Dear God,

I do not know whatt to believe anymore. I cannot accept things in blind faith and for this in am condemned to hell. I read the bible, and i have questioned it, and for that i am a blasphemer. I have explored other faiths and religions so as to find the truth path to you. It was never my intent to believe purposefully in the wrong religion. It was never my intent to honor a false God.

Lord you bless me with the mind to think for myself: and threaten me that should i chose the wrong path to salvation, i will lose my soul. i have searched, and it tortures me to think that i would be wrong and turned away from you.

So i pray to a nameless God. Without a face, and i fill in the gaps with what science and nature has allowed me. I pray:

Dear God - whoever you shall be - Take mercy on my soul, and condemn be not in my search for the truth.

Amen

Seek and yee shall find.

You have plenty of time to find the answers. As much time as you need.

Hardly. You've got 80 short years, a third of which you'll spend asleep and nobody to guide you in your search except 6 billion people all with differing ideas about what "God" is and no evidence.

if we are on the righteous path and know in our heart that we are true in our quest to be in the presence of god, then even though that path may seem sometimes hard, it is not a worthless journey.

it is through the hardship that we surrender our will over to the care of god and all i know is that god is love and the god of my understanding has never failed me if my heart is true. my biggest obstacle is me and my desires which will never bring the fulfillment that is on offer from god. remember that hardship is an important part of spiritual growth and a test of our faith.

all i pray for is that i can get myself out the way and let god weave his magic... and it's this simplicity that i find so frustrating at times.

let go and let love in

You'll never find the proof you seek. The proof could be everywhere, but unless you know where to look, you won't find it.

[This message has been edited by The_Rabbi (edited 02-26-2004).]

quote:Originally posted by Craftian:

Hardly. You've got 80 short years, a third of which you'll spend asleep and nobody to guide you in your search except 6 billion people all with differing ideas about what "God" is and no evidence.

Depends on what you consider evidence.

The fact that I breathe through my lungs is evidence to me.

quote:Originally posted by Craftian:

Hardly. You've got 80 short years, a third of which you'll spend asleep and nobody to guide you in your search except 6 billion people all with differing ideas about what "God" is and no evidence.

If god were to exist then he would have as much time as he needed. Most of the decent religeons believe in reincarnation (even xianity once) and some even explain the process, so he would basically have life after life to find out the answers.

And you don't need anyone to guide you. Experiencing life is enough to guide you. You learn through experience, and a natural attraction to happiness brings you closer to truths, since unhappiness is a result of ignorance.

If life is created by god then by learning about life you also learn about god. And by learning about how you relate to life you also learn how you relate to god. IE: We are all one and a part of the same body.

[This message has been edited by ---Beany--- (edited 02-26-2004).]

Just be the best person you can be. If you can't find the right god, you might be searching for something you know you won't find. Just having air in your lungs isn't proof of anything, just that you exist. Something you can't explain isn't always god.

quote:Originally posted by The_Rabbi:

The fact that I breathe through my lungs is evidence to me.

Evidence of what? The highly advanced technology of the aliens that jumpstarted the human race? Evidence of the hellenistic pantheon? Evidence of Allah?

Evidence that my lungs work.

If we don't ask the right questions, we can't hear the right answers.

James 1:5-6 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering."

The key word there is faith. faith is a hope for things which are not seen, which are true. (Heb 11:1) In Proverbs 3:5-6 we are told to "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

Man dont worry I think personally God wont condem you to hell if you have tired to find him and live a good life. We all have questions and we question our fiath some times but God understands that.

Timothy2(15-16)

15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

You see, God wants you to study, to search for answers. He is confident than your search will ultimately lead to him, However, be able to look past empty logic, that is words alone.

...and maybe more importantly:

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Peter 3(16-17)

16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

quote:Originally posted by theBishop:

However, be able to look past empty logic, that is words alone.

Logic is the most basic tool we have to make sense of the universe. If it is empty then so is the pursuit of truth; we cannot hope to ever know anything.

If you have an alternative to logic that can be used to determine objective truth, I'd like to hear it.

There's a difference between logic like the scientific method, an example of searching for objective truth through trial and error via close examination and logic some philosophers use to "prove" whatever they want. (see Gorgias for an example)

In conclusion, some logic is good logic, and some logic is bad logic.

Maybe more correctly, some logic is useful and some logic is not.

I agree, the Greeks took a lot of their logical pursuits past the point of meaningfulness.

But nobody was talking Plato in the thread previously, what empty logic were you referring to?