What comes naturally?

[lundberg500]

This belief in God gives me my very life! Before it, my life was a constant search for pleasure and purpose. Things changed when i decided to search for God and find out for myself if He existed!

This is the exact reason WHY I have peace in my life now. I do not carry around this delusion. I am so much more at peace now not basing my happiness on something that is NOT there. This statement by you is incredibly unrealistic. There is no way you could ever prove that a God exists. It's all in your head. You are simply wishful thinking and basing your entire happiness on something that isn't even there. If I knew I was doing that, then I would not have peace in my life.

My intentions are as i stated, to try and see wether or not people feel as if they have something missing in their life.

Yes. There is something missing in my life.... DELUSION.

[The Magic Pudding]

Yes. There is something missing in my life.... DELUSION.

If I was to plant some delusion in my "hole" I wouldn't go for this subservient crap, I would be god.
If you're going to make a fantasy world why not make something fun and new?
Anyway I'm off to make myself a Magneto helmut, and a cape, and I'm gonna wear my underpants on the outside.

[Persimmon Hamster]

My purpose now, is whatever God wants it to be. haha im a bit of a tool i suppose. I dont seek pleasure anymore because, my pleasure is doing Gods work. Yes this requires effort from me, but nothing compared to some others. Yes i take on dialog with God, tell him whats happening and whats next? I dont know what the path of an atheist is, thats why i ask questions.
...
In closing, this is not the time nor place for me to be giving testimonies. For those of you who develop a "tug" on your heart, i would recommend seeking God, thats the only way it will stop.

I was kind of hoping for an answer to the first thing I asked...that is, your definition of pleasure and purpose in the context in which you originally used those terms.

The reason this is important is that I suspect you are probably meaning "earthly" or "worldly" pleasures...perhaps "frivolous" pleasures...when you used the word originally.  The fact is, there are more abstract forms of pleasure than those that we as human beings are capable of experiencing.  For instance, I find pleasure in a job well done.  In helping someone with a problem.  In marveling at this universe.  That sort of thing.  I also find pleasure in many things you would probably have to call worldly, as they relate to the physical senses...such as sitting on a grassy hillside on a warm, breezy day...or walking in the cool, crisp November air.  But I think your original definition would have been much more concrete/specific than that.  More along the lines of "money"..."sexual pleasure"..."altered, aroused states of mind brought on by drugs"...am I right?  I also think you would probably think of such these as somehow sinful or 'bad', but that's another discussion altogether.  The thing is, it doesn't take a concept of God for anyone to realize some forms of pleasure are relatively short-lived as compared with others, and thus by extension perhaps not as worthy of being sought/invested in.  It just takes life experience, maturity, sometimes maybe a little guidance from your elders who have already discovered that truth.  Anyway, I am still seeking pleasure every time I start a job -- any job -- and do my best to finish it well.  Every time I think, "what can I do to effect a positive change on society?"  And I think you are too, by your own admission.  You take the effort to "do God's work" and when you do so you are rewarded with a sense of fulfillment -- but it's not something that would just happen if you sat around all day, you have to seek it.  I ask, why must it be "God's" work that you do...why can't it be your own, as it is for me?

And I suspect that by "purpose" you meant the answer to the question, "why am I here"...  The problem with that definition of "purpose" is that your apparent answer -- "to enact God's Plan" -- is not really specific enough to be called a purpose, in my book.  To me, purpose would be a fairly specific definition of your agenda -- a definition you can actually work with, day to day, to make choices for how you will directly act.  For example, if you were more specific such as "to bring as many of my fellow man unto God as possible", that is getting closer to what I would call a purpose.  You can try to enact that in many ways, such as coming to this forum as you have.  (Side note...the last statement in your reply to me is clear indication that this is why you are here...please don't insult my intelligence by claiming otherwise now).  To get down to that level of specificity, I imagine you look for what you would call signs from God.  So again, you are seeking it, constantly.  As am I.  I have to look out at the world and think to myself, what part can I play in making this a better place (by my own definition of better, of course)?  Then I can do it.  And over time, I might come to realize that what I'm doing isn't working (or even that it IS working) and the landscape before me changes.  Or, my world view might shift a little.  My plans & actions might need to change to accommodate new experiences and goals.  Would you claim to know exactly what God's Plan is?  Surely not.  You have to think about it daily and ask how you can contribute to what your understanding of it is on that day.  Your world view might shift, too, as God reveals His wisdom to you, right?  

So, how are we really any different?  I think I know what your answer might be -- the difference is that I am mostly looking internally for my purpose and that, as an imperfect being, I can easily lead myself in the wrong direction...while you are mostly looking externally, to a perfect being you trust to lead you in the right direction.  Well, I don't believe in any such being as you would define it.  I might argue that every man's "God" is really a projection of his own desires/goals/thoughts/self, created in your image.  The real difference between us, as I see it, is that your opinions come attached to an immense arrogance -- an external claim of absolute, divine authority -- whereas I recognize that my opinions are merely my own.

[Thumpalumpacus]

oh and thumpa if you dont care about what im saying, why bother posting?

Because as pointed out earlier, your questions are loaded with unexamined premises, and my answer not only answers your questions but your unexamined assumptions.

[elliebean]

I could take credit for my achievements, but it would lift me to the status of a God, clearly i am not, so it seems pointless.

My, how magnanimous of you, not taking credit for all your god-like acheivements! Your humility is just... incredible!