Do you believe in god?

Non-Phish General
#61

If that’s referring to One’s post, One is not blaming civilization problems on belief. Just pointing out that humans have been willing to fight and kill one another over them for quite some time.

If not, disregard this post please :-X.

What really makes One sad is that human beings can actually fight one another over something that none of us really know. It’s belief, concepts, and people willing to destroy lives for them. (One does not specifically mean anyone here, or anyone with a specific belief, but rather the countless number of humans who have killed, hurt, or antagonized based on belief)

#62

^I wasn’t disagreeing.

When I think of people that I find spiritually compelling, I rarely think of people who have practiced aggressive violence. When I think of great spiritual leaders I rarely find in their teachings or actions a strong argument for initiating violent behavior.

I say this because I don’t think it is people who practice spiritual teachings that cause violence in the name of religion, much as it is violent people who use religious language to promote conflict.

I find that I know many people who have a spiritual practice that serves as a tool to help them empathize with other people despite their differences, and this helps them to resolve conflict peacefully.

In that sense I find the arguments that say that religious beliefs only cause problems, or that they can even be blamed for any problems to be divisive and mostly false. If anything the problem is that people aren’t actually practicing the beliefs they are fighting for.

#63

Totally agreed. You hit it right on the head. And that’s why it’s ironic.

One also knows people of different beliefs who are peaceful and accepting in their ways and really don’t let their beliefs divide them from other people. And One is all for that! :slight_smile:

#64

No I don’t believe in God. I describe myself as a recovering catholic. I asked too many questions, when I was younger, i was told to just believe. I kept asking the questions and just didn’t get any answers that convinced me. Being a math/science person, I believe in science and scientific proof.

#65

Just to clarify, there is no Buddhist “God”. All those fancy looking deities you see are essentially visual forms of different aspects of the enlightened mind, which is your mind… my mind… when it is purified and manifests enlightenment.

In the Buddhist view, there is no outer “God” separate from oneself that can save or condemn you, nor is there any “God” that acts as the creator of the universe, world, whatever. In Buddhism you save yourself, you liberate yourself, no one can do that for you. There is confused mind (what we experience) and unconfused mind (what a Buddha experiences). Unconfuse your mind and you become Buddha.

Buddha is not “God” or a God of any kind. Buddha was an ordinary being like you and I who purified his mind, got rid of what needed to be gotten rid of (presumably negative things), adopted what needed to be adopted (presumably positive things), and in doing so the enlightened qualities (which are inherent in our mind) became manifest… Anyone can do this, man or woman, by learning and practicing the dharma path. No, it ain’t easy and the process typically happens over more than one lifetime… usually many lifetimes… but it happens. …and one can make great strides in one lifetime… so like… good luck to us…

#66

This is exactly how I feel. I guess I find comfort in science and math because they can be tested and proven.

#67

I believe in DOG!

Not really…he’s probably just something invented by man to help keep the working class in its place.

#68

I thought that was FoxNews?

#69

#70

someone might have said this already… but i didnt read the thread and i just want to point out that the christian, hebrew and muslim god are all the same.

#71

^ Yup I mentioned it earlier

#72

I would consider most of those things to be idiocy that should be ignored, and mostly is. Also, the whole GWB saying god meant for him to be president seems like a misquotation/taken out of context. Also, I came to realize (after my dad explained it to me) that voting for someone based on religious beliefs is fine. It may not be the reason you think someone should choose how to vote, but for some people it is, and that’s their decision. If your religion is against gay marriage for example, and you feel very strongly about that, you would not vote for someone who supports gay marriage. And that is fine. Nobody has the right to tell anybody else how they should choose who to vote for.

Thank you. I agree 100%.

::slight_smile:

#73

Everybody can say for sure whether they believe in God. The thing is that you have to decide what God means to you and then decide if that’s something you believe in or not.

#74

:smiley:

#75

Wouldn’t you agree that this is manipulation though? If you are smart enough to recognize that a lot of people are compelled to vote for a person over issues that they feel strongly about, then don’t you think that politicians are too? Don’t you think that they use this to their advantage?

#76

there are times when i wander
and times when i don’t
concepts i’ll ponder
and concepts i won’t ever see
god isn’t one of these
former or latter
what did you think i meant?
it dosen’t matter to me

#77

^mind = blown

#78

That was the very first song that popped into my head when I woke up this morning.

#79

Here’s an example of religious manipulation:

During U.S. Westward Expansion, the affairs of many Native American tribes were handed over to the church. The church proceeded to break up Native American tribes, and send children to camps where could be “Christianized”. This was of course in effort to liquidate the Native American culture.

Given One does not know much about this, there are probably quite a few more examples.

#80

Like religious overtones in war