There is definitely no loving God. Fact.

(that was not to Falconbird)

Wilma that is lovely. I suppose they just come through the door when no-one is around
The DGDs and I have found fairy doors in trees in a place near here that we visit sometimes.

dorsetpennt I am intrigued about what you do at Christmas.
In fact, if there is no God and no Jesus what is Christmas all about?

Christmas is the modern version of a midwinter celebration; a recognition of the concept of "strength in weakness" which is inherent in the Christmas story and is inspiring; and an opportunity for families to get together.

At the age of 5 I came to the conclusion that there was no god of any description and started to wonder why anyone believed the stories in the bible. I came to the conclusion that if the stories of Greek and Roman gods were made up then it was obvious to me that the ones in the bible were too. I wondered why so many people believe these stories.

I was an atheist then, now and will be till I die.

Christmas festivals hijacked a Pagan festival around the same time so that it was easier to convert uneducated people to believe in the christian religion.

Interesting parallels between Christ and Mithras -
jdstone.org/cr/files/mithraschristianity.html

rosequartz my friend has a door in a tree in her garden . I have never been lucky enough to see a fairy, but there's plenty of dust in my house, so they definitely visit.

Most Christian festivals have their roots in earlier belief systems.

That's a very interesting link Elegran - it is disturbing to see how many religions have been associated with the idea of a virgin birth, presumably to reinforce the miraculous element. But sadly that has regularly been hi-jacked to put women down as unclean.

jingle You are confusing me.

You started a thread with a very forthright title.

Most people who responded, whether supporting your premise or putting a different point of view, did so in a fairly reasoned and polite manner. I don't understand why you now wish to shut the discussion down.

I feel that it is wrong for anyone of any religion to try and impose their beliefs on people who feel differently, although if someone initiates a discussion and asks questions about a person's beliefs then it seems reasonable to give a response based on one's own beliefs.

I don't think we have the right to impose our values on anyone (in part because it is difficult to define what "our" values are - not everyone has the same values) but we do have the right to expect the laws of our own country, in our own country, to be adhered to.

I have printed that off Elegran, it's easier to read and digest.

Yes, Easter being the most recognisable after the Saxon goddess of spring, Eostre

An encouragement to get people to celebrate Christian festivals if they held them at times that had been important to them as pagan festivals.

It used to be thought that Christmas was related to the pagan festival of Saturnalia, but now historians believe the festival of solution invicta was replaced by Christmas.

With its origins in Syria and the monotheistic cult of Mithras, sol invicta has similarities to the worship of Jesus. Constantine, the first Christian emperor, was brought up in the sol invicta cult, so it's more likely Christmas was intended to replace this festival rather than Saturnalia.

There is a Dylan song called"God on our Side"

"Why doesn’t God miraculously intervene to stop evil acts if He is all-loving and all-powerful? Why doesn’t He catch the drunk driver’s car that is going to crash into a bus? Why doesn’t He deflect the murderer’s bullets? The person asking doesn’t actually want God to stop all their evil acts. They don’t want to be invisibly gagged every time they’re about to say something hurtful; they don’t want to stub their toe when they try to kick the dog. They just think it would be good if God stopped certain evil acts or just the evil acts of others. But that would make life impossible. There would be no freedoms, no regularity and no personal responsibility."

Don't worry about it Eloethan. Do what you like.

I wonder why some people come across as being totally devoid of any emotional intelligence at all.

That Christ wasn't born on the 25th doesn't trouble me , it is a day when I know Christians are celebrating - he was born , and billions are sharing this joy with me . The Queen has two birthdays

Same with Easter, date doesn't matter , the joy I feel , a joy which cannot be put into words , again it is a joy shared .

. I understand what soon means by hearing others speak of moments in their lives.

I don't choose to believe God loves me, I know God loves me.

jing do you mean me?

I think you will find that Dylan was being ironic soon in order to point up the fact that every side in a war thinks god is on THEIR side.

You mean soup, who seems to be a new poster. Welcome, soup, although your username is very smilar to that of another member!

I didn't mean Wilma. Or Soup.

Soup has posted before. I do, momentarily, get her name confused with soop.

No, I was replying to Luckygirl's post about the Dylan song. I know you didn't mean either of those posters jingl.

I am sorry I was confusing Eloethan by hoping this thread would die a death. I would have thought my reason was quite obvious really. On reflection, I am uncomfortable with the title. That's all.

And the thread has strayed far from the original point.

Oh right. Going round in circles here. Have to be careful or will get deleted.

As I see it, God has given us rules to live by, but also allowed us freewill. All the nastiness in the world is due to people not obeying the rules ( which come down to do unto others as you would be done by, or love your neighbour). Like children, we will only learn by making mistakes and seeing the consequences. A lot of what is going on today is the result of the actions in the past of Western countries like UK who helped themselves to the resources of others without recognising them as equal human beings same as ourselves. There can only be a God if there is life after death and if in that life God compensates those innocents who suffer. Consider that compared to eternity life on Earth is like a few flutters of your eyelashes, then you are gone, so whatever happens to you is not as important as what happens in the next life. Of course this is why Karl Marx called religion the opiate of the masses!