Do you believe in a God/s (any sort)

[Celebthôl]

Nice simple thread to get this forum going. :)

Do you believe in any form of a God?

Describe what exactly your God does with our souls when we die and what your God is like in general. . .

[BranMuffin]

I am a Christian. So therefore I believe in the Christian God.

My God in general is a caring, loving God but also a just God.
As to our souls(Thorin might have something to say about this), i believe that once we die we are united with Him in heaven awaiting His return.

A nice simple post to a nice simple thread.

[Aulë]

I think that when we die, we will cease to exist.
Just like when you are put under general anaesthetic, except you don't wake up.
No dreams. Nothing. No nice, kindly God-type being to look after me.

I'd like to think that there is a nice nirvana waiting for me. That would be very good. And I do hope there is one.
But in my heart, I know that once we are dead- that is the end.

That is why I try to enjoy my life to it's fullest. I think we only have one chance, and I'm not wasting it.
There would be absolute no way that I'd commit suicide for that very reason. Why do people do it? Why make yourself cease to exist?

Sometimes, late at night, I will lie back, and just be amazed at how lucky I am to exist right now.
Just think: the chance of you existing would be extremely low. If a pair of your very distant ancestors hadn't bumped into each other one day, you wouldn't be here right now.

[Idril]

Well I don't believe in the existance of a god. I'm with Aule (egad!), when we die, there is nothing after, no heaven, hell or pergatory.

[Ithrynluin]

I do believe in a force of good and that doing good is only right. Basically this 'god' is benevolent and just. But I do not consider myself a member of any of the organized religions and I certainly can't be fitted into a little box.

[Beleg]

Do you believe in any form of a God?

Describe what exactly your God does with our souls when we die and what your God is like in general. . .

1. Yes, Allah, the ultimate soverign.
2. God is omnipotent, Ominscience and Omnipresence. The souls are rewarded or punished based upon their mortal acts.

[Thorin]

Originally posted by Bran Muffin:
As to our souls(Thorin might have something to say about this), i believe that once we die we are united with Him in heaven awaiting His return.


And that I do! :)

I am a Christian and I believe in a merciful, loving yet just God shown to us through Jesus Christ. I believe that the Bible teaches that when we die, we all return to dust and unconsciousness like it was before we were created. I believe the Bible teaches that at the second coming of Christ the righteous will be resurrected to reign in heaven with Christ and the wicked stay dead. After 1000 years, the wicked are resurrected, judged and finally blotted out of existence.

I do not believe that man has an immortal soul that survives death. Immortality is granted to the whole being at the resurrection and rewards and punishments are dealt out at the end of time, not at death.

[Ciryaher]

I am thinking about *how* to express my faith (Christianity or Sikhism), but I do believe in a God.

[BranMuffin]

Originally posted by Ciryaher
I am thinking about *how* to express my faith (Christianity or Sikhism), but I do believe in a God.

Well you are a Christian if you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and your savior.

[HLGStrider]

I believe in a tri-part God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).
God is all knowing, all-loving, unchanging, omnipotent, and perfect.
Where the soul goes afterwards depends on the soul. . .and I'm not to try and figure that out. God doesn't give to us to judge who goes to Heaven or Hell though he does tell us the way to get there ourselves.

PS in the edit. . .I noticed a bad typo in this after a friend called it to my attention. In my original post I put unloving instead of all loving. I think you know what I meant, but I still need to learn to proof-read my posts more carefully.

[Ciryaher]

I believe that Jesus is what he said he was...the son of God...not God. I don't quite believe in the "Trinity", because unless Jesus is lying about who he is, there can't be a three-part God...anyways, this isn't the thread for that. If there is one somewhere, please direct me to it! :)

[Eriol]

I believe in One God, with Three Persons. Is this the place to explain -- or rather, try to explain, and probably fail -- that greatest of mysteries?

I don't have a full grasp of it myself, only some inklings.

Tell me if this is the place ;).

As for the souls, I believe they are immortal, and go to the place they have chosen in their life on earth. No reincarnation. I also believe that at the end of history the souls of the blessed will be reunited with their resurrected bodies, forever.

[Niniel]

I don't believe in any god. We are just a bunch of atoms, and when we die we fall apart, and that's it. So I agree with Aulë that we have to enjoy life to the fullest. Of course this doesn't mean that we have to delude ourselves in all kinds of excesses, but just to enjoy the things you have and be happy.

[Aulë]

Yes.
As I was saying to Thol beforehand,
I may want to live life to the fullest, but for me, that doesn't include jumping out of airplanes and off cliff-faces.
I only live once, and I'm not going to entrust that life to a piece of canvas. ;)

[Link]

I personally try not to think about it....



I don't really care if there's an invisible man/men/whatever doing things that shape our world. It's no concern of mine.

I agree on existing, I am pleased that I exist, but I wouldn't be displeased if I didn't. That's like being displeased when I'm sleeping, and I like sleeping.

I look at religion objectively. I see it for what it is. It's a way for Man to explain the unexplainable. There'll always be something that needs explanation, and until someone figures it out (which is what I call "science"), there'll be religion.


I generally dislike religion b/c of what it's caused. 99.9% of the wars that have ever been were because of who has the better imaginary friend.

"Do you believe in God?"

"No"

BAM!!!

"Do you believe in God?"

"Uhh, yes?"

'Do you believe in MY God?"

"No"

BAM!!!


And while I don't really believe in anything, something else in me tells me there's something out there, and I'll just have to wait and find out what it is......

[Ciryaher]

Describe what exactly your God does with our souls when we die and what your God is like in general. . .

Whoops! :D Forgot that part of the question ;)

Well, I believe that God doesn't *do* anything to souls when they leave their bodies. Depending on what the person did in life, they may go one of three places. Incredibly evil people will go to a hell of sorts, though I don't have any idea of what it's like, other than being a rather bad place to be. People who have done both good and bad things in life will come right back and start over, or perhaps drop to a lower form of life if they were rather bad, but still did some good.

*wonders if the toilet seat in Grand Central Station is Hitler reincarnated....*

As for people who have led a good life, I think that they enter the realm of the eternal where they reside with God.

I believe that God is loving and just, and has created the world to bring forth life. The purpose of this life is to reflect God's own love for all of creation, by giving others the opportunity to share it. God does not interfere in the world of the living except in the fact that all that will be is known to God; humans and animals all have complete free will, but negative choices will have consequences.

[Eliot]

Originally posted by Ciryaher
People who have done both good and bad things in life will come right back and start over

Then, I guess we'll all have to start over. :p

[Talierin]

I believe in the God of the Bible: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit being three aspects of God. I believe that God created the world in a literal 6 day period (without evolution), and that man is fallen, sinful, and nothing he can do will save him. I believe that God came down to earth in the form of the Son to die and take our sins upon himself, giving us salvation from our sins. When we are saved, we begin the process of becoming "fully human," where God, through the Holy Spirit, works in our hearts and minds to bring us back to our unfallen, true nature, which is only fully reached when we die. Nothing we do ourselves will bring us to this place, we MUST have God working in us to accomplish this. When we die, I believe, like Thorin, that when we die we return to dust and unconciousness, but at Christ's return the ones who have made the choice to do His will and not their own, to destroy their sinful nature, will be sent to the new heaven and the new earth to live eternally with God. The wicked will be judged, and sent to the place prepared for them, shut away from God by their own sins and minds who refused to believe and put their trust in Him. Satan will be destroyed and sent to the fiery pit.

God is like a Father, loving, but not afraid to punish us when he must to lead us back to him and to grow in his ways, as any father would with a disobedient child. He is also willing to sacrifice everything for us, which he did when he sent his Son down to save us.

[Eliot]

Originally posted by Talierin
When we die, I believe, like Thorin, that when we die we return to dust and unconciousness, but at Christ's return the ones who have made the choice to do His will and not their own, to destroy their sinful nature, will be sent to the new heaven and the new earth to live eternally with God.

I believe everything Tal said, except for the above paragraph. I believe we go to Heaven immediately once we die if we're saved, and if we're unsaved, we go to Hell immediately.

Please, Thorin and Tal, don't even start a debate. I'm just stating my belief.