What Do You Believe In?

[grYmes]

gotta agree with Goldie on this one.

I grew up going to a pentecostal church. I hated it. It was boring and a way instill fear in your heart to make you believe that we were all going to hell at any moment if we weren't right with jesus and god.

I stopped going for a few years (18-23) and then I went back on my own will when I got older (27-29). Thought I understood the bible and the "history". I looked at other religions because Christianity had to many contradictions.

Then I realized my life is to precious to waste it on worshipping something I can't see, feel, or hear.

Ever since I let go of religion/jesus/god, I've been the happiest, freest, and most satisfied I have ever been in my entire life.

Been through the same path as you. My grandfather on my dads side was a baptist preacher and my moms side was catholic. Went to church off and on until I was around 13 when my parents split up. Didn’t start going regularly again until I married my wife but her religion wasn’t for me (Mormon).

I never really had a strong attraction to any religion. I don’t begrudge anyone who worships but I’m just not a religious person. So far it’s worked out.

 

[BDP™️]

great thread.

Agree with Du. Went on my own faith/understanding journey as well.

Thing that always sticks out to me is a lot of folks say Christianity has too many contradictions. Many of these stem from OT scripture

never really hear or read anyone dress down and scrutinize NT text like that.

 

[konceptjones]

I was raised Baptist but none of it ever made sense to me. I was a reader, at 5 I was reading the encyclopedia set we had to learn, that same year I started going to parochial schools. The stories in The Bible I felt were utter bullshit but still I prayed because I believed that what you were supposed to do. I had a few turning points in my life that moved me further away from christianity, most notably a sermon by Pastor Keith Butler of Word of Faith Ministries in Detroit. Sometime between '85 and '86 this nigga had a sermon totally devoted to why he deserved to drive a Cadillac or a Benz and live in a big house and have nice clothes and shit. He had the congregation agreeing with his bullshit reasonings too. Another point was the death of my Grandmother, my mother's moms. She died from either ovarian cancer or some other cancer of the lady bits. This was a woman that went to church at least twice a week, kept her bible handy, tithed what she could, and so much more. She was a genuinely good person and died a tragic death. She prayed that Jesus would deliver her from the cancer, but he didn't. She lost the house she lived in and had to move in with my Uncle in a house that she somehow managed to get for him and his family just before her death. She prayed for deliverance and was given death's hand instead. Fuck that.

... Once I got out on my own I started reading again. I read about the history of Christianity and the truths behind it.That it's a mix of Pagan rituals and holidays and whatnot. That the divinity of Jesus himself was decided on by men, that the religion had been corrupted by man. I was done.

I happened upon an illustrated book on Zen Buddhism called "Zen Speaks, Shouts of Nothingness" at Tower Records on U of M's campus when I was 22. I visited the temple a time or two to see what it was like but when my wife and I got together I was brought back to Christianity. My family just knew she would be the one to bring me back to "da Lahwd". The complete opposite happened. It took a while, but we stopped going to church around 2008 and became Bahai's. After we left AZ in 2011 we kinda left it all alone until my wife started looking into Buddhism (Nichiren), and we started going. We've been Buddhist for 4 years now.

 

[808HiLife808]

Been through the same path as you. My grandfather on my dads side was a baptist preacher and my moms side was catholic. Went to church off and on until I was around 13 when my parents split up. Didn’t start going regularly again until I married my wife but her religion wasn’t for me (Mormon).

I never really had a strong attraction to any religion. I don’t begrudge anyone who worships but I’m just not a religious person. So far it’s worked out.

hows that work? mormon and non mormon...their stuff is pretty strict right?

 

[SeaSnake]

What are your religious/spiritual beliefs.

I was raised Muslim not religious at all anymore. I would say I was more spiritual then anything, but I dont get too deep into that either. I think everything is connected in a way and we have all some of the "source" in us.

Raised Christian but we were not church goers, didnt have religious debates in the house or anything like that.

 

[Duwop]

put it like this. my uncle and aunt just lost their daughter.

my sister just lost her step son

all of them are firm believers in Christ and God.

And their belief and faith aids their grief because in their minds they children are not suffering, not existing in some void of nothingness..in their minds to be out of the body is to be with Christ. and that not only gives them peace of mind, it allows them to physically get up out of bed go throughout life functioning in a progressive way.

Like if you can really sit there and tell a grieving parent that their fallen child isn't exiting anywhere because there's nothing after death...because God and Jesus don't exist and all religion is bullshit,..

by all means... go for it

 

[Chi-Town B]

I don't believe in that nonsense but I don't go out of my way to force it on people that do believe. Whatever people need to believe in to better their life by all means do it.

 

[Duwop]

I don't believe in that nonsense but I don't go out of my way to force it on people that do believe. Whatever people need to believe in to better their life by all means do it.

aside from the fact u called it nonsense, i can respect this

 

[OhMars]

Religion like most game has truth in it. I feel like someone a long time ago tapped into the truth, god, universe, whatever you want to call it. Then someone realize how powerful it was stepped on the dope and started selling crack rocks, organized religion.
Most religious structures the dealer (Pastor, Priest, Imam) at the head of most people lives and more important/influential then even parents. Causing dependency on the product they are pushing, to the point were poor people are giving the little they have to a fix (hope).

 

[Duwop]

Religion like most game has truth in it. I feel like someone a long time ago tapped into the truth, god, universe, whatever you want to call it. Then someone realize how powerful it was stepped on the dope and started selling crack rocks, organized religion.
Most religious structures people the dealer (Pastor, Priest, Imam) at the head of most people lives and more important/influential then even parents. Causing dependency on the product they are pushing, to the point were poor people are giving the little they have to a fix (hope).

this was pretty dark

 

[OhMars]

this was pretty dark

 

[AZTG]

Honestly, im at the point now where I believe anything is possible. I will say though from all thr possibilities, a god creating us and judging all our actions sounds like the least probable. And that goes for all the Abhramic religions.

But I honestly only know that I dont know and im cool with any outcome. If I die and just disappear and become worm food, cool. If my soul goes on in some form or fashion, cool. If I die and it turns out one of the major religions

 

[RaptureSoonUgoing?]

Tbh, im still trying to figure out just what I really believe in. My family grew up in a Baptist church. I remember as a child going to Sunday school all the time, but as I got older I attended church less and lesser. I only went bc I was told to go and I needed to know more about Jesus. I found myself falling asleep, texting, and other things while at Sunday's service. I would look around and stare at ppl wondering if them passing out and screaming was really legit an act. I questioned myself to why I never felt that way. As an adult, I started to research and educate myself more about history as a black person and was this "Christian" life the only religion out there. As I became more "awake", I believed less in this white Jesus sitting at a table with his disciples in a image plastered in the front of most churches Ive attended. I watched how these so called Christians would praise God, act holy, and show fake love straight up to ppl's face, but were completely different outside of the church. They lied, they stole, they were lowdown, fornicating, and judgemental. I thought to myself, " these ppl are a bunch of fake praising clowns and I aint wit this shit". As a nonChristian, I realized I was way more morally constructed than they were and I wanted nothing to do wit the Christian way of life. I also felt like Christianity and the Bible were introduced to black slaves as a method to keep them mentally enslaved and give them false hope while praising another white man. I just feel like as a black woman, it's my responsibility and obligation to research instead of just going with the flow. Why am I following the traditonal way of life of white America? I have more to elaborate on, but im mobile and my fingers are tired lmao. Overlook any typos.

1. Israel is northeast Africa. So the "blonde hair blue eyed" Yeshua that has been propagated in artwork to the masses the last 600+ years isn't the REAL Yeshua that walked the earth 2,000 years ago.

2. Believers aren't sinless, we are striving to SIN-less. Amen.

3. Show mercy and receive mercy. Show grace and receive grace! Every rose doesn't bloom at the same time. Thus we have to be patient with one another.

4. Yeshua loves you. Amen.

 

[Black]

1. Israel is northeast Africa. So the "blonde hair blue eyed" Yeshua that has been propagated in artwork to the masses the last 600+ years isn't the REAL Yeshua that walked the earth 2,000 years ago.

2. Believers aren't sinless, we are striving to SIN-less. Amen.

3. Show mercy and receive mercy. Show grace and receive grace! Every rose doesn't bloom at the same time. Thus we have to be patient with one another.

4. Yeshua loves you. Amen.

I thought Israel was located in Asia.

I respect your statements, thank you.

 

[Goldie]

This nigga talkin out his ass lol

 

[konceptjones]

I thought Israel was located in Asia.

I respect your statements, thank you.

Israel is on Egypt's north eastern border

 

[808HiLife808]

I don't believe in that nonsense but I don't go out of my way to force it on people that do believe. Whatever people need to believe in to better their life by all means do it.

I feel like this..
Believe what you believe in if it helps make you a better version of yourself...BUT don't come tryna convert me or preach at me because thats not gonna be a good conversation.

The church is the most powerful entity in the world. like with all powerful things, theres gonna be corruption. Maybe in the early days it came from a good place and whatnot, but i look at stuff like how the pope in the early days was out there waging war and sht on people with essentially king level power.

The crazy thing about today is, more and more people are straying away from these theistic religions, but whether theyre aware or not, admit it or not..theyve been indoctrinated into the religion of consumerism. It got me too. No matter how you look at it, the shits become a religion and people are all in.

 

[RaptureSoonUgoing?]

Fulfilled prophecy proves the word of God. If someone was truly serious about finding the validity of the Bible all one would have to do is study the prophecies that have been fulfilled.


But the enemy, our flesh, and the world is good at stopping us from pursuing truth. And at the end of the day your soul is going to believe what it wants no matter what, hence why we have free will.



Now we are currently on the cusp of all things being fulfilled. The PROPHECIES that concern the end times are all that is left and just like God said the focal point of the end times will be JERUSALEM, ISRAEL, and the surrounding countries of the Middle east.


See here:

God said that this was going to happen at the end of the age. The current war in the Middle East that will eventually cause the countries who are fighting in Syria to turn around and come down south to try to attack Israel and totally destroy it. And lo and behold this just happened last week:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/world/middleeast/israel-iran-syria.html



JERUSALEM — Israel clashed with Syrian and Iranian military forces on Saturday in a series of audacious cross-border strikes that could mark a dangerous new phase in Syria’s long civil war.



I know that these signs will still be meaningless to the blind. I totally understand it. Only a heart that yearns to be set free will have the blinders removed when they repent and confess Jesus Christ as LORD. It's as simple as that.

But hey at the end of the day people will believe what they want. My life is dedicated to ministry. I've preached the good news around the world, by the grace of God, and the attitude of the majority of those I come into contact with is indifference. People could care less about Jesus, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life. The same 3 culprits: The world, the flesh, and the devil blinds the minds of those who are perishing because of the hardness of their heart due to sin. People just want to "eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die!" The Blind have no care about eternity and judgment to come because all they see is the here and now. But again God said it would be just like it is now when He comes like a thief in the night at the end of the age! And God will always be true.


Only a few find the narrow path that leads to eternal life. If the whole world all of a sudden turned to Jesus right now, the Bible would be wrong. And of course the Bible will never be wrong, thus a world wide turning to Jesus will never happen in this age. But that is why judgment is coming my friends. The only way to wake people up is to shake them to their core. And thus the cloudy day will do just that. But I wouldn't advise you to roll the dice with waiting for the cloudy day to come until you get right with King Jesus because:

1. There is a 1 in 4 chance you will die in the judgment of the cloudy day.
2. There is a 100% guarantee that if you do die in the judgment of the cloudy day that you will go to a lost eternity because Hades rides right behind the pale horse when the 4th seal is broken on the cloudy day. Meaning that everyone who dies during the judgment of the cloudy day, the 1/4th of all humanity, they will all go to hell because they had no time to repent and turn to Jesus. Their hypocrisy will be found out and they will be suddenly destroyed without remedy.
3. If you live in Babylon the Great when the cloudy day begins and you are not raptured, there is a 100% chance that you will die. No one left alive in Babylon the Great on the day she is judged in 1 day and in 1 hour will survive the judgement. The mortality rate will be 100%.

Remember 1/4th of all humanity will die on the cloudy day, which is the beginning of the Great and dreadful day of the LORD. America aka Babylon the Great has about 400+ million people in it. That's only a fraction of the total number of people who will be killed on the cloudy day. The world wide total of deaths, if the cloudy day occurred today, would near almost 2 billion people!

The cloudy day is a combination of :

1. World War 3...which begins the cloudy day when the 10 kings push the button to destroy America and attack Israel.

2. God coming out of His temple in heaven.

3. the shaking of the heavens

4. the greatest earthquake in human history occurring that will move every mountain, shake every island, destroy every wall, and topple all buildings.

5. Hail stones and coals of fire raining down upon planet earth.

6. All green grass burnt up

7. 1/3 of all the trees burnt up

8. 1/3 of the day and night being darkened from the cloudy day.

9. The devil and all his demons being kicked out of heaven forever and confined to the earth because of the war in heaven.

10. The rapture of the church.

11. The destruction of 1/6th of Gog and Magogs army that tried to attack Israel.

12. The 4 winds being released on planet earth, which are known as the 4 horseman of the Apocalypse by the majority of the world.


All the above events take place on the day of sudden destruction. And from the ashes of the whole world being utterly destroyed by the presence of the LORD, those who are left behind will enter into the worst time in human history called the tribulation period. It will last for 7 years and everything that is familiar today will be familiar no more.

There will be no more McDonalds
No more Pizza Hut
No more Nando's
No more burger king
No more Waffle house
No more Cheesecake Factory
No more Coldstone
No more Baskin Robbins
No more Walmart
No more Target
No more China King
No more Bodegas
No more Hip Hop
No more Country music
No more R&B
No more Basketball
No more Rock and roll
No more soccer
No more football
No more Hollywood
No more netflicks
No more hulu
No more movies
No more TV
No more chuckie cheese
No more Disneyland
No more walks in the park
No more laying out at the beach
No more clubbing
No more high fashion
No more gucci
No more LV
No more going to the mall
No more getting fresh
No more fresh edge ups
No more going to the salon
No more getting your hair done!


NO MORE


Instead of sweet smells there will be a stench!

instead of a wearing belts, a rope!

instead of well-dressed hair, BALDNESS!

instead of fine clothing, sackcloth!

instead of beauty, branding! 666

Even strong drink will be bitter unto those who drink it!

Instead of smooth grooves and crooning, HOWLING AND WAILING in all streets!

Instead of laughing and giggling, WEEPING AND MOURNING!!!!!


This is the day of the LORD! For the day of the LORD is darkness and not light! It is even very dark with no brightness in it! And the time is almost here!

WOE
WOE
WOE to all those who thought they could play King Jesus for a fool!










Yes WOE unto your soul!

Amen.

 

[VIBE]

Former Christian turned atheist.

Don’t believe in a god because I don’t think the Bible, or history, is strong enough to support the evidence for one. Although, I do see religions power, both good and bad. I do think the good does outweigh the bad. People just take it too literally and that’s where the problem starts imo.

I don’t believe in an afterlife. The thought of one is comforting, though.

Many people claim ‘god’ is different things to them. That’s what God is. It’s what rules your life. It’s what you make your life the reason to live for.

Life has no true purpose outside of your genetics surviving generations. We create those purposes to fit our lives because it makes us happy. It’s why I now no longer get in these long debates about god’s existence anymore. I’ll say my piece but I’m not convincing you outside of that because you’ve found your happiness.

 

[VIBE]

thing is though bruh...

there's so much unknown about....everything.......it's wild dangerous to live in absolutes and rule out ANYTHING...

we could literally uncover some shit in the next few weeks that turns our understanding of the known world, and the unknown world completely on it's ass.....we just never truly really know.....

i 100% accept the possibility that everything i believe in and subscribe to could be nothing, but i choose to believe in it, and in that sense, its real to me.

someone once told me, that the older you get in life, you don't really know more, you realize how much you truly don't know.......

when i see people so go hard confident that they just shitting all over religion, and specifically Christianity...i kinda wanna know where life is going to take them, and if they commit to that stance over the next 40-50 years of living...

something could happen tomorrow that makes you an instant believer.....there's mad people who will tell you they had a vision, or seen some shit that cant be explained....i did a report on near death experiences when i was in school...some of that stuff stuck with me for life....

you never really know.....one of the reasons i like writing....you can play with reality and supernatural shit at will...divine intervention is one helluva mind trip if you take some time and really read into it.....

This is why all that Jesus wasn’t a real figure, God doesn’t exist.. all that is worthless in an argument when the believer has faith like no other.. no matter what you throw at them, God is the reasoning and all that bad was always countered w good, they think of themselves as insignificant in the world and think something higher has to be looking out for them.. hope is god.