17 replies to this topic

[deadzone]

If what you hold as true today fails you tomorrow what will you do?



What I am looking for here is an in-depth look at what might happen if your truths or what you hold dear fails to pan out or you discover something that will alter your stance on things.  I'm looking for life altering changes.
Example:
God doesn't exist
Your belief in your church suddenly caved in.
That Ghosts did in fact exists, and you didn't believe that before.
Things of that nature...
Thanks
Tory

[Vampchick21]

I'm honestly not sure...I've never had anything major thing like that hit me overnight....unless you count my recent realization that my dad is slowly falling apart.  And then I freaked (see my post on the Drop Zone).  

But basically, for me, any spiritual or belief changes have happened gradually, over time as I grew.

[aloha_spirit]

I agree with Vampchick - evolution in my spiritual / religious thoughts tend to be gradual.

If I discovered Mormonism was wrong, would I leave the Church?  I would continue to participate (they do a lot of good) while seeking something more in line with my new understanding.

[Holly]

I'm approaching this from two angles -

What I truly hold most dear is my family. If for some reason, they abandoned me, I doubt I could recover from the loss.

On the other hand, if it was said that the founders of Taoism never meant a word of what they wrote and that their philosophies were all "hooey", I would still follow the principles. The words would still make sense to me.

[soul_drifter]

Religion based wise, I would agree with everyone else on that. Simply still follow the principles, and maybe look for something else I like.

I also hold my family dear to me, and also my friends. If I were suddenly abandoned and left alone, I might not be able to recover. I will still live though, and try to get back up from the ground. Besides, that is what we do almost everyday anyways, isn't it?

[anasuya]

I have an in depth answer to this! lol. But as I'm working a craft show all weekend, I'll give it until Monday so that I can give your post the proper attention. Just wanted to let you know I read it and I promise I'll get to it.

Ana

[BooBooKitty]

I think the most earth shattering loss I could experience is losing my children or grandchildren.  I have had to raise 2 children on my own so everyday was a struggle. I can not even fathom how I would be able to deal with that situation.

[glittersno]

deadzone, on Aug 20 2004, 11:27 PM, said:

Your belief in your church suddenly caved in.

Well I hate to say it, but that is where I stand right now. I have been in various churches, most of which were pentecostal. I was very invovled with ministry, and loved it. I started back in 1992, and have been out since the beginning of this year. Mind you, before I start explaining, I am not downing anyone who goes to church, or is involved in minsitry, this is from my own personal experiences with various churches.
At first I was so happy to finally be accepted as someone that is helpful to others, and finally feeling a sense of belonging. I had accepted Jesus as Lord, and believed in the Bible whole-heartedly. I went to church everytime the door was open. I believed everything that I was taught, and what I heard from the preacher. Then started the demands on my life.
It took me over 10 years to really see what was going on. I started seeing that the places that I went was not really trying to help me, but to control me. I started seeing it as a "brain washing facility" rather than a shelter for the weary and safe haven for the believers. They use hell as a scare tactic, and also guilt trip you about how much God should mean to you, to get you to do what they see fit. Attempts to control your money, your time, places you go, people you associate with, what you wear....etc, and using the Bible to do it.
I also saw that many people that made the demands, were not even practicing what they were preaching and demanding you to do. I was also taught that any religion that was not Christian based was a cult/non-truth or demonic, and would send you straight to hell. I have come to see that this is a horrible thing to say about any religion, and no one has the right to judge you on how you worship or believe in God. (except of course when it is illegal)
When people try to take away your right to make desicions for your own life, that is where the true sin lies. No one should be bullied into believing what you want them to, just because you feel that your belief is the right one.

So as I stand now, I am still trying to figure out what it is that I believe. It is a struggle to have the carpet ripped out from underneath you when you have been in a strong belief system for so long. It takes time to adjust, and I am still in the adjusting stage.
According to some churches, this site alone is demonic and should not be looked at....and as you can see, I don't believe that because I am here :-)
I used to believe that ghosts were demons, and that they were trying to fool everyone to try to suck you down to the bottemless pit from which they emerged. (hell in otherwords) I am not sure what to think about ghosts, but I do believe that not all of them are bad or evil. I believe that whatever they are, each has their own personality? (hope that makes sense) I am just not sure if they are loved ones, or something else yet to be discovered?
I know I rambled, but hope that it is what you were looking for with this post. One thing though, I can not say that it was a sudden cave in, but rather a process that led up to what I consider a cave in? More like the straw that broke the camel's back.

[Bridget]

Hi GliiterSno! welcome to Ghost Village, enjoy your stay!

You know, you do not have to worship the church to have faith in God or Jesus. You can have your own beliefs without being preached to or controlled by the church.

Now my life would change dramatically if tomorrow i learned there is proof of life after death, and that there is a supreme being. I don't know how that would change my attitude about my every day life, but it certainly would make me think twice about what is gonna happen later. I guess I would be rather shocked!

[glittersno]

Bridget, on Sep 9 2004, 06:40 PM, said:

You know, you do not have to worship the church to have faith in God or Jesus.  You can have your own beliefs without being preached to or controlled by the church.

I have come to this stage in my life where I believe that I do not have to be in a building to worship. As far as believing in God, I am not sure what to think about that either. My personal belief is that there is a creator, but who this creator is, is the question I am stuck on. I do not think that any of us will ever know 100% until our life here is over and done with.
It is nice to think that there is a heaven, to be reunited with our loved ones that have gone on, but like I said, I am in an area of my life where I am not sure what I believe. I am using this time that I have now, to really search myself, and see what I believe, and not be infuenced by others trying to make me believe what they want me to. :-)

PS, thanks for the welcome

[little_light]

Great thread Deadzone!

Wow!...I would really need to think about this!

I do have to agree with what some of the others said...
Growing everyday learning something new!
My guess would be....What could I do?

No God...Well then who is running this show?
The church caved....Well why did it?
There are ghost....So it was ghost all this time! Heehee!

But I will still do some thinking on this....Very cool questions!

[hunnyfire]

Wow interesting thread. Let me get this straight you want us to analyze our lives if it just suddenly changed?

Hunny

[hawk2k3]

deadzone, on Aug 20 2004, 11:27 PM, said:

If what you hold as true today fails you tomorrow what will you do?



What I am looking for here is an in-depth look at what might happen if your truths or what you hold dear fails to pan out or you discover something that will alter your stance on things. I'm looking for life altering changes.
Example:
God doesn't exist
Your belief in your church suddenly caved in.

If God(s, Godesses) didn't exist....odds are that the Middle East would probably be 'quieter' in wars and the fact that wars would be fought over real things instead "For God" like the terrorists(which I think they use God as an excuse to kill). I've long since lost faith, but have kept my mind open in case of actual proof. To me the bible is nothing but a book of exagerrated (historical?) stories and fiction rolled together.

[little_light]

hawk....

I think deadzone was asking all of us what we would do/think if what WE belived in was actually never real!....So if you belive in UFO's and you come to find out that they are not real then what would you do?....Or if you belived in GOD and there was no God then what would you do?.....Just trying to help keep the thread on topic......

[hunnyfire]

So basically if everything that we believed in suddenly wasn’t real. Ok let me give this a go...

If I were to wake up one morning and everything that has happened in my life was nothing but a dream, because that's what it means or everything I desperately believed in was not even true. I wouldn’t be scared. There is always a door in your mind that carries beyond hope. I would sit and think for a while. I would analyze the situation and, oh god this is hard, um....

Wow this is really hard to explain.

Give me a couple of days to think.

Hunny