Can you believe in ghosts and not believe in God ?

[couple]

Or the reverse..believing in God and not ghosts.
It's like saying that you believe in fairies but think leprchauns don't exist.

 

[Spunkymunky]

I don't believe in God but I do believe in fate.....destiny......and karma.

 

[couple]

Yeah, but can you believe in one spiritual being and not another ??

 

[couple]

Christianity doesn't really support a belief in ghosts, say for the holy ghost.
In fact the concept of ghosts is really quite sacrilegious. God commands a soul to arise to judgement after death. There is no choice, the soul goes!.

I don't really see why the two would be connected. Why must one believe in one to believe in the other?
There are many people that believe in reincarnation but do not believe in God.

Because there is no absolute proof of either.
So, I believe in Pixies but not Gnomes.

 

[Spunkymunky]

I just think the idea of an ultimate being who controls everything is personally unbelievable. Christianity has been used to commit so many atrocities I dont think I could ever believe in it hehe I usually dont debate this stuff cos people get narky!

 

[Spunkymunky]

Heh perhaps it is something we are just never going to understand. That said I work everyday with people who believe in creationism and their absolute astonishment at the fact "some people" believe we are related to apes is fascinating to see. Similar to my totaly disbelief in creationism........

 

[svengali]

Yes, of course you can.

If we are to be totally honest no-one really knows anything about the spiritual dimension but plenty of people are absolutely convinced that their particular set of beliefs are the truth. You need to remember that most of these "truths" were hammered into their minds well before they developed the faculty of critical reasoning and they have built the whole fabric of their lives around them. Therefore, any challenge to them is a direct threat to their world and will not be well received.

As for my own personal views, well, I will not rule anything out or in but I have no time for organised religion which I see as little more than groups of (mostly) old men seeking power over others and, indeed, even over Governments. Look at the recent strife in Italy where the Pope had the Italian Government on the run over their decision to allow a hopelessly comatose patient to die. Luckily, she did die before the Government could intervene and force the hospital to keep her alive indefinitely. The Catholic Church also offers women in third world countries like Mexico and the Phillippines the choice between perpetual pregnancy with its attendant poverty or abstinence with a superstitious fear of damnation as the booby prize for the "wrong" choice

If you think that is bad just look at the numbers of holy rollers who have infiltrated parliament, some as members of parties, like Mr Porter (W.A. Attorney General) others, like Mr Fielding (Family First) standing on their beliefs. How many others we don't know about have their thinking clouded by religious influences?

As for ghosts, well, I certainly believe there is another dimension to existence and have had some experiences which suggest the paranormal is definitely real. Like any good scientist I keep my mind open and treat each new piece of information with respect, whether or not it "fits" the puzzle as I understand it. One day I may get an answer but I am not holding my breath and, in the meantime, it is nice to have a few mysteries around - if only to prevent scientists and others from getting too far up themselves.:

 

[yogi457]

I always assume that regardless of how knowledgeable humanity is, there's always something out there that can't be defined by what we know.

For me (and no offense to others who believe otherwise), it seems to be an arrogance to deny the existence of ghosts or God, or things that we don't know of. Keep an open mind, my granny says...

If a tree falls in the middle of forest without anyone seeing/hearing it, does it ever fall down? If yes, how do you know without seeing/hearing the fall? If not, is it because you find it an easier fact to accept, since it's not there, thus it has never been?

 

[couple]

Heh perhaps it is something we are just never going to understand. That said I work everyday with people who believe in creationism and their absolute astonishment at the fact "some people" believe we are related to apes is fascinating to see. Similar to my totaly disbelief in creationism........

Science has never proven the theory of evolution...at this stage it's widely believed to be the truth because it's the most plausible explaination.
The jury is still out on just what really happened.
Personaly, I think that we were colonised by aliens from another galaxy is just as plausible as evolution.

 

[corneus]

I find both Creationism and Evolution to be quite incredible points of view.

Creationism, Let There Be Light...
Evolution, A puddle of salt water got struck by lightning one day and came to life...

Neither one sounds like we really have a handle on it to me.

Evolution has nothing whatsoever to say about the origins of life. This is a common misconception, and one that is readily seized upon by creationists trying to push their particular barrow. Evolution is in fact a widely accepted scientific theory and the principles can be seen in action everywhere you look.

Now, the origin of life is certainly an interesting topic, but it is not a part of evolutionary theory. The study of the naturalistic origins of life is called abiogenesis, and while scientists have not developed a clear explanation of how life might have developed from nonliving material, that has no impact on evolution. Even if life did not begin naturally but was started due to the intervention of some divine power, evolution would still stand on the evidence as our best explanation so far for how that life has developed. (From Abiogenesis & Evolution: It's a Myth that Abiogenesis is the Same as Evolution

 

[stormline]

Or the reverse..believing in God and not ghosts.

Well you asked the question. So i will ask you, have you ever seen a ghost? Or do you believe there is a GOD?
I have been clinically dead and not seen any great white light.
Also i have been in a coma for quiet a few weeks and dont remember nothing about either to this day.
I have had quiet a few very close friends and my mother and father pass on,but i have never had any sign from none of them and very much doubt i ever will. So we say the sprit lives on, I for one have very much doubt it all.
How can anyone say where we really come from when the earth we live on has been around that long ,they cant even answer that,I dont believe they can anyway.Maybe an estimation.
One for all and all for one,maybe that has just as many answers as any other theory.The third eye and astro travelling is what that is about, so who the fuc really knows?
The only thing i do believe in is what i can see and that is the force mother nature can have on our planet.

 

[svengali]

If a tree falls in the middle of forest without anyone seeing/hearing it, does it ever fall down? If yes, how do you know without seeing/hearing the fall? If not, is it because you find it an easier fact to accept, since it's not there, thus it has never been?[/QUOTE]

I know the answer to this one. Yes, the tree does fall but it does not make a sound. It disturbs the air around it and this disturbance becomes "sound" only if it impacts on an ear connected to a brain which interprets it as such. Therefore, if no-one is there to hear it there is no "sound".

 

[Mary Anne PA]

I think we need to have faith in something or somebody. God can be viewed in many ways. I have travelled a extensively been involved in war and crisis and seen life in general .I have been fortunate enough to have perhaps seen a glimpse of the other side, many do not get that chance untill they pass on.. and then it can be to late. This inturn has given me faith. Every man/woman will have to face there maker one day it is enevitable. It is a very personel thing ...and no matter how much one reads or watches about it ...only one person can make that decision that is the individual.
We are here for a short time and have free will and spirit.

father john

 

[Bluegrass9]

Believing any God takes a lot of imagination and faith. For example the suffering and pain the bush fires have caused-makes it harder to understand how a God just stood by and watched it all happen. I did have a religious period of one year that included going to church five days a week and reading and learning memory verses every day. I am not going to say there is no God- but I am not able to understand how a God exists and behaves in our life- so I am not able to believe. I believe Ghosts are far easier to believe than God. I am open to believe in Ghosts.

 

[rwaeaw]

i do beleive i god but also i beleive in destiny which is written since our birth and in fate

 

[swingingstories]

I personally believe that there are very few "universal truths" that cannot be debated.

Most of our "realities" come down to personal perception and what we want to believe. I have many things I feel but cannot prove, I have things I hope are real but have no evidence of and there are things I will not be shaken from even though they may be unpopular. These all boil down to choice basically.

eg: There is still today a "flat earth society" when satellite pictures clearly show the earth as a globe.

eg: Gravity is clearly something we cannot argue against.....until we leave earth's atmosphere, then it's not relevant.

Love
swingingstories

 

[happytimes]

Very true SwingStories so many different beliefs. I very much believe in the spirit world but have yet to see a ghost.
Do i believe in a God well that i don't really know. There is a belief in me somewhere that there is an after life,but i can't explain it.

To many unanswered questions though there are some amazing signs left behind by the Egyptians. How the pyramids are in-line with certain stars etc.
That to me leaves so many different signs, can become very deep indeed.

 

[h0tsexybabe]

I believe in any spiritual being but I do not believe that there is one person in particular that will appear. IE GOD

I have witnessed some amazing things in the last 10 yrs. Too much to explain but I absolutely believe that I have a quardian angel around me and my family. I may not listen all the time but yes we are not alone on this planet.

 

[I LUV a Rub]

The correct answer is that "god", ghosts etc ALL do not exist. You CAN believe in any combination of these ridiculous delusions, but that gives them no legitimacy. The logic of the belief in one and not the other doesn't matter because all these beliefs are completely irrational and insane.

Further, ghosts and gods etc ALL stem from the same psychological fault in the human mind. Understand that belief in religion is actually a form of mental disorder, and make the psychological approach.

Ghosts, re-incarnations and gods are all lies accepted by the sub-conscious to shield the conscious from an unbearable Truth : death. ALL these things attempt to either deny death, or to change the True meaning of death because the mind cannot accept the simple Truth. This is unique to humans, no wild animal has this fault.

Although many will claim that they accept the fact that they will experiance death, they change the reality of what death entails and means in thier minds. Therefore, these individuals do not accept death, but will actually believe that they in fact do. They can do this because they have subconsciously warped the meaning of the word.

 

[I LUV a Rub]

I just think the idea of an ultimate being who controls everything is personally unbelievable. Christianity has been used to commit so many atrocities I dont think I could ever believe in it hehe I usually dont debate this stuff cos people get narky!

You are correct not to believe in it. The reason why they get "narky" is because they cannot psychologically cope without thier god addiction. Its actually worse than taking the heroin off a heroin addict. In fact, if you repeatedly shipped away at a god-addicts delusions, he or she would likely violently attack you in desperation.