God and Religion

[MrSplitshot]

That's a great point. I have honestly struggled with that...how can millions and millions of people who believe in their own "Gods" be wrong? I could never come up with a comfortable conclusion so I just mind my own belief and respect the others right to believe in what they want.

That's probably my biggest struggle too. A Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, a Bhuddist, an Agnostic, and an Atheist walk into a bar...the bar gets hit by an asteroid and kills everyone inside. Either all of them but 1 are pretty unhappy after the lights go out, or there's something about God that we just don't understand.

So here's my story...keepin it real...putting it all out there...

I consider myself a Christian, but I'll be the first to admit that I'm not sure about it all. I believe that there is something beyond this world that we don't understand. A God, yes, that created all of this. It didn't just happen for no reason. I believe it's this unknown that perpetuated humans to create varying forms of Gods and religions. I feel like religion is a product of man, created to cope with life, death, and that which can't be explained...and to get them closer to their version of God. I hear about Jesus and the whole story. I want to believe it. It seems awfully "out there" sometimes though, but I try to go with it. I don't believe that it all just goes black when it's over, but sometimes I'm scared that it might.

I envy those that believe so strongly, because I wish I did. It just hasn't come into my life yet with such clarity that I believe without a shadow of a doubt. Honestly, it scares me a little that I don't, but honestly I haven't tried that hard either. I have friends that are complete Atheists that would give you the shirt off their back and are great people. I have friends that are so devout that they tell me with 100% conviction how God literally speaks to them in the course of their daily lives and gives them guidance.

Do I pray? Yes. Most nights, during times of struggle, before a flight, holidays, etc. I pray to my God. I pray to Him to keep my family safe and bring me home to them. I thank Him for my blessings. I don't go to church. I try to do unto others as I know is right, be helpful, be humble, try to love, work hard, and be a nice guy. I don't cheat, murder, steal. Yes, I've told a white lie now and then for my own benefit or the benefit of someone I love. I cuss. I respect others. I want to make people happy, but don't always succeed. I guess I'm a human. I hope it's enough at the end of my time on Earth. To hear many, it will be. To hear many others, it won't.

That's the screwed up head of MrSplitshot, I reckon. lol

[wishniwasfishn]

That's probably my biggest struggle too. A Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, a Bhuddist, an Agnostic, and an Atheist walk into a bar...the bar gets hit by an asteroid and kills everyone inside. Either all of them but 1 are pretty unhappy after the lights go out, or there's something about God that we just don't understand.

So here's my story...keepin it real...putting it all out there...

I consider myself a Christian, but I'll be the first to admit that I'm not sure about it all. I believe that there is something beyond this world that we don't understand. A God, yes, that created all of this. It didn't just happen for no reason. I believe it's this unknown that perpetuated humans to create varying forms of Gods and religions. I feel like religion is a product of man, created to cope with life, death, and that which can't be explained...and to get them closer to their version of God. I hear about Jesus and the whole story. I want to believe it. It seems awfully "out there" sometimes though, but I try to go with it. I don't believe that it all just goes black when it's over, but sometimes I'm scared that it might.

I envy those that believe so strongly, because I wish I did. It just hasn't come into my life yet with such clarity that I believe without a shadow of a doubt. Honestly, it scares me a little that I don't, but honestly I haven't tried that hard either. I have friends that are complete Atheists that would give you the shirt off their back and are great people. I have friends that are so devout that they tell me with 100% conviction how God literally speaks to them in the course of their daily lives and gives them guidance.

Do I pray? Yes. Most nights, during times of struggle, before a flight, holidays, etc. I pray to my God. I pray to Him to keep my family safe and bring me home to them. I thank Him for my blessings. I don't go to church. I try to do unto others as I know is right, be helpful, be humble, try to love, work hard, and be a nice guy. I don't cheat, murder, steal. Yes, I've told a white lie now and then for my own benefit or the benefit of someone I love. I cuss. I respect others. I want to make people happy, but don't always succeed. I guess I'm a human. I hope it's enough at the end of my time on Earth. To hear many, it will be. To hear many others, it won't.

That's the screwed up head of MrSplitshot, I reckon. lol

Splitshot, I am in the same boat as you, I go back and forth between believing, and then thinking an asteroid hit this earth billions of years ago, and life sprung from that, and we have evolved to what we are now. I still pray, I still try to live my life in a way that if there is a god, I am hopeful to be judged good enough to enter the pearly gates, I look at the ten commandments as rules to live by.....sometimes, I can almost feel the lord inside of me, and then sometimes, when I see children dying of cancer, or being raped and killed, I wonder if there was a god, would he allow this to happen, I was told one time by a Baptist preacher that without suffering there would be no compassion.....I just don't buy that. I do know that something happened to my wife and I that I cannot explain, other than it was the good lord protecting us....I was driving down bardstown road towards mt. Washington, doing about 65 miles an hour, and the light turned red, I was cruising pretty good, and had to hit the brakes really hard to stop, and for some reason, and to this day my wife and I cannot figure it out, I swerved in the other lane, never looked back, never looked over, just for some reason, I abruptly switched lanes, and as soon as I stopped a dollar store semi went by me doing about 80, if I would of not gotten over, I know we would of both been dead, he had nowhere else to go except the back end of my vehicle. I swear to this day, I never looked back, I didn't know he was there, and I still don't know why I switched lanes, other than someone up there didn't want me dead yet, and made me switch lanes, its just something I would ever do, espically without looking over to see if there was a car in the other lane, but I did it, and I am alive today because of it.....

[DJD]

Splitshot, I am in the same boat as you, I go back and forth between believing, and then thinking an asteroid hit this earth billions of years ago, and life sprung from that, and we have evolved to what we are now. I still pray, I still try to live my life in a way that if there is a god, I am hopeful to be judged good enough to enter the pearly gates, I look at the ten commandments as rules to live by.....sometimes, I can almost feel the lord inside of me, and then sometimes, when I see children dying of cancer, or being raped and killed, I wonder if there was a god, would he allow this to happen, I was told one time by a Baptist preacher that without suffering there would be no compassion.....I just don't buy that. I do know that something happened to my wife and I that I cannot explain, other than it was the good lord protecting us....I was driving down bardstown road towards mt. Washington, doing about 65 miles an hour, and the light turned red, I was cruising pretty good, and had to hit the brakes really hard to stop, and for some reason, and to this day my wife and I cannot figure it out, I swerved in the other lane, never looked back, never looked over, just for some reason, I abruptly switched lanes, and as soon as I stopped a dollar store semi went by me doing about 80, if I would of not gotten over, I know we would of both been dead, he had nowhere else to go except the back end of my vehicle. I swear to this day, I never looked back, I didn't know he was there, and I still don't know why I switched lanes, other than someone up there didn't want me dead yet, and made me switch lanes, its just something I would ever do, espically without looking over to see if there was a car in the other lane, but I did it, and I am alive today because of it.....

I have a few stories that I can't explain and every one of them was after a loved one died. Do loved ones come back after they die to say things are ok? Well I believe it but others have said I was just so emotional and my subconscious made me see things...not sure but I'll go with I talked to my dad after he died because it felt real and I sure felt better after the visit.

i have been cursed with terrible nightmares of feeling something evil is on or around me my whole life while sleeping. I talked with my pastor (at the time) and he explained it was a spiritual war over my soul....well since I was ready to stop those dreams or events I followed his advice and he added me to his prayer group and of course I prayed myself and they would pretty much stop. Now if I go for a week or two and don't pray, seek God or just sit and read from the bible I start getting those feelings at night again. I'm a believer of God which means there is a Devil so again I go with what my Pastor said and I have been a part of several small groups, men's groups men's BSF (bible study fellowship) at church (when I would go regularly) and we would talk and I wasn't the only one who dealt with this...it was nice to hear others explain what was going on with them and how they dealt with it.

I can see if someone who either doesn't believe or on the fence about God hears things like this they can shake their head and just write it off as bull or whatever and quite honestly that's how I was until things started changing for me 20 years ago when I confronted some of these "demons".