the church

[grecian]

last week me and a friend had smoked a few joints when we walked past the church and the door was open. being fairly inquisitive we went in and soon realised no-one was around so we explored it for a while. anyway we found our way up to the tower and sat up there smoking another J. after this we went back downstairs and realised that we had been locked in. we were stuck in there for a few hours before we found a ladder which got us up to a balcony from which we could excape.


neither of us are religious but just after we got out i said maybe we should be as the whole thing might have been an act of god. my friend disagreed with this theory as he thought if god had locked us in there then he wouldntchangehis mind later and give us a way out


any views?


sorry if anyone is offended or finds this blasphemous in any way.

[P!MPJU!C3]

That is a bullshit theory In my Belief. God is a watchmaker. The world is his watch and it works without him intervenieng. Thats why we shouldnt look at Rwanda and wonder where god is or for that matter, if there is a god. God doesnt work miracles, hes a watcher.

P!MPJU!C3

[Creeping Death]

Wow, getting high in a church seems like fun. It's all calm and shit.

[Solidly-here]

Any (good) reason to get religious.


If there is a God, then He created this world (and everything in it). He created it for a purpose (not as a fraternity prank).


Assume that there is a Heaven. Some of the people who God created will go there after they die (some won't). The criteria God will use to determine my Ultimate Destination are unknown to me.


But, it makes sense that if I live a "good" life (whatever that is), I have a better chance to get to this preferred Afterlife destination than if I go around killing people.


So, getting religious can be a way of insuring that I have a good chance to have a happy time for eternity.


In your case, however, you may perceive getting locked in as a miracle (as it certainly could be). I have had many things happen, which could have been miracles (they ARE miracles if I think so, or not miracles if I don't think so). If you believe that God worked overtime in getting you locked in, then respond in an appropriate way (e.g., Thanks God ... grateful for His personal attention).


Going to church is not actually necessary to becoming religious (or staying religious). But, for some of us, it helps remind us of the importance of a good Afterlife.


My advice is: It's a miracle! Take some time and play around with the idea of spiritual growth. If it feels good, do it some more (if not, you're on your own).

[Chaote]

That is messed up getting locked in, not because its like oh god but becasue you got locked in a building.
Why would god make people just to judge them, it would be more pheasable *sp if we created our selves and god just judged us its like buying a pet and if it doesnt behave the way you want it to, you slowly starve it to death or break its legs or whatever, but if its good you give it a home be nice to it but it still obeys you, but that doesnt seem like a good analogy, well you get the point
btw I am a devout atheist

[billyloner]

i think solidly-right is correct on at least one point - only you will know if its a miracle. i dont think anybody else will be able to tell you.

[augustine]

The thing with analyzing an experience like that is you can read as much as you want into it and come up with completely different conclusions simply because there is no one true conclusion.

If you already believe in God, you might think that God let you find a way out after locking you in so that you could think about it as you're doing now, bring it up in a forum, etc. (basically, come to a conclusion that makes the experience seem like part of God's larger plan).

If you don't believe, you might realize that the path was open all the time anyway, and, considering that most major religions believe in free-will, just blame yourself for not finding it sooner or give yourself a pat on the back for finding it in the first place.

Sounds pretty hot blazing in a church. I think I'd get pretty creeped out and paranoid if it was a Catholic church with lots of crucifixes and stained glass and stuff. The place was just empty?

[afromonkey]

''Thats why we shouldnt look at Rwanda and wonder where god is or for that matter''



Why not? Is it because the idea of god you're proposing is performing
-for want of a better phrase- some sort of sick experiment? If he's
God, and he's caring and all powerful, why shouldn't he intervene?

[FryDay]

We have to be able to see synchronicities in many different ways. Of course we have the power to believe what we want, but that also gives us the power to create and destroy. The fact that it made you wonder is the most important one. When we open our eyes to the fact that something might be, allows us to see the things that really are.