I'll insult your beliefs and then hope that we can have a respectful conversation, while I continue to insult your beliefs.

Why don't they have a smokin' crack emoticon?

I am sometimes reluctant too to get into religious wrangling but I wanted to share something I heard just once in my life.

I once heard a remarkable statement about God. "There is no God and God is you" (source unknown) The gist of it was that without man, God would not exist. Without personal faith there would not be miracles such as praying with all YOU can muster and being amazed because your prayers were answered.

I also once heard that the bible was stories created to suit the childlike capacity of droves of people in those times (heard the same of other religious teachings) That the only way to make people understand was with fables.

Don't know how much any of this is true, just sharing a point of view. I will say I have created my own miracles when all hope was lost but only with the most unusual, unrepeatable remarkable effort on my part that came out of me and I didn't know it existed. Just food for thought.

Okay, I'm going to get a bit personal right now. Here we go...I was a devout Christian, for my entire life. Born and raised, bible school, bible camp, sunday school, bible study etc. I entered a chapter of my life where things were good. I was a full time honors student at the art institute, I had no bills to pay and my education was being paid for through grants and such. Life was perfect. I started dating a friend that I trusted very much. We were about to have a baby and he was not working. I prayed for God to give him a push and to get a job. Nothing happened. After the baby was born, still no job and to top that off, he started beating me senseless, frequently in front of my child. I prayed constantly for God to tug at his heart and for him to stop drinking and stop being abusive. I believed in my faith very strongly. I was even attending bible study weekly and had an entire class of women. Very devout Christians, I might add, praying for us. The man never changed, not only that, but became more and more abusive as the days passed. The power of prayer does not always work. God, if he exists abandoned me. Therefore I abandoned God. Why should my beautiful child grow up without a father. Why should I be beaten senseless, when I did nothing to deserve it. I gave my heart to this man and my undying devotion. God rejected my pleas for safety and to have a good father for my child. I refuse to believe that there is a God, because NO ONE deserves to be treated this way. NO CHILD deserves to grow up without a daddy or see their mother beaten daily for that matter. This is just my personal experience with God and prayer and my reason for choosing atheism

Sometimes God shows us a way, but we don't see it.
Many of us here have horror stories like yours and worse, but we have to open our eyes and hearts. We must see what is there for us to take, to use, and to ultimately hold.

Kat

Oh trust me, I have grown immensely since those horrible days. Can honestly say that I have grown and learned from it. However, God rejected me, therefore I reject him. I cannot fathom a God that would do something like that to one of his children. If he does exist and is that cruel, I take no part in him.

Well we all have been in relationships thats have been with people that we thought would treat us well but end up hurtin us. But stayin strong in urself is more powerful then anything else in life!

Forgive me if I deviate a bit here. I sought answers too for things that didn't make sense to me. I was a very devout Catholic from childhood. Hope no one is offended but I could not live the teachings so I started seeking. When I learned in Buddhism about eternal life and how we repeat the cycle of life and death to get another chance to alleviate karma from our past lives. It made sense then why children are born with diseases or why a good person is always treated badly. I'm not trying to convert anyone just sharing my understanding and explaining why I chose my path. Cause and effect, karma, eternal life all made sense to me when I look at the world and the seasons and that there is a universal rhythm that everything pulses to, the rebirth every Spring. The key question was memory, how come I don't remember the causes I made in past lives that I am suffering for in this life. I've received many answers and enough proof to continue for my lifetime on this path. As for the question of God, I never believed in a selfish or negligent God so the idea that I am responsible for my own causes and effects eliminates blaming God for my suffering. I have the power within to elevate my life and become absolutely happy so that is my chosen path. Its harder to take responsibility for your own karma and not have anyone to blame like God or the devil for your good and bad actions but it works because I am forced to look at myself and to change those things that I do not like.

I'm of the opinion that if God exists, he doesn't involve himself in this world at all. The God described in the Bible that says God will answer prayer, doesn't seem to exist.

In support of the "faith doesn't seem to work" argument, why do light bulbs burn out? I always flip the switch believing that they'll come on. If belief could actually influence the physical world, then you'd never be surprised by anything...

Thank you for your insight. I do not blame anyone for my poor choices. That was exactly the reason I lost my faith. I believe that there are actions and consequences. I chose a poor man for a father for my daughter. The consequences were felt strongly. I am now trying to mend this. I am responsible for all of these things and I am responsible for the life that I choose to live now. I have learned from my mistake and will not repeat it. Some cling to faith in life experiences like this, some cling to themselves. I put my faith in me.

I agree, we are born and die alone. Cannot take anyone or anything with us and only we know what happens in that transition but we can't tell anyone. So I agree, 'stayin strong in urself is more powerful then anything else in life!'

But I don't think that is Me-ism because looking at the world we know there is something greater than ourselves even if we cannot define it.

This brings us to the question of the meaning of life...some exist for God. Some exist for themselves. Staying strong in yourself, is very important yes, but I think how you affect the world around you is what is important.

Here, here... I have a real bad habit of picking men that are no good for me. I'm still trying to figure out why I have this tendency when I have 5 sisters and some of them can find real good mates. Like you, I look within and I know I'm a good person and I deserve the best!!

That is true and it troubles me when I see one of my sisters leaving everything up to God, like if its meant then God will bestow it on her...when in reality you cannot be complacent in life "you have to ride life or life will ride you" (quoted Napoleon Hill, one of my favorite speakers)

Here, here... I have a real bad habit of picking men that are no good for me. I'm still trying to figure out why I have this tendency when I have 5 sisters and some of them can find real good mates. Like you, I look within and I know I'm a good person and I deserve the best!!

Guys may seem nice at 1st then later on they become something that u dont want them to be. They are alot of guys out there that treat women better but end up the same! It goes both ways Some men are not good for certain women n women are not good 4 certain men! thats why i treat every1 the same with loyalty, respect and honesty!

Yes its a Catch22 isn't it. I think we are the woman that always winds up getting the guy who just left someone who treated him badly though

maybe probably! but we all must respect n treat people as they would to ourselves.

Now I have a question...why are you blaming God for choices you made?