06 May 2016, 7:21 am
If there is a supreme being, wouldn't just that concept alone be baffling enough to fathom?
Yeah but that's not all I find baffling about it. It's the idea that one devine being is capable of:
- Communicating with millions of sapient beings each witb their own personalities, problems and qualities.
- Manipulating the weather, events, fates of people, animals, ect. all at once. Boy that's a lot to take in at once!
^ All od these things are just impossible for a single being do even do, devine or not. Unless...
Unless It's done through, oh I don't know...
Which is why, being a spiritual person myself, would rather believe in the teamwork many devine beings altogether!
I am not clear as to what it is that you are not clear about.
Are you talking about the concept of "one god" as opposed to "no gods"?
Or are you talking about "one god" as opposed to "many gods"(like the gods of mount olympus)?
Since you're talking about "team work" in creating the world you must mean that you prefer a pagan type theology (a god for weather, a god of the sea, a god of the under world, a goddess of love, a god of war, etc) to a monotheistic one in which one deity does it all.
06 May 2016, 9:02 am
Are you talking about the concept of "one god" as opposed to "no gods"?
Or are you talking about "one god" as opposed to "many gods"(like the gods of mount olympus)?
Since you're talking about "team work" in creating the world you must mean that you prefer a pagan type theology (a god for weather, a god of the sea, a god of the under world, a goddess of love, a god of war, etc) to a monotheistic one in which one deity does it all.
Actually I do prefer a pagan sort of belief!
I was actually talking the concept of "one god" as opposed to "many gods" like those of mount Olympus.
A friend of mine did bring in an interesting point of view of the "one god" ideal. She said that "god" is love encarnate; the combined eforts of all the gods and goddesses fron times before. I find that to be quite intriguing! But I still see that as being far-fetched mainly because:
1. They are plenty of gods and goddesses of love out there.
2. It would be higly uikely that a group of gods and godesse would combine their efforts without having some sort of conflict because of their differences. Most of them actually betray one another quite often! (Cronus swallowed his children in fear of them replacing him, Zeus swallowed Athena's mother because he was mad at her, ect.) Why it's like a divine Game of Thrones!
it's these constant betrayals and conflics that makes them more human, hencefourth more relateable to us. (Unlike the goodie two-shoes Christian God)to me, It gives me a genuine sense that we are the children if these Gods and Goddesses
06 May 2016, 9:28 am
06 May 2016, 2:04 pm
06 May 2016, 8:14 pm
06 May 2016, 10:14 pm
06 May 2016, 10:28 pm
As a Christian I want to apologize for all of the people who have spread hate or ignorance under the Christian banner that didn't come from the Bible or from love. I pray that you all will know the incredible love and glory that is in Jesus Christ. He's what this entire existence is all about. He is the beginning and the end. He's the prime star. He gets all the glory for all of eternity and the only One worth it.
We are "becoming" (changing, so when are we "we") while He is "I AM" (never changing).
If you really want to talk to some Christians with knowledge go to Reddit and to "Christians" (not "Christianity) and ask a question there or go to "debateachristian". Don't cherry pick easy targets. There's idiots under every banner of religion, politics, race, etc.. who will make your position seem better when you destroy them.
Most Christians I know believe in the big bang theory, micro-evolution, and have gay friends. Your sexual preference isn't what defines you as a human. Everyone at my church has sin and we are all trying to sin less with God's help but we would never not let someone in because of one sin. Everything everyone does is tainted with sin. You can't do a perfect action. If a woman had an abortion I would hope as a church we would love that woman as much as possible and get to know her and her situation a long time before pointing out any specific sin. Jesus wasn't like that. Christianity is about what Jesus said and did, not what His followers have said and do. And yet Jesus' own family and followers didn't really believe He was God until after the Resurrection! But once they saw Him alive after they watched him die that's what created the fame and faith of Jesus Christ who is God we know of today. It actually happened and the Bible is true.
Jesus chose sinful people over the religious people who knew the Bible. He went to the prostitutes and tax collectors! But then He taught them to repent and follow Him. To reject someone from the start isn't following Jesus.
But to seriously disbelieve in a Creator when you look outside at reality that's better than anything than we can create as humans is a bit silly to me. Like all this just came out of no where. I mean it's either one Creator or a bunch of them (or your brain is the one Creating and you are God). All I know is only One has contacted me and I'm surely not Creating all of this.
I love you all and wish I could do something to make you believe but I have nothing but my own experience and the Gospel to point you to. Ask God to reveal Himself to you if He is real and read a chapter of the Gospel of John or Romans and if nothing happens then eat drink and be merry and don't waste your time debating people on something you are sure you will never believe in 
07 May 2016, 10:27 am
07 May 2016, 12:53 pm
07 May 2016, 8:43 pm
08 May 2016, 1:29 pm
09 May 2016, 7:36 am
09 May 2016, 8:12 am
09 May 2016, 9:17 am
09 May 2016, 9:28 am
This is quite an interesting thread. I'd like to put in my own two cents, or more like three.
1. Someone on here asked why an omnipotent being would create vastly inferior creatures and world when they had all the power of the universe at their disposal. I found one answer while reading A Child's Work by Vivian Paley on the importance of children's fantasy play to learning and devlopment. At one point, the author and her fellow early childhood educators are reflecting on their own childhood fantasies and , for a moment, look at them from a religious perspective and come to the conclusion that "God must like stories". This was a profound statement for both the teachers and myself. It implied that an omnipotent being would create a self-unfolding universe for the sole purpose of watching it grow and develop, along with its sentiant races, into ever more complex and entertatining forms. I know of no no one that dislikes stories and so I see it as perfectly logical that God created evrrything as one great story filled with manifold smaller tales and adventures, good and bad, comedy and tragedy, and everything in between.
2. I see the true purpose of religion as being a voluntary egalitarian socialism that encourages people to help one another at whatever cost to themselves in an altruistic community. While this fits very few actual members of religions, it does fit a whole lot of the Catholic saints.
3. On the idea that Christianity is filled with hateful individuals and that the church is prejudiced. remember that most of the people that Jesus denounced were his own religious leaders whom he refered to as "vipers" and "sepulchres". In fact , most of Jesus' message is on the evils of the church and state authority and the good of a socialistic, altruistic community. Fight the Power! 
But to keep this post relevant to the topic at hand, doI find God baffling. Not really. He is all powerful and thus can do anything he deems necessary to keep the plotlines of reality on a steady path to their conclusion. He is the author and director of all so let us watch and see what happens on today's episode of life.
09 May 2016, 10:48 am
1. Someone on here asked why an omnipotent being would create vastly inferior creatures and world when they had all the power of the universe at their disposal. I found one answer while reading A Child's Work by Vivian Paley on the importance of children's fantasy play to learning and devlopment. At one point, the author and her fellow early childhood educators are reflecting on their own childhood fantasies and , for a moment, look at them from a religious perspective and come to the conclusion that "God must like stories". This was a profound statement for both the teachers and myself. It implied that an omnipotent being would create a self-unfolding universe for the sole purpose of watching it grow and develop, along with its sentiant races, into ever more complex and entertatining forms. I know of no no one that dislikes stories and so I see it as perfectly logical that God created evrrything as one great story filled with manifold smaller tales and adventures, good and bad, comedy and tragedy, and everything in between.
2. I see the true purpose of religion as being a voluntary egalitarian socialism that encourages people to help one another at whatever cost to themselves in an altruistic community. While this fits very few actual members of religions, it does fit a whole lot of the Catholic saints.
3. On the idea that Christianity is filled with hateful individuals and that the church is prejudiced. remember that most of the people that Jesus denounced were his own religious leaders whom he refered to as "vipers" and "sepulchres". In fact , most of Jesus' message is on the evils of the church and state authority and the good of a socialistic, altruistic community. Fight the Power!
But to keep this post relevant to the topic at hand, doI find God baffling. Not really. He is all powerful and thus can do anything he deems necessary to keep the plotlines of reality on a steady path to their conclusion. He is the author and director of all so let us watch and see what happens on today's episode of life.
Let's look at all three of your points. If I was a God, I would want other equals to spend time with, not a mess of inferiors. The idea of an all powerful being needing affirmation from a bunch of inferiors sounds rather petty and insecure. If that God wanted stories, I would think equals would spin far better stories than fearful mortals. As to your second point, since most people don't fit your definition of what a religion is good for, I submit that religion has failed miserably as you seem to agree with the exception of the few Catholic saints. Even Jesus isn't followed as he preached taking care of those less fortunate than yourselves. Jesus as portrayed in the Gospels is all about fighting authority as found in the Church and elsewhere. As to your third statement, it is fairly well attached to the second one and pretty well answered by what I wrote. However, for a Jesus to come along and attack his own Church, perhaps he as the all powerful entity he is claimed to be would simply begin with a better group of believers or correct their beliefs about this religion. In any case, religion is a pretty poor idea settled upon by men in the superstitious bronze age, thus making God a strange idea from the outset. No wonder why we see it as a strange or baffling idea...
