Morning All Nice to meet you.

[john_d_mcdade@hotmai]

Hi there folks this is my first post on, what looks like, an very intelligent forum. I look forward to many debates with you all and I also look frward to learning things from you all. I am John, I am 26 years old and I live in Coatbridge in Lanarkshire. I am currently working towards my degree in Journalism and at the end of it I would like to work for a publication that is not obsessed with these celebrity pains in the backside.

Anyway, my opening topic for discussion is this...

I have no set religion, (i was not baptised or christened or any other terms used). My mother and father allowed me to choose any religious path I wanted when and if I found a religion that was attractive to me both spiritually and reasonably. As yet I have no religion. My reasons for this are simple and it is an age old reason of: How can there be a god when he allows so much pain to happen in his name?

I understand fully that certain things are out with any Gods control. However I seem to have a reason and a logic that hopefully you can understand.

I think there is a "higher being" who soley believes in free will. I believe he/she watches and allows you to make choices of your own. Sometimes he/she may intervene when they feel that you are in danger or have made a choice that could be detremental to your being. i.e a child almost being knocked down by a car, only for someone or something to save them.

As for heaven and hell. I believe in something different. I believe that if you live a good, honest and decent life, when you die, your spirit will roam free and happy. However, if you live a bad life, you will be a wandering spritit confused and in "pain".

I hope I do not sound like a waffling child by this point ha ha.

At the same time as spirits, I am confused about the whole death thing. I mean not one of us here can remember anything before we were born so will it be the same once we shuffle off this mortal coil?

Well, folks thats my wee rant for today, let me know what you all think, and again, Hello, nice to meet you and lets all hope that we can embrace each others beliefs, cultures, ideas and opinions and make this a forum that can mean so little to some, but can mean so much to others.


John.

[Snoopy]

Hi John and welcome to CR.

This may look like a very intelligent forum but looks can be deceiving.

You say “as yet I have no set religion.” You’ve clearly thought about a lot of “religious” issues, so do you need a “set” religion? If the beliefs that you currently have do not fit neatly under one “heading” is that a problem?

Snoopy.

[wil]

Namaste John

Glad to have you aboard...

Originally Posted by John D

How can there be a god when he allows so much pain to happen in his name?

I understand fully that certain things are out with any Gods control. However I seem to have a reason and a logic that hopefully you can understand.

I think there is a "higher being" who soley believes in free will. I believe he/she watches and allows you to make choices of your own. Sometimes he/she may intervene when they feel that you are in danger or have made a choice that could be detremental to your being.

No G!d but a higher being...hmmm

Free will...hmmm what have we learned as humans as the best way to learn? Do you learn to ride a bike quickly if your parent catch you before every fall? Do we truly learn what hot is until we touch the stove?

Could it be that some higher being has provided our souls with this giant petri dish to play and learn in...and in truth we can do NO irreparable harm to our soul in this environment? Sure we may harm the vehicle we came with, and others around us, and even the consistency of our petri dish...but when we graduate from our experience in this plane we have learned much, grown much...and not just from those who befriended us, but also from those who appalled us...

Pretty smart higher being....I'll call her G!d, or Krishna, or ... or...

[Paladin]

Welcome John,

I would have to go along with Snoopy on this one, sounds like religion in many forms have conditioned the way you see and experience. Hopefully that will all go away as you continue your inquiry into that-which-is, or perhaps "suchness" for lack of a more descriptive term.
It is interesting how we as humans create mental constructs and then try to take them apart to understand what we believe to be an objective universe. Even thought itself seems to encourage the subject/object way of perceiving.

[Tao_Equus]

Hi John. welcome to CR. You make 4 of us here now within 30 miles of each other.

Tao

[wil]

Originally Posted by Tao_Equus

Hi John. welcome to CR. You make 4 of us here now within 30 miles of each other.

Tao

time for a party!

[ardenz]

HI John,

greetings

welcome,

Ardenz

[flowperson]

HI John...please allow me to join the choir in welcoming you to CR. Have fun, but not too much or we'll probably get jealous.

flow....

[Muslimwoman]

Hi John

Sorry but I won't join the choir to welcome you because I can't even speak in tune let alone song in tune. However, welcome.

Personally I don't believe true faith is written in a book or taught to us by others, it is a feeling in our hearts. G-d is unimaginable, heaven is unimaginable, so we must just choose to accept and await the surprise or not.

Yes I believe G-d gave us free will, for me it is like a big lifelong test. I believe He knows everything we do but does not control everything we do, or we would all be saintly robots surely? We choose our path and make choices every day, how many of those choices matter to our spiritual wellbeing I have no idea but I doubt whether I choose a glass of milk or a glass or orange makes a heap of difference. Perhaps that is what G-d wants, us to learn what are the important choices?

Salaam

[17th Angel]

One thing, IF that is your real email address, not a very wise move to publicly advertise it heh....

[Neemai]

Originally Posted by john_d_mcdade@hotmai

At the same time as spirits, I am confused about the whole death thing. I mean not one of us here can remember anything before we were born so will it be the same once we shuffle off this mortal coil?

Hi John,

Glad to meet you.

In regards to the above, maybe there are some who escaped the memory net? At least according to Ian Stevenson's research...

Ian Stevenson - Reincarnation research

and Krishna's statment in the Bhagavad-Gita:

"As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones." (B-Gita 2.22)

Best Wishes,

... Neemai

[mee]

Originally Posted by john_d_mcdade@hotmai

Hi there folks this is my first post on, what looks like, an very intelligent forum. I look forward to many debates with you all and I also look frward to learning things from you all. I am John, I am 26 years old and I live in Coatbridge in Lanarkshire. I am currently working towards my degree in Journalism and at the end of it I would like to work for a publication that is not obsessed with these celebrity pains in the backside.

Anyway, my opening topic for discussion is this...

I have no set religion, (i was not baptised or christened or any other terms used). My mother and father allowed me to choose any religious path I wanted when and if I found a religion that was attractive to me both spiritually and reasonably. As yet I have no religion. My reasons for this are simple and it is an age old reason of: How can there be a god when he allows so much pain to happen in his name?

I understand fully that certain things are out with any Gods control. However I seem to have a reason and a logic that hopefully you can understand.

I think there is a "higher being" who soley believes in free will. I believe he/she watches and allows you to make choices of your own. Sometimes he/she may intervene when they feel that you are in danger or have made a choice that could be detremental to your being. i.e a child almost being knocked down by a car, only for someone or something to save them.

As for heaven and hell. I believe in something different. I believe that if you live a good, honest and decent life, when you die, your spirit will roam free and happy. However, if you live a bad life, you will be a wandering spritit confused and in "pain".

I hope I do not sound like a waffling child by this point ha ha.

At the same time as spirits, I am confused about the whole death thing. I mean not one of us here can remember anything before we were born so will it be the same once we shuffle off this mortal coil?

Well, folks thats my wee rant for today, let me know what you all think, and again, Hello, nice to meet you and lets all hope that we can embrace each others beliefs, cultures, ideas and opinions and make this a forum that can mean so little to some, but can mean so much to others.


John.

Hi John , something in your post struck me , you said when you die your spirit will roam free , .... do you believe ... in the immortality of the human soul? ... this is a belief that we do not die , and many religions throughout the world have this belief , and many people have been influenced by this teaching even though they have no religious belief . As one of Jehovahs witnesses i have not taken on this teaching , as it is not a bible teaching . it is amazing how this teaching of the immortality of the human soul has influenced many .