so sad that there seems to be so many who reject the idea of God

[stephaniec]

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.

[enigmaticrorschach]

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

[Beth Andrea]

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*

[stephaniec]

 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.

[stephaniec]

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.

[enigmaticrorschach]

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.

[Colleen M]

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.     

[Beth Andrea]

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.

[stephaniec]

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 .

[Beth Andrea]

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*

[Shawn Sunshine]

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.

[warlockmaker]

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.

[Marlee]

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.

[Marlee]

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.

[enigmaticrorschach]

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.

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[Lady Smith]

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.

[kelly_aus]

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..

[suzifrommd]

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?

[enigmaticrorschach]

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

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[Tysilio]

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.

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.