Gibo,
I do not know to which god you praise,"push on him","push on in and seek him out"?

Come on, you make this sound like a bingo hall or a clothing sale, These are the reasons why we have so many gods,(sorry, one god to those who are adamant there is only one god) The churches today allow anything and everything, instead of being staunch the way they used to be, staunch never killed anybody.

The different ways and methods of praising the all mighty, are astounding, some go to church dressed to kill and others rock up at church in jeans and t-shirts, it's a farce for some and for others it's something to believe in, somewhere and something to do on a Sunday morning.
Have respect for other religions, thats fine by me, to ridicule anothers religion the way some people do is beyond me.

The reason I'm pointing out the latter, is to highlight the question put forward "Is there a God?" To those who believe, yes there is a God. For those who are sceptic, no..there is no God, there, simple as that. To the people who go to church, dressed as though going to a disco, is this to entice the opposite sex whilst in church?...shame on you, but then again, if this is acceptable in their church, then so be it, but I still think it's a farce nowadays.

Now all I need, is some burk showing me something extracted from a bible that tells us "the Lord tells us to dress comfortably whilst in church" B+LL+CKS!

Talk to him? like the bloke who has never been to church but asks hewy to look after him as death approaches?
We must face the truth that not believing is not just a right, it is just maybe the next step in mans evolution.
Now note explanations are given for so many Gods, I agree.
It was my intention to say just that, remoteness from other people, a need for comport, saw many Gods developed.
Why is it so easy to cast of most Gods but not mine?

There probably is a God but let me tell you there definitely IS a GODDESS!

Gibo: "Come on guys/gals. Talk to HIM. Push on in and ask Him if He's there. Use the name of Jesus. Push on in. Seek Him out."

Sounds like the public bar of my local pub on a Friday night.

You know, blokes pushing in to the bar, singing out "Where the hell are you Kev, fer chrissakes?"

When Kev is behind his bar, he truly is God.

Spanky,

You make a lot of good points for the Christian religion. I suspect the casual clothes thing is a backfiring sales pitch that works for some but not most. The expectation is that, if the Church is relaxed and laid back, people will be attracted because it is non threatening. The irony is that in our culture we show respect with our clothes so it looks to outsiders like Christians don’t respect God. If Christians don’t why would anyone else? Such Christians would probably dress better to go into the Prime Minister’s presence.

People worshipping in a mosque on the other hand, (I suspect numbers of whom been growing faster), young and old, in any country of the world dress in special clothes and prostrate themselves. It stands to reason that people think they believe more in their God and are more likely to convert.

You think the Christian situation is a farce. I can see why it looks that way.

“Now all I need, is some burk showing me something extracted from a bible that tells us "the Lord tells us to dress comfortably whilst in church" B+LL+CKS!”

I believe that this is another problem facing contemporary Christianity. There seem to be people telling you virtually anything and claiming that the Bible says so. Up front as sincere as JW’s are I believe their understanding of the Bible is way off the mark. However they get people from other Churches calling themselves Christian and convince them that JW beliefs are the true Bible beliefs. Shortly after the reformation when protestants started to take opposing views on Bible interpretation Luther pointed out that it would make Christians the laughing stock if that continued. He was right and it hasn’t just continued it has exploded. That doesn’t add to credibility.

Belly,

Why is it so easy to cast of most Gods but not mine?

It can be a question of habit or upbringing or a question of reason or propaganda. It all depends.

C J,

“When Kev is behind his bar, he truly is God.”

LOL. Good one!

If it seems that my “cute quotes” earlier were “scoffing” then they probably were because this is a discussion that will never be resolved.

How amazing to be able to condense the unfathomable mystery of all creation into an easily-digestible, one-size-fits-all package and to use this knowledge to control and compel others to do as you command.

It’s a little smug or arrogant to present “God-on-a-stick” like some sort of commodity to be used to assert moral superiority over non-believers or to think that God would rearrange the universe in response to a prayer is a bit of a stretch for me.

I have found that the more devout many followers are, the closer they are to some sort of previous addiction (drugs, sex, crime, whatever) or personal tragedy. If you get personal comfort or relief in this way, then more power to you!

However, the relationship I have between myself and whatever I conceive “God” to be is entirely my own, as will be any consequences.

I don’t need a middle-man to re-interpret and explain this relationship for me, any more than I need a real Estate Agent to sell me my own house - because that is what organised religion essentially is.

I also reject the notion that I am not capable of telling Good from Bad and those who determine that difference are historically just as likely to send me to blow myself up or slaughter others on their behalf as circumstances demand.

If the act of standing in a Church or Temple automatically makes me a better person, then standing in a garage would make me a car.

I think there has to be a God but the old man with the telescope keeping tabs on everything I think or do doesn’t work for me. That’s what my conscience is doing for me all the time.

If I end up being “beaten and sodomised by demons on the desolate shores of the Lake of Fire for all eternity” for thinking this way then the joke’s on me. At least I’ll be in good company.