Why when someone says they are god or have talked to god ,We lock them up in an institution?
463612
I would asked that person to set up a meeting and I would be there now if GOD didn't show up then have he/she locked up in a looney bin
608603
The fact that we call Him God in the first place, we are placing ourselves in surrender of His Sovereignty, signifying His existence and His creation of us. Let us give Him his due respect and highest honour for His Love and Sacrifice for us.
1147109
Intellectual surrender. Good phrase! I (as you may gather) am a member of the second group. I feel that some people cling to the Word or God and the word of God only idea because they are lazy. If everything I need to know is already written down and needs no interpretations then I don't have to think for myself. It gives them an out and makes the spiritual life a no brainer with no work required.\nIt's just "here are the rules, go live by the rules" They have no need to pray or listen to God speak to them. They never have to wonder about anything. They never have to do any of the work of being human. Like cattle. Just follow the rules and then die. Easy instructions.\nThis is why I belong to a church that values education and thought.
245973
good point you make...i agree...keep questioning God...don't let these so called christians tell you that you will "go to hell" for asking...  God wants us to find him however we can...don't be a follower but a leader and ask ask away....
1006472
Technically, we are asking the saints to intercede with God on our behalf, not praying to them. You are correct, though, most people don't get it and that is a problem. Most people go to church out of habit and just do things without thinking about them--not a good practice at all! There is a fine line between worshiping Saints and asking for intercession!
447860
that is not the meaning. I am a christian. Asking God into our life means that we have to do as God instructs us to do, no killing, no lies, respects each other, blablabla.. If we only received the existence of God in our life and we disobey what He says to us, then we are closer to heaven. \nBuddhists, Taoists or free thinkers or other religion must have the chance going to heaven if they always do the good things in life.
1169477
Good question...In God we trust is on all of our coins, One nation under God is in our pledge of allegiance, it was obviously our founding fathers intentions to have this nation be God oriented.  We do allow for religious freedom here, which I am grateful for, it is what makes America what it is, and since our nation was founded on God, those who can not deal with His name being used should find somewhere they are more comfortable, or learn to be tolerant. We don't stop other religions from practicing their faiths, or those who choose to not practice or not believe, but why should we have to assimilate to those who don't share the values on which this country was founded.
321194
"God" is a phenomenom that arises naturally in the minds of any group of people who get smart enough to even vaguely comprehend how complex the universe is.  If you lock a small child who has no knowledge of god in a dark cupboard, the child's mind will invent a "higher power" as a sort of defense mechanism.\n\nThis doesn't really prove or disprove the reality of "God" (with a big G), but is an interesting detail about humans minds.  It also accounts for the fact that throughout history people have developed various random theologies to account for what them see & feel, and to help them cope with oth the wonder & the death they see around them.
779312
Because she wants to get the point across that they wporship God they dont just pray...they have a reason to be there..they could pray at home if they liekd but ti is important to worship your God at a holy place!
467278
People have always used 'God' as a reason to be cruel.  It's just a way of making others small so you can feel big.  You have to make someone else so wrong in order to feel that you actually exist, or at least so you don't feel totally insignificant.  I don't know if you can give an answer to why.  It just is that way, people are hurt and angry and who knows what experiences they have had with so called 'religion'.  Why take it personally?  It's not about you.
1066623
I like very much the way you started: ALL RISE!\nAnd there is no legal system which is perfect!\nMoreover, though, I do not trust "god" and this is due to the fact that god never talks to anyone, except the leaders (which gives me suspicions that the leaders claim they were told by god! - what do you think?)\nFor example, whenever someone attacks another, in the last 16 centuries, they claim that god ordered them to do that! Last, but not without importance was the Bush claim for America's and her allies to Iraq!
25426
Independent?  A believer?  Why do you even need a label?  If someone asks, just say what you believe in, but that you don't feel you have to be in a specific building to pray.
82688
Hell is a place in the astral world, where all souls are "living"in agony and some kind of hopeless faith.God is not punishing You, when you are suiciding You, because you have done it. But we are all here have to fullfill our destiny. And our destiny is a part in a giant Masterplan, where we have our role to play.We have to meet people and we have to realise projects. When you commit suicide, you are leaving your place.That means you have stolen experiences of other people who cannot fullfill their destiny because you are not playing your role anymore in the future. That is the sin. You are a thief. You had to be to a special place to a special time to do a special thing in the future, and because you are death now, and nobody can replace You, you have stolen to the other person a very important experience, who cannot be replaced....
967024
It's like saying "I never let religion get in the way of my faith."\n\nWhen you formalize things, set down rules, and introduce bureaucracy, it takes away from the true experience.
678535
Maybe your just not hearing Him.  God can speak to you through a song on the radio, a friend or however.  I had learned to really communicate with God and one day it just stopped.  I thought I had done something wrong.  And then one day I heard someone say that if you've been seeking a deeper relationship with God He may try to speak to you in a new and different way.  It caused me to set myself aside a little more.  I always seek more of God and less of me.  But one thing I know for sure.  The more you listen the more He'll talk to you.  If you go to do something and you have the slightest feeling not to do it then don't.  That could be God talking to you and your not listening.
1129059
Yes I think it is very egocentric for someone to think they have a pipeline directly to a supreme being.\n\nI would doubt it if anyone ever told me that.\n\nSchizophrenics think they talk to God all day long, does it mean they really do?
994907
Hi, Slee, you've definitely thought through this and come up with a really good question. I guess you mean to tie "slavery" into this because if God forces people to suffer ramifications for a situation they didn't ask for, that would be slavery....\n\nWell, there are different ways to approach it.\n\nYou could say that God isn't "punishing" people per se, unlike the vindictive nature many people have attributed to Him. \n\nLet's talk about the "parent" example you brought up. You didn't ask to be conceived and born, but you were. And now you have parents, whether you wanted the ones you got or not. \n\nLike it or not, your parents are foundational in your growth as a person, who you do and do not become, where you end up, and whatever else -- a bad parent can damage you, a missing parent (who doesn't interact with you) still damages you, and a good parent shapes you in good ways.\n\nYou don't get a choice. You're stuck with parents and their influence, or you're stuck with their absence and that impact on you. It's simply part of reality: Relationships matter, and relationships impact who you become.\n\nThe situation with God is similar. You didn't ask to be created, but you were, and God happens to be who He is, and you happen to be who you are. You are free to choose to love God or to reject Him -- and depending on what you choose, that will impact who you become and what happens to you. There's nothing that can be done about it, it's simply part of existing.\n\nAnd it's not even like God himself is "punishing" you for rejecting Him. There are natural ramifications to denying the Definer of the Universe. Since he's defined everything, anything you choose that is different will ultimately be a lie. It will also be harmful and detrimental to your growth as a spiritual being. He will let you reject him, but there are simply natural consequences towards rejecting the most "healthy" way to live spiritually.\n\n(With your physical body, you are free to eat poison, for example. The poison, however, will kill you. You can't avoid that outcome. Your only choice is not whether poison kills, but whether you will eat it.)\n\nSo God permits people to choose. The sign of his goodness is that he allows people to do things and believe things that will ultimately be destructive to themselves and their relationships with other people -- and yet he refuses to make the choice FOR them. (And he can't change the impact of their choices; the impact is built into the fabric of how people interrelate. )\n\nSo he's given us a lot of power to choose our own outcome, at least in terms of spiritually who we become. \n\nTo me, that is not slavery, it's the opposite: Empowerment. \n\nMy choices matter. \n\nI know that's probably not satisfying yet, but good questions always reverberate and must be grappled with for a long time. You asked a very honest and deep question, and I think that level of honesty is important to God and will take you very far.