Before you read this really really long post, please pay attention to the fact that this is a serious discussion thread so if you dont feel like being serious right now, then you probably wont want to waste your time reading below. I felt like making this topic because I have been studying philosophy for some time now and feel the need to discuss my beliefs with a group of people. I am no expert, but I love discussing these things.
*ahem*
Starting in 2001, I went to a camp in Arkansas called "Camp Ozark" It is a christian camp based on Jesus christ as our savior and lord. I became interested in religion as a small child, mainly thinking this man with a large beard was the best guy in the universe. The camp taught from the bible, grabbing verses and backing them up with logical thinking and evidence... or what we would think would be logically since we believed as true christians that a man did have the power to heal the blind with a touch of the forehead. So yes, we believed in the supernatural and treated it as logic, as most christians do. *Just the belief in jesus is the supernatural so thats why i say "most" christians"
I went there from 2001 to 2008. I loved that camp and still do, not because they insisted that we believed in jesus christ but because it taught me some MASSIVE things about religion and a persons path in it. For instance, I was told over and over again that I would go to hell if i didi not believe in jesus christ. This made me believe in him, just as it does to every other christian. I mean jeez if I have to worship this guy wearing sandals in order to avoid a firery pit of doom for all internity, sign me up! Actually, if you do go by the bible, heres something to think about: No where does the bible talk about hell being a torturous place of fire and excruciating pain. The only thing even close to that is it mentioning brimstone,which symbolizes death. The bible says hell is basically a separation from God. Even so, when I leanred this I still wanted to believe in Jesus bcause this God guy seemed like a marvelous man to be around. So I was told to believe in Jesus if I wanted to be with God. Personally I think thats the worst thing I was ever told...
The reason is because after my final year at camp ozark in 2008, I began my journey to using all of the things I had been taught to believe and start being closer to God. Let me tell you, I felt fantastic. I felt like I could pray for anything and god would answer. Everytime I was depressed I prayed and i felt better. I would ask for signs and whenever one was given I felt closer. I looked for a religious group to join, i did not and still do not believe in church because the churches near me all are corrupt, so I decided to join a cult. Yes thats right, a cult. When you hear the word "cult" you think OH THATS BAAD. It isnt, trust me. Some cults are bad yes, but this one was.. just incredible. The leader was a 60 year old man who believed he was the 7th deciple. My NG buddy Andrew *spikevallentine*, and two other guys and girls were in the group. The leader would talk to us one by one, teaching us about God and many things that gave me a very close spiritual presence with God. This man was one manipulative wise man... I cant even begin to explain how he convined you everything he was saying was true. I always have been a logic man and hell, everything he said sounded logical. I was in my room one night and I actually saw a large blue face hover over my bed. He told me I would see some sort of very large and obvious sign leading me into gods arms. This completley freaked me out... I was so so so happy. Sadly... I realized I was blind.
I slowly began to realize that everything I was being taught was a form of brainwashing. Its what all cults do. He did not mean any harm, I am convinced he is a very good man, but he was still brainwashing me into believing certain things. I dont want to go too much into detail, but basically i believed i could jump in front of a bullet and god would protect me. I realized I was blindly believing in signs and something called numberism. *looking for numbers leading to signs which get you closer to god, like the number 7*
To make a long long long long long story short that I will slowly begin to explain to various people in this thread throughout the discussion, I set a few certain beliefs in stone.
1.) There was a man known as Jesus way back when, he was extremley wise and knew much science that people did not know about back then. He developed medicne that would cure wounds, he did surgery that made people see again, e.t.c. He believed he was the son of god, as many many many people have in the past. The difference was that he wasnt crazy. He was one of the most brilliant men to ever live. He was basically the king of all priests, spreading his beliefs of religion and philosophy. However, he was not the son of god. He did not save us from our sins. The reason so many people believe that he did is because prreachers tell us we will go into excruciating pain and fall into hell if we do not believe in this man. We become frightened and scared. We believe in Jesus as our savior.
2.) God does exsist. He.she/it whatever god is, is an all knowing spiritual powerful force within the universe that makes everything work. It would not be possible for everything to work perfectly in nature without some sort of force, known as God. For example, you know what a tree is right? That log that purtrudes from the ground with some grees leaves on top? Yeah that thing. Look a bit closer. You see some bark. Get a microscope out and look at the bark. you see thousands of cells on this 2 by 3 inch piece of bark. Look deep into one cell. You see a system or microscopic organs that make one living cell work. Get an electron microscope. Now you see more componets of organs composed in one organ. Look deeper. You see more and more things making one part of an organ of an organ work. Look deeper far beyhond anything you can see. You would see something called an atom. An atom is very VERY VERRYY SMALL. There are about 100 billion atoms inside this period --> . Thats about 15 times the size of earths population. Which is A LOT. Say you looked deeper. You would see some electrons, neutrons, and protons. First electrons. Look MUCH DEEPER you would see the nucleus, composed of protons and neutrons. *its like a pin in the middle of a baseball stadium, the baseball stadium being the atom and the pin the nucleus* Look even deeper. You see particles that make up those particles called quarks, photons, upper quarks, tons and tons of little things so small.. there are about 100000000000 trillion of them in this period -----> . *probably much more* Look even deeper. You dont know what you would see. You would have no idea. No one would. Why? Because we dont know. What I am getting at is that just one incy tiny weeny bit of space is so complex that is is nearly impossible for even a simple string of hair to maintain its structure functionally without ripping apart and going in and out of the dimensions of time and space. Life is so so so so so so so complex, that for all of these things to work together is.. is just incredible. I believe that there is a god because of this.
3.) I believe that this "God" that every religion worships in mono or multiple forms rather it is a spirit, a god of war, a cow, e.t.c. is basically the same thing. The reason is because, every god has one thing in common. It/she/he is something/someone that a person believes in to be guided through life by an all knowing power. It gives humans the sense that we actually have a purpose in this universe. That we mean something. You know how children have imaginary friends and believe in Santa Claus? See the look on their face during christmas when they think some fat man broke into their house and gave them gifts? Thats pure joy. That joy is what we get if we are truly close to whatever god we believe in. The joy is "God" *yes i am saying to a child santa is their god.*
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