Who is God? Why is it that people do not believe in God?

Foxbrain thank you so much for your reply. You have put some thought into this and I appreciate it. May I ask what BASIS you have for what you say? I must disagree with you that God is a trend. How can He be a trend and also a Creator, as you later state. Surely if He is Creator, He is much more than a trend. Your observations about the differences in beliefs are very accurate, and they go to prove my point that man fashions his own god according to his own thinking. My only basis for anything about God is His Word, the Bible.

I agree with Cloudwatcher. I believe in the Bible as God's Word. I believe it was divinely inspired. Meaning, God had His hand in the writing (and translations, etc) of It. I believe that what is in there, is there because God planned it. I think, that even though things don't make sense to us, we need to try and study His Word as He meant it. I believe it is meant to be followed to the best of our abilities. As far as the Word of God vs. the Koran, I believe if you read and study the Bible you will find great condtadictions in the Bible, especially the New Testament, and the Koran. If you're to believe the Bible, I believe, you're to believe all or nothing. Asking God to help you understand along the way. I'm a Christian, but not Catholic. I do respect Catholics. However, a lot of my beliefs differ. I try to belive the Bible literally. I believe that Mary was chosen of God to produce a miracle. However, she was human and not a "god". I do not believe in worshipping her, to me that would be worshipping more than one god. I praise and pray to the one God (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit - as One - like an egg is an egg but has 3 parts). I do believe, as the Bible states, that Mary was blessed. Of course she was! God chose her to preform a miracle. However, she was merely a human. If you read the book, Miracle of Miracles, you'll learn a lot abour Christianity vs. Islam.

Well here we go again cloud mythology u think it as stories well according to Hindus its their god, according to Greeks its their god an many more so mythology is u consider those as mythology i shall consider bible n its saying as another mythology. As far ur saying "HISTORY As I said earlier, man has always found a god to worship, or to put it another way, has found a RELIGION to follow. Many of these called themselves Christian without following the teachings of Christ. History is full of conflicts and atrocities done in the name of Christ as well as against the name of Christ. I will not judge atheists by the works of some misguided atheists (Hitler, Mussolini, whoever). Do not judge Christ or Christians by the works of people who call themselves Christians without knowing Christ." I jus want to emphasize when a foreigner studies it it all comes under 1 word Christians. They say there were 2 types of Christians one as said by Christ others who are Christians without knowing christ. Y is there such thing as that? U r actually not think in their shoes everything is different in every ages. Which proves ppl change with age. As for the last sentence it shows again differences, many people i know are not by birth Christians but they act as said in bible. More ppl who are by birth Christians and they seem to have varied thinking of ppl who got converted. I had time to just brush up fast. So I couldn't comment more. But all in all cloud ur taking the topic into Christianity more than considering existence of god in every religion. Becoz i find it hard to tell u if you sate Christianity alone there are ppl who think other religions are not accounted for. In a way we are disrespecting them.

Paul, I am not a Christian, although I had a Christian upbringing, and part of that upbringing was reading the Bible. However, I do not regard myself as a sinner for changing my path, and I do not reject God as one of the forces of power which controls this Universe. What I do object to, is that a number of people who believe In God as The One and Only, reject anybody else's opinion and cast them out as sinners. Is this not contrary to your God's teachings?

Very true! And because of that, they make themselves their own god. Thank you for your reply.

I agree with the choice factor. Existence of God has never been a question. Its obvious. But do we really connect to Him every moment is the question

I totally agree with you that people fashion their own gods in their own image. I'd like to know if this gives them any assurance or makes their life any easier. I believe that if there is a God (and I know there is) then He MUST have total authority or He wouldn't BE God. How can people get around this? I'd like people who "fashion their own god" to explain why they do it and to tell me how it helps them.

You please me. Thank you for your testimony. I love Him too, and without Him I am nothing. I do not agree with people who reject God, but we must love them with the love of Christ and pray for them. God bless you

I agree with the reason you have given, but do people believe this man-made god can do anything for them? Does it satisfy them or give them hope for a future?

Man has free will. Its all a matter of choice. At every moment we face this problem of choice. Based on their choices people grow or decay, a society grows or decays. What happened of Egyptinas? where are they now? What happened of Hitler?

thankyou for your reply cloudwatcher. Obviosly being a muslim I do believe in Jesus, though it is different than the way you (christians) believe in him. I am certainly not going to go into that detail or this discussion will convert into a debate between Islam and Christianity. What I understand from your reply is that the 'non-practicing' christians will not be punished for not following their religion but those who do not believe in Jesus to be the son of God will be put into hell. I am sorry to say I feel that is not fair. Can a practicing christian be equal to a non-practicing christian. If yes than what is the benefit to somebody restricting themselves and not enjoying their life like others are doing.

It has been nice to talk to you. Regardless of the difference of our religion, we share many things. We believe in the same God and worship Him in our own way. We also believe in Jesus to be a noble soul and respect him in our way, Good day.

Naseem, I wouldn't want this to develop into a debate between Christianity and Islam either. I respect your rights and was just seeking to give you an answer to your questions. I would not classify anyone as a "non-practising" Christian. Either a person IS a Christian or is NOT. Either a person accepts Christ as Saviour, or he doesn't. Either a person is adopted into the family of God, or not. Unfortunatly many people classify themselves as Christian, but are not so according to the Scriptures. This is where you get the term "non-practising" but in effect, there is really no such thing. In other words, "non-practising" Christians are not Christians and are therefore in the same categopry as non believers. Your last sentence is one on which I must comment. I am a Christian, and I can assure you my life is NOT restricted and certainly is FULL of enjoyment. The Christian life is an ABUNDANT life. I do not say that non Christians cannot enjoy life, but the MOST enjoyable and happy life comes from living with the Lord Jesus Christ as part of the life. I do not miss out on any of the "enjoyment" that non believers have. I might not find enjoyment in the same way as some of them do, but I do not miss out on anything good. I lived for 22 years as a non Christian and have lived 48 years as a Christian, so I think I know what both lives have to offer. The Christian life is ABUNDANT life. Thank you again for your interest and your courtesy. We should be able to compare like this, without treading on one another's toes. It has been talk to talk with you.

What is it about you, Cloudwatcher? You tempted me back, yet again! lol. No, I can't disprove anything that's written in the Bible, and nor can anybody else. How could we possibly? It was written in a language strange to us, and much must have been lost in translation, so, how can it be proven true. It must be a matter of whatever you want to believe, and I don't condemn you for your beliefs. They are correct, both in your eyes, and the eyes of many other Christians. However, in my eyes, it may be correct or it may not. I have an open mind about it, but my beliefs are that it is just another story book, as perhaps, are the ones that I believe in and you don't. Still, I respect what you believe and I hope you respect what I believe, for neither of us has proof of any darned thing! I'll say yet again, that I believe in God, but not in the same way as you do. (Notice I am avoiding the use of "I feel" or "I think"). lol. The whole thing is a mystery which we have to research and find our true selves and our own beliefs. I will not ever deny anybody their religions, their deities, or anything like that. I know where I'm going... I know what I believe, and I'm comfortable with that. I believe in what I believe in, and I believe that what I do and where I'm going is right for me, and me alone. Whichever way anybody else goes, whatever their path, is right for them, and right for me, also. In other words, each to his own... whatever their religion... love is the law and love is the bond. Do what ye will, but harm none. Brightest Blessings to you, my dear friend.

P.S. (This is becoming a habit) lol. Thank you very much for the +!

PS I've given you a + because you put forward a good discussion.

Thank you for your thoughts, meandnotyou. No, of course you didn't offend me. Everyone is free to express an opinion and I am interested in what people have to say. I have the right to agree or disagree, just as you do. I believe in God and believe me I do take responsibility for my life and for the things I do. I think you class people who call themselves Christian just because they live in a so-called Christian country, alongside genuine Christians who have a personal relationship with God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a very big difference between the Christian "religion" and Christianity and I'm afraid the former has given the latter a bad name. You talk a lot about what you believe or think, but you do not give a basis for it. Do you have a right to determine such things? I don't mean you don't have a right to think or to express what you believe. I respect your right to express your thoughts, but I wonder WHY you believe them? You see, I need rock solid evidence for my belief, and I have that in the Word of God and in my relationship with Him. I do thank you for your thoughts. It's a pleasure to be able to share in this way.

Meeandnotyou, welcome back. It is a pleasure to talk with you again. I respect your right to believe as you do and I'm interested in pursuing the discussion. If you don't mind, I'll respond to the last verse of the three first. This verse is a favourite of mine, and has great meaning to me, but I think we need to realise that it was written to Christians only, NOT to everyone. From a purely logical view, it couldn't refer to everyone, since the Holy Spirit wasn't given as an indweller until after Jesus left. Jesus Himself said that He would send the Holy Spirit to come and be IN His followers. In fact He made a difference about being "with" them and "in" them. Jesus many times differentiated between believers and unbelievers and the difference between them. He made great differences between those who "have the Son" and those who "have not the Son". Since you quote Corinthians, which was written by Paul, how about so many of Paul's writings where he makes a huge difference between those who are "spiritual" and those who are "natural" and "carnal". He says some are led by the Spirit and some do not have the Spirit of God. Let's now look at Luke 17:21. When Jesus said "the kingdom of God is with you" where was Jesus? He was with them. He was in the midst of them. He was speaking of Himself. In just such a way, after John the Baptist announced Jesus' coming, we are told Jesus preached the kingdom of God, saying the kingdom of God was at hand, and that they should repent and believe the Gospel. Mark 1:14-15. Evidently, if the kingdom of God was at hand it wasn't within the people. The same applies to Matthew 18:20 where Jesus was promising His presence. 2 Timothy 2:15 has been my theme for many years. I have diligently studied the Word for 48 years and, believe me, "rightly dividing the Word of truth" has been paramount in my study while depending on the Holy Spirit for His teaching. Thank you again for your response. I appreciate your contribution.

Luke 17:21 "...The kingdom of God is within you" Mathew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered togather in my name, there I am in the midst of them." I Corenthians 6:19 "...your body is the Temple of the holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own." We will work only with these three from the Holy Bible, I will only use the Bible since Cristians have a habit of throwing the baby out with the water if it doesn't come from #1 the Bible, or #2- another Christian they respect. First it is well known and I do not remember an exact verse that Jesus acended to his father into his kingdom to prepair a place for us...but Jesus when questioned about the comming of the Kingdom (the one he ascended to) of God he said (Luke 17:21)do not look here and there for the kingdom since"....the kingdom of God is within you" this is the dwelling place for God and Jesus. Do not take this as meaning that we are GODs or anything since we are not eventhough we were "created in his image and likeness" but lets deal with this in second part. Second, Matthew 18:20 "for where ever two or three are gathered togather in my name,there i am in the midst of them." We are not God in and of ourselves but we all contain part of the divinity, this is why Jesus made that statment in Matthew 18:20, this is to let us know that individually we are servants of the most high but togather.... hmmm...there he is. Third, last but not least. I Corenthians 6:19 "...your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own." It is a well know and accepted doctrine that the Almighty is a trinity or Father, Son and Holy Spirit and all three are one, thus all three are GOD. The Holy spirit being part of God, just like Jesus, living within us!! Hmmmmmmm..... what does that tell us about the indwelling of God within each of us?!? Well here are just a couple of the reasons that I believe the way I do. Please remember.....II Timothy 2:15 "study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed,...." That there in and of itself is great and well respected by most Christians yet it continues " ... rightly dividing the word of truth." Be good my friend and have a great day!!

I also believe in God. He is the absolute authority and one day every person will know this. Until then I'll just keep loving and praising Him. Thank you for your response

Hindus have One God too. But the mythology revolves around different facets of God, and they called by diffferent names like Rama, krishna, or vishnu etc.. these are usually like the angels which come in Judaism. But Hindus worship them ,and give them physical form.according to the mythological sources. Even then they do pray to One God. Hinduism is actually a Monotheism

eternalskyes, thanks for your reply. No, I am not preaching that everyone should believe in one God. Everyone is completely free to make their choice and believe in whatever or whoever they like. The fact that there CAN only be ONE God, or He couldn't BE God is one I'd like to discuss. Since different groups have different ideas of God, they cannot all be right. There can only be ONE God.

You are so right when you say there is a difference between faith and belief and I'll agree with much of what you said, but you haven't answered any of the questions. You have philosophised, but I can find no evidence in your response. Surely, if eternity - or even just the span of a lifetime - is involved, we need something rock solid to base our way of life on.

Unithorn, thank you for a comprehensive and intelligent reply - and since I notice you are a new member, welcome to myLot. You will be an asset here. I feel I must answer your last question before commenting on your responses. Why is God an entity to be feared? I would say people who really know God do NOT fear Him. I have known and loved God for 48 of my 70 years and I have NEVER feared Him, either before or after coming to know Him. This is part of the misconceptions of God that I am trying to address in this discussion. God is love. God is not full of hate, distrust and malicious intent, as you query. In fact, these attributes are IMPOSSIBLE for God. God hates sin, but He loves all people. God must punish sin, because He is just, but because of His love, He made a Way through whom forgiveness is possible. He sent His Son to bear the punishment for us. God does not want anyone to perish, but wants all to be united with Him for eternity. Man CHOOSES not to accept His offer. 1. I agree people fashion their own mental image of God because of their own environment and needs, but this doesn't alter who God is. Just because I might see green as purple, it doesn't alter the colour of green. I agree one's concept of God can vary because of events in the life, just as one's own disposition can vary differently. A dear friend of mine lost her daughter in a car crash on the eve of her wedding. She lost a son through illness and another son has a serious illness. My friend is a shining example of a close relationship with her Lord. Others, who do not know the comfort of a loving heavenly Father can turn bitter and rile against Him, blaming Him for what has happened, even though they never took Him into account in their lives. If they haven't acknowledged Him, why should they expect Him to intervene? None of this offers proof that God doesn't exist or that He becomes whatever our concept of Him is. God can only be who He says He is. 2. I have already responded to the first part of your response here. You say many people reject God because there are too many questions to be asked. I would agree with you there, but if they are interested in the answers, why not ask God? Why not consult His Word? All the answers are to be found there. I believe people reject the concept of a perfect God with total authority simply because if they acknowledge this, it would mean they are responsible to Him and they prefer to run their own lives. They are at liberty to do this, but if they do, they shouldn't blame Him when things go wrong. 3 and 4. You say there is an "intimidation factor" involved. The points you make here are popularly held beliefs, but they have no Biblical foundation. I certainly agree with you that to "ask Jesus into one's heart without believing in His existence is pointless" and I would also agree that to be held accountable for our actions is scary, which is why people change the image of God into something which they can accept. 5. Many people do believe that because God is a God of love, He will allow everyone into an eternity of bliss, but God is also a God of truth and justice. Yes, it is possible to justify our actions, but does this make them right? People give all sorts of reasons for rape and murder and other crimes, but it doesn't make them right. God is a God of love, who has already done everything possible for mankind to be reconciled with Him, but each person is free to CHOOSE to accept or reject His offer. I thank you again for taking the time to reply. Your thoughts are interesting, but I find no reason in them NOT to believe in God. My God has proven Himself to me in my life and I could do no other than love Him and praise Him for everything He has done, is doing, and will continue to do for me.

My final point is this - you can't believe in something that you don't feel to begin with. If you can't feel the presence of god within your heart: reading the Bible is reading a good book of moral stories. Prayer is talking to yourself. No matter how vigorously you read, no matter how desperately you want to cling or believe, you will not if it does not strike youe emotional strings. People do no believe in god because they are either too scientific in thought, smothered by their own sorrows, or too inquisitive to accept a solid answer. That, or they simply feel nothing.

And you, 82idiots, must be almost illiterate. If you have nothing to contribute to this discussion, find something you understand or like or where you can exercise your enormous talents.

Once again, you have nothing to say.

Please tell me, 82idiots, exactly who you think you are that you can tell other people what they should and should not believe in? You think you're God? I'm not Christian, but I would not welcome you into my world. You have nothing positive to say about anybody and you're very rude!

I'm sorry to disappoint you, 82Idiots, but I am not mentally immature. I am "educated, mentally healthy and grown up mentally". I am a "logical thinker and have a knowledge of the natural world". According to your belief, I would have to reject God. I know the REALITY of God and I experience His loving presence in my daily life. That proves you wrong on at least one point!

But God wants everyone to be with Him for eternity, which is why He gave His only Son to die for us. God loves you. Thanks for your reply.

Thank you for your thoughts. I agree with what you said, and a lot more. God bless you.

I think the confusion in this world is that people don't beleive that God can allow bad things to happen and they ask themselves if there is a God why does he allow bad things to happen. But the answer is in his word if you are not obedient he will allow bad things to happen to you. It says in his word God is the creator of both good and evil. He created evil to draw you near to him. Because if you notice alot of people don't call on God until there is a bad situation at hand. Now tell me I am lying.

Thank you for your honest comments and for the expressed hope for real answers. If you are really interested, I would suggest that you read my responses to others in this discussion. I hope you will find the answers you hope for. You say no one is confident about God. Well, I have known and loved God for 48 of my 70 years, and I can assure you I have COMPLETE confidence in Him. In all that time, He has never let me down. I praise Him for all He has done for me, what He is doing, and what He will continue to do for me. God bless you. May you know His peace.

You make light of this, but you only have three choices ... God is a He, God is a She, God is neither. God refers to Himself as a He. If He is a She then She's a liar. If She's a liar then She's not God at all.

NUFFSED You are entitled to worship the god of YOUR making, but please don't insult my God. My God cannot lie, and He says HE! IMADRISCOLL Thanks. A good reply. I'm afraid you are right. Nuffsed has no God, only a god. ISLANDER Thanks for your comments, but how can we agree with ALL religions when they contradict each other? Logically, they can't ALL be right!

And where did nature come from?

If God is "just" a power that displays itself in the form that you want to see it ... then you would be more powerful then this so called power that moves the universe, the sun and the planets. If you choose to see it internally, then you dictate how the "power" is experienced. If the "power" doesn't display itself on its own terms then it really doesn't have any power at all. If it doesn't have the power to display itself on its own terms then it certainly doesn't have the power to move the universe, the sun and the planets. Therefore the power that you have explained does not exist at all, but just gives you an excuse to walk away from a Creator that displays Himself as He chooses and is very involved in the lives of humans.

Thanks again imadriscoll. Join in any time. I love your comments.