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I would bet my left nut against a nickel that some amount of days before this hearing test this girl gave you some small sign like eye contact or knowing your name or something else that indicated she recognized that you existed and you prayed, half in jest, probably at least every other day for her to speak to you. Praying for something like that as a child is just such a bullshit thing that you forget that you do it.. unless it comes true.
In your own story you admit that you were looking for an answer, go take a class in psychology and you will realize that if the mind wants something it can garner outside circumstances in specific ways in order to get it.
You have tricked yourself, if you don't mind being ignorant and this helps you live a good life then good for you, true enlightenment is in the other direction though.
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On March 29 2009 14:08 Lemonwalrus wrote: C'mon, of all the people disagreeing with him in the thread I am by far going about it in the nicest way. (Although the last line of my quote there was worded kinda harshly, and for that I apologize.)
scientific proof is never nice, its cold and blunt, i am glad he chose denial, other wise you would be responsible for corrupting a life.
+ Show Spoiler +
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But in general, most of you are missing most of the point. I know that if I ask God for something right now, I won't get it. Be realistic, if I asked that somehow that girl will call my phone today, it just won't happen.
Brother, realistically, good things and bad things will happen to everyone. Why bother attributing divine influence to your life?
Not matter how long the internet exists, there will always be people new to it, who think their religion threads have some value. They don't. The internet is for disgusting pornography and StarCraft discussion and nothing else. Religion has no place and never will.
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Some of you need to stop being dickheads.
If he believes in something, who are you to say anything about that? Stop shitting on him and his beliefs, not all of us believe in the same things.
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On March 29 2009 13:28 il0seonpurpose wrote:
Wow, cool story but shouldn't you not test God?
And why did your attraction go away after you talked to her?
On March 29 2009 13:43 Kennelie wrote:I also want to know why your interest on the girl kinda just slumped. Until then this: Show nested quote +On March 29 2009 13:38 Gokey wrote:
Bracing for yet another religious flamewar
Its like, your trying hard to find a quarter on a forest floor, and somehow you find a hundred dollar bill instead. It just hits you in a way that puts you into a different perspective. After that, it seemed like there were just bigger things out there, and I was just following a stupid crush that would probably not go anywhere.
[Also, since I am from a strict Asian family, school and grades are priority. Even if somehow she started to like me, I wouldn't be able to go out with her or anything. It's not that I didn't see her as pretty anymore, she was still super pretty and everything. I just moved on I guess. Left the shiny quarter behind and took the $100 instead.]
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BTW "How I believe in god" is a fitting title since from an objective point of view it is the most ludicrous unimaginable things any logical person could dream up.
If you aren't big on psych go take a course on religious anthropology, anyone who makes any decisions about believing in a supernatural being in the sky based on the fact that some girl spoke to them has no interest in being educated to the point of rational decisions.
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On March 29 2009 14:12 jinwoooooooo wrote:
Some of you need to stop being dickheads.
If he believes in something, who are you to say anything about that? Stop shitting on him and his beliefs, not all of us believe in the same things.
they are going about it in a facetious manner, it is somewhat entertaining, except Lemonwalrus, and now inReach, tsk tsk
EDIT: Wait he just called a hot girl a shiny quarter.... ??
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On March 29 2009 14:12 Etherone wrote:Show nested quote +On March 29 2009 14:08 Lemonwalrus wrote:C'mon, of all the people disagreeing with him in the thread I am by far going about it in the nicest way. (Although the last line of my quote there was worded kinda harshly, and for that I apologize.) scientific proof is never nice, its cold and blunt, i am glad he chose denial, other wise you would be responsible for corrupting a life. + Show Spoiler +
cold, hard,...
and faces upheaval every few decades 
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On March 29 2009 14:13 GrayArea wrote:Show nested quote +On March 29 2009 13:28 il0seonpurpose wrote:
Wow, cool story but shouldn't you not test God?
And why did your attraction go away after you talked to her? Show nested quote +On March 29 2009 13:43 Kennelie wrote:I also want to know why your interest on the girl kinda just slumped. Until then this: On March 29 2009 13:38 Gokey wrote:
Bracing for yet another religious flamewar Its like, your trying hard to find a quarter on a forest floor, and somehow you find a hundred dollar bill instead. It just hits you in a way that puts you into a different perspective. After that, it seemed like there were just bigger things out there, and I was just following a stupid crush that would probably not go anywhere. [Also, since I am from a strict Asian family, school and grades are priority. Even if somehow she started to like me, I wouldn't be able to go out with her or anything. It's not that I didn't see her as pretty anymore, she was still super pretty and everything. I just moved on I guess. Left the shiny quarter behind and took the $100 instead.]
See, do you notice how your false belief enabled you to do something you are happy to do because it gives you more purpose and thus more confidence, is it so hard to see that your mind created this false illusion because deep down you don't want to be just some loser with a crush on a girl?
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On March 29 2009 14:14 Etherone wrote:Show nested quote +On March 29 2009 14:12 jinwoooooooo wrote:
Some of you need to stop being dickheads.
If he believes in something, who are you to say anything about that? Stop shitting on him and his beliefs, not all of us believe in the same things. they are going about it in a facetious manner, it is somewhat entertaining, except Lemonwalrus, and now inReach, tsk tsk EDIT: Wait he just called a hot girl a shiny quarter.... ??
Fuck you, rationality is more important than feeling safe, ignorance is offensive.
EDIT: Ok not fuck you, <3 lol
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Cayman Islands24199 Posts
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if true, god's kind of a dick for granting your wish of a girl talking to you and not krazyfool's wish for spending one more day with his dog. talk about having fucked up priorities.
/shrug
for me it's very hard to believe in normal circumstances, because all logic, and all rationality completely defies it. it goes totally against my nature
in non-normal circumstances, say a very stressful situation, or life-changing events, it becomes very easy for me to believe and pray. it's a cop-out, i recognize it as such when looking back on it later, but not when it's happening
still trying to figure it out though
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On March 29 2009 14:04 PokePill wrote:Show nested quote +On March 29 2009 13:06 GrayArea wrote:
How I believe in God
Many people, especially on this forum, do not believe in God. After all, there is no proof, no actual evidence. Christians have the Bible which talks about Jesus and his life, Muslims have the Quran, Jews have the Hebrew Bible. Is what is stated in these books enough to justify the belief, the acceptance that some omniscient being exists in this universe who created us and watches over us?
Some people say seeing is believing. In my case, hearing was believing.
I will never forget this day in my entire life, it was the day God spoke to me.
In ninth grade, a new girl joined our class. She was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. Our high school was relatively small (about 1000 people), so I knew she was new immediately and I would often see her around campus. I didn't have any classes with her, and whenever I saw her, I would just admire everything about her beauty. It was a typical high school crush. She never talked to me, and I never said a word to her that year.
Fastforward a year to tenth grade. I walked into first period Health class with my best friend, sat down, looked around, didn't notice anyone in particular and went through the class. The second day, as I walked into the room I noticed her sitting in the class and realized that I must have not noticed her on the first day. Naturally my heart jumped, I became super self-conscious, did I look cool? Was every single movement I did perfect? etc etc.
We still never talked, I would sometimes look at her and then when she turn her head to me I would suddenly look away to pretend I was looking at something else (lol, I would cringe on the inside and hope she didn't notice I was looking at her, so stupid). When we would pass in the hall, I would look at her also and sometimes she would notice me. I think she saw in my eyes that I liked her or something, don't know, don't care.
It was in 10th grade that I began to question life. "What is the purpose of life?" was a question that was incessantly bothering me so deeply for such a long time. I would ask my friends what the purpose of life was, and they would respond with "I don't know" "To die" "I haven't thought about it yet" etc. I wasn't satisfied. I come from a religious family, so the fact that God exists was a possibility.
One day, during one of my deep reflections, I was contemplating Gods existence. I closed my eyes and prayed/said to myself that if God really did exist, then tomorrow that girl would say "Hi" to me at school. Basically I was offering a test to God, if God existed he would make this near impossible thing happen.
Next day was a hearing/vision test at school. They test the hearing and vision of every student and determine whether or not that student has any weaknesses. It was during first period health class that we had our test. Along with several other classes, we went to line up outside the trailer where they would test our hearing. Finally, when my turn came, a group of us students went in (like 11 of us). In that group was her. Because it was in the trailer type of thing, the seats were faced such that two rows were facing each other and each seat had side panels (like a booth). I was at the second seat from the end of one row, she was at the opposite row at the end (so like 4 seats distance). We were waiting for the test to begin. Some of the students were talking with each other. I was just sitting forward in my seat. Randomly, from the right, I hear "Hey GrayArea." I didn't look at her, nor did I say anything or make any change in my expression. Again I hear, "Hey GrayArea, did you really have an A in Hilmerson?"I turned my head to face her, saw she was looking to me, and then I turned my face back straight without saying anything and sat back in my chair so she couldn't see me. She asked the question again, this time I told her yes.
After the hearing test was the vision test. Our group was the last group to go in for the vision test. For some reason, mine and her tests took longer than the other peoples'. Because of this we were the only two still taking the test while everyone else went back to class. Finally, my test finished before hers, and I walked out and was heading back to class. Suddenly I hear, "Hey GrayArea, wait for me!" I looked around and noticed her running towards me as she tried to catch up. I slowed down so she could reach me, and we walked back to class together. I asked her if what grade she had in Hilmerson (Hilmerson is the name of a really hard English teacher that taught 10th grade). She said she had a B. That was all we said to each other, but for some reason I felt my attraction to her go away. I had gotten my impossible answer from God and was blown away.
Why was it that over the period of 1 and half years that this girl didn't say one single word to me, that on this very day she said Hey to me? Why was it that on she happened to talk to me on the very day that I had asked God to make her talk to me? Coincidence? Maybe. Culmination of all the times I looked at her and she noticed? Maybe. Luck? Perhaps. I don't know. What I do know is that from this day I realized God had responded to me, and that somehow, somewhere I knew someone/something heard me.
I don't consider this event to be the sole experience which verified to me that God existed. That would be pure stupidity. After all, like I said, it could have been coincidence. But, it provided for me the stepping stone I needed to take the leap of faith of believing in God. Whenever I prayed, I prayed with a sense of knowing someone was listening. I could feel something inside which felt as though God was within me. Every time I would close my eyes and pray to God, some energy would burst from within me filling me with this warmth.
Why? Because I prayed with the genuine belief that I knew God existed. Prior to that, I would pray with some uncertainty. Was anyone listening to me? Was I just wasting my time? There was no strong, central belief that allowed me to pray with my full heart.
What is God? Is God some external being that exists somewhere far away in space and is viewing the world somehow? Does he exist in heaven (where is heaven though in space?)? Is God some kind of essence that resides within our bodies? Is God just an idea created by our minds in order to help make us feel as though we have a purpose and place in this world and that someone is watching over us?
I can't answer any of these questions. What I can tell you though is that God to me is someone who is the source of that energy I feel when I pray, listens to me, and has an effect on my life and the world around me.
Many people at some point have questioned what you questioned and done the same exact thing and you know what happens? Nothing. They get spat on by your "God." I do envy you, that you think your special enough for God to go out of his way to make something completely meaningless give you meaning. I wish I could have faith. That being said, 2 stars. Show nested quote +this is one of the stupidest things I've ever read. You believe in something that is part god part genie. lool
That's not how it works with (most) faith based religions.
In Christianity, for example, I know that it's about Faith. Faith isn't about "Oh, if I pray, he will do what I say."
Faith is about "If I pray, and I'm not magically cured, I will take faith in him anyway, and continue to pray, and maintain my faith in that which cannot be shown to me."
If he is openly revealed to you, it wouldn't be faith. It would be belief based on empirical evidence.
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On March 29 2009 14:21 404.Nintu wrote:Show nested quote +On March 29 2009 14:04 PokePill wrote:On March 29 2009 13:06 GrayArea wrote:
How I believe in God
Many people, especially on this forum, do not believe in God. After all, there is no proof, no actual evidence. Christians have the Bible which talks about Jesus and his life, Muslims have the Quran, Jews have the Hebrew Bible. Is what is stated in these books enough to justify the belief, the acceptance that some omniscient being exists in this universe who created us and watches over us?
Some people say seeing is believing. In my case, hearing was believing.
I will never forget this day in my entire life, it was the day God spoke to me.
In ninth grade, a new girl joined our class. She was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. Our high school was relatively small (about 1000 people), so I knew she was new immediately and I would often see her around campus. I didn't have any classes with her, and whenever I saw her, I would just admire everything about her beauty. It was a typical high school crush. She never talked to me, and I never said a word to her that year.
Fastforward a year to tenth grade. I walked into first period Health class with my best friend, sat down, looked around, didn't notice anyone in particular and went through the class. The second day, as I walked into the room I noticed her sitting in the class and realized that I must have not noticed her on the first day. Naturally my heart jumped, I became super self-conscious, did I look cool? Was every single movement I did perfect? etc etc.
We still never talked, I would sometimes look at her and then when she turn her head to me I would suddenly look away to pretend I was looking at something else (lol, I would cringe on the inside and hope she didn't notice I was looking at her, so stupid). When we would pass in the hall, I would look at her also and sometimes she would notice me. I think she saw in my eyes that I liked her or something, don't know, don't care.
It was in 10th grade that I began to question life. "What is the purpose of life?" was a question that was incessantly bothering me so deeply for such a long time. I would ask my friends what the purpose of life was, and they would respond with "I don't know" "To die" "I haven't thought about it yet" etc. I wasn't satisfied. I come from a religious family, so the fact that God exists was a possibility.
One day, during one of my deep reflections, I was contemplating Gods existence. I closed my eyes and prayed/said to myself that if God really did exist, then tomorrow that girl would say "Hi" to me at school. Basically I was offering a test to God, if God existed he would make this near impossible thing happen.
Next day was a hearing/vision test at school. They test the hearing and vision of every student and determine whether or not that student has any weaknesses. It was during first period health class that we had our test. Along with several other classes, we went to line up outside the trailer where they would test our hearing. Finally, when my turn came, a group of us students went in (like 11 of us). In that group was her. Because it was in the trailer type of thing, the seats were faced such that two rows were facing each other and each seat had side panels (like a booth). I was at the second seat from the end of one row, she was at the opposite row at the end (so like 4 seats distance). We were waiting for the test to begin. Some of the students were talking with each other. I was just sitting forward in my seat. Randomly, from the right, I hear "Hey GrayArea." I didn't look at her, nor did I say anything or make any change in my expression. Again I hear, "Hey GrayArea, did you really have an A in Hilmerson?"I turned my head to face her, saw she was looking to me, and then I turned my face back straight without saying anything and sat back in my chair so she couldn't see me. She asked the question again, this time I told her yes.
After the hearing test was the vision test. Our group was the last group to go in for the vision test. For some reason, mine and her tests took longer than the other peoples'. Because of this we were the only two still taking the test while everyone else went back to class. Finally, my test finished before hers, and I walked out and was heading back to class. Suddenly I hear, "Hey GrayArea, wait for me!" I looked around and noticed her running towards me as she tried to catch up. I slowed down so she could reach me, and we walked back to class together. I asked her if what grade she had in Hilmerson (Hilmerson is the name of a really hard English teacher that taught 10th grade). She said she had a B. That was all we said to each other, but for some reason I felt my attraction to her go away. I had gotten my impossible answer from God and was blown away.
Why was it that over the period of 1 and half years that this girl didn't say one single word to me, that on this very day she said Hey to me? Why was it that on she happened to talk to me on the very day that I had asked God to make her talk to me? Coincidence? Maybe. Culmination of all the times I looked at her and she noticed? Maybe. Luck? Perhaps. I don't know. What I do know is that from this day I realized God had responded to me, and that somehow, somewhere I knew someone/something heard me.
I don't consider this event to be the sole experience which verified to me that God existed. That would be pure stupidity. After all, like I said, it could have been coincidence. But, it provided for me the stepping stone I needed to take the leap of faith of believing in God. Whenever I prayed, I prayed with a sense of knowing someone was listening. I could feel something inside which felt as though God was within me. Every time I would close my eyes and pray to God, some energy would burst from within me filling me with this warmth.
Why? Because I prayed with the genuine belief that I knew God existed. Prior to that, I would pray with some uncertainty. Was anyone listening to me? Was I just wasting my time? There was no strong, central belief that allowed me to pray with my full heart.
What is God? Is God some external being that exists somewhere far away in space and is viewing the world somehow? Does he exist in heaven (where is heaven though in space?)? Is God some kind of essence that resides within our bodies? Is God just an idea created by our minds in order to help make us feel as though we have a purpose and place in this world and that someone is watching over us?
I can't answer any of these questions. What I can tell you though is that God to me is someone who is the source of that energy I feel when I pray, listens to me, and has an effect on my life and the world around me.
Many people at some point have questioned what you questioned and done the same exact thing and you know what happens? Nothing. They get spat on by your "God." I do envy you, that you think your special enough for God to go out of his way to make something completely meaningless give you meaning. I wish I could have faith. That being said, 2 stars. this is one of the stupidest things I've ever read. You believe in something that is part god part genie. lool That's not how it works with (most) faith based religions. In Christianity, for example, I know that it's about Faith. Faith isn't about "Oh, if I pray, he will do what I say." Faith is about "If I pray, and I'm not magically cured, I will take faith in him anyway, and continue to pray, and maintain my faith in that which cannot be shown to me." If he is openly revealed to you, it wouldn't be faith. It would be belief based on empirical evidence.
Yeah it's the fucking no-lose for god..
If you pray and I grant your prayer > It is divine intervention
If you pray and I don't' do anything > Wait a little longer
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I remember sitting in my room and praying that a Super Soaker and a chunk of gold would appear outside my door. I tried maybe 5 times.
I would be embarrassed to admit such a thing if I were any older than 6 at the time. I hope you see, though, that your prayer is only a little less stupid.
I'm not trying to be mean, but I don't think there is any other word for it.
You are stupid for believing in God, and you are especially stupid for believing that he answered your prayers. You're much stupider than most religious people because you grew up in smarter times.
I don't think there's any excuse for being so stupid any more. Please drop the stupid! 
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Imagine if there was no religion in the current world but people were gullible and had a strong desire to be part of something bigger than themselves...
Whoever thinks up religion suddenly becomes a very powerful person.
OH WAIT THATS WHAT HAPPENED ALREADY
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I'm praying to god that this will be my 400th post.
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On March 29 2009 14:25 inReacH wrote:Show nested quote +On March 29 2009 14:21 404.Nintu wrote:On March 29 2009 14:04 PokePill wrote:On March 29 2009 13:06 GrayArea wrote:
How I believe in God
Many people, especially on this forum, do not believe in God. After all, there is no proof, no actual evidence. Christians have the Bible which talks about Jesus and his life, Muslims have the Quran, Jews have the Hebrew Bible. Is what is stated in these books enough to justify the belief, the acceptance that some omniscient being exists in this universe who created us and watches over us?
Some people say seeing is believing. In my case, hearing was believing.
I will never forget this day in my entire life, it was the day God spoke to me.
In ninth grade, a new girl joined our class. She was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. Our high school was relatively small (about 1000 people), so I knew she was new immediately and I would often see her around campus. I didn't have any classes with her, and whenever I saw her, I would just admire everything about her beauty. It was a typical high school crush. She never talked to me, and I never said a word to her that year.
Fastforward a year to tenth grade. I walked into first period Health class with my best friend, sat down, looked around, didn't notice anyone in particular and went through the class. The second day, as I walked into the room I noticed her sitting in the class and realized that I must have not noticed her on the first day. Naturally my heart jumped, I became super self-conscious, did I look cool? Was every single movement I did perfect? etc etc.
We still never talked, I would sometimes look at her and then when she turn her head to me I would suddenly look away to pretend I was looking at something else (lol, I would cringe on the inside and hope she didn't notice I was looking at her, so stupid). When we would pass in the hall, I would look at her also and sometimes she would notice me. I think she saw in my eyes that I liked her or something, don't know, don't care.
It was in 10th grade that I began to question life. "What is the purpose of life?" was a question that was incessantly bothering me so deeply for such a long time. I would ask my friends what the purpose of life was, and they would respond with "I don't know" "To die" "I haven't thought about it yet" etc. I wasn't satisfied. I come from a religious family, so the fact that God exists was a possibility.
One day, during one of my deep reflections, I was contemplating Gods existence. I closed my eyes and prayed/said to myself that if God really did exist, then tomorrow that girl would say "Hi" to me at school. Basically I was offering a test to God, if God existed he would make this near impossible thing happen.
Next day was a hearing/vision test at school. They test the hearing and vision of every student and determine whether or not that student has any weaknesses. It was during first period health class that we had our test. Along with several other classes, we went to line up outside the trailer where they would test our hearing. Finally, when my turn came, a group of us students went in (like 11 of us). In that group was her. Because it was in the trailer type of thing, the seats were faced such that two rows were facing each other and each seat had side panels (like a booth). I was at the second seat from the end of one row, she was at the opposite row at the end (so like 4 seats distance). We were waiting for the test to begin. Some of the students were talking with each other. I was just sitting forward in my seat. Randomly, from the right, I hear "Hey GrayArea." I didn't look at her, nor did I say anything or make any change in my expression. Again I hear, "Hey GrayArea, did you really have an A in Hilmerson?"I turned my head to face her, saw she was looking to me, and then I turned my face back straight without saying anything and sat back in my chair so she couldn't see me. She asked the question again, this time I told her yes.
After the hearing test was the vision test. Our group was the last group to go in for the vision test. For some reason, mine and her tests took longer than the other peoples'. Because of this we were the only two still taking the test while everyone else went back to class. Finally, my test finished before hers, and I walked out and was heading back to class. Suddenly I hear, "Hey GrayArea, wait for me!" I looked around and noticed her running towards me as she tried to catch up. I slowed down so she could reach me, and we walked back to class together. I asked her if what grade she had in Hilmerson (Hilmerson is the name of a really hard English teacher that taught 10th grade). She said she had a B. That was all we said to each other, but for some reason I felt my attraction to her go away. I had gotten my impossible answer from God and was blown away.
Why was it that over the period of 1 and half years that this girl didn't say one single word to me, that on this very day she said Hey to me? Why was it that on she happened to talk to me on the very day that I had asked God to make her talk to me? Coincidence? Maybe. Culmination of all the times I looked at her and she noticed? Maybe. Luck? Perhaps. I don't know. What I do know is that from this day I realized God had responded to me, and that somehow, somewhere I knew someone/something heard me.
I don't consider this event to be the sole experience which verified to me that God existed. That would be pure stupidity. After all, like I said, it could have been coincidence. But, it provided for me the stepping stone I needed to take the leap of faith of believing in God. Whenever I prayed, I prayed with a sense of knowing someone was listening. I could feel something inside which felt as though God was within me. Every time I would close my eyes and pray to God, some energy would burst from within me filling me with this warmth.
Why? Because I prayed with the genuine belief that I knew God existed. Prior to that, I would pray with some uncertainty. Was anyone listening to me? Was I just wasting my time? There was no strong, central belief that allowed me to pray with my full heart.
What is God? Is God some external being that exists somewhere far away in space and is viewing the world somehow? Does he exist in heaven (where is heaven though in space?)? Is God some kind of essence that resides within our bodies? Is God just an idea created by our minds in order to help make us feel as though we have a purpose and place in this world and that someone is watching over us?
I can't answer any of these questions. What I can tell you though is that God to me is someone who is the source of that energy I feel when I pray, listens to me, and has an effect on my life and the world around me.
Many people at some point have questioned what you questioned and done the same exact thing and you know what happens? Nothing. They get spat on by your "God." I do envy you, that you think your special enough for God to go out of his way to make something completely meaningless give you meaning. I wish I could have faith. That being said, 2 stars. this is one of the stupidest things I've ever read. You believe in something that is part god part genie. lool That's not how it works with (most) faith based religions. In Christianity, for example, I know that it's about Faith. Faith isn't about "Oh, if I pray, he will do what I say." Faith is about "If I pray, and I'm not magically cured, I will take faith in him anyway, and continue to pray, and maintain my faith in that which cannot be shown to me." If he is openly revealed to you, it wouldn't be faith. It would be belief based on empirical evidence. Yeah it's the fucking no-lose for god.. If you pray and I grant your prayer > It is divine intervention If you pray and I don't' do anything > Wait a little longer
Precisely. It's not supposed to be easy to have faith. That's why it's so hard for a lot of people, like you, to understand.
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Ok one more thing before I go sleep, are you telling me you grew up in a religious family and didn't pray until grade 10 and the first thing you prayed for was that some girl would say hi to you?
I call bullshit on that.. I don't think your really lying, you just want to have faith so much that you unconsciously forgetting the past. I'm betting you prayed to got a thousand times.. maybe this prayer was significant maybe not.. but if it was you were sure to keep it small and possible because you wanted a reason to have faith that badly.
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On March 29 2009 14:30 404.Nintu wrote:Show nested quote +On March 29 2009 14:25 inReacH wrote:On March 29 2009 14:21 404.Nintu wrote:On March 29 2009 14:04 PokePill wrote:On March 29 2009 13:06 GrayArea wrote:
How I believe in God
Many people, especially on this forum, do not believe in God. After all, there is no proof, no actual evidence. Christians have the Bible which talks about Jesus and his life, Muslims have the Quran, Jews have the Hebrew Bible. Is what is stated in these books enough to justify the belief, the acceptance that some omniscient being exists in this universe who created us and watches over us?
Some people say seeing is believing. In my case, hearing was believing.
I will never forget this day in my entire life, it was the day God spoke to me.
In ninth grade, a new girl joined our class. She was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. Our high school was relatively small (about 1000 people), so I knew she was new immediately and I would often see her around campus. I didn't have any classes with her, and whenever I saw her, I would just admire everything about her beauty. It was a typical high school crush. She never talked to me, and I never said a word to her that year.
Fastforward a year to tenth grade. I walked into first period Health class with my best friend, sat down, looked around, didn't notice anyone in particular and went through the class. The second day, as I walked into the room I noticed her sitting in the class and realized that I must have not noticed her on the first day. Naturally my heart jumped, I became super self-conscious, did I look cool? Was every single movement I did perfect? etc etc.
We still never talked, I would sometimes look at her and then when she turn her head to me I would suddenly look away to pretend I was looking at something else (lol, I would cringe on the inside and hope she didn't notice I was looking at her, so stupid). When we would pass in the hall, I would look at her also and sometimes she would notice me. I think she saw in my eyes that I liked her or something, don't know, don't care.
It was in 10th grade that I began to question life. "What is the purpose of life?" was a question that was incessantly bothering me so deeply for such a long time. I would ask my friends what the purpose of life was, and they would respond with "I don't know" "To die" "I haven't thought about it yet" etc. I wasn't satisfied. I come from a religious family, so the fact that God exists was a possibility.
One day, during one of my deep reflections, I was contemplating Gods existence. I closed my eyes and prayed/said to myself that if God really did exist, then tomorrow that girl would say "Hi" to me at school. Basically I was offering a test to God, if God existed he would make this near impossible thing happen.
Next day was a hearing/vision test at school. They test the hearing and vision of every student and determine whether or not that student has any weaknesses. It was during first period health class that we had our test. Along with several other classes, we went to line up outside the trailer where they would test our hearing. Finally, when my turn came, a group of us students went in (like 11 of us). In that group was her. Because it was in the trailer type of thing, the seats were faced such that two rows were facing each other and each seat had side panels (like a booth). I was at the second seat from the end of one row, she was at the opposite row at the end (so like 4 seats distance). We were waiting for the test to begin. Some of the students were talking with each other. I was just sitting forward in my seat. Randomly, from the right, I hear "Hey GrayArea." I didn't look at her, nor did I say anything or make any change in my expression. Again I hear, "Hey GrayArea, did you really have an A in Hilmerson?"I turned my head to face her, saw she was looking to me, and then I turned my face back straight without saying anything and sat back in my chair so she couldn't see me. She asked the question again, this time I told her yes.
After the hearing test was the vision test. Our group was the last group to go in for the vision test. For some reason, mine and her tests took longer than the other peoples'. Because of this we were the only two still taking the test while everyone else went back to class. Finally, my test finished before hers, and I walked out and was heading back to class. Suddenly I hear, "Hey GrayArea, wait for me!" I looked around and noticed her running towards me as she tried to catch up. I slowed down so she could reach me, and we walked back to class together. I asked her if what grade she had in Hilmerson (Hilmerson is the name of a really hard English teacher that taught 10th grade). She said she had a B. That was all we said to each other, but for some reason I felt my attraction to her go away. I had gotten my impossible answer from God and was blown away.
Why was it that over the period of 1 and half years that this girl didn't say one single word to me, that on this very day she said Hey to me? Why was it that on she happened to talk to me on the very day that I had asked God to make her talk to me? Coincidence? Maybe. Culmination of all the times I looked at her and she noticed? Maybe. Luck? Perhaps. I don't know. What I do know is that from this day I realized God had responded to me, and that somehow, somewhere I knew someone/something heard me.
I don't consider this event to be the sole experience which verified to me that God existed. That would be pure stupidity. After all, like I said, it could have been coincidence. But, it provided for me the stepping stone I needed to take the leap of faith of believing in God. Whenever I prayed, I prayed with a sense of knowing someone was listening. I could feel something inside which felt as though God was within me. Every time I would close my eyes and pray to God, some energy would burst from within me filling me with this warmth.
Why? Because I prayed with the genuine belief that I knew God existed. Prior to that, I would pray with some uncertainty. Was anyone listening to me? Was I just wasting my time? There was no strong, central belief that allowed me to pray with my full heart.
What is God? Is God some external being that exists somewhere far away in space and is viewing the world somehow? Does he exist in heaven (where is heaven though in space?)? Is God some kind of essence that resides within our bodies? Is God just an idea created by our minds in order to help make us feel as though we have a purpose and place in this world and that someone is watching over us?
I can't answer any of these questions. What I can tell you though is that God to me is someone who is the source of that energy I feel when I pray, listens to me, and has an effect on my life and the world around me.
Many people at some point have questioned what you questioned and done the same exact thing and you know what happens? Nothing. They get spat on by your "God." I do envy you, that you think your special enough for God to go out of his way to make something completely meaningless give you meaning. I wish I could have faith. That being said, 2 stars. this is one of the stupidest things I've ever read. You believe in something that is part god part genie. lool That's not how it works with (most) faith based religions. In Christianity, for example, I know that it's about Faith. Faith isn't about "Oh, if I pray, he will do what I say." Faith is about "If I pray, and I'm not magically cured, I will take faith in him anyway, and continue to pray, and maintain my faith in that which cannot be shown to me." If he is openly revealed to you, it wouldn't be faith. It would be belief based on empirical evidence. Yeah it's the fucking no-lose for god.. If you pray and I grant your prayer > It is divine intervention If you pray and I don't' do anything > Wait a little longer Precisely. It's not supposed to be easy to have faith. That's why it's so hard for a lot of people, like you, to understand.
Hmm answer this..
Say just for fun religion was created by a person to control other people, don't you think he would put in some clause that god will not prove himself to test your faith?
And you morons just eat it up like durrr yeah that makes sense.. if I can't rationalize it then my belief is that much stronger.
It's just so fucking obvious, the whole thing, but gullible idiots like you gobble it up and it's fucking abhorrent.
EDIT: Ok I'm sorry I shouldn't start flaming people, I'm sure you were born into a religious family and brainwashed and had no choice..
You know you could take a baby and teach him that all children kill themselves on their 10th birthday and if you do a good enough job he will do it without questioning you?
But religion is that much easier because everyone wants to believe in something larger than life.
You've been brainwashed.
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