I'm not sure of the meaning of the last sentence of the post above, so I will throw no stones at the poster.

I will say this. Chris has led a great discussion in this thread up to this point about how individuals who don't believe in God find hope, etc. in their lives. Let's remember to keep this discussion amicable, kind, and respectful regardless of our personal viewpoint.

John for the MS Moderator Team

I can't. I know that non-belief is as much a matter of faith as belief.

Cris & MV Beautifully said!!
I think we have touched on a level where humanity could find common ground if we weren't all so dead set on our "way" being the only way.
None of us can prove what we accept as our metaphysical belief so we will not necessarily hold that in common but we do have PLENTY of things in common as a group.
Metaphysics makes for very interesting conversation, as a matter of fact one of my most frequent, but I try not to let it get in the way of loving my fellow human beings and apparently you both believe the same.
My god (non- god) we are in agreement! :-)

I can't. I know that non-belief is as much a matter of faith as belief.

well then we agree that you don't believe because of a certain worldview that you hold to and that faith goes both ways

Thanks theaterkid for the post. I wish I could encourage you in trying to find ways to find hope and encouragement apart from God... But as I look around and see my world and the healing process I am going through, my hope lies in the things that he affords us. Perfect love, forgiveness, hope for a future and a perfect plan, hope for eternal life with Him and those who believe. Trust me, my life is far from perfect. I have struggles every day and I have screwed up many times and try hard to recover. But through it all I know there is a God who knows me, understands my struggles, and will be there to give direction to my path when I ask Him.

Good luck on your road to healing and path you have chosen. I wish only good things for you and hope you find the encouragement and hope you are looking for.

memoryvault...

Nice writing. I appreciate your thoughts on this subject and understand the great miracle you see in the world. If you find this earth beautiful then imagine what a perfect place such as heaven must be like.

If God was up there "pulling the strings" and if He did create an "imperfect world" I would probably agree with you fully and not be able to be a believe as well. Who would want to serve a God who creates chaos and controls what you do?

Fortunately for those who believe in God we have been able to understand that the world was created perfectly and instead of pulling strings God allows us free will... therefore the "imperfections"

If God was pulling the strings then abuse wouldn't happen, earthquakes and floods wouldn't happen, and free will would be gone. God in his graciousness created a place for us to enjoy and live and gave us our own will to operate as we see fit... And we as a human race have caused the "imperfect world" because of our transgressions against God.

Just a thought for you to ponder.



weapher

I am doing an internship with a non profit agency that raises money for families with sick children. The family who i had been assigned to had there son pass away last month. the boy showed me how precious our lives are. he was so little and he missed out on so much. Knowing just how precious my time is here, inspires me to want to live my life as best as i can. I want to experience as many things so that when my time comes i wont look back with regret.

I am inspired by nature and everything around me. the fact that we are all here together. It is amazing that on the edge of a galaxy in the edge of the universe we are all here learning, sharing,fighting and forgiving each other all on this little rock we call earth.

these are the things i find inspirational.

Post deleted by theatrekid

Chris,
My educated guess is that you're an awesome human being.
I am looking forward to reading your thoughts on a variety of topics.

How do you help comfort a family that loses a child? There were no words that could come out of any person when my son died, that would have given me comfort.

I did, however, feel the comfort of silent human arms around my shoulders, and the unspeakable look in peoples eyes as they empathized and felt my pain.

All of my thoughts on that memory have been centered around the spiritual experience that I had at that time but your post reminded me of the loving people who tried to come to my aid. At the time I was unable to let many people in but I experienced their loving concern and thinking back to that time I owe a lot of people a debt of gratitude. I think I'll start writing them.
I appreciate your point of view and give it as much value as a I would "believer', or "agnostic". Thanks for triggering that memory. Keep writing.

Keep writing? will do thanks for the kind words....

The family that lost their son was from the pacific islands i don't remember what island they originally came from but they lived in Guam for a while then came to the states for medical treatment. anyways they had some family that already lived here and there is a small community of people from there home that get together. I wasn't there when this happened but a friend of mine was and he told me about it. When the boy died all the people from there community came over to the boys apartment and they had instruments and food and they just sang songs from there home and cried and laughed together.

Post deleted by BJK