Is There a God?

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Originally Posted by gadjo_dilo

Although I believe there's a God I'm not exactly the kind of believer you described above. I'm not bothered by issues like the true/false existance of Heaven/Hell, the evidence of them or the entrance in His kingdom. I don't take these terms mot-a mot. The unbelivers say that religions are founded on man's incapacity to explain phenomena. Maybe the sacred texts were also written with man's incapacity to explain what happens on a divine level.....

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While I applaud your sense of individuality concerning your beliefs, I wonder from this why you consider yourself a believer at all.

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Originally Posted by Knock-on

Just a little confused here mate.

you believe in a God but not a Religion? Is that correct?

If not, what religion do you believe in and why can you cherry pick what bits apply to you and what bits don't. I'm not trying to be flippant but really am struggling to understand this belief thing. I thought you were a believer or not.

:confused:

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I'm an orthodox christian like most people in Eastern Europe. That's why I said before it's interesting to know the country/rite of those who believe in God ( already noticed 2 other guys who live in the same part of the world and they must be orthodox too ).

I'm very comfortable with my religion because I don't feel any constraint from my church and I can't find anything wrong in its teachings. The way I perceive the relationship with my religion is something like this:
It doesn't offer prescriptions but directions to follow. You're offered a steady landmark and you're free to go to it on your own way. You have a model and a liturgical support.

I don't pray anymore and don't go to church ( except for weddings, funerals, commemorations and for Easter night ), you'll never find me on the queue to saints' relics. Not because I've lost interest in my faith but cos a sort of convenience due to my stressful life.
I haven't read the bible, it was a forbiden book when I was very young. Maybe that's the reason I don't ask many questions about its episodes. The religious side of my life is limited to respecting the tradition. In fact the orthodox calendar is a long chain of saints/events celebrations, many of them associated with rites of pagan origin. I love these traditions although if you ask me I can't find the reason to follow them ( I'm not even interested to find one ). Could be a result of my education. I was taught to avoid doing choir work on certain holy days, to fast before Christmas or Easter, to dye eggs on Easter, I take willow branches on the sunday of flowers, I take holy water on 6 January, on 9 March I do a traditional dish( but never been able to drink the 40 glasses of an alchoholic drink:laugh :) , I don't wash my hair on the day of Christ's baptizing, etc.. And I admit that when I was very young I even did witchcrafts on St Andrew and on Christ's baptizing. Of course sometimes I'm not able to do these but I don't feel guilty at all. And neither my church would throw a damnation over my head. When I do such things I do them because I feel it's right not because a place in Heaven would be reserved for me.
I know you can't understand this. I don't feel I have much things in common with people around me except for having same traditions.

I'm sure that if I was born in a country of protestant christian rite I would have become an atheist. The preachers always seem to threaten people and I can't find anything magic in their church.
To be honest whenever I go to an orthodox church I propose to be attentive at what the priest is saying. But the surmon is a long chain of incantations and I can't concentrate on priest's words. What is weird is that always I remember the same passages from the surmon like someone is waking me up at that moment .

As a teenager I used to be the mystical type. Due to the communist regime, any possibility to get information about horoscopes, reincarnation, life after death, communication with dead people, etc. was nule. I still have interest in such things although my religion denies them. And I reckon I used to be quite a good fortune teller. :laugh:

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Originally Posted by BDunnell

Soul is a very different thing to religious faith. One can have soul and not have religious faith. I do not consider it a spiritual thing.

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I do. Anyway, my point was opposed to Ioan's opinion that everything has a reason because people have the grey matter .

At this point I have to admit that my grey matter consists of one single neuron. And I'm afraid even this one is sick. :laugh:

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Originally Posted by BDunnell

While I applaud your sense of individuality concerning your beliefs, I wonder from this why you consider yourself a believer at all.

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Can't explain this, it's more of a feeling. Maybe because I look around and I see only imperfect human beings while the Universe is lead by perfect laws.:laughs:

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Originally Posted by ioan

And does it work?

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For me, yes.

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Originally Posted by gadjo_dilo

Can't explain this, it's more of a feeling. Maybe because I look around and I see only imperfect human beings while the Universe is lead by perfect laws.:laughs:

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Fair enough! But do you not also consider that some of those imperfect human beings are themselves believers?

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Originally Posted by gadjo_dilo

I see, your opinion is that our grey matter is able to find reasons for everything. More or less scientific, more or less true.

Don't know about you but as far as I'm concerned I was also born with that part of spiritual substance called soul. This is immaterial and has its own "needs" . It's also there ( to be honest I don't know where ). Now can you tell me the reason why I have it and what I have to do with it?

I'm sure that using your gray matter you'll be able to enlighten me.

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You got me wrong there. The grey matter is not able to find reasons for everything, it is there for reasoning.

My 'soul' has also it needs, it needs knowledge, lots of it, and it needs to be productive. It thrives on and it derives pleasure from coming up with ideas, from solving problems, from creating something out of knowledge.

I hope I answered your question.

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Originally Posted by gadjo_dilo

I'm an orthodox christian like most people in Eastern Europe.

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Only if you include Russia as part of Eastern Europe.

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Originally Posted by Rudy Tamasz

For me, yes.

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At least we settled this one.

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Originally Posted by ioan

You got me wrong there. The grey matter is not able to find reasons for everything, it is there for reasoning.

My 'soul' has also it needs, it needs knowledge, lots of it, and it needs to be productive. It thrives on and it derives pleasure from coming up with ideas, from solving problems, from creating something out of knowledge.

I hope I answered your question.

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Very good, ioan.