Do you believe in miracles?

[icey]

the phrase used i believe was asking miracle or sheer will ? but i dont want to get petty over it lol i guess we all interpret things differently

what does annoy me about this kind of thing and religion in general is while it seems non-believer and cynics will as a rule answer and debate such questions quite clearly and emphatically with no-inbetweens or turn arounds firm believers often have a tendency to turn things,go back on what they've originally said into different shades of grey and twist religion and bible quotes and all the like to suit themselves.

the phrases i take what i need and want from my religion,god gave us all free will, conveniently forgetting the shalls and shall nots (when it doesnt suit) that god also supposedly gave! are a few that comes to mind.

im probably saying this all wrong and totally changing the thread sorry and its not my intention to piss everyone off!

[Thorne]

what does annoy me about this kind of thing and religion in general is while it seems non-believer and cynics will as a rule answer and debate such questions quite clearly and emphatically with no-inbetweens or turn arounds firm believers often have a tendency to turn things,go back on what they've originally said into different shades of grey and twist religion and bible quotes and all the like to suit themselves.

the phrases i take what i need and want from my religion,god gave us all free will, conveniently forgetting the shalls and shall nots (when it doesnt suit) that god also supposedly gave! are a few that comes to mind.

im probably saying this all wrong and totally changing the thread sorry and its not my intention to piss everyone off!

You're not saying anything wrong. It sounds perfectly clear to me. And your comments about free will made me stop and think. We tend to believe we have free will, especially those of us who were born and live in a free society. So if God intended for us to have free will, why give us a bunch of rules and regulations? The Ten Commandments were not, after all, suggestions!

And as for changing the thread, these discussions are like the roots of a tree, growing, expanding, branching, sometimes intertwining, sometimes going off on their own, and sometimes undermining the foundations of our comfortable beliefs. And that's a GOOD thing!

[stripedangel]

[QUOTE=icey;608377]the phrase used i believe was asking miracle or sheer will ? but i dont want to get petty over it lol i guess we all interpret things differently

icey, it was a statement, not a question. The rest of that story is in the lower paragraphs...

"As far as Mom is concerned.....that was sheer will. She had been told that she would have no children at all before she was pregnant with me...she wasn't about to miss a grandchild's first word."

Sure, religious folks cannot answer all of the questions..and sure, there are those who change their minds and views about God, and the Bible, sometimes only to suit themselves.

Thing is.....that's why they call it faith. It's not about knowing all the answers, or having proof that God exists. It's about believing, even with no proof....no matter what your denomination or beliefs are.

[icey]

yes you did say sheer will sorry i just re-read the post...again!

although my opinion will not change, im not going to dispute the definition of the word faith, but what about the actual rules and decrees of the church and such, how can anyone justify twisting those to suit themselves.

and if those with 'faith' dont have proof that god exists how the hell can they then say he makes miracles! and if people arnt too sure that 'god' exists than how can they worship him? why do they pray to someone/thing they're not even sure is there?

[Thorne]

Thing is.....that's why they call it faith. It's not about knowing all the answers, or having proof that God exists. It's about believing, even with no proof....no matter what your denomination or beliefs are.

I have no problem with people having faith . Everyone is entitled to believe as and how they will. MY problem is with those who feel the need to try to convert the rest of the world to believe as they do. Those who say (and possibly even believe) that their superstition is the only true faith and you MUST convert to save your soul.

And let's face it, believing without proof opens the door to all kinds of kooks and nuts. How many times have we read about some cult committing suicide because they believed the world was ending and they were heading off to heaven without the rest of us? How does that differ from what YOU believe? (That's a generic "YOU", by the way: not pointing a finger at anyone in particular.)

[icey]

? i didnt post that lol

[Thorne]

? i didnt post that lol

No you didn't. I didn't do that on purpose. Sorry.

[icey]

i thought it was a miracle *winks* my post editing itsself!! lol...god trying to prove a point or something

[Thorne]

i thought it was a miracle *winks* my post editing itsself!! lol...god trying to prove a point or something

Nope. Not God. Just a little devil!

[stripedangel]

[QUOTE=Thorne;609063][QUOTE=stripedangel;608843]

I have no problem with people having faith . Everyone is entitled to believe as and how they will. MY problem is with those who feel the need to try to convert the rest of the world to believe as they do. Those who say (and possibly even believe) that their superstition is the only true faith and you MUST convert to save your soul.

QUOTE]

I agree with ya, Thorne, most of the people who are into church and all of their activities tend to think that because you go to their function on Easter, you're wanting to sign up for missionary work. But nobody was trying to do that with this thread...it was a simple question that was picked apart by others who were on the defensive almost immediately.

Without fully understanding Christianity, most assume that Christians would disapprove or judge the BDSM lifestyle, and many aspects of it. However, God commanded that wives submit to their husbands. The concept of BDSM at its root is almost parallel to this biblical instruction. What a trip!

However, let's take a closer look at this thread...what's a trip is the fact that very few posters on it have actually answered the original question...and the majority of it has consisted of nonbelievers aggressively attempting to convert believers into nonbelief.

Nonbelievers are more commonly outspoken about it, but they don't show up at your door with a "bible" of nonbelief. Hence, my previous statement ...

The devil's biggest trick was convincing people that he doesn't exist.

To clarify, If the devil doesn't exist then God must not exist either, and nonbelievers have nothing to worry about.

That being said, to answer the original question, i believe that God still performs miracles today.