Do You Believe In God?

[Relys]

pre-condition, not actually believing. There is a difference.

In the context of your initial statement and my rebuttal God exists. Stop trying to change the subject. I am NOT trying to convince you to drop your overall belief in God. I am trying to convince you that blaming innocent deaths "because Satan", is an inherently flawed point of view.

If he never let Satan do bad then his angels would never relize what Satan is, which is pure EVIL because. And I have had some very sad thing happen in my life I wans't trying or intending to be insensitive.
I rest my case.

Judging by your location you're a Canadian citizen right? Ok, so what if I told you that the Canadian government was going to allow a member of ISIS to murder your family. What if I told you that the governments reason was that if they never let ISIS do bad, that their citizens would never realize what ISIS is, which is pure EVIL.

Does anyone see how harmful this logic is?

 

[VinsCool]

The question that comes in my mind right now is: What would make me or someone believe in something? What triggers a belief? I really am curious.

 

[Ruby Gloom]

The question that comes in my mind right now is: What would make me or someone believe in something? What triggers a belief? I really am curious.

I don't really believe God too much. I believe in our Lord, and saviour, Ruby Gloom! XD

 

[Foxchild]

I believe Satan exists, but I tend to blame most of the bad stuff that happens on one of two things, either humans acting within their God-granted free will and all the repercussions, ripples, and butterfly effects that spring from those decisions, or the physical effects of "sin entering the world" through Adam and Eve... I believe that original sin introduced entropy into the world (universe) so that now everything dies and decays. CGP Grey recently posted a youtube video about plagues and how there were none in the Americas until they were brought over from Europe and why, partly because deadly plagues are all basically mutated animal diseases humans were never "meant" to catch. Got me thinking that mutation is a result of entropy (dna sequencing degradation) and thus, pre-Adam and Eve all bacteria and viruses were likely the "good" kind - after all a virus that kills its host is kinda self-defeating.

Also, what is a "bad" thing anyway? If there is no God, there is no reason a human death is any more significant than an ant's, and death is just a part of nature, not something bad. On the other hand, if God exists, and Heaven is real and better than here, death is sometimes actually a good thing. Plus, all the bad stuff and hardships we go through in life that don't actually kill us... many times, once we're all the way through them, we realize they made us better, able to do things we never could have otherwise, even though it's tough when we're in the middle of it to see the possible positives. Guess that's where faith (trusting that God knows what He's doing) comes in.

Concerning Hell, Jesus Himself said that the Lake of Fire was "created for the Devil and his angels", so I don't believe it was originally intended for human use. Satan is condemned to Hell because he decided to be his own god instead of having God be his god. Thus, if a human makes that same decision, God, in His infinite sense of justice, must also condemn that human to the same fate. Might seem harsh, but He did love us enough to send His Son to die to give us an alternative. I mean, if you literally sacrificed your child and people still refused to to take the way out that sacrifice provided you'd probably let 'em suffer the consequences of that decision too.

 

[WaffleWafer]

I've been conflicted with this issue too much. My whole family tree basically is devoted to God and the religion that's tied to him. Mormon Family is hard if you do not believe in the existence of someone. I mean, religion were used as a power group before, almost even more powerful than the government themselves, usually just to have power, gold, influence, and exemptions from taxes... and somewhere down the road, a true devoted man was elected head of the church and then proceeded to teach what he thinks was right.

But I think religion is a good thing for people, because it helps them find peace in their inner mind.

TLDR: GOD is the creation of greedy people who makes churches to gain power, gold, and exemptions in the olden age up until today. Also, Churches/Religion are good for the people.

 

[Viri]

I honestly don't know what to believe. There are too many unanswered questions in the universe for me to decide whether if I believe in god or not.

I do believe aliens are real though.

 

[Muffins]

I've always been someone who believes in rationality, in logic and in evidence.

That said, I grew up in a religious family. I learned about the positives that come from having a strong moral foundation, and as I grew up I learned about some of the negatives that come from the same thing. But above all, I maintained an overarching dependence on science and evidentiary reliance.

Can I say with all certainty that when I die I'll be whisked away someplace to have my life played out in front of me and a little man point out everything I did wrong?

Or when I die will I simply cease to exist, my entire sense of self dissipating into oblivion?

Existence itself- what we consider to be the fabric of reality... it's all finite, a blip that will eventually see the earth swallowed by the expanding sun, then the shards drifting away into nothingness.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that... life, whether an afterlife exists or not... is achingly short, and when it's over, it's over. It's up to us to create meaning in that tiny space we occupy of our lives.

 

[Jack_Sparrow]

God doesn't do that stuff, he lets satan do it so we know what satan's way leads to.

God doesen't let satan do it, he does what he does for a reason.

 

[XtremeHacker]

In the context of your initial statement and my rebuttal God exists. Stop trying to change the subject. I am NOT trying to convince you to drop your overall belief in God. I am trying to convince you that blaming innocent deaths "because Satan", is an inherently flawed point of view.



Judging by your location you're a Canadian citizen right? Ok, so what if I told you that the Canadian government was going to allow a member of ISIS to murder your family. What if I told you that the governments reason was that if they never let ISIS do bad, that their citizens would never realize what ISIS is, which is pure EVIL.

Does anyone see how harmful this logic is?

With God there isn't always logic and BTW I would pray that God would protect that person.

 

[grossaffe]

Atheism is a hypocritical concept.

"I can't see it, therefore it doesn't exist".

That's not proof God doesn't exist. Prove to me there isn't an invisible unicorn orbiting earth. You can't prove a negative so good luck.

your ignorance is showing. I will say that God does not exist with the same way that I will say there is not a million dollars in the trunk of your car. I will continue to assume there is not a million dollars in the trunk of your car until you can provide evidence that there is. If you showed me a bank statement with a withdrawal of a million dollars, that would provide evidence that there could be a million dollars in your trunk. At such time, I would revise my statement to that there could be a million dollars in your trunk. Its still left to be proven that there is but at least you've provided evidence that there reasonably could be.

To put it mathematically, a 0.000...1% chance of something existing makes it statistically irrelevant. If the only thing supporting its existence is that it cannot by nature be disproven, then its got nothing. Personally, I prefer to say, rather than "There is no god", that "I have no reason to believe in a god". That my lack in a belief of a god is no different than my not believing in fairies or monsters or ghosts or any other such unfounded supernatural things.

 

[Muffins]

Why would you call someone ignorant over a matter of faith?

Believe.
Don't believe.
God.
No God.

In the end isn't what really matters not what someone believes, but how they use that belief?

 

[Deboog]

If there is no God, there is no reason a human death is any more significant than an ant's, and death is just a part of nature, not something bad.

Welcome to existential crises.

 

[Jack_Sparrow]

Why would you call someone ignorant over a matter of faith?

Believe.
Don't believe.
God.
No God.

In the end isn't what really matters not what someone believes, but how they use that belief?

If you wan't to believe in something you should have a base of why you believe. I don't just believe the new Star Wars will be good because George Lucas said it was, my faith in Abrams movie work is based on facts and a base.

 

[Muffins]

If you wan't to believe in something you should have a base of why you believe. I don't just believe the new Star Wars will be good because George Lucas said it was, my faith in Abrams movie work is based on facts and a base.

Faith.

Faith is the antithesis of scientific thought by it's very definition. A man can have faith in a higher power and use that faith to help others, spending his life feeding the poor and hungry. A man can have faith that God will not help those poor, no belief at all, and decide to use that faith in empowering his own sense of necessity, feeding the poor and hungry.

Faith, belief- it can do great things, and it can do terrible things. Religion created almost all the hospitals you see today in America, but it also created Isis. Atheism formed the foundation of much of our science but it also created Communism. Good and bad- it is about how we as humans choose to use our own faith.

Faith in God. Faith in Man.

How will you use yours?

 

[Jack_Sparrow]

Faith.

Faith is the antithesis of scientific thought by it's very definition. A man can have faith in a higher power and use that faith to help others, spending his life feeding the poor and hungry. A man can have faith that God will not help those poor, no belief at all, and decide to use that faith in empowering his own sense of necessity, feeding the poor and hungry.

Faith, belief- it can do great things, and it can do terrible things. Religion created almost all the hospitals you see today in America, but it also created Isis. Atheism formed the foundation of much of our science but it also created Communism. Good and bad- it is about how we as humans choose to use our own faith.

Faith in God. Faith in Man.

How will you use yours?

We're talking about your beliefs not your faith

 

[Muffins]

Those are one and the same, and you know it.

 

[Haloman800]

OP, you should add a poll with the options Yes, No, and Unsure.

Yes, I do believe in God. I would like to clarify, there is a difference from being religious and belief in God. For instance, there are individuals who are secular (non-religious) that believe in God (deists), and there are atheists who are religious (Buddhists). One fallacy many atheists perform is criticizing religion and thinking that somehow discredits belief in God.

That being said, I also am Christian, so that would make me a religious theist.

My reasons for belief in God are as follows:
1. Objective morality
2. Origins of the universe
3. Origins of life

Reasons for belief in Christianity:
1. Resurrection of Jesus
2. Biblical prophesies
3. Anecdotal evidence.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Those are one and the same, and you know it.

Belief is define as an acceptance as a statement or fact as true. Faith is defined as belief in something that cannot be proven. They have different words for a reason .

 

[LawnMeower]

Well, I believe in what I can see and is logical for me. My creator is the process of evolution and nature/universe. So I consider myself as atheist (So I don't believe in Satan, heaven or hell too). I also reject the philosophy of having/believing in god because I don't like having someone/something above all others. As many atheists I think that every life have has the same value (This is also one reason I'm vegetarian). Another of many reasons I reject religions is that most of them are critical or against non-heterosexuality, apply gender roles, tell you who to like or dislike (well, in general it's good to like everyone as much as yourself. But what if someone hates their own? Or when someone behaves like an asshole I don't think you need to like them).
I could write an endless list of reasons
But one more thing is said: I accept the way everyone believes. When someone feels happy with their religion I also feel happy for that person. I also won't mind learning something new about a religions

 

[elmoemo]

Not trying to argue by the way as we all believe what we want and I had the same way of thinking in that I believe in what I see but we can't see things like air but know it's there.

I don't know what to believe, we will possibly never know

 

[Jack_Sparrow]

Not trying to argue by the way as we all believe what we want and I had the same way of thinking in that I believe in what I see but we can't see things like air but know it's there.

I don't know what to believe, we will possibly never know

Nicely worded!

OP, you should add a poll with the options Yes, No, and Unsure.

Yes, I do believe in God. I would like to clarify, there is a difference from being religious and belief in God. For instance, there are individuals who are secular (non-religious) that believe in God (deists), and there are atheists who are religious (Buddhists). One fallacy many atheists perform is criticizing religion and thinking that somehow discredits belief in God.

That being said, I also am Christian, so that would make me a religious theist.

My reasons for belief in God are as follows:
1. Objective morality
2. Origins of the universe
3. Origins of life

Reasons for belief in Christianity:
1. Resurrection of Jesus
2. Biblical prophesies
3. Anecdotal evidence.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------


Belief is define as an acceptance as a statement or fact as true. Faith is defined as belief in something that cannot be proven. They have different words for a reason .

OP updated! Thanks for the suggestion!