classwords

I used to be an atheist, but I grew out of it. Anyway, it's too inconvenient. Even if I was still an atheist, I'd go out of my way not to tell anyone. However, I have encountered some explanations of God that contributed, over time, to my accepting that being an atheist, particularly of the knee-jerk variety, might be a little narrow minded.

One idea about God that I found unusually provocative came from Alan Watts, I think. He starts with the Biblical idea that God created man in his own image. Therefore, we can get an idea of what God is like by observing human behavior. A behavior that Watts was interested in was the disposition of humans to lose themselves; hence, children like to play hide-and-go-seek, read books, and (more radically) spin in circles to become dizzy (disoriented) or even unconscious. Drugs, he supposes, are used at an older age out of a similar drive. Sometimes, people lose themselves so thoroughly that they can't ever find their way back. All this, according to Watts, is very God-like. The entire universe is basically God losing himself in various ways. When we die, it is basically just God returning to his essential identity. God is basically a child playing hide-and-seek with himself, but in ways far more "creative" and potent than we can imagine.

This kind of thinking about God went beyond what I got exposed to in Church, and made it seem much less narrow not to be an atheist.

heh, thanks for the interest! Your own comment is very interesting. I have wondered something similar recently, though I probably would have struggled described what it was i was thinking. I certainly wouldn't have put it as well as that.
"God is basically a child playing hide-and-seek with himself, but in ways far more "creative" and potent than we can imagine."
I suspect there is some truth in that.

My views on this are confusing and a bit hazy. I was raised in the Mormon religion, but I stopped going to church and what not when I was about 15. I’ve always known that there is a Greater something out there. And although in my heart I believe what I was raised on, in my head it doesn’t really make sense. So I’ve had several different theories. There is the common belief that we are all one and that makes a collective consciousness, which in its’ self is God. That and Mormonism are the two that have actually stuck with me. I really like to think that there actually is a personage watching over me and helping me through this crazy life, it’s also nice to know that I am connected with everyone and everything.
I have seen God a lot in my life also. I don’t usually see that He was there and had an affect on my life until after the fact. For example when I had to move to Utah I was really mad and although I had already basically given up on God, the situation at hand made it even worse. But now being back and looking back at the time I spent in Utah, I see how important it was for me to be there. I learned and grew so much while I was living there. I met my friend Becca who was a wonderful influence on me. She had been where I was and she got past it and she found God again. She helped me see that it was possible and worthwhile to have Him in my life.
I’m still not a religious person and I don’t really have a relationship with God, but I know he’s there and someday I will go to Him.

I am going to write about a certain aspect of God. I believe people freak out too much when it comes too god. Not in the religious way but in the church and state way. I am religious myself and believe in God and have faith in him. I believe this country was founded through God and the founders when setting up this country; they made sure it was set under God. So with this in mind I believe the pledge of allegiance, the constitution, and other such things should not be fudged with. If people don’t believe in God, that’s fine they can do what they want and believe in what they want, however if they live in this country then they should when saying the pledge or whatever, say the damn thing as it was written, this nation under God.
If people have a problem with that, then they can deal with it. Just because they don’t believe in God doesn’t mean that they are not required to respect that the founders of this nation, founded this country under God. So they should not bitch about it so much.
Also people should take a chill pill when distinguishing the separation between church and state. They try so hard to make sure this is separated. Okay fine this is all right, that the bias of a judge through his religious beliefs should be avoided. But people need to not freak out about this stuff so much.

I am a firm believer in god because he is my leader and I look up to him for advice. God is the number one person in my life because when ever I think about doing something wrong I always look up to him for advice. God is also a great listener because at night when you want to get something off of your chest he will give you advice on what to do. He has always been there for me and I know that he always will be too. Ever since when I can remember god has been in my life. When I was younger my parents always made me go to church. When I was little I really didn’t realize what the Lord Jesus Christ was all about. Sometimes I don’t think that you do realize it until you are a little older anyways. I hope that in the future I can continue to believe in him because he is my number one priority in life even though I do him wrong a lot he still forgives me and we still get along. In fact my whole family believes in him because they know too what he can do and the powers that he holds.

God. My opinions on this concept are mixed. Assuming you are referring to the Christian “God,” I hold positive and negative feelings. I believe that Christianity has a very good basic set of beliefs. They teach acceptance, forgiveness, sharing, and many other good moral values. On the other hand, it would seem that very few “Christians” really adhere to the principles of their religion. Jesus taught his disciples to “turn the other cheek,” but how often do our “Christian” leaders follow this? Over zealous Christians attempt to force their beliefs onto others, sometimes through violence. Whether or not “God” exists and there is a heaven or hell, religion has its place in society. As Karl Marx said “religion is the opiate of the masses.” All cultures that have ever developed in this world have formed their own sort of religion; the basic belief that there is some greater power, some reason for everything that happens, something for people to believe in.
When I reached the age of 10 I became very bored with church, and it was around then that I decided that I did not believe in “god.” How could there possibly be some all powerful being in the sky, looking down and watching us at all times. How could there be a fiery pit known as hell in the center of the earth, awaiting sinners; or angles living on clouds in the sky. I am agnostic; I don’t know whether or not some god exists, and I really have stopped caring. I devote some time to the idea now and then, but for the most part have discounted all possibilities of the existence of such a being.

God – In the past, back when I was younger, probably 11 or 12, I used to believe in god. I would go to church on Sunday mornings and listen to my Sunday school teachers and the reverend go on about how bitchin’ god really is. After about 14 though, I started to feel that god wasn’t too big on me and that maybe, just maybe, he didn’t like me at all. It just didn’t make sense to me. I was all about the jesus and still, I didn’t feel any better than when I hadn’t cared at all about him or whatever he had done. At this point, I decided a change was in order, I would go for awhile and not care about god or gods rules for the way I should live my life. If I felt just the same as I did when I gave a shit about god, then it wasn’t really having an effect on my life. It turned out that things were just as good as they had been when I was caring about jesus. Now when I say they were just as good as they had been, I mean that things were still shitty and boring and unproductive.

It’s unfortunate to see so many people have given their lives to something so deceiving. Not that religion is a bad thing, but at east it should be acknowledged for what it is: a way of life. Religion is not about the God it claims to worship, which is why I’m not religious, but I do believe in God.

GOD

So far away
But yet standing right next to you
The one who is take your hand
When you are lost and scared
He will always be with you,
Never leave you.

We talk about in church every Sunday
How to reach out to lost people
But every time when I see someone in need
I become small and shreak back…

What is wrong with me,
I should be able to do this one thing for Him
After ALL He has done for me…
Hello, dying on the cross to save us all,
I should be more willing!

I feel close and comforted
In your warm imbrace,
The Holy Spirit has captured my soul
I feel so at a home, and I’m not going to leave
As soon as we have to leave this Earth we call home,
I will be heading home to be with my Grandpa.
We will be able to both be comfortable,
And be in the presences of the Lord.
My family will be a whole again, just like
I remembered my childhood dream to be.
Everything will be as in was. Everyone will be happy
We will all get along, say the right things to each other. Life in Heaven will be “Heaven”

I do not know how I feel about god…. I used to be a big believe believer but then I had some reason for the doubts I was having. All the sudden my world seemed to fill like it was breaking apart. My parents were getting a divorce I was doing bad in school I felt like I had no on and I was all alone. I wouldn’t get myself out of bed for church anymore the only thing I was doing in going to my church youth group once every other Wednesday .
That finally ended too when a kid in my youth group shot himself one day when he went home from school. At that point it was just horribl e to even go to youth group anymore because all we talked about or thought about was him and it was a sad place to be anymore. Then I moved out to Oshkosh and my great grandmother is a very very serouis person on that topic, she pretty much was not going to let me out of church if I begged her. I got a job so I was not able to go Sunday mornings but then she made me go Wednesday ‘s I actually liked it but as sad as it is to say I just went for the food and socialization we had their. So I guess I don’t really know how I feel about god, I wan t to believe and maybe someday I will be totally into it, but as of now it is kind of a rocky subject and just try not to think of it too much, hopefully someday I will figure out what my calling is.

I don’t really think that I believe in god I think he’s kind of something to make people follow a way of life. I think it’s a kind of sick to think about I don’t really understand the whole bible kind of contradicting. I think church and the bible just give people false hope on things. It like if you don’t go to church and read the bible you will go to hell people buy in to those things that’s why its still here it a fucked up way of life you shouldn’t have to go through life referring to a book of contradicting crap either way your sinning no matter how hard you try. So what’s that tell us no matter what you do you’ll always be a fuckup

I’m Christian so I believe in god. I don’t usually go to church on Sundays but I go on Wednesdays. My mom is Mormon and my dad is Catholic but they never forced me or my brothers to go. I believe in heaven but not in hell. I think you can still make some mistakes and still have a good afterlife because everyone makes mistakes. I don’t entirely base my life around him but I am substantial at the things I do towards him.

I believe in god. I know his son was alive and died for my sins. I know that he watches over us at all times. Jesus I know will come back to see who is his followers and who is not. I don’t know who will be ready for this when it happens. I don’t know if I will be ready for it when it happens. This is just some of the things I have been thinking about the past 2 years. I know I don’t really act like I believe in god or even show it but I do. I talk about it sometimes but not as much as I should. One thing I make sure I don’t do is reject him from my life.

He is over rated to me. Some people believe he is our “savor”. I don’t know what to think… I think that it is just another way of controlling people. People can’t choose their religion, or say hey I feel catholic today. You are born into a religion and you have no say in what it is. From what I know, everyone has the same god but they have different beliefs and different images for what he may look like. I think that everyone should be able to worship who ever they want.

If you are not acquainted with god, then you have a problem. God died for us, and gave us life. Without god I do not know where I would be today. You can always rely on god. He is the one that will always be there. He is the one who never lies. He is the one who will push you through things when you are stuck. He is always willing to listen, when someone else won’t. You can tell him and talk to him about anything, and he won’t judge you. He helps when you feel like there is nowhere else to turn. I always will believe in god, but there is sometimes when I get upset with god. When my grandma and grandpa died. I asked why. I didn’t get an answer. I felt alone. When I look at my mom and see how hard she works just to support our family, I ask why. Why do other people get blessed with money and don’t have to do much. I know that we will always have love for one another. That is maybe the lesson god is trying to teach me. I feel that everything happens for a reason. God knows what is going to happen, and when. I feel, lately, I have let god down. I have not been to church in about a month or two. I really think I try to go, but I don’t. I need to start to go more often. I hope and believe that God will bring me to heaven when it is my turn to go. That way I can be with my grandparents. They have been watching me since they had passed. I pray for health for my father and mother and living grandparents. God is great.

I think everyone should believe in god, he controls everything. Everyone should I think go to him for advice or people should go to him and look for an open road. I think its ridiculous that people do not believe in that powerful guy. If there is something you cant tell anyone then you can go to him for advice or if you want to get something off your chest you can go to him.

"God died for us" I think that was more of a Jesus thing. The dying I mean.