I believe that God exists. He is real and ever present. I believe he is sad when he looks down upon the earth and sees what mankind is doing. I also believe that he has a plan. His Son will return one day and end all of this madness, and take his rightful throne as King of Kings. Would anyone like to talk with me on this subject? I'm starting this new post, because some on this LBT rants and raves section don't want me to even mention God on a thread that's about abortion or the Octuplet mom or any other subject. So, I will start this thread that is only about Him and/or religion. What do you say? Is God real? Will He really return to earth one day?

Yes, you are right. But I think we all know when we do wrong. I try to live by this rule, if something feels wrong in my heart, then it probably is.

BTW, one more comment....

What you write above, you do realize that is how most atheists feel too, right?

Pattygreen, you are aware that there are 1000's of translation errors and omissions in "THE BIBLE"

I love it when people tell me that the bible is complete and fact because it says so right there in the bible.

And isn't it interesting that when you mention god everyone automatically assumes your talking about Christianity. I know that it is the dominate religion in the us, but I think it ranks 3rd in the planet.

The Hindi religion has thousands of gods, Native American religion has its share as well.

There are dozens of "christian" religions, not to mention Judaism and Muslim religions that share a single god but have drastically different interpretations of him.

And whats the deal with Jesus Christ, Is he the flesh and blood embodiment of GOD, or just the bastard son of Mary?

My answer is simply YES!!!!!! God is real. I experience evidence of His existance every day. My husband and I have family and friends who are of many different religions. Whenever we discuss beliefs with them, I am always amazed at how similar everyone's basic beliefs are. There is only ONE GOD! Different religions have different names for and beliefs about Him. We are Baptist, but I do not consider my very best friend of 24 years any less "Christian" or "religious" than I am just because she is Catholic.

Some people get a kick out of arguing points of discussion, just for the sport. regardless of what you believe, there will always be someone who believes differently.

Who is right? Well, I will say this: If you live your life like there is no God, you better PRAY that you are right!!!!!!!!! As for me, my faith is in Jesus. If I am wrong, what do I have to lose?

Pattygreen, you are aware that there are 1000's of translation errors and omissions in "THE BIBLE"

But, how would you ever know if things were mistranslated or omitted, unless....Moses, is that you?

But, how would you ever know if things were mistranslated or omitted, unless....Moses, is that you?

Have you ever looked into the history of the bible? Early copies were hand scribed by illiterate monks. They simply copied the characters as best as they could. they would send these copies out to other monks who would do the same.

This was a business just like any other and pressure was applied to produce. It was EXTREMELY common for scribes to take shortcuts.

It got so bad that in the 1600's King James had his people get several copies and try to come up with a unified book. Almost every bible in existence today comes from this unification.

20th century scholars have examined the original scrolls (or at least as close as possible) and the discrepancies are well documented.

For example, we all know of the story of the birth of Christ. He was born in a cave, in the late spring, to an unmarried woman named marry. I know that's not what your were taught at your local church but it is more accurate than saying he was born in a wooden barn, to a virgin, in mid-winter.

Brief History of the King James Bible by Dr. Laurence M. Vance

Bible Errors and Contradictions

With that being said, My problem is not with GOD, but with the arrogance of men who would attempt to use GOD for their own personal gain.

Well gosh, Bubba, you sure got me there. Christians are stupid for believing that the Bible has no omissions or transcribed errors, when clearly we should take the word of Dr. Laurance Vance.

I've read the bible, and it doesn't say that Jesus was born in December, or even in mid-winter. So.....I guess we agree that's not an omission or a transcription error?

I'm well aware that a lot of major Christian holidays are celebrated on pagan holy days. That doesn't bother me in the slightest. What is important is the thought that we Christians have one day a year to reflect on and Celebrate the birth of Jesus. Same goes for his death and resurrection. If the actual dates are celebrated by wiccans or pagans or savy businessmen, that's ok by me too.

I kinda accepted awhile back that Christians (well, white Christians, anyway) are one of the last groups that it is still politically acceptable to mock (along with fat people). Whatever.

I guess the thing is, the Bible is a focus of the Christian faith. You either believe that it was penned by divine inspiration, or you don't. There's not a lot of wiggle room on either side......neither side is probably going to gain a lot of converts from the other.

Not necessarily. Ever met a hard core Catholic? They have a lot more rules than your typical Christian and they believe you should follow their rules in order to get to heaven. If the Christians can get it straight what the rules are, I think there is a problem within Christianity. The rules are NOT clear. It's no wonder people fear death, they don't know if they followed the rules or not.

I have met some hard core catholics. Alot of them simply listen to their authority (usually priests and nuns) and never pick up God's word at all. Humans are just that, human. The catholic church makes up alot of things that aren't in there. I know, I was catholic once. The big turn off for me was you could never eat meat on friday, then all of a sudden, now you can. That was when I was a teen, and didn't get it. How could the rules change? Then when I was in my early 20s, I read the scripture, and understood, that God never changes, it's men that screw things up.

Ever talk to people before they die? Most are okay with it, the hard core Catholics such as my Dad... they are scared to death when they know it is a matter of hours/days. They fear death when it comes to the final hours. I think that's a shame, nothing short of a horror.

I think it's a shame, also. For noone needs to fear death. It is a bridge that we will all cross someday from here to there. If you have peace in your heart by knowing God, then fear disappears.

My Dad died scared to death. He did try to fight death in every way possible. It wasn't because he wanted to live as much as he was afraid he wasn't going to heaven. The look on his face as he died was sheer fear. I'll never forget that for the rest of my days.

Feelings have nothing to do with our destination. It's faith that truly matters.

Pattygreen, you are aware that there are 1000's of translation errors and omissions in "THE BIBLE"

I love it when people tell me that the bible is complete and fact because it says so right there in the bible.

There are far fewer errors than you might think. God has preserved it over the years. If he hadn't, then how could he condemn mankind for not knowing what he wanted to tell them?

It is through the work of the Holy spirit, after a person makes his decision to have faith in Jesus and become a believer, that God opens his spiritual understanding of the scriptures. He drops the scales from his eyes and plugs from his ears, and the person now 'gets' it. First we are born 'physically' then 'spiritually' later when we accept Jesus as our Savior. That is why christians call it an 'awakening' or being 'born again'. Most born againers, not all, leave their former church affiliation and seek after a church that is trying to follow God's plan for fellowship and worship.

And isn't it interesting that when you mention god everyone automatically assumes your talking about Christianity. I know that it is the dominate religion in the us, but I think it ranks 3rd in the planet.

The Hindi religion has thousands of gods, Native American religion has its share as well.

There are dozens of "christian" religions, not to mention Judaism and Muslim religions that share a single god but have drastically different interpretations of him.

There can only be One God. The creator of heaven and earth. Someone has to have it right. true?

And whats the deal with Jesus Christ, Is he the flesh and blood embodiment of GOD, or just the bastard son of Mary?

Jesus is God, who came to man in the flesh, purposely to take their punishment for them. All wrong doing must be punished. God gave us the punishment of 'death'. (for when he created the first man and woman, he intended for them to live forever) Since there can be no sin in heaven, God also provided a way for mankind to still go there. He, came to earth as a human (in the flesh)and he who had never sinned, took the punishment that should have been ours by giving his life in exchange for ours. Now we are free to enter. Our sins have been forgiven and by putting our faith in Jesus, God's Son, we are justified.(as if we never sinned)

My answer is simply YES!!!!!! God is real. I experience evidence of His existance every day. My husband and I have family and friends who are of many different religions. Whenever we discuss beliefs with them, I am always amazed at how similar everyone's basic beliefs are. There is only ONE GOD! Different religions have different names for and beliefs about Him. We are Baptist, but I do not consider my very best friend of 24 years any less "Christian" or "religious" than I am just because she is Catholic.

Some people get a kick out of arguing points of discussion, just for the sport. regardless of what you believe, there will always be someone who believes differently.

Who is right? Well, I will say this: If you live your life like there is no God, you better PRAY that you are right!!!!!!!!! As for me, my faith is in Jesus. If I am wrong, what do I have to lose?

Lose2, I like what you say here. But would you agree with me when I say that people who don't believe in Jesus as their Savior are not going to enter into heaven? There are many different 'denominations' of christian churches, and that's ok, but there are also many different 'religions' that exclude Jesus.

With that being said, My problem is not with GOD, but with the arrogance of men who would attempt to use GOD for their own personal gain.

I agree with this statement. But even though men do wrong, it does not excuse other men from turning to God and believing in him. Some people say, "I don't want to have anything to do with God, for all the churches are filled with hypocrites." To which I would answer,"This may be true, but what about you?" In other words, each persons salvation and relationship with God is a personal one between them and their creator. What 'others' are doing shouldn't get in the way. For there will always be those in the churches who use God for personal gain. They, too, will have to answer to God for those things someday.

My answer is simply YES!!!!!! God is real. I experience evidence of His existance every day. My husband and I have family and friends who are of many different religions. Whenever we discuss beliefs with them, I am always amazed at how similar everyone's basic beliefs are. There is only ONE GOD! Different religions have different names for and beliefs about Him. We are Baptist, but I do not consider my very best friend of 24 years any less "Christian" or "religious" than I am just because she is Catholic.

Some people get a kick out of arguing points of discussion, just for the sport. regardless of what you believe, there will always be someone who believes differently.

Who is right? Well, I will say this: If you live your life like there is no God, you better PRAY that you are right!!!!!!!!! As for me, my faith is in Jesus. If I am wrong, what do I have to lose?

If we lack belief in God, who shall we pray to that we are right? Did you think that one through? ;o))))

If you are wrong what do you have to lose... that is called Pascal's Wager. You have a great deal to lose. What if you believe in the wrong God? There are as many God's out there as people who believe and the amazing thing is that the God staring at them in the bathroom mirror typically share the same opinions as the person looking in the mirror.

There is not just one God, Hindu's believe in a slew of Gods. What if YOU are believing in the wrong God?

Truth is, there isn't a shred of evidence for any Gods. Not one bit of proof. Theists don't have a single fact, only faith. If you had any facts you wouldn't need faith, right? And you DO have faith as I recall from my Christian upbringing.

I'm not knocking it the fact that you believe, all the power to you. But not everyone agrees, not everyone sees value in faith. We are more fact based.

But, how would you ever know if things were mistranslated or omitted, unless....Moses, is that you?

It is a fact that much was omitted from the original bible. I can't remember the name of the group (Green, do you know who I am referring to?) that went through the entire bible and removed a great deal of it not too long after it was completed.

Don't have to be Moses to do a bit of research on the history of Christianity. And speaking of that, you do know that Christianity isn't an original religion, right? Much of it was stolen from the Hindu and Egyptian beliefs. The virgin birth, walking on Water, one fish feeds all those people.... all stolen from myths prior to Christianity.

I kinda accepted awhile back that Christians (well, white Christians, anyway) are one of the last groups that it is still politically acceptable to mock (along with fat people). Whatever.

Ahhh yes, the infamous persecution syndrome. You still make up a majority of the US population so what's with the whine? Ever since the Christians had to start following the same rules as all the other religions you are persecuted. So what does that mean Christianity has done to all the other religions throughout history?

I guess the thing is, the Bible is a focus of the Christian faith. You either believe that it was penned by divine inspiration, or you don't. There's not a lot of wiggle room on either side......neither side is probably going to gain a lot of converts from the other.

Actually... atheism and Wicca are gaining a LOT of converts. Christianity is losing about 1% a year of their following, atheism is gaining about 1% a year. You might be surprised at how many of us there are. ;o)

Mayo clinic in AZ is a pretty good example. You can't stand on your tippy toes with arms outstretched spinning in circles without hitting an atheist. The nuns don't care, they don't care one way or another how or what anyone believes as long as patients get the best of the best medical care and they are treated with absolute dignity.

I find it impossible to believe in the the Bible, particularly when there are so many other sacred texts in the world jockeying for this position. The old testament was written for and by the Jews - it is their sacred document.

I kinda accepted awhile back that Christians (well, white Christians, anyway) are one of the last groups that it is still politically acceptable to mock (along with fat people). Whatever.

I totally agree with you!