph Campbells stuff? I think you might enjoy his work. He spent most of his life writing on and teaching comparative religions/ mythologies. He makes it very clear that all religions and even all mythologies speak to a common shared experience, and that no one spiritual idea holds exclusive rights to salvation...

ETA: The Joseph Campbell book you should start with is The Hero with 1000 Faces.

I would disregard this post as Joseph Campbell is obviously speaking out of his rear end.

This is the chief problem with religion, by in large most adherents are utterly unwilling to entertain other ideas. I will admit that the only reason I stuck with Christianity so long is because of the fear the dogma creates. If you look objectively at Christianity it is another story in a repeating trend. This idea is repeated in nearly every mythology or religion ever. The Death and resurrection of a god is a common theme dating all the way back to Sumeria. I find this very beautiful, and honestly if the same themes are repeated time and time again, to me it is proof of God, and proof of truth. Once you strip away the window dressing of culture the stories are the same.

"In dogma religion dies, in heresy faith blooms"

If youre not willing to jump right into Joseph Campbell you should read Karen Armstrong's A History of God. She was a nun and decided to leave the convent because as she said "God didnt talk to me there" and started writing. She makes many of the same points that Joseph Campbell does but from a more Christian perspective.

To me I see tidbits of Truth in all of the many religions of the world, her absence in this universe indicates to me that there is no set laws that she has for us, and like a carpenter makes a chair from wood,  all creation is all the proof I need for her existence

Up dated op

What you describe is Ominism, I tend to believe the same.

ETA: I also sympathize with your observation of an absence of God in the universe. I believe in a God that does not interfere with the universe but rather lets it run its course. I will however say I do believe in spiritual forces that interact with us and am fascinated by metaphysics. But I see little evidence for the idea of God painted by most religions.

Also finally I meant to post this earlier, but your idea of God being feminine. As soon as I read that I thought of Luonatar, in Finnish mythology she is the maiden that births the world from the sea. I always thought that creation myth was beautiful.

The idea of Mother Nature always seemed to make the most sense to me, and the most comforting.



@dillonivik

Im with you there, I often refer to things of natural beauty in the feminine, though I personally believe God does not have a gender.

I don't think so either, but it's a lot easier than calling it 'it's

I was referring more to its nature, life stems from mothers, so why would God not be one herself?

I don't know.

Eta, if we do get to see her when we die, i think she appears in a form we personally find most comforting, maybe for some people it would be their childhood dog, an old tree, a long-forgotten stuffed animal from their childhood, or for me a mother that I always wanted but never had, whatever gives us peace I guess.

@dillonivik