I don't know what I believe. I don't know what is true. I don't know if it is even possible to know any of the answers.

I believe in possibilities. Atheism would be to believe in no possibilities, which is as extreme as believing that God is sitting on a cloud watching us.

I believe in 'the supernatural', but I don't know what it is. It might be in our mass subconscious, or just in our imagination, or on another plane, or undiscovered on this plane.

I think that one day we might know more and believe less. After all, thunder and lightening were once considered to be aspects of God - because we didn't understand them. 'Supernatural' may then become 'natural'.

I think that one day, we may actually discover what 'God' is - if 'he' is, at all and that we shall then understand better the meaning of life and existence, etc.

I don't think it will be quite as the Church has understood or explained it. As for Sin, Repentance, Atonement, Forgiveness, Redemption, Salvation, etc., I think we shall find that it's really about living in harmony wiith each other and with our planet, rather than about worshipping God or trusting Jesus to be our redeemer.

Maybe Jesus was a particularly sensitive and spiritual being, who understood about all this. Or maybe he wasn't - I don't know. Maybe he actually was God incarnate - maybe to an extent, we all are.

Actually, the ideas in James Redfield's 'The Celestine Prophecy' rang truer for me than anything I have picked up in Church, etc.

http://www.celestinevision.com/

Yeah....thought it might make things a little easier....Okay, back to your regular scheduled programming.

I thought this would fit perfect with this thread. In 1940, Corrie Ten Boom was living with her father and sister above their watch shop in Haarlem, Holland. When their country was invaded by Germany, this devoutly Christian family provided sanctuary for persecuted Jews. Before long, the Nazis captured Corrie and her family. They were sent to Ravensbruck a concentration camp in Germany. Corrie lost both her sister and father at this camp. Two weeks prior to her death, Corrie’s sister told her that after the war Corrie would travel the world sharing the gospel and that she would also return to Germany and would convert one of the concentration camps to house and help the Germans. Corrie was scheduled to die, but a mistake was made and she was instead released from the camp. Remarkably, throughout this turbulent time, Corrie’s faith in God grew stronger and past the age of 50, helped her become one of the most beloved evangelists of her time. God helped her deal with her hate, bitterness and reluctance to return to Germany and help the Germans. The Holocaust Museum in Israel commemorated Corrie by planting on their site a tree in her honor. Below is an excerpt from her book titled “Tramp for the Lord” dealing with forgiveness. [quote]“It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, a balding heavyset man in a grey overcoat clutched between his hands. He was working his way forward against the others. One Moment I saw the overcoat and the brown hat; the next a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones. It came back with a rush; the huge room with its harsh overhead lights; the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor; the shame of walking naked past this man; I could see my sisters frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment skin. The place was Ravensbruck and the man who was making his way forward had been a guard, one of the most cruel guards. He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein.” He said. “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!” His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side. Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I prayed, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness. As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me. And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.”[/quote]

That is an amazing story. I don't think I could have forgiven him at all. It must have been a very emotional and perhaps cathartic time for her. She may well have been having a religious experience or she may have been having a very strong, but human, emotional experience. It's not easy to tell.

plenty of Nazis pulled the lever of the chambers, or emptied their magazines into crowd with scripture on their lips.

The Nazi movement began as a Christian movement in post WWI Germany. They needed a scapegoat and turned first to the homosexuals.

In Kingdom Coming, the book about the rise of Christian Nationalism, the parallels between the rise of totalitarianism in Germany and the rise of the Christain Right in the US is striking.

If you ever have the chance read her books, "The Hiding Place" "Tramp for the Lord" Religious “politicians” scare me also. Many say anything just to be voted in. According to Scripture the world leader to come will be religious, charismatic and loved by the masses. He will eventually show his true colors and go after the Christians and Jews. that

George W Bush fits two out of the three, and until recently was loved by the masses. Good thing the US is made up of 300 Million now.

He isn't quite loved by the masses anymore.

but for a while he was. Now it's down around 28%.

American History X anyone?

not so different from the white supremacists in america.

"plenty of Nazis pulled the lever of the chambers, or emptied their magazines into crowd with scripture on their lips."

"not so different from the white supremacists in america."

These are people that claim to believe but in actuality their actions do not measure to whom they claim to believe in. This is why a so called "religious" goverment, and I use the term loosely, is dangerous.