A God question?

Question

I love God, but I don't like organised religion. I talk to God a lot and feel that I have a close bond with my creator. God to me is love and the reason I am here on earth. I went to a Christian school but I think organised religion can be dangerous. I don't feel the need to have a religion, just a God. Does anyone else agree, or if not, how can you convince me otherwise.

Just to clarify...God to me is not an idea. He is all around me - he is laughter, hope, peace, a hug, a smile, the creator of earth, the smell of freshly cut grass etc. God is very real to me, he is everything that is good. I don't like the idea of 'brain washing' as such when groups of people get together in a 'gang' to tell other people they are going to hell, or when extremists start wars.

I believe in one true God, and I respect the Bible, but I find it hard to accept everything it says.

I'm finding everyone's answers fascinating...I couldn't possibly choose a best answer! Thanks guys, this has been really interesting.

Answer 1

Some groups will tell you can't even get to heaven without joining this or that church.

I suspect G-d is not that petty. That's just me. Of course I am Jewish and we don't really don't believe in heaven, and we don't really believe there isn't. That kind of thing is pretty unknowable.

The old song said, "I swear there ain't no heaven, but I pray there ain't no hell."

You are good to go. By the way, Jews don't think we have a monopoly on G-d. We just have Boardwalk and Park Place ;)

Answer 2

Do you think that there is only one God, or do you think everyone has a separate God for them?

If you think there's only one God, then it doesn't matter whether you belong to a religion or not - you are still worshipping the same God.

If, on the other hand, you think that you have a special, personal God, then you are a long way from the generally accepted view of religious belief.

When you say you feel that you have a close bond with your creator, are you implying a special relationship which others don't have? Again, this goes against the vast majority of religious beliefs.

Therefore, if you are going against the accepted wisdom, either you are very special, or perhaps you need to think a little more logically and carefully about what you believe.

Answer 3

Thank you so much for your question. I am so pleased that you have such a view. I like to keep the God subject as simple as possible. I have known some people who get very tangled up in the subject, too much. If you have a relationship with God you must surely understand the Holy Trinity and therefore you have a relationship with Christ. But as I said i am pleased you have this view.
Incidentally, you know God? Then you surely want to be with him, and that certainly means worship. With some searching you will find a church that is right for you. Remember, a Christian wants to be with the Christian family in a place of worship. I am not saying you have to go to church to be a Christian, not at all. I'm saying a Christian WANTS to go to church. I am sure God would bless you with the right pace. I wish you the best.

Answer 4

Well, there are many big problems -- and organized religion is top-down tyrannical in dogma, each and every one, no matter what the Bible teaches.

However, the Bible does state that the truth sanctifies among several things that do so. So, studying the Bible and learning the Biblical truths found therein must be necessary. It even talks about those that perish because of not loving the truth.

If you have any Bible questions, I try to do it bythebible.

Here is a link to many Biblical subjects:
http://www.bythebible.page.tl/

(death, soul, God's kingdom, the Trinity, who is born again, etc)

Answer 5

I believe your religious views would be construed as Deism, which was first popularized by Benjamin Franklin and some of the First Great Awakening preachers.

I also think the bible can be dangerous, because it does allow some forms of murder (stoning of homosexuals).

However, I disagree with your necessity to have a God. I believe that it is impossible to prove or disprove its existence. Therefore, with lack of proof one way or another, the default position would be non-belief. For example, I disagree with the belief in the Greek Gods because there is no credible evidence to support them (even though their myths are older than the Bible.)

Answer 6

I see what you mean about organized religion. There's pitfalls involved with it for sure. But I think there are some benifits to worshiping God in a community of like minded people. Some might call that a church. I'm not saying that YOU need to go church but I do think that having others come alongside you and share in your faith journey would be a good thing.

Answer 7

You really need to consider the issues rationally - bear in mind that there are no 'facts' here - 'faith' is another word for 'superstition'. "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins is the most readable examination of this question and looking at the furore it has generated is more than likely to help you decide just exactly where you really stand - if it banishes anything at all, this book takes away the middle ground, the 'grey' areas and forces you to join one side of the argument or the other.

Answer 8

we all have our own views on this matter,
its when we impose these views on others that it all starts to go bad.
I am a self confessed agnostic but was once forced to join a certain religion just so i could marry the girl i thought i loved,
it all went **** up in the end so it was a waste of mine and her life, (well 7yrs of it anyhoo).
i have had many a theological argument with local clergy, some over a cuppa at home or church, some over a beer in the pub.
but my point is this, if you have strong feelings one way or the other, keep them to yourselves and the world will be a better place.
more wars have been started over religion than anything else,
so it follows that more people have been killed in the name of god than any other cause.
if you believe in a god that would allow that sort of thing to go on!!!!

I'm going for a pint now, anyone else coming??

Answer 9

Have a star for being so right it's scary :) I agree with you 100%. People think disease is the biggest killer in the world but it is in fact religion. As you said, if someone wants to start a war they'll just go on about religion and off they go........... the next thinng you know thousands are dead and the world is changed forever.
God is great and I believe in heaven but can you imagine what he must think when everything he stands for is being used to destroy something his son actually died for?
I can't believe how close to my own feelings and beliefs you've come. Thanks for showing that I'm not the only one, xx.

Answer 10

I believe in a creator too and I'm not in a religous orginization. I believe much of the stuff written was translated by people who forgot the language long ago. So they made up alot of stuff, or someone long ago was crazy as heck and people thought he was something important. However through my experience I did countless years thinking and came up with that a force created the big bang and that force came from something.