Is God real?

[Headhunter 6]

I'd like to say Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there! Here's some wisdom from proverbs:

"The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him." Proverbs 20:7

"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

And for all of you have no dad, it says in 2 Corinthians 6:18, "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."

Thank you.

Of all the things I have experienced in my life, the most fulfilling and satisfying has been to be able to raise a son who is honest, hardworking,....oh, and a great fishing companion.

HH

[pattygreen 5]

Thank you.

Of all the things I have experienced in my life, the most fulfilling and satisfying has been to be able to raise a son who is honest, hardworking,....oh, and a great fishing companion.:blushing:

HH

I love to hear about a Father being a good influence in his child's life. You sound like a fantastic dad who wants to spend time with his son and be a good influence for him. God bless you.

[Headhunter 6]

Patty;

I do not always agree with all that you say. I do, however, respect your passion for what you believe.

I do not know if there is a God, at least not the sense that traditional religion has taught us. It is something that I have struggled with for many years.

However, there are things that make me believe that there is SOMETHING there.

One of them is puppies. and kittens. Have you ever seen the face of a puppy or a kitten? That doesn't just "happen".. THAT is created.

The other thing is my Son. When he was born, and the Nurse put him in my arms for the first time (I had never held a baby), she also handed me a bottle to feed him. I looked at the nurse and said "what do I do???" She smiled at me and said "you'll figure it out". So, I took the bottle and kind of put it up to his face. I figured I would have to kind of pump the back of his head or something to make him drink....I had NO idea what to do. But....I put the nipple up to his lips,....and he took it in his mouth....and he drank. He KNEW what to do. A baby that was just a few hours old. And somehow he knew.

I turned to my wife, and I smiled and said "I guess they come programmed". And, they do. And I believe that in some way, that there is a "programmer" somewhere that taught him to do that. It's pretty good evidence for God.

I don't know, and I probably will never will until my time comes. But, kittens, puppies, and my son do give me a clue....and some hope.

HH

[pattygreen 5]

Headhunter, that was a touching story. I like what you said about a puppy or kittens face. They are adorable. I have both. A chocolate labrador, and a gray and white tabby cat. (Coco and Gizmo) I absolutely adore them.

It's the 'amazing' things in life that show us that God is real. The incredible birth of a baby, the catipillar that turns into a butterfly, nature, the rising and setting of the sun.

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." (Romans 1:20)

[ghannouge 0]

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty. He asks one of his new students to stand and.....

Prof: So you believe in God?

Student: Absolutely, sir.

Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?

Student: No, sir.

Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?

Student: No, sir.

Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?

Student: No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student: Yes.

Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.

Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?

Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain,sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.

Student: That is it sir... The link between man & god is FAITH . That is all that keeps things moving & alive.

[KartMan 58]

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty. He asks one of his new students to stand and.....

Prof: So you believe in God?

Student: Absolutely, sir.

Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?

Student: No, sir.

Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?

Student: No, sir.

Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?

Student: No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student: Yes.

Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.

Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?

Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain,sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.

Student: That is it sir... The link between man & god is FAITH . That is all that keeps things moving & alive.

I’m sitting here trying to figure out if this is a joke or an attempt to prove a point. If it’s a joke, I have to say its not real funny, in fact not even worth the read. If it’s an attempt to prove a point, well it falls pretty short on that front too. Should we choose to put a hole in the professors head we would surly find a brain, and then we could proceed to feel, touch, and smell it if we were so inclined. Unfortunately though, every hole we poke in the faith of religion only shows it to be more and more unbelievable.

[ghannouge 0]

Unfortunately though, every hole we poke in the faith of religion only shows it to be more and more unbelievable.

If you did not understand what was meant from such a debate, then im sure no matter how much i try to show you what i have seen in life that makes me SURE that there is only ONE GOD, and we all worship, then im sorry to say this is what you believe and i cannot change your beliefs.

[pattygreen 5]

I found your post excellent. Thanks. God is like the like the wind. You can't see it or smell it or taste it, but you know it's moving and you can feel it's power.

Only those who have chosen to believe in Jesus and have accepted him as their Savior will ever know and understand what we are talking about. It isn't until we have asked God to make us his children that he opens your eyes to be able to "see" him (spiritually). After reading the bible is when you will begin to comprehend spiritual things, and not before. He describes his words to us as 'alive'. Able to penetrate the heart.

[pattygreen 5]

This is an article I read online about Americans prefering movies with good morals over obscenity and immorality.

Americans Want Movies with Morals, Christian Values

When Hollywood gives moviegoers entertaining movies with moral values and inspiring stories full of positive faith, moviegoers flock to the box office. Every year the Annual Movieguide® Report to the Entertainment Industry shows Hollywood's decision makers that movies with faith and values do much better than movies that overtly attack traditional faith and values.

As we will see during Sunday's Academy Awards, last year was no exception. Six of the most successful movies of the year -- "Wall-E," "Iron Man," "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," "Prince Caspian," "Gran Torino," and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" -- contained strong redemptive content with positive Christian references.

The comic robot hero in "Wall-E" is willing to give up his life and the love of his life to save mankind. In "Iron Man," the capitalist playboy Tony Stark gets a new heart, gives up his life as a cad who doesn't care about his country and battles evildoers.

"Prince Caspian" shows that prideful faith in self has to give way to faith in the Christ figure of Aslan, who saves Narnia at exactly the right moment in time. A priest teaches a gruff atheist that love and sacrifice are better than revenge in Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino," which was unfairly snubbed by the Oscars this year. Finally, in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," Indiana Jones hears the words of Jesus Christ in a church as he finally does the right thing and marries his beloved, the mother of his son.

It was also the year that "Kung Fu Panda" showed that there is no hidden occult secret and that anyone can obtain greatness through self-sacrifice. The Christian movie, "Fireproof," earned much more money than any other movie released by small independent film studios. And, it cost less to make than most indie movies

Not only did moviegoers prefer heroic movies with very strong moral virtues, they also rejected movies with anti-Christian, secular, nihilistic, and atheist content like "Religulous," "Adam Resurrected," "Save Me," "Wanted," "Hounddog," "Bloodline," "Hamlet 2," "The Love Guru," "Stop-Loss," and "Saw V."

The difference between the domestic box office averages for these two categories was $59.9 million per movie for the positive movies versus only $10.4 million per movie for the negative ones.

Furthermore, contrary to popular opinion, 2008 was the year that obscenity, sex and nudity didn't sell -- again. In fact, movies with no foul language, no sex and no explicit nudity earned much more money on average than movies with some foul language, sex and explicit nudity, or a lot of it, by 2 to 1 or more!

Once again, G-rated movies made more money than movies with other ratings, especially when compared to R-rated movies. For example, among the Top 250 movies at the box office in 2008, G-rated movies averaged $64.1 million in North America, but R-rated movies averaged only $14.6 million.

Just as good if not better, movies that matched Movieguide®'s highest, most family-friendly standards, including the traditional understanding of Christian theology and ethics, averaged $61.9 million at the domestic box office compared to only $17 million for those movies that we labeled "abhorrent."

People of faith and values want to see role models they can emulate in the stories they watch on the big and little screen. They want to see good conquer evil, truth triumph over falsehood, justice prevail over injustice, and beauty overcome ugliness.

If Hollywood wants to reach more people, they should look to people of faith and values. Hollywood needs ticket sales, not bailouts! Movies with strong morals make money.

Edited August 9, 2009 by pattygreen

[pattygreen 5]

"If there is a God, then why is there pain and suffering in the world?"

"How can a mere finite human be sure that an infinite wisdom would not tolerate certain short-range evils in order for more long-range goods that we could not foresee?"

Imagine a bear in a trap and a hunter, who, out of sympathy, wants to liberate him. He tries to win the bears confidence, but he can't do it, so he has to shoot the bear full of drugs. The bear, however, thinks that this is an attack and that the hunter is trying to kill him. He doesn't realize that this is being done out of compassion. Then, in order to get the bear out of the trap, the hunter has to push him further into the trap to release the tension on the spring. If the bear were semiconscious at that point, he would be even more convinced that the hunter was his enemy who was out to cause him suffering and pain. But the bear would be wrong. He reaches this incorrect conclusion because he is not a human being."

I believe God does the same thing to us sometimes, and we can't comprehend why he does it any more than the bear can understand the motivations of the hunter. As the bear could have trusted the hunter, so we can trust God.

[Lana24 10]

I love this thread, i think about creation all the time. Is God real? Well from an Enlightened point of view it all depends on your definition of real. We are living a dream within a dream. So what is real? Thanks PattyGreen for starting this!

[pattygreen 5]

I love this thread, i think about creation all the time. Is God real? Well from an Enlightened point of view it all depends on your definition of real. We are living a dream within a dream. So what is real? Thanks PattyGreen for starting this!

What do you mean by 'we are living a dream within a dream'?

[123crod 170]

I know there is a God for He lives within my heart!!

[pattygreen 5]

I know there is a God for He lives within my heart!!

When I first became a Christian, I used to think that God lived in your 'literal' heart within you. But now I understand that he lives within the very heart of man's whole being.

[Lana24 10]

What do you mean by 'we are living a dream within a dream'?

Buddism teach that when you realize your purpose, you also realize God.

To understand a dream within a dream you must ask yourself, Am I dreaming?