Maybe it’s a delusion like Ashley says? But, praying, worshiping God and just those moments gives me a sense of peace and wholeness which I’ve been trying hard all this while to replace but never really found anything yet. It’s like a proper meal for the soul which keeps you full for a longer time then what the world so far offers.

And, when times that are shit, when I can’t give answers to what I should do in such a situation, it’s a hell of a comfort to be able to just let go and pray. If not for that, I’d be in mental points of no return.

You know me Jason, I don’t portray what a ‘Christian’ should be. But if it’s between me and God, I vouch that He’s been time and time again there for me, for my family, for my friends.

In the end, I guess it’s just the Christian’s that proceed to be holier then thou’s that are hurting people all around them.

All in all, it’s a personal account, and not one that wants to be the Truth. Just sharing.

Leon, I get the feeling you’re debating for the sake of debating haha. I dono what side you are on. Would you go back to church one day? Just wondering …

Chea Yee: I’ve seeked before and I do not find. Do I continue until I die ? I don’t see the point.

Pragmatic believers would say that the only way to know if God exists is that the individual has to go seeking for Him. (unless u are one of those Jonah wannabes that God goes after). And i only mean those who do that with an open heart and mind, and ready to put God to a challenge.

Ashley:
Funny how I’m actually simply replying to everything you said. I’m fairly sure I’m within context and on-topic. And I’m actually not Christian, so please stop your frothing for a moment and read before you get all riled up over nothing. I’ve never said once I pray to the Christian God, so don’t assume I do. In fact, you repeating that ‘you said practitioners suck’ phrase is probably more out of context than most things I said, considering the original sentence is to ‘Shun organized religion, but don’t throw out all the teachings simply because the practitioners suck.’

As you were trying to point out, I said in my first reply that Christians view God as a person, instead of an abstract concept. So that very notion of ‘I can’t react with him in the same way I react with a human therefore I cannot have faith in him’ does not fly with them. I even qualified that by saying this wasn’t my own belief, but apparently you didn’t read that.

Your angry generalizations are actually quite hilarious to read, as is your trying to -actually- say that Mother Theresa sucks. I’m fairly sure rational minded people all over the world rejoiced when she died.

Jason:
Aha! But ‘air’ can be measured and observed. Can the same be said for God? I don’t buy into the whole ‘do you feel God in your heart when you do X’ mantra, really. It’s the Mormon way :/. It would make more sense to say ‘I do this because it’s the right thing to do (and/or what God told me to do)’, which isn’t much better, really.

I absolutely agree with you on the blessing bull. God doesn’t give you grace and high scores in university exams because of fervent praying. You’ve got to study. In this regard, I think people use it in a similar way to the concept of ‘luck’. Therefore ‘God blessed me with a parking space’ simply really means ‘Damn, I’m lucky today’. Unless of course you’re one of those nutcases who sees God behind every rock and Satan behind every bush.

To be honest, I think institutions are the best way to ruin religion. It might be more helpful to simply look for the people who are genuine seekers, instead of looking at the entire church and thinking ‘Bleh, this sucks, everyone here is a hypocrite’. It’s worked for me in getting to know a little deeper about Christianity as it affects people as compared to prancing around the Sunday social circuit with people who do nothing but gossip about the latest sex scandals. Also, knowing the house rules for different casinos -does- mathematically change your luck, so try a few more

Chea Yee:
So why do we have this whole thing called Christianity that is fervently trying to prove exactly that?

I still stand by experience as my guide though. And yes, I’ve known good and bad christians, it’s just that the church I used to go to had a big share of judgmental closet minded christians. Like they burn statues of buddha outside the church in front of the neighbours. That , I cannot accept.

[leyon]
Some people argue that we can’t see “air” but it’s there. We can feel it, we can breathe it. That being said, I don’t feel god in my heart when I do something.

I don’t tell myself “god has blessed me today with a parking space”. I tell myself “yes, I’m glad I’m early to find that parking space. I am responsible for my own fate”. Faith in god, is very irresponsible and lazy if you ask me.

What does it say about a certain church, if most of the people I see in it are a bunch of nuts to me ? I’ve been to 2 churches in my life and I see the same thing. Do I go to 2 casinos to see if my luck is better in another ? Hell no.

[ashley]
I didn’t know mother theresa was against condom use. However, I think her other contributions should outweigh that one stance.

And I wouldn’t even put faith in a living being. I would want to grow faith in myself first. Before relying on another, but that’s another topic …

Now, each religion has their greats and hypocrites and pretenders and seekers. Would you then deign to paint Mother Theresa as sucky? Her faith / delusion was a major part of her life and served as the overriding drive to help others. To paint with such broad strokes is unhelpful. Granted there are the Pat Robertsons and Jerry Falwells in the world, but religion is what you make of it.

Why do you care what others act like and use it as the basis of one’s own interpretation of what God should be? Is it not a personal search instead of a ‘look at them, they suck, therefore there is no such thing as God’ finger-pointing exercise?