Family help: I would like to get to know God. - Help.com

look inside.
god is inside.

follow your own path and you will find god.

Honestly I am not a fan of organized religion, as they are run by man and can be corrupt. I personally don’t think you should pay for religion (tithing, passing a plate etc).

Check out various religions on the internet (from reliable sources, religions tend to bash each other). Find things you like about them and go with that. It is not hard to have a belief foundation and pray, while abstaining from church.

Zen Buddhism.
There is no god — except inside you!
http://www.kaikracht.de/zen/english/

Quotes: “For as long as I can think back, I have searched for God … But I did not meet God in the church … God did not appear from the Bible, and neither from the Koran nor from the books of other religions which fell into my hands … I came across Zen … And my search for God has ceased. You might say, I found him: It is me, and you, and the wind, the stone, the sound, the evening star — we all together.”

butterflyblues wrote:
I know out there there must be a God and I want to become in tune with him DPT He can show me how to live and give me strength hopefully.

Ok, an other potential victim of a cult or sect …

Zirbel wrote:
Zen Buddhism.
There is no god — except inside you!
http://www.kaikracht.de/zen/english/

Quotes: “For as long as I can think back, I have searched for God … But I did not meet God in the church … God did not appear from the Bible, and neither from the Koran nor from the books of other religions which fell into my hands … I came across Zen … And my search for God has ceased. You might say, I found him: It is me, and you, and the wind, the stone, the sound, the evening star — we all together.”

i think this is a great place to start looking for god. how about here, butterflyblues?

Here you go http://goddirect.org/

DPT, I’m a Christian and I dance all the time o.O

You may want to check out the religious texts of different religions to get an idea of what they teach. You could also visit religious services in your area(you may have to travel a bit to find places of worship for minority religions in the US unfortunately, but I think it would be worth it) and see what makes sense to you. Think about what each religion you examine teaches and how that matches up with the way the world really is, and that may help you decide which one holds the most truth. You can always talk to religious leaders after a service if there’s anything you didn’t understand or you want more information. They loooove questions.

If you find a religion that seems true to you, most of them have study groups or classes of some sort offered at their place of worship and that is a great way for newcomers to 1. get involved in the community and 2. learn a whole lot and grow closer to God.

If you decide organized religion isn’t for you, spending time in nature can be a great way to get in touch with God, and you can pray to Him/Her yourself however you want to. But I’d encourage you to at least give the organized religions a chance, even if going to services seems like a pain at first. Once you make it a habit, it’s wonderful to have a community to support you on your journey :) Good luck and God bless!

Matthijs wrote:
look inside.
god is inside.

follow your own path and you will find god.

That is incredibly Vague. What if she was a literalist and opennend herself up? What would you do then? o.O

If you truly want to get to know God, first you need to do some research on Religions.
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%…
This site is a very good start; however, do not believe all you read.

Have fun finding your God.

If you want to get to know God then look for him. Like many people said already on the above - you can start with looking inside of you.
While believing in God or in higher power ot in universal conscience iss not necessarily bad - religions are evil.
Do NOT choose religions, look the other way. While they are supposed to unite people and enlighten them they give people enemies and tell people lies.
You don’t need religion to believe in God.

.Eli. wrote:
If you want to get to know God then look for him. Like many people said already on the above - you can start with looking inside of you.
While believing in God or in higher power ot in universal conscience iss not necessarily bad - religions are evil.
Do NOT choose religions, look the other way. While they are supposed to unite people and enlighten them they give people enemies and tell people lies.
You don’t need religion to believe in God.

I totally agree.

Please read my post on http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%…

It’s good if you can find a church that will help you grow spiritually. Alas and alack, they are few and far between.

But if you diligently search, you will find one.

Spiritual journeys are best undertaken in the company of fellow believers who mutually support one another.

butterflyblues wrote:
but you need someone who is experienced to tell you how to contact God. Who better than those who have perfected the art?

Google is better. Just search for “god” on google. Seek and you shall find. =)

crystalvision wrote:
Google is better. Just search for “god” on google. Seek and you shall find. =)

Google IS god.

Anonymous wrote:

crystalvision wrote:
Google is better. Just search for “god” on google. Seek and you shall find. =)

Google IS god.

http://www.thechurchofgoogle.org/Scri…
Courtesy of Puck a while ago ^^

The views of God differ wildly from person to person. A lot of people believe in themselves, so from my perspective putting humans in the place of God. I believe in God, so from their perspective perhaps I put God in the place of where humans should be. And some people claim that each person is God, somehow,
http://www.amazon.com/You-Are-God-Get…
Then there are differences between one God or multiple gods, qualities and traits of God/gods, etc. People have to choose which they think is correct because such contradictory views cannot all be true. Perhaps none of them are.

Personally, I believe in God because believing in flawed humanity hasn’t benefited me in the past. I was of a humanist/atheist mindset for years and I was bothered by my inability to overcome my limitations. That path nearly killed me before I gave up in trusting in myself. So I reviewed my choices. Either believe in myself, despite knowing all of my failures, especially the ones I will never be able to get rid of. Or believe in something greater than myself. So I went with the second choice. Multiple gods never made sense to me, religions that had those personified the gods to be like mortals so it was essentially like humanism. So I limited it to monotheistic religions. And within those, Christianity is the one I consider true. Its message is that humans can have a relationship with God without having to do anything for it, merely trusting and pursuing it. No actions or code of conduct to make up for failures, but a free gift. Because if a religion is based on my own actions, it’s based on me again, and I only care about things better than me. Within Christianity the morality should be (though, unfortunately always isn’t) a result of a relationship with God and the changes it makes in a person’s life rather than a thing someone has to do to get something in return. Motivation from fear is never so great a motivation as from love. And love casts out fear. ^^

So I consider Christianity true and the best way to get closer to God would be to understand the Bible and how it describes getting closer to God.
However, I think people benefit from having knowledge of many things. I think my faith in Christianity would be rather weak if I didn’t understand other religions or atheism or humanism enough to see the differences. Faith in one thing without understanding anything else is not one I’d envy. So I’d suggest that you research quite a few of them. Talking to people also helps with clarifying some of the aspects of them. Things that affect a person’s entire outlook on life can get rather complicated.

That first link was going to be my next post…

Sorry ^^

i agree with eli you don’t need religion to be with god.
i believe in god.
my neighbour believes in allah..
we both know we’re talking about the same thing.
just be true to yourself and you will start to glow.

The truth is, you can’t find God unless God Himself draws you in:

John 6:43 -
Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

You know, there are many many religions out there, and only one is the true way. It is like a thick over grown jungle of religions and different ways to God, etc. But the true religion is like a narrow path in this jungle that leads to life. In other words, the true religion is hidden, and almost impossible to find on your own - you must be guided by God:

Matt 7:13 -
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

So there really is no hope of you finding the right path out of the millions of false ones out there on your own, you have to be guided by God, because God decided to guide you. Maybe your desire to know God now IS God drawing you, as no person comes to God because THEY decided they wanted to. It’s always God’s doing. The rest join the false religions of the world.

With the true God, you have a real relationship with Him. And the longer you are with God, the greater the relationship becomes. I’m not saying that it is always easy, sometimes you may get really mad at God because you are a sinful creature dealing with a thrice Holy God. But God will never ever leave you or forsake you no matter what. You have to go God’s way, not your way. It’s God’s program, not yours.

With the true God, you have eternal life in n extreme paradise. Jesus said, “Rejoice and leap for joy, for your reward is great in heaven”. There is much for you to learn, so start reading the Bible in the book (gospel) of John, which comes right after Luke. Mark is also a good gospel to read first, but John is probably better.

Finding God and knowing God is what life is all about. Without salvation, we are doomed. It’s the meaning of life, to know God who gave it. God loves you very much, and as I always say: “Life is FAR greater than anything we now comprehend. And a day is coming….. win or lose, the stakes are HUGE”.

Below is a link to an excellent site for you to learn more about God. Thousands of messages are available for free. Thousands of hours of Biblical teaching are available to listen to or download, which represents over 30 years of teaching by this pastor. Every verse of the New Testament is covered, so if you have any question of any verse in the Bible you can listen to the explanation of it by one of the worlds best expositors of the Bible. Here is a short summary about the Bible:

The Bible is the treasure of life, and nothing can be compared to it. Those who do not have the light of Jesus Christ do not realize the incredible treasure that sits right under their noses. That is really too bad. All of their lives this incredible treasure of God’s Word sat right in front of them and they never saw it’s great shining light or grasped it’s incredible truths! Concerning the Bible, John MacArthur writes:

This book contains: the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers.
It’s doctrine is holy, it’s percepts are binding, it’s histories are true, and it’s decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be saved, and practice it to be holy.
It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the travelers map, the pilgrims staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character. Here heaven is open and the gates of hell are disclosed.
Christ is the grand subject, our good it’s design, and the glory of God it’s end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet.
Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, health to the soul, and a river of pleasure. It is given to you here in this life, will be opened at the judgment, and is established forever.
It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and condemn all who trifle with it’s contents.

1 Thess 2:13 - For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

Here is the link:
http://www.gty.org/

ReeDeeDee! wrote:
The truth is, you can’t find God unless God Himself draws you in:

John 6:43 -
Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

You know, there are many many religions out there, and only one is the true way. It is like a thick over grown jungle of religions and different ways to God, etc. But the true religion is like a narrow path in this jungle that leads to life. In other words, the true religion is hidden, and almost impossible to find on your own - you must be guided by God:

Matt 7:13 -
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

So there really is no hope of you finding the right path out of the millions of false ones out there on your own, you have to be guided by God, because God decided to guide you. Maybe your desire to know God now IS God drawing you, as no person comes to God because THEY decided they wanted to. It’s always God’s doing. The rest join the false religions of the world.

With the true God, you have a real relationship with Him. And the longer you are with God, the greater the relationship becomes. I’m not saying that it is always easy, sometimes you may get really mad at God because you are a sinful creature dealing with a thrice Holy God. But God will never ever leave you or forsake you no matter what. You have to go God’s way, not your way. It’s God’s program, not yours.

With the true God, you have eternal life in n extreme paradise. Jesus said, “Rejoice and leap for joy, for your reward is great in heaven”. There is much for you to learn, so start reading the Bible in the book (gospel) of John, which comes right after Luke. Mark is also a good gospel to read first, but John is probably better.

Finding God and knowing God is what life is all about. Without salvation, we are doomed. It’s the meaning of life, to know God who gave it. God loves you very much, and as I always say: “Life is FAR greater than anything we now comprehend. And a day is coming….. win or lose, the stakes are HUGE”.

Below is a link to an excellent site for you to learn more about God. Thousands of messages are available for free. Thousands of hours of Biblical teaching are available to listen to or download, which represents over 30 years of teaching by this pastor. Every verse of the New Testament is covered, so if you have any question of any verse in the Bible you can listen to the explanation of it by one of the worlds best expositors of the Bible. Here is a short summary about the Bible:

The Bible is the treasure of life, and nothing can be compared to it. Those who do not have the light of Jesus Christ do not realize the incredible treasure that sits right under their noses. That is really too bad. All of their lives this incredible treasure of God’s Word sat right in front of them and they never saw it’s great shining light or grasped it’s incredible truths! Concerning the Bible, John MacArthur writes:

This book contains: the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers.
It’s doctrine is holy, it’s percepts are binding, it’s histories are true, and it’s decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be saved, and practice it to be holy.
It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the travelers map, the pilgrims staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character. Here heaven is open and the gates of hell are disclosed.
Christ is the grand subject, our good it’s design, and the glory of God it’s end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet.
Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, health to the soul, and a river of pleasure. It is given to you here in this life, will be opened at the judgment, and is established forever.
It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and condemn all who trifle with it’s contents.

1 Thess 2:13 - For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

Here is the link:
http://www.gty.org/

Have you no thought of your own?
Must you quote from a book?

My advice - put it out to the universe that you are searching - and then be open when something comes your way. It is not the destination but the journey and I believe that all gods are the same god and all worship is true worship. However, if you are in a place of weakness and are looking for something to guide you and give you strength - be careful, God is found within…not without! You already have the strength and wisdom…you just need to reconnect with it!

I’m a Christian and I dance too. Dancing is a wonderful form of self experssion. Anyone watch ‘So you think you can dance?’ Those kids have put me to tears with the way they can punctuate the air with their silent voice through the expression of their body movements.

But anyway… if you are looking for a non religious point of view. I have a free ebook on my site. www.shannongilmour.com click on free ebooks and the book that I recommend for you is ‘bible basics’ this may help you get you started.
Take good care.

I’m here to help- anytime!
~Shannon

searching in him maybe he could in some site

maybe he date

DPT wrote:
I just wanted to point out in another post you said you wanted to dance, if and when you meet this (christian) god-thing you will not be aloud to dance, ever again. FYI…

I just want to point out that sometimes people talk a pile of nonsense and make up stuff that’s untrue simply because they personally don’t “like” something.

awal139 wrote:
Please have a look into this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UYjyq…
Large number of Americans becoming Muslims

Large number of Americans also becoming atheists as well.

Please have a look at the videos by this group. http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAtheis…

I just want to point out that atheism isn’t usually considered a religion to find God in.

crystalvision wrote:
I just want to point out that atheism isn’t usually considered a religion to find God in.

Thanks, that is true. I forgot about the main post. I just wanted to dispute with everyone who thinks that they know the one true answer with my belief.

I’d suggest reading up on some of the major faiths and first deciding which you feel a connection with if you haven’t done so already.

There are many to explore. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Paganism…

I’m not sure what you mean by “God” specifically. Many faiths use the term God you see.

awal139 wrote:
crystalvision thanks for your reply :), I thinks the group you mentioned haven’t ever heard about islam, whatever number comes in your mind cant be compared with the number of nation converting to the holy religion islam

Show us non-biased statistics please. Also, “my group” and I have most definitely heard about Islam.

Before we get into a religion debate, and even though I do not agree with religion, I beleive this answer best answers the post:

mumstheword wrote:
I’d suggest reading up on some of the major faiths and first deciding which you feel a connection with if you haven’t done so already.

There are many to explore. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Paganism…

I’m not sure what you mean by “God” specifically. Many faiths use the term God you see.

:)

This site is a good starting point for a basic outline of some of the more prominent religions and faiths:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/

If you’re looking for more specific guidance on one faith in particular, I’m sure that others here who share that faith will be more than happy to support you.

God is helpfulness. :)

Just follow the ten commandments and pray every night. Thank God for your health and food and all of your blessings. Do good things and good things will come your way.

butterflyblues wrote:
I know out there there must be a God and I want to become in tune with him DPT He can show me how to live and give me strength hopefully.

best bet is to read some info about different religions and see which speaks to you. but if ur looking for answers how to live your life and gain strength maybe you should be looking inside ur self and try to find it there first.

I agree with the replies that say look with in yourself to find God or the Higher Power. You do not need to follow any certain religion.

I know I myself had always felt the higher power connection, but did not know how to connect with it, I think that is where spiritual teachings can help you.

I go to a Unity Churh. They are New Thought Christian which is based on The Bible and the teaching of Jesus. But we have a lesson based on Buddhist teachings, or We will learn about Jewish beliefs or Muslum. But they do not tell you what to believe, they help you learn the tools to finding your own spiritual path. Here is a link to that tells about it. http://unity.org/aboutunity/index.html

We believe there are many paths to God and not one is better then the other. It is just finding the one that is right for you.

What my husband and I did, is just each weeek, we went to different churchs and listen to what they were saying and see if fit with what we already believed. That is how we found Unity.

You are already on your path, you will find what works for you.

Look around your community. Churches are literally everywhere. You can go explore and see which religion works best for you. I’m not religious so this is the best advice I can give sorry.

www.amazingdiscoveries.tv

lol so simple question ^_^

I m not priest, so I cant give the spiritual speech… but let me tell you what I feel… Whenever I feel I need to talk to god… I talk to my mind, It feels like he is always listening to me… its not just the sad moments… which remind me of god but everytime I feel I need to talk to god… I do so…
It feels good… you can talk anything you want to… without any fear… you will slowly realize all your problems are gone or you will have a courage to face them… good luck… take care :)

“Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” — Jesus.

Hey there Butterfly Blues. Praying is talking to God. I feel praying helped me become closer to God. Through my prayers I was shown God was always with me because of the prayers that were answered. Continue to pray so that you may have a relationship with God. I say reading the Bible really helped me too. It was hard to understand at first, but I asked God for knowledge and wisdom and boom I understood it. I continue to just try to obey God and take heart of his Word(which is the Bible) and it seems God has sent me his Son to save me from my sins and help me obey. He also put his spirit in me so that I am always with Him. God gives graciously. I love God. I just wanted to tell you the truth. Continue to ask for guidance and learn the truth.

Oh, and butterflyblues, just so you know, just to give you the heads up, there is a BIG battle going on between the truth and the lie. There is the light (truth) and there is darkness (the lie) and the darkness tries to cover up the light and is seriously opposed to the light:

Eph 6:10 -
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Just be aware of the constant battle between the truth and the lie when it comes to God. That is why there is one truth and a million different false religions.

And just an added note: Christianity is different than all the other religions of the world. All the other religions in the world have this one thing in common - what one must do to find God, or what one must do to get to God. But Christianity is just the opposite, for it is God who comes to find man! Jesus Christ was God in human form who came down to the earth, for the very purpose to seek and save that which was lost. Like I said, your desire to find God is God drawing you, and not really your idea at all.

So Christianity is God seeking man, and all of the other religions is man seeking God (which is vanity).

Just go about your day normally but do it as best you can doing the right thing when you can. If god is who people describes then all he cares for is that you do your best. When you pray, if you pray, you don’t have to be all serious like most people get, just talk to god like you would any other person, he likes that, feeling you can talk to him like you can do your hommies. Anyway just do right, give the occasional thanks to god, that’s about it not that complicated.

butterflyblues wrote:
I know out there there must be a God and I want to become in tune with him DPT He can show me how to live and give me strength hopefully.

This is a very admerable thing to do.You will benifit greatly by doing this.

This prayer will help:

A Prayer for the New Age

I am the creator of the universe.
I am the father and mother of the universe.
Everything comes from me.
Everything shall return to me.
Mind, spirit and body are my temples,
for the self to realize in them
My supreme being and becoming.

A Prayer for the New Age, given by Maitreya the Christ, is a great mantram or affirmation with an invocative effect. Using this prayer will enable one to recognize that man and God are one, that there is no separation. The ‘I’ is the Divine Principle behind all creation. The Self emanates from, and is identical to, the Divine Principle.

The most effective way to use this mantram is to say or think the words with focused will, the attention at the ajna center between the eyebrows. When the mind grasps the meaning of the concept and, simultaneously, the will is brought to bear, then those concepts will be activated and the mantram will work. If it is said seriously every day, there will grown inside you a realization of your true Self.

Related to the Buddhist suggestion way above, here is a very interesting event with the Dalai Lama, mentioned in a different post: http://help.com/post/494181-dalai-lam…

These types of spiritual things are definitely related to “God” even if that is not one of their direct concerns.

Arguing if God is real or not is like arguing is Santa Claus is real or not.

DPT wrote:
If the gods where real we would not need Help.com, hmmmmmmmmmmm

Maybe he built it and dosen’t want anyone to know, oooooooooooooooooo :O

crystalvision wrote:
Arguing if God is real or not is like arguing is Santa Claus is real or not.

I just wish I knew what the right answer is.

Space Weaver wrote:

crystalvision wrote:
Arguing if God is real or not is like arguing is Santa Claus is real or not.

I just wish I knew what the right answer is.

Your wish is granted. :)

n wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

crystalvision wrote:
Google is better. Just search for “god” on google. Seek and you shall find. =)

Google IS god.

i hope that was a joke o.O

Our Google which art in cyberspace,
Hallowed be thy domain.
Thy search to come,
Thy results be done,
On my computer as it is in the WWW.
Give us this search our daily results.
Forgive us our spam, as those that have
spammed up against us.
And lead us not into infected sites,
But deliver us from Trojans.
For thine search engine is the greatest,
and the power,
and the glory,
For search after search.
Amen

By dwerbil

Look around..God is all around us:)

He will protect you and take care..when you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel..

Princess K wrote:
Look around..God is all around us:)

He will protect you and take care..when you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel..

Why doesn’t God set straight pedophile christian priests then? And why doesn’t he protects kids from being molested by those pedopriests?
God will not interfere with your life no matter what would happen. You only got yourself to count on.

I got his Phone Number….06196103 if this is engaged 06187103
30169160 30178160
36365263 36365263
From the Book Phone numbers to Heaven

Barbyman, have you got a phone number of Satan? Gimme :3

696969696969696969696969669696969696969696969696969696969696969696969last Numbers 13

u dont need to follow a religion to connect or to believe in god just go aheaad and believe in god & if u wanna see him go to a church or whatever place u have near ur house.

My Friend My Trust wrote:
I m not priest, so I cant give the spiritual speech… but let me tell you what I feel… Whenever I feel I need to talk to god… I talk to my mind, It feels like he is always listening to me… its not just the sad moments… which remind me of god but everytime I feel I need to talk to god… I do so…
It feels good… you can talk anything you want to… without any fear… you will slowly realize all your problems are gone or you will have a courage to face them… good luck… take care :)

Your reply made me think of this song:

Our Thoughts Are Prayers
Words and Music by Lucille K. Olson

Our thoughts are prayers, and we are always praying.
Our thoughts are prayers; listen to what you’re saying.
Seek a higher consciousness, a state of peacefulness,
And know that God is always there,
And every thought becomes a prayer.

Our thoughts are prayers, the tools that we create with.
Our thoughts are prayers that Spirit resonates with.
Seek a higher consciousness, a state of mindfulness,
And know that God is always there,
And every thought becomes a prayer.

babacup wrote:

My Friend My Trust wrote:
I m not priest, so I cant give the spiritual speech… but let me tell you what I feel… Whenever I feel I need to talk to god… I talk to my mind, It feels like he is always listening to me… its not just the sad moments… which remind me of god but everytime I feel I need to talk to god… I do so…
It feels good… you can talk anything you want to… without any fear… you will slowly realize all your problems are gone or you will have a courage to face them… good luck… take care :)

Your reply made me think of this song:

Our Thoughts Are Prayers
Words and Music by Lucille K. Olson

Our thoughts are prayers, and we are always praying.
Our thoughts are prayers; listen to what you’re saying.
Seek a higher consciousness, a state of peacefulness,
And know that God is always there,
And every thought becomes a prayer.

Our thoughts are prayers, the tools that we create with.
Our thoughts are prayers that Spirit resonates with.
Seek a higher consciousness, a state of mindfulness,
And know that God is always there,
And every thought becomes a prayer.

Thanks mate… :) for sharing such a wonderful song.

your welcome

try to get to know Islam .it’s beautiful and peaceful :)

i’d also like to ask god why innocent people are suffering everyday, why disease is killing thousands each and every day, and why natural disaster still occur and destroy lives

It’s probably best that you make a separate post to question the existence of God(s) rather than use this poster’s space.

DPT wrote:

crystalvision wrote:
Arguing if God is real or not is like arguing is Santa Claus is real or not.

You mean santa/satan is real?

No, I mean when I was five or six years old we had a neighbor kid who tried to argue that Santa is real and comes down chimneys to give presents, that he saw it with his own eyes or something. Me and my brothers made fun of this until we realized he believed what he was saying. After that there’s no real point. And that’s what arguments about the reality of God remind me of. :)

Santa never came down the chimney with presents, but God has given me more gifts than I can count. I wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for God. So I think comparing God to Santa is a little far fetched in comparing One to the other. If you don’t search for God then why do you even try to offer advice to someone who is trying to?

God, I would like to introduce you to butterfly blues. Butterfly blues, God. Feel free to speak amongst yourselves……..

CallingAllAngels wrote:
If you don’t search for God then why do you even try to offer advice to someone who is trying to?

Searching for God is much different than arguing about the existence of God. It’s like on posts where people are arguing theology and philosophy and you point out that the God you understand can only be known through faith and revelation.

But people do get presents at Christmas, if you have some point about that I’m not getting.

What I meant by my question is that the person who comes to this post and says things like there’s no God or says anything that tries to deter the poster from searching for God. It is likely they are doing it for their own benefit and not the posters. The poster wants to know God personally. If whoever I’m talking about hasn’t searched for God whole-hearted and that includes not giving up on God because God would never give up on you then really why are they saying anything to the girl? Nothing they say will be of any help to the girl and it is called help.com. That’s all I’m saying. Not trying to take away anyones freedom of speech, just calling them out for being unhelpful.

Butterfly Blues
Dont be lonely
Butterfly Blues
Dont be shy
Butterfly Blues
Dont listen to Preachers
Its all a Lie
Dr Ralph you my kind of Man

I know I need better patience. I know that is important so that I have a good relationship with God. Sometime I tell myself to stick up for what I know, but in the end I guess that really means nothing if I didn’t show love while doing. It seems as though it’s not an easy journey, but I know eventually I will have more patience. I say what I say because I’m trying to defend God which is a personal reason too. I’m sorry for being rude or preaching. I do it with the best of intent only because I want others to experience the greatness of the Lord. I am still a work in progress and I’m a human who will always make mistakes. I’m learning to be more patient and kind. Sorry for rubbing others the wrong way.

.Eli. wrote:

Princess K wrote:
Look around..God is all around us:)

He will protect you and take care..when you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel..

Why doesn’t God set straight pedophile christian priests then? And why doesn’t he protects kids from being molested by those pedopriests?
God will not interfere with your life no matter what would happen. You only got yourself to count on.

Hmm yeah agreed, I also believe whatever you do, is a result from your self made choices and actions.. but the belief in God gives you that extra umpf.. and increases ur boost.. making you to strive to whatever you do:)

And your help for the poster is what precisely DPT?

You’re hijacking the post to ram your personal beliefs down other people’s throats - again. You are perfectly entitled to your opinion, but, as has been repeatedly suggested… if you want to argue the rights and wrongs of a set of beliefs, you need to do in on another post.

This one is about HOW to reach God.

Are you having difficulty understanding the topic?

Better listen to the advice instead of slamming it all the time then..

DPT wrote:
So Caliingallangles is calling out the Athiests.

First of all christians have stuck their three cents in other posts and some posts even called for non christian point of views only but.

I have some questions for Caliingallangles.
How do you know that I am not ex-christian?
How do you know that I did not finish the man-made christian bible?
What was the real resason Lilith devorced?
Where is the book of Enoc?
Why would this god make such a shaby unstable planet and then want us to trust him by saying heaven is safe? What is/was the purpose of the mosquito?

Which of the following christs will she follow, the anabaptist, mennonite, Hutte, baptisit, uniterion, restoration, pentcostly, methodist, anglican, calvinist, presbyterian, luthrine, protestant then there is chathlics. Which door will she pick? Which tire will she kick? Who here even asked her which branch she wants to join or what she is even looking for? Each sect has its own veiws, laws and codes, the very reasons for them to leave the fold to begin with. Which of the 14 christian christs will she pick? She might even choose another god/religion all together.

For the poster: please do not be alarmed by the bantering back and forth between the fool and foolish. This will be happening to the end of time, same with veifacation of this very subject. It is of this humble postees opinion that if there was a god then there would be no need for this site to exist at all and I do mean at all.

With Love I say: God will find you if you want to be found. You do choice your destiny and if your heart will allow God to work in your life you too could hear the truth. I don’t know what you believe. You are an ex-christian, huh? I have always wanted to know God I was saved when I was about 14. I didn’t know what this meant and to tell you the truth I wasn’t passionate about God like I should be. My life wasn’t spent countless hours wanting to please and obey God. I never really had a heart and mind that was ready for the Lord. Even today I still lack a lot to being perfect. I can say in that day I believed that the Son of God, Jesus Christ did die on the cross for my sins and so I may be forgiven. In that day I was a child and very innocent and pure. I also thought that I could live sin free on my own…lol. But, anyhow I’m older now and you know I was shown that my way of thinking then was bizarre. I realize now I need Jesus to forgive me for my sins, to help me overcome and conquer them. I know I’m writing a book, but I just want to let you know that I feel in my heart that God will guide everyone, but God wants you to choice to follow Him. Just because I may not know some of your profounding life questions does not mean I’m not a Christian. It just means that I’m still on this journey called life, It means that the Lord is still working on me. I honestly do not want to know everything because I like when I learn through God. He has a way of opening your eyes, mind, and heart to something that makes you know you will never lose or forget it. It even makes me feel closer to God to learn from Him and not someone else. Anyhow I truly wanted to know God since way before I can remember, but in my journey I tried my hardest not to put down God when things got tough. There were times when I just felt I was on the verge of giving up all together. But going through those times have helped because it made me all more aware of God and His timing and how I can always know that God will eventually bring me to understanding or give me a shoulder to mourn. I don’t know what kind of person you are. I do know God knows you better than you know yourself. I do know that you are the only one that will have to answer for yourself not me, not your parents. I say to thine self be true.

For someone who despises it all so much.. you sure spend a lot of time on religious posts DPT.

Seems to me that you don’t have any real interest in finding God at all. You just love to railroad the religious posts.

So you see butteryflyblues, there is a huge tangled mess when it comes to finding the path to God. There is little chance that you can simply find God (the REAL God) on your own by just asking about. There is a huge battle going on to cloud the way to God, and unless God directs you and guides you, you don’t have much hope, and you will just end up in one of the zillions of false religious systems. That is why Jesus said:

Matt 7:13 -
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Of course, those who do find it are the ones that are guided by God and who are in His care. Therefore, pray to God and ask Him to guide you and make you successful in your quest for Him. Don’t think that you can do it on your own - you can’t. Ask God to show you the way to Him. That just makes sense anyway, doesn’t it?

Also, one added note: The generation that you are living in, your generation, is a very unique one. And that’s because it is highly likely that the return of Christ in power, and the end of this age as we know it now, will happen within your lifetime. Jesus spoke of a time of great trouble:

Matt 24:21 -
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

See, things will get so bad that no flesh would survive, but Christ will cut those times short by His second coming. A lot of it has to do with Israel and the Middle East. It’s all prophesied in the Bible, and all of the signs are indicating your generation will be the one to experience these climatic events like never before in all of history. Maybe I will live to see it, or maybe not. but I’m sure you will, so don’t expect just a normal life were you live happily until old age and then die like in previous generations. Yours is different, it will be the end of this age, and a new age will start where Christ will rule as King.

Yeah it’s really confusing. I was so confused I didn’t even bother getting to know any religion. I just asked God to show me the truth. If there’s an ultimate being don’t you think that He would be watching over you protecting you? So He’s always with you. You can ask him to show you. There’s going to be a lot of things that try to make you stumble, but continue to do the right thing and listen to the part of you that tells you the right thing to do. Stay good. Respect God, yourself, and others. But remember what Ralph said God is only a prayer away. The Bible has always helped me learn something new. I read children’s bible bedtime stories to get me acquainted with the different stories in The Bible and then I read from a teen study Bible. It helps a lot.

www.rssb.org

DPT wrote:

mumstheword wrote:
For someone who despises it all so much.. you sure spend a lot of time on religious posts DPT.

Seems to me that you don’t have any real interest in finding God at all. You just love to railroad the religious posts.

For someone who despises it all so much..?? A what point did I say this?? You are putting words in my mouth, pretty much the same way you put words into someones mouth 2000+ years ago. I do have a real interest in finding ” the real ” God yes,for I have some words for it. Not this proven stolen emalgamated hybrid. As for me rail roading the religous posts, if you mean I am keeping the train on the track, thank you but I can’t take all the credit.

Just don’t offer your god only, there are others to choose from you know.

erm.. I wasn’t around 2000 years ago?

And it looks like you didn’t read my reply about investigating a wide variety of faiths?

Do you have any idea who “my” God is? Or if I even have one?

To clarify: I always make an effort to read previous posts and replies to get a picture of how people think, the kind of help they give, the kind of help they might need.. that sort of thing. It is my impression that you resent a heck of a lot about religion. It appears that your personal life experiences have not only shaped your thoughts very profoundly, but actually push you to antagonise and attack anyone who thinks differently to you about God as a result. Perhaps I’m wrong in that? But that’s my impression.

I’ll let others read and formulate their own opinions.

There are lots of suggestions here on how to find God. As is commonly stated here on help.com.. if you don’t LIKE a suggestion, you don’t have to follow it. Your constant “questioning” of everything anyone suggests as a possibility is not helpful to the poster. Why not shout the individuals concerned if you want to question them rather than use someone else’s post?

The fact that you refuse to allow others to offer THEIR suggestions without persistent challenge and negativity tells me you are more interested in your OWN needs than those of the poster. Hence, better to make your own post.

Please don’t keep arguing with everyone who happens to say something you personally disapprove of. Use your own space to challenge general ideas?

I’ve had posts where I accidentally mentioned “God” in the title and ended up with many replies that seemed like the people were arguing with each other about something, and anonymous comments with dramatic-seeming quotes from the bible and others quoting from “Religious Tolerance” sites. At that point in time I decided that choosing to use such a controversial word as “God” or one of the related ones is opening oneself up to an endless stream of seemingly random comments and arguments. This may not always be true, but it regularly occurs on this site.

Yes crystal.. some folks just can’t let go of their own issues to either ignore a post or focus on answering the OP in a positive and helpful way it seems.

Everyone can be helpful. :) And the way to know God is to always be helpful, so there’s one good motivation for it.

so many things wrong with this question. First of all THINK FOR YOUR SELF. religion is all about personal beliefs. you shouldn’t even be asking others. not all religions believe in “god”

One of my favorite ways to verify a person’s claim that they know the truth is to see how much they enjoy their life. Truth does not lead to resentment, bitterness, etc. But peace, joy, so on. At least, in my somewhat limited experience with truth ^^
I’ve found statements backed by very happy people to be more compelling than those backed by bitter people.

So basically, if truth does not bring good things, why pursue it? Yet, so far it has for me, so I pursue it. Though I’d personally prefer harsh reality over beautiful illusions any day, I’ve never found truth to be too ugly.

religion is not god… God is truth… religion is man’s form of truth. The question is may I quote ” I would like to know God”

This is a question that I am often asked. How can one know God? Simple, go to the source and ASK HIM. You are more than welcome to talk to Him, speak to Him from your heart and you may discover an answer that you never considered.

I can’t convince you God is real. I can’t convince that He isn’t. I know He’s real because I do talk to Him, He listens and answers. I have read His truth in scripture, I have things happen in my life to let me know He exists.

I’ve had visions, dreams, encounters with both good and evil, and I can tell you that what you are looking for, you will find… but not by man’s interpretations or assumptions. You have to discover for yourself, we can only plant seeds or point the way. The direction, the perfect direction in where you will find God is in His word. What is His word, the bible… the english version translations that come from the Hebrew language.

You have nothing to loose and everything to gain by just talking and asking God Himself. Find a quiet moment, a quiet space and whisper if you want, but speak from your heart, ask God to reveal Himself to you- He will, not in any way you think or expect, since God is invisible because He is spirit. The bible talks about God who came down from heaven and took on flesh. This was for the greater good of mankind. It is through the blessings of His Son that we know God is real, and Know Him personally. If we have seen the Son, we have seen the Father. Jesus is the PHYSICAL representation of the invisible God. If you want to know God… Jesus is the one to learn from. Allow Him to teach you and you will know God. How you allow Jesus to teach you is through the voice of His word which again… is the bible.

Let God be true and every man a liar.

We have so many perseptions and misunderstandings of who God is and who He is supposed to be. God is consistent because He is good, in His goodness He cannot change.

When you begin to talk with God your understanding will change, your perception will change, you will change. God works on the inside of who we are. Some people want to know God so that their lives will become ‘better’ less stressful, more money… but God pinpoints the area in your heart that is reserved for Him and enables that to grow. When that grows… wisdom comes… To fear God ( Reverence) is the begining of wisdom. This wisdom enables you to help you make decisions in your life that add benefit not hindrance. This wisdom enables you to be patient and see things as they are, not as what you would like them to be and accept the things you cannot change. God brings good gifts to you in the way of His promises, and many do not know that eventhough they do not believe, they too are under God’s ultimate promise of love. We are all under the grace of God through Jesus Christ and no one is counted out of attaining the gift of salvation. ( Living forever united to God in heaven) But this has to come by way of choice. We choose to believe. If you don’t want to believe that is your choice to bare. I ask you are you really making an informed decision by chosing to live without God? How can you decide when you have not taken the time to know God in the way of what His word says? To choose without discovering who He is…. then deciding that He isn’t for you… well that’s just denial by choice, forming an opinion based on what other people say… but that choice is not based on fact.

Many Christians base their faith do the same thing, where they accept one man’s teaching or idea of who God is, without realizing things that have been kept hidden. We hear God is good all the time, God doesn’t want you to live in lack, and we are led to believe that our faith is a gimme gimme kind of faith or a feel good kinda faith and we neglect to go to the source and ask. ” Did you say this God, or did you mean this?” We accept God for who we want Him to be, not as He is. I invite you to take Him as He is… How He is, IS BETTER than any one of us can ever say or fathom. Be blessed!

Awesome! This is such a wonderful place to start!

A relationship with God develops over time. Just as we develop our friendships with others. We get to know one another. God already knows you inside and out, so you have to get to know who He is.

When others ask me about God for the first time, I try to help develop their relationship with God our Father first, then bring Jesus His Son into it. We can’t know why Jesus was sent until we know who our God truly is.

I used to focus on Jesus, and sometimes I still do. I call out to Jesus for help, because He is our intercessor. He goes to God on our behalf, but that doesn’t mean we pray to Jesus exclusively. Acknowledging God our Father is the right thing to do, but there is nothing wrong in focusing in on Christ from time to time, but if you aren’t certain as to who Jesus is, until you get to know WHO He is, by reading scripture then just stick to what you know and are comfortable with.

Just as our relationships with our friends and family need constant care and attention, so to our relationship with God. THis is how you gain the personal relationship that you see others have. There is dedication in faith and we take time to read our bibles, learn from His truth and take out time in our day and set it aside to study, and pray. Sometimes I go for walks here out in the country and I take God with me, by just talking to Him in the open air. I don’t have to feel Him as I normally don’t, but my faith lets me know I know He’s near because He is closed in my heart.

God will become as close to you as you want Him to be. He’s as close as His very name!

HUGS! If you need help, I’m ALWAYS here!!!

butterflyblues wrote:
I’d like to try the Christian faith, but the only trouble I have is to accept Jesus as being God. Can a man really be God visiting us in manly form.

Well this will make or break the deal, for Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to God, that is, the atoning work of Christ on the cross is the only way to have a relationship with your Creator. If you are really being guided by God, then what Jesus said here will apply to you:

John 6:44 -
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

God is a perfect being, and if He is going to just forgive us for our sins then He would be perverting justice. God loves justice, it is right and just and God will not pervert it. Therefore, if God is going to forgive us, something has to be done to satisfy the right and proper demands of justice. So God took on human form and came to earth, and He suffered greatly both physically (His face beaten so bad you couldn’t tell if He was a man or woman) and spiritually (on the cross He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”).

The nature of God is hard for us to fully grasp. But God is ONE being expressed in three persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Kind of like how water can be solid, liquid and gas. But it’s all the same water. However, even this does not do justice to the nature of God. And Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man at the same time. But He was born of a virgin, so He didn’t inherit the same sin nature as the rest of us. Jesus was holy and pure, and all of the Old Testament animal sacrifices for sin, as practiced by the Jews, were symbolic of Jesus Christ, the perfect lamb of God, who was to come and be sacrificed for the payment of sin to satisfy the justice of God.

Because our first parents sinned, we all became sinners by our nature. So by one man sin came into the world for everybody and made everybody corrupt. And by the same token, one Man has taken away the sin for all those who will come to the cross and receive it. God had to become a man to pay the price for man’s sin.

And just so you know, Christianity and Islam are directly opposite on this matter of the way to God. Christianity says that Christ is the only way to God, while Islam says that the one unforgivable sin is to have “partners” (Christ) with Allah. So the very thing that saves in Christianity is the very thing that is unforgivable in Islam.

John 14:6 -
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.

butterflyblues wrote:
What interests me about the Christian faith is many of you talk as if you know God personally. I want a personal relationship. I’d like to try the Christian faith, but the only trouble I have is to accept Jesus as being God. Can a man really be God visiting us in manly form. That is extraordinary. If I close my eyes and focus on God, do I focus on Jesus too?

Here’s a forum that might help you think about or understand those things:
http://www.talkjesus.com/

You’re welcome.

I will keep you in my prayers butterflyblues. Our time in this world is really a short time, and many young soldiers, just a few years older than you, have already left this world. To know God is to have found life eternal, and this is what life is all about. With God you have everything, and without Him you have nothing. I will leave you will a few random scriptures, a poem, and two Christian songs on YouTube.

1 Peter 5:5 -
Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Phil 4:4 -
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Also, know that God controls every little thing in this world. As Jesus said:

Matt 10:29 -
Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

God Moves In A Mysterious Way - (a popular poem by William Cowper)

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs,
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMnMN0…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOnyz_…

You’re welcome. Hope you are successful in your search :o)

you are so very welcome~ God bless you on your journey, every step of the way. Always here for you…. HUGS!

mumstheword wrote:
You’re welcome. Hope you are successful in your search :o)

I concur ^^

DPT wrote:
Hope?

Da koneshno, i ti?

butterflyblues wrote:
Yes I must admit it is confusing to find God when you listen to everyone’s opinions, because everyone has something different to offer.

But I am reading up on different religions.

excellent.
Good on you.Blessing to you.

butterflyblues wrote:
I have joined a church and I’ve bought a bible,”The Message” which I am reading. I’ll accept that gospels are true and that Jesus is who Christians say he is. It brings me peace to focus on God in my quiet time. To appeal to him, but also to “hear” what he has to say. I don’t hear words, but I feel a spiritual presence. In church when we prayed as a group I did have this strange sensation He was present.

Thank you very much for your help. I have prayed to God to show me which is the best way to him and I feel it in myself that Christianity is a strong way to God.

the teachings of the master Jesus are right on the money.
But Church dogma needs to be questioned as Jesus did in his time
2000 years ago.

DPT wrote:
Hope?

it’s a cheery wish DPT. “I hope..” Really not anything you need to challenge. If you want to nonetheless, feel free to shout me.

“Hope”, I get it, ‘want nothing but the best for u!’ I want that for you too!!!! HUGS!

I hope that people will stop using pictures of porn stars as avatars on this site.

why dont you start with islam becase it is the worlds fastest growing religion. plus the quraan is the only book which goes in to detail about god. for example the bible does not even have a name for god, god is a dictionary name for a diety and not the actual name of our creator. plus muslims believe in all the previous prophets such as Jesus, abraham, adam peace be upon them all. hope that helps,

butterflyblues wrote:
What interests me about the Christian faith is many of you talk as if you know God personally. I want a personal relationship. I’d like to try the Christian faith, but the only trouble I have is to accept Jesus as being God. Can a man really be God visiting us in manly form. That is extraordinary. If I close my eyes and focus on God, do I focus on Jesus too?

This is one of those missleading statements.Jesus is not God.
He is God in the same way you are God.All things are God.
But Jesus is just like us a human being and you will have the same talents
he has eventually.Jesus said that.”Greater things shall you do”.

zak328 wrote:
why dont you start with islam becase it is the worlds fastest growing religion. plus the quraan is the only book which goes in to detail about god. for example the bible does not even have a name for god, god is a dictionary name for a diety and not the actual name of our creator. plus muslims believe in all the previous prophets such as Jesus, abraham, adam peace be upon them all. hope that helps,

Don’t know where you got that . . . I have PERSONALLY seen the word for God in the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was written in red, and still visible after 2,000 years.

And, of course you know that Christians do not consider Jesus to have been a mere prophet, but the Son of God.

The only begotten son of God was not “Jesus” it was “Creation”

chev.jame wrote:

zak328 wrote:
why dont you start with islam becase it is the worlds fastest growing religion. plus the quraan is the only book which goes in to detail about god. for example the bible does not even have a name for god, god is a dictionary name for a diety and not the actual name of our creator. plus muslims believe in all the previous prophets such as Jesus, abraham, adam peace be upon them all. hope that helps,

Don’t know where you got that . . . I have PERSONALLY seen the word for God in the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was written in red, and still visible after 2,000 years.

And, of course you know that Christians do not consider Jesus to have been a mere prophet, but the Son of God.

the dead sea scrolls is not the bible. where in the bible is there gods name? plus god is unable to do things which makes him have a flaw, for example god is unable to become sick, or helpless because he is al quddus (the one who has no faults) so therefore he is unable to become a human because humans have weaknesses. have you not read when jesus peace be upon him came to the fig tree to get the figs but saw there were no figs on it cos it was not the season of figs. so jesus peace be upon him is not the son of god.

Well, you’re wrong about the Dead Sea Scrolls–as they contained the books of the Old Testament, among others. So you missed the point that the Bible used by Christians today has the SAME Old Testament (Torah) used by the Jews before Christ.

The names of God? Well, for starters:

“ELOHIM” (or Elohay) is the first name for God found in the Bible, and it’s used throughout the Old Testament over 2,300 times. Elohim comes from the Hebrew root meaning “strength” or “power”, and has the unusual characteristic of being plural in form. In Genesis 1:1, we read, “In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the earth.” Right from the start, this plural form for the name of God is used to describe the One God, a mystery that is uncovered throughout the rest of the Bible. Throughout scripture, Elohim is combined with other words to describe certain characteristics of God. Some examples: Elohay Kedem - God of the Beginning: (Deuteronomy 33:27). Elohay Mishpat - God Of Justice: (Isaiah 30:18). Elohay Selichot - God Of Forgiveness: (Nehemiah 9:17). Elohay Marom - God Of Heights: (Micah 6:6). Elohay Mikarov - God Who Is Near: (Jeremiah 23:23). Elohay Mauzi - God Of My Strength: (Psalm 43:2). Elohay Tehilati - God Of My Praise: (Psalm 109:1). Elohay Yishi - God Of My Salvation: (Psalm 18:46). Elohim Kedoshim - Holy God: (Leviticus 19:2, Joshua 24:19). Elohim Chaiyim - Living God: (Jeremiah 10:10). Elohay Elohim - God Of Gods: (Deuteronomy 10:17). http://www.allaboutgod.com/names-of-g…

And, continuing:

The LORD who revealed Himself as YHVH in the Old Testament is revealed as Yeshua (Jesus) in the New Testament. Jesus shares the same attributes as YHVH and clearly claims to be YHVH. In John 8:56-59, Jesus presents himself as the “I AM.” When challenged by some Jewish leaders regarding His claim of seeing Abraham (who lived some 2000 years earlier), Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.” Those Jewish leaders understood that Jesus was claiming to be YHVH. This is clearly established when they tried to stone Him to death for what they considered blasphemy under Jewish Law. In Romans 10:9, Paul declares, “if you confess with your mouth Yeshua as LORD… you shall be saved.” Immediately thereafter, in Romans 10:13, Paul backs up this declaration by quoting the Old Testament, “Whoever will call upon the name of the LORD (YHVH) will be saved” (Joel 2:32). Calling on Yeshua (Jesus) as Lord is the same as calling Him YHVH, because Yeshua (Jesus) is YHVH (LORD), the Messiah foretold throughout the entire Old Testament.

Christians know that Muslims do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, just as Christians do not believe that Muhammad was a prophet of God. That’s the fundamental difference in our religion. We could argue the points of both religions here for about 10,000 posts, and we are not likely to convince one another.

I am constrained, however, to point out that Muhammad got the Christian Trinity wrong–it is NOT God the Father, Jesus the Son and Mary the Mother. It is God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit.

It is noteworthy that the FIRST CHRISTIANS, if you can call them that, that Muhammad encountered were HERETICS by mainstream Christianity’s standards . . . so no wonder he got it wrong!

chev.jame wrote:
Well, you’re wrong about the Dead Sea Scrolls–as they contained the books of the Old Testament, among others. So you missed the point that the Bible used by Christians today has the SAME Old Testament (Torah) used by the Jews before Christ.

The names of God? Well, for starters:

“ELOHIM” (or Elohay) is the first name for God found in the Bible, and it’s used throughout the Old Testament over 2,300 times. Elohim comes from the Hebrew root meaning “strength” or “power”, and has the unusual characteristic of being plural in form. In Genesis 1:1, we read, “In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the earth.” Right from the start, this plural form for the name of God is used to describe the One God, a mystery that is uncovered throughout the rest of the Bible. Throughout scripture, Elohim is combined with other words to describe certain characteristics of God. Some examples: Elohay Kedem - God of the Beginning: (Deuteronomy 33:27). Elohay Mishpat - God Of Justice: (Isaiah 30:18). Elohay Selichot - God Of Forgiveness: (Nehemiah 9:17). Elohay Marom - God Of Heights: (Micah 6:6). Elohay Mikarov - God Who Is Near: (Jeremiah 23:23). Elohay Mauzi - God Of My Strength: (Psalm 43:2). Elohay Tehilati - God Of My Praise: (Psalm 109:1). Elohay Yishi - God Of My Salvation: (Psalm 18:46). Elohim Kedoshim - Holy God: (Leviticus 19:2, Joshua 24:19). Elohim Chaiyim - Living God: (Jeremiah 10:10). Elohay Elohim - God Of Gods: (Deuteronomy 10:17). http://www.allaboutgod.com/names-of-g…

And, continuing:

The LORD who revealed Himself as YHVH in the Old Testament is revealed as Yeshua (Jesus) in the New Testament. Jesus shares the same attributes as YHVH and clearly claims to be YHVH. In John 8:56-59, Jesus presents himself as the “I AM.” When challenged by some Jewish leaders regarding His claim of seeing Abraham (who lived some 2000 years earlier), Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.” Those Jewish leaders understood that Jesus was claiming to be YHVH. This is clearly established when they tried to stone Him to death for what they considered blasphemy under Jewish Law. In Romans 10:9, Paul declares, “if you confess with your mouth Yeshua as LORD… you shall be saved.” Immediately thereafter, in Romans 10:13, Paul backs up this declaration by quoting the Old Testament, “Whoever will call upon the name of the LORD (YHVH) will be saved” (Joel 2:32). Calling on Yeshua (Jesus) as Lord is the same as calling Him YHVH, because Yeshua (Jesus) is YHVH (LORD), the Messiah foretold throughout the entire Old Testament.

Christians know that Muslims do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, just as Christians do not believe that Muhammad was a prophet of God. That’s the fundamental difference in our religion. We could argue the points of both religions here for about 10,000 posts, and we are not likely to convince one another.

I am constrained, however, to point out that Muhammad got the Christian Trinity wrong–it is NOT God the Father, Jesus the Son and Mary the Mother. It is God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit.

It is noteworthy that the FIRST CHRISTIANS, if you can call them that, that Muhammad encountered were HERETICS by mainstream Christianity’s standards . . . so no wonder he got it wrong!

which books of the bible did the dead sea scroll contain? further elohim is not the name of god but rather a dictionary name for god, in arabic the dictionary name for god is ilah which is nearly same to to ilohim because these two languages are very close. and the point you raised about mary’s divineity the teven today the sect exists who believes mary to be devine and oviuosly god would point that sect out cos he finds it offensive when people attribute partners in his godhood. and if you call those sects heretics then surely they too call you heretics so which sect is right? you still haven’t answered how god can become human when he is free from all faults and unable to do things which contain faults. the quraan says- ‘(we have sent revelation) to warn those who say god has taken a son, they do not have no knowledge of it nor their fathers, how evil are the words they utter, what they utter is not exept a lie’. in this verse there is no mention of mary. the bible has so many funny name, its full of names of peoples names and it does not contain the name of god? if ilohim and the othere one is realy the name of god then why dont the cristens use it when they pray to god?

Guys. Go talk about this in a new thread or something. It’s not going to help OP at all…

Zak . . . the Dead Sea Scrolls contained all books of the Old Testament except for the Book of Esther.

There’s not a lot of space here to “unpack” Christianity for you, but suffice it to say that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, “emptied Himself” to become a man. He was man and he was God. He came to fulfill the law, and thus to free us from it, and take us to the next covenantal level.

If you haven’t read the Bible, you need to do this . . . and to get some good commentaries to help you understand it.

And, as I told you before, the Bible refers to names of God thousands of times.

Don’t judge it until you’ve read it!

chev.jame wrote:
Zak . . . the Dead Sea Scrolls contained all books of the Old Testament except for the Book of Esther.

There’s not a lot of space here to “unpack” Christianity for you, but suffice it to say that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, “emptied Himself” to become a man. He was man and he was God. He came to fulfill the law, and thus to free us from it, and take us to the next covenantal level.

If you haven’t read the Bible, you need to do this . . . and to get some good commentaries to help you understand it.

And, as I told you before, the Bible refers to names of God thousands of times.

Don’t judge it until you’ve read it!

if jesus was son of god then why did abraham and the prophets before jesus not believe in jesus, so what about their salvation. i will never ascribe partners to god after knowledge has came from god that he does not have partners. plus it is not possible for god to empty himself of his attributes. i have read extensively on christianity, you should know that even in christian history there were christians who denouced that jesus was the son of god, that story where the guy was burnt down with his book for doing exactly this. jesus never explicitly states anywhere that i am god or the son of god. the person who first started this was jhon, the bible is full of stories and other things but it does not take time to explain the nature of the fudemental beliefs on god, whilst the quraan explicitly explains the major beleifs, maybe you should read the quraann, because muhammed was after all from the progeny of abraham and therefore related to mary and jesus peace be upon them all. if muhammed believed in jesus to curry up to them then he would certainly have agreed that jesus is the son of god, but it was revelation set down to him, ahmad deedat was a famous mordern debator on christianity, he read the bible extensively, maybe you should listen to his vidoes or read his books. i myself, as you, dont have the space to go into detail. what is the first comandment?

Lets stop arguing about who has the best imaginary friend, and whose mythological books are best.

Keep your beliefs to yourself.

(Yes, Im a hypocrite. But arguing isnt going to get you anywhere.)

Well, Zak, when you say that it is not possible for God to empty Himself of His attributes, then you are limiting God . . . you are putting Him in a box and saying, “You cannot do this, God, and you cannot do that!”

Jesus most certainly explicitly stated that He was the Son of God:

In Matthew, Chapter 16:

13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter,c and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hadesd will not overcome it.e 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will bef bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will beg loosed in heaven.” 20Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

I am not arguing against your religion, Zak, but to show you that some of the things you’ve been TOLD about Christianity simply aren’t true!

Anonymous wrote:
Lets stop arguing about who has the best imaginary friend, and whose mythological books are best.

Keep your beliefs to yourself.

(Yes, Im a hypocrite. But arguing isnt going to get you anywhere.)

In case you haven’t noticed, this is a post about how someone can get to know God.

Anonymous wrote:
Lets stop arguing about who has the best imaginary friend, and whose mythological books are best.

Keep your beliefs to yourself.

(Yes, Im a hypocrite. But arguing isnt going to get you anywhere.)

its not just about arging about imaginery freids and mythological books, it about finding salvation. today we talk about our rights, his rights and her rights but we forget the right of the creator that he has the right to be obeyed and worshiped, afterall it is not possible that we came into existence from non existence by chance. our complex existence can not be attributed to chance after all we dont see bricks blowing around in a storm, building a house at the end of the storm, a house which has no complexity at all can not even come in to existence like that. then how can we evolve from a single cell which has no notable attributes in to a human beign who can see, hear, speak. and the quraan says- in the earth are signs for those who have firm belief and even in your self(are signs of god) so are you unable to see.

chev.jame wrote:
Well, Zak, when you say that it is not possible for God to empty Himself of His attributes, then you are limiting God . . . you are putting Him in a box and saying, “You cannot do this, God, and you cannot do that!”

Jesus most certainly explicitly stated that He was the Son of God:

In Matthew, Chapter 16:

13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter,c and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hadesd will not overcome it.e 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will bef bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will beg loosed in heaven.” 20Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

I am not arguing against your religion, Zak, but to show you that some of the things you’ve been TOLD about Christianity simply aren’t true!

to be able to do every thing is not an atribute, because certain actions are considered as flaws, does not the bible say that god can not be tempted which means he does not have the ability to be tempted. to have that ability would conflict with his attribute that he is the overpowering and the attribute that he is the most powerfull. god is almutakabbir (the grand one who is pride) pride belongs to him, only he has the right to pride. therfore he can never do anything which would make him lose his grandeur and pride. to become a human would be humility for him therefore he does not have the ability to become a human. the quran is very precise when it says- god has power over evrything. the defenition of everything is whatever god has created or will create. it does not say he is able to do all things. and even if it did say that it would exept such act which would go against gods atribute, such as sleeping, getting tired, being defeated e.t.c

We Christians believe that Adam and Eve, at least figuratively speaking, screwed things up . . . and that God sent His Son to put things back on track. We got the “Law” after we screwed things up . . . but no human being had ever been able to obey ALL of it. You asked how Abraham was saved, since he was born before Christ was born to Mary in his human form. The Apostle Paul gave us the answer:

1 What then shall we say that Abraham, [a]our forefather according to the flesh, has found? 2 For if Abraham was justified [b]by works, he has something to boast about, but not [c]before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN,
AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED.
8 “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.” (Romans 4:1-8)

Abraham could not be justified by the Law, because he came before the Law! He was, instead, justified by his belief and trust in God.

We Christians also hold that Christ, as the Son of God, existed before the Creation, and actually made a number of appearances in the Old Testament. We do not believe that there are three deities, but ONE GOD Who expresses Himself in three ways.

We could forever say to each other, “The Bible is wrong,” or “The Quran is wrong.” What we should do is to try to illuminate our respective faiths.

Having lived in the Middle East, and having talked to many Muslims, I find that they have an erroneous conception of Christianity–especially on things like the Trinity.

Also, to be truly reverent and devout, one should have the courage to look deep inside one’s own faith . . . and to be open to new revelations about God if something we have held onto no longer rings true for us.

DPT wrote:
If we could only channel this effort defending myths into something more tangiable like helping with the famine,

Well, DPT, we could end famine if people were only willing to do the right thing.

Hint: It’s not religion that’s causing famine . . . it’s plain ol’ human “me first” greed, which is deplored by all of the world’s major religions.

DPT wrote:
If we could only channel this effort defending myths into something more tangiable like helping with the famine,

so you got compassion in your heart? why would evolution give you compassion when the whole idea of evolution is survival of the fittest. we are not channelling our energy on a myth rather on the ceator and the source of compassion. satan makes you full of compassion and love in order to trick you that you are good and that you dont need religion to tell you what to do. but its not only that its about the right your creator has over you, he has aright to be recognised and obeyed and worshipped, we do not fulfill his rights, today if some one usurps our rights we become angry, if someone steals from us we become enraged, then does it not make sense that the owner of the universe, the one who has the ability to create life, that he also becomes angry when we do not fulfill his rights. if talk could solve the famine, i would be talking of the famine right now.

Zak and I both agree here. Our natural instinct is to save ourselves, even if that means sacrificing others. There’s no evolutionary advantage to sacrificing yourself for a stranger. No–that has to come from somewhere else.

That has to come from God.

Where else would it come from if it’s counter to natural instincts? ^^

You avoided the question =P

I don’t get it. Thousands of years of knowledge and experiences cause people to go against their natural instincts to be selfish and not help others? ^^
If so, how would the first experience of that start? Or why would people care to listen to it anyways if their instinct is for self-preservation?

DarkSnow wrote:
I don’t get it. Thousands of years of knowledge and experiences cause people to go against their natural instincts to be selfish and not help others? ^^
If so, how would the first experience of that start? Or why would people care to listen to it anyways if their instinct is for self-preservation?

That’s the essence of it!

It’s strictly counter-evolutionary to risk one’s life to save a stranger, especially a weak and powerless stranger who couldn’t do anything for us.

Self-preservation comes from nature; true love for others comes from God.

Well I’m happy for you too butterflyblue. Keep a strong faith. Some will try to keep you from God, but don’t let them break your spirits.

DPT wrote:
Did your jesbus fellow not sacerfice himself for that? or even better yet, love thy neighbor? But if you guys want to pick and choose just like your god fellow does, so be it.

Not sure that I follow you here . . . can you elaborate?

I did, but I still couldn’t figure what your comment about Jesus sacrificing Himself meant? That the sacrifice wasn’t from God?

At first i used the Bible to feel God and Jesus by thinking on the word. The Old testament is great but the New testament is brilliant. The amount of wisdom i gained from those books is something else. The book of Matthew is beautiful and it opened me up to feeling for Jesus through sorrow and then respect and Love, and God in like manner. How beautiful and perfect God and Jesus are when you come to realize the love you have for God and Jesus.

Thats right, you realize the love because we have always loved God and Jesus. The ways of this world, if one were to allow them, can drown that realization but when you unlock it, its amazing and beautiful.

Before i decided to read the New testament fully, i consciously set out to Know God and Jesus. I am glad i did, becasue i would either realize the Love i have for God and Jesus in this life or the next, as we all will. :)

Seek and you will find, as they say.