Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I'm totally at a loss to express my sadness that there seems to be so many that reject God. People have been led astray some how. There seems to be a lot who are affected by bad experiences and bad family situations. I'm truly sorry that the love I experience from God is not shared among all. I experienced a revelation some 40+ years ago that showed me the immense love that fills the universe and is called God. I pray endlessly for that love to be seen and shared. It just saddens me to no end that the there are so many that don't understand how beautiful that love is. I wish I knew how to help people see that love. Maybe some day I'll find a way.

i dont wanna turn this into a debate but for me, if GOD existed, than GOD is either incredibly evil or a incredibly selfish. i was rejected most of my life, than he makes me trans and now the one i love with all my heart, i can't be with. but i respect other people's religion however as long as they dont force it on me

There is no evidence that there is a God/god/goddess/goddesses/Deity...

That said, I myself do believe there is a "something" that would be worthy of the name, but that "something" is far beyond my understanding, at least until I shed this body and become the form of my Soul. Guidance is available if one seeks it.

Is there life after death?

There is no evidence for or against. Again, it is my belief that there is.

Don't feel sad for me though, Stephanie. Your God, if real, will surely tell me on "Judgement Day"...and whatever befalls me, is mine to bear.

*hugs*

 I wish I could some how show you my perception of God's love, you may or may not see it , but I would be content at least in the fact that I had tried. God let nature take it's course and have me deal with being trans. I'm mayby an odd one , but I love who I am trans and all.

I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't of started this thread, I just read another thread where there are those who don't think about God and I started crying inside. My problem is that 40 years ago I stumbled into a church on a college campus seeking a quite and safe place to do LSD. It turned out to be an obsession and I found my Lord and I just feel like shedding oceans of tears for those that turn from God. I sorry I just wanted to get this off my chest I guess because God's love is so much of why I'm still alive.

its ok steph. i do understand where your coming from. some people use faith as a coping mechanism or way to help balance them. so i say, if you believe continue to believe because it has helped you. i use to believe that there was a GOD believe it or not back in the stone ages. but life took such a hellish turn for me, i couldnt fathom why GOD would do this to me, but i kept on believing until one day, everything changed. i use to think, "hey GOD, if your real, than strike me down now and prove it to me" but no nothing happened. yes i curse this so called GOD with ever fiber of my heart and soul and more but i dare not knock people if they believe.

Quote from: stephaniec on June 29, 2015, 08:32:23 PM
I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't of started this thread, I just read another thread where there are those who don't think about God and I started crying inside. My problem is that 40 years ago I stumbled into a church on a college campus seeking a quite and safe place to do LSD. It turned out to be an obsession and I found my Lord and I just feel like shedding oceans of tears for those that turn from God. I sorry I just wanted to get this off my chest I guess because God's love is so much of why I'm still alive.

I figured there was something to work through here.  For full disclosure, I'm an atheist who counts religion as the greatest tragedy in history, but I'm not going to give you any grief at all about starting this thread.  You lean on who and what you need to in order to make it through what's on your plate.     

I started out as Catholic, but had what I believe to be a Vision when I was 17...became a non-denominational Christian at that point. (I still admire the Catholic Mass, much more my "speed" than what one normally sees in Protestant services nowadays).

Fast forward 20+ years, I had a conflict of conscience regarding "how the world works and how it's presented", and the end result was a rejection of Christianity, because (imho) it's been tainted too many times to be useful. There are golden nuggets contained within the Bible and its teachings, unfortunately mankind routinely re-interprets what is written to fit the political ideology of the day.

If one is not aware of the political/social implications of today's world, yes the perception would be of Love, Grace, and Forgiveness...but bring in Knowledge, bring it in eagerly, and one finds a much different reality. I do not know if Christianity (not "God") was created to save mankind, or to enslave him.

Well, I admit I lean on the concept of God quite a lot since that first visit I had.  I too have been through hell like so many others and I myself told God to blind me to prove Gods existence and I too have overdosed and basically should be dead . I lost the love  my life and never again wanted to be close to anyone and been alone for 40 years in the desert and I hurt so deeply inside I want to die every day but God has always been there .

Quote from: stephaniec on June 29, 2015, 08:53:40 PM
Well, I admit I lean on the concept of God quite a lot since that first visit I had.  I too have been through hell like so many others and I myself told God to blind me to prove Gods existence and I too have overdosed and basically should be dead . I lost the love  my life and never again wanted to be close to anyone and been alone for 40 years in the desert and I hurt so deeply inside I want to die every day but God has always been there .

"Footprints".

Me too. Lots of hurting, but the Divine is always there.

*hugs*

People turn away from God and Religion, because of what Humans do in the name of "God"
In addition to this many religions are notable historically for using it againts LGBTQQI (especially family from my own personal experience).

I think also it has alot to do with putting someone in a box, saying things like "God will punish you for you art and this music and that thing that you so love to do very much. God would never ask me to give up what God gave me as far as talents and who I am to the core.

Hi Stephanie. I used to be a Catholic and I have family members who are devoted and "speak in tongues", and have a nephew who is a Jesuit priest. I found it hard to accept the faith as I don't like the original sin and the threat of heaven or hell for my life actions. I was very spiritual and while I believed in the leading a Christain life of good and kindness I found that my intellect needed something more. Today, I am a devout Bhuddist, our way are similar to Christians and I accept that JC was an enlightened person (thus a bhudda) in his time. Spirituality is the key to leading a life path that is filled with kindness, giving and understanding and I wish each person to find that path and respect others beliefs.

I too, saw the other topic posting. I decided posting there would just be taken as confrontational.
I pray many time a day for all of us. To ease the pain, to help others understand, and of course for guidance in my own decisions. It has occurred to me, that this place makes a big step towards being a place for support, easing the pain at least a bit, and for helping bring a sane perspective to counter the all-too-common seedy portrayals of transpeople.
  At the same time I do not discount the trials many suffer from just wanting to be true to self. But I realize how trivial my own desires are when I hear of the horrible things that are happening to Christians and women in parts of the Middle East. My prayers are with them all the more. God doesn't like to see us suffer. But we are given human form and nature, unanswered questions and desires,sometimes in ways that do hurt ...but to make us stronger against the tide of bigotry, ignorance and hate that we often face. To give us courage in the face of tribulations and keep us grounded to help one another. It doesn't pain me to see others reject the notion of God as long as, in some way, they can see and consider how blessed we truly are.

Quote from: Shawn Sunshine on June 29, 2015, 09:46:16 PM
People turn away from God and Religion, because of what Humans do in the name of "God"

Evil (and ignorance) occurs in many form in our lives. And yes, at times it occurs in religion. But I guarantee you would find most Christians compassionate to the trials you suffer. Despite popular naysaying, Christian charities are the largest source of help for the needy in the world. And while many personal and spiritual views may differ, Christians do not hate LBGT. It is unfortunate that there is too much coming the other direction that is hate.

when it comes to religion, I just find it easier to not get involved personally. I have many friends and family who are religious but I stay out because I simply don't believe a caring god would do something like this to me.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

I was drawn to become a Catholic through the mystery of contemplative and meditative prayer.  In other times I would no doubt be considered a heretic as I very much subscribe to the doctrine of the free spirit full in the knowledge that many of the great Christian mystics trod a fine line throughout their lives in order to not attract the attention of the Inquisition.  It was my faith in God that got me through some of the worst times of my life.  Even those times when I more often than not didn't know who I was praying to in terms of name brand religion or dogma.

After studying the early Christian church and reading all I could find in the way of surviving documents from that era it's very plain that the name brand forms of Christianity current today have little in common with the early church.  Many modern translations of the Bible are of doubtful veracity due to political pressures, biased scholarship, ecclesiastical bias and even flawed PC based desires to make the Bible 'more inclusive'.  Did you know that the word 'homosexual' doesn't exist in either Hebrew or Greek, - it was a modern translator in 1956 who first incorrectly introduced the word into scripture despite considerable academic doubt as to the actual meaning of the original text.

Life is a puzzle we are given and it is over to us to make the best we can of it.  God doesn't interfere when people make bad choices or sh*t happens, but if we want to we can be guided by the divine presence so that we can indeed become the best that we can be.

Warlockmaker, - I like what you said about JC being a Buddha by the way.

Why don't I believe in god? Good question. I'm an atheist that was brought up in a secular, completely non-religious family. As a child, I went to Sunday School a few times with friends and always wondered what all the judgement of others was about. As I got older, I realised that organised religion had been the cause of more hate and conflict than any other source. OK, it was the human interpretation of what god apparently wanted, but (s)he never seemed to take any action to correct his/her followers, not once.

In later life, my aunt became an ordained Minister in the Uniting Church of Australia. She has never once attempted to 'convert' me or to tell me my atheism is wrong - she respects me and my reasons.

I am a woman of science. I believe in the Big Bang theory and Evolution - both of which have some provable, supportive evidence. And my science background leads me to disbelieve in any kind of supreme being - there's just no evidence to support the idea..

I'm a little troubled by the wording of the topic. "Reject" is a highly negative word, especially when juxtaposed with the antonym "accept". The implication here is that the existence of God is a default and by rejecting it we're somewhat out of the mainstream.

Why do so many people reject agnosticism?

I don't reject agnosticsim so much. its just I've been forced to believe in a higher power for so long from the supervisor religious when I was still in foster care.  I just got tired so I stopped believing that there is something out there. I guess if I never had every single happy thing I've had my hands on snatched away and destroyed right in front of me, I'd have a different view. but than again, it really isn't GOD's fault so to speak so I have said this out loud "GOD, I'll forgive you this time" and just moved on

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

Quote from: suzifrommdI'm a little troubled by the wording of the topic. "Reject" is a highly negative word, especially when juxtaposed with the antonym "accept". The implication here is that the existence of God is a default and by rejecting it we're somewhat out of the mainstream.

Well said, Suzi.

People are free to believe anything they want, no matter how strange it may seem to other people. However, when they elevate their beliefs to the level of "Truth," it seems that the temptation to force those beliefs on other people can become irresistible. History shows that this often leads to bad things, from the Inquisition to the current war over abortion rights -- to name just a couple of recent examples.

In my opinion, monotheism has a lot to answer for here. If there are many gods, different people can have their own, and there's no need for conflict. But if there's just one, then it's easy for believers in that one god to think that they're doing non-believers a favor by converting them, even forcibly. The history of Christian contact with Native American peoples offers many examples of where this leads: many Indian groups would have been perfectly happy to accept Jesus as another god, alongside their own, but that wasn't good enough for the Christians. Where the missionaries' persuasion failed, the next step was forcible baptism and conversion, and the step after that was, pretty much, genocide. (OK, the latter had many causes, but religion surely was one.)

"Saving the souls of the heathen" was also frequently used in the US as a justification for enslaving African people. Enough said.

Quote from: Echo Alcestis on June 29, 2015, 07:48:29 PM
i dont wanna turn this into a debate but for me, if GOD existed, than GOD is either incredibly evil or a incredibly selfish.

Please, give this girl a medal!

lol

For many years i tried to belive in the Christian God... my family is officially catholic, but we rarelly went to church. When my father died, i turn into baptist church... but never felt what people call "God". Always felt envious about those who claim to fell it. As time passed by, I just stoped trying belive and came to the same conclusion that Echo... It doenst make much sense to me that we all suffer because someday, somewhere, somebody ate a fruit.

Most of the time, I dont give a duck about that. Its just life. But it really grind my gears when someone try to tell me that is "all part of Gods plan". Pff, god's plan... which god? There are so many! Loki, maybe? Yeah, it seems like something Loki would do, just to piss me off!

Not to mention all those religious  "leadership" that uses religion for their own evil purposes! Attacking people and make money! Makes me sick!

But I got it. Everybody belives in something. I belive that theres is nothing to belive. I wont force it into those who belive in any god. Beliving in god doesnt make someone evil; there are as many good belivers as many evil belivers; those evil bastards are evil by themselves, they just use religion as a mask.

If God works for you, who am I to tell you that you shouldnt belive? As long as you are not hurting anyone, its ok.

Quote from: Echo Alcestis on June 29, 2015, 07:48:29 PM
i dont wanna turn this into a debate but for me, if GOD existed, than GOD is either incredibly evil or a incredibly selfish. i was rejected most of my life, than he makes me trans and now the one i love with all my heart, i can't be with. but i respect other people's religion however as long as they dont force it on me

When I played Peter Molyneux's god sim, Black and White, and I heard death whisper to me every few seconds when someone in game passed on, I realized how impossible it was to conceive of a god that could be compassionate toward all his creations at once. In the sense that if he cared on an individual level, those individual attentions would mean others were not heard and if he cared on a broad level, his feelings would become like the computations of a computer which precludes the kind of genuine emotional investment that defines love. I'm not interested in a being who is omnipotent or everywhere at once. The Spike Jonze film, Her, tackles this limitation by exploring the relationship between a man and his OS. On a deeper level it's about man and god. How limiting it must be to love a human who are themselves so needy. It's not enough to have our checkboxes checked, we must feel loved and any perception that others are being loved at the same time will seem an affront to our relationship.

Well...

many people throughout all religions believe in a higher being of light, with various aspects..
God / goddess / the all ...

many people believe in angels... beings of light...

if you look at history you can clearly see two streams: those working for freedom, democracy, egality...
and those who for selfish purposes would try to misuse others...

if you pray and hope thats an energy that will manifest something in some way... doors open, etc...
but its up to each one to act...

I would agree that at the moment it seems like things have gone very far... meaning opression etc...
but it will change, and it already does... look at yourself, you are much better able to see through people the last years... seeing lies more clearly...
lgbt subjects are much more at the forefront...
and people like in g reece say no to unfair debts... this will lead to a chance to start anew, in peace and with new hope...

well concerning religion it should be about love... and make some sense... and everyone should be entitled to their own view...

if its people clinging to written words its clearly a power subject.
Its telling other people what to do... or manipulating them with some word plays...

peoples power should come from within. They should know what is best for them.
As soon as they depend on some written outside source, instead of checking it all with an internal sense of love, they can be manipulated.

Well.. as I said... imo people start to wake up... seen by the numbers of people leaving some organizations...

well... there are rays of hope everywhere...

hugs

 :police:


I will caution people to post respectfully.

Speaking from the point of view of the doctrine of the free spirit being without awareness of the Divine is hell and awareness of the Divine is heaven.  God is imminent in that he/she may be known in this lifetime and not as some kind of heavenly reward after death.
Reading any religious writing is always a trans-historical and trans-cultural experience.  God is not bounded or confined within the pages of any book no matter how sacred or holy or inspired it might be.  Words are always inadequate when it comes to describing religious experience or religious principles so by confining our knowledge of God to what might be found in ancient written words will always lead to error.
I was brought up and socialised as a Christian therefore I am aware that I will have a Christian bias however slight in any examination I might make of religion and the Divine.  However Christ's teaching to love God and to love your neighbour as yourself are universal principles that are common to many if not all religions.
The error that many Christians make these days is that they have made God in their own image instead of themselves being made in God's image.

Don't be sad that people don't see things your way.  Love people enough to see things their way, without sorrow or pity.

Atheists don't deserve pity for their belief (or lack thereof), any more than you deserve pity for being trans.

Personally, I don't "believe."  It's not a matter of choice, it's how my brain works.  I need proof.  Through a process of much experimentation, I believe in gravity.  I can believe rational arguments based in fact and evidence, though I always have doubt.  Doubt that the evidence is good enough, doubt that I fully understand the logic in the argument, doubt that I fully understand the claims and their ramifications.

But every theist I've met makes a different set of claims about God.  How could I possibly believe in something so nebulous?

Quote from: sparrow on June 30, 2015, 09:37:41 AM
Don't be sad that people don't see things your way.  Love people enough to see things their way, without sorrow or pity.

Atheists don't deserve pity for their belief (or lack thereof), any more than you deserve pity for being trans.

Personally, I don't "believe."  It's not a matter of choice, it's how my brain works.  I need proof.  Through a process of much experimentation, I believe in gravity.  I can believe rational arguments based in fact and evidence, though I always have doubt.  Doubt that the evidence is good enough, doubt that I fully understand the logic in the argument, doubt that I fully understand the claims and their ramifications.

But every theist I've met makes a different set of claims about God.  How could I possibly believe in something so nebulous?

ding ding ding! *awards Interwebz Thread Award, throws Skittles (tm)*

...And trust that others know themselves well enough to do what is right for them...even if you can't--or don't--agree with what they are doing, we are all on a human journey, and to what end? We don't know...the journey is the important part, not the destination.

imho

Agnostic here. And always have been.
It bums me out when others get so concerned about my own very, very personal beliefs about the (non) existence of a god. I know it's not meant to be, but it feels extremely condescending, which drives me away.
I've never had a bad experience personally with religion, other than when I feel people try to cozy up to me then sneak in God stuff. It feels creepy.
Then there's the whole giant history of hypocrisy and hatred toward people like me.
I am old enough to know myself and my own personal relationship with my own version of God. If that relationship changes, it won't be because somebody is sad for me, or tries to convince me.

Quote from: sparrow on June 30, 2015, 09:37:41 AM
Don't be sad that people don't see things your way.  Love people enough to see things their way, without sorrow or pity.

Atheists don't deserve pity for their belief (or lack thereof), any more than you deserve pity for being trans.

Personally, I don't "believe."  It's not a matter of choice, it's how my brain works.  I need proof.  Through a process of much experimentation, I believe in gravity.  I can believe rational arguments based in fact and evidence, though I always have doubt.  Doubt that the evidence is good enough, doubt that I fully understand the logic in the argument, doubt that I fully understand the claims and their ramifications.

But every theist I've met makes a different set of claims about God.  How could I possibly believe in something so nebulous?

Well there is a thinking that only material or proven things exist...
yet funny thing is that things not material drive all of this...
how do you prove love ?
How do you prove a dream ?
Its some kind of inner knowing. If you work on your intuition and on discernment a bit you might feel it...

logic can be a trap sometimes. It keeps you in a box where not all important things are visible.
And there are clearly logical errors possible, shown often by the necessity to revise theories... but well, thats progress...

hugs

Quote from: Laura_7 on June 30, 2015, 10:28:56 AM
how do you prove love ?
How do you prove a dream ?

Experience is proof enough, like with gravity!  I believe in my love for others, because I feel it!  I believe in the love from others, because they show it!  Dreams... well, they're essentially hallucinations, so I don't believe them.  Unless you mean hopes and aspirations?  Those are great!  If I don't see evidence that I'm making progress towards achieving my dreams, I have proof that I need to try harder!

Quote from: Laura_7 on June 30, 2015, 10:28:56 AM
logic can be a trap sometimes. It keeps you in a box where not all important things are visible.

That's, true, though if logic tells me something that directly opposes someone's claim, experience has told me that I should definitely treat that as a red flag.

The question that Jayne raised in another thread - how can God be all-loving if he has the power to end suffering but chooses not to - resists being ignored. When I try to believe that God is exerting power over our fate, this question gnaws at me. Leads me to several possibilities:
(1) There is no God.
(2) God has some reason for allowing suffering that I, as a human, can't comprehend.
(3) God is not all-loving.
(4) God is not actually exerting control over the world.

To me, (1) and (4) are roughly equivalent. (3) is possible, but too horrible to think about. And (2), well as a human being, I'm entitled to make a judgment based on what I DO understand, right?

I'm sorry, There is and never was any intention on my part to provoke  or cause harm to anyone's thinking and way of life. I think whether you personally accept or reject my sadness is really not important .Its totally your choice. All I'm saying from my own personal perspective without meaning to tell people how they are supposed to see life, that's totally your business. I'm sad just from my point of view whether or not others see it as valid that the love That I've experienced from the God I freely choose to believe in ,a multidimensional   universal consciousness that rests in a plane that  is a challenge to understand. I don't believe any blame whatsoever should be attributed to God for mans suffering, To me God gave us a paradise and we choose how to use that paradise. I mean , we live on a rock the floats  in empty space at absolute zero degrees that exists in  not the most hospitable environment for a living organism. I happen to freely choose to believe in something that has given us perfect conditions to exist. I freely choose to give thanks to whatever this is that gave me a home in absolute emptiness. Yes, you come to be born on an isolated rock floating in absolute nothingness , it's going to be a challenge , But it's so amazing all the possible tools for existing on a rock in absolute nothingness just happen to come along nicely packaged to be opened and utilized . The really only thing I was trying to say , maybe only in my own eyes is that there is such a tremendous love which for me is the universe and which I personally prefer to attach the term God to and I just wish the love I experience from whatever this is could be seen by others who feel so much pain from the harshness that can happen by existing on a rock floating in such an inhospitable  environment as empty space. Sorry, its harder than I thought to explain this.

Quote from: suzifrommd on June 30, 2015, 11:39:54 AM
That's, true, though if logic tells me something that directly opposes someone's claim, experience has told me that I should definitely treat that as a red flag.

The question that Jayne raised in another thread - how can God be all-loving if he has the power to end suffering but chooses not to - resists being ignored. When I try to believe that God is exerting power over our fate, this question gnaws at me. Leads me to several possibilities:
(1) There is no God.
(2) God has some reason for allowing suffering that I, as a human, can't comprehend.
(3) God is not all-loving.
(4) God is not actually exerting control over the world.

To me, (1) and (4) are roughly equivalent. (3) is possible, but too horrible to think about. And (2), well as a human being, I'm entitled to make a judgment based on what I DO understand, right?

Well there are quite a few people who say you have more power than you think...
for example that overly brooding over something makes it more likely to get real... so always remain positive... imagine a good outcome...
listening to intuition...

which leads to... if earth as stephanie said was infused with loving energy... and turned into a positive place... where people come together to create something new... you can choose your place there, moving eventually away from places and people who distract... or if possible shorten time there... or change them some...

hugs

yes, we really do have the ability to create  a space for our selves. That's what's so amazing all the tools are  here , It's so incredible the potential that humans have to create paradise. Maybe this is a cliché , but so very true " all you need is love ". and for me personally it's the Universal love that has kept me alive and find contentment no matter how sour the wine is.

Quote from: stephaniec on June 30, 2015, 11:52:59 AM
I think whether you personally accept or reject my sadness is really not important .

That comment represents one of the challenges to reasonable discussion of supernatural concepts or your "idea of God."  It is with some effort many have freed themselves from the nonsense and dictates of organized religion.  People may still conflate themselves with their beliefs and find personal rejection when others are simply expressing their equally valid freedom to exercise critical thinking.  There need not be lines drawn in the sand.  This is all part of our shared history with a future that inescapably includes all of us.   One planet and one people.

I trust that we are learning from experience and that suggests one reason why religious affiliation is declining.  Whatever we believe or have confidence in is less important to me than working together to improve the shared human condition.

I think basically is that all I'm really saying is quite benign. My God is a Universal love that if each and every individual shared in some form or another in whatever representation because the basic point is absolute unconditional love for each and every individual on this planet there would be no suffering no one would be uncared for and the human race would have lived up to its potential.

unfortunately steph, the price of peace, is free will

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

Quote from: stephaniec on June 30, 2015, 01:27:01 PM
I think basically is that all I'm really saying is quite benign. My God is a Universal love that if each and every individual shared in some form or another in whatever representation because the basic point is absolute unconditional love for each and every individual on this planet there would be no suffering no one would be uncared for and the human race would have lived up to its potential.

I was once of your opinion.

Problem is there are souls who want to make extreme experiences.
Its good to radiate unconditional love, it helps.
Not getting drawn into neg emotions.

Imo they ultimately have to leave this place, or give in.

Saying: it makes sense to radiate love. But it only makes sense to talk to people up to a point.
Watch out for yourself.
But I ultimately see the positive getting the upper hand.

I read on another board if a woman is in her power, she radiates an energy that soothes and relaxes people.
Ever seen how a group of men is changing when a woman is around ?

Well, I see this kind of energy spreading...

hugs

Quote from: Echo Alcestis on June 30, 2015, 02:02:50 PM
a long time ago, in a Sunday school class
Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

If you live in a place where there is only harmony there is not that much new development.
If you introduce a factor to disturb this can get out of hand.
Ever seen ivy overwhelming a tree ?

The problem is not the tree you mention.
The problem is factors multilpying that spread false ideas.
As said, this has gotten out of hand imo.
And, as said, imo you are the last few years much more capable to see through others motives and detect lies...
which is some kind of rise in c onsciousness...
People are turning towards ideas like peace... talking instead of violent solutions... accepting feminine energy...
this is imo a trend which is disrupted by counter reactions... its like a wave setting free some dirt... but the wave is on the rise nonetheless...

hugs

I had deleted my last comment as I felt it may cause a debate. I by no means want to convince anyone to give up on what they believe I  because it's not my place to do so and its not fair as I am a very fair person and I respect all equally. I say the cost to obtain peace is free will because not thinking for ourselves causes no strife, hatred, backlash or wars. this why I think GOD is evil because when Lucifer thought for himself, he was instantly cast out of heaven. whether there was a war or not is up on the air bit it was manly due to free will imo

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

Well concerning free will you might see it this way...
its like an artist...
it needs some diligence and good intention but really nice things can be created...

and you can stay away from things that would drag you into stuff you do not want to go to...

hugs

thus why I took up a neutral nature. imma bow out of this now

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

look... this is some anger energy that keeps you from good things imo...

thse are things that cannot be changed... so directing energy into it makes no sense imo...

imagine playing with a few lightful angels... maybe you find a thing or two when you are out and about... some nice food, or something nice you were looking for in a second hand place...

I'd say let go and concentrate on the positive... its like a stone welling up water otherwise... just let it flow...

hugs

Hi Stephanie,

Just curious what the response would be if the title of the thread was changed by adding one word.

"so sad that there seems to be so many who don't reject the idea of God"

I don't claim to have any answers but the whole process of life seems to me like we're in some sort of wacky science experiment.   Think test tubes.  Do I have any proof that my idea supersedes any of the other infinite possibilities?  Nope.  But to me it's a false dichotomy to believe it's either atheism or one Christian god.

Take care :)
Paige
 

I'm not a religious person and I was not raised in a religious household. I've come across many people that were Christian. I would say that at least 90% of them took such a hardline and fanatical stance that it turned me off from even asking them about what they were into.

My experience with religious people was basically summed up like this: Confrontation, Hostility and Intrusion. I actually ended up in a few fights over this stuff. (None that I actually started) I honestly don't care if people are religious or not. Hey, whatever gets you through this go around on this blue ball is fine with me.

However, when you have people that will actually throw a punch at you, come to your home and bother you (although they say that they are just "raising donations". Sorry, it's you being bothersome. You want money? Pass the plate during service. Don't come to my home and bother me.) Then, when you say, 'sorry, I'm not interested' and then they launch into some tirade about how I am going to hell. Sorry, but you can get lost.

I don't need anyone feeling sorry for me, taking pity, etc. I abhor the idea of anyone taking pity on me for any reason. I didn't seek it out. So, don't bother with that.

However, I have met a very tiny minority of people that are religious and they were cool with the fact that I wasn't religious. People like that will always have my respect.

Quote from: Paige on June 30, 2015, 03:04:29 PM
Hi Stephanie,

Just curious what the response would be if the title of the thread was changed by adding one word.

"so sad that there seems to be so many who don't reject the idea of God"

I don't claim to have any answers but the whole process of life seems to me like we're in some sort of wacky science experiment.   Think test tubes.  Do I have any proof that my idea supersedes any of the other infinite possibilities?  Nope.  But to me it's a false dichotomy to believe it's either atheism or one Christian god.

Take care :)
Paige

so, I don't think there's anything wrong at all being a pure existentialist having no god just matter and energy or my belief there being some extremely nerdy physics geek experimenting with life forms, I mean platypus's, really or dinosaurs , come on you got to be pulling my leg. If that's not experimentation , what is. I just like the comfort of believing the Universe loves me and wants to show its beauty to me.

My problem stems from the fact that I'm an Idealist communal Hippie freak bent on the radicalization of human thought to achieve greatness through peace and love.

Quote from: stephaniec on June 30, 2015, 03:27:45 PM
My problem stems from the fact that I'm an Idealist communal Hippie freak bent on the radicalization of human thought to achieve greatness through peace and love.

well if r adicalization would be replaced by pacifying i'd say it will be successful over time :)

hugs

I was a cultural anthropology major in college and have studied many of the world's religions in depth.

One universal in the human condition is that we all wonder where we came from, why we are here and where we go when we die, but the answers to these questions can vary greatly from culture to culture.  In the history of mankind, there have been thousands upon thousands of cultures worshipping thousands upon thousands of divinities.

The fact remains that all human beings that have ever existed share a common origin and fate despite the thousands upon thousands of explanations that mankind has proposed for this phenomenon.  Now that the world's population has swelled and technology has flourished, cultures that were once geographically isolated from one another are now just a mouse click away, often leading to ugly clashes and conflicts over whose deity is truly divine and what is expected of us.

It seems to me that if there were a divine being or beings, the message they are sending is clear- I'm not supposed to know these things.  I'm fine with that.  I'm here to live my life as I see fit, be kind and helpful to others, try to pack as much joy and happiness into this short life as I possibly can and spread as much of that joy and happiness around as humanly possible. 

I think Bill and Ted had it right. 

Be excellent to each other, and party on dudes.  *wheedlie wheedlie wheedlie*

As I may have said in other topics my family (mostly my grandparents - not alive now) were very religious. I was too, until ~10-11 years old. Then I understood (since he didn't answer my prayers) that God didn't exist.

I believe that there may be some higher intelligence (some kind of aliens probably) since I find it highly unlikely for humans on earth to be the only living beings in the universe.

I think that we humans "invented" God first because we couldn't understand various natural phenomena and felt better to have a "God" above us. Later on we kept believing in God since there still things we cannot comprehend (and may never do) and that we generally feel safer this way.

or it could be like the great Janis Joplin said praying to the Lord, " Oh Lord wont you buy me  a Mercedes Benz all my friends drive Porches I must make amends ." I suppose a Mercedes Benz is a good reason to pray to God.

My thought on this has been that certain human beings brains are just operating at a different frequency and are "very" empathic and sensitive, for them its easy to believe and tell there is something out there and around us. Kind of like how ghost hunters bring in someone for the very same purpose.

It would stand to reason then that other humans do not have that same frequency and are more logical minded and mathematical and do not see and sense what the others do, but accelerate and are better at science and math than their fellows and run circles around them in these areas.

Just a Theory in my head really. Let me know if you agree or not.

In all of this, Stephanie, know that you are not the only Christian on here, nor the only Trans* Christian. There are even Trans* pastors (I'm headed that direction) currently.

The Church (big C) has harmed a lot of people. There are welcoming and reconciling churches out there, but some have been hurt by the Church too much to ever darken a church door again. My heart bleeds for those hurt by my profession, and my hope lies in making the Church a better place for all, so others know that sanctuaries can truly be sanctuaries again

Stephanie, your god sounds beautiful, its just sad that most who believe in god dont have such a resemblance. 

If there is a god why are there too much badness in the world? People are dying even children people born rich and some poor why don't god help them then? When people pray and the get what they want they says " Because God loves me" or " I prayed a lot"  but how many times you get what you want when you pray whenever a person get something, think It is from god and whenever  don't get, they just ignoring  it ..  so If there is a god he doesn't care about you or he is "evil " . No offense but If you look the world and stop positive thinking , (you have to  because sometimes you need to see reality) you will see how bad this world is ...

Quote from: Cynobyte on June 30, 2015, 09:08:12 PM
Stephanie, your god sounds beautiful, its just sad that most who believe in god dont have such a resemblance.

God is spectacularly majestic and the even more beautiful incredible thing is that we are all gods children and god loves us so much. Just stand in a mountain stream on a warm sunny day and let the ripples tingle your toes, there's a good reason we are able to feel the beauty and its free and for everyone. Life can be brutal , but with the love God meant for us to have we can over come and just enjoy the blue skies and the warm blazing sun. The Beatles said it perfectly " all we need is love ."

Hiya stephanie im sorry but im not a big fan of religion eather due to past experiances with myself or my family or even regarding what is going on within the world.. with all the killing that is happining within the world and also all the suffering... when i was younger i relied upon  god to help me through what i was going through. To give me a sign that things would get better but they never did... it was then when i realized god is nothing more than a idea... which was created by religion which was man made.. i know that seems silly to say but it was true to me. And now im older i just rely on being a good person and to love people who are deserving within this world... you have a right to your views like i do to mine.. so starting this thread is not a bad thing because you have the right to say what ever you want to say... 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

It seems to me that within the trans community, you're more likely to find atheists/agnostics simply due to our lived in circumstances. I spent a lot of time in my life angry with God because everything seemed so unfair and callous to me. But God helps those who help themselves, thus the core of my frustration all stemmed from my wanting some mystical force to solve all my problems.
Religion, no matter how pious you are, will not supply you with a genie that grants your wishes. We all have to find our own path to happiness and contentment. Cis people have a hard a time finding that path as well, we just come at it from a different direction and circumstance.


     Hugs,
- Katie
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk