Simply put: what is God to you?

My extended family is entirely Christian (I get questions on "what kind of Christian" sometimes, and I'm actually not quite sure). Every single one of them loves and believes in God, and he surrounds everything they do. My parents were raised Christian, but as they grew older, they spread away from the religion. They now are Agnostic, but my extended family does not know. So, they try to have me go to Church with them, pray, and all that jazz.

Over the past two years, I've begun questioning what I believe in. I've never had a set religion; I've always kind of been up in the air. At first, when I began, I didn't believe in anything. I didn't believe that there was not a God, nor did I believe that there was a God. But as I started to focus more on the whole aspect of the Bible and Jesus, I started to grow fond of the idea of God. However, I found God to be more of a "vent" than an actual God. I cried at night to him when I was sad, and that was about it. I would pray when I needed to let out some emotions, but never any other time. It was weird. You see, I'm one of those people who has to give everything for something they believe in, or none at all. So I felt like I was cheating, in a sense. So I begun to research churches, so that I could start being a better Christian, and maybe be baptized.

However, my parents changed my mind a little. I told them about my interest, and I wanted their opinion. It was then that I learned of their beliefs. I didn't put down what they were saying because they were my parents, and I didn't want to be rude. But as I continued to listen, I started to grow more and more accustomed to the way that they felt. It was more appealing to me, and I started to grow away from God. I became "Agnostic", but not officially. Fast forward a year, and we get to maybe six months ago. I was a full-fledged Atheist. I didn't believe in God at all, and I made sure people knew it when the topic came up. But I always made it clear that I would respect what they believed in if they respected what I believed in.

Now we reach today. As of late, I've been questioning my beliefs again. What a shocker, right? Well, I feel as though I'm... missing out, for lack of better words. It's as if I'm not feeling something that others do. What I mean is, I don't feel the presence of God. I've been trying to let him back into my life, but when I pray or read my Bible (an old one from a long time ago), I feel like I'm forcing myself to believe. So I push it away. But I ]i]want God back into my life. At the same time, however, I like the freedom of what I've been practicing. I guess you could say I'm conflicted.

So here's my question restated: What is God to you? I want to know, because I want to show myself why I should believe again. Or maybe I'm trying to see what I have forgotten. Or.... I don't know. I'm looking for some help, but I don't know what for.

Don't worry, it's normal. You may give up on God, but God won't give up on you.

Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ".

The important thing is not to believe that you have lost God forever. There is nothing that can separate you from God. (There's also a Bible passage saying that). Times will be hard and you will feel like it is all in vain, but God provides examples in the Bible of people who had it A LOT harder than us (eg. Job).

The very fact that you turn to God in times of trouble, proves that the conviction inside you is a work that you cannot undo. And no matter the "freedom" you felt before, it is all deception, hiding the treasures inside God's kingdom so that you will not go deeper and see the plan that God has for you. God will seem distant sometimes, but nothing in life is ever constant.

Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door shall open.

To me a cosmic force that guides me to do what I believe is right and honorable. In a way he is a like the angel that tells me to do the right thing as opposed to my wants and needs for material object and self satisfaction.

To me God is some unknown supernatural being that guides me, through his eyes, I judge my actions. Creator, Redemption and Guidance. though I am not one sided as far as creation goes...

God is The all-powerful who created u and me and everything that is good.

I think I'm in the same boat as you, sushai. I wouldn't call myself religious, I wouldn't call myself an Atheist, I'm closer to an occasional Nontheist. However, I will say this. My sociology teacher told me (well us, but I felt like he was talking directly to me) that these physicists got together and tried to formulate what the chance was that the universe formed as a result of the 'big bang.' They came up with not likely at all. It was such a low number that they got an idea. Perhaps the universe that we all know is a lie. Perhaps this is all some sort of virtual realm (kind of like the Matrix). There's a greater chance that this is all a lie.

I hope that helps lol.

To me I feel like God is a religious hero that watches over everybody and is the creator of the world.

Have you looked into non-Christian religions such as Judaism, Buddhism, etc? I found my path in Paganism because it is what clicked with me, and I found it by doing my own research. I would say look at various faiths of the world, actually research their beliefs, maybe visit their temples or churches... most are very welcoming of people curious in learning about new faiths. There are also other branches of Christianity... if you have been identifying with Agnostics and Atheists as of late, then I doubt you would be into the more evangelical branches, but there are still things like the Unitarians that you could investigate as well. I wish you luck on your quest, and I hope you keep us updated.

Edited for typo.

god to me is the greatest hero unstopable savior of the entire world.praise the lord!

at first god was the guy i had to go to church to and pray to ofr an hour every sunday as a kid, i was basically just drifting through the stages of christianity/catholicism without knowing or caring much i literally dont know whether i was brought up a christian or catholic all i know is ive been baptised, taken my first holy cimmunion and confirmed all of which i learnt nothing and just sang hymns for most of it. After i started to question exsistence and stuff in general after trying to teach myself quantum physics i started to wonder about god and now im starting to think god is the big bang. I think maybe somewhere down the line the whole god thing got mixed up and maybe they believe god died for us by exploding to make the big bang i know it sounds far fetched but it could be possible, surely. But i seriously didnt take god or religion seriously at all when i was younger, i still think that religion will probably become apparent and important to me in later life and come into my life when im alot older. theres no telling though i think god in a christian sense will always mean nothing to me but a god in a kind of scientific sense will mean the crux of the starting of the universe as we know it.

I don't feel that this is the correct question to ask. It does not matter what I think God is TO ME. What matters is who God is. He is Sovereign, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscience, Holy, Just, Powerful, and Loving. He is the Creator, Moral Lawgiver, Judge, Savior, Healer, Sanctifier, Redeemer and King.

he is the creator of the universe and is our real father

A trustworthy spirit! One that (from what I've heard) "Tastes bad to the mouth, but sweet to the stomach".

To not feel as if you're forcing yourself to believe. Be open on how he would help other in the stories I guess.
It's not a short process.

God to me has different meanings depending on which one we are talking about.

This is the Christian board, so I assume you mean Yahweh. To me Yahweh is unfair and unjust. He has no problem selecting a nomadic tribe as his choosen people, and allows them to kill and enslave Caananites and take their land. He creates humans with free thinking and the ability to not believe in him, yet has no problem damning them for all eternity if they don't. Yahweh floods the entire earth killing off every human and animal , because humans became violent. Again, he gave us the ability to be violent and then punishes those who are.

Basically the Christian God to me is unfair and contradictory because he creates an Imperfect species, then punishes them for not being perfect.

To me God is love and justice, he is holiness as well as merciful and forgiveness. He is also all powerful and all knowing.

To me God is omniscient,supreme being and the creator of all living things

God is an idea often portrayed through multiple stories known as religion.

I don't believe God is perfect. I believe he is one of us with the same abilities and power. The power to love, to hate, to create and be the judge, jury, and executioner. God is a human creation, with that said he is only know to humans, not animals, not rocks, not any other living or non living object besides humans and that is enough to prove in my eyes that you are your own God. If that were not true God would certainly not look human and represent a human entity and speak in human languages with human morals.

The biggest key here is perception when it comes to God. I don't believe in glorifying people (celebrities) like people do with God, they might look perfect in magazines and in movies but trust me they are far from it. Same rules apply to all authority figures and politicians. They look perfect in the media but really they are not who you think they are. If I were to say I am God, people would automatically assume that I am full of myself because they perceive it differently them me. Being a God means you have power, when you abuse this power then you become the the devil and what do devils do? They lie, they hide the truth and they use a mask to cover up their tracks, they deceive the masses through mass brainwashing using media and thanks to their followers they can effectively inject a boldface lie into your mind without you second guessing it.

Government is a great example of that by controlling people with money and laws. When two Gods interact with one another it creates a war much like with religion. A disagreement of thought, of control, of power, of money, of status. When someone lives above the laws, they are not God... they are the devil. If you follow religions they try to flip the idea around and call those who don't follow them sinners, devils and say they will go to hell for not believing in their idea of God. God is not a law it is an idea of perception. It's not wrong to believe in yourself, its wrong to believe in others so much that they strip you of your own belief.

As I look around most corruption in this world comes from those who can control others and use them to their advantage. Anything that has a massive following in regards to power is something I view as corrupt. When that happens you become a sheep, you have power to stop it but if you want to be a sheep and follow a god who thinks he is perfect and better then you then so be it. Submit your freedoms, ideals, and life to an entity much like a corporation or government who dont give a dam about you. That is god to me, perception not deception.

I don't give God credit for everything in life. I don't blame Obama for everything wrong with our country. The point I'm making here is perception. Take a look around, maybe things are not what they seem. Media, Government, Military, Religion, Celebrities, Politicians they all have the same qualities and that is the ability to strip you of power so they can appear as Gods (when they are really the devil) while you are a worthless disposable sheep to aide in their power and greed.

I basically view God as equal power (its something we all have within us), not above the law, not better then others... Anyone who lives above the law, thinks they are perfect, and better then everyone else is a devil there is no denying that. Most people view God as above the law, perfect, and better and that is the very idea that has corrupted our entire planet everything from religion to government to politicians to media to celebrities to brand names you name it the list goes on.

Sorry if I offended anyone but that is my outside of the box take on God, enjoy

JigSaw : So pretty much you believe this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4CRkpBGQzU

Anyway I would like to say that he is my savior and my guider. I think that he is like a friend that is very very powerful.