Can You Connect to God Without Religion?
Is there a difference between God and Religion? There is definitely a difference between God and religion. God is someone I have a relationship with. My view on God can be altered by many factors in my life. It can be affected by my relationship with my own father or even by my culture and the people I spend time with.
I see religion is a set of beliefs that have guidelines for behavior associated with them. There are many religions with many differing beliefs and rules. I don’t think God needs religion. He wants to have a relationship with me. It is so easy for me to get confused and think that my relationship with him has rules of engagement. I love knowing that God cares about me and that my relationship with him does not need a lot of order and structure. I want to participate in religion or church to celebrate his holiness, but it’s not a condition of knowing God. Do you believe you can you connect to God without religion?
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Hi James, You ask a really important question. Jesus was once asked about how to appropriately worship God. His response was, “A time is coming – and now is here – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and the people who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24) He was pointing out that true worship does not come from following external rituals but from a deep relationship with God; our spirit connecting with Him as He has revealed Himself to us. Many religions are human attempts to reach up to God. Jesus is the only example of God reaching down to humanity, sacrificing Himself to restore the relationship that we have broken with Him. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to God the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) When we put aside our own ideas, rituals, traditions and trust in God’s way for knowing Him–which is Jesus Christ– we begin to experience what it means to worship in spirit and in truth.
There are people who follow the ‘religion’ of Christianity by going to church, trying to live a moral lifestyle, but they are doing it without having a trust relationship with Jesus. Even though their external life seems to suggest they are a Christian their spirit is still far from Him.
If you want to worship God in a way that frees you from the legalistic restraints of religion, look to Jesus. Accept His gift of new life. Look to Him to lead and guide every moment of your life and be quick to thank Him for His guidance and gifts that He brings your way. Trust that He will direct your steps in every situation and enjoy getting to know Him more and more each day.
Does that make sense?
How can I worship god without religion, how can I find him ? How do I know who he is ,or what his name is? It’s bugging me , I’ve realised I don’t need religion , but I still would like to know who or what god is ?
Hi Lori, thank you for your lovely comment regarding having God in our lives. How about your personal relationship with Jesus? Have you accepted Him into your heart…making Him your Lord and Savior?
First i want to tell you people….God is your heart…..always keep your heart clean…with all things you do try your best to have a good conience…because there aint no medicine for bad concience…..dont jelause knowbody
…..learn how to speak positive ……do not be afraid to search for your creater…….remember that your heart startet bumbing in ur mothers womb thats where god worked that is what you have to respect….the nature and when you pray to the one who made your heart bumb even u cant see him…..then you realize god………god is the source…..!!!! Also sacrifice……sometimes we also have to sacrifice…cant be with our loveonce……or we just cant have what we grave for …..because everything happen that you glorifie god and nothing else.just know that when you have god and realize it you will be free……….what is also important ….dont change the lock behind peoples back……God bless yoi all…..
to emmanuel– prayer–father God i do pray for emmanuel, God you do say in your word the bible that if you repent of your sins as far as the east is from the west so far as he has removed your sins from you just ask for forgiveness from God saying God forgive me of my sins i repent from my sins and he will forgive you he loves you with an everlasting love peter in the bible rejected JESUS but he got forgiven and was able to go back in the group of apostles God i do pray also for emmanuel for his heart desire of a good wife i pray that you will lead him to a Godly woman for a wife and they will know that they were meant for each other i pray all of this in JESUS name amen i am praying for you
hi my name is emmanuel chukwuemeka okeke i come from nigeria living in austria. my question is how can i know god and pray to him and he accept back me after knowing him and reject him agian bc since i talk against him things is really hard for me, my problem is i had a good heart and peaple use to take advantage of it and did something bad to me. so i started believing that there is no god again bc i felt he rejected me, and never protected me from does bad friends. i want to plead with u guys to help me pray to him to forgive me and clear my way again for me,give me good wife and accept me again pls pls pls sisters and brothers. thanks and god bless
Hi Keithen, So why do you feel like you ‘should’ be a Christian? Just because you were raised a Catholic?
I like some of the ways you describe God. He is someone far greater than we could ever wrap our heads around. And in comparison to Him we are maybe even less than an atom. And yet somehow He loves us and has given us His unlimited attention. It is pretty amazing.
That’s one of the things that is interesting about the Bible’s description of God: He is so interested in the path each one of us is walking that He actually entered our existence as one of us so that we could know Him. In fact the whole Bible is His revelation of Himself so that we can know Him as He truly is. And more than that, He died so that the choices we have made that have separated us from the relationship He created us to have would be dealt with and we could again have that relationship that only we as the bearers of His image could have with Him.
So why do you think God would have blessed us as His image-bearers?
Hey guys, my name is Keithen and here is my problem. I believe in God. Lol that’s not the problem. I was raised Catholic. I feel like I should be christian but I don’t neccasarily agree with it. I have read a lot and I just dont feel right at church. I feel like God isn’t this being that we can even wrap our heads around. He is more like this mist that envelopes everything. He is greater than the universe yet is the universe. That if God is almighty then we are less than an atom to him. I know evolution is true. I know God is real from my personal experience. I just don’t feel like God would nit pick such fine details. I think our body evolved but our soul is a piece of him literally made in the image of him and given to us. I don’t believe this is the only body my soul will inhabit and I don’t believe this is the only Universe. I just feel like God wants us to find him on our own path. For some that is through religion. Some need that. For some it is through searching deep into our soul.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment here on this article ‘anonymous’. You say that you are a muslim who is looking for a way out of religion but still have a faith in God and abide by his teaching.
This is very possible because I believe that my relationship with God is personal and not ‘religious’….it’s about having a personal relationship with Him and not about abiding by a set of rules and legalistic do’s and don’t’s. Instead it is about knowing that He loves me and desires that relationship with me as well.
Here is a resourceful link that will be of great help to you as it explains more about how this is possible:
http://powertochange.com/discover/faith/discoverpurpose/
Also, please be note that we have online Mentors available to answer any questions you may have in your search for a personal relationship with God. If you would like for one of our Mentors to contact you via email here is a link to request a Mentor:
http://powertochange.com/experience/talk-to-a-mentor/
If not, I am more than happy to continue to interact with you right here on this blog.
Father God, I pray on behalf of ‘Anonymous’ who is searching for a way to still have faith in you without a religion. I pray that You would open the eyes of his/her heart as he/she discovers what it means to have a relationship with You outside of religion. Amen
I’m a muslim. I’m actually looking for a way out of religion and still have faith in god and inside by his teaching. Is this possible, and are there any like minded people in cincinnati, ohio?
I’m looking for similar people that want spiritual life without the need of religion. After 30 minutes reading the blogs, I gave up. There is a lot of religion bashing and nothing about living spiritual life. We all seem to shared similar experiences why religion is a bad idea. I don’t want to continue wasting my time wallowing on what religion did to me.
Zoologists and Botanists understand the enormous complexity of all forms of life. A cause and effect universe is to them an inadequate explanation for this level of complexity. The simplest life form that first existed is beyond science’s ability to recreate it.
Well obviously I disagree with you Kenny. I see an abundance of evidence of God and it is not all second-hand claims.
You and I both agree there is a God–even though we may not agree on who He is. We also agree that He wants to be known and can be known by humanity–even though we have different ideas on how to connect with Him. If that is indeed true doesn’t it make sense that He would reveal Himself to humanity? And if He reveals Himself to humanity, doesn’t it make sense that He would be consistent in how He reveals Himself? And yet we have huge diversity in people’s understanding of who God is and how He wants us to relate to Him many of which are polar opposites and contradictory. God cannot be an impersonal cosmic force that we connect to through our interactions with nature around us, and at the same time be a personal transcendent creator of all things who loves us so much that He became one of us in order to restore relationship with us. So if the two are not possibly compatible one of them must be wrong.
In fact, when we look at the way God portrays our relationship with Him in the Bible we discover that we have inherited an attitude of rebellion against Him and will do whatever we can to create our own purpose and destiny. That explains why there are so many different religious belief systems and worldviews: they are all attempts at trying to create our own way rather than follow the way that God has planned for us. And the more that a person investigates all the world religions and worldviews that are out there only one centers completely on God’s act of saving us from ourselves. Jesus is the only one who is God-become-man in order to help us to know Him and to then sacrifice Himself for us and Himself pay the penalty for our rebellion against Him. All other religions and worldviews encourage humanity to follow rituals, obey moral codes, attain intellectual or spiritual enlightenment to essentially pull ourselves up by our own boot straps so that we can connect with God. Jesus said that there is nothing we can do to fix how we have broken our relationship with God; only He can fix that. He then offers that healed relationship to all who are willing to give up their own efforts and trust in Him alone.
To me, that gives strong evidence that the claims of Jesus are the true ones and all other religious systems and worldviews are just a further rebellion against connecting with God as He has shown us and choosing our own way in life.
As far as evidence for God, the greatest evidence is Jesus Himself: a man whose existence is historically verified, whose acts of miraculous power were witnessed by many, whose claims to divinity are clear and whose message connects perfectly with who we are. You cannot look at Jesus and say, “He was a wise moral teacher who gives us a good example to follow” because of His claim to divinity. If he was not God and yet claimed to be God he was delusional or a liar–both disqualifying Him as wise, good, or someone worth following. The only options are to believe Him and allow Him to change your life or reject Him and continue to follow your own path.
What evidence do you see that has convinced you that God is a cosmic energy that binds all of life together?
Jamie there is simply no proof that God exists as is preached in the bible. All the letters that we alleged to have been written by Jesus were later found to be forgeries. The shroud of Turin has been found to be a forgery. The screams from the “well to hell” in Siberia in 1989 was later admitted by the Russian scientists to be a hoax. All you are doing is agreeing with tripe you have read in the bible and what others have preached to you. It’s second-hand claims and you are just a swallower and a regurgitator.
Something for YOU to think about buddy….
Hi Kenny, thanks for sharing your understanding of how you relate to nature around you and the cosmic energy that binds all life in the universe. Now if I don’t agree with you that we are worshipping the same God, just differently, who is being rigid ideologically? Is it me because I don’t see God the way that you do or is it you because you think that our relationship is with the same God? You had some pretty harsh words for me in response to my first comment–don’t worry, I didn’t take them personally :) Some people might say that your response showed a religious fervor. If we let that escalate it certainly would divide us and may even deteriorated into violence–of course you would have to find me first and I run pretty fast!
I know I am making light of all this but you have made some strong statements of how my beliefs and the beliefs that your girlfriend hold to have not been adequately examined and result in destructive behaviours. I just wonder if you really have investigated your own beliefs clearly and taken the opportunity you have with your girlfriend to truly investigate what it she has found in Jesus Christ. You never know, maybe you will become a rigid ideologue yourself if you find out that what she believes is actually true.
Something to think about…
Hi Jamie, I have a relationship with “God” because to me “God” is a metaphore for mother nature. However, given that this relationship is not in the religious sense as with a deity, then I still consider myself and atheist Since I have a good relationship with my body when I don’t drink or take drugs and when I make myself stronger by going to the gym, then I suppose I am have a relationship with God in the metaphorical sense. When I walk through the wilderness and appreciate the beauty of the trees, flowers, mountains and animals, then I supposs in the metaphorical sense I am also having a relationship with God. When I take my shoes and socks off in stand on the grass, then I suppose in the metaphorical sense I am accepting God into my body. When I eat healthy food and interact positively with my fellow humans, then I suppose I am having a metaphorical relationship with God. When I tilt my head back and look up to the stars at night move my lips silently to hope for something when I’m in despair, then I suppose in the metaphorical sense I am praying to God in a non-ritualistic way. You see? We do both have a relationship with God. It’s just that we go about it in different ways and refer to it as different things. But essentially, it’s the same cosmic energy that binds all life in the universe.
Hi Kenny, I am sure that there are some people who have not investigated the structure of their belief and can become quite rigid in their ideologies because they haven’t taken the time to understand the truth of what they believe. Do you think that is what has happened to your girlfriend? Do you think she has not really investigated what it is she says she believes?
What about you? Have you investigated what it is that you believe? How do you know that you are correct in your understanding? I am a little confused because you say that a person can have a relationship with God but you also identify yourself as an atheist. How do those two work together?
Hi Kenny, The bigger issue here is not whether or not God exists but the much simpler fact that you appear to have great disdain something that is very important to the woman you love. That’s a difficult foundation to build a future on.
Consider if we were talking about something much less important, like football for example. Let’s say your girlfriend is a huge Packers’ fan. She never misses a game. She has the jersey. She casually brings Green Bay up in conversation. And let’s imagine that you hate football. You think it’s a total waste of time, an oppression by corporate America to sucker people out of time and money. Every time she mentions the Packers you roll your eyes. When she’s wearing her jersey you make comments. She loves football, and you love her, but she knows you’re never going to watch the game with her and she doubts herself a little because you have such a low opinion of this thing she loves. Can you see how that would cause breaks and rifts to occur in your relationship?
It’s clear that you have spent some serious time considering your own thoughts and feelings about God and that’s a good thing. But understand that your girlfriend has also spent serious time considering her thoughts and feelings about God. Part of dating is figuring out whether or not you can live with the parts of another person’s life that are not like your own. The question here is not “how can I convince her that I’m right” it’s “can I love her the way she is? Is this a deal breaker for me?”
Jamie has given you some really excellent advice. There are some great resources there to take a look at. It is possible to have a grown up conversation, even one where we disagree, without resorting to calling people fascist fundamentalists. I know Jamie, and he is many things, but he is not a fascist. He is a man of faith and of conviction, and he’s someone who genuinely cares about people – even people he’s just getting to know. I don’t know if you’ve had negative experiences with Christians in the past but Jamie is a good person. He’s not someone you need to attack.
James people only believe in Jesus because they subscribe to rigid ideologies without looking deep enough inside and without questioning the structure of their own beliefs and without questioning the validity of the claims made by the bible. Religion is a poison that divides people and encourages prejudice and violence. It is possible to have a personal relationship with God without agreeing with fascist fundamentalists like you James.
Hi Kenny, your girlfriend is right that the Bible does instruct followers of Jesus to not be mismated or unequally yoked with people who do not believe the message of Jesus Christ (you can find that instruction in 2Coritnhians 6:14). The consequences of not following that instruction are not explicitly stated but there are many examples of people in the Bible who did not follow that instruction and seriously compromised their relationship with God. Some of the most notable are King Solomon who was said to have had his heart turned towards worship of other gods because of his unbelieving wives (1Kings 11:4) and the men of Israel who abandoned God to follow the gods of their wives from Moab (Numbers 25:1)
You see Kenny, your girlfriend has made a commitment to follow Jesus and make her relationship with Him the most important relationship in her life. That works well in a relationship between two followers of Jesus because they both are making that commitment to Jesus and so there is never any competing loyalties. But if she were to commit to you as well she would be in a position of compromising either here relationship with you or her relationship with Jesus. I have known many people who find themselves in that situation and the pain and hurt that it causes is very destructive. You can read for yourselves about some of the conflicts that kind of a relationship can cause in the responses to one of our articles “My Husband Doesn’t Share My Faith” (http://powertochange.com/experience/sex-love/husbandsfaith/)
You see, your girlfriend’s relationship with Jesus infiltrates every aspect of her life. It is not just a thing that she does on Sunday morning but she is connected to Him every moment of every day. She looks to Him for direction in her life and wants to only do those things that honour Him. It would not be fair to you to engage in a commitment of love because you would never hold that primary place in her heart. You would be competing with another man for her affections and the guy you are up against is the Creator of the universe. That is a tough act to follow my friend! I am sure you are a great guy but how do you beat that?!
Have you ever talked to her about her relationship with Jesus? Do you know why He is so important to her? Have you ever seriously considered the claims of Jesus Christ? You may actually find that He is far more real and more amazing than you had first thought.
I would like someone to help my girlfriend. She has been deceived into believing that god will send her to hell if she yokes with an unbeliever (me). She is apostolic christian and I want someone to mentor her gently to understand that she doesn’t need to subscribe to dogmatic religious ideology to have a personal relationship with god. I am in love with her and want her to see that if there is a god then he wouldn’t send her to hell just because her boyfriend is an aethiest.
Thanks
Kenny
[It is against our policy to post email addresses.]
Hi Aruam, that is a good question. For those who accept that the Bible is the result of God Himself inspiring the words written by the human authors the answer to that is God has identified Himself as “He”. Because God is a spiritual being His ‘maleness’ is different than what we see in humans, and it is also true that women reflect the image of God so there is a feminine aspect of God as well. There are places in the Bible where God gives Himself feminine attributes but He exclusively refers to Himself as “He”. That means it is entirely appropriate for us as His creation to also refer to Him in that manner. There is much that we do not know about God because our limited minds can only grasp so much. I am sure that this question of the gender of God will become a moot point once we encounter Him face to face, but until then it is best that we use the descriptors that He uses for Himself so that we do not distort who He is.
Does that make sense?
Why,who decides to refer to god with a he? I couldn’t get past that wisdom. I think we are all pretty much clueless on the subject and certainly didn’t see any enlightening heart wisdom coming here. But I guess it’s the old adjage of ‘go within’ and get out of the mind! Thanks.
Hi Cynthia, so glad that you decided to leave a comment in hopes of finding “Truth” about having a relationship with the Lord. Here is a resourceful link that will be of great help to you:
http://powertochange.com/discover/faith/discoverpurpose/
Also, please be note that we have online Mentors available to answer any questions you may have in your search for a personal relationship with God. If you would like for one of our Mentors to contact you via email here is a link to request a Mentor:
http://powertochange.com/experience/talk-to-a-mentor/
Father God, I pray on behalf of Cynthia who is searching for “truth” and desiring to have a personal relationship with You. I pray that You would open the eyes of her heart as she discovers what it means to have a relationship with You outside of religion. Bless Cynthia, Lord, in her search for You. In Jesus name, Amen
Hello hope all is well. I have been in a spiritual depression for sometime now and im seeking to have a personal relationship with god without a emphasis on religion. Im not sure where to start so any useful information would be very helpful.
Thanks so much.
Hello hope all is well.Im so glad I came upon this site. I have been in a spiritual depression for sometime and Im seeking to build a personal relationship with god without emphasis on religion. Im uncertain of how to go about it and would love any useful information you can offer.
thanks so much
You are right Anonymous, there have been unspeakable things done under the guise of ‘religion’. It just shows the weakness of our human nature to be so easily deceived into thinking that any of those kinds of things would be pleasing to God. It is significant to realize that God Himself has said that religious fervor is not what pleases Him. Instead He is looking for people with humble, repentant hearts who are seeking relationship with Him.
That’s what makes followers of Jesus so different: they have discovered that trying to live morally is impossible and that there is no ritual, no closely-followed regulation, and no payment that can be made to deal with their immoral life. Human efforts like that will fall short of God’s standard. The only thing that can transform a person’s life is surrendering to God’s control and allowing Him to deal with the immorality in our lives. Jesus died so that the penalty of our immorality would be paid for and we would no longer be living under the death sentence that comes with that immorality. Jesus was raised back to life so that those who follow Him could be transformed into His new life. He said that whoever is in Him is a new Creation; the old has gone and their life has been made new.
So a true follower of Jesus does not follow a religious ritual or regulation, but they live in relationship with Jesus who guides every step of their life so that more and more they reflect His perfect character.
There have been many people who have tried to create a religion out of what Jesus taught and the result has ended in catastrophe–some of which you have identified in your comment. There is no way to religofy–not sure if that is a word–a person’s need to be in relationship with Jesus because it results in trusting in what I do rather than totally relying on what Jesus does in me.
For example, we all know not to disrespect our mothers or talk back to them and to put them in first place because they gave us birth and literally appeared as the first people in our lives. The screwed up parts of the world involve so much disgusting unnecessary murder and rape under the umbrella of religion, mainly Islam and, in very few others, Christianiy (Rwanda) that it makes me sick to my stomach to see such disgusting inversion of morals. Religions, in my opinion, distort, not help build morals. If one feels killing someone for no reason as okay unless a religion tells one otherwise, then one needs to get locked up in a mental asylum, to speak brutally honestly…
[Please keep your comments civil without calling other people names. This is a place for conversation not verbal intimidation.]. While harmful atheists, such as Joseph Stalin, Mao, etc. existed, think about Hitler (yes, he devoutly practiced Catholicism- Google it), the crusades, and the Salem Witch Hunts. Also, think about how Galileo and Copernicus got put under house arrest, simply for suggesting something other than the Bible. Only extremist psychotic atheists burn down churches and refuse any sort of affiliation with God. They simply see no evidence for God but they still believe in God. Actually, evolutionary study shows that we evolved with a god gene, which directly mentally leads us to believe in God, and, as we know, morals come intrinsically, not from religion. I think that we all know which parts of religion disgust us (such as killing nonbelievers or homosexuals), which type of behaviors damage our societies, and which behaviors not to commit (such as murder without reason). Even animals know not to murder and attack for no reason, and their level of reasoning falls far below ours so, with our intrisically built in morals and our god gene, we need not a religion to show us the way to God. I know that God protects me and helps me so I need no religion to show me the way to the great God.
I agree that religion is just stupid but that God, too big and powerful for one religion anyway, truly means a lot. God truly helped me through so much :) my mother as well <3
Great article. I agree.
I absolutely agree with the shared stories above i too have been
recently saved and it was outside of the church..you do not need to be inside of the church building to be saved. I am a born again christian by faith through grace. I have a relationship with my lord and savior jesus christ without an intermediary. All of my praise worship and glory belongs to my father in heaven. Im just so grateful because since i have been saved he has countinously revealed himself to me. I know that it may be,a struggle for whose ever out there listening but i am here to tell you that it doesnt have to be. No matter where you,are in life just
drop Down on your knees go to god with your whole heart ask him to come in and he will..but when you go to him you must not be afraid.
Why? Because he already knows you and he loves you hes just waiting on you to come to him with everything that you have inside of you
giving it all to him and surrendering it all to him. That is how i found
jesus.
Lord I want to pray to all of the Bloggs that you will show them that love is very important to You, as man seek You for love. God you are not a religion but a relationship to be hold. In Jesus Mighty Name amen
Jesus is Lord..
When ever in downtown Los Angeles come worship with us!!
http://Www.Sanctuaryla.com
Dear Dodf,
So glad that you decided to search for truth verse settling for religion. It is wonderful that you have come to the realization that you feel that your relationship with God and the religion that you have been following is all messed up at this time. May you come to realize that God is hard at work in your life at this time and just because you chose to depart from the religion you had been practicing does not mean that you turned your back on Him. God loves you and wants to have a personal relationship with you through His beloved Son Jesus Christ. We would love to help you connect with God and we have online Mentors that can aid you through the questions and answers you are looking for. Click on this link and complete the form and one of our Mentors will contact you via email. http://powertochange.com/experience/talk-to-a-mentor/
I am providing you with another link that will be of great help to you as well. I hope and pray that you will take the time to look it over for I believe God will reveal Himself to you on a completely new way. http://powertochange.com/discover/faith/discoverpurpose/
At this time I would like to pray for you.
Father God, I pray on behalf of Dodf at this time. I ask that you would open the eyes of Dod’s heart into understanding the great love You offer. I ask that Your Holy Spirit would bring Dodf into a place of accepting the wonderful gift of salvation that You offer through faith in Your beloved Son Jesus. Dodf is in a vulnerable place at this time and I ask that You place the right people in Dod’s life that will teach Dod truth found within Your Word. Protect Dod’s mind from thinking and believing that something bad is going to happen because Dod decided to step away from what has been being taught. I know Father God that You are in the midst of Dod’s life right now and that Your truth, love, mercy and grace will protect Dod as You prepare Dod’s heart and mind into accepting the abundant life You offer. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen
Ive just recently broke away from jehovahs whitness.
I still beleive in god. But got too admit my whole.belive in
God is totally messed up. I hope one day i can have a relaitionship
With god. And i want to beable to pray but
Its hard when you get told that youre gonna get
Wiped off the face of the earth for turning youre
Back on jis so called organisation .
Would love to be able to pray and call him by his name
But the irganization have made me feel so unworthy….
So how does a person discern what is God’s revelation of Himself, what is man’s definition and what is the lie that would draw a person away from God? Are there nefarious voices out there bent on deception?
I walked away from organized religion when I was very young. God has been an abiding presence in my life forever, but the demonic way most religions paint Him was terrifying to me as a child.
Some thoughts on religion: “If you pave a human soul made fragile by fear and doubt with a hard-edged, punitive religious ideology, you create a fragile link to God – always in need of reassurance, always in danger of human storms, always a prisoner of fear. If you take that same soul, chisel away the concrete and allow God to move in, you create an unbreakable bond with Him.”
Thank you for providing a forum for those of us who love God and are uncomfortable with man’s definition of Him.
Good points Cindy!! You are right in saying that religion is a set of rules but a relationship with Christ is a personal relationship. So much more! God definitely can’t be put into a box!
Yes! absolutely. Whenever I speak on God, someone is always stating that I am “Religious”. But religious I am not, I haven’t been following a set of rules, paying tides, Praying at certain hours. (not that anything is wrong with that) But its just that I feel like Religion is Man Made. It puts God in a box, it also puts His Abilities in a Box. Which I don’t Agree with. Now I will read the Bible and everything, But I refuse to consider myself religious.
Hi Kyle,
I like your point that there will always be something mysterious about God, in that we will always seeks answers that churches don’t have. It is so true that God’s thoughts and ways are far above ours, which is why I take such comfort in knowing that He is holy. Since He is perfectly holy and never contradicts Himself or lies, He is also perfectly trustworthy and faithful. That is why, even though I cannot comprehend everything about Him, I can still know Him and know Him intimately, by what He has done over the course of history and in my own life and heart. Just like a good friend, I get to know Him better the more time I spend with Him, talking with Him, listening to Him and just reflecting on how kind, compassionate and generous He is toward me.
To your point about atheism, I have heard it said that it takes much more faith to believe that everything is a magnificent accident than to believe in a good, awesome, creative God who loves us and not only designed all life, but holds it all together by the power of His word. Isn’t it amazing that all He had to do was speak, “Let there be light” and there was light!?
But then again the word *Atheism* is miss-used by people who believe in a God but unsure of where they fit in and often times they actually mean they are *Agnostic*.
True Atheism is not believing in God or an afterlife and furthermore you are not open to the idea if possible data arrives thru either science or your own experiences with *God* so you will always be *closed minded* to the idea.
Some Atheists go as far as burning down churches and one peed on someone’s picture of Jesus and called it art while everyone was cheering.
I cannot STAND the strict rules of church where you either have to hide your views or risk being kicked out if they mis-understand you if you seek answers they do not have.
Sammy, we would love to help you get to know God. He cares deeply about you. Why don’t you read this article? http://powertochange.com/discover/faith/discoverpurpose/ It clearly explains how you can know God in a personal way. “Lord I pray for Sammy that you would help him come to know you and experience the great depth and meaning you provide. You care about him and want to give him a deep sense of fulfillment. This we pray in your name. Amen”
Biological scientists have published scientific studies that have established that evolution is not random but purposeful. Search “Evolution purposeful or random” also search “God is an evolutionist”
i have found meaning life from soul cravings the prequl i would like to know more about God and religion…
Blanca, you say “I have recently began to believe that GOD is what we make it” and then ask “what does that make me?” I think that makes you a normal human being. Humans have always tried to make God (or rather remake their conception of God) in their own image. But not surprisingly, when people do that, the “God” they come up with ends up looking a lot like themselves. This kind of “God” is comfortable but tame, familiar but powerless. Rather than settling for trying to remake God to fit our own preconceptions, I hope we can continue to seek to discover who God really is.
I can understand your aversion to “religion” though. I did not grow up knowing anything about any religion, and refused to attend any church until after I became a Christian … and even then, grudgingly! At first anyways. It looks years before I found a spiritual community that I can truly call home, but it’s been worth it and I’ve grown a lot along the way.
I highly, highly recommend a book called The End of Religion by Bruxy Cavey. You can read a sample chapter here … the author says he is writing “I am writing to people who may have grown tired of religion but are not prepared to jettison the idea of connecting with God.” His simple observation about the story of Jesus turning water to wine helped transform the way I understand Jesus’ mission on Earth (ie, Jesus wasn’t a fan of religion-for-religion’s-sake either.)
I hope that this helps. What do you see as being the next step on your spiritual journey?
PS. If you’d like a copy of the book let me know and I’ll see if one could be sent to you.
Men and not women created religion when all the evidence proves women are intellectually superior. GOD never published any religious book nor gave anyone authority to publish it. The only publication of GOD might be the 10 Commandments but I doubt it. Morality is written on our conscience the moment we breathe air. Blanca you are a Theist and be proud of it. GOD has no ego and couldn’t care less about how anyone perceives HER.
I have struggled with religion for so years, as many of us have. I went from Catholic (as a child) to Jewish (for 19 years). Now I am questioning why I need to follow religious rules placed to me to by any religious affiliation when they don’t no longer make any sense. Yes, I do believe in God, or something bigger than all of us, and there are rules people should follow to be GOOD citizens and human beings, but it’s all common sense and should not be dictated by churches, bibles, torahs, or ancient tales and rules. I have recently began to believe that GOD is what we make it and it may be different for some than for others. So what does that make me?
John, even if your facts are true (ie, 60% and 10%, which may not may not be the case) your conclusions don’t necessarily follow; these are “non-sequiturs”, meaning that the conclusion doesn’t follow from the facts.
God has in fact left his fingerprints all over creation. For an examination of just some of the ways as revealed by modern scientific investigation, see http://www.focus.org.uk/ (check the videos listed on the left navigation) or the work of astrophysicist Hugh Ross (http://www.reasons.org) for example.
60% of students in higher levels of Education are women. If women are smarter than men why have they not played a more significant role in any religious texts. 10% of all humans, birds and mammals are homosexual. If this were not so there would a true population explosion. God is the ultimate programmer. The program that was created ensured that there would be no fingerprints.