There is no god. I'm spiritual because I believe as humans and creatures alike, there lies electrical activity, no matter how samall, that defines energy of some sort. If you ask me what god is, I can't tell you, but I can tell you what god isn't. He's not the lies we've been given. Just watch Zeitgeist.com and your eyes will appreciate the 2 hours you devoted in watching it. It'll be the best 2 hours you will ever invest in your lifetime and see the truth behind organized religion.

Zeitgeist the movie.com
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5547481422995115331

Supposedley for 40 years the isrealites were wandering around in the desert near mount sinai. You'd think there was trash left behind. In a recent study of the area, there was absolutley no trace of any objects left in the dirt. 40 years in the desert? Not a homemade spoon, bowl, tools, various everyday objects? NOTHING!!!!!!
What does this say?
I can go on and on, but I revert to watching the movie. BTW the movie mentiones nothing of the isrealites. I just thought I'd throw that in as more proof of the idiocy.

I actually heard a defense from religious folks explaining how it took billions of years for the light of distant galaxies to reach our eyes. You won't believe this, but it's the god's honest truth. They claim that God changed the laws of physics at the beginning of creation and allowed light to travel faster than it can now, to make it look old. They have an answer to everything. They are now suggesting that god temporarily changed the laws of physics for his benefit and long term plan to make humans think the universe is really old and not new. How convenient.

If you have time, I can list a hundred things that haven't been mentioned.

If someone can find solice in believing in a faith based religion and make their lives better, then all the power to them. It's the preachers who proclaim only one way to salvation as their own interpretation allows .

Don't listen to me. Do your investigation, and I've given a tool like that movie to start out with. Judge for yourself. I'm not intrested in making converts. That will happen naturally if one has an open mind.

I do believe.Believing in God has got me through alot.Prayer works wonders in my eyes.

"God" is the sum total of all energy in the universe(s). Not to be defined or worshiped, but to be respected for the power that it is.   You and I and a grain of sand are all part of "God".

i'm very open minded.love the responses so far.my belief lies somewhere close to what rick and pac has said.my grandmother died of cancer on my 16th birthday.at the time i lived in a house on a piece of land in a hunting game and reserve.to this day i don't hunt and don't fish.sorry guys i hate it.i moved from the city to the edge of nowhere country when i was 14.imagine being taken from the hustle and bustle to to a place where nothing ever happens and the main activity is gossipped about by all the neighbors.boy i got to be a handful to my mom and dad that i'm sorry about to this day even though i hated both of them at the time.i was what you might call a hippie back then even though it was the late 80's and i didn't mesh to well with the country boys then.i rebelled starting drinking,doing drugs and causing mayhem.the only solace i got once every weekend when school was out once going to my grandmother in the city an hour and a half away.then she got cancer and joined us in the hellhole.well i was already in agony at the time and going through growing pains and boredom too and now i had to watch my grandmother that i originally escaped to having spells going out of her head and talking crazy from the cancer.like i said she passed on my 16th birthday.the administration in the office wanted to see the hippie boy response when told grandma died.i gave them the finger and went on and got in the car and went home.just so everyone knows i've never been to jail and i'm one of the sweetest people you'd ever meet but back then i was a terror monster.well i was just about to the end of my rope at this place after this happened.i told my parents either let me be or i would make everyone even more miserable.i left home went to the city enrolled in school and instead of using my smarts i proptly when there and kept screwing up but i was more happier but still partying too much and not taking care of business.seemed like every couple years since '91 like clockwork someone i loved died until one year i almost did myself from all the heavy partying.i settled down and started working ever since but it all went back to those years when i felt hollow and it was terrible.the passing of my grandmother and living somewhere i didn't relate i shut something off that i never could fully explain.i guess you could say i thought about what others said about all the misery,wars,hunger,suffering,violence.i don't understand why it all continues and has for a long time.i wish there were more answers to it all..............

I believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I believe in God. And prayer does work wonders. Even if you don't get your answers right away.

If you take G O D out of good you are left with o. He is what makes us different from all else, the fact that we have a conscience and know good from evil is key. On the other hand if you add a d to evil.........Well you know: Flip Wilson......made him do it. That begs the ? , does the opposite exist? I believe there is an opposition force that pops up its ugly head almost daily.

All one needs to remember is that one day you will be dust and it is a sure bet.

Oh yeah, I forgot where I was going with that:" Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if God don't take ya, the devil must."

Wouldn't it be nice if we could just close our eyes and invoke an invisible force to solve all of our problems for us? In my opinion, many people today go to church every Sunday just to keep up appearances. Once the weekly sermon is concluded or after they've confessed their sins and received their penance, they perceive their slate is clean and so they can lie, cheat and steal for the next six days without fear of retribution. When next Sunday rolls around, they return to church for their weekly spiritual bath, and are once again cleansed of the previous week's sins.
   It hasn't been that long ago that America was a "God-fearing" nation. Through trial and error, we have discovered that if we lie, cheat, kill or steal, bolts of lightning DON'T flash from the heavens to leave us in a pile of smoldering ash. We have learned that the living need have no fear of God, that we can do pretty much whatever we want to do to each other, and that the bill won't become due until we're dead, if it ever comes at all. The Golden Rule has become terribly antiquated, and those who practice it today are perceived, to a large degree, to be weak, naive and stupid.
   I like Rick G's "definition" of God, as it fits well with today's modern perceptions of a "higher power." Pac also makes a good point about the difference between being "religious" and being "spiritual." The reason there is so much confusion about organized religion these days is because we have lost our unity. America was once a cohesive nation, whereas now we are completely separatist; what speaks to one no longer speaks to the masses. People are no longer satisfied with traditional religious or spiritual beliefs. Wicca is an ancient religion but, globally, it's more popular today than at any other time in history. Catholicism has taken its share of lumps over the past twenty years, causing many people to abandon it in favor of other sects. Baptists were all but vanquished when it was discovered that spanking our children when they misbehave causes serious and irreparable harm to their little psyches. The Protestants never stood a chance, given their meek nature, and the Episcopalians just stood by watching the chaos, shaking their heads and saying, "Would you just look at those Godless barbarians!"
   When people had the "fear of God," this was a much better place to live, because we believed that if we didn't treat each other with respect, dignity and common courtesy, there would be a price to pay. Now, we know that we can get away with killing our neighbor, sleeping with his wife or stealing his lawn mower, and that any consequences we might suffer will be few and tolerable.
   Politicians make a big deal over appearing to be religious. They attend church every Sunday, they lead prayers in the House and Senate chambers and they pal around with religious leaders. However, leading a prayer in the state house does not absolve you of being a corrupt and dishonest bastard during the remaining six days of the week.
   I don't attend church, simply because I can't stomach all of the hypocrisy I see there. There were the Allgood brothers, who would stand and sing hymns so loudly that their voices could be heard over all the others. Once the service was over, they'd return home and spend the rest of the afternoon cutting and packaging cocaine for their distributors (they're both in jail now, but still ...). There was Deacon Crane (not a real deacon; that was just his name). Mr. Crane was a leading local businessman who often donated money when our church needed a new roof or something. He was known in our community as the quintessential family man until he died of heart failure in his partner's bed (you must understand that his partner was out of town at the time). Then there was Reverend Bud Jones himself. The good reverend was very fond of preaching fire-and-brimstone sermons regarding the evils of strong drink, but when services were over and Dad drove us home, we'd see Bud's car parked outside of the local tavern. Bud didn't waste time standing in the doorway shaking hands with his parishioners; he would actually be the first to leave the parking lot.
   Not that long ago, someone who said he didn't believe in God would have been a social outcast. Today, one's religion is a "lifestyle choice," a term which I loathe, because it implies that a person who doesn't believe in God will suffer no more than someone who does. I have a problem with that because I believe people in general must have something to fear in order to keep their baser instincts in check. When people no longer fear going to Hell for killing someone, where is his incentive to reconsider his actions? Given that the average IQ of a police officer is between 90 and 100 (most, in my opinion, are probably much lower), the chances of getting away with murder are very high in today's environment.
   I guess the point of my little tirade here is that I believe we NEED God to be alive and well, with all of His terrible wrath intact and waiting to be unleashed upon our unworthy heads. Without Him, without that moral and integral check valve in place, civilized humans all over the world will eventually revert to a survivor mentality and distinctly uncivilized behavior. I see evidence that this is already beginning to happen but, unfortunately, I don't see any way to stop it.
   My grandfather was fond of saying, "If the cat has kittens in the oven, that don't make 'em cookies!" By the same logic, attending regular services doesn't make a person a good Christian, a good Muslim, a good Wiccan or a good Buddhist. Those services are held in order to give us a better understanding of the church's doctrines and practices, and to encourage us to be better people. I don't go to church because I keep God in my heart and in my home. I treat people the way I'd want them to treat me. I tell the occasional lie (well, I'm married, for cryin' out loud), but I don't steal, cheat or kill. I read five or ten pages from my Bible every night before retiring, as has been my practice since I joined the Navy way back when. I refuse to go and sing with the hypocrites who are there for their weekly cleansing, and I believe that my house is every bit as much a house of God as that stick-built church. As far as I'm concerned, the only difference is that my house doesn't have a spire with a cross perched on its peak. I'm sure that most people who go to church are very decent folks, but the few who aren't ruin the experience for the rest of us, or at least for me, and so I choose not to go. I'd rather spend my Sunday mornings with those who mean the most to me. I certainly don't mean to suggest that everyone else should stay at home on Sundays; if going to church makes you happy, if it provides you with spiritual fulfillment, you should go and enjoy yourself. I wish I could enjoy the experience that way, but I've become too jaded and cynical over the years; people in general just can't be trusted to do the right thing. It's not that I'm anti-social; it's just that I would feel more comfortable going out in public if there weren't so many people there already.
   Another great topic, Mike.
   Jim

Jim695, I agree with most of what you say. You have a great deal of sensibility in you and don't blindly follow anyone with a magic wand that dosen't work. I do however, strongly disagree with one particular thing you wrote about having to have god in our lives to make a good judgement call and not to do evil. All those masses who left Egypt's grip following Moses to the promised land had compassion, grace, love, and evil way before they reched Mount Sinai, where the 10 commaandments were supposedly written. people around the world think that the world was totally void of good deeds before the tablets were made. To me it's absurd to say that without God there is no morality. Sure there was evil, but there also was morality among most people like there is today.

There are many people in this world who have morals without believing in a higher power. To suggest no one can be moral without is just plain idiocy. Nothing wrong with believing in a higher power, like I've stated earlier. I'm spiritual thinking maybe there is a higher force out there, but again, I have the courage to say I don't know who or what it is. I don't proclaim to know the serets of the universe based on some good feelings I get in my chest, with a tingling down my spine. The mind is a very powerfull machine that can be influenced in so many ways.

It's funny how everyone who is tied to whatever religion knows for sure, without a single doubt, the secrets of the universe, who god is, what his plan is, and many other detailed items to conform to, yet they can't even cure the common cold.

I can't seally say what I believe in a post. I like RickG's comment and just wish we all had some kind of spiritual connection so there would be no more hate in the world.
Regarding global warming and the Pope, it is 85 degrees now & it's Dec 13!! :-)
I believe that science does not need to be the enemy. God gave us science.
Regarding church - I was raised Jewish, but I like all religions. Sorry Jim that the hypocrisy of others has turned you off to church. Once I mentioned that to a parishioner sitting next to me at a Pentecostal service. She said you don't go to church to worry or judge the others. They're just as screwed up as everyone else. (my words) It's about a relationship between you and your Maker. To translate an old Yiddish saying "You can't chew with someone else's teeth!"

When you look up in the night sky on a clear night and see all the stars doesn't everyone wonder who put all this stuff here. Who made heaven and earth and all the things in the universe. When you hear a bird chirp or see a fish jump from the water don't you say who i wonder who thought of making these beautiful creatures. When a child is born the wonderment of it all. Combine all these things together and you get the creator. The creator is known by many names.

i strongly believe there is a higher power or being.but then again there are so many questions.....

We will all know the answer when it is our time to pass.

Lottomike,
       I don't believe there is a "God" per-say, but another enactment of fanatics. I believe that there was a creator, and after looking at the movie it mostly solidifies the fact. What people don't realize or are afraid to acknowledge is the fact that he hasn't deterred any of the disasters that have gripped the world. He did'nt help the genicides, he hasn't been around for any of the recent catastrophies, such as all the helpless people from Katrina or any other disaster that I know of, but yet people want to keep beliveing in someone who isn't there.
    If there is anyone who can show me that there is a "God", by all means do so. I was always told as a young child that "God" was love, and grew up believing as such , worshiping something that was written long before "God" or "Jesus Christ" exsisted, and that was the "Bible" and know I know for a fact that all the words were actually here before "Christ".
    Now I know my words are going to stir peoples emotions, so I'm telling you in advance that I neither intend to infuriate nor condone other peoples beliefs. My beliefs are my own opinions and until someone can prove my beliefs are wrong.
     Also after looking at the movie it only solidifies that people actually are looking the other way, instead opening their eye's to what has actually happened . I know that my eye's are definately wide open now. I would urge everyone to look at the movie with an open mind...!

i think this has been a very good topic.i'm really happy about the responses.maddog,jap69,four4me,justxploring,pac,jim,jarasan,spy,rick and angel.all of us so far have had some very interesting replies.been a good one so far with various opinions.keep the answers and questions coming....

Yes, I believe in God. No doubts or questions asked. If I didn't believe in God then I couldn't believe in myself or the good, the bad and the ugly. God is the sum of everything. Stoop down and pick up some dirt from the ground. That's you. The same thing that is in that dirt is the same thing you are made of, iron, zinc etc. You are made of the same stuff.

Wanna know what God looks like? Look in the mirror. Whatever you say or do - is God - whether it be love, hatred, work, play, greed, war, destruction, guile - just to name a few.   

We didn't create the world but we are it's keepers. And it's a beautiful gift I might add. It didn't just appear. It was meticulously designed and we own it.

But we are the creators of what's happening in this world. Whether it's confusion or unity, we create the fear, chaos, cheerfulness, safety, unhappiness, happiness, excitement, lies, truths, bombs, war. Get my point. It's ain't God's fault. He gives us everything we need and plenty of it. It's enough to go around even with overpopulation. The ugly stuff you see in this world is not from God but from evil men.

We just let the greed, pride, power, division and all the ugly stuff destroy what we have. It's not that we are not good or morale enough because people for the most part are good creatures - it's because in our frailty we can't tell the difference between a lie and the truth.   And too often the truth is presented but slanted.

Is there a higher power? You bet. Try to love someone that's difficult to love. Or Not strike back at a person who has wronged you. Or look at a minority and not think "I'm better than you" Try on your own to do those things. We ain't made like that. It's the nature of the beast. Try not to hoard and not share because you've worked too hard for what you have. Try not to pouch upon someone that messed up and because every one else is taken a punch. Try not to have too much pride, or be an intellectual snob full of pride. When you can do those things - that's God. That's the higher power.

I know religion has been used incorrectly and is still being abused but just think what the world would be like without it.

The sovereignty of God escapes many but there is one thing that is written in stone and will never change and that is - spiritual laws. You can depend of spiritual laws. And if you get knowledge, it's not worth nothing if you don't have understanding.

If this world lasts for a billion billion more years - the spiritual laws (the bad ones too) will stand as well and will be what's worth knowing. Laws like "A soft answer turns away wrath"

For you people who don't believe there is a God - read the book of Proverbs, it describes over 150 different kinds of people and have the best advice in the world. Read the Gospels, it tells you how to love one another and how power and fear consumes us, and the book of Revelations - it will scare you straight and nothing else, and the Psalms for reflecting and comfort.

Read the book "Pilgrims Progress" by John Bunyan. Wrap you head around that book. It's written in old English allegories but it will help you get the monkey off your back.

And a book about how numbers play in the Bible, read "The Numerology of God" it tells you stuff like one is for unity, two is division, three is resurrection, etc. That book is the reason I stay away from the number 17 today. And for you folks who want to get happy quick read "Power in Praise" It's dated but most good stuff is.

How can we be better Earthlings? Pray without ceasing.

hey now straight-shooter,
my big answer is YES! i do believe there is a GOD. i believe that it is a personal journey and for me, my GOD is as big as my faith allows. i also believe in the comment that Tenaj makes, bout' lookin' in the mirror. i believe that we have an overwhelming power within us that most of us rarely tap into given to us by GOD. ultimately i believe that we are all created in the image of GOD, so for me, my life task is developing and implementing all that GOD have given to me. a challenge though, i mess up all the time, seems like um always a work in progress. um gettin' better though! ;-) and i also believe that i please GOD most of the times.

You are better than me Ducks.   

I think a lot of people make mistakes because they don't know or they had to step back or got caught in a place. I wish I can use ignorance as an excuse. The scripture that terrifies me is the one that says. "Woe unto those who knoweth and doth not, for they shall be beaten with many strips." I know I piss my angels off and God just shake his head at me but I try hard to have integrity and try to give and help others.

But someone in a seminar said that in your personal life -if you know better and have done better in the past and find yourself stuck in a place (like the girl in Pilgrim's Progress who was stuck in a cage and was sweeping the dust but it was just falling back down) You are doing the best you can - AT THE TIME - that's where you are in your journey- if you can do better you will. So I try to give people that. But I know better than to try to put a gold ring in a pig's snout or cast them pearls. It's still be a pig. And it doesn't matter which way you kill a poisonous snake.

I always ask an atheist why he yells "Oh God" when he is in trouble.
Regarding being stuck, I definitely know that feeling and situation. But I also know people use God as an excuse too much of the time. For example, when people are told to evacuate during a hurricane, I've seen them interviewed on TV saying "I trust in the Lord. I'm staying in my home." Then I am reminded of something I heard a long time ago "Trust in the Lord, but tie your camel first."

great responses.

A really good skit, done in a dance. My daughter sent this to me. Thought I'd share it.

http://www.godtube.com/view_video?viewkey=ee73e63418003b47d7d5

TO ANSWER THE QUESTION :YES 110% YOU KNOW WHEN I WAS UNSAVED I WOULD SAY THE AGE OLD PHRASE (WHY ME IF THERE IS A GOD WHY DID HE LET THIS HAPPEN TO ME) AND IT GOES ON AND ON IF THERE WAS A GOD WHY DO PEOPLE DIE ECT.AS I'AM GROWING IN CHRIST I GET SHOWN MORE AND MORE FROM GOD THESE THINGS. I COULD RAMBLE ON AND ON ABOUT THIS BUT I HAVE FOUND THE SHORTER THE ANWSER THE MORE CHANCE PEOPLE WILL READ IT.I HAVE WANTED A MANY THINGS IN LIFE AND DIDNT GET IT ,ONLY TO SEE DOWN THE ROAD THAT IT WAS GODS WILL NOT TO HAVE.AND IT WAS BETTER IN THE HIND SITE THAT I DIDNT GET THE THINGS I WANTED.I HAVE JUST LOST MY HOME .BEEN THROUGH SOME ROUGH TIMES LATELY THATS WHY I HAVENT BEEN ON HERE NO INTERNET NO TV ARE ANYTHING FOR A LONG TIME. I DONT BLAME GOD I THANK HIM FOR BEING WITH ME THROUGH IT.DIDNT ALWAYS GET THE PART ABOUT WHY LITTLE CHILDERN HAVE TO DIE.IT REALY BOTHERS ME.HE SPOKE TO MY HEART AND SAID.I LOVE THE BABY AS MUCH AS I LOVED THE OLD MAN WHO DIED TODAY.AND I LOVE THE OLD MAN AS MUCH AS I DO THE BABY.GOD SAID I CRY FOR ALL MY BABIES.AND THAT WAS THE BEST GIFT TO EVER GET.HE REALLY LOVES US LIKE A MOTHER OR FATHER TO THEIR OWN,BUT MORE.WELL I COULD GO ON AND ON BUT I HAVE ALREADY BROKEN MY INTERNET POSTING RULE.GOD IS OUR FATHER AND HE WATING ON US TO COME LIKE WE WOULD WAIT ON OUR OWN. PRAISE AND GLORY TO THE KING OF KINGS JESUS CHRIST

HAVE A GOOD DAY
ELLIOT (BOLT)

Wow! This is a really great topic, judging from the responses so far. It's been a few days since I last checked in, so I'll start by responding to Pac's comments.
   I didn't mean to suggest that people who don't believe in God are immoral. I was trying to point out that America as a nation is quickly losing her moral compass. Think about it; back in the 1950's and early 1960's a single-parent home was nearly unheard of. Unwed mothers-to-be were routinely shipped out-of-town to spend the next several months with a relative somewhere. Sex used to be an activity shared by man and wife, and was confined to the bedroom; today, sex is promoted as a healthy pastime to be practiced and enjoyed with either gender at every available opportunity. I don't hate gay people, I have no problem with people raising their children without a spouse, and I don't care if a single woman wants to have a baby; I'm only pointing out that we are much more tolerant of various aspects of social and moral behavior than we were just just 40 or 50 years ago. Back then, being involved in a government scandal would immediately end a politician's career, but that's not always the case these days. Television and radio stars would never find work again had they pulled something like Don Imus or Mutt the Bounty Hunter did. Now, they're both making a comeback, because our attention spans have become so short that we tend to forget what happened yesterday.
   On the other hand, the "N-word" was used quite freely in those days, and I'm old enough to remember separate drinking fountains and restrooms for blacks and whites. Until about 1962, black people coudn't even use the front door of a restaurant. Even so, we still have a long way to go to eradicate racial prejudice in this country. When I was in grade school, my parents began accepting foster children into our home. Our first charge was a five-year-old retarded black girl named Joni. Petitions flew around the neighborhood, demanding our ouster. I took regular beatings at school for being a "N-lover," but I didn't blamed Joni for that; she was my sister, and I loved and cared for her as though she were my blood sibling. At one point, my folks had fourteen children of various ages and diverse races living in their home. We all got along, we all worked together to complete our assigned chores and we all looked out for each other.
   So yes, Americans have made strides, but I believe we are single-handedly killing God as we once knew Him. Generally speaking, people today aren't afraid of going to Hell for their sins as much as they fear being caught by mortal man while committing them. In other words, it's my opinion that most people today fear going to jail more than they fear going to Hell when they die, and the overwhelming increase in unsolved crimes over the past 40 years should provide sufficient evidence of that. We have become a separatist nation with few common goals. As individuals, we have migrated to the various special interest groups that speak to us, and we adopt their beliefs and doctrines as our own. Generally speaking, our individual opinions are now based on the opinions of others, such as our favorite newscaster, for example. If we like Bill O'Reilly, we will support whatever he says; if we're Lou Dobbs fans, we'll hang on his every word. We have lost the ability to think for ourselves and to form our own opinions on any given issue. We watch the news, and when the broadcast is over, we're confident that we have the entire story, or at least that we have enough information to decide where we stand. What most of us don't realize is that we've just been told what our opinion is because whatever channel we were watching has its own politically-driven agenda.
   The science community isn't helping matters when it comes to our religious convictions. Please keep in mind that I'm an engineer, and also a great fan of the hard sciences. However, when the scientific community comes forward with their theories and hypotheses about how the universe was formed, we have no choice but to acknowledge the POSSIBILITY that God doesn't exist and, worse, that He never did. As an engineer, I appreciate their efforts in unraveling the mysteries of creation but, as a human being, I cringe at the idea that one day we might actually prove beyond a doubt that there is no God.
   When that day arrives, we're going to discover that we are in very big trouble.
   I hope this clears things up.
   Jim