Quote:
Originally posted by Z-man
For me, there is spiritual evidence that God exists. Now just because spiritual evidence isn't necessarily physical evidence, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
It is hard for me to understand the point of view that there is nothing beyond the physical realm in this universe. There are way too many 'holes' and unexplained phenomenon that leads me to believe (there's that faith thing again), that there is definately someone more out there.
And along those same lines:
The short answer for me is "none of the above." The answer is that in my seeking to find the meaning to life, the universe, and everything, I have come to the conclusion that God was behind all this. I believe in God because I have concluded that He is the truth behind our existence.
As such, because I believe in God,
1. He has kept certain unexplainable things from mankind. And I look forward to findnig out some of these things when I can talk with Him in heaven. (My first question will be if He was joking with me all the times the street lights would flicker out when I drove/walked/rode underneath them...)
2. I know that death is not the end of my existence.
3. The only reason I am grateful that my sins are forgiven is because that forgiveness will allow me to commune with God.
4. I am a part of many groups - my church group, my friends at work, my Porsche club friends - so I don't have to be a Christian to be part of a group.
5. I certainly do not feel superior to others.
6. Because of God's unconditional love, I strive to love Him to the best of my ability. He loved me first, not the other way around. And to be loved is a need that all man has.
7. There are no absolutes. As far as morals are concerned, again, because of what He did for me, I try my best to do what He asks of me. (I think that's a different way of looking at the whole morality issue).
8. God does give me direction in my life, but again, it is because I believe in Him that He gives me direction, not the other way around.
9. "A need to be right." Well, the Bible very clearly tells me that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." The Bible also clearly states that Christians are NOT perfect - that they sin and make mistakes every day of their lives. Thus, if I chose my faith because I have a need to be right, I have chosen the wrong faith, given that my faith shows me that I am very, very far from being 'right.' . (The key is that my sins are forgiven through Christ's sacrifice on the cross.)
Hope that sheds some light on why I believe what I believe.
And again, sorry for the long post,
-Zoltan.
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Could you describe “spiritual evidence?” What does that mean to you?
It is hard for me to understand the point of view that there is
something beyond the physical realm in this universe. Yes, there are lots of holes in our understanding of the physical universe. Many things that we didn’t understand in the past, we now understand. And I have complete trust that at least some of the things we don’t understand today will be explained in the future. For example, remember the old cliché that it is physically impossible for a bumble bee to fly? Well, they recently debunked that. They took a camera that shoots a gazillion frames a second, analyzed the wings, and realized that it IS physically possible for a bumble bee to fly. Of course, we always knew that, we just didn’t have an explanation. The thing is, they needed that special tool, and it didn’t exist until recently. I am sure that there are other tools we need that don’t currently exist, that will explain other things.
And there is no reason to believe that our brains are capable of understanding everything, anyways. String theory calls on 11 dimensions, and we will never be able to understand that. A monkey’s brain is incapable of understanding calculus. Perhaps (not just perhaps, I would think certainly is a better word) there is a higher form of math that is just as foreign to our brains as calculus is to a monkey’s brain, and we need that form of math to explain something. We will never be able to explain it, but that does not mean there is a supernatural explanation.
As to the list, I would think that, for you, religion meets numbers 1, 2 and 3 to a large degree. You do not seem to have needs number 5 and 9, but some other people do. Others, like 4, 6, 7 and 8 seem to be lesser needs for you that are partially met by religion. And yes, 6 is a need that most of us have. That’s the point. These are normal needs. We will all weight them differently.