Do you believe in God?

[janie48]

If you believe in God then you believe in leprechauns, fairies, trolls under bridges, griffons, dragons, David Iike's theory on human manipulation by lizards, etc etc etc. No valid tangible proof of the existence of any of them.

 

Fear of death is the reason that people choose to believe in the omnipotent one.

 

Leprechauns i will go along with,I'm part Irish.

I've seen a few dragons.Trolls under bridges i avoid.As for the rest i havn't thought about them much.

 

So you really think fear of death is the reason people believe.Not true.

[carosio]

Far from it. I love old gospel music. From early bluegrass hymns to big black pentecostal choirs.

 

In this country though, Anglican church services make me fall asleep. Sad awful pits of mediocrity. Flatly sung hymns from people who are only singing to praise a God that is equally as banal as their own wet grey lumpy tunes. "He's got the whole world in his hands." He has hands? Huge huge hands?

 

Are reverence and veneration seperate from worship?

 

Religiously inspired music is amongst the best ever written, from classical requiems to Christmas carols. I don't consider that Wesley hymns are particularly dull,though.

[Lockjaw]

wet grey lumpy tunes. "He's got the whole world in his hands." He has hands? Huge huge hands?

 

 

Ah, yes but that inspired

[woodmally]

God isn’t meant to be good; the concept of God is to instil fear into the people to keep them in line.

 

Thats true yes however unlike other ways of keeping people in line Santa Claus et al. This one requires constant praise. People darnt criticis it. Also it keeps people in a job throughout the year.

[MrSmith]

Thats true yes however unlike other ways of keeping people in line Santa Claus et al. This one requires constant praise. People darnt criticis it. Also it keeps people in a job throughout the year.

 

That sounds like you used Santa as a means to make your kids behave; Santa won’t come if you’re naughty.

[PaliRichard]

Quite honestly it doesn't really matter to me what religion George was,I like the song and i liked him[/Quote]

 

And that is fair enough.

 

I find it spiritual,it was what i would describe as a prayer from the heart. In fact i once heard it played at a church service by a group of musicians,the singer sang it beautifully and no changes were made to the lyrics[/Quote]

 

That is also fair enough

 

Many Hindus share a connection with Christianity,i once knew someone who did[/Quote]

 

Many people take things from different religions and make their own beliefs, which is fine.

 

Many Hindu's claim all the worlds religions are connected with Hinduism. This is not only philosophically wrong (too long to go into now but I will do if you insist) but also arrogant. Hindu's who believe this, and your friend was one of many, as are the majority of Hindu's I have met/know, but they aren't doing it from a respect of Christianity, they do it because they believe Jesus was sent by their God, or is an incarnation of him. Brahma and the Abrahamic God are nothing alike, when the Hindu's who do this do it they do so from the viewpoint of their religion being right, and the Christian position being wrong, not from a wonderful new agey connection in the form of the apologetic 'we're all right'.

 

No one can say for certain that George was totally only referring to the Hindu God,his mother had been a practicing Catholic and they were very close[/Quote]

 

But we can safely assume he was, he was open about his faith and ploughed alot of money into ISKON. Regarding your second point, my wife is Catholic and I respect her beliefs but don't mingle them with mine. A close relationship is not a prerequisite for sharing belief.

 

It doesn't necessary have to mean that just because you choose to follow another religion you have to reject everything from before.

 

No it doesn't, but to truly follow that religion you have to embrace it wholly, and George Harrison was open and honest about that embracing.

 

Just edited to say this about that last point too.

 

There is a marked difference between respecting other faiths and practicing elements of those faiths. I respect elements of every major faith, I even think there are similarities between them. This is not the same as amalgamating the two faiths into one, that is, seeing the similarity doesn't extend to me partaking in mass or hajj, but I can appreciate them and see reflections of my own faith in them, while at the same time being fully aware that they are quite distinct to my faith.

Edited June 27, 2012 by PaliRichard

[woodmally]

That sounds like you used Santa as a means to make your kids behave; Santa won’t come if you’re naughty.

 

I dont no as I dont have kids but many do yes. That doesnt mean either Santa or God is real.

[janie48]

[quote=PaliRichard;8985598

 

 

 

Many people take things from different religions and make their own beliefs, which is fine.

 

Many Hindu's claim all the worlds religions are connected with Hinduism. This is not only philosophically wrong (too long to go into now but I will do if you insist) but also arrogant. Hindu's who believe this, and your friend was one of many, as are the majority of Hindu's I have met/know, but they aren't doing it from a respect of Christianity, they do it because they believe Jesus was sent by their God, or is an incarnation of him. Brahma and the Abrahamic God are nothing alike, when the Hindu's who do this do it they do so from the viewpoint of their religion being right, and the Christian position being wrong, not from a wonderful new agey connection in the form of the apologetic 'we're all right'.

 

 

 

. Regarding your second point, my wife is Catholic and I respect her beliefs but don't mingle them with mine. A close relationship is not a prerequisite for sharing belief.

 

Thankyou for that short account about Hinduism,i found it interesting but no need to go into it any deeper for my benifit,i have enough of a problem trying to understand all the different branches of Christianity without trying to get my head around another religion.

I agree with you that a close relationship is not a prerequisite for sharing belief,this has been my own experience, in spite of what might have appeared to have given an impression to the contrary on this thread.

[janie48]

And Mahatma Gandhi was a decent enough bloke wasn't he.

[PaliRichard]

And Mahatma Gandhi was a decent enough bloke wasn't he.

 

He was indeed. I'm not having a go at Hindu's, just pointing out the flaws in assuming that respect and even similarities between faith's are the same as them teaching the same thing.

 

I work with many people of faith, and breakdown in communication often comes when people try to find connections that aren't there. It is especially sad when there are so many connections that are there. Mr Gandhi was a perfect example of this, he was Hindu through and through and didn't pretend that Islam and Christianity were part of Hinduism, he recognised them as seperate, but he also respected, and understood them and their beliefs enough to build real friendships.

 

If you haven't done I highly recommend you read his autobiography 'My Experiments with Truth' (I think that's the title, if not it is very similar to that). I can't link as I'm at work but I'm sure it is still available