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Do you believe in God?

post #1 of 182
2/15/10 at 2:23am
Thread Starter 
I'm asking this here b/c I wanted to get some answers from those who believe as well as some athiests as well. If you don't why? If you do why?

I'm not asking as an inflammatory question just as one who is changing in my beliefs right now.
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post #2 of 182
2/15/10 at 2:29am
Yes. I suppose I do because I don't believe in accidents. I have looked in to other theories and none makes as much sense as God, to me. I just think about how complicated everything is, and I feel like that has to be from a divine entity. And I also believe in miracles and have seen a few, so that helps me to believe.
post #3 of 182
2/15/10 at 2:38am
No, I don't. The idea of a supreme being has never made sense to me. There are thousands and probably millions of versions of "God" in people all over the world, and if it was so innate and inherent that there was a higher being, I believe these versions would be much more similar than they are. There are many other reasons I don't believe in god as well.
post #4 of 182
2/15/10 at 3:11am
No, I don't. I don't believe that humans are superior to the rest of the animal kingdom. If a lion, frog, grasshopper, or bluejay just ... dies ... when it dies, then so do we, and I'm okay with that.
post #5 of 182
2/15/10 at 3:30am
No, I don't and here's a quote that sort of sums up why:

"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference." -Dawkins
post #6 of 182
2/15/10 at 3:52am
I believe that God or some other higher power may or may not exist. I also believe that we as humans will forever be incapable of proving that God or someother higher power does or does not exist.

I believe this because I see all evidence for one or the other as being interpritable for either side and the only way to see it as proving one or the other is look at it with a biased mind set.
post #7 of 182
2/15/10 at 8:34am
I do not believe in god and never did. I have seen/heard/felt no compelling evidence to the contrary. I just cannot believe in something without any evidence.
post #8 of 182
2/15/10 at 8:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by amma_mama View Post
I do not believe in god and never did. I have seen/heard/felt no compelling evidence to the contrary. I just cannot believe in something without any evidence.
Yup.
post #9 of 182
2/15/10 at 11:07am
No. There is zero evidence to support the existence of god. I believe in looking at the evidence in every other facet of my life, so why should religion be different?

I tried very hard for many years to believe in god, trying different denominations. But at the end of the day, I just don't believe, and I really never have. I just started being honest about it.

I come from a Christian tradition. When I took a hard look at the origins of Christianity, and looked at who wrote the gospels, when they were written and how they changed over time, it all fell apart quickly. I got tired of the mental gymnastics that believers have to perform in order to explain away all the conflicting attributes of god.
post #10 of 182
2/15/10 at 11:12am
Yes. I believe in God. I have yet to hear compelling arguments against Him.
post #11 of 182
2/15/10 at 11:17am
I don't. I have no reason to, I have seen no evidence of a deity. Also, I have reasons for disbelieving in the god concepts of which I am aware.
post #12 of 182
2/15/10 at 11:40am
I do.
post #13 of 182
2/15/10 at 11:41am
I, as well, am an atheist. I need concrete evidence of something before I will believe it. Science has shown an overwhelming amount of evidence that there is no God or a need for one in the creation of the universe. However, if it came to light one day that God or a supreme creator does exist, through scientific evidence, I would believe. This has yet to happen.
post #14 of 182
2/15/10 at 11:49am
When people ask IRL they don't want a long answer generally, so I call myself an atheist. I do not believe in a personal god entity that dictates books to people and listens to prayers, etc.

I really consider myself a bit of a deist, though. I think the universe is an amazingly complex place (I do think others might exist). What existed before the universe? Maybe energy has always existed. I think some type of energy had to cause the universe to come into being. Perhaps it's an entirely natural energy, or maybe it's beyond our understanding, or maybe it's the kind of "universal energy" some religions/philosophies talk about. That's the kind of "god" I believe in.

I guess I would be the most atheistic type of deist. Most that I'm aware of believe in a God with some measure of awareness, like an actual being, even if they think He set the universe in motion and then just let it be.
post #15 of 182
2/15/10 at 12:01pm
I do. I have been raised a Christian. Over the period of my life, I have embarked on a journey of learning about God, the Bible and Christian traditions. Even though I do have some questions and some things that are unclear, there are things that have happened and continue to happen throughout my life that I simply can not write off as coincidences. At times, I stop and look around in awe of the beauty of my surroundings and in those moments feel there has to be a supreme being, a Creator of this beautiful universe.
post #16 of 182
2/15/10 at 12:15pm

Movie Zeitgeist - just MIND BLOWING!

I found this movie to be just mind blowing. It comprised of three parts: first is about religion/Christ, second is about Sept. 11 and the last is about the government. So, if you watch the first third of the movie, I promise you will never be able to look at the concept of a religion the same way ever again. Will give you some major goosebumps (in a good, aha, kind of a way)
Here is the link http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...3847743189197#
post #17 of 182
2/15/10 at 12:17pm
forgot to mention, the movie shows you that god IS the sun! please forgive me for repeating it, but this documentary is just mind blowing!
post #18 of 182
2/15/10 at 12:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by amma_mama View Post
I do not believe in god and never did. I have seen/heard/felt no compelling evidence to the contrary. I just cannot believe in something without any evidence.
Me too.
post #19 of 182
2/15/10 at 12:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by amma_mama View Post
I do not believe in god and never did. I have seen/heard/felt no compelling evidence to the contrary. I just cannot believe in something without any evidence.
Me too (or three or four or whatever we're up to now). I believe in science, nature, etc. but not a supreme being who lives in the sky and created the world. There's absolutely no compelling evidence of such a thing.
post #20 of 182
2/15/10 at 12:52pm
"I don't believe; I know." -Carl Jung

I could talk your ear off about why, undoubtedly putting you straight to sleep on your keyboard, but you know who sums up my feelings perfectly and much more eloquently? C.S. Lewis. A former athiest, he was someone whose faith was happily married to reason, and I find his talks on God quite lucid. (One quote of his I like: "I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.") If you need a good place to start on why you might rationally consider belief, I cheerfully recommend his book, "Mere Christianity."

There are also some highly regarded scientists and other cerebral folk who've written books on how they've come to believe in some higher being because of their scientific work and how the universe is designed, etc., etc., and I can look those up for you (or anyone else reading this) if interested. (Their names, of course, escape me at the moment, because guys like Richard Dawkins get more press.)

All that said, however... as much as I depend on reason to help me understand (as best a mortal can) my place in the universe, and the Big Guy's, too, I also allow for sacred mystery. One can either be insulted by the idea that one will never, in this realm, know or understand everything there is to know about God, or one can embrace it. I choose to embrace it. Others will think me a fool for saying that, I'm sure, and say I shouldn't believe in anything that can't be proven by our human scientific methods... but that is the nature of faith, is it not? There is something inside of me that pulls me inexorably toward my Abba, and all the Dawkins in the world cannot change that. Sorry, Richard.

I love God, even when all His ineffability drives me nuts. I've come to see Him not as some angry or distant Thing, but as an actual Personality. And so if you ask Him to help you find Him and you mean it (even if the prayer you croak out feels weird or like you're praying into a dead telephone), He will respond. Might not be right away (His timing is also a sacred mystery, it seems like), but He will. So try to stay open. He respects our choices (even when they're wrong) and will not strong-arm you into believing. Wouldn't it be easier if He did? (Of course, that still doesn't mean we'd all be Mother Teresas or whatever. Satan believes in God, too, and look what he's up to. )