Why I believe...

Many of the topics here on the Senate Floor deal with religious beliefs. For example, many of you know me from answering questions about my beliefs in the Mormonism thread. I have noticed many others talking about their own personal beliefs as well, whether they be Islamic, atheism, "born-again" christians, Catholics, Jews or from any other belief system.

However, there has not been as much discussion over why each of us believes as we do. I would like to see this thread as a place for people to explain the "why" behind the "what" they believe.

However, I do not want to see this as a place to argue over what people believe. No one here is expected to change the way they believe just because someone else believes differently. No one needs prove that their belief is correct either. This is to promote understanding between all of us.

Kimball Kinnison

 

I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and then rose again because I have felt Him in me, and He has caused me to radically change my life.

 

So, you believe nothing, because nothing?

 

As I have stated in other threads, I accept my beliefs because I have prayed to ask God if they were true or not. The answers that I received were clear and unmistakable. It was the most incredible feeling of peace that I have ever felt im my life.

Through those feeling, I know that I have chosen the correct path. I almost goest beyond a simple belief to a clear knowledge.

Kimball Kinnison

 

So how did he answer u?Did God say ya there true?or did he write it on a tree? put it in stone?What?

 

How was I answered? Through my feelings. I have learned that when I ask for an answer, I get one of two responses. The first is a clear feeling of peace and comfort, a feeling of warmth (no, not heartburn ). The other is a feeling of confusion and nerviousness. It is pretty clear to me that one of those means "yes" and the other means "no". I have gotten answers both ways about different questions that I have asked God, and so I have learned to tell the difference.

Kimball Kinnison

 

I believe there is no God because any reason I can think of to believe there is one sounds silly to me. I simply don't have faith. One of my best friends used to be like that, until she survived a car crash that killed one of her friends. Now she's sure there's a God. Maybe if I ever go through something terrible or wonderful, I'll believe too, but for now I don't.

 

As far as theology goes, I haven't come to any firm conclusions about much of anything. I'm still studing, meditation, praying, discussing, etc.

I know God exists because I have experienced too much spirituality to try to explain it away. I prayed long ago that, if God existed, He would hit me over the head with a hammer. I still have the bruse. God has made himself obvious to me because I probably would not believe in him any other way.

 

I was born Catholic. I used to believe heavily in God, but despite that he never helped me when i was bullied in school. So, then i didn't believe in God, and found reasons everywhere why he doesn't exist. Now, i'm not sure about anything spiritual. I do believe though that if God exists, and heaven and hell exists, then...
Anyone, regardless of religion, race, nationality, sexual preference, or anything like that, can get into heaven. Even if they don't believe in God. As long as they are a good person and have committed no truely evil act such as murder without good reason, rape, etc.

 

Maybe the fact that there's bullies proves there's a devil.

 

A funny thing about feelings is that the bible is full of God talking to people in an actual spoken language, God literally speaks in words you can hear.

I don't believe because if i had to believe one thing that had no evidence (after lots of studying and starting out with belief anyway) i would have to believe every theory and idea under the sun just to stay consistent.

 

I am agnostic because I believe all organized religions are one man's effort to shape the world to his way of viewing things and that blind faith is the most dangerous weapon known to mankind.

 

I think many of you know me by now, and so this kind of goes without saying: I am a Christian.


I grew up in a Southern Baptist family; mom is a strong Christian, as is my aunt and grandmother. They brought me up in my faith. During my sixth year, I realized that something wasn't complete. I understood that I couldn't just inherit my faith from my parents, but that I needed my own. So, standing in my grandmother's kitchen, I accepted Christ into my life. From then on I lived my life as usual, trying hard not to sin some of the time, but usually being too busy playing to even think of sinning. By 9, I really started trying to grow more spiritually, and study God's Word, rather than just have everything passed down to me by others. I was also baptized during that year.


When I was about 14, I realized that Christianity wasn't the only religion out there. I panicked. I started searching like nothing else, all throughout the Bible, trying to find the answers that God didn't seem to give. My political beliefs also changed for a bit during this time. I just didn't know what to believe. Or at least I thought I didn't. After a while, I just felt this peace. The questions weren't answered, not all of them anyway, but I didn't care. I was just calm. And I realized that all that time I had never really left by belief in God, it had just been clouded with other beliefs out there. From then unil now I have been studying the Bible hard, and trying to live the most godly life I can. I have "fallen"; I've fallen quite often actually. But everywhere I turn I see God. He is eveident all around me. The answer to prayer has really been evident in my life lately.


But anyway, I haven't really gone through any major change like many Christians. No Paul-like testimony here. But I don't really care. I've gone through my battles, and with God's help, I've come out on top for the most part. That's why I believe what I believe.

 

I don't believe because if i had to believe one thing that had no evidence (after lots of studying and starting out with belief anyway) i would have to believe every theory and idea under the sun just to stay consistent.

If I understood you correctly that is a good point.

Wormie2, being a member of an organized religion does not necessarily imply that you have blind faith and not all mebers of a particular religion think exactly alike on every subject.

 

I don't care. They're still a danger to free thought. If it didn't violate every concept of freedom I hold dear, I'd want all organized religions made illegal for the safety of the stupid and easily swayed.

 

I'm a lax Christian and although I don't really practice Christianity enough (I promise to improve on this one day) I do have morals and I know God exists.

 

I know that this world is a better place because of religion. You are only looking at the ill effects of some organized religions, and I think that if you took alway all organized religion, you would still get the very same people manipulating others, regardless of religion.

 

My father bribed me into going to his church a few months ago. I gave in because...well, frankly, I was drunk at the time and only heard "...lunch on Sunday." Well, all the music and the preacher's raising voice and the amens and the hands in the air....by the end of the service if someone had said "Now go kill blacks!" They would have done it. Even the black man sitting in the row behind me. They were that riled up. Scared the crap out of me.

 

So ban religion, that preacher will just move onto giving motivational speaches.

 

All the music and the preacher's raising voice and the amens and the hands in the air.

Come to my church on Sunday. You'll find it different than your last experience.

 

I believe what I believe because it makes sense to me and helps me be a better person and live a better life. In some ways I don't care and don't worry if they're "real" or not. My life is better for believing them deeply.

There are life's questions such as why people suffer, why life is the way it is, how things work, why we do the things we do, etc. My spiritual beliefs answer these questions somewhat (although I'll never stop searching). And that's what makes me happy

 

I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend anyone, just about all my friends are 'not serious' but still Christian, but I just don't get the whole Jesus thing. Jesus died for our sins? How did his dying do that exactly? And then he came back? But we are STILL born with original sin? Come on, there are some holes in this story!

But personally, I have to say, ever since I got lucky enough to get fourth row tickets to Paul McCartney, I have felt the touch of god...I think.

 

We sinned, so a price had to be paid. Someone had to pay.


God didn't want us to have to pay, even though it is we who commited the crime. So, He sent Jesus to pay the price for us. He took the punishment for our sins, even though He had none.


He then rose from the death that was cause by sin, providing spiritual resurrection for all who accept His sacrifice.

 

And then there are some of us who don't belive in original sin...