|| Replies ||

User	Anneboleyn707 | 2009-01-02 |
Subject	untitled
Message	Honestly people just go around in circles with this stuff. It really begins to get old. Everyone gets so involved with these minescule details that they cannot see, God is not just some ruler in heaven, it refers to the power of the human spirit and our own internal strength. Truly, all religions boil down to one thing--they give people a purpose. Maybe Christianity would have it’s appeal if I had been raised with the idea drilled into me (as so many of us are, subjected to those views since we were young), but I was free to choose my own faith and can truly say, after 12 years of theology classes in a religious school setting, most of it is small-minded. Many of the people following these ideas have no way of exploring any other beliefs, and sadly, most are unwilling to. How can you say that is what you believe if you have not listened to the preachings of every other religion out there?

User	Blue Monk | 2008-12-11 |
Subject	untitled
Message	I know, but I’m compelled to say something.

User	meoww | 2008-12-09 |
Subject	untitled
Message	oh, a metaphor! doh. how silly of me not to notice. haha. (i was pulling your leg in case you hadn’t noticed).

User	Blue Monk | 2008-12-09 |
Subject	untitled
Message	"is like" does not equal "is". Besides, a donut could easily represent something eternal, never ending, much as a wedding ring is (only tastier).

User	meoww | 2008-12-09 |
Subject	untitled
Message	donuts are bad for you. since when was god a lump of fried fat and sugar? maybe in some weird african country where they don’t get to eat much, perhaps...

User	Blue Monk | 2008-12-09 |
Subject	untitled
Message	Living life without God is like a eating a donut. It can be sweet all the way around but there’s still something missing at the center.

User	ChildInTime | 2008-12-08 |
Subject	Mae
Message	I absolutely love the life I have may and thats the "god’s" honest truth. I wouldn’t change who I am for anything and I mean that from the very fibre of my being. I love myself. And yes it shall continue without god until concrete evidence lands in front of me, in which case I’ll be proud that I didn’t just accept blindly, but expressed some independance and requested solid proof, and if god doesnt like that then I dont like him. Its not my fault i’m not as a sheep to follow the other sheep out the gate onto the railroad tracks.

User	mae | 2008-12-07 |
Subject	untitled
Message	You sound satisfied with the life you have, childintime, therefore, one would assume that you WANT that life to continue. Do you not want your life without God to continue that way? mae

User	ChildInTime | 2008-12-07 |
Subject	Mae
Message	"mae said: a life without God, to be lived the way WE want to live it, without accountability to a higher power; to be left alone to do what we want, when we want to do it, in whatever way we wish. " That’s out of context. You actually said: "what we all basically want - a life without God, to be lived the way WE want to live it, without accountability to a higher power; to be left alone to do what we want, when we want to do it, in whatever way we wish. Emphasis on "what we all basically want" You said that all that was what we want and I said it’s what I have. Not the same.

User	mae | 2008-12-07 |
Subject	untitled
Message	mae said: a life without God, to be lived the way WE want to live it, without accountability to a higher power; to be left alone to do what we want, when we want to do it, in whatever way we wish. childintime said: i HAVE a life without god. And i’m doing fine by the way.//I will never need a god. I’m perfectly self-sustainable the way I am. Sounds the same to me. Mae

User	ChildInTime | 2008-12-06 |
Subject	Mae
Message	No that’s not what you said actually. And this thread is called ’debate’ Hence it’s for debating. If everyone here had the same religious beliefs then there would be no debating. I’m not getting hostile, i’m debating. I don’t take any of this personally, I could easily have come in here and argued for god not against. But the majority of people were already for so fortunately i got to argue with the benefit of believing in my argument. I sincerely hope you didn’t take serious offence to anything i said; I was merely *takes a deep breath*.... debating. As for LatentlyLyrical: jumping off a cliff is not flying. Nice argument though, *sniggers* Haha no I didnt mean that to be insulting either

User	latentlylyrical | 2008-12-06 |
Subject	untitled
Message	Of course, humans can fly. It’s the landing that troubles us.

User	mae | 2008-12-05 |
Subject	untitled
Message	childintime, why are you so hostile toward those of faith? No one dragged you in here and started preaching at you. No one here pinned you against a wall and told you that you were going to hell. On the contrary, you came in all on your own and starting arguing against religious beliefs. Why the hostility? " I don’t WANT a life without god i HAVE a life without god. And i’m doing fine by the way. .../I will never need a god. I’m perfectly self-sustainable the way I am. " You keep making my points for me, childintime. Is this not what I said? mae

User	ChildInTime | 2008-12-05 |
Subject	Latently Lyrical
Message	I dont mean to suggest that all people who have these encounters are mentally ill or brainwashed. Some of the are just devout worshippers who convince themselves, others probably do it for attention, some might even do it for commercialism. As for scientific evidence, it’s all well and good saying that we just haven’t found it YET but then i could just say that there is a way humans can fly we just havent found it YET. Sure, there might be a way that we could somehow fly (excluding planes) but there’s a slim slim chance considering I just made up the notion.

User	ChildInTime | 2008-12-05 |
Subject	Mae (again)
Message	First off I said shadow was a ridiculous example because it is caused by light. By explaining light, you therefore explain shadow. Secondly, I don’t WANT a life without god i HAVE a life without god. And i’m doing fine by the way. I can’t imagine my life being more satisfying just because there’s some guy up there who created us for the sole purpose of worshipping him. "just cause you cant hold it doesnt mean it doesnt exist, you can feel it cant you?" Well ’dear’ don’t you think that if we could actually feel god then there would be no dispute? I will never need a god. I’m perfectly self-sustainable the way I am. Just because other people need an imaginary friend to help them through the hard times and to tell them that they are the greatest, doesn’t mean I do.

User	latentlylyrical | 2008-12-05 |
Subject	untitled
Message	"there is no proof to these encounters" The mere facts that these encounters are reported by such a varied population and reported so regularly through my life’s experiences, tell me that there is something to the reports. I cannot believe that all these people are mentally ill, or brainwashed by corrupt men. I am not involved in any type of organized religion. I believe in finding my own faith, in my own way. Questioning the beliefs of others is part of my search, and I do not accept the word of everyone I speak to on face value. I believed the accounts of the ’encounters’ because I judged them each on their own merits, and found them credible. Lack of scientific evidence is not conclusive proof that something does not exist. It is only proof that we have not found evidence yet. Keep looking.

User	mae | 2008-12-05 |
Subject	untitled
Message	just cause you cant hold it doesnt mean it doesnt exist, you can feel it cant you? This, dear, is my point exactly. You say the "little voice in your head doesn’t count." I say it does. Can you actually "see" light? You can’t see without it, but can you see light? Some will argue you cannot. You think a shadow is a ridiculous example because you can’t refute it. You talk about evidence and proof, yet you will not accept what anyone who has "been there" has to say. You don’t really want evidence or proof. What you really want is what we all basically want - a life without God, to be lived the way WE want to live it, without accountability to a higher power; to be left alone to do what we want, when we want to do it, in whatever way we wish. Some of us have accepted that there is a better way to live, a more satisfying way to live and an ultimately more rewarding way to live - by turning away from the mindset you’ve expressed and turning toward God. You don’t think you should believe in God because men - "corrupt to the core" - told you to. I say we shouldn’t believe you because you are blind to the evidence of God that exists all around you.God does not require your belief to exist, but someday you WILL require God. I just hope it’s not too late when you finally realize it. mae

User	ChildInTime | 2008-12-04 |
Subject	Mae
Message	Light is a form of energy, just because you cant touch it doesnt mean it doesnt exist, there are other sense you know, like sight. You can see light can’t you? Therefore it exists. As for shadows, that’s just a silly example because it’s directly related to light. And wind? I don’t know why you mentioned that, just cause you cant hold it doesnt mean it doesnt exist, you can feel it cant you? "there is no lingering evidence that they ever existed" Well I’m afraid there’s all the evidence in the world to show that they exist. As for God, well: You can’t see him, you can’t hear him (the little voice in your head doesn’t count), You can’t smell him, You can’t taste him, you most certainly can’t touch him. There’s no unexplained electromagnetic field fluctuations that could be caused by his presence. In fact, there’s absolutely no evidence whatsoever that he ever existed. So why should I believe he did? Because a bunch of men, corrupt to the core, say so? I don’t think so.

User	Blue Monk | 2008-12-04 |
Subject	untitled
Message	And yet it seems that God will cause a forgetfulness in a human mind in cases, sometimes even a "hardening of the heart", because such apparently serves his purpose. It’s almost as though He will purposefully turn away from someone, even as someone might turn away from Him. Who’s to understand the mind of God that would do such while at the same time likening Him to a "loving father". This aspect is described in "The Dark Night of the Soul", and even the sainted Mother Theresa experienced it. Just when you feel you "know God", He apparently will push you back into a position of finding your faith. Do those who never seek ever find?

User	mae | 2008-12-03 |
Subject	untitled
Message	childintime, schizophrenia and multiple personalities are two entirely different disorders. Can you prove that people who claim to have had an encounter with God did not? What do you call an encounter? Must you be able to touch him, feel him, hold his physical hand? Can you touch light? Can you feel a shadow? Can you hold the wind in your hand? They are all real and we have all experienced them, but there is no lingering evidence that they ever existed. There is, however, evidence of their presence in the effect they leave - and so it is with a "God encounter." No one who has had an encounter with God or the Holy Spirit will remain the same. And just as you know a shadow is yours because it is attached to you, one who has had an encounter with God KNOWS it is God. mae