Does God as we think we know him exist?

BlueBird

Well-Known Member
I pose this question to the true believers who have zero reservations regarding the existence of God and Jesus as we know him from the bible. I consider myself a Christian as I was baptized and raised in the church, however as an adult I have questioned and even doubted the existence of a God and especially the existence of God that we know through the bible.

I'm not sure I'm capable of ever believing 100% but is it possible that I still can be saved? I haven't been to church in a few years but I would like to start going again because I feel that it's something that is missing from my life. I wonder though, do I feel this way just because going to church became a habit growing up? Or, do I feel this way because Jesus is calling me and there's a spiritual void that needs to be filled? Jesus needs to visit me to dissolve any doubt. I need to know that I'm worshiping something real and that there truly is a heaven.
 
C

Chuckt

Guest
I pose this question to the true believers who have zero reservations regarding the existence of God and Jesus as we know him from the bible. I consider myself a Christian as I was baptized and raised in the church, however as an adult I have questioned and even doubted the existence of a God and especially the existence of God that we know through the bible.

I'm not sure I'm capable of ever believing 100% but is it possible that I still can be saved? I haven't been to church in a few years but I would like to start going again because I feel that it's something that is missing from my life. I wonder though, do I feel this way just because going to church became a habit growing up? Or, do I feel this way because Jesus is calling me and there's a spiritual void that needs to be filled? Jesus needs to visit me to dissolve any doubt. I need to know that I'm worshiping something real and that there truly is a heaven.

Being baptized, going to church and being raised in the church does not save you.
The question is, by what basis are you a Christian?

Faith is not a feeling but I speculate there is a God shaped hole in every one of us. We were made to worship Him.
 

littlelady

God bless the USA
Being baptized, going to church and being raised in the church does not save you.
The question is, by what basis are you a Christian?

Faith is not a feeling but I speculate there is a God shaped hole in every one of us. We were made to worship Him.

You, obviously, have not followed BlueBird's posts. He has been here way longer than you. His humor is about the driest it comes. You really need to get a grip. :lol: I second what seekeroftruth/hotcoffee said about you. :lol:

Also, I have known a few people in my life like you. Just non stop one sided religious preaching. It gets old really fast. People like you will not convert anyone. JMO.
 
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BlueBird

Well-Known Member
You, obviously, have not followed BlueBird's posts. He has been here way longer than you. His humor is about the driest it comes. You really need to get a grip. :lol: I second what seekeroftruth/hotcoffee said about you. :lol:

Also, I have known a few people in my life like you. Just non stop one sided religious preaching. It gets old really fast. People like you will not convert anyone. JMO.

Dry humor? Really?

This was a serious post and i want answers.

chuck,

You're right and I never said that being baptized and attended church would save me. I asked a fundamentally simple question. Can we have doubt but worship and be saved? I've lived a good life and have done right by others and I have been raised Christian. I accept Jesus Christ as my savior but I doubt his existence based on a God as we've been taught to believe in. Can I be saved?
 

BlueBird

Well-Known Member
Sorry, BlueBird. You have changed from the person when I first encountered you on this forum. My mistake. I hope you find the answers you are looking for. Please accept my apology. :smile:

No I'm the same person. I'm fragmented due to horrible life experiences. My humor is still there, it's just more subdued now. I think I need to put an asterisk by the posts I want to be interpreted as sarcastic and patronizing. The asterisk will be like my special code.
 

onel0126

Bead mumbler
Being baptized, going to church and being raised in the church does not save you. The question is, by what basis are you a Christian? Faith is not a feeling but I speculate there is a God shaped hole in every one of us. We were made to worship Him.

Careful Chucky, you proclaim to be a true fundamentalist--you are not allowed to begin sentences with "I speculate." An it sounds extra-biblical. Should I be an asshat like you and am you and ask to be shown where it says that in the mighty KJV?
 

PJumper

New Member
I pose this question to the true believers who have zero reservations regarding the existence of God and Jesus as we know him from the bible. I consider myself a Christian as I was baptized and raised in the church, however as an adult I have questioned and even doubted the existence of a God and especially the existence of God that we know through the bible.

I'm not sure I'm capable of ever believing 100% but is it possible that I still can be saved? I haven't been to church in a few years but I would like to start going again because I feel that it's something that is missing from my life. I wonder though, do I feel this way just because going to church became a habit growing up? Or, do I feel this way because Jesus is calling me and there's a spiritual void that needs to be filled? Jesus needs to visit me to dissolve any doubt. I need to know that I'm worshiping something real and that there truly is a heaven.

Bluebird,
Interesting question because that's exactly what the Homily this last Sunday was all about. It's when the Pharisees questioned Jesus why he was allowing his disciples to eat with unclean hands. Jesus response to them basically translates to: Just because you follow human traditions (going to church, doing Church activities) to the T ensures that you will be saved. It is what you do and what your heart speaks off that will save you. A lot of us professed to be Christians but are afraid to defend our faith from other religions attacks, because most of us doesn't even fully understand our faith, especially those born into it. Most of us just go through the motion.
 
I pose this question to the true believers who have zero reservations regarding the existence of God and Jesus as we know him from the bible. I consider myself a Christian as I was baptized and raised in the church, however as an adult I have questioned and even doubted the existence of a God and especially the existence of God that we know through the bible.

I'm not sure I'm capable of ever believing 100% but is it possible that I still can be saved? I haven't been to church in a few years but I would like to start going again because I feel that it's something that is missing from my life. I wonder though, do I feel this way just because going to church became a habit growing up? Or, do I feel this way because Jesus is calling me and there's a spiritual void that needs to be filled? Jesus needs to visit me to dissolve any doubt. I need to know that I'm worshiping something real and that there truly is a heaven.

No such thing as god, and the bible is a work of fiction written by men at a time when story-telling was the primary form of entertainment.
 

b23hqb

Well-Known Member
PREMO Member
Careful Chucky, you proclaim to be a true fundamentalist--you are not allowed to begin sentences with "I speculate." An it sounds extra-biblical. Should I be an asshat like you and am you and ask to be shown where it says that in the mighty KJV?

Do you know what begins a sentence? Certainly not the "I speculate" that is in the dead center of his sentence. You represent well the name you called him. And, little onel, what exactly are you asking to find in the KJV bible? Salvation? Or a "God shaped hole"?

You are a hoot, and an insane one at that.:lmao:
 

onel0126

Bead mumbler
Do you know what begins a sentence? Certainly not the "I speculate" that is in the dead center of his sentence. You represent well the name you called him. And, little onel, what exactly are you asking to find in the KJV bible? Salvation? Or a "God shaped hole"? You are a hoot, and an insane one at that.:lmao:

Actually--using I speculate anywhere (in a theological sense) in a sentence makes any adherent to sola scriptura a hypocrite. I would argue that the RCC is accused of speculation all of the time and called out on it by fundies all the time even though it was accepted by the early church--you know that church--the one that existed before the 14the century...

Be a man, it's ok to say asshat, you all say worse than that in the privacy of your homes while watching a football game drinking beer.
 

Bird Dog

Bird Dog
PREMO Member
No such thing as god, and the bible is a work of fiction written by men at a time when story-telling was the primary form of entertainment.

So says your religion.
I and the other posters here have a different belief than you. So, STFU if you can't add intelligent dialogue or start your own thread so we can post how stupid you are about your beliefs.
 

Bird Dog

Bird Dog
PREMO Member
I pose this question to the true believers who have zero reservations regarding the existence of God and Jesus as we know him from the bible. I consider myself a Christian as I was baptized and raised in the church, however as an adult I have questioned and even doubted the existence of a God and especially the existence of God that we know through the bible.

I'm not sure I'm capable of ever believing 100% but is it possible that I still can be saved? I haven't been to church in a few years but I would like to start going again because I feel that it's something that is missing from my life. I wonder though, do I feel this way just because going to church became a habit growing up? Or, do I feel this way because Jesus is calling me and there's a spiritual void that needs to be filled? Jesus needs to visit me to dissolve any doubt. I need to know that I'm worshiping something real and that there truly is a heaven.
l
I vote "Spiritual Void". Its happened many times in my life, but thank God, I am always welcomed back.
 
So says your religion.
I and the other posters here have a different belief than you. So, STFU if you can't add intelligent dialogue or start your own thread so we can post how stupid you are about your beliefs.

I do not have a religion to tell me how to think. Your attitude toward non-believers is the problem facing the world today. Religious zealots all over the world are deeply offended if people don't believe what they believe, and they tend to kill each other over it.
 

BlueBird

Well-Known Member
No such thing as god, and the bible is a work of fiction written by men at a time when story-telling was the primary form of entertainment.

Part of me believes you could be right. Another part of me hopes you're wrong and believes that you are. Hence my original question; can I believe what you believe to a point and still believe that everything I've been taught is true and be saved. You clearly are not saved if you truly believe what you've typed here. I'm going to attend church this coming weekend because there is a void that I need to have filled. I'll do so knowing that going to church in itself will have no bearing on whether or not I make it in to heaven. I appreciate the discussion so far, but would like to keep ALL criticism of certain faiths out of the equation. All faiths should believe that their way of worship will lead them to salvation and we should all respect our different ways of worshipping. Christians need to come together as one now more than ever!
 

BlueBird

Well-Known Member
Bluebird,
Interesting question because that's exactly what the Homily this last Sunday was all about. It's when the Pharisees questioned Jesus why he was allowing his disciples to eat with unclean hands. Jesus response to them basically translates to: Just because you follow human traditions (going to church, doing Church activities) to the T ensures that you will be saved. It is what you do and what your heart speaks off that will save you. A lot of us professed to be Christians but are afraid to defend our faith from other religions attacks, because most of us doesn't even fully understand our faith, especially those born into it. Most of us just go through the motion.

Is my timing for this thread a sign from God? I will attend Mass this coming weekend for the first time in a very long time.
 
Part of me believes you could be right. Another part of me hopes you're wrong and believes that you are. Hence my original question; can I believe what you believe to a point and still believe that everything I've been taught is true and be saved. You clearly are not saved if you truly believe what you've typed here. I'm going to attend church this coming weekend because there is a void that I need to have filled. I'll do so knowing that going to church in itself will have no bearing on whether or not I make it in to heaven. I appreciate the discussion so far, but would like to keep ALL criticism of certain faiths out of the equation. All faiths should believe that their way of worship will lead them to salvation and we should all respect our different ways of worshipping. Christians need to come together as one now more than ever!

I see nothing wrong with religion filling the needs of people. What I resist are the efforts of religious organizations to control everyone else's lives in accordance with their particular religious belief system.
 
I'm not sure I'm capable of ever believing 100% but is it possible that I still can be saved?.
When I was a 'believer' I had this same question. There seems to be no definitive answer to this question for Catholic and Protestant alike.
I haven't been to church in a few years but I would like to start going again because I feel that it's something that is missing from my life. I wonder though, do I feel this way just because going to church became a habit growing up?
Yes, more than likely your indoctrination from a young age results in feelings of comfort and security. This is primarily why people who have been inactive in their 'faith' and then fall on hard times - divorce, death in family, illness - become re-engaged, sometimes very heavily involved, in the faith of their youth.
Or, do I feel this way because Jesus is calling me and there's a spiritual void that needs to be filled? Jesus needs to visit me to dissolve any doubt. I need to know that I'm worshiping something real and that there truly is a heaven.
Religious leaning people will typically assign 'agency' to their emotional feelings. This is also why people say "everything happens for a reason", etc,. It sounds like to me you still have a very strong inclination to gravitate back to the faith of your youth. But, you also seem to have a healthy respect critical thinking. Reason will always line up in opposition of the Abrahamic faiths. I have been both a practicing Catholic and Protestant. I am obviously neither now, but that's neither here nor there. Since you don't sound like the type to become a sanctimonious a-hole pushing your belief system on others, you should choose the spiritual life that you are comfortable with. As for me, I am a humanist with Tibetan Buddhism teachings as a guide. It fits with the way I would like to live my life and doesn't require intellectual dishonesty with myself.
 
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