Do you believe in a god?

[BlazinHaze]

I was "born" Catholic and went through all of the sacraments and attended Catholic school for 9 years. But, I knew by the time I was 12 that I didn't beleive in God anymore, or maybe I never did. All I believe in today is karma, because it has very much been a part of my everyday life.

[weirdo79]

Id really like to believe in Karma However I see things like serial killers and rapists , child molesters etc high level white collar crime. All of which victimizes alot of different groups and such. Yet these people either get a relatively painlless death or a relatively long jail term. Doesnt sound equal to 30 dead and raped (robert picton....too name just one).

[ermitonto]

...that is, if they're caught and convicted. Many aren't. If some universal mechanism of justice existed, none of them would ever get away.

[mrdevious]

There's a Hindu idea of karma and a Buddhist idea of karma.

Hinduism has the whole idea that there's this universal justice system that punishes and rewards everybody.

Buddhism states that karma is influenced by the purity of ones "soul" (note, buddhism doesn't actaully believe in an eternal soul). through evil or good actions, generally how one lives their life, the essence of your consciousness is reincarnated into the a new person (and possibly animal) which most closely relates to your last state of mind. hence, an evil person is likely to return as somebody with a very negative mindset, wheras a virtuous person is more compatible with a pure and peacefull mind. however, "you" are not reincarnated, as there is no permanent "you". the essence of your conscious self becomes a part of the newly born person. also, some buddhist philosophers theorize that troubles left unresolved may influence your karma.

there are varrying views in buddhism, some believing that karma is the univers's courtroom, but I agree with the buddhist philosophy of your final consciousness influencing your next life.

[weirdo79]

I still buy it as much as I buy any of the many fluffy white dudes in the sky with the beards. (zeus , Odin , "god" , the list goes on....)

[moeburn]

I still buy it as much as I buy any of the many fluffy white dudes in the sky with the beards. (zeus , Odin , "god" , the list goes on....)

You forgot the sentient fluffy cloud from Super Mario.

Buddhism is the only religion I can respect. There arent any missionaries, as far as I know, or preachers, which make it that much more attractive. It is about improving yourself, not making sure you get into heaven.

[stoner spirit]

I believe in the Gods, but that's a topic for another day. I converted to Paganism because of many reasons. One of them is because of my parents, especially my mother. She tried to tell me which faith, set of beliefs, god or Gods, and structure to follow. I tried dealing with this, but I truely got tired of the bullshit that everyone around me was pulling off, so one day I packed my shit and got the hell out of the house. They still tried to tell me stuff, but I never listened to them after I moved out. Anyways, I don't think that it makes a difference weather you believe in a god or gods, or not; I think that that's one's own business, not the worlds, although not everybody thinks that way. Those that want to criticize me for converting to Paganism, I don't care, not everyone has your beliefs and views things through the eyes of a medieval person. We don't have priechers, and other people knocking on others' doors handing out pentacles and passing out the Witch's Bible to everyone else. Thank the Gods. If you want to convert to Paganism, good for you, somebody can help you with learning things, but we won't force you to worship the gods.