believing in an imaginary friend or god

[dark159123]

i would have made the title longer but i couldnt do to the char limit...
now i know this question probably has been asked multiple times, but... well now its been asked one more time.

so, what is the difference between believing in an imaginary friend and believing in a god? i mean if your kid had an imaginary friend, you would probably tell him/her that he/she/it doesnt exist... but then you go to church the next day with your whole family... my point is, how do you know an imaginary friend dosnt exist when you know god does? you never see any of them and they dont physicaly influence anything (physically influence = eg. catch a ball or throw one for that matter) yet god exist but the imaginary friend doesnt.
even though it could be from an alien planet and maybe it brought some kind of stealth mechanism with it so only the one it wants to be seen by sees it, or vice versa...

this is not a thread about if imaginary friends exist but why it is allowed to believe in a god, when it is just the same as an imaginary friend, but a kid who keeps believing in one gets to talk with a psychiatrist?

[Goatboy]

From a religious perspective, believing in an imaginary friend is just fine. As long as that friend happens to be God.

[Dredric1]

Believing in God is something that you feel

[Goatboy]

Believing in God is something that you feel

Like an imaginary friend.

[dark159123]

personally i agree with goatboy, but i would like some religious people to answer this too, as it is important to get the yes sayers to answer the hard questions

[sanddbox]

Believing in God is something that you feel

I also feel indigestion.

Therefore, is my belief in God indigestion?

[Dredric1]

Believing in God is something that you feel

I also feel indigestion.

Therefore, is my belief in God indigestion?

no its a spiritual feeling not a physical
and no its not something you imagine its actually there

[Goatboy]

and no its not something you imagine its actually there

Where? Please point this out to me, or provide a picture, or a video, or a sketch on a café napkin, or hell even a pirate's map with a G for God.

Believing in God and believing in an imaginary friend both serve roughly the same purpose: To comfort you and make you feel loved. Let's break this down:

Imaginary friend

• Invisible to everyone but you
• Loves you unconditionally
• Talks to you, although you don't actually hear it
• Makes you feel like you have a friend

God

• Invisible to everyone
• Loves you unconditionally (Yet still sees fit to send you to a place of fire, and smoke, and ash, and pain, and suffering, and torture for all eternity if you don't do what he says)
• Talks to you, although you don't actually hear it (But if you do, you're either a prophet or a lunatic... Hmm...)
• Makes you feel like you have another father

You know, I actually think it makes more sense to believe in an imaginary friend, simply because of the scale (it's just you) and the consequences for growing out of it (none). This is why I dislike religion. It's essentially the same thing, yet for whatever reason it's okay to believe in the more outrageous of the two. It's all hypocrisy.

ADD: Also, what makes a preacher who hears voices so special, yet someone on the street who hears voices is ignored and cast aside by society? What if the church has it all wrong? Jesus did champion the poor, so if God really is talking to people, wouldn't it be the poor? That would make sense to me. But then again, religion isn't about making sense.

[neuromanta]

ADD: Also, what makes a preacher who hears voices so special, yet someone on the street who hears voices is ignored and cast aside by society? What if the church has it all wrong? Jesus did champion the poor, so if God really is talking to people, wouldn't it be the poor? That would make sense to me. But then again, religion isn't about making sense.

You, again, mix up religion with the church. It's not your fault, western people thinks in churches (especially the catholic church), when it comes to spiritual. Religion is not about making a comfy delusion about a God, "who forgives me whatever I do". Religion is about transcendence, about enlightenment. And transcendence is about knowing the true nature of the universe, to know it's deepest, invisible laws (achieving enlightenment is very much like hacking - it's life-hacking, as I often say).
It's about figuring out, that everyone, and everything is One, we are all part of the same thing, like drops of the ocean. This is called love. Love is the feeling of unity, with everything and everyone. Religion is about knowing, that you have to focus your mind on the present, to live your life, as if it would be your last day, and not let your ego tell you what to do. This is peace. Enlightenment is about knowing, that everyone is a Creator, everyone has the devine spark, and you create your own reality with your mind and thoughts (in the bible, god created Adam akin to itself... this means that humans got the divine spark, not that humans look like god... thinking that would be silly). This is freedom.
So, religion, and having faith in god is about all these, and also much more. Stop referring to religion as some made up delusion by the pope. You disgrace all of the ancient cultures, who figured out these laws of the universe. Also, god is not a person in the sky, you can't make a video of it. God is the Universe, it's the Collective Spirit, it is Nature, and it is You. You can't deny, that the Universe doesn't exist. And you can't make fun of anyone, who believes in himself.
And before you say, that figuring out the laws of the universe is just what phisics is about: you are right. Science and religion is about the same thing. If you know quantum phisics, then you know, that science is heading towards the spiritual. Modern phisics realized many aforementioned laws.

But I don't blame you, that you think this way. Western people doesn't keep the ancient traditions. It would be even harder in america, cuz the ancient americans were massacred. All I say, is that religion is not what it looks like. It is just like hacking, and anyone, who has a hacker spirit, would find much fun in figuring out the laws of the spiritual world.

[dark159123]

first of all i would like to say that im proud of sparking up this discussion, even though it have been done before...

some of the religious people tend to skip the imaginary friend question though... this is a serious question and i would like to get an answer from someone religious. and im not talking about any "its not the same god is real an imaginary friend isnt" answer but an answer that gives a real argument about why im right\wrong?