Of course! If there really is a God, then he (or she) existed before mankind invented religion. Besides, which of the thousands of religions (and denominations) would you be referring to? And remember, every one of them believes the others are wrong. Consequently, since they can't all be right, they all must be wrong. Right?

Being brought up in a Catholic household and going to a Catholic school and being taught by Nuns etc one would have thought that the idea of a God would be permanently scarred into my brain but as I grew older and started to think on my own I realized that what I had been taught could never have happened but in saying that I have no problem with their maybe being a power greater than man.

Yes it is, when I finally couldn't be a Christian and read many other theistic things I went through a short stage of deism.

Take time to observe & learn more. Only time can tell when will you find your answers.

Take time to obserb and learn more. Only time can tell when you will find your answers.

Welcome

Hi

Terry Pratchett wrote a story (Small Gods) where everyone believed in the church (and the tortures of the Qusition), but nobody believed in the god.

I don't wish to disrespect you and you seem sincere, but your position doesn't make a lot of sense to me. You are saying you are a theist, and that you believe in non rationale thinking - faith. Not all religions have a single God. But belief in a God and faith is a belief in religion, however loosely you define that term. So I see a contradiction. However, we don't know which God you mean, or what you mean by God, or what the word faith means to you. Perhaps, I don't know, you are in a period where your thinking is evolving or changing on these matters.

if you believe in a god you would have to have a religion

There may be a 'Master Of The Universe' out there somewhere, but I would hesitate to call it God because of the negativity surrounding that term. Saying that though for simplicity's sake, I firmly think God is God if there -is- a God and God would be pure...but religion is simply a bastardization of any God that would exist, transforming its pure form into the altered idea of what God is to the religion's founder, complete with his fears, bias and mental deficiencies. That's where the trouble starts, isn't it? Manipulating types wanting to bend the format to satisfy their own needs...and not serve any God. Why are 99% of them men that do this? How do you make the loooooooong jump from serving your God to having your followers kiss rattlesnakes for crying out loud? You just don't know. Lol.

I see this view often - equating god with religion, Pleaze realize that religion does not necessarily mean belief in a god or gods... When I was a Buddhist, that was a very atheist faith - though Buddhism is sooo sectarian that there is room for Godism in some Buddhist sects. BUT, you should realize that nowadays there are even Christian and Jewish believers, Pastors and other clergy, that are Atheistic! This is the exact opposite of your question, but logically a YES answer to it!

You can believe in anything you want

Sbbatua:

It's possible insofar as our consciousness and our imaginations make it possible (You are presumably referring to a god, or to the belief in a deity.)

Yes, it is possible; but, then you must ask yourself, "What colors my perception of what constitutes 'God'?" Do you anthropomorphize God? Is God an intangible form of collective consciousness? Are you willing to concede that a supreme being may be so beyond anything we can imagine that He/She/It cannot be ascribed perceptible attributes; and, if so, does being a believer in this context bring you any comfort?

What is the reasoning behind your belief in a god? If it is for your own personal comfort, I think that's understandable. To one extent or another, we're all tied to things which bring us comfort, a sense of purpose and belonging, and make us feel as though we matter. For some people, it's the acquisition of material possessions, like expensive cars; and, for others, it is the belief in a being who is watching over them which brings a sense of affirmation to their existence. What is most important is that you realize that what works for you is an individual experience not to be proselytized to others as a cure-all or an "ultimate truth" (...unless you can prove it).

Your starting out the same way .