Sorry to ruin your rant, but when they say you need God I think they mean if you follow his teachings and believe in his word, you will be more likely to succeed, not that you physically need God to wave a hand and give you stuff or that it is only because of God you get stuff.
I dunno though, Lutheran might be different in that regard (that god gives you everything) than Roman Catholic (thats why its so hard to discuss this...there are so many different beliefs even within a religion). I also might be completely wrong, I am not that religious, lol. At the very least, good job on not making a troll religion thread to just see people flame each other, it looks like you legitimately want to discuss this.
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I agree with what you are saying. God isn't really the type to hamper/smite you just because you don't believe in him. However, he looks kindly upon those who do put their trust in him. I am also a firm believer in the saying "God helps those who are willing to help themselves."
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Edited by OaklandPaintbalr: 1/21/2013 2:49:16 AMSo many priests and pastors preach that you need to turn yourself over to god. Even in Alcoholics Anonymous, Step 3 of their 12 step program is literally "Turn our will and our lives over to the care of God." Step 6 reads "Be entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." Step 11 reads "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." It's turning yourself over to the care of a higher power. It's not that "god gives you everything." It's that faith in god is a mandatory requirement to personal success. I'm not religious in the slightest, I've never been to church.
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I don't know man, try finding a really cool priest, etc in your Church and talk with them about this. Unless you are in some really extreme religion that shuns non-believers you can actually get into some deep conversations. I know my priest is really nice, you can talk to him about anything, and even if in the end you don't think you believe in what he does he accepts it and doesn't start getting angry with you. Its worth a shot.
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Edited by OaklandPaintbalr: 1/21/2013 2:54:05 AMI'm not religious in the slightest; I've never been to church. I've been in the presence of pastors and priests who preach to me that I need to turn myself over to god. They've told me that without god, life is absurd and there can be nothing without faith. Turning yourself over to god is a universal concept of religion.
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Edited by Sapid: 1/21/2013 3:04:27 AMWell that is not what I was taught. I was actually told today that even if you do not believe in God he will not hamper you and you can still be successful. Different teachings for different beliefs I guess.