First and foremost, I want to let you and other atheists who might participate on this thread that I have the utmost regard for atheists as I myself used to be one, I see atheism as the first step towards spiritual enlightenment and Freedom, it's because of your love for equality, rational judgement, and love for your fellow man, that's why you're an atheist, and I respect those traits in you, I do not disagree with you, Religion is nothing but propaganda and a tool used by politicians to control the masses, Religion is a political tool nothing more nothing less, it's easier to control people who believe in the same religion, than to control people of varying religions, hence the need for Religionists to seek for more converts, God exists not because Religion says He/she does, but because the world is too full of amazing things for these things to have come by chance or randomness, there is no random thing in this world, the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and persians practiced all sorts of magic and they witnessed strange things happen, how did they get these powers? If not from God, God is not about christian or muslim, God does not have a religion, God is not a politician, God is the creator of life and the creator of everything you see on earth, there is no one way to serving God, God knows the hearts of men, because we are his creatures, and we are part of him, we have soul, and soul is what makes us living, and that soul is from God, soul is soul irrespective of race or gender, and soul reaps what it sows in this plane of existence, the universe is balanced, and that's what karma and dharma does, they balance the system of the universes, how do you know that the world is balanced? Take the crop cycle for example, everything goes through the soil, back to the atmosphere, back to the soil, etc, if you look around your ecosystem you'll see that balance in the ecosystem, it's an unending cycle, that's how life is, when we re-incarnate we complete these cycles. God is divine consciousness, And God is also personal, as he judges soul according to it's actions.

Op, so basically, you saying that you believe in God, but not in religion?

mstik: Op, so basically, you saying that you believe in God, but not in religion?

Yes and i agree with him

Ok, that's true , in a way. Depends on what perspective you see it from. My point of view is more spiritual, while Op's own seems more philosophical. Pls can you like, expantiate more?

urheme:


Yes and i agree with him

So you're deist?

You're contradicting yourself.
You say you do not believe in religion, yet you believe in a personal god?

mstik: Op, so basically, you saying that you believe in God, but not in religion?

thank you very much melady, for your insightful question, Yes I believe strongly in God but I do not believe in Religion, religion is the root cause of the problems we are facing as human beings today, the christians killed millions of people during the crusades and the Spanish/european inquisitions, the muslims killed millions (and are still killing) in their establishment of different islamic caliphates, the jews killed thousands of non jews in their quest for a jewish state, the budhists in indochina also killed lots of people because of their faith, what do all these killings have in common? Religion, they are all different religions that believe in different things. And any belief that has been tainted with the killing of innocent people creates a sort of karma that will not be washed away, take the palestinians for example, so far over a thousand palestinian people have died at the hands of the IDF, do you think that the future palestinian generations to come will forgive the Isrealis for what is happening to them now? No, and if tables are turned the palestinians would kill more jews thereby creating more trouble for future generations of both groups, these people kill each other because of their contradicting religious inclinations.

Apatheist: You're contradicting yourself.
You say you do not believe in religion, yet you believe in a personal god?

The guy na kolomental

traware: The guy na kolomental

I want to hear him out, especially his reconversion story.

hmm. I quite agree with you. You see, apart from the reasons you gave, why I believe that Christianity is not religion is because , religion is man's search for God but in Christianity, God came down to seek out man. This is something a lot of Christians have not come to terms with. This video will really explain more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY

bolaino: thank you very much melady, for your insightful question, Yes I believe strongly in God but I do not believe in Religion, religion is the root cause of the problems we are facing as human beings today, the christians killed millions of people during the crusades and the Spanish/european inquisitions, the muslims killed millions (and are still killing) in their establishment of different islamic caliphates, the jews killed thousands of non jews in their quest for a jewish state, the budhists in indochina also killed lots of people because of their faith, what do all these killings have in common? Religion, they are all different religions that believe in different things. And any belief that has been tainted with the killing of innocent people creates a sort of karma that will not be washed away, take the palestinians for example, so far over a thousand palestinian people have died at the hands of the IDF, do you think that the future palestinian generations to come will forgive the Isrealis for what is happening to them now? No, and if tables are turned the palestinians would kill more jews thereby creating more trouble for future generations of both groups, these people kill each other because of their contradicting religious inclinations.

Apatheist: You're contradicting yourself.
You say you do not believe in religion, yet you believe in a personal god?

yes my good man, I believe in a personal God, I believe God has an interest in each soul, as we are all various expression of the divine God self, and God judges each soul according to it's actions, both in past and present lives (yes I believe in re-incarnation), and we shouldn't always attach labels to one's belief, saying one is deist, agnostic, gnostic, atheist or theist, tends to create division more amongst us, we are all souls, and we are all special in the eyes of our creator. I consider myself, part of all religion, because if I were born in iraq I would probably be a muslim, or if I were born in tibet, I might have become a Buddhist monk, so you see that our environment and society shapes our beliefs, we are all sentient beings and we have the ability to adapt to different aspects of life, it does not mean because someone does not believe in what you do, then that soul is lost or is going to be destroyed, concepts like hell fire, were created by occultic scholars to put fear in the hearts of humans, to curb them from becoming enlightened or illuminated.

bolaino: yes my good man, I believe in a personal God, I believe God has an interest in each soul, as we are all various expression of the divine God self, and God judges each soul according to it's actions, both in past and present lives (yes I believe in re-incarnation), and we shouldn't always attach labels to one's belief, saying one is deist, agnostic, gnostic, atheist or theist, tends to create division more amongst us, we are all souls, and we are all special in the eyes of our creator. I consider myself, part of all religion, because if I were born in iraq I would probably be a muslim, or if I were born in tibet, I might have become a Buddhist monk, so you see that our environment and society shapes our beliefs, we are all sentient beings and we have the ability to adapt to different aspects of life, it does not mean because someone does not believe in what you do, then that soul is lost or is going to be destroyed, concepts like hell fire, were created by occultic scholars to put fear in the hearts of humans, to curb them from becoming enlightened or illuminated.

Interesting.
Care to share your conversion story?

bolaino: First and foremost, I want to let you and other atheists who might participate on this thread that I have the utmost regard for atheists as I myself used to be one, I see atheism as the first step towards spiritual enlightenment and Freedom, it's because of your love for equality, rational judgement, and love for your fellow man, that's why you're an atheist, and I respect those traits in you, I do not disagree with you, Religion is nothing but propaganda and a tool used by politicians to control the masses, Religion is a political tool nothing more nothing less, it's easier to control people who believe in the same religion, than to control people of varying religions, hence the need for Religionists to seek for more converts, God exists not because Religion says He/she does, but because the world is too full of amazing things for these things to have come by chance or randomness, there is no random thing in this world, the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and persians practiced all sorts of magic and they witnessed strange things happen, how did they get these powers? If not from God, God is not about christian or muslim, God does not have a religion, God is not a politician, God is the creator of life and the creator of everything you see on earth, there is no one way to serving God, God knows the hearts of men, because we are his creatures, and we are part of him, we have soul, and soul is what makes us living, and that soul is from God, soul is soul irrespective of race or gender, and soul reaps what it sows in this plane of existence, the universe is balanced, and that's what karma and dharma does, they balance the system of the universes, how do you know that the world is balanced? Take the crop cycle for example, everything goes through the soil, back to the atmosphere, back to the soil, etc, if you look around your ecosystem you'll see that balance in the ecosystem, it's an unending cycle, that's how life is, when we re-incarnate we complete these cycles. God is divine consciousness, And God is also personal, as he judges soul according to it's actions.

So which God do you believe in?

Apatheist:
Interesting.
Care to share your conversion story?

my conversion was not instantaneous, I'm someone who loved reading books about the occult and occult practices, and I had a spiritual encounter that changed my life forever, you might not believe me, but it doesn't really matter, I know I am speaking the truth and that's what matters to me, I was faced with certain death on different occasions, and anytime I was faced with these terrible situations, it seemed asif I would die, but there was always an unexplainable miracle that would save me, it happened more than three to four times, twice I was in a fatal car accident where I was sitting at the front of the vehicle and all of a sudden the drivers would lose control of the vehicle, it would seem asif someone else was controlling the brakes and steering wheels, but on those two occasions, I was saved from imminent death, I used to be among those people who believed in "seeing is believing" but after witnessing varying near death episodes, I came to a conclusion that God was involved, because prior to that time I had come in contact with entities who told of what would happen to me, it's a long story, but what I have come to realise is experience is the best teacher, you would not believe me until you experienced something similar, but not everybody lives to tell the story of experiencing the above things I mentioned.

alchemist13:
So which God do you believe in?

I believe in the yoruba idea of God, olodumare, the infinite creator, whose consciousness knows no bound. The creator of everything thing on this universe.

bolaino: my conversion was not instantaneous, I'm someone who loved reading books about the occult and occult practices, and I had a spiritual encounter that changed my life forever, you might not believe me, but it doesn't really matter, I know I am speaking the truth and that's what matters to me, I was faced with certain death on different occasions, and anytime I was faced with these terrible situations, it seemed asif I would die, but there was always an unexplainable miracle that would save me, it happened more than three to four times, twice I was in a fatal car accident where I was sitting at the front of the vehicle and all of a sudden the drivers would lose control of the vehicle, it would seem asif someone else was controlling the brakes and steering wheels, but on those two occasions, I was saved from imminent death, I used to be among those people who believed in "seeing is believing" but after witnessing varying near death episodes, I came to a conclusion that God was involved, because prior to that time I had come in contact with entities who told of what would happen to me, it's a long story, but what I have come to realise is experience is the best teacher, you would not believe me until you experienced something similar, but not everybody lives to tell the story of experiencing the above things I mentioned.

Interesting.

I do not believe in fleshy arguments in converting an atheist or any body for that matter. Paul said I do not come to you in the excellency of speech but in the power of the spirit. There is a realm beyond the ordinary, it is not psychological. Conversion is mainly an act of the Holy spirit. God however is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Abase yourself, admit your ignorance, diligently seek the Lord, time may run, but you never will remain the same. It is a personal thing, You either choose to revel in ignorance or seek light. Get a bible, you can see it as just getting knowledge if you like, but seek Him yourself.

bolaino, what does it matter that you believe in an inconsequential god? you might as well not believe and still turn out exactly the same.

bolaino: my conversion was not instantaneous, I'm someone who loved reading books about the occult and occult practices, and I had a spiritual encounter that changed my life forever, you might not believe me, but it doesn't really matter, I know I am speaking the truth and that's what matters to me, I was faced with certain death on different occasions, and anytime I was faced with these terrible situations, it seemed asif I would die, but there was always an unexplainable miracle that would save me, it happened more than three to four times, twice I was in a fatal car accident where I was sitting at the front of the vehicle and all of a sudden the drivers would lose control of the vehicle, it would seem asif someone else was controlling the brakes and steering wheels, but on those two occasions, I was saved from imminent death, I used to be among those people who believed in "seeing is believing" but after witnessing varying near death episodes, I came to a conclusion that God was involved, because prior to that time I had come in contact with entities who told of what would happen to me, it's a long story, but what I have come to realise is experience is the best teacher, you would not believe me until you experienced something similar, but not everybody lives to tell the story of experiencing the above things I mentioned.

demons driving cars! No wonder you had accidents. Their driving instructor is shit.

mstik: why I believe that Christianity is not religion is because , religion is man's search for God but in Christianity, God came down to seek out man.

Interesting. Very interesting indeed.
So, If I believe that Santa Clause CAME DOWN from the NORTH POLE to meet lowly gift-loving humanity, then the belief in Santa Clause cannot be ever be seen as a Religion?
In other words, any myth woven around an incarnated deity cannot be considered part of a religious belief?

This must be an entirely new way of thinking.
lol.

josh001: I do not believe in fleshy arguments in converting an atheist or any body for that matter. Paul said I do not come to you in the excellency of speech but in the power of the spirit. There is a realm beyond the ordinary, it is not psychological. Conversion is mainly an act of the Holy spirit. God however is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Abase yourself, admit your ignorance, diligently seek the Lord, time may run, but you never will remain the same. It is a personal thing, You either choose to revel in ignorance or seek light. Get a bible, you can see it as just getting knowledge if you like, but seek Him yourself.

Might I remind you sir that Paul is also a self-confessed liar and tricktser.
So, beware of where you get your divinely inspired informaton from.

plaetton:

Might I remind you sir that Paul is also a self-confessed liar and tricktser.
So, beware of where you get your divinely inspired informaton from.

Weed...
Alcohol helps too.

bolaino: First and foremost, I want to let you and other atheists who might participate on this thread that I have the utmost regard for atheists as I myself used to be one, I see atheism as the first step towards spiritual enlightenment and Freedom, it's because of your love for equality, rational judgement, and love for your fellow man, that's why you're an atheist, and I respect those traits in you, I do not disagree with you, Religion is nothing but propaganda and a tool used by politicians to control the masses, Religion is a political tool nothing more nothing less, it's easier to control people who believe in the same religion, than to control people of varying religions, hence the need for Religionists to seek for more converts, God exists not because Religion says He/she does, but because the world is too full of amazing things for these things to have come by chance or randomness, there is no random thing in this world, the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and persians practiced all sorts of magic and they witnessed strange things happen, how did they get these powers? If not from God, God is not about christian or muslim, God does not have a religion, God is not a politician, God is the creator of life and the creator of everything you see on earth, there is no one way to serving God, God knows the hearts of men, because we are his creatures, and we are part of him, we have soul, and soul is what makes us living, and that soul is from God, soul is soul irrespective of race or gender, and soul reaps what it sows in this plane of existence, the universe is balanced, and that's what karma and dharma does, they balance the system of the universes, how do you know that the world is balanced? Take the crop cycle for example, everything goes through the soil, back to the atmosphere, back to the soil, etc, if you look around your ecosystem you'll see that balance in the ecosystem, it's an unending cycle, that's how life is, when we re-incarnate we complete these cycles. God is divine consciousness, And God is also personal, as he judges soul according to it's actions.

Can you describe God?

I keep hearing God is a spirit. Can a spirit have sex? And how come Jesus became an Arab? Was God an Arab?

Pastor/christians refer to God as "HE,HIM" A male? Arab male?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
daheck

To all the atheists this is what you should know

Apatheist:
Weed...
Alcohol helps too.

Oh, you are absolutely right sir.

People would be amazed to know that a great deal of religious prophesies, visions and revelations came to people while under the influence of Hashish, opium, Magic mushrooms and many many other varieties of hallucinogens and stimulants.

God and his revelations have always been the grand products of a chemically TUNED brain.

In fact, if you really want to see and talk to god, Jesus and angels one on one, there is a south American herb called Ayahuasca , that, when ingested, can take you straight to heaven to meet god, whatever version or variety is yours.
In fact, the herb has become so popular with people seeking spiritual redemption, that it has even spawned a big tourist industry in Peru and surrounding regions.
Those who have had the experience swear by it as the most realistic contact with divinity humans could have.
Google it and read all about it.

plaetton:

Oh, you are absolutely right sir.

People would be amazed to know that a great deal of religious prophesies, visions and revelations came to people while under the influence of Hashish, opium, Magic mushrooms and many many other varieties of hallucinogens and stimulants.

God and his revelations have always been the grand products of a chemically TUNED brain.

In fact, if you really want to see and talk to god, Jesus and angels one on one, there is a south American herb called Ayahuasca , that, when ingested, can take you straight to heaven to meet god, whatever version or variety is yours.
In fact, the herb has become so popular with people seeking spiritual redemption, that it has even spawned a big tourist industry in Peru and surrounding regions.
Those who have had the experience swear by it as the most realistic contact with divinity humans could have.
Google it and read all about it.

PCP will make you feel like God.

AlfaSeltzer:

demons driving cars! No wonder you had accidents. Their driving instructor is shit.

hmmm, you can laugh all you want my good sire, but I know what I experienced, and like I said experience is the best teacher, I pray for you atheists on nairaland, my former comrades, I pray that God reveals it's self to you one of these days.

plaetton:

Might I remind you sir that Paul is also a self-confessed liar and tricktser.
So, beware of where you get your divinely inspired informaton from.

I will not engage in a banter of words. Say what you will, make whatever assertions you will. Try, yes, try hard to convince yourself, search desperately for that inner peace, look for freedom from the shackles of religion as it is normally put, please keep looking, whenever you are exhausted and ready, seek God.

ifeness: I keep hearing God is a spirit. Can a spirit have sex? And how come Jesus became an Arab? Was God an Arab?

Pastor/christians refer to God as "HE,HIM" A male? Arab male?

it's good to have you here on this thread, it's been long I saw you on nairaland, Nobody can describe God because nobody has seen God, jesus is not God, and if jesus really existed he was born of a man, God is neither male nor female, God can be referred to as it, God is the divine consciousness, God is Gnosis, God is the all knowing supreme being, God can take any shape and any form, he sees the future, past and present, words can not totally explain God, as God is a mystery,

bolaino: it's good to have you here on this thread, it's been long I saw you on nairaland, Nobody can describe God because nobody has seen God, jesus is not God, and if jesus really existed he was born of a man, God is neither male nor female, God can be referred to as it, God is the divine consciousness, God is Gnosis, God is the all knowing supreme being, God can take any shape and any form, he sees the future, past and present, words can not totally explain God, as God is a mystery,

Of what use is this god to us?