Originally posted by Wayne1324 I dont like that idea. That is just a theists answer to the unanswerable question "If he exists, he has to be somewhere, so where is god?".
I see all beauty as the face of God myself .. all that is good represents Him.
He's where you find Him if you're looking.
Originally posted by jammer I've attended literally hundreds of churchs in my life.
I'm "the old guy" here.
I've searched for, prayed to and cursed at God a thousand times over.
One thing I believe as fact is that you'll never find God in a church .. at least I never have. I came close once when I was about 16 and got drunk with some Catholic friends and went to midnight mass on Chr ...[text shortened]... and the desire to satisfy it.
Now, be good and love Me with all your heart .. or else!
Of course i love you... God can be found anywhere even in a church....your drunkenness caused you to close your eyes.... God bless you every day !!!!
Originally posted by Wayne1324 I dont like that idea. That is just a theists answer to the unanswerable question "If he exists, he has to be somewhere, so where is god?".
God has absolutely blessed me everyday of my life.
I know that now, but didn't for a long long time. I used to think it was Gods fault whenever I didn't get what I wanted .. like that pony I wanted for Christmas when I was 12. He screwed me with a lousy plastic train. Proved He didn't love me, that's how a 12 yr old mind works. Then their was that redhead in highschool I wanted so bad .. same thing, God screwed me again.
It goes on and on like that 'til i'm 19 and in a firefight in the freakin' jungle of Vietnam. Call it dumb luck, I call it God saved my life, because better men than me died that day and for no reason I can think of, I didn't.
Maybe God just takes care of the big stuff and leaves the ponies and redheads to us to work out .. for sure that redhead exercised her free will on me.
Originally posted by jammer God has absolutely blessed me everyday of my life.
I know that now, but didn't for a long long time. I used to think it was Gods fault whenever I didn't get what I wanted .. like that pony I wanted for Christmas when I was 12. He screwed me with a lousy plastic train. Proved He didn't love me, that's how a 12 yr old mind works. Then their was that redhead in ...[text shortened]... s and redheads to us to work out .. for sure that redhead exercised her free will on me.
God blesses you and still will...the pony and redhead were not to be !!!!!!!!!
Originally posted by jammer God has absolutely blessed me everyday of my life.
I know that now, but didn't for a long long time. I used to think it was Gods fault whenever I didn't get what I wanted .. like that pony I wanted for Christmas when I was 12. He screwed me with a lousy plastic train. Proved He didn't love me, that's how a 12 yr old mind works. Then their was that redhead in ...[text shortened]... s and redheads to us to work out .. for sure that redhead exercised her free will on me.
So why do you think he didn't save those men who were better than you?
I remember the funeral of my granduncle (who had been a priest), where the priest was talking about that day when a bomb fell on my granduncle's house, and it was such a miracle that he was unharmed. According to the priest, God must have intervened there. He conveniently forgot to mention that one of my granduncle's children was killed by that bomb.
If you look at one single case, it often seems like a miracle that someone survived. If you look at the whole, you'll see that some diseases, bombs, battles etc. tend to kill a high percentage of those who are in that situation, while it is also to be expected that a few survive. Those who survive will often feel that they were saved by some higher power. If they had died and a different person had survived, that person would quite likely feel the same way.
Originally posted by Wayne1324 Its not a matter of wasting my time. Its not a matter of answering your question. Its the principle of it. The question has been answered many times.
Anyway here is your answer...
When I finally realized that I didnt believe in god it was like a ton of bricks were lifted off of my shoulders. I didnt just make this decision in a flash. I fought it o ...[text shortened]... ins that theism was to me. There is no more uncertainty of the afterlife.
There's my answer.
Well, that's the downside to religion. At least in my opinion, religion
shouldn't become a to-do list; I agree in the sense that I think many
doctrines of religion (Christianity in particular) are manmade and not
always true to the genuine meaning/purpose of the religion. It's
unfortunate that this idea of a "list" still lives on, though.
Originally posted by jammer God has absolutely blessed me everyday of my life.
I know that now, but didn't for a long long time. I used to think it was Gods fault whenever I didn't get what I wanted .. like that pony I wanted for Christmas when I was 12. He screwed me with a lousy plastic train. Proved He didn't love me, that's how a 12 yr old mind works. Then their was that redhead in ...[text shortened]... s and redheads to us to work out .. for sure that redhead exercised her free will on me.
Where was god for the other 58,000 Americans and 2 million+ Vietnamese who died in the war? Sleeping? Watching TV? But you believe that he thought you were so darn special that he personally intervened to save you. I think you would be closer to the mark to say your survival was due to random chance. Sometimes bullets just miss without god having to alter their trajectory.
Originally posted by Nordlys So why do you think he didn't save those men who were better than you?
That's the question that won't go away .. and the reason is .. I know those were better men than me.
The feeling left is guilt. One of those that died that day took my place .. literally. He died pulling me out of the line of fire. He was a kid of 18 (I was 19) that I hung out with some. He read his Bible and wrote his HS girlfriend and Mother everyday. He didn't drink or chase the whores with the rest of us. He was an innocent, wholesome kid that we all made fun of for his trouble.
You never "get over" something like that, you deal with it or go crazy.
I guess it can be explained as blind luck. I have never been able to accept that explanition. I still think God sent His kid to save me .. why? .. well that's the part that makes no sense to me. It was like death was awarded to the best men present that day as a prize, while the everyday drunken sailor types (me included) were spared.
They say "only the good die young" and that day it was 100% true.