Do you love God?

[audible]

love man not a god.

If we could turn the population of the earth into a small community of 100 people, keeping the same proportions we have today, it would be something like this:

60 Asians
12 Europeans
14 Americans (from North and South America)
13 Africans
01 Australian (Oceania)

50 women
50 men

10 are gay

33 are Christian (Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox)
18 are Muslims
16 are Hindus
16 are non-religious
6 are Buddhists
11 practice other religions

41 live without basic sanitation
16 live without an improved water source

6 people own 59% of the entire wealth of the community

13 are hungry or malnourished
14 can't read
only 7 are educated at a secondary level
only 8 have a computer
only 4 have an internet connection

1 adult, aged 15-49, has HIV/AIDS.

Of the village's total annual expenditures of just over US$ 3,000,000 per year:
US$ 181,000 is spent on weapons and warfare...
US$ 159,000 is spent on education...
US$ 132,000 is spent on health care.

If you keep your food in a refrigerator
And your clothes in a closet
If you have a roof over your head
And have a bed to sleep in
You are richer than 75% of the entire world population.

If you have a bank account
You're one of the 30 wealthiest people in the world.

25 struggle to live on US$ 1.00 per day or less...
47 struggle to live on US$ 2.00 per day or less.


Love without needing to be loved
Appreciate what you have
And do your best for a better world.

 

[cole grey]

Also,
Audible says

my head has more love in it, then any xian could ever have, as i'm a atheist/humanist.
I hold humanity above any non-existent sky daddy, I wont ever kill my fellow humans, just because I want to appease my god, life is far more sacred to me, than it could ever be to a xian, this is the only chance we get theres no afterlife and when you xians, reallise that you might consider not killing someone and taking away there only chance of a life.

John 15:12** "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
John 15:13** "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
I left 15:13 out in my other post, but it seems to apply to what you should realize a christian's ideology should be, (and sometimes is). Jesus doesn't say "one of my commandments", but "this is my commandment". Your humanism results in better ideology than some Xians have mistakenly created for themselves, but not better than the ideology Jesus puts forth.
And, in case there isn't enough love emphasis (Jesus puts forth LOVE as his commandments in different books, there is also this (just in case someone misses the point) -
'If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have {the gift of} prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
And if I give all my possessions to feed {the poor,} and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.' 1st corinthians 13:1-3**

Wow, I never thought I would post so many bible verses in one thread. That's crazy.

 

[ellion]

totally agreed.
you have misinterpreted my post completely, theres no anger or hatred. I said,I had more love for my fellow humans, I was doing a comparison.
I dont hurt myself or anybody else, the religious however do, that is what I said.
please dont try to psychoanalyse me you are totally wrong.
I have not got a evil bone in my body, I have the right to debate a subject,
as you do.
You have not made me angry, irrated, incensed, but not angry. anger is a hateful emotion, it is not in my Psyche.

PS I used the word xians, just out of lazyness, I surpose I could have wrote "the religious", but xian is easier.

i did presume that you where angry. but in fairness your analysis of me was even further from the mark. im not xian (or religious) i would never kill anyone to appease god nor would i take the only chance of life from anyone, as you suggested here.

....... and when you xians, reallise that you might consider not killing someone and taking away there only chance of a life.

 

[audible]

but you missed out the best ones, Cole and jesus also said,
matthew 10,34: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35: For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
36: and a man's foes will be those of his own household.
37: He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
38: and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
39: He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.
matthew 10,21: Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death;

and he also condemns whole citys to death,
matthew 11,20: Then he began to upbraid the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.
21: "Woe to you, Chora'zin! woe to you, Beth-sa'ida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22: But I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.

and what of child abuse very loving indeed,
matthew 15,4: For God commanded, `Honor your father and your mother,' and, `He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.' not someone I 'd follow.

 

[§outh§tar]

no truth is not faith.
you might experience love through faith, i will not deny you that.
but no, it doesnt take faith to know love.

you can experience love without intellect.

Is there an example you can provide perhaps?

 

[Woody]

water,

Do you love God?

I think I do, at least I try to. Love is a decision. I decided to love God, the same as I decided to love my wife.

How does one know whether one loves God?

By decision, ref first question. Also, Jesus says if you don't love him you don't love God. He told this to the pharasees, the most righeous legalists in their day. They obeyed the law as it were their God, yet they put Jesus to death. The first commandment says to love God -- they did not.

How is one to love God?

As much as possible, ref previous question

What does it mean to love God?

It means that I want to be as much like him as I can in my own character. He is a friend as well as God.

 

[Lori_7]

Do you love God?

Yes...more than anything or anyone.

How does one know whether one loves God?

How do you know whether you love anything or anyone? You feel it...you recognize it. As He loves you first...how can you help yourself? How could you not? God is love.

How is one to love God?

You commune with Him...and in trust, you give yourself to Him more and more.

What does it mean to love God?

It means everything...every single little thing.



Love,

Lori

 

[audible]

i did presume that you where angry. but in fairness your analysis of me was even further from the mark. im not xian (or religious) i would never kill anyone to appease god nor would i take the only chance of life from anyone, as you suggested here.

I 'm sorry then, I made an assumption, which was off the mark. I'll know better another time.
sorry.

 

[fadeaway humper]

Not only do I love God, It turns me on.

*drools*

*swoons*

*drools some more*

What was the question, again?

 

[cole grey]

regarding this -
matthew 11:22 'But I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.'

I think this is a description of people who ignored God because they had never seen or felt any glaring examples of his presence. Tyre and Sidon will be less accountable for their actions because they were not shown Jesus' miracles. It relates to this verse -
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked ( Luke 12:47-48 ).

and what of child abuse very loving indeed,
matthew 15,4: For God commanded, `Honor your father and your mother,' and, `He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.' not someone I 'd follow.

You completely lift this out of context and absolutely misinterpret what Jesus is saying. What he says actually fits perfectly as an attack you could use against religious people giving money to build golden altars, instead of helping their fellow human.

Matthew 15 1:9, a brief synopsis, necessary because you got the exact opposite idea of Jesus from the out of context version -
1-2 The pharisees are hassling Jesus yet again about breaking commandments
3-6 Jesus says the pharisees are transgressing God's commandment to honor father and mother, because they give the money that should go to caring for their parents to the religious organization
7-9 he calls them hypocrites and says v8 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.'

That is exactly my point to you- you project the unloving ideology of some christianity onto Jesus, assuming that is where they got it. That is not where they got it. They get it from being selfishly human.

As to the reference to bringing a sword, it is inevitable that there would be division. However, this does not in any way condone any act of violence perpetrated by churches. And the sword is completely metaphorical when talking about a discussion (like ours), which is the only way this division should be approached, not by violence, obviously. Jesus never condoned the use of an actual sword, as evidenced by this - "Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. ‘Put your sword back in its place,’ Jesus said to him, ‘for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. matthew 26:50-52

 

[Yorda]

Love is a decision.

If love is a decision, then it's not love when a man and a woman "loves" each other.
We never choose to fall in love, it just happens, it's attraction, magnetism...

 

[mis-t-highs]

do you love god

most certainly not, I may as well love charles manson, or geoffery darmer, they killed less.

 

[Lori_7]

Um itopal,

She's only saying that in order to rationalize and justify her denial of Him...it doesn't have to make sense.

Love,

Lori

 

[Lori_7]

Um, you assume denial. . . She doesn't have to deny a myth she might never have affirmed in the first place. . .

A denial of a relationship not a myth...a turning away...cherry picking beliefs in order to justify it as opposed to sincerely seeking truth regardless of what it may be.

As well. . .

A (possible) god in the abstract; does not equal any provincial-parochial tradition or myth (in this instance the murderous Yahweh of the O.T.).

Exactly.

 

[NO1]

yur welcome

 

[mis-t-highs]

Yeah? - But(?) how can you hold a (possible) real-god accountable for a myth (it) probably did not create; whether it be any myth; ANY(!); myths are created by men/women; then attributed to a god.

I agree with you, however you would also be assuming the god, is not a myth, myths are created by men and so are gods.
and yes I do refer to the murderous Yahweh of the O.T, who has also been refered too by jesus as god in the N.T.

lori: I have no belief in a god/gods devil or demons, so therefore cannot deny, that which does not exist, that would be moronic,
I dont live in the realms of fantasy.
if there were a god and I was wrong (which to me is impossible) then all the myths that man had atributed to it, would be true then it would not be worthy of any praise, by all accounts it is an evil creature.

 

[Lori_7]

I agree with you, however you would also be assuming the god, is not a myth, myths are created by men and so are gods.
and yes I do refer to the murderous Yahweh of the O.T, who has also been refered too by jesus as god in the N.T.

lori: I have no belief in a god/gods devil or demons, so therefore cannot deny, that which does not exist, that would be moronic,
I dont live in the realms of fantasy.
if there were a god and I was wrong (which to me is impossible) then all the myths that man had atributed to it, would be true then it would not be worthy of any praise, by all accounts it is an evil creature.

So you're saying that it's impossible that you're wrong? Wow...that's quite a statement. And based upon that statement, I would contest that you may indeed live in the realms of fantasy.

 

[Lori_7]

You do understand - you are the one making assumptions of denial.
No one has to deny; assumptions of belief; if they simply never believed them in the first place.

"Denying a relationship" is no different conceptually. If you don't think one is there - there is nothing to deny.

Yes there is...the possibility of one.

Seek and you shall find...knock and the door will be opened. That's not some trite bs, and it's not magic...it's law...just like gravity and centrifugal force. You seek, you find...you knock, the door definitely opens...been there, done that. You could say that I've conducted my own experiment and the results were conclusive...there is definitely a God, and you can definitely have a relationship with Him. And btw, He is so cool.

So the denial can be in regards to seeking the truth about God...in regards to really wanting proof of His existence, and then learning of His nature through personal experience with Him. Most people don't want this knowledge of Him because they are afraid...it's way too consequential. They are jaded because of their own sinful nature...like an inherent aversion...a birth defect if you will...or because of the lies told by people involved in organized religion. Most people don't want to give up their lives to Him....they don't want the interference...they don't want Him butting in. They are afraid of judgement and condemnation.

And I'm here to tell you all...

THERE IS NO JUDGEMENT AND CONDEMNATION...ONLY LOVE.

And if you knew Him, then you would know that.

But alas, people believe what they want to believe.

Love,

Lori

 

[audible]

So you're saying that it's impossible that you're wrong? Wow...that's quite a statement.

and a true statement

And based upon that statement, I would contest that you may indeed live in the realms of fantasy.

dont be stupid,
how can she be living in the realms of fantasy, shes an atheist.
as I, she has no believe in a sky daddy, only the delusional theist believe in fantasy creatures.

 

[ellion]

Is there an example you can provide perhaps?

babies for one, are the most obvious and transparent expressions of emotion without intellect. surely you have feelings? those feelings are not dependent on intelligence. joy is felt. hate is felt. anger is felt. sadness is felt. love is felt.