Do you believe in God?

Yes, I do. I believe that there is a higher being, one who is greater than us.

I believe in God ... when I look at the beauty around me how could I say there isn't.
Tara

Nope, never have and don't see the likelihood of it happening. Not picking on you Tara, you're just the one who happened to put it out there about the beauty around us and your belief in god What about some of the horrible ugliness around us? The babies dying horrible deaths from starvation, abuse, disease around the world. Villages wiped out thru natural disasters or war. Same god.

No thanks.

Satin is the prince of the air and is causing those things to happen Cheril , a time is coming when he will be thrown into the lake of fire for eternity , GOD is love he does not do bad things , the devil does.

Just adding to the discussion, I was born and raised Catholic and I still practice my faith. I have a wonderful priest who always blesses my Toby and Misty. Do you believe that demons/ the devil can invade a person's body and possess them. Do you believe in exorcism? I do, it is not a common event but I believe that people can open themselves up to evilness. Exorcism is a hush topic in the Catholic church, but, if needed a priest can perform it. I do believe in the power of pray and I do believe that people who have had near death experiences do come back and are able to share, but most people label them as crazy, even though studies have been conducted esp. with children who were able to repeat things that were said in the e.r./o.r. settings. I've read a lot of books on this topic and I always would tell my firefighters and my partner, be careful of what you are saying while working on this full arrest or gunshot victim, you never know if they are saved what they will remember. Religion is a very interesting subject and there miracles that happen every day. Several years ago I was coming home from work, and we had a sleep in, which was very rare, since I was on one of the busy medic units in the city. While turning off I95 out of Baltimore City and onto the 695 ramp, heading towards Towson, I was struck by an 18 wheeler, who dragged me several miles down the highway, I was under his truck, then I was struck again by a second truck, my side of the car was sticking out and we finally stopped. The driver did not know he hit me. A few minutes after the accident a woman appeared, getting into my back seat, holding traction on my head, she told me her name was Betty, and was an instructor with the Baltimore City Police Department, she told me everything was going to be fine. When the county medic unit showed up, the pronounced me dead, Betty kept telling them I was not dead, I was afraid to speak do to the glass on my face and I couldn't open my eyes. Once I was out of my car in getting loaded into the medic unit, Betty, told me she will see me again. A few week s later I called the police training school and asked to speak to Betty, I was told that there was and there never was an instructor name Betty, and they never had a female instructor, ever. A few months later while wanting for a bed in one of the hospitals for a patent, the county crew that took care of me showed up. Of course they knew me and they started to complain about Betty, she was telling they what to do, the medic told her he knows his job, she reminded him that he pronounced me dead. He said the funny thing was after I was loaded in the back of the medic unit, he went over to tell her thank you and no one could find her, it was like she vanished, now my accident was at 6:18 on a Friday morning, by the time we left it was close to 7:30 the traffic was backed up 20 miles on both sides of the expressway, there was no way she drove away. I believe she was my angel, they say angels appear in your hour of need and they come in a familiar form, being a city paramedic, one would comfortable with a city police officer. I should have been killed in my accident, they only injuries I had was a broken back tooth, an twisted ankle and I had 350 sutures put in my forehead, head and chin. For some reason I was given a chance to live, I do not take life for granted and I live each day knowing what a wonderful gift I was given.

First, I don't feel picked on I believe that my faith is just that mine and in no way do I think everyone will agree with me.
That is beautiful Patricia. I was raised Catholic as well but became Canadian Reformed as a teenager (against my father's will) I am not sure I believe in exorcism however I believe that demons are constantly attacking the "flock". I do believe in angels (the bible tells us the LORD will send them in our times of need).
As for all the evil in the world proving there is no God. I believe we (man/woman) were created in God's image and due to the fall into sin evil and corruption entered the world. I also believe that all things (even the negative) will be turned to our benefit by the LORD but we may not always understand why. We live in a time of instant gratification and faith requires patience that is why it is a virtue LOL. But again that is my belief and in no way would I expect everyone to agree with me. I find it comforting to have "faith" in a higher being.
On a side note a very interesting book on the topic of demons ect. is called "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S.Lewis (it is a work of fiction but gives you a new perspective on it and a lot to think about).
Wow this is a very civilized religion talk, my family usually ends up screaming at each other LOL.

I participate in another forum where we discuss the existance or non-existance of God. It's a sticky subject with many heated debates. Personally, I don't belive in God as the Bible describes. I believe their is a spiritual plane that we are all a part of. I believe we are all connected to each other with our life force. I believe that doing bad things will bring bad things to us in return. I belive in evil and good. And I believe that we are not evolved enough to really understand the universe.

We believe that the devel does not enter your body , but if you allow him to lead your life into a sinful nature which you were born with--children just able to talk will lie , no mommy I didnt do it --then he will lead your life that along with mental illness causes some people to do the nasty things they do , Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you will live for eternity in a place beyond our imagination.--John 3-16

My brother is a athiest yet he keeps saying Oh my GOD when something happens what's with that??????

Yep. I do.

I don't try to shove my beliefs on anyone else, nor do I appreciate anyone else trying to force theirs on me. Live and let live here.

As for the "How can there be God if there is misery in the world" debate, I look at it this way: People rarely learn anything from a perfectly easy life. It's the difficult stuff that gets us off our butts to invent stuff and think up new things.No one gets stronger from having everything handed to them with no working for it. I guess I mean, If life were perfect, it wouldn't be life, it would be Heaven.

As for the "animals can't go to Heaven" debate: That's just dumb. The Bible says in the Kingdom, the lion will lie down with the lamb. That requires 1) lions and 2) lambs. THem things were animals last time I looked.

QED.

(The Roo Croo roos a Highly Opinionated hymn and dances on a can of worms)

Alright, I am going to get into my personal beliefs at a later time (in the process of switching things over to my new laptop), but I have to weigh in on this one. Mankind was created perfect. Man was given free will by his creator, and chose to stray, and to try to figure it out himself. Because of this "original sin", the future of mankind was forever tainted. A newborn screams for the first time, that is his first act of selfishness, and so goeth his downward spiral to death. When a baby dies, contracts a fatal disease, etc., it is not the doing of God. It is the brokenness of the world failing his body mortally. God created no pain, no suffering, and no death. It was set into motion by the inevitable selfishness of free will.

I believe we are given choices in life. I've worked on many infants, mostly SIDS babies and drowning children over the years, and many of them did not make it, why, I just don't know. I have had so many gun shot victims who were just at the wrong place at the wrong time who were killed. Several years ago during the summer there were so many children who were killed by gun fire, there were several gangs killing children, that was one of their requirements to enter a gang, again, why? I really started to dislike people, and questioned my faith. There is a reason, and a plan, I know that sounds horrible and unfair, esp. to those who has lost love ones. I do believe one day all our questions will be answer. I have to share this with you guys. When my older sister was in college, she was outside in our back yard studying for her final exams, the end of the year, so it was warm out. She went inside for something, Thomas and I were still in school, I got home before Thomas, as I walked in the house my sister as upset and said I took her notes, I was like, huh, I just got in the door and why would I take your notes, a few minutes later, now I was upstairs changing clothes, and she went out and her notes were right there on the chair, as she had left them. A few nights later she was downstairs painting, she is an artisit and an art teacher, she came running up the stairs, pale and sweating, shaking, stating some one is whispering downstairs, I've never seen her like that. My dad went down and could not find any one or didn't hear anything. We had taken my grandmother home and my sister was home alone, getting ready for bed, and she said she thought someone was downstairs throwing all the books off the bookcases and on to the floor. She ran into my bedroom flipped on the light, when you flip the light the radio came on. She took the mop and went downstairs, nothing was distrubed, all the books were in place. During this time she had been reading a book about the devil and prayers to Satan, she was doing a report on it for a college class. She took that book and threw it out. Everything calmed down, now she and her husband have a ghost in their house, seriously, Thomas has several pictures of this ghost, he comes out at Christmas and family gatherings. He is very playful and likes to hid things, but he does get mad when Chuck, my sister's husband, starts to do redo rooms, like the kitchen and the hallway. No, their house is not old , its about 30 years old. My sister, who is an art teacher has the summers off and when she is home she can feel his present. When I'm over there I don't. My sister is a very religious, not insane, but I would call it very holy.

No, I don't believe in God.

allforgreys ... What do you believe in just out of curiosity? Not that it matters to me I am just wondering.

There are no athiest in fox holes , having seen many people dieing they call for there mommy and GOD help me , on a police radio as one of my good friends was being shot to death his last words were GOD help me.

I am a wiccan.

Wiccan ... that's like witches and witchcraft right? So what are the beliefs of wiccan ... I presume it is not like Harry Potter?

Well I am very sorry you lost a friend to such violence. That's a terrible thing to have to experience Saved2.

When an athiest (if you know for certain the person to be athiest) says Oh God, or God Help Me (versus God Save Me), can you assume they are really asking or believing in God? Or are they simply using the term as an expression? I say Oh My God! all the time. I don't mean to use it in a religious sense at all. I say, you have my prayers to people who ask for it. I don't pray to God for them. I simply sympathize and hope with all my heart that things will improve for that person. I genuinely feel for that person who is asking for support.

What are these beliefs and rituals? I could get into a long description about baptism and Lord's Supper (but I won't because it would bore everyone to tears LOL) belief in one God ect.

I don't know how accurate this is since I'm not Wiccan, but here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca

Our cat vet is a wiccan and I dated one for 6months. I think she put a spell on me, cause when we broke up, it was nasty.

Well if she did, it came back to her three times as nasty.

She was going to turn me into a toad. Thank goodness she didn't.

I don't like it when people use the Oh My God saying. And I don't think God's last name is Damn either.

Just to say Oh my GOD is using the LORDS NAME IN VAIN.

Yes it is. But if you don't believe in God, it doesn't matter. And if you are devout, should you even be saying his name at all or writing it on the internet?

"No one....is to stone anyone...until I BLOW THIS WHISTLE!'"





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dRRYXtk1CA

To discuss God is what we are suppose to do ... to do it in a blasphamous way (make jokes, use it as a swear word ect.) is what most Christians object to.
If you don't believe in God it wouldn't matter to you but it might matter and offend a Christian who hears you ... but you have the right to say anything you want.
Tara

[SIZE=7][FONT=Times]wow a lot being said -- i do believe -- when a child of 7 or 8 i had jesus come into my room you see i had a bad mom -- yeah some of us do -- and i was not allowed to potty after i went to bed so one night i was hurting i had to go so bad and i was looking out the window over my bed at the moon and crying why can't i go to the bathroom and then when i rolled over and looked at the door that was closed there was jesus who appeared on the door and told me to go use the bathroom and that i could always use the bathroom and i would never have to fear getting in trouble again --so after a minute or two i did and i did again and again and never did i get into trouble for that again and all my life i have listened to the part of me that belongs to god and my life has been good and peaceful and for that i am glad that we do have choices --- ya know it is just like my greyhounds all my life i have wanted one but it never seemed right and i do believe that god was waiting for the time that was best to fulfill my dream and at the age of 47 in 6 months i gained not one but three and they all have special needs and somehow we can afford to give them what they need and they all have gotten along as if they were raised together -- i would call this a prayer anwsered and a blessing --- i don't do the politics of religion i just know that he is there for those of us that call to him and and use his goodness and love to help our lives stay peaceful thru all the wrong and evil that man creates

Yes, I do. Raised catholic. Got to be someone in charge.

I was praying to God last week when a few tornadoes went close by the kennel. It missed us, but got some homes a few miles away.

Do you think the people in those homes also prayed to God to not be hit by the tornado?

I don't believe in "God" or a god, really. When people ask me to which religion I belong, I tell them that I'm inbetween religions.

Yep, I believe in God, and I believe there are many different paths through and to the next life. I just hope there's no reincarnation (unless I get to come back as one our pets), 'cause doin' this bullsh*t once is enough.