Does God exist? I'd like to be clear in my mind

His parishioners

I don’t think he mocked or condemned them, did he? Just made a comment in a private conversation to a friend. I’ve heard worse condemnation from the pulpit about our so-called ‘sinful ways’

Big difference between what is said by a minister/priest to the
congregation and what is said to a friend by a priest/minster
about his/her congregation.

It cannot be defended, it was a betrayal

It’s all down to belief, but those who state categorically that ‘there is no God’ are doing just that ‘believing’ that there isn’t, as nobody can possibly know.
We are only on the lowest rung of the ladder yet as regards space exploration and what has been discovered and done in the last 50 years would have been unbelievable at one time.

I disagree Annie - he wasn’t betraying anyone, he was making a comment about his congregation (presumably he knows and understands them and their motivations very well) to a friend in private.

I agree that we simply cannot know; but it does seem a bit perverse of a god to leave everyone in the dark. Those who believe in a particular religion will say - ah, but she/he has, and cite Jesus, Buddha etc. etc.; but as I have remarked before, these are the products of their cultures and their time, and of the people alive at that time.

Then we disagree SirChenjin, you think it acceptable to discuss his parishioners I do not, he betrayed them.

"Thoughtful, non-dogmatic and tentative folk protest gently that religious faith does not require us to accept as factual what is clearly fictional, mythical, poetic or interpretive, but it does require us to take seriously and celebrate the sacred and to recognise as potentially truth-bearing the stories and insights of the religious past."

extract from Sea of Faith website

I think it’s acceptable for him to question his parishioners motivation for attending church in private, yes. That was not a betrayal imo, so I agree we’ll have to disagree.

He didn’t question he stated it as fact, if he had a need to question then question his congregation not condemn them
behind their backs.

Questioned/stated it/expressed an opinion/whatever - he has the right to free speech in a private conversation.

I agree with Annie, it was disrespectful for him to talk about his parishioners in that way to another person. If he does know and understand their motivations, presumably that's because of conversations he has had with them as individuals, and any opinion he may have formed of them as a result, should have been kept to himself.

For me God definitely exists. I find it totally illogical to believe that our whole universe just happened by chance and that nothing in life has any real purpose or meaning.

I don't think anyone can tell you that God exists. You have to have a feeling that you think is God to be able to believe in him.

If going to church or singing hymns gives you a good feeling, then go on doing it. None of us believe everything that is in a hymn book or even in the Bible. People wrote both, after all, and were trying to express the unexplainable, so they may well have got a lot of it w ong.

What’s between a minister/ priest and those in their church is confidential, how can
anyone approve of breaking this confidence claiming ‘it’s free
speech’. I could never betray a confidence, sod free speech.

It was betrayal of trust.

And the friend has made his betrayal public

It’s his perception of some of his parishioners - he is entitled to that view, and let’s not say ‘sod that’ to free speech in private (when no crime has been committed), that takes us down a dangerous path. If he had said to paddyann ‘Mrs X told me in confidence that the only reason she comes to church is Y’ then that would be a betrayal of a confidence.

It’s like a doctor saying to her friend that the reason people are overweight is because they eat too much of the wrong stuff and I’m fed up telling them to cut back v the reason that Mr X is in my clinic is because of Y.

They haven’t made it public at all - an anonymous person on a forum has shared an anonymous story about anonymous people somewhere in the world.

One issue about the bible is that it is translated and so the truth or veracity of some parts are down to whoever did the translating.
eg the Virgin.....I have no axe to grind as I am not a christian but who really knows if it meant an unmarried woman or not?
there is no way to prove it.

The bible as we know it is a translation of a translation of a translation( probably) . There are other gospels left out and quite probably other religious works omitted too. So apart from whether it is believable there is also the issue of the fact that someone decided what to include, in all likelihood because it proved their own point of view.

hettymaud the answer to your question is yes as far as I’m concerned but life is still difficult. Many of us struggle with our belief day to day but something keeps us holding on.

Doodle Yes, life is still difficult for those of us who believe but it must be so much worse for those who do not.

They cannot feel the comfort and strength which always comes eventually through faith and prayer. This is my personal experience, anyway.

Attempting to made comparisons between who has a better life is just silly. People find comfort and strength (amongst many other things) through all sorts of activities - choices that are meaningful and important to them, and all are equal in their worth.

Why worry about it? Just feel what you feel and enjoy what you enjoy - even if you're not entirely sure what you believe.

I thought this thread was about the belief in a God, not about religion.

You can believe in a God without belonging to any religion, and not believe in God and not be an Atheist. Atheism is in itself an organised group based on its belief that there is no God. You can simply be non-theist, and have no further interest in the subject than that.

I believe in God and that Jesus Christ is his son and my saviour. God gave people free will and it is people who do much of the evil in the world helped by Satan who was Gods Fallen Angel.

Bad things do happen to good people. It is not planned it is random . God sent his only son to suffer and die for us so he knows our suffering and out faith helps us to manage what happens to us. Do not say why me but why not me . What is so special about you that it should only happen to someone else?

When my son died at 4 years old I knew Jesus was in be room with us and he had come to take my son to be with him and he would look after him until I died and would see him again. I grieved terribly and still do but I know absolutely that I will see
my son again and would not have survived without my faith which I still have. It is a big part of me and my life but I do not force it down people’s throats.

When I go to church (most Sunday’s not all) I feel a deep sense of peace and do not care whether people know I go or not, I go for me. I try to lead a good life and help others and I am not afraid of dying , it is just a part of living. I will miss my daughters when I die but I will see my son again.