Coming to a religion section near you: Zero.

The reality of God.

Prelude: What this is and is not: This is not based on half an hours thinking. I have put an incredible amount of time into contemplating all of this. Classes, personal research, listening others, etc. I've looked at most every side. This is at least biased as I can possibly be. These are my thoughts:

The best argument I've heard against the existence of God is that we, as humans, have a need for understanding. We cannot accept the unexplained as unexplainable, we need reason. The argument states that there are things that we can't explain, so the idea of God was simply formed long ago to explain away "natural" phenomena. Additionally, we need purpose, why live for nothing? Many of these things, we now understand today, and some consider that all that we do not understand, in the future humans will as science progresses. Because of this process, there is no proof of God, so there is no reason to consider that God is real.

My argument against that is, what if God is felt? God's energy, God's affects, God's presence can certainly be felt in my opinion. I once saw a show about the neurology of religious experiences. It's been documented that all brain activity of religious experiences, whether it be the presence of God, or angels, or other religious beings take place in a certain region of the brain. This opens up the platform for the idea that the "feeling" of the presence of God is simply your "mind playing tricks on you," therefore the experience isn't real and there's reason to believe God is real.

After an enormous amount of time contemplating all sides of this, I must ask, what is real? How do humans define something as "REAL?" Through the same methods that we have religious experiences--the brain. I consider my keyboard real, because I'm touching it. My hands touch the keyboard, this is signaled to my brain through -rons/electrical charge, and my brain tells me that my keyboard is reality. Reality is simply what our mind creates it as via our senses sending electrical signals. If a blind man cannot see a cloud, something that the other senses can't tell him exists, does that make it not real? The blind mans senses cannot relay to the brain that the object is present, so in his reality it does not exist. How is the object any less real to those that can sense it? How is God any less real to those that can sense him? If I can sense God just as I can sense anything else, how could he possibly be any less real? I cannot smell a cloud, but I can see it. I cannot see an odor, but I can smell it. I cannot taste the wind, but I can feel it. The sixth sense exists. Some refer to it as the non-tangible heart, some say it's feelings, some say it's the gut, some may even say it's something similar to the "force" from star wars. Regardless, there is something outside of the 5 traditional senses. This sixth sense sends pulses to the brain just as the other 5 do.

God is as real to me as anything that I can see, smell, taste, hear, or touch.

Signed, the soon to be dubbed "bible thumper",
-Zero.

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i agree. god is as real as your imagination. and since you can imagine, god then has to be real.

If that's all you comprehend, I apologize for not having the right words.

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Did Zero read "The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"? That last part of your post sounds like some of the things the author was contemplating.

Youve always come across as a bit of a thumper IMO. Do you associate yourself with any particular religion?

I've never felt any presence, so I've never spent much time thinking about it.

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i understand fully and those words i gave is the reality of your situation. and therefore it is I who must apologize.

there isn't any gain for anyone to sit with you presently, offering you deterrence. Ive followed a few paths to heaven and have warm memories of that. however, somehow i missed heaven or heaven missed me as i walked past. didn't see it.

i just came to the conclusion...i missed it because it simply isn't there.

I hope you find it.

yeah, its a dead mother thing.

focus? of what?

i accept the need for the church comfort when emotions of her memories flood back to me. this i cheerfully surrender to. but its short lived as emotions clear up.

get it? when I'm drunk on emotion is when i make those choices. not with a clear mind.

well, yeah, the remedy was man made but it did the trick. I didn't want to make a mess, you know.

Church doesn't do much for me. All I've experienced spend too much time focusing on the wrong things... typically to sway/control people... leave it to man to be able to screw up everything.

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I feel that isolation teaches me more about myself. As far as the imperfect people, my concern isn't them or what they do... my concern is whether collectively, the church focuses its energy on positive things, rather than the negative.

I don't judge people, and that's what I see in the "Christian" churches of this area. Too many cliche hatred-filled southern opinions are justified by interpreting the bible. I've never been in a church that focuses on the love of God rather than the shortcomings of people. There is a difference between being realistic about things, and being downright judgemental. If you can't come to God and "God's people" for love, where can you go?

All in all, I don't see where church will improve my spiritual life.

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I'm somewhere between Christian and agnostic... I don't participate in any church or religious activities. I feel that most of what people know about Christianity, are improper interpretations often influenced by outside factors. I disagree with a lot of Christian ideas. I do not believe that God is vengeful. I believe that revenge is something humans have created because the revenge restores our damaged egos. I certainly believe God is above that.

Lots of what I read to contemplate my spirituality is writings by people. For example, Gandhi wrote this (taken from two different things, but the context is pretty much the same) I don't agree 100%, but it's definitely a good writing to think about:

"There is an indefinable mysterious power that pervades everything. I feel it, though I do not see it. It is this unseen power that makes itself felt and yet defies proof, because it is so unlike all that I perceive through out the existence of God to a limited extent. God is that indefinable something which we all feel but which we do not know. To me God is Truth and Love, God is ethics and morality. God is fearlessness, God is the source of light and life and yet. He is above and beyond all these. God is conscience. He is even the atheism of the atheist. He transcends speech and reason. He is a personal God to those who need His touch. He is purest essence. He simply Is to those who have faith. He is long suffering. He is patient but He is also terrible. He is the greatest democrat the world knows. He is the greatest tyrant ever known. We are not, He alone Is."

Do you think that humans are the absolute most complex and greatest thing that exists?

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Gandhi was a racist...

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Let's see how long this lasts.

If reading something by him sheds light on something for me, I don't care whether he's a racist or not. I'm not really sure if you were A: joking, B: trying to discredit him, or C: just bored, but I found your post pretty irrelevant and worthless. Feel free to start a "Gandhi was a racist" thread.

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