True, true
I am not familiar with many religions at all. Bhuddism I believe is one of the most simplest. Islam I think is one of the most demanding.
There are so many religions its difficult to know which one represents what.
No religion but belief in God seems the most sane to me.

Religion is format...

Format is works...

Faith without works is dead.

(James 2: 26)

Quoting Tomishereagain

"True, true
I am not familiar with many religions at all. Bhuddism I believe is one of the most simplest. Islam I think is one of the most demanding.
There are so many religions its difficult to know which one represents what.
No religion but belief in God seems the most sane to me."


Belief in god is religion

So you are saying no religion but religion seems the most sane to you.

That seems very sane to me

That's a very neat equation,isn't it wonderful how neatly they work out when you can put random values in which allow you to draw the conclusion you want.

How random do we need to be ?

If You believe in God and the only format of works that You engage Yourself in is only known to You... Then that is YOUR religion.

I'm sorry,I can't follow your lack of reason in this equation.

Even tho the God I believe in is unique to me it is still my religion. However I am not required to do anything. I have no Religion of duties to perform in order to believe in God. God requires nothing of me to exist. No ceremonies, worshiping, praying or lifestyles.

God just is. If you claiming it is my religion makes you happy I won't stop you. Even if I personally feel you are in error. If I ever find someone on this planet that understands the God that I know. Perhaps we will form some type of religion. Currently there is noone else. I'm okay with that...are you?

Okay Frank and Tom, I just had to briefly look at Your Mingle Profile and You clicked 'non-religious' on it, and 'other.'

My I ask if You believe in God... ? And if so, do You make moral decisions daily in Your life, according, based on some measure of accountability to God ?

As I said before this is 'The Gospel of Tom".
I have no problem with you believing in your own gospel whatsoever.
If you cannot see the contradiction in your belief/statement which I questioned,and you have made no attempt to refute,that's also fine with me.
We are all entitled to our own beliefs,whether those beliefs are logical or not.If you want to believe 2+2 = 5 as long as I'm selling to you.However when I am buying from you I'll stick with tradition.

[ Half An Hour Later ]

The word religion is derived from the Latin word 'religio' which is a noun for obligation and the Latin verb 'religare' which is to bind.

Sorry if I took a few hours to respond,I like to get at least three hours sleep each night.

I am not selling anything and I don't care if you like my terms.
Be well citizen, carry on.


No
I make decisions based on accountability to me. God doesn't care what I do. I am but a single manifestation in a Universe filled with activity. A Universe composed of God.

The original question still holds
God or Religion?

Since God has no sway on happiness or disgrace either answer is fine.
Your answer is important not to me but to yourself. Do you know your own beliefs? Just a question, not an accusation.

Disingenuous to leave out the first half of my statement.I never implied you were selling.What I was saying is if you make statements which are illogical to me that is not a problem,other than that you will arrive at a false conclusion.I accept that you are not selling,merely stating your position.

Not really disingenuous, more of only adressing that which I felt was implied. What may look illogical to you is clear to me. The point of quoting what I did is so you can realize that I am not attempting to force anything on anyone.
My replies have not expressed my entire belief system and are actually tidbits with no reinforcement. The subject of this topic is asking the question God or religion? It is not where I attempt to gather followers to what I believe. I believe each of us should find the solution to our own beliefs.

In religion, (common religions) it seems that faith is always being tested and graded. Believing in God in your own way is something that religion feels needs corrected. If you don't buy into the ideas wholeheartedly it implies that there is something wrong with you and your feelings. You need to be saved or destroyed.

I believe that the Universe is an entity, it is God. Being part of the Universe I am part of God. A very small insignificant part but a part all the same. I am not important to the Universe but it is important to me. I am but a flash in the scope of the whole.

I don't require a justification for my existence. I don't concern myself with what happens when I die. I allow the rest of the Universe to exist in all its many manifestations and just try to exist in serenity. For me, this seems to work.

My question stems from my prior experience trying to fit into a reality that, to me, was illogical. I have learned to trust observations and measurements. I try not to place values into inanimate objects, for me reality makes sense as it is.

The observable Universe is known to be around 14 Billion years old. This is a measurement of the speed of light and the observation of its shifted properties.
It may not be 14 Billion years old, I understand this from seeing the ocean horizon.
Our Sun is a star that is close to us. I can 'see' the placement and movement of the Earth as it travels in the Universe. I have flown in an airplane, seen pictures of the Earth from distance and I understand that the world I see is but a fraction of the reality of the Universe. I have seen volcanos, eathquakes and evidence of meteor strikes. I know that time to me is insignificant to the time of the Universe. I am but less than a blink of an eye in relation.

Everything that is or was is part of the Universe. All that will be is also part of the Universe. Since I am within the Universe, everything about me is also within the Universe. My thoughts, feelings, dreams, fears, joys are all part of the Universe because I am in it. Not as a separate entity but as a manifestation of itselft.
Religion is the Universe having religion. If that were the only guiding factor in reality I could embrace it with no trepidation.

Since I have free will to think and feel as I choose I understand that the Universe manifested me to think and feel uniquely. Since I am not the only manifestation that can do this it is my ...Guess... that the Universe seeks multiple paths to enlightenment. This is but one planet in a very big Universe. We are but one manifestation of the Universe trying to figure itself out. Trying to comprehend this is daunting because on this planet alone there are some 7 Billion different manfestations that are all experiencing different things. The Universe, being so vast and of such duration it can handle billions if not trillions or more individual inputs.

I choose God over religion because it makes sense to me.

It seems we've got a semantically different understanding of what constitutes being religious.

Faith, Format, Convictions, Ritual, Habit, Society Convention, Creed... The list is on-going !

****************************

I'll just let you two gentlemen resume your dialogue.

for the op

religion: : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices.

God:


(in Christianity and other monotheistic religions) the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the supreme being.

As a Christian, I cannot have a God and no religion(personal set of attitudes , beliefs, and practices that fall in accordance with my belief in God)


so the answer is BOTH

as far as prayer, it is merely the communication between a believer and their creator,,,, the point is not whether God already knows, the point is the effort you put into the COMMUNICATION and the RELATIONSHIP you have with him


God is far from 'baseline' he is supernatural in his capacity for just judgement,,,,he made us in HIS image and we also have some of his attributes, like jealousy, or anger, but where they limit us , they do not limit him in the least

If we accept that there is a God,then did God create man in His image

or did man create God in man's image ?

Thank you for answering. When I created this topic I figured most people would answer as you did. I am glad you have found peace with your life.



Yes. I wonder if others allow others to feel differently. Religions are notorious for creating hatred. While I can let others believe differently than I do and be happy for them, can they be happy for me even tho I don't believe the same as they do?



In my belief, since we are all part of the same Universe so of the same God we are manifestations of God. We are the Universe and since we have the capacity to ponder our own existence the Universe is us.
So the answer is Both.

god created man in his image