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 do you believe in god?

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PostSubject: do you believe in god?   do you believe in god? Icon_minitimeMon Jul 13, 2009 1:35 am

i probably would consider myself a spiritualist even though i'm not really familiar with any of the seven principles or what is involved in it. no other 'label' seems to fit with me. maybe i'll fit better as a wiccan or a pagan as time goes on, but i don't currently practise. i'm just learning about everything i can.

probably the hardest question anyone asks me is 'do you believe in god?'
i never quite know how to answer that.
i don't believe in the bible is what i usually start off by saying. the morals you can learn from the bible are important for humankind, i don't doubt that. things like the good samaritan for example.

i believe that there are things higher than us. like angels watching over us.
but as for one god & jesus christ, i don't think that's where my faith lies.
i would never say god didn't exist because for some people he does. i think there's truth in all religions.
whatever you believe in is true for you & exists.

but i guess as a spiritualist, where does god fit in?
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Pat R
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PostSubject: Re: do you believe in god?   do you believe in god? Icon_minitimeMon Jul 13, 2009 5:07 am

nowhere_girl wrote:
i probably would consider myself a spiritualist even though i'm not really familiar with any of the seven principles or what is involved in it. no other 'label' seems to fit with me. maybe i'll fit better as a wiccan or a pagan as time goes on, but i don't currently practise. i'm just learning about everything i can.

probably the hardest question anyone asks me is 'do you believe in god?'
i never quite know how to answer that.
i don't believe in the bible is what i usually start off by saying. the morals you can learn from the bible are important for humankind, i don't doubt that. things like the good samaritan for example.

i believe that there are things higher than us. like angels watching over us.
but as for one god & jesus christ, i don't think that's where my faith lies.
i would never say god didn't exist because for some people he does. i think there's truth in all religions.
whatever you believe in is true for you & exists.

but i guess as a spiritualist, where does god fit in?



Hi No-where girl. As a spiritualist, I believe God fits in because God is the Ultimate Spirit. Without a Creator, there would be no life or After-life and I believe when we die we return to the place we come from. I feel this Life is a learning process, not the be all and end all of our existence. I believe in a Higher Power that I refer to as 'God', but I don't profess to know what God is (ie He, She or It). Some people call this Higher Power Mother Nature, Cosmic Consciousness, Allah, Jahweh, Buddha, or Mother Goddess and I've got no problem with that as I repect other people's right to believe in whatever they choose to believe in (as you do too). One of my closest and dearest friends is agnostic, but we never let religion or the lack of it get in the way of our friendship.

The only religions/belief systems I've got a problem with are those that maintain they are the one and only way, so if you don't follow their particular belief system you won't never get into Heaven/Afterlife/Paradise, or religions/belief systems that dominate or breed fear into believers so they end up doing things that would normally be contrary to their nature (ie acts of violence or mass suicide). I think religion is man made (so it is often used as an excuse for war etc) but 'faith' is God/Higher Power given (so pure faith because it's not necessarily dependant on any formal religion/belief system, but is much more personal, tends to be more tolerant.) I describe faith as something that uplifts us in times of trouble and sustains us, it takes us on a journey of self-discovery and helps us look at ways in which we can improve upon ourselves (ie by learning compassion, patience, tolerance) so we can then try and fulfill our own spiritual potential, this also helps unlock ways in which we can reach out and help improve the lifes of others too (ie healing, counselling, nurturing the Earth etc). I find many truths in many, many books ranging from the Bible to modern day books about Angels and Spirit Communion.

As you say with the Good Samaritan and 'Love ye one another' and 'Do under others as you would have them do unto you' are good moral principles to live by no matter which book they come from. Native American Indians also still have much to teach us (particularly respect for the Earth and those who live upon it, principles which Buddhism and Celtic religions are also based on). I decided to include the SQ Religions/Beliefs section as I thought this would enable members to learn more about each others belief systems, so we would see the many ideals/beliefs that we all share in common and celebrate these things. I once thought Wicca and Paganism were the same, I now know they share many things in common, but there are differences between the two. As I've now got Pagan and Wiccan friends, it's nice to be know these things. :study:

I don't think of myself as a religious person, I just believe in a Higher Power and really believe in the power of prayer (like for absent healing). I like to light candles and sit in the Cathedral, but I'm just as happy lighting candles and sending out positive thoughts or prayers from home or outside in nature and I'd feel equally comfortable visiting a Hindu, Shikh, Buddhist or other church/temple. As I believe in Spirit and an After-life (particularly after all the experiences I've had), I suppose I should label myself Spiritualist, but as I also believe in many things other religions teach, I'd probably be better of labelling myself as Unitarian/Universalist. I don't like labels as they so often divide people (ie being labelled Christian, Muslim, Wiccan, Buddhist, gay, disabled or whatever often causes people to have pre-concieved ideas about others before they actually meet them which can often 'get in the way'.) If you strip away the labels, you can then really start to see the person and I feel that's what's important. :friends:

I like the way you've summed things up when you say, 'Whatever you believe in is true and exists for you.' That's a wonderful tolerant attitude and one that all Unitarians/Universalists would definitely agree with. (I posted a piece about Unitarianism and Quakers under Christianity, if you want to read up about these).

Lovely chatting to you and thank you for posting this. :rose:
Love Pat x
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PostSubject: Re: do you believe in god?   do you believe in god? Icon_minitimeMon Jul 13, 2009 10:45 am

that's an extremely accurate way of putting it actually. i do consider myself to have beliefs rather than one specific religion.
i'm not a church-goer of any kind but i love visiting them in different countries & cities. italian churches in particular are beautiful.
i'm quite drawn to buddhism lately so i would find it intriguing to visit a buddhist temple to see how that feels.
labels are awful things & are probably the main cause of a lot of problems in this world.
i find it fascinating to meet different people with different beliefs & it's interesting to see how they got their belief system. some people are brought up that way & don't know anything else. others have a lack of faith because of traumatic events that have happened in their lives.
i love the fact that we are all so unique in our beliefs & i accept everything that everyone believes.
sadly there are some people that are so narrow-minded & set out to make everyone believe that what they believe has to be true.
i once visited a friend's house whose mother was an extremely devout christian. there were crosses everywhere in the house, paintings of jesus nailed to the cross, & bibles on the bookshelves.
i was really interested in this & got talking about religion.
she was disgusted that i was spiritual & believed in paranormal phenomena, like ghosts, aspects of wicca, spirit guides, etc.
she claimed that there was no proof of what i believed & that i would go to hell for not having a straightforward belief in god & jesus, & should pray for forgiveness.
i was like hang on a minute.
i asked her to come outside with me & i pointed to the trees, the wind, of birds flying around, the sun, the clouds. i said that is all the proof i need. nature. that is all the proof any of us should need when we want something material to believe in.
that shut her up.
Cool
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Pat R
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PostSubject: Re: do you believe in god?   do you believe in god? Icon_minitimeWed Jul 15, 2009 3:59 am

Hi nowhere_girl,

Morning, think using nature to point out what proof we need is a great way to explain how you feel. Like you I really love visiting churches, I get a great deal of peace from them and I love the architecture. I also get peace from standing stones and the like too though. I'm interested in religious history and find it fascinating. So many Biblical stories (like the Great Flood of Noah's Ark's time) appear in other sacred texts going back centuries before Christianity. SKY have shown lots of really good religious history documentaries recently, so it's good these things are finally coming to light. One day, if I ever get the time, I'd like to look at a copy of 'Q' the book containing all the gospels that aren't included in the bible (including Peter's gospel). The Unitarian pastor told me about Q. Bill was really interesting he'd studied Latin, Greek and Aramaic so he could read the bible in every language it had been written in. Bill also gave a series of lectures about World Religions once and invited a Sikh and a Buddhist to come and give a talk, he also brought some NI sand paintings to show us too. When I went to the Unitarian Church a few years back, it was really good to be able to speak openly and honestly about the things we all believed in. No-one tried to convert me to their particular belief, because they believe everyone has the right to find their own truth. They also didn't become offended if I tried to discuss their beliefs with them which I found totally refreshing. It's good to be open minded, to debate and question (as long as this doesn't involve condemnation or trying to enforce your beliefs on others).

I reckon people like us could label ourselves 'Spiritual Seekers', don't you? I'd love to meet you one day as it's really nice to speak to fellow seekers.

Lovely chatting to you. :bouquet:
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PostSubject: Re: do you believe in god?   do you believe in god? Icon_minitimeThu Jul 16, 2009 9:44 am

this will probably sound a little silly, but i think 'the da vinci code' by dan brown really opened up my eyes to religious history. it makes you realise that not everything is so clear cut & as black & white or as distinct as religion is made out to be. there are some major overlaps between religions. probably more overlaps than would be considered coincidental for there to be one 'true' religion. they have seemingly all stemmed from similar points & concepts.
if people in the world could get over the need for what they believe to be 'right' & everybody else to be 'wrong', it would be a better place.
i don't profess what i believe to be 'right' in the sense of a universal truth, but it is right for me, & it is right for the way in which i want to live my life.
maybe as i get older & learn more about wicca, paganism, & buddhism i may find things within those religions that are also right for me. that, in my opinion, is fine. i don't feel the need to have to label myself or others one way or another.

thank you. it would be very nice to meet you too one day.
:bouquet:
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