Do you believe in God?

[Barty]

"""The writing is on the wall"" https://www.facebook.com/valdinn66617 IRONS"

[swindon hammer]

"Coffee, but Religion and God are always linked together. When people go to Church/Mass/Temple/Mosque as part of their respective Religions it’s God who they view as their leader or “the almighty one” Religious people wouldn’t say they don’t believe in God would they?"

[Coffee]

"Mike If you don't mind, I'll correct you insofar as I did not say or mean that religion fully exploits faith. I said that religion is different from God. As for your first question, it's probably easier to say that God is not a concept and certainly not a humanoid although some humanoids seem to consider themselves as God. So what is God? That's a tricky one, because whatever you say is going to be pulled up by someone. I suppose God is a force, a presence. Will that do?"

[Coffee]

"Mike If you don't mind, I'll correct you insofar as I did not say or mean that religion fully exploits faith. I said that religion is different from God. As for your first question, it's probably easier to say that God is not a concept and certainly not a humanoid although some humanoids seem to consider themselves as God. So what is God? That's a tricky one, because whatever you say is going to be pulled up by someone. I suppose God is a force, a presence. Will that do?"

[Barty]

Ladies and gentlemen l?©t me introuduce GOD https://youtu.be/MajVm9EJq6Q?si=w3YcLlyfLa1NK9DM

[Mike Oxsaw]

"Coffee 11:50 Fri Dec 1 Is it God as a concept, or God as a humanoid in who's image we are said to be made in which you believe? But I fully agree with your critique on (organised) religion - it is far removed from - but fully exploits - faith."

[wils]

"Willtell wrote... ""obvious solution for uneducated minds to explain what the sun, moon, sky and stars were all about."" This doesn't stand up. ""Britain Research in nonreligion in Britain has shown that the positive relationship between education and non-religion has been reversed with generations after 1955. In other words, the nonreligious populations tend to have less education and religious populations tend to have higher education, even though religious affiliation has decreased for both."" The reference for the citation is number 3 in the references https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religiosity_and_education Not that I think this argument carries much weight either way, it's just the claim that there is a universally positive correlation with education level and non-belief is not true. Belief or non-belief as measured in large populations are cultural phenomenons influenced by many things such as status and simply fitting-in. eg currently in england we have a non-religious culture and that exerts peer pressure for individuals to signal they align and thus are accepted as being a member of that culture and are not an outsider."

[,]

There’s a regular poster on here who is half English and a tad Pole.

[Coffee]

"If a tadpole could think, it would sign up to WHO with the name Willtell."

[Willtell]

"If that is how you feel then that's fine for you Coffee. For me though the universe obviously exists and it was somehow created. That doesn't mean that it was a god though. God is the invention of religions as much as it was a simple and obvious solution for uneducated minds to explain what the sun, moon, sky and stars were all about. If a tadpole could think, it would be in awe of its existence in the pond that God had created for it. It would also think God was so amazing to turn its wriggling watery existence into a 4 limbed land animal that no longer needs water except to drink. all life has a scientific base. One thing is certain though. If there was a god he wouldn't have been so cruel as to invent Moyes to make us all suffer..."

[Mike Oxsaw]

"Any believer who needs me to also believe in what they do lacks true faith, in my eyes. As long as it's what floats their boat, and they stay in that boat, it's fine by me. Should such a believer repeatedly test MY faith (in myself - that's all that is needed), their boat won't stay afloat very long in my safe harbour."

[Barty]

Believe https://youtu.be/Dnwq5i012K0?si=TTvZzKjKDI_bB8ma

[Barty]

"?ûaƒë er veriƒë aƒë taka allt upp, algj??r ???æarfi aƒë hafa myndav?©lar og hlerunarb??naƒë."

[Barty]

Good p??st Coffee bro

[Coffee]

"There's always a lot of confusion, on here and beyond, about the difference between religion and God. Most of the criticism, below, is of religion. But the thread asks if you believe in God. Not if you like religion. Religion is heavily culture-based. Belief in God is not. It's quite possible to believe strongly in God, but to dislike religion. So to answer the original question: yes, I believe in God. No doubt at all. In the sense that God exists as an entity, a universal spirit if you will, that's always around you, everywhere. Sometimes you're consciously aware of the presence of that universal spirit, other times you're not. Sometimes you can tap into its essence, which is totally pure and totally good. That's through prayer or meditation or whatever else you want to call a deliberate effort to communicate with it. Other times, the line seems blocked. That's just how it is. Religion is something else. It's a man-made way of expressing belief in God. And because it's man-made, it is flawed. In some cases, deeply flawed. But at its best, it can be beautiful, for example in bringing people together, in its music and in its writing and art. But don't don't confuse the two. Religion is not the same as God. There are many questions that a belief in God does not answer. For example, why does God allow suffering? What is the purpose of life? And others. CS Lewis did a good job of trying to give answers, but I'm not sure he really succeeded fully. For some questions, we'll never know the answers. One very devout woman I knew used to say that you just have to accept that you're not going to know and that's all there is to it."

[Barty]

"boleyn8420 2:08 Fri Dec 1 Lol, PUNKTUR"

[Barty]

Good morning fellow West Ham Fans! https://youtu.be/ZfSShM6vDW0?si=RxrP-etQ3YvTflDB God bless you all

[boleyn8420]

As a wise man once said everyone is an aethiest until they bkock someones toilet. Amen.

[swindon hammer]

"riosleftsock, Assuming you are referring to my comments I think all Religion is bollocks. That doesn’t just include catholics and Christianity. Maybe I’m doing a disservice to many good people who do have genuine faith and use that to be better people. I think you can be a good person without Religion and faith but hey whatever works for the individual. I just don’t want to spend my life praying to someone I don’t believe in. I’m just speaking on personal experience of a lot of people I know who will tell you they are Catholic but don’t really practice or believe in it and just use it when it’s convenient such as when it’s time to get their kids baptised or get them into a decent school. I do think Churches can be a good for bringing community’s together though. As far as Wils goes I did feel his response was a bit preachy and quoting stories from the Bible but I was polite about it and as I said he does seem like a decent bloke."

[J.Riddle]

Don't be a sinner be a winner

[WHU(Exeter)]

Well in that case I’ll have a pint of *glances at bar to see what the most expensive Italian lager will be* Moretti and a rum and coke chaser please.

[riosleftsock]

"Its a bit unfair to question and prod Wils about his beliefs and then accuse him of preaching when he explains his beliefs. Haven't been able to post on here due to issues accessing the site, but I agree 100% with Wils posts on this thread. Us catholics and christians are not trying to convert anybody or ram our religion down anybody's throats. If you want to look for a religion to criticise for affecting your way of life you may need to look elsewhere."

[gph]

"There is no God but Brooking. I believe that impious individuals have started wicked rumours that he got a ""handful"" of bookings. May they burn in Stamford Bridge."

[chim chim cha boo]

"Chigwell 11:06 Thu Nov 30 Talking of Voltaire, his were my favourite last words ever. The Priest said 'Voltaire, do you renounce the Devil'? He replied 'I hardly think this is the time to be making enemies'."

[chim chim cha boo]

"Chigwell 11:06 Thu Nov 30 Talking of Voltaire, his were my favourite last words ever. The Priest said 'Voltaire, do you renounce the Devil'? He replied 'I hardly think this is the time to be making enemies'."

[Hammer and Pickle]

Let me just say I’d stand my round if I ever met you.