big_sean: Look i have said this before and i will keep saying it
No one should underestimate the brainwashing power of religion. Religion was designed that way, it has been systematically inundated into humans from birth, its the only way of life they know. And u have to give the religious people a big hand, they are doing a good job in spreading it, (even before internet was available).

The topic is: 'Where is God in our everyday lives?' and not 'where is Religion in our everyday lives'. God is different from religion. Religion is a way of life adopted by those who believe in God, with rules intended to prevent adherents from straying away from what is thought to be right and good before God and humankind. God, on the other hand, is the Source of all that exist. I wonder how anyone could disprove this assertion; 'the SOURCE of all that exist'. So instead of attacking the 'concept' of God the religions, with their obvious defects which have thrown societies into horrendous tragedies over the centuries, should be the ones to face those raving heckling.

There are simple and basic principles that rule the world that are clearly stated in the Bible but we either overlook them believing that they only apply to spiritual things. Intrestingly, principles don't care who or what you are- christian, muslim, atheist etc. The most disappointing is the fact that most of us especially we Christians don't apply them to our everyday lives and these people apply them to their lives either consciously or unconsciously. Bill and Zukerberg have promised to give half their wealth to charity and they are becoming richer by the day but how many of us give at least ten naira to that begger on our street. If we see God in every little thing of our everyday life- in every bird dat sings, every dog backs etc; everyday d sun rises; we come 2 see the beauty of his creation.

logicboy: Are you reading this? If yes, then you are using a computer.
Are you a Nigerian and do you drive? If yes, then there is a more than 50% chance you drive or have driven a Toyota/Honda
Do you watch TV? If yes, then you probably use a Toshiba/Sony/Samsung/Sharp/Lg product.


1) If you use a computer, it is either Windows or Apple (or sometimes Linux).
- Bill Gates, the founder of Windows, is an agnostic
- Steve Jobs, the late CEO of Apple, is a Zen Buddhist
- Richard Stallman and Linus Torvalds, who are big names when it comes to Linux, are atheists.

2)If you have drive a honda or toyota, which are the some of most common cars in Nigeria (especially Toyota)
- Toyota and Honda are both Japanese companies; Japan is a country in which most of its citizens (64%) do not believe in God.

3)If you use a Samsung/Toshiba/Sony/Sharp/LG television;
- Samsung/Toshiba/Sony/Sharp/LG are all products of countries in which majority of the population do not believe in God (South Korea and Japan)



The question is if we use so many products made by atheists/agnostics in our personal lives, what right do we have to say that they are going to hell?

The other question is why does religion especially Christianity and Islam contribute less to the solutions of human problems of today in terms of technology, science and better government compared to atheism and agnosticism? (most peaceful countries are less religious)

You strayed from your main question into another one by mixing God with religion. The question: "Where is God in our everyday lives?' alone is 'huge' enough to attract hundreds of pages in responses. One elementary mistake common to many is the belief that everyone who believes in God has a religion. Even what we call Christianity today did not start out as a religion. It is the human way of conceiving what is 'good' before God and the rules intended to keep believers from straying into what is 'bad' that have assumed the tag of 'religion'.

And, if you had enough understanding of the word "GOD" you wouldn't make such statement; quoting different individuals who had/have no belief in God but had/have contributed much through inventions and other areas of human endeavours. For, God is the SOURCE of all existence! Would you then doubt that there has never been a source from which all existence came forth? This very SOURCE maintains and sustains all that exist till today. If these inventors and those you mentioned are parts of an existence that owes its coming into effect to this one SOURCE then God has everything to do with their/our everyday lives; because that SOURCE is GOD!

God exists...

logicboy: Zuckerberg is a Jew by race/birth but he is an atheist

Buddhism doesn't hold a belief in a personal God which even suits me as an atheist but still, I dont believe in any religion

please how can someone become an atheist. any good idea and guide would be welcomed.my mail solution4sucess@yahoo.com

It only a fool dat will say, der is no GOD.

Detongue: It only a fool dat will say, der is no GOD.

Yes, Mark Zuckerberg is a fool and you're smart

[b][/b][b][/b]Dear NL,
The exterior part of a religion does not matter much, although it is about this that people quarrel so bitterly, its inner meaning and experience that are of importance.
The end and object of true religion is Divine union, and if another soul attains to this blissful state by different road from that which is the only one that can be used by us, let us be glad and praise God,
instead of wasting our time explaining to him what is wrong and our way the only one.
Our Lord said, ‘’other sheep I have which are not of this fold’’
It does not matter what is the fashion of the day, theology and doctrine changes from age to age, BUT THE TRUTH REMAINS THE TRUTH,
‘’and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall makes you free’’
Let us be careful how we hear, for what you hear can shape your world for good or evil

In conclusion, what is peace, what is development, what is solution to human problem in real term? Atomic Bomb, Radiative Cancerous material, global warming, Arab uprising, abortion.
There can never be any peace or development without union with the Divinity. Christ came to show us the way to the Father

rawtruth:

You strayed from your main question into another one by mixing God with religion. The question: "Where is God in our everyday lives?' alone is 'huge' enough to attract hundreds of pages in responses. One elementary mistake common to many is the belief that everyone who believes in God has a religion. Even what we call Christianity today did not start out as a religion. It is the human way of conceiving what is 'good' before God and the rules intended to keep believers from straying into what is 'bad' that have assumed the tag of 'religion'.

And, if you had enough understanding of the word "GOD" you wouldn't make such statement; quoting different individuals who had/have no belief in God but had/have contributed much through inventions and other areas of human endeavours. For, God is the SOURCE of all existence! Would you then doubt that there has never been a source from which all existence came forth? This very SOURCE maintains and sustains all that exist till today. If these inventors and those you mentioned are parts of an existence that owes its coming into effect to this one SOURCE then God has everything to do with their/our everyday lives; because that SOURCE is GOD!

What/who is God? Is God a man or woman? Is God a source of evil since he is the source of everything?

buzugee: all you loquacious atheists need to be flogged mercilessly with lanyard . before you ever set eyes on any white man did you know what the heck atheism was ? now all of a sudden you belligerent vatos are running up and down talking about i am an atheist. i need 5 minutes with one of you atheists and satanists on this site. i shall flog the fear of the messiah back into you again. 40 strokes of cane per atheist

before your fathers ever set eyes on the white man, did they know what the heck is the bible, christianity, judaism, monotheism?

logicboy:

We atheists don't know. We assume that you just cease to exist

You dont know what happen when you die, you just assume that you cease to exist. And you are taking such a heavy risk with your life making assumption?
First you assume there is no God,
then you assume the earth and human just came on their own and begin to evolve and
then you assume that when you die, you just close your eyes and everything ceases.
You are deluded.
Just retrace your step now and come to God before it is too late.

When a man’s heart is cold and unconcerned about religion – when his hands are never employed in doing God’s work – when his feet are not familiar with God’s ways – when his tongue is seldom or never used in prayer and praise – when his eyes are blind to the beauty of the kingdom of heaven – when his mind is full of the world, and has no room for spiritual things – when these marks are to be found in a man, the word of the Bible is the right word to use about him, and that word is, ‘Dead.’”

J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)

logicboy:

What/who is God? Is God a man or woman? Is God a source of evil since he is the source of everything?

God has no form but those who believe He exists use the pronoun 'He' when they talk about 'Him'.

God is the source of everything, yes! Evil is the choice of bad over good. God allows us to decide our destiny on earth through our freewill. He has however indicated to us the consequence of every choice we made, be it good or bad. No sane adult is unaware of the difference between bad and good. for example,if you used a machete to clear land for farming you have done good with it, but use the same machete to cut someone or destroy another person's property and you could be jailed for causing harm. So, depending on your concept of evil, this simple example answers your question in that regard.

Idango:

You dont know what happen when you die, you just assume that you cease to exist. And you are taking such a heavy risk with your life making assumption?
First you assume there is no God,
then you assume the earth and human just came on their own and begin to evolve and
then you assume that when you die, you just close your eyes and everything ceases.
You are deluded.
Just retrace your step now and come to God before it is too late.

You assume that there is God with no proof. I assume that there is no God because there is growing evidence more and more things that were not created.

You assume that the earth was created but have no no proof and no idea about the other 99% of the universe (the other galaxies).

You assume that there is a heaven or hell with no evidence and you can even describe it with accurate detail- is heaven in the sky or on other planets? Is hel a lake of molten magma or burning coal?

Idango: When a man’s heart is cold and unconcerned about religion – when his hands are never employed in doing God’s work – when his feet are not familiar with God’s ways – when his tongue is seldom or never used in prayer and praise – when his eyes are blind to the beauty of the kingdom of heaven – when his mind is full of the world, and has no room for spiritual things – when these marks are to be found in a man, the word of the Bible is the right word to use about him, and that word is, ‘Dead.’”

J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)

Quoting someone does not make you smart or right

rawtruth:

God has no form but those who believe He exists use the pronoun 'He' when they talk about 'Him'.

God is the source of everything, yes! Evil is the choice of bad over good. God allows us to decide our destiny on earth through our freewill. He has however indicated to us the consequence of every choice we made, be it good or bad. No sane adult is unaware of the difference between bad and good. for example,if you used a machete to clear land for farming you have done good with it, but use the same machete to cut someone or destroy another person's property and you could be jailed for causing harm. So, depending on your concept of evil, this simple example answers your question in that regard.

So god is a source of evil? lmao. And you want me to believe in him?

God doesnt exist

logicboy:


Zen Bhuddists do not necessarily believe in a God. Epic fail Emmatok 1

Most Japanese do not believe in a god - 70% no religion, 64% no God. Epic fail Emmatok 2

Judaism/Jews believe in God. Epic fail Emmatok 3

See how you keep deluding yourselves.

Zen Bhuddists believe in God but not in Supreme Being as Christianity and Islam.

Judaism/Jews are the foundation of Christianity and Islam so they believe in GOD.

Most Japanese are religious what do you think they do those temples. Manufacture electronics?

They(Japanese) may not have the the-same believe [b]pattern [/b]with Christianity and Islam,but they are not ATHEIST.

ATHEIST HAS NOTING TO DO WITH RELIGION.

[size=13pt]<sup>My Contribution to this thread is that , God is dead and gone forever ... he cannot be existing while all these many evils are happening in his present and doing nothing . I can see a Christian saying : God ways is not our ways ....ooops! that is not a sufficient excuse to back him up . that GOD is not existing , the bible describe him with all the good names and even to the extent of calling him 'a loving father' -- a loving father can never be that careless or heartless allowing evil men pretending to save him to destroy the World .

God is dead and final...nobody can do anything about it</sup>[/size]

Ogaga4Luv: [size=13pt]<sup>My Contribution to this thread is that , God is dead and gone forever ... he cannot be existing while all these many evils are happening in his present and doing nothing . I can see a Christian saying : God ways is not our ways ....ooops! that is not a sufficient excuse to back him up . that GOD is not existing , the bible describe him with all the good names and even to the extent of calling him 'a loving father' -- a loving father can never be that careless or heartless allowing evil men pretending to save him to destroy the World .

God is dead and final...nobody can do anything about it</sup>[/size]

Well it is not your position to say God is dead.

Their are People more Educated, Successful and Liberal than you, who still serve or worship one God or the order.

In life you choose want you want and let other choose theirs.

[size=13pt]^{What do u mean to say it isn't my position to speak what i know about? that sound pretty funny after i read your comment i burst into laughter . The people that u are saying that are educated but save GOD is like fooolish person trying to behave wise or best said a MAD person that dressed like a normal human being . talking about success is for everyone that really works hard and planned well in life . that is why u see even some beri-beri still have wealth why some u see some people that have everything complete in their body and can work straight do not have success in their life . It is a matter of choice in life but that doesn't mean we shouldn't voice out the truth that GOD is dead! , if he's alive i should not keep silent while holding his arms and legs somewhere above the sky and watching everything that is happening and doing nothing . Who the heck is GOD? that guy doesn't have place anywhere......period!}
[/size]

emmatok:

Well it is not your position to say God is dead.

Their are People more Educated, Successful and Liberal than you, who still serve or worship one God or the order.

In life you choose want you want and let other choose theirs.

Ogaga4Luv: [size=13pt]^{What do u mean to say it isn't my position to speak what i know about? that sound pretty funny after i read your comment i burst into laughter . The people that u are saying that are educated but save GOD is like fooolish person trying to behave wise or best said a MAD person that dressed like a normal human being . talking about success is for everyone that really works hard and planned well in life . that is why u see even some beri-beri still have wealth why some u see some people that have everything complete in their body and can work straight do not have success in their life . It is a matter of choice in life but that doesn't mean we shouldn't voice out the truth that GOD is dead! , if he's alive i should not keep silent while holding his arms and legs somewhere above the sky and watching everything that is happening and doing nothing . Who the heck is GOD? that guy doesn't have place anywhere......period!}
[/size]

Now I know you are not a real ATHEIST.

Real ATHEISTS are open-mined and logical.

All the ATHEIST I know do not go about insulting people about their believes and religion.

They(REAL ATHEIST) can live with anybody from any religious believes,because their mind is free from all sorts of ambiguity.

But you are not an ATHEIST.

[size=13pt]^{Have i ever told u that i am an atheist ? NO! i haven't and see no reason u should think so . besides , to your below comment it is quit exposed openly to everyone that u do not know the meaning of Atheist . Who is an atheist? that is the question u suppose to asked yourself in your mind and get the answer yourself . I mean , there's nothing like real or fake atheist my dear . Atheist is atheist is as much u do not believe in GOD and his so called imaginary existence that have been claimed written by so many religious law books . Well , get it clear that i do not believe that JEHOVAH (GOD) of the bible , i believe in myself...i believe in Satan de DEVIL the accused one that have been lied against just to promote the name of one so called GOD that doesn't exist but was created by fellow men in imaginary to stirr up the mind of men( only those that are not strong in their ways of thinking) I'm a Satanist ,illuminate agent , a new ager and makes people to sin....we call that insult because it is the truth but painful .}
[/size]

emmatok:

Now I know you are not a real ATHEIST.

Real ATHEIST are open-mined and logical.

All the ATHEIST I know do not go about insulting people about their believes and religion.

They(REAL ATHEIST) can live with anybody from any religious believes,because their mind is free from all sorts of ambiguity.

But you are not an ATHEIST.

Ogaga4Luv: [size=13pt]^{Have i ever told u that i am an atheist ? NO! i haven't and see no reason u should think so . besides , to your below comment it is quit exposed openly to everyone that u do not know the meaning of Atheist . Who is an atheist? that is the question u suppose to asked yourself in your mind and get the answer yourself . I mean , there's nothing like real or fake atheist my dear . Atheist is atheist is as much u do not believe in GOD and his so called imaginary existence that have been claimed written by so many religious law books . Well , get it clear that i do not believe that JEHOVAH (GOD) of the bible , i believe in myself...i believe in Satan de DEVIL the accused one that have been lied against just to promote the name of one so called GOD that doesn't exist but was created by fellow men in imaginary to stirr up the mind of men( only those that are not strong in their ways of thinking) I'm a Satanist ,illuminate agent , a new ager and makes people to sin....we call that insult because it is the truth but painful .}
[/size]

I your mind !!!

You cannot even differentiate an illuminate from a Satanist.

Detongue: It only a fool dat will say, der is no GOD.

A big fool will type it on the internet that there's no God.

I was in church this Easter. The Pastor was talking about how the path to God was not through religion, science, or even doing good deeds, but through Jesus. Therefore don't believe the lies going round that islam, judaism and christianity share the same God. i.e. we Christians have the one true God.

There's me scratching my head thinking aren't the jews and muslims just as convinced?

To answer your question OP: God is with you if you believe God is with you - no one will convince you otherwise. And if you believe God is not with you , then God is not with you - and again, no one will convince you otherwise.

Just reading through some of these comments --- makes for some serious lolzzz....

No ones ever convinced anyone anywhere on the internet that their deeply held beliefs may well be wrong - stupid - or just ignorant. Stand up atheists, theists, conspiracy theorists.

You could present facts all day to anyone with any (misguided but) deeply held belief and the one thing they're not going to do is check facts (or fact check) and then acknowledge they may have been slightly wrong/ignorant on the subject. Psychology has long called this the 'backfire effect': when people's beliefs are challenged with facts, the beliefs they hold become stronger and harder for them to shake. It's in all our natures. Go on, fact check, and then please get bored of your opinions as quickly as possible.

So enough of the condescending remarks from theists on how you hope God opens your eyes before it's too late/you'll burn in hell for this and that.... and Atheists unless you've got something 'real' to campaign about like muslims attempting to introduce sharia law into your neighborhood, or christians trying to block the teachings of einstein in class etc etc - please do us all a favour and shut the Bleep up.

emmatok:

See how you keep deluding yourselves.

Zen Bhuddists believe in God but not in Supreme Being as Christianity and Islam.

Judaism/Jews are the foundation of Christianity and Islam so they believe in GOD.

Most Japanese are religious what do you think they do those temples. Manufacture electronics?

They(Japanese) may not have the the-same believe [b]pattern [/b]with Christianity and Islam,but they are not ATHEIST.

ATHEIST HAS NOTING TO DO WITH RELIGION.

Emmatok fail 1) Zen Buddhists don't believe in a God.If you think otherwise, then what is the name of their God?

Emmatok fail 2) You said that only chrstianity and islam believe a god, which I corrected with judaism.

Emmatok fail 3)I gave you fact that shows that 64% of Japanese say that they dont believe in god. Like a sore loser you keep arguing otherwise. Btw not everyone goes to the temples. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Japan

Cine: Just reading through some of these comments --- makes for some serious lolzzz....

No ones ever convinced anyone anywhere on the internet that their deeply held beliefs may well be wrong - stupid - or just ignorant. Stand up atheists, theists, conspiracy theorists.

You could present facts all day to anyone with any (misguided but) deeply held belief and the one thing they're not going to do is check facts (or fact check) and then acknowledge they may have been slightly wrong/ignorant on the subject. Psychology has long called this the 'backfire effect': when people's beliefs are challenged with facts, the beliefs they hold become stronger and harder for them to shake. It's in all our natures. Go on, fact check, and then please get bored of your opinions as quickly as possible.

So enough of the condescending remarks from theists on how you hope God opens your eyes before it's too late/you'll burn in hell for this and that.... and Atheists unless you've got something 'real' to campaign about like muslims attempting to introduce sharia law into your neighborhood, or christians trying to block the teachings of einstein in class etc etc - please do us all a favour and shut the Bleep up.

Hello, Mr. Holier than thou aka Mr self righteous. There's always some smartass dude that takes the middle and judges both sides

I didnt make this thread to be nice to religious people nor to convince them. I did it to make them to stop saying that atheists/agnostics will burn in hell. I also made the thread to get people thinking

Plain Truth is Religion is based on Faith and not Logic - The phenomenal genius in Religion is Man's apparent ability to operate in Faith and still deal with Cold-Hard Realities of Logic while waiting for Faith to manifest . It is simply pure genius - or pure psychosis . either way it is just as powerful as Logic. Millions have lived and flourish without God as have many died in the name of God (and all his other aliases). There is hardly any evidence to suggest that God directly influences our lives - We chose to influence our lives and the lives of others with Religion - If you look at the 10 Commandments, as much as it is a foundation for moral living, it is also a powerful tool for control.

logicboy:

Emmatok fail 1) Zen Buddhists don't believe in a God.If you think otherwise, then what is the name of their God?

Emmatok fail 2) You said that only chrstianity and islam believe a god, which I corrected with judaism.

Emmatok fail 3)I gave you fact that shows that 64% of Japanese say that they dont believe in god. Like a sore loser you keep arguing otherwise. Btw not everyone goes to the temples. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Japan

I thought you are smarter than this.

Zen Buddhists might not believe in the Christians and Muslims God, but have temples,they have DEITIES they pray and mediate they are religious people.

This is from your link

Figures that state 84% to 96% of Japanese adhere to Shinto and Buddhism are not based on self-identification but come primarily from birth records, following a longstanding practice of officially associating a family line with a local Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine.

Cine: I was in church this Easter. The Pastor was talking about how the path to God was not through religion, science, or even doing good deeds, but through Jesus. Therefore don't believe the lies going round that islam, judaism and christianity share the same God. i.e. we Christians have the one true God.

There's me scratching my head thinking aren't the jews and muslims just as convinced?

To answer your question OP: God is with you if you believe God is with you - no one will convince you otherwise. And if you believe God is not with you , then God is not with you - and again, no one will convince you otherwise.

Is JESUS a JEW = YES

Did Jesus founded Christianity =NO

What was his Religion = Judaism

emmatok:

I thought you are smarter than this.

Zen Buddhists might not believe in the Christians and Muslims God, but have temples,they have DEITIES they pray and mediate they are religious people.

This is from your link

"Figures that state 84% to 96% of Japanese adhere to Shinto and Buddhism are not based on self-identification but come primarily from birth records, following a longstanding practice of officially associating a family line with a local Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine."

To whom do the Buddhists pray to? Who is their God? You keep failing!

The quote below does not mean that they follow the religion, it just means that their family comes from a buddhist or shinto background

"Figures that state 84% to 96% of Japanese adhere to Shinto and Buddhism are not based on self-identification but come primarily from birth records, following a longstanding practice of officially associating a family line with a local Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine."


Did you miss this quote below?

About 70 percent of Japanese profess no religious membership,[7][8] according to Johnstone (1993:323), 84% of the Japanese claim no personal religion. In census questionnaires, less than 15 percent reported any formal religious affiliation by 2000.[9] And according to Demerath (2001:138), 64% do not believe in God, and 55% do not believe in Buddha