OK people;?

Question

this is just a hypothetical question cos I'm genuinely interested in your answers! I am a Christian but I'm not here to judge, I just want to know what people think and feel...

1) What is it about God that you find difficult to comprehend? Even God said that there's some things we won't be able to understand until we get to heaven!

2) Have you at any time prayed? A time when you were frightened or worried? But nonetheless, you still prayed? And if so, who were you praying to??

3) Do you ever wonder if there is a God? Because our bodies are so amazingly intricate, surely something more must've created us than a big explosion?

I love God - I'm not here to judge at all, I'm here to love and try and help people if they want it. Christians who shove things in peoples face and bible bash aren't exactly helping the situation so I'm with you!

The other thing is; people are so adamant about there being no God, yet they seem to know a lot about Christianity and the bible!

Just to say; God created a perfect world then man sinned because he was tempted by Satan....that's how it became imperfect. Because we all choose to ignore God and choose our own way of living...God chose us all to live out His purposes for our lives, He knew you before you were born...however you feel about it, you're created perfectly!

Answer 1

Our bodies are so intricate they can't have been created by an explosion?

Wow, thank you for summing up your understanding of cosmology and evolutionary biology so succinctly.

I don't think Johnny should let you out of the house.

OK 1) I don't find God hard to comprehend, small children think in terms of anthropomorphism and need to be taught otherwise, I don't find god incomprehensible anymore than I'm in awe of the tooth fairy.

2) You're saying who do atheists pray to? We don't. There is no god and if there was he wouldn't be so disgustingly petty as to influence the universe for one person - don't you think both sides in Iraq are praying to god that they'll win?

3) No I don't wonder if there's a god anymore than you lose sleep in wondering if there's really a santa claus after all. You're here to help people? Not to help them understand humanity's origins, that's for sure.

Answer 2

Nice to hear from a sensible Christian.
Here's how it goes with me.
Believing in God is not evidence of his existence, and not believing God exists doesn't disprove it if he does.
Sounds a bit Agnostic, I know. But I am very much an Atheist.
Being an Atheist isn't a decision I came to by reasoning, It's just simply the way I feel.
As I was saying, there's no way of knowing if God exists or not. And when it comes down to it, which God or Gods or Goddesses. We've certainly been presented with plenty to chose from throughout the ages, haven't we?
So, why believe? Certainly can't just take someones word for it even if they are a really nice sort of guy.
Experience? Haven't had one.
Prayed? Sure, but that proves I was desperate for help.
Amazingly intricate? There's an awful lot out there that's amazingly intricate, 'till it's understood.
But all these reasons for not believing are worthless, 'cos it's just the way I feel...unbelieving.

Answer 3

1) I find it difficult to comprehend how a perfect creator would create such an imperfect world. I find it hard to comprehend why he would make mistakes if he knew the whole plan beforehand.

2) I have prayed pretty much my entire life and saw absolutely no results. I never heard God speak to me, I never saw signs that I was able to interpret as God, and it felt quite frankly like talking to a wall. I always felt as though God didn't choose me or love me or something.

3) I do ponder occasionally if there is a God, but I have completely rejected at this point the possibility of the type of God existing that is described in the Bible.

Answer 4

1A) If you mean the Christian god, his discription in the bible makes him come across like a sadist, a megalomaniac, and a very arbitrary and capricous sick ----. Many of his followers, both modern and historical, do not improve his image.

1B) If you mean any other god or gods, that is a different story. I evaluate each of them on their merits, but take a grain of salt with any, and a giant grain of salt with any that claim to be the "one true" anything. The more grandiose the claim, the greater the need for proof (just like telemarketers or used car salemen).

2) As Christians define prayer, mostly when I was a kid. A little bit around 20-ish.

3A) If there is a Christian god? I'm certain there is not. And if there were, the universe would be a truly evil and arbitrary place; I'd rather resist injustice than cave into a dictator any day.

3B) If one wishes to atrtribute a divine nature to evolution, so be it - it does not bother me. But as there is no evidence of this, such a philosphy does not belong being taught as science.

3C) The way I tend to experience the universe, I hate to use the term "god" since monotheistic usage has, in my opinion, undermined the very foundations and possibilities of the discussing the very nature of Divinity. The short version is this: I do not see the need to seperate a "creator" from "creation," nor to personify any essence(s) of divinity (but I can if I choose to).

ADDED:
your additional comments make it sound like an automatic assumption that if one knows the bible, one believes in the Christian god.
Not true.
Many of us disbelieve in the Christian god BECAUSE whe have read the bible.
We also know a lot about Christianity because we either grew up in or had a lot of exposure to Christians, and the history of Christians are well-documented.

Answer 5

I comprehend God. I was Christian for 18 years. Many denominations of Christian for that matter.

I used to pray all the time. Good times, bad times, in between times. I never felt I was being listened to or spoken to in any way. Even at my darkest hours, which were darker then I will EVER tell to 98% of the people in this world. No one answered. At the time it made me feel hurt and abandoned. I have since learned the true reason and I am not angry at all.
Now I pray to my gods. I feel heard, spoken to, and guided. They are my elder kin, my family, and always welcome at my hearth.

Ah yes. I took Biology this summer, and I had that thought. Everything in this world is so precise, so exact, that yes I see the gods in it. But I don't discount the big bang. I think its even MORE amazing that life is so perfect that it succeeded against the odds. How can I not see divine in that? It is still creation!

I'm glad you feel that way. I feel the same way about my gods. I now understand why I never heard the Hebrew god. I didn't belong to him. I take no offense in that, only happiness that my gods DID call me. I feel more at peace with them then I ever have in my life. I was floored the other day when my best friend, a staunch Methodist told me "I dont understand your religion and I don't care. I have never seen you this at peace with yourself. That makes me happier then any choice you've made."
I suppose that's why she's my best friend. :)

And remember, almost ALL pagans and atheist started as Christians. I know more pagans then I can count who went to Seminary school. They are probably more versed in the Bible then you will ever be. Most atheist became atheist BY reading the Bible. You are assuming. To do so will make you look like a fool.

Answer 6

Thank you for being polite, I appreciate it.
1) The whole concept. And why would he kill so many of his people, who are, after all, his children. Why the flood?

2) Yes I "prayed" but I believe the power of positive suggestion works rather than a prayer. How about all those good Christians who pray and still suffer? I know A LOT of them.

3) Yes I do wonder if there is a God (just in case, ya know...) because everything had to start somewhere but I believe science and logic can explain quite a bit of it.

I would also like to say that I do not go around trying to sell atheist ism to anyone. My own children believe in God. My husband believes in God, we just don't discuss religion very often. My mother in law reads the bible all the time. I guess I am a closet atheist! I only voice my opinion if someone asks me.

Answer 7

OK people;?
this is just a hypothetical question cos I'm genuinely interested in your answers! I am a Norseman but I'm not here to judge, I just want to know what people think and feel...

1) What is it about Odin that you find difficult to comprehend? Even Odin said that there's some things we won't be able to understand until we get to Valhalla!

2) Have you at any time prayed to Odin? A time when you were frightened or worried? But nonetheless, you still prayed? And if so, who were you praying to??

3) Do you ever wonder if Odin exists? Because our bodies are so amazingly intricate, surely something more must've created us than a big explosion?

I love Odin - I'm not here to judge at all, I'm here to love and try and help people if they want it. Christians who shove things in peoples face and bible bash aren't exactly helping the situation so I'm with you!
.

Answer 8

1) It's not that I find the concept of God difficult to comprehend, but there is no evidence that He exists. When you say "EWven God says..." that shows me that you are taking a book - presumably the Bible - as the word of God. Why? Why do you beliebe that God wrote that book? There is noting to say he did outside of the book itself.

2) I pray frequently. I'm not an atheist but an agnostic monotheist.

3) Of course I wonder if there is a God. I believe in one despice the lack of evidence for one. But I think known biological and astronomical processes more than adequately explain the intricasies of the human body.

As for your addition, many people who do not believe in God came to that decision by reading what these "Holy Books" say. These books truly offer nothing to back up the claim that there is a God. There *is* no evidence for God. None.

To better explain my own beliefs, God is just what we use to explain what we cannot yet fathom. But I personally believe that he greatest unfathomable force in the universe is something SCIENCE will one day come to know as "God." It might not be what many of us expect, I personally believe that the content of our "Holy Books" will be 99% disproven.

Answer 9

Even if you chose nice words you are still shoving it down people's throats. Why do you assume that non-believers "find it difficult to comprehend" God. Its so frustrating - why can't you just accept that I don't believe so there is nothing to comprehend. I don't want or need any help from you - you get on with being a Christian and leave me alone to follow my own path. I am more interested in physics (which is where answers may come from) than fairy tales.

Answer 10

I'm only going to answer the first. I think you may understand why I hesitate to answer the other two.

I don't know what people mean by God. When Christians talk about God, they refer to two entities that they believe to be unified; the historical/mythical figure described in their scripture and the object of encounter they come across when they have congregational experiences. When Atheists talk about God, they refer only to the mythology. When other people talk about the congregational experience, they refer to it solely as that. So I don't know whether to believe God can be defined as the character, the experience or only the fusion of the two. These are three incredibly different concepts, because the former is a statement of constructed truth, the second a statement of subjective truth and the third a statement of objective truth based on the relationship of the preceding two.

What I am essentially asking is to help me understand whether God, as a definition of a specific entity, is the experienced thing or the being of scripture. It seems essentially obvious to me that the former is real, but that very little can be concretely known about it, particularly not by telling stories about it from the limited human perspective.

Answer 11

Far too many Christians like yourself, simply accept what they are told, usually by parents, then in schools and then church. It doesn't make it right though.

Instead of asking questions on here, why not try reading a few books on cosmology, evolutionary biology etc. There are many out there and they're not all written for the scientist only in mind.

If after serious study you still believe in your god, then so be it, at least you will be utilising an open, and not a closed, mind.