My God, Your God, or No God...Oh, God...

[Martha]

It feels as if this board is suffering from a certain sense of ennui.

Time to defenestrate some topics?

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha Time to defenestrate some topics?

Indubitably.

[MRGALT2U]

Deus absconditus.

[greg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha It feels as if this board is suffering from a certain sense of ennui. Time to defenestrate some topics?

I'll bet ya a fancy goin out type meal that it won't stay defenestrated for long, and ya'll will jus hav'ta rede-defenestrate agin.

--DH

[Cal]

This is why I love this forum. Not only do I get advice on LBYM and FIRE (for free!) but you guys also expand my vocabulary!

[laurence]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha It feels as if this board is suffering from a certain sense of ennui. Time to defenestrate some topics?

All right, I had to get out the thesaurus, I admit it! I know y'all are richer than me, but why do y'all have to be smarter, too?


Let's see, this board needs more polemic pontification...

[MJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laurence All right, I had to get out the thesaurus, I admit it! I know y'all are richer than me, but why do y'all have to be smarter, too? Let's see, this board needs more polemic pontification...

Huh!
What's a thesaurus? I thought they were extinct.

[HFWR]

Noah left them off the ark!!

[Dreamer]

I personally can not see how anyone can not believe in God. I see his miracles of nature all around me. Jesus left us with the gift of the Holy Spirit and I have felt that guidance in my own life. I would never try to force feed my religion on anybody, but I would never stay silent on God's great love for us. My faith has also been there for me through many trying times. I was only able to go to one camp growing up and you guessed it, it was a bible camp. Both of my children went to church camps for several years and enjoyed it. So I guess I am that type of person who would do that to their children. There are many people here that are much wealthier and much wiser than I am, but I do feel that there is something much more important than both of those things. Believe me, I do wish that I was wiser and wealthier, but my faith is much much more important to me!

Dreamer

[Patrick]

What, only 8 pages on this topic? Bump.

[wabmester]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick What, only 8 pages on this topic?* Bump.

Maybe we can get Dan Tien to start a poll so we can resolve this god question once and for all. (Anyway, my god can beat up your god.)

For those who believe in god(s), is there one thing that you feel confirms your beliefs more than anything else? Is it the Written Word, the complexity and order of the universe, the feeling that humans are special, or something else?

And for the atheists, what do you tell your kids about death, and do you engage in some sort of death ritual for your dearly departed?

Since I've had a kid, I've been trying to figure out how to discuss death if the subject comes up. The various religious stories about souls, reincarnation, etc would make it easier to swallow, but I'm sure there's got to be a sugar-coated atheistic version as well.

I'm thinking along the lines of "Puppy has died. She really enjoyed her time with you, and she will continue to live in your thoughts and dreams. We need to bury her now so that we can return her atoms to the earth. Her atoms will become parts of new living things. We will mark this spot so we can always remember her."

What do you think? Do kids need the idea of heaven?

[Zipper]

................."all we are is dust in the wind"! 8)

[Cal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wabmester And for the atheists, what do you tell your kids about death, and do you engage in some sort of death ritual for your dearly departed? What do you think?* * Do kids need the idea of heaven?

Don't have kids but hey, I'll answer any way.* My family is Christian (mother not really practicing protestant and father a fallen catholic) and I was exposed to some of the bible stories growing up. When I was very young, I did take comfort in the idea of a god and heaven and angels. However, the bible was never presented to me as an absolute truth. I was always encouraged to believe what I felt was "personally true" for me.

When I was real little, I was told that thunder and lightening was angels bowling and taking pictures when one of them got a strike. Made the thunderstorm less scary for me and at some point I realized that it was "just a story" like Santa Claus and the tooth fairy.

For kids it's a hard call. I think it might be pretty scary for a child to think of no existence after death - especially if they loose someone close to them.* On the other hand, it was pretty scary for me as a first grader to be told by one of my catholic playmates that I was going to spend eternity in hell because I wasn't a catholic.* (And the girl wasn't trying to be mean, just expressing her faith as she best understood it.)

My dad has a hard time with me not believing in an afterlife. From time to time, he'll quiz me on my beliefs - not in a judgmental way - he just doesn't understand the point of view. Just like I sometimes have a hard time understanding those that believe.

[MRGALT2U]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cal Don't have kids but hey, I'll answer any way.* My family is Christian (mother not really practicing protestant and father a fallen catholic) and I was exposed to some of the bible stories growing up. When I was very young, I did take comfort in the idea of a god and heaven and angels. However, the bible was never presented to me as an absolute truth. I was always encouraged to believe what I felt was "personally true" for me. When I was real little, I was told that thunder and lightening was angels bowling and taking pictures when one of them got a strike. Made the thunderstorm less scary for me and at some point I realized that it was "just a story" like Santa Claus and the tooth fairy. For kids it's a hard call. I think it might be pretty scary for a child to think of no existence after death - especially if they loose someone close to them.* On the other hand, it was pretty scary for me as a first grader to be told by one of my catholic playmates that I was going to spend eternity in hell because I wasn't a catholic.* (And the girl wasn't trying to be mean, just expressing her faith as she best understood it.) My dad has a hard time with me not believing in an afterlife. From time to time, he'll quiz me on my beliefs - not in a judgmental way - he just doesn't understand the point of view. Just like I sometimes have a hard time understanding those that believe.

My very conservative Christian daughter asked me "What do you think happens when you die?" My honest answer? "I don't know."

JG

[MRGALT2U]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zipper ................."all we are is dust in the wind"! 8)

Kansas?

[charlie]

The clincher for me, Wab, is that there had to be "somebody" who
lit the fuse for the big bang. Every thing else sort of flows from that
for me.

Cheers,

Charlie

[wabmester]

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlie The clincher for me, Wab, is that there had to be "somebody" who lit the fuse for the big bang.* Every thing else sort of flows from that for me.

Yeah, that's a tough one. There's even a relatively new branch of physics that tries to explain the pre-Big-Bang universe. Just another thing I'll add to my list of things I'll never understand.

I'm blissfully happy with my ignorance of the state of things before the Big Bang. I have no problem naming The Unknowable "God," but I just don't find that very useful. It's enough for me to just marvel at the complexity that emerges from the simple rules of physics without asking "why?"

[sgeeeee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlie The clincher for me, Wab, is that there had to be "somebody" who lit the fuse for the big bang.* . . .

Maybe . . . but how do you know that the somebody was one of the gods worshiped today? Why not Zeus or Zorglops or Satan or . . .? A belief that there was a creator would not seem to logically lead to a belief in Christianity, or Islam, or Bokananism.

But I'm not even convinced that creation requires a creator. Or that if you assume a creator exists you have really answered any questions. Who or what created the creator?

My god created your god.

[JWR1945]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wabmester For those who believe in god(s) God, is there one thing that you feel confirms your beliefs more than anything else? Is it the Written Word, the complexity and order of the universe, the feeling that humans are special, or something else?

The written word and its demonstrated accuracy.

Consider, for example, Psalm 22. It was written about 800 to 900 years before the Romans invented crucifixion. Yet, it detailed and explained what happened on the cross.

Have fun.

John Walter Russell

[REWahoo]

Ran across this quote and can't resist sharing it:

"The trouble with born-again Christians is that they are an even bigger pain the second time around." --- Herb Caen

REW