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Commit? You mean commit to choosing a god? Wow, where to begin........
Well, you know...it's kind of like having a boyfriend.
I mean you know you want one. Everybody wants one. Right? Then you're never alone. Right? And you're supposed to want one. There must be something wrong with you if you don't. After all, that's what everyone says.
But then you look around and I mean...none of them...well...clicks.
So at that point, you can do one of three things:
1. Say "Eff it!" and go home and eat a bowl of ice cream during reruns of the Sopranos.
2. Say, "I'll keep looking. I know there is a boyfriend out there."
3. Say, "I know there should be a boyfriend. And everybody else is doing it. So I'm going to grab one. Now now now! I mean do I really want to be the only freak without a boyfriend? Eighty percent of other people have one and they seem so...happy. Here! Here's a dude. He's your standard dude. I'm gonna grab that one! Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm JerZ. LOVE ME. LOVE ME!!!!!!"
Now, for those of us not raised/steeped in a firm religion...that's our "religious" search. If we were to simply close our eyes and believe the 80% of the U.S. who all seem to feel this whole Jesus thing is "the" thing, well...we could do Number Three on my list. Jump into his arms and beg him to love us and yada yada. But would that really be a quality relationship? What would Jesus actually think of that? "Oh great. Here's this chick who everybody is saying 'you must commit,' so she chose me...by default. Fabulous!" (Well, or...maybe Jesus wouldn't actually say "fabulous". "Fabulous" is less Nazarene, more L.A.)
You're right about committing. And yes, the above was crude and a little ridiculous for a reason. That reason is: Your assertion that we "won't commit" to a religion is, to my mind, SO BIZARRE. Won't commit to a *belief*? Now how on earth do you do that...unless you believe it?
I personally don't think my Greater Thingie has less validity than your Jesus simply because Greater Thingie doesn't have a better name than Greater Thingie, or because s/he doesn't have a bunch of places of worship, or because s/he falls under that paltry, poor little 20%. In my mind, NO god of any description (well...unless it's a really really and I mean seriously bad-weenie-crackhead of a god who, I don't know, sends lightning bolts down and kills people or something) deserves my blind, thoughtless "You! Yes, you in the corner. Everybody said I should take you. So, okay!" If I were a god, frankly, I'd be pretty freakin' insulted by that.
Oh, and BTW...DH means "dear husband" but can mean other things when I'm in less of a good mood. But typically...it means Dear Husband.
I have provided plenty of proof and received none from those who disagree. Why? Because there is no proof. God said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life". He makes it plain that no human has ever seen him, and never will until we die. Can you not see that you have a Creator when you see a rainbow? The Grand Canyon? Who do you think paints those marvelous sunsets? You have no trouble believing that fine art that you see in museums has creators....of course it does! You see a building and know someone built it. It's a given. How could you not see that we (humans) were created, built, and designed in the likeness of our Great and Magnificent Creator? It boggles my mind that you can't see this.
You didn't provide any proof! You're speculating just as much as everyone else.
There is no way for us to know for sure what will happen after we die or whether there is a God. That is why it is called faith! You of all people should know that!
I have provided plenty of proof and received none from those who disagree. Why? Because there is no proof. God said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life". He makes it plain that no human has ever seen him, and never will until we die. Can you not see that you have a Creator when you see a rainbow? The Grand Canyon? Who do you think paints those marvelous sunsets? You have no trouble believing that fine art that you see in museums has creators....of course it does! You see a building and know someone built it. It's a given. How could you not see that we (humans) were created, built, and designed in the likeness of our Great and Magnificent Creator? It boggles my mind that you can't see this.
The sunset and rainbows occur due to the refraction of light waves. The Grand Canyon is the result of erosion and paintings, sculptures, etc are made by human beings... You don't have any proof. You've said that yourself. No one can see God, therefore no one has proof he exists.
You didn't provide any proof! You're speculating just as much as everyone else.
There is no way for us to know for sure what will happen after we die or whether there is a God. That is why it is called faith! You of all people should know that!
I have all the proof I need when I talk to God and feel His presence. I feel His love for me, I know He is with me all the time. God has given us many source that we might know Him.
Location: Midessa, Texas Home Yangzhou, Jiangsu temporarily
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I think that PrettyHateMachine is right, when we die we are destined to be maggot food (figuretively, if not literally). Everything else is just wishful thinking. So with that in mind I choose to believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster so when I die I will go to a heaven full of beer volcanos and a stripper factory.
@JerZ Your analysis of your religious search is hilarious! Choose the FSM, be touched by his noodly appendage.
I have all the proof I need when I talk to God and feel His presence. I feel His love for me, I know He is with me all the time. God has given us many source that we might know Him.
That's proof to YOU, but not to anybody else... and that's the point we're trying to make. How can you (anyone) demand that WE provide tangible/visible evidence, but then turn around and claim faith as your only "proof". I'm glad that's enough for you to be satisfied, but for those of us who question, it's simply not. Don't you see where some of us might find this hypocritical?
Location: The Frenchie Farm, Where We Grow 'em Big!
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Back to the topic of afterlife, I'm coming back as a dog. So one of you guys could walk me, feed me, and pick up my steaming, overwhelming, juicy, and putrid piece of crap that I left on your Persian rug!
I think some of you are assuming belief and truth can, if a religion is "for real", meet. I don't believe that. I think they're two completely separate things.
I think belief is just that--belief--and can't be proven. Belief is highly emotional, partially instinctive and partially based on experiences. It doesn't have to be logical. In fact, in some cases, logic takes away from its charm. Often, it takes away from its emotional impact on us.
I believe my sister is cuter than I am. I was born believing it (she's older) and I'm pretty sure I'll go to my grave believing it. Is it *true*? Well...some people would say, "YES. JerZElderSis is the shizzle. Way cuter!" Others would say, "No way. JerZ is the cutest thing ever!" Which group would be correct? From MY perspective...the first group would be correct. I could in fact use that group to provide *evidence* that my belief is true.
I would then conveniently ignore the second group. When people challenged this, pushing in front of my face the many, many people who think I'm All That (Okay...now you KNOW we're getting into Fantasyland with this), I would be able to come up with thousands of reasons that the "evidence" is faulty. This one is nearsighted; that one only ever saw JerZElderSis on a bad day, and therefore can't know the true extent of her cuteness; a third is just humoring me. Etc.
Even if JerZElderSis lost all her hair in a freak ceiling fan accident, grow suppurating sores on her eyeballs and developed a pronounced limp, I STILL could not be made to believe she was less cute than I. I would just think, "Well, looks aren't everything. Her charm comes from the inside." There is truly no limit to providing your own evidence, no matter how faulty, for a belief you hold or against one you don't.
That's the way belief works.
Evidence will NEVER sway a belief (or lack thereof)...ever...ever.
Last edited by JerZ; 04-11-2007 at 06:00 PM..
Reason: Spellllling
I will be going to heaven to be with my Lord and savior Jesus, and to praise and worship and serve my God for eternity
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Wow, where to begin........
