Christian religion w/o a personal God?

[triciarapp]

I was wondering if any such denomination exists where they believe that God isn’t as involved in our day to day activities.

When we pray in our daily life for things, say for a raise, or for our kids to get well, is there a Christian religion that believes God doesn’t have that much involvement in our lives? I mean instead of him saying No to us?

Any thoughts on this?

Thank you for chiming in.

-Trish

 

[triciarapp]

I can still see that God would become incarnate to save all of mankind. I just wonder about the people who are going to buy a boat and ‘pray about which one to buy,’ or about when a teen has depression and a family member says, ‘God has a plan.’ Does He?

Do we have Free Will? Or does He have a plan?
Does God lead me to know which boat is right for my family? Isn’t He too busy for that kind of request?

 

[po18guy]

Do we have Free Will? Or does He have a plan?

Yes to both. God is not only huge, He is huge on freedom. He grants us the freedom to embrace Him or reject Him - being Love itself, He better than anyone, knows that love in humankind is a conscious decision. He wants us to decide for Him, but allows us to decide otherwise - freedom.

As to praying for “things” - if it is consistent with God’s will, He can arrange those things. But, in our materialistic society, He sees that material goods more often that not lead us away from Him. The 4th Chapter of the Epistle of James speaks to this regarding prayer.

 

[po18guy]

Indeed. What has been revealed to mankind by God is that we were made to be with God - in His realm. Material things in this world - which is temporary - can distract us and lead us astray. They can force our focus to change from the eternal to the temporal.

We are called to place all things in perspective. Love must be the driving force in all things we do. Love of creation vs. love of Creator. We are admonished to choose wisely, to seek wisely and to balance our lives wisely.

 

[triciarapp]

I wish we as humans had a different phrase that we used instead of, “it’s God’s plan” when a child or parent dies of cancer or a friend has depression. I think I’m beginning to understand that the meaning of the phrase is, “it’s all part of God’s bigger plan for our Salvation,” but the shorter phrase sure sounds crappy at the time.

Isn’t there a better turn of phrase we could use? I find myself becoming angry when someone tells me it’s God’s plan. I yelled at my MIL last year when she said it to me when something terrible was happening in my life. “Why would God PLAN this?”

I thank you all for your gentle answers. I have been struggling with this concept a lot lately.

Trish

 

[po18guy]

God has an absolute will: that which He desires for you, as He knows that it is the best. The problem is that it often appears unattractive to us. This is our challenge - to deny ourselves; to conform our wills to God’s.

Secondly, there is God’s permissive will. He allows less than optimum things to occur, even evil things, so that He alone may bring good from them. The virus is one such example. He did not cause it, but He has promised to be with us through it.

Pain, loneliness, suffering, poverty of health or of so many things, threaten to divert our attention away from God. Yet, this life is fleeting, ephemeral, yet leads to the true life which will never end and which is the perfection of existence.

“He who perseveres to the end will be saved”

We err when we fail to ask for the grace to persevere.

 

[adamhovey1988]

A non-personal God is a non-existent God. The creator, just by virtue of creating us, is personal.

 

[Crocus]

I find myself becoming angry when someone tells me it’s God’s plan.

I know what you mean by this. The phrase that irks me (less and less btw) is “Everything has a reason.” People mean well, but I dislike the statement.

I prefer to hear: “God is good, and brings good, out of even that which is bad,” or variations of that.

God is good. I choose to cling to God, in good times and in bad. He will never abandon me, but will be my strength through all. Amen.

 

[Dimmesdale]

Deism has never made much sense to me. An impersonal pantheistic God maybe, but not a callous personal Creator. The higher up you go ontologically, it seems that the more powerful love as an active principle becomes. When you see a great celebrity, for example, often the first thing you notice is magnanimity, or great-heartedness. At least, personalities with heart, and not self-centered jerks… That’s the litmus test of a great personality: his/her love for others, his/her big-heartedness. Not how much money one has in the bank, etc. If a supernatural Creator was at a truly higher pitch of existence, he/she/it would be more intelligent but also more empathic, more kind, more human…

 

[BT3241]

“I attend Mass and receive Holy Communion on Sundays and Holy Days of obligation; I receive the sacrament of reconciliation frequently; and I perform corporal and spiritual acts of mercy as the opportunities present themselves in my daily life.” Not to mention that there are countless devotions a person can practice that enhance his relationship with the Almighty, such as Eucharistic Adoration, praying the Rosary, and the Divine Mercy chaplet, and praying the Liturgy of the Hours - as a Catholic that’s as close as I can get I don’t know what you guys are talking about is Jesus actually speaking to you? I guess I don’t have personal relationship he doesn’t speak to me. Isn’t it a Protestant thing are we turning Catholics to Protestants?

 

[Hume]

I was wondering if any such denomination exists where they believe that God isn’t as involved in our day to day activities.

When we pray in our daily life for things, say for a raise, or for our kids to get well, is there a Christian religion that believes God doesn’t have that much involvement in our lives? I mean instead of him saying No to us?

Any thoughts on this?

Thank you for chiming in.

-Trish

You’re looking for Christian Deism.

It exists, but it’s a bit obscure. Will be difficult to find a fellowship if you don’t live in a major metro area.