Do you believe in God?

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i'm sorry, i forgot to check up on this thread, but i would still like to respond to you.
i've changed my mind and i agree with you that the the question is important. i'm still not convinced that the answer isn't trivial but that's not important

what i meant by god = government is that i think god and religion in general are constructs that were fabricated to unite people and give them something to believe in, define law and order, survey and protect people, and uphold rewards and punishments, just like governments. gods, messiahs, bodhisattvas, etc. are just like dictators, presidents, representatives, etc. one can align themselves with a religious figure in the same way one can align themselves with a governmental figure, and one can align themselves with whatever type of religion or lack thereof that they believe in and/or are culturally connected to.
what i meant by "god exists as a construct and is therefore real, but not necessarily true" is that the effect that god has on people and the creation of god to serve these purposes in society is very real, but i don't know if--and i'm inclined to disbelieve that god exists outside of human creation.

OK, you can just say that religion has purposes other than religious ones. On that I agree, it has many benefits, pretty much all of which can be accomplished in modern times by secular institutions.

well the religious purposes are important too, just as regimes cannot exist for long without people believing in them.
this also is related to the question of god existing only as a human construct vs. god existing beyond human construction.

The religious purpose is to maintain the institution of the religion, either through fear or false hope.

this threads reads sometimes as driving in a car with 5 or 6 others who have totally different opinions; and keep them and not change them during the ride
sometimes the ride is fast, as posts follow up eath other fast, sometimes slow

but perhaps I'm on the wrong car, my not-related-to-anything-theology doesn't seem to relate to anyone, actually, how could that be a surprise?
I'm going to lie in the grass and just listen for now to pick up some of God's unrelenting love

For those into this sort of thing

God love you.

In Christ.

Zvi

Job 38 comes to mind. Jewish Bible (CJB)


https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%2038

Job proves that if this god exists, he's an a**hole.

Suffering happens

I hope you W. P. folks have compassionate people in your lives.

I count them in my blessings.

Love and prayers continue.

Job 38: about the truth that we humans are not in control
there will be one day that I will have to give up control too, cause of health reasons, old age, etc, lay my faith in hands of God

what do modern day prophets say?
Descartes anti-Job, in his Discourse on the Method: hopes that people will overcome diseases, and even "the decline of forces that old age brings with it"
Kant: this idea is perhaps only a projection, an ideal; perhaps we need more time but it's not impossible
Hegel: it might need a lot of time, cause it goes step by step, thesis-antithesis-synthesis you know
Marx: and it needs human effort, we have to organize it
Platonov: until someone dies, and we realize again that we're not in control;
so true

Shalom

In another tradition -
Coyote waits
& he is hungry.

My yoga teacher says
Shifts happen.

What big things, losses and other brouhaha have happened.

When my mother died I was for a while mad at
Cigarette companies
Cigarettes
My mom
And God.

Abuse also happens
Sometimes sadly religious abuse or from those of "standing in various religions."
There are "good and bad" in professions of this world.

God is good.
May your journey be meaningful to you.
May The Lord bless and expand your territory.
I'm working on the expansion of my stomach.
Through food choices, yoga, cycling and yes guidance from the Holy Spirit.

Shalom.

Zvi

Are all religious people insane?

Am I stupid or insane?

Well, you're not stupid.

Maybe not insane but surely deluded or misguided ...

I read somewhere that religion has , throughout history, reared it's ugly head when ever someone needed to control the less educated and so more gullible masses ... It kinda makes perfect sense to be honest .

Yes the Bible has been misused and misquoted to control through out time. I believe it is best to read it for one self. May The Lord help you discern wise choices.
The Bible is full of folks that used guile and deception.
So are the people that use caller identification deception machines.

I'm learning to discern better in what I use and the
Bakassana.

http://m.wikihow.com/Do-the-Crow-Pose-(Yoga)