Has Your Opinion About God Been Affected by Your Suffering?

[midi]

Ok, I'm gonna capitalize and all that now... If you look on the positive side, you can say that somebody or something must have been looking out for you. When I was up north, everybody agreed--there must have been an angel that stopped the gang violence.

I don't know what to say about belief, other than as a collective, we all need something to believe in, even if it's atheism. Maybe the Bible is supposed to be taken as a collection of stories to teach, rather than a literal document?

 

[cyndi]

OOOOooo, Midi, I have often thought of the Bible in that way. There are a lot of great lessons in there, as I believe there are in the Koran, the I Ching, Greek Mythology, Ancient children's stories, etc. I have only begun to look at them in this way recently and now want to go back and reread so much on top of the stack of books I just bought :) Religions have been created by those in power in different cultures. Created in a way to teach lessons in a way a certain culture can relate to and teaching what those in power want to share with the people. It can be used for good or for bad. The Bible itself was put together in Rome by those in power, hungry to keep their power, fearful of loosing it. What was left out? I think a lot of that is what we can receive when we are open to spirituality, to what the universe has to offer us, things that may or may not be written down somewhere or at least that we can't understand until we have learned certain lessons in life. It's like getting a key to open a door to a new way of thinking each time, playing a game and you 'level up' by achieving certain goals and all of a sudden you're in a new world where things are so different but underneath you remember what you saw before. Ahhhh, I could ramble on and on about that but I've gotta go get ready to go do that job thingie.

 

[Anonymoose]

Yeah. I'm not ever going to trust in the same way that I once did.

 

[sessnme]

The way the world and people keep dumping on my wife and I! I talk to pastors and they tell me it is Gods test, if we can't handle it He won't lay it on us. Is that why everyday I wake up exhausted and not ready to face the day. Is it Him leading me to believe that everybody only cares for themselves and I am just a passer by. We (wife and I) do everything we can to help any and all of our family members and friends. We can't say no , but it is now affecting our other children.

We started with a family of 5, moved on to a family of 7 (murder of sister in law), and now we gained another child. Our unstable niece who thinks that we are better off with her 6y/o.

Why is God doing this to us? If there was a God I think it is only in our own hearts and minds. I believe we are our only Gods, it is within us and not some freaky figure in the sky or all around us. I think the PTSD, OCD, ADHD, bipolar, and all of the other crap that the Dr's say is wrong with me is wrong! I think it is me, my God on the inside telling me that it is OK to get a little crazy. If I didn't I would just die and melt away like an ice cube.

I think that there is no imaginary figure in the sky controlling us or the way the world reacts to acts of violence or the nice things people do. There is so much hurt in this world! Everyone is an individule and has their own outlook on what it is that they can handle, but some try more than others. I can't believe when people tell me that they would never have done what we did!! Are the people in this world just laying on their backs and letting evil run their lives.

Now the point. No, God is no longer a part of my life. He lost me when my Grandma and 2 young cousins were murdered back in 89 and my sister in law was murder 3 years ago. .Since then it has caused me to be a freaking certifiable nutcase. I have never been institutionalized. Thought about it, but I have too many people depending on me.

That is why I believe that God is all up to ourselves and is on our insides and not an imaginary ghost like figure.

 

[wastedmylife]

yes I realized there was no god when I was around 18-19, I think people who suffer tremendous traumas come to the realization there is no god, while people who are usually the perpetrators of the traums usually fall to god to try and justify what they have done(and seek forgiveness)

I think this world is run by cruel and evil people

 

[redtriskell]

Robert Heinlein said...

"Thou art God". To me "God" is a word. Not an entity. "God" is the word for the intense need that humans feel for this existence not to be just a fluke of the primordial ooze. I don't care if you call it God, Allah, Zeus, Odin, Brigid, Dana, Ba'al, Spirit, Goddess, Science, Kali, Buddha, Ganesh, Freya, Jesus ad infinitum- they are all the same. IMHO, the only god there really is, is the spark of divinity in all of us humans. You determine the kind of god you are by your choices and actions in the world.
That said- on to the question of how ptsd affected my thoughts on God. I was brought up Episcopalian (Catholic Light- all of the pomp, none of the guilt) and believed the way young children do. Some guy with long white hair and a long white beard sat up on a throne in the clouds and watched people. He then recorded whatever they did in a big book, which you had to explain yourself for when you died. Jesus was his son who died. I was cool with that until my father (a Catholic) came along. I still believed in God while I waited for Him to DO something. The first time my father actually raped me, I quit believing in God. In retrospect, I think I just figured that one father was as much the same as another, and if one was a rapist, why not the other paternal figure? So I guess I started to think of God as a rapist. Obviously, not a god I could really relate to, trust, or believe in anymore. I was 13. Then came Robert Heinlein- a Grand Master of science fiction. Stranger in a Strange Land changed my life. Michael Valentine Smith, the main character, had several mantras. One was "Thou art God". This made sense to me. I have believed in the divinity in all humans since then. Sadly, most people never realize that they are all the god/goddess they will ever need. I've added things over the years- even a few from the Judeo-Christian-Muslim monotheistic notions. Mostly I believe in the potential for godliness (or devilishness) in people. So, yeah, I believe in God- She's me. red