religion...

[themancalledjoe]

i personally believe that there is a heaven and hell. if you dare to believe me enough i can tell you of actual spoken conversations with god, and visualizations i've had of hell. so i believe. now im shaky in my belief due to my use of free will. without free will, there can be no faith. without free will belief does not exist. nothing is surreal

Comments

[ashie_cole]

All of what you've just said makes sense when I read it, but my mind thinks of all of this completely differently when it's just me in a room by myself and thoughts get to rollin...it's not supposed to be easy though, so, I guess temptation has to do its part...

[themancalledjoe]

another trial that god gives us is the trial of free will itself. if you don't have the power to drive the wrong thoughts from your mind when you're alone in your room, then pray and continue to pray until you realize how silly they are.

[misshoneyfoot]

i agree with ashley. i do understand where your coming from, but all these doubts keep surfacing in my head. even after i read this, and i do think you make some good points, i will go back to contemplating these trivialities and not have answers for everything. and i know for many of these things i never will. so i ask myself what good any thinking really does if i'm not getting anywhere. but i suppose the real value of anything would be in the journey, not the end point.

[themancalledjoe]

i believe that all answers will be given in death... though you're correct the journey is a majority of the real value. dont worry about answering all that you question. hold onto those questions, and maybe later they'll be answered when god knows you're ready. though i consider myself strong in the ability to teach others, im not ready for the true answers either because my faith is very weak at times. try with all your heart to be stronger in faith and you will receive answers, even if they are in death.

Amen!

[shawntickle]

"If you can't personally receive some sort of contact, in even the smallest way from that god, then personally i think it's time to try a new religion."

I don't talk about my own personal "contacts" very often, but I know exactly what you mean. And, it warms my heart to see someone your age write about it. Personal, religious experience is what every true believer is looking for in my humble opinion.

Re: Amen!

[themancalledjoe]

maybe it's because i have had some rough times in my life, but i for one have made contact with the god i believe in many times. that makes it ridiculously easy to write about.