by Laurette Escobar

Created on: April 05, 2007   Last Updated: May 18, 2007

God is tough, and I mean every god know to man of different creeds. Well, talking or reading about God is tough because people either get really, really saccharine or terribly nasty. God is one of two things, loved or hated. The alpha and the omega of emotions, as it were.

The ones who hate or exploit God, religion and all that goes with it really hurt me. I suppose because I was brought up with faith and a belief that God is in me, around me and loves me. The thing is he's not just with me he's with all of us. I honestly feel sad when people don't embrace that belief or those who exploit it.

I think the trouble has to do with staunch, inflexible belief system that was created and manipulated by man. It is through man's manipulation that a good idea became the most controversial thing ever. Religion and God are so interwoven into everything we do almost any debate on any subject comes back to it/him.

There is a movie called "Dogma" which is really funny but very serious at the same time. This is one line that I completely agree with:
Rufus: I think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier. Life should malleable and progressive; working from idea to idea permits that. Beliefs anchor you to certain points and limit growth; new ideas can't generate. Life becomes stagnant.

We've become limited. We are still fighting wars that are thousands of years old. We are still using the same old judgments against each other. We are still using the same old prejudices as well. We've not grown as a human race for the simple fact that we hold onto outdated beliefs that were fine for their time but have not grown with us.

I asked a group of people why people believe in God? I got answers from believers and non-believers. Both sides have a common themeproof. The believers pray and feel their prayers have been answered. Some have had crises of faith and their faith was upheld because of God's hand in their situation. The non-believers say God doesn't add up. He's not a logical belief to them because he makes no sense to them and there is no scientific way of proving his existence. There are passionate arguments on both sides.

Why do I believe in God? I can't define it. It's just a thing in me that says, "Yes, I believe." It's one of those things I just know. Religion, I have a little trouble with because of all the manipulation of it. All religions say they're the chosen ones and not one religion really serves God. Man messed up a good idea with strict structures and no logic or true faith.

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