Originally Posted by SweetSativa

I think I'm thick-headed today ... why???? They don't have a monopoly on God. I'm sure I'm misunderstanding... when I say that I believe differently than 'most' others it is because 'most' others around me ARE Christians (and Catholic) ... well, blah, blah... won't go any further and am staying away from dogma, not the underlying messages.



Blah~

Originally Posted by kosh

I believe that god does exist, but not in the way as your average christian muslim or jew believes in god. The muslims, jews and xtians, think that its all about fearing the creator, if you sin you will be punished, perhaps in firey pits of hell...so they live their lives to appease the whims of a fantasy figure created in the minds of men.

My approach is that god is us, god is the earth, god is reason, intellect, intelligence, the universe. And with free choice, it is a choice to do the right thing not for a god which dwells above, but for god that dwells in the hearts and minds of mortal man. So when people choose to do good, it would be, in my view, better to do it for mankind, not quasi modo.

It may very well be, that there is a higher spirit which watchs your every move and when you die, you may be held accountable in some form(the hall of judgement)...but to actually 'believe' that is ignorance of the highest magnitude. And when you have a god which dwells above you, because he is from afar, he can be used as a means of rationalising any behaviour what so ever...which is the dangerous part of religeon. When you think of god as life....one has to rely on reason to form a belief about anything at all.

Its sad to me, to read about christians, children, who have been brain washed by churchs, to the extent that free choice itself is stifled and they live in fear of god. Fearing the consequences of sin should not be a basis with which to base decision making upon. Doing good, is about doing the right thing with or without god, for man.

And free choice? Has not creation gifted man with a capacity to reason...conciousnes s? If that were so, how come believers would have to continuely consult their creator by preying all the time? Its like a child who suckles at the nipple for ever more, never taking the next step and thinking for himself, failing to recognise that he himself is god, along with the rest of creation.

And those who do sin, many simply may even believe in a higher god but challenge him and are prepared to be punished. But one need only ask, with regard to fearing god, and doing exactly ass he says according to the bible say. If God created man in his own image, and gave us free choice, maybe there is a reason for that? In other words, if there was just god(above) and he created one man....and then the two of them sat down and spoke to each other, wouldn't god get very bored and pissed off if the man had nothing at all to say and just agreed and bowed down to god? Or would he rather, that the man, use the faculties god gave him and actually questioned god himself? I think god would prefer in man questioned god and the son of god, and furthered the process of wisdom itself. Cause the moment you consult the scripture for every single action, thought and deed, you turn your back on god and deny concientiousness itself.