okay, regardless of your religios beliefs, i want to pose a question.

if you KNEW with facts that God existed, would it influence the decisions you make in your life?

THEORETICALLY, i believe that if people knew that god existed that it would influence their decisions. why do people argue this point so much? it seems like a no-brainer. i am christian, and if someone proved that another religion was true, i can acknowledge that my decision making would change.

It depends... Which God?

assume it doesnt matter. if you knew there could be consequences to your actions, would you think twice?

Well not all Gods are known to offer consequences for not following them.
Seriously, which God?

good point. okay, the christian god.

Thanks for being clear.
If the Christian God was proven to be real, it wouldn't affect how I live at all. If he has a problem with it, he can take it up with me personally, and not rely on his followers to enforce his interpreted law.

god never uses his followers to enforce his law. mankind enforces laws in gods name though.

i dont understand how it couldnt effect you at all?

if you walked into a store and there was a hundred dollar bill and you knew someone was watching, most people would leave it alone. but if you didnt know if someone was watching, your decision could go either way.
not YOU personally, people in general

god wants relationships with people based on their decision, not influenced.

It still wouldn't affect me in the least. "All sins are forgiven so long as you accept Jesus Christ as your lord and savior and really mean it.", that's what's said, right? Anyone would be sincere in such a thing if they knew their "immortal soul" was at stake, but such sincere acceptance of Jesus Christ wouldn't stop most people who seriously needed the money more than others from taking that bill with no one looking, unless God or Jesus appeared and performed a miracle that made everything better, leaving the person with no need for the money.

"Hey Earl, how to we get people to join our new Religion?"
"By making an awesomely grand promise which they have no way of verifying the truth of, and attributing every natural thing which feels and looks good to the 'workings' of our central character (God)."
"Sounds like a plan!"
(^Not meant to mock, but to show how the promise of a good afterlife does not eliminate the importance of surviving in this life in the minds of most of the world's population, even believers.)


I'm satisfied with my relationship with the Universe itself, thank you.

first off, accepting jesus isnt a promise of eternal life if it doesnt change your life. its not a religion, its a way of life. its not about the number of people or getting people to join because we dont wanna feel silly. accepting christ doesnt mean you have to be perfect.christs' sacrifice was simply a way for us to be able to be forgiven. the purpose of telling people about christianity is to explore it, learn about it. the goal is to have a personal relationship with god the creator.

i dont believe that it wouldnt effect you. i believe you believe that it wouldnt effect you, because your that convinced that he doesnt exist. your belief in his absence is so solid, apparently, that the thought of him actually existing is absurd.

the point is proof of god would eliminate peoples free will.

if there was proof of God I still would not worship him/her I would just accept that I was wrong and apologize for being wrong but that's it.

Wouldn't bother me any.
Since, if the Christian God could be proven to exist then this universe is royally screwed anyways. No man can hope to live up to a God's standards. In fact, I might misbehave more. Really earn that eternal barbecue.

hell isnt so much about physical torture but the absence of god.

how could you KNOW that god was real and not accept him?

this is blowing my mind. i cant even concieve your comments (no offense though)

The fact is, if a belief in Jesus Christ is the only "positive" thing to change about oneself, there is no change needed to begin with.
Acceptance of Jesus does change many people's lives for the better, but a lot of us can do just as well without it.

If Jesus appeared before me to prove to me that he exists, I would converse with and get to know the man. I don't believe that an "inspired" book could possibly be the absolute word of God, as a being who created Humanity should not suffer such stagnation that his very creation is so free from.

However, if that book was proven to be the absolute word, and the god contained therein proven to exist, one could not help but believe in him, so there's sort of no debate to begin with now that I think about it...

Cheers!

right. this is why i feel there is no proof of god. because theirs not supposed to be.no offense, but i will never believe anyone who says if god proved his existence it wouldnt effect them.

I didn't say I wouldn't accept Him.
I actually do believe in God, it is just my own version of Him/Her/It.
I don't accept the strictures of Christianity. Being given a life and then told what to do with it is just ridiculous. It is like getting a Ferrari and then being told not to drive it more than 15 MPH.
I know God wants me to live, or I wouldn't have been given life. And by following the restricting rules of Christianity I could never feel like I was living.
So, even if the Christian version of God was proved to exist, I would still have to listen to my heart and honor God by living my life to the hilt. Not waste it worrying about sin or guilt or damnation.

okay, the guidelines of christianity arent that strict. it doesnt say you cant have fun. there are just some things that are morally wrong. obeying the rules doesnt ruin your life.

Actually, I always have thought of Jesus as the first hippie, so if I met him I would just get high and have a rambling six hour discussion about everything. LOL.

oh hell yeah

How do I explain the unexplainable?

i didnt believe in christianity for a long time, but once i swallowed my pride and quit being concerned with looking silly or whatever, and really read the book and made an attempt to cross examine it with life, a joy hit me like a bus. it has never left.

I like this view

Not to you maybe, but that is your choice.
I, however, like a good beer-buzz on a hot afternoon.
I loooooooooove sex. Married or not.
I like that satisfying like burst of adrenaline when I curse.
I live for gambling.
I love looking at my neighbor's extremely hot wife. I'm not sinning, I'm just admiring what Momma Nature can accomplish when she puts her mind to something.
You see what I am saying? If I didn't do any of the things that come naturally to me, most of which are considered sins by the Christian Church, I would be living a lie. And by living a lie, dishonoring God and the life He gave me.

Lol sorry.



It's easy if God was proved to be real i can accept that but I still have the choice not to follow God/God's . If you met me you would not instantly follow and worship me would you?

if you convinced me that you gave me life, yes i would

What if he was secretly your biological father all this time, and proved it with a DNA test? Does that count?
(LOL, I apologize, just a bit of kidding around...)

I've had women do that with me.
Then I woke up.

its natural to do those things. god doesnt say your not supposed to sin, only that you should be remorseful and ask forgiveness. a genuine attempt to live right will be rewarded, even if you fail.
god said not to put any idols before him. if it doesnt interfere with your relationship and take over your life, alcohol might not be as sinful as some believe.



anyone can have sex with a woman

LOL HAHAH...
Not true.

*looks at self in mirror*

But see, I'm not remorseful for any of the stuff I do.
Why should I be?
I'm living.
That's not saying that there aren't things I won't do, they're just aren't so many as Christianity wants you to think.
And no even in Christianity booze isn't totally sinful. You can have a beer before bed or something, just don't get sloshed and lose your inhibitions and start committing sins you won't remember.
In other words, don't act like me on my birthday.

im talking more about choices that you make. you cant help lusting after women if your married. now its wrong, and you should feel bad about it, but it is natural. sex isnt bad, but your just not supposed to commit adultry. just be true to your woman. dont get married until your sure, for that matter.

the point is most people dont believe in god because there is no physical proof. god wants you to have FAITH in him. i know he exists through my journey through my self and the bible. proof of him would effect peoples decision making so much that we would all be puppets and follow him without making a choice on our own. he isnt a cosmic puppetier. he wont force his will on us, he gives us free will. he is not a rapist

God' O Arjuna, dwells in the heart of every being and to His delusive mystery whrils them all, as clay on the potter's wheel.

--Verse 61, chapter 18 of the Bhagavad Gita

who knows, maybe god goes by many names

Thanks! If I read enough of your posts, I may not need to buy a copy of the Bhagavad Gita.

Hell, I've been married twice and I was sure both times. They were the ones that weren't apparently. LOL.
And like I said before I make a choice I make sure it is a choice I can live with, outside of any religious considerations, other than my personal spirituality.

jesus said that if your unhappy with a woman, you may divorce her, but not for the reason of sexual relations with other woman

That anything qualified to be called god, is as Petty, vicious, depraved and small minded as people are, while expecting to be worshiped, else it shall condemn those people to the hell of it's own making, for not believing petty, viscous, depraved small mindedness, is holy and worthy of worship.

No, the Bible is pretty clear on divorce. Only for reasons of the other person cheating.

god created those things but arent those things. we experience those to contrast the true joys of life. they are neccesary evils to help us be thankful of the times of serenity.

you cant be so hateful towards god because life isnt always great. its not supposed to be. rain falls on the just and the injust alike.

maybe your right, i read matthew 31-32 wrong.

There is no Matthew 31.
Here are the verses I get thrown at me all the time, by my family, over how I am going to hell for wanting a relationship.
Matt. 19:9 "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery."
1 Cor. 7:11b "and that the husband should not divorce his wife."

matthew chapter 5 verse 31 "it hath been said WHOSOEVER SHALL PUT AWAY HIS WIFE, LET HIM GIVE HER A WRITING OF DIVORCEMENT

matthew chapter 5 verse 32 "but i say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornification, causes her to commit adultry: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced commitith adultry"

Right that was what I was saying. In the first verse, Jesus is quoting Jewish law and the second verse is what he is teaching: divorce is wrong, unless your spouse is cheating.

I would disagree. Man possessed those characteristics and then painted them onto the effigy called god, so that people, knowing those emotions so well in themselves or at least having experienced them, would be able to relate to the god/judge/life overseer, that judged them while possessed of those characteristics that it could effect, if it were displeased.

When god drowned the world in the epic of Gilgamesh, that later was contrived to be the fabled Noah and his ark, we're asked to believe god did that because humans earned it. When the first of our kind disobeyed they were cursed to suffer as sinful beings, for all of eternity. But how can one make a choice, when they had not even the knowledge of what such a thing was, until after they consumed the fruit that gave them knowledge!?

I think it absurd that people that hold to any notion of god, condemn people that refuse to accept such a being exists, when, to worship it, would be no better than worshiping an effigy of ourselves. With all our faults, all our sinful nature we're damned to suffer and attempt, though we're not worthy, to overcome. If there was ever a higher power responsible for the majesty that exists as everything in our conscious reality, there is no way it would be vested in the image and likeness of us. Because as depraved as we are, and as depraved as that fictional history that declares what god is, there is nothing to save us in living to serve that, or dying to spend eternity in it's presence. We're already in it's presence, if it is omnipresent and we're sinners by nature. God made that possible in the beginning. To worship that, to hope to please it, is insanity. How does one please with right behavior, that what cursed them after having created them to be everything that they are.

Ok, if I had concrete proof that the Christian god exists and every last word in the bible is true, I would start getting used to the idea that I'm going to hell.

I would not worship such a monstrous being. I would acknowledge the fact that he exists, as I do any human murderer, but I would not worship him and I would not want his forgiveness. I would rather be snuffed out entirely than serve him.

Would it influence my decisions? No. Why would it?

those emotions in itself are proof of god, considering the uniqueness of the human mind, the most unique thing in the universe,

god warned adam and eve not to eat it, it says that in the bible. he gave them a perfect life, and just asked "dont eat this though". it seems like a good deal to me.

not everyone who believes in god "condemns" those who dont. you have the right of free will, to agree or disagree.

life is beautiful, and mankind is beautifil. we mess up alot, yeah, but that doesnt change what we are. if you created us, would you not be proud and take an interest in your creation?

"cursed them"? life isnt a curse. the evil in this world is because of the choices mankind makes. god gave us the ability to do what we please, and unfortunately, we have done some messed up things. god manifested himself as jesus christ and suffered for the idea of sin. if you sin, and you like it, (and i mean sins that are definite, there is alot of debate in what is acceptable, but some sins are evil), then you are wrong. it might feel good, but it doesnt make it right. god doesnt say be perfect, just try and be remorseful if you fail

if thats what you want, thats what youll get.

you act as though you deserve your life so much, is it not blessing enough to be thankful?

Every human being alive has a well-deserved right to life until they abuse that right to harmfully infringe on the rights of others.
My opinion.

they have the right to live life how they choose, but not to possess that life in the first place. to truly deserve something , you must earn it.

You know this do you? Here we go.



I am thankful for my life... just not to your god.