Do you believe in God?

[talkingtocactus]

^ i studied that epicurean proposition in my philosophy degree, i love it why do great philosophers always manage to make complex things sound so beautifully natural?

 

[luf100]

Wow... I didn't know this kind of thread existed.

The short answer is:

No.

No gods, no demons, no angels, no miracles, no fairies, no ogres, no vampires, no ghosts, nothing mystical, nothing paranormal.

Doesn't mean I don't love Buffy, The X-Files and Supernatural, though. I just don't believe any of it's real.

Pretty much exactly this.

I wasn't raised religiously, my parents never forced (I can't think of any other word to say) me into any religion, I never went to church a day in my life. (I used to go to a youth group actually, so its not like I've never had any experience with this stuff.)

I'm not really sure if never being raised religiously has anything to do with my decision, but it probably does. In fact, I don't even know what most of my families beliefs are. I know my mom believes in God, but she doesn't go to church and isn't very religious. I have no idea about my brother, my dad, my grandparents, or anyone.

Honestly, I'm just not able to believe in a God, or anything like that (Hell, Heaven, the Devil, etc.) To me, it seems too fairy-tale like. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but to me believing in God is like believing I'm going to meet this prince charming and fall in love and have a happily ever after. But life just isn't like that. You know, I'd like to believe there's a higher power out there or something after death (I'm scared as crap of death), but I can't. I can't put that much faith in something when I have no idea if it's really there or not. I have to rely on myself. It's hard to explain. :lol:

 

[Ginnna]

Honestly, I'm just not able to believe in a God, or anything like that (Hell, Heaven, the Devil, etc.) To me, it seems too fairy-tale like. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but to me believing in God is like believing I'm going to meet this prince charming and fall in love and have a happily ever after. But life just isn't like that. You know, I'd like to believe there's a higher power out there or something after death (I'm scared as crap of death), but I can't. I can't put that much faith in something when I have no idea if it's really there or not. I have to rely on myself. It's hard to explain. :lol:

Sounds just like me. I cannot bring myself to believe. I think it might be nice to believe in some kindly higher power that wants to take me into its loving arms forever (because I'm also scared as crap of death), but... I can't. I simply can't force myself to believe in something so fantastical, so logically impossible

 

[HoratioStalker]

I just found this thread. It looks like votes are split exactly evenly between yes and no :lol:. I'll throw my thoughts in here. I do believe in God, He sent his Son to save us and redeem us from our sins, and I have felt things and had things happen that can only have come from Him so I know He is real.

Believing in God does not preclude science - the Bible states that God created Heaven and Earth in 6 days, but does not define what makes a day. Moses put that down because that was what God said, but time is almost irrelevant to God - He is the beginning and the end. As for evolution/creation, there is nothing that says a created being can't change based on climate or location, or to natural predators, etc. Even if the Big Bang is true, the original atomic particle had to be placed by someone or something in space. It is possible for something to produce nothing, but I can't think of a time when nothing produced something. I hope this made sense....

 

[Vildis]

I really want to believe there is a god or any kind of "higher power" out there. But somehow I simply cannot believe it. I guess I just want something to belive in, and hold on to.

I remember when I was a kid (6 years old) and got a bible made for children. Where the language was quite simple, so the kids could understand it. But it was also similar to story-books. So I actually believed that Jesus was some kind of superhero as he could do things that a normal person could not do. It made me believe that the bible (including the real, original bible) just are stories, nothing else.

And I cannot understand why we must force other people to believe in the same things. We must convince everyone else that we are right, as we apparently don't dare to believe in something by ourselves (alone). But must do believe it in groups to make it worth anything. Then it becomes important that everyone think alike. So we have to maintain (uphold) the order. And how do we do that? By laws and rules. Which forces people to adjust. You have to stop asking difficult questions, as someone already have written all the "right" answers in a book. Like the Bible or the Koran.

It just have to be the end of development, right? I mean, something like that is more like power and abuse. This is what religions means to me. As God didn't create the religion, we humans did. The history has showed what people think they can do in the name of God/religion.

I hope that no one feel insulted by this. It was not my intention

 

[talkingtocactus]

I wasn't raised religiously, my parents never forced (I can't think of any other word to say) me into any religion, I never went to church a day in my life.

i'm the opposite, my dad was a vicar (he's retired now but still does part time stuff in a local church) and my mum is the typical vicar's wife! in fact i often think she's more religious than he is. i think this had a huge bearing on my lack of belief - being dragged to church every week made me less than sympathetic! right up til my late 20s i was still pretty much forced to go on things like easter and xmas, but now i wriggle out of it and my parents have had to accept that i just will not go. the fact is going to church, even for just an hour or so, makes me so intensely angry that it totally defeats the object! i'm sure the religious folk in church would rather someone not go at all than went and seethed and got more and more incensed as the service went on, to the point where by the end they just want to shout at someone! so i avoid it. i am pretty shameless, i use feeding my cats as an excuse not to go and only go to my parents' house for the xmas thing after church is finished. actually i hate xmas entirely, but that's another story...:lol:

Honestly, I'm just not able to believe in a God, or anything like that (Hell, Heaven, the Devil, etc.) To me, it seems too fairy-tale like. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but to me believing in God is like believing I'm going to meet this prince charming and fall in love and have a happily ever after. But life just isn't like that.... I have to rely on myself.

yeah, i agree - apart from the fact that i don't like to think that there's a higher power. i really don't, i'd much rather be a total humanist/atheistic existentialist and just believe in me/us.

And I cannot understand why we must force other people to believe in the same things. We must convince everyone else that we are right, as we apparently don't dare to believe in something by ourselves. But must do believe it groups to make it worth anything. Then it becomes important that everyone think alike. So we have to maintain (uphold) the order. And how do we do that? By laws and rules. Which forces people to adjust. You have to stop asking difficult questions, as someone already have written all the "right" answers in a book. Like the Bible or the Koran.

It just have to be the end of development, right? I mean, something like that is more like power and abuse. This is what religions means to me. As God didn't create the religion, we humans did. The history has showed what people think they can do in the name of God/religion.

yep, totally agree - "man has created god in his image"

 

[shazza_018]

I'll throw my thoughts in here. I do believe in God, He sent his Son to save us and redeem us from our sins, and I have felt things and had things happen that can only have come from Him so I know He is real.

Believing in God does not preclude science - the Bible states that God created Heaven and Earth in 6 days, but does not define what makes a day. Moses put that down because that was what God said, but time is almost irrelevant to God - He is the beginning and the end. As for evolution/creation, there is nothing that says a created being can't change based on climate or location, or to natural predators, etc. Even if the Big Bang is true, the original atomic particle had to be placed by someone or something in space. It is possible for something to produce nothing, but I can't think of a time when nothing produced something. I hope this made sense....

I agree with what you said. My view is same although my religion is different what you said still applies .

And I can understand where people are coming with their questions about evil and whatnot. We were always taught in Islam that life is a test and that bad things happening like evil and natural disasters were a test for mankind - I don't myself totally agree with that or see it as justifiable but that's the way it is. Also there's free will - we choose to act in a certain way cause we have that level of free will given to us by God.

Ofcourse my view is that of a believer and thoses are just my opinions.

 

[_Hush_]

We were always taught in Islam that life is a test and that bad things happening like evil and natural disasters were a test for mankind - I don't myself totally agree with that or see it as justifiable but that's the way it is.

I think I'd rather believe that life ain't just a test that will decide my future afterlife. I'd rather know that this is it , and make the best of it. For some reason I find that more... comforting, I guess.

Besides, our planet (and the nature disasters that go along with it) is a mess because of what we, mankind, have done to it. Anyone who would even think of blaming that on a fragment of one's imagination, is not thinking straight. No one to blame here but ourselves.

 

[shazza_018]

^I think the afterlife still raises doubts in my mind, just because of the way people say certain things about it: 'you'll go to hell for this' etc. I mean who are we to pass judgement on others actions, lets look at our own actions first. God is the ultimate judge afterall in my opinion. Also people say 'certain people will go to hell' - really how can you say that. Only God will make that decision and only God will decide our fate.

Besides, our planet (and the nature disasters that go along with it) is a mess because of what we, mankind, have done to it. Anyone who would even think of blaming that on a fragment of one's imagination, is not thinking straight. No one to blame here but ourselves.

I'm glad you brought that up I agree with you on that.

 

[Ginnna]

When it comes to natural disasters, I wouldn't blame a deity and I wouldn't blame humanity. Well, at least not for all of it. Hurricanes? No. Tornadoes? No. Tsunamis? No. Destruction of ozone? Yes. Global warming? Yes. Forrest fires? Sometimes.

 

[Stepherweps]

Even if the Big Bang is true, the original atomic particle had to be placed by someone or something in space. It is possible for something to produce nothing, but I can't think of a time when nothing produced something. I hope this made sense....

Yep, that reminds me of something a friend said to me... He had been talking to a Pastor, and asked the Pastor about the Big Bang, the Pastor told him the big bang theory doesn't rule out Genesis, because, if you hear a bang, don't you go out and look to see where it came from? The earth may have been created in a big bang, but the big bang was obviously produced by something, my personal belief is that it was cause by God... Just my 2 cents...

 

[_Hush_]

^I think the afterlife still raises doubts in my mind, just because of the way people say certain things about it: 'you'll go to hell for this' etc. I mean who are we to pass judgement on others actions, lets look at our own actions first. God is the ultimate judge afterall in my opinion. Also people say 'certain people will go to hell' - really how can you say that. Only God will make that decision and only God will decide our fate.

The idea of afterlife is a comforting thought so people wouldn't be too afraid of dying, and is also a (old fashioned) way to keep people in line (otherwise you will burn in hell ). And why wouldn't we judge other people's actions? Yes, I know, He who is free of any blame, cast the first stone, but imagine the society we'd live in? The idea of judging is so someone knows they're doing something wrong. Whether it's an inappropriate remark or a beat up, whether it's a censure or homo-, islamophobic comment? If it feels wrong to you, why would you not have the right to judge?

When it comes to natural disasters, I wouldn't blame a deity and I wouldn't blame humanity. Well, at least not for all of it. Hurricanes? No. Tornadoes? No. Tsunamis? No. Destruction of ozone? Yes. Global warming? Yes. Forrest fires? Sometimes.

I'm not saying that all of them is due to humanity, but the uprise of tornadoes, hurricanes etc. do result from the warming of the earth. And that's entirely our fault.

Oh, and I believe the Big Bang theory will evolve untill we know what actually happened, but in no way do I believe that it was some godlike intervention.

 

[Speedystokesgirl]

Even if the Big Bang is true, the original atomic particle had to be placed by someone or something in space. It is possible for something to produce nothing, but I can't think of a time when nothing produced something. I hope this made sense....

Yep, that reminds me of something a friend said to me... He had been talking to a Pastor, and asked the Pastor about the Big Bang, the Pastor told him the big bang theory doesn't rule out Genesis, because, if you hear a bang, don't you go out and look to see where it came from? The earth may have been created in a big bang, but the big bang was obviously produced by something, my personal belief is that it was cause by God... Just my 2 cents...

You make a valid point, however, if you study the earth based religions (that have been around way longer than Christianity), there was no God. God didn't exist until Christianity came along.

The Earth based religions have their Gods and Goddesses, but God and the Devil never existed then. So I don't believe in a God.

I was raised Catholic and always did believe in God, but there is too much out there to prove there is no God. However, this is my opinion and I'm not telling anyone they are wrong, just giving another perspective.

As for hurricanes, tornadoes and the such, they can't be blamed on the ozone layer. These types of weather phenomenons have always happened. Long before we started destroying the ozone layer. Could there be more of them now, sure, but it isn't the only cause. Besides history has shown us that there have been major weather changes/shifts on our planet and we could be going through another one. I'm not completely sold on 'global warming' yet. The ice caps melting are not proof, at least not complete proof.

 

[DetHiggins]

You make a valid point, however, if you study the earth based religions (that have been around way longer than Christianity), there was no God. God didn't exist until Christianity came along.

The Earth based religions have their Gods and Goddesses, but God and the Devil never existed then. So I don't believe in a God.

I was raised Catholic and always did believe in God, but there is too much out there to prove there is no God.

Actually, the Mesopotamians had a religion/philosophical belief (whatever you want to call it) that started with a 'Z' and if I had my notes from last year, I would have the name. Anyway, it said that the "Good" being would eventually destroy the "Evil" one. Anyway, that is what Christianity says albeit the two are very different. So Christianity isn't new when it says that there is a God and a Devil. Also, I'd like to point out that Judaism came before Christianity and says the same thing

Anyway, I have trouble with my beliefs. I believe in God. I believe that he sent his Son to die for my sins and although I see how it could be considered a fairy-tale, I believe it. I am not sure that any of my beliefs are true, but I do know that if I am wrong, then there's nothing. There would be no consequence.

For the longest time, I've been wrestling with (and I still am) the idea that there is no God. Everytime I look at the world, however, I just can't accept that everything evolved over millions of years by chance. No one is that lucky. Plus, I could never understand how nucleic acids and nucleotides could survive for millions of years before making a cell. But I do accept that there are changes within species. That is without a doubt true.

Something else that has always bothered me is why creationists are so persecuted in the scientific community. If we're all about unity in our culture and accepting each other, then why is it so taboo to have a different belief?

Oh well, those are my two cents... Have a great day

 

[Ginnna]

...if you hear a bang, don't you go out and look to see where it came from? The earth may have been created in a big bang, but the big bang was obviously produced by something, my personal belief is that it was cause by God... Just my 2 cents...

I think the idea of God as the First Cause is less likely than there being turtles all the way down.

The idea of afterlife is a comforting thought so people wouldn't be too afraid of dying...

That reminds me of a Carl Sagan quote: "For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring."

You make a valid point, however, if you study the earth based religions (that have been around way longer than Christianity), there was no God. God didn't exist until Christianity came along.

I'm pretty sure Zoroastrianism was probably the first major monotheistic religion... and if you were referring to the first Abrahamic monotheistic religion, that'd be Judaism. But you're right, animism and polytheism were the prevailing spiritual narratives for a long time before monotheism ever showed up.

Also, hello fellow ex-Catholic! I was raised in Catholicism too. I actually dropped out halfway through confirmation, declaring that I no longer believed in God. My parents were..... "disappointed".

Actually, the Mesopotamians had a religion/philosophical belief (whatever you want to call it) that started with a 'Z'

You might be thinking of Zoroastrianism.

I do accept that there are changes within species. That is without a doubt true

The same mechanisms which drive "micro" evolution are also responsible for "macro" evolution... it's just a MUCH longer timeline.

Something else that has always bothered me is why creationists are so persecuted in the scientific community. If we're all about unity in our culture and accepting each other, then why is it so taboo to have a different belief?

I certainly don't begrudge anyone their belief (I am a huge supporter of religious liberty) but Creationism/Intelligent Design simply isn't science. It's totally acceptable to believe in Creationism/I.D. if you want to, don't get me wrong, but to claim that it's scientific when it clearly isn't just... doesn't fly.