? just wondering.....um

have u always not believed in God's existence, or did u just wake up one day and decide that God's not real. have u had the chance to experience all that God has given us, or do u hate life or something else. let me ask u this, do u love ur family, ur friends? if so, then u should love God for giving u the ones u love.im not telling u what to do, and what to believe, and how to go about ur every day lives, im just saying what i feel. and i know im going to get alot of criticism and hateful feedback, but thats okay, i dont mind. speak ur mind, let me have it, hold nothing back, because if u bite ur tounge, then it wont get said, so say it, write it, whatever, its all good. "whats so funny bout peace, love, and understanding"

 

How "big" of you...

 

Well with me I grew up in a strong Christian household, went to church every week, got confirmed, yadda yadda.............anyways until I was about 13. Like everyone growing up I started become a little more independant and started thinking for myself and over time God just didnt seem possible and nothing in Christianity satified me. Now Im a Pantheist/Atheist (Yes you can be both, I dont believe in any god but am connected with nature and the universe in a physical and non-physical manner) and I have learned a lot from Buddhist teachings as well. I dont beleive in heaven ar hell. I look to myself for answers and have never been happier or satisfied. And yes i do love my family and friends. I love everything on this planet and beyond. You dont need a god to love, have good morals, and be a good person......my dads a christian minister and even he agrees on that (and yes he does respect my beliefs). We just need to respect each other and all our differences and beliefs.

 

It is hard to grow up in western culture and not be bombarded with god.

I believed in god like I believed in santa claus. Then I grew up, was able to actually think with a mind of my own, practice some common sense, do my own research, and make an informed decision about my beliefs.

And yes, I love my family and friends. I just don't believe, unlike you, in any sort of god that needs, wants, or even cares about my thanks for that. I thank my family for being as good and kind as they are.

And to think I (or anyone) would hate life just because I don't believe in god is a huge assumption to make. And I have experienced the world, and some amazing things, and plan to continue to. It's silly to think that a person is somehow abnormal simply because they don't believe in the christian god.

A study on religious memes, and a general study of religious history should give you some perspective on what religion is, how and why it developed, and why humans get sucked into such beliefs. It is always interesting to take an objective look on our reality. You can learn a lot.

 

Granolahead

Pantheist/Atheist? There is little difference between the two, you are correct.

However, you say you are connected with nature both physically and nonphysically.

Pantheism only allows a physical connection, and it does not provide charity to the idea that the universe or nature is sentient in any way, shape, or form.

If you are looking for sentience in nature, you might consider:

Panentheism (note the additional "en")

A term coined to describe pantheism and sentience as one.

Hikaru is a Gaian-panentheist himself. =) He thinks this is the term you are looking for (if not, please correct him).

Very well said, Shane99X. Doors_67 has some bold convictions to make the assumptions he has.

Hikaru believes in Gaia, the spirit of the universe. Gaia exists in few ways similar to your God. Hikaru was baptized a Christian, raised a Christian, and confirmed a Christian, and growing up with a Christian family and going to a Christian church, he saw many hypocracies and flaws in Christianity.

Hikaru is only 17 years old, and hopefully has another 50 years of sentience to experience as much as he can. Certainly, unless you are on your death bed, you haven't experienced everything you had the chance to either.

Well, Hikaru loves life now, as it's been gradually improving in quality for him. He will say, however, that he does indeed dislike something: People who look down on him with no provoking reason, especially because of his religion. People just like you. Friend.

Hikaru loves his ability to type "you" and "your" correctly, for one.

For two, no, Hikaru was quite abused by his Christian father, and was injusticed and blackmailed by his Christian mother. He has good reason to see hypocracy in the Christian way of life.

His friends, yes, Hikaru thinks VERY highly of his friends, and is prepared to go to even the lengths of taking a bullet to save most of them. His friends have helped him through his toughest times in life (particularly in dealing with his father), and it's his opinion that he owes his collective friends his life. Few other people could say the same.

Hikaru does his best not just to love Gaia, but to try and repair the damage that humanity has caused her by rejecting her and walking astray, laying waste to her creations, such as the Earth. He percieves that in helping humanity share and repair the Earth instead of laying waste to it as we do now, he may in some way do Gaia a justice and begin to repay his debt to her.

And yet directly above, you state we SHOULD love God, and you question our ways of life. Well, Hikaru does not know about you, friend, but his Christian family screwed him over and treated him like a meager child slave at times, and his father beat him, and as much as he tries to keep an open mind to Christians and their God, he fails to see much worth in Christianity at all, ESPECIALLY because morons such as yourself -- who contradict themselves at every turn, as you just have here -- raised him. So you, friend, can take your beliefs, which you claim everyone SHOULD follow, and quite frankly, shove them right back up the ass you pulled them from!

Glad to see that you had the sixth sense to see this coming.

And as Shane99X already said before, "how big of you."

Hikaru suggests that you take yourself and your condescending kind and go drown yourselves in a gutter! You, your God, and his fan club are the people he has to blame for the shit he had to put up with as a child, and were he in God's position right now, you all might just find yourselves in a Hell filled with more fire and pain than even your God could imagine. Perhaps you should thank your God for that not being the case, hmm?

Hikaru spits at your feet. Have a nice day. :$

Hikaru knows many might look down at his response to Doors_67, here, as it is likely uncalled for, and quite rude, by his own admission. He suggests that those who would criticize him come back some other time, when THEY have felt the abuse he did as a child ... as then, they may have the capability to understand Hikaru's response.

 

No Ive looked into Panentheism and its definatly not that. What I was refering to as non-physical was all those energies and things that exist that we cant physically sense. I guess what im refering to is things like your "mind" which i believe is just a form of energy but we have no comprehension or way to explain it, but yet we know its there. Its those sorts of non-physical things im talking about. Anyways maybe gaian pantheism would be correct however i dont beleive Gaia as a sentient being but rather a lot of organisms collectivly making it seem like one. Haha sorry if this doesnt make sense, this was hard to explain

 

Ah, no, Hikaru must apologize for assuming you meant panentheism. =P

I suppose I believe in Gaia, though, because I believe I've actually experienced her presence ... otherwise, I would simply be agnostic. =)

 

Thats cool man even though I dont believe Gaia as living Ive read up on the theory and a lot of it makes total sense. Peace =)

 

i believed in god once, only because it was crammed down my throat and if i questioned my schools denomination id be punished for it.. but after 4years of shit i decided to see for myself what the world had to offer instead of believing what i was forced to. i dont love god for giving me family and friends because i dont believe he did, and you have no proof he did. bible this, miracle that. the bottom line is, there is not one ounce of proof of god, and unless he falls from the sky, there never will.

 

You know, just for a good laugh, I'd like to be walking to class, and to see this dude with long brown hair and a nice beard/goatee wearing a white robe that said "God" on it, or something, just fall off a building, and land, and get up and dust himself off, and then walk away. =P

 

heheh good call.. would he have cool sandles too?

 

Most definately. And a wooden staff with a button that you can press to make the staff glow. =P

 

and disco god on the back of the robe that lights up?

 

Well, the lack of belief should be everyone's default position, so in that sense I guess I've never believed in God. I didn't really figure out that God definitely didn't exist until I actually examined the "evidence" (or more accurately, the lack thereof). The idea of just "deciding that God's not real" is silly...atheists and agnostics generally use REASON to reach their conclusions, unlike Christians.

And Christians wonder why so many atheists are averse to the idea of religion...wow.

Putting that disclaimer at the end doesn't change the fact that you obviously ARE telling people what to do and believe.

 

This is our point exactly.

The disclaimer changes nothing,
But that is not true.
The disclaimer changes nothing about your point, no, but ...
Instead it changes our views of you,
Our views of what you are imposing on us,
And we see PERFECTLY all idiosyncracies,
All weaknesses, failures, and hypocracies,
That you live your life by and believe in.

The day that you claim we "just woke up and decided God didn't exist" is the same day that we just woke up and decided that you were a moron.

 

Good.

If you oppose what is being explained, it is fine, although there is no need.

This you do not, or you would not make false claims against this way of life.

Do you still hold the belief that your actions are not the actions of God?

 

oh man, u guys i am so sorry, i was like high or somethin was wrong with me when i wrote that shit. i am really sorry, i didnt mean that crap man, im just fucked up in the head. so um keep believeing in what ur believing and um wait no, damn now im telling u what to do, um sorry for saying that. so keep hope alive, damn i did it again. um i wont say ne further, uh bye

 

is it possible that a theist's single marijuana experience opened the mind to atheism?

wouldnt be the first

 

Alrighty then. Hikaru just has one question for you ...

If the little "mistake," as it were, in your text here, is honest ...

Wouldn't the backspace key seem a little more appropriate to use?

... and is he the only one that detects what may or may not be sarcasm here?

 

in reference to seeing Doors' religious flaws.

Kharakov:

You are right, Hikaru will retract that statement, and replace it with this:

It brings into plain and clear view one of the surmised many hypocracies of your religion.

Regardless, the former and latter parts of Hikaru's post still stand. With emphasis on the latter.