What Makes You Believe? Or Not?

[Tramposch 1]

I am wondering what makes you disbelieve or believe in God.I personally do not believe in God. While I am not totally against the idea, with current evidence I can't believe it. I see people suffering and dying and a good portion of them pray, yet it is still going on. Why? Because they have sinned? How has somebody sinned so much that they deserve to die and suffer their whole life. There are worse people out there making a lot of money. Another reason I think it is false (this more pertains to Christianity) is the massive killings in the Middle Ages and even before that. The Church would kill anybody who opposed them in thought, or didn't think the same as them. This makes me wonder why they would need to do this if there is truly a God.Free thinkers were tortured and killed all the time because they didn't think the same as the Church. If God was real, and things in the Bible did happen, I don't think Jesus or God or anybody would want that to happen in their name. Those who did so, I think, would be going to Hell rather quick.Also when you look at the similarities between all major religions, it is mind boggling how similar they are. It's as if there was a convention and they created guidelines as to how a religion was to be formed and how their holy book must be formatted.And another thing that makes it hard to believe is that vast amount of religions. If there is a God, why isn't there just one religion to worship him? That would make sense to me. But instead you have warring religions that claim they are right, when in reality they are trying to accomplish the same thing; control people with the threat of the "wrath" of a greater being. Which religion is right? If each one claims there is one God (at least the major ones do), then which is the real God? It is troubling that there are a billion different religions all worshiping a God (or Gods) yet there is no proof that any of these Gods exist.

[Echo_of_thunder 1]

well as someone that has mixed feeling in this matter. I really am not sure of it all.I mean something or someone had to have created earth and mandkind. If there is a god, or higher power which I do belive in. I feel as that would be the reason. as for a god? I really think it is how you look at it if you want to call that higher power god or not.

[Tramposch 1]

I mean something or someone had to have created earth and mandkind

That means something was there before everything. In both explanations (from science and religion), there was something before everything. It is a concept I don't think any human can wrap their mind around. That is the problem. Nobody could really understand fully how the universe was created.

[Mr Inviso 0]

I'm glad this topic has been brought up. I was raised a christian/catholic. And ever since my early twenty's have had a problem with the whole idea of a God. It's not that I didn't want to believe or didn't try. It's more like I couldn't see why. It seemed to me that people suffered either with or with out God. People prospered whether they believed or not. I've finally come to believe that the closest thing to God that I can believe in is the energy created when people interact in a positive way. Like wise for the energy created by negative interaction. It's the Devil. But as far as some kind of supreme being, I just can't wrap my mind around it.

[Parubilla 0]

Well I do believe in God I was raised as a Christian and that's what I've been taught since I was little. But to believe or not well is just something that is in your mind, for me is like you always have something to look up to, even if the whole world is against you and you have no friends, family or nothing is a refugee in your mind that helps you move on, that offers you a hand and that's all inside you. I believe the mind is powerful and well even if it's God or a superior force, if that helps you move on in life, I don't see why not believe. But I totally have to agree with Mr Inviso, even if you pray to a God or not, it's all in the view you have, is what moves you, the kind of person you are that attract good or bad people/experiences around you.. haha I think by the experiences I had so far I'm kind of a mix... But back to the question if believe in God or not, yes I believe in the whole God concept and I don't think I'm ever going to change that, it's too deep within me.

[Zeyomie 0]

I completely believe in god. I in my life have on several occasions had my prayers answered by god in various ways. Inspiration, understanding, emotional wellbeing. Whatever the case it has led me to believe in god. Now, here is the kicker for me. I was raised as one of Jehovah's witnesses, I'm sure everyone here knows who they are and if you don't, what rock have you been living under? lol Anyway, I was always taught by the bible, and that it's gods word and we should follow it as he over time will allow us to understand it's meanings and the end of the system (IE our current condition the state the world is in, whatever.) Is coming to an end, more the likely in our lifetime, and even more likely in the next few years. Maybe even tomorrow!. Anyway, I was raised with these beliefs, loving your neighbor, don't be hypocritical of your brother and what not. Well as an adult, I pretty much removed myself from the congregation. For one, even if I was in it still I would be disfellowshipped anyway because I live with and have a child with a man whom I'm not married to. So that doesn't even matter. For two, every congregation I ever attended was full of hypocrites. People saying encouraging things to your face, then talking s**t behind your back to others there. I literally got sick of it. My family is no exception. They claim to be witnesses in spite of their inactivity. Yet, they are horrible, controlling manipulative SOB's. My mother and sister are the worst! I prefer to spend time with my cousins who are both no longer witnesses because they respect me as a person far more then my mother or sister ever would. How they can claim to be so righteous, and be such cruel backstabbers is beyond me. Now, I would never discourage anyone from seeking out the religion, if you listen to the word, and follow the teachings it does make sense, however, i would encourage finding your faith with those who are at least less hypocritical. Everyone has their faults, but those who faults stumble others should have the line drawn. Back on subject, To me, god is real, he exists in heaven and right now he is very disappointed in me. If the world ended tomorrow, I'd be screwed, but thats my choice, made on account of the actions of others, so I know there would be a lot of other people screwed with me, since they would be accountable. If that makes any sense. People who choose to not believe in god, that like anything else is a choice, given to you by god in the form of your own free will. If you really think about it. Both Science and religion are correct. The bible says god created the heavens and the earth in 6 days. Well, those were creative days that could actually have been millions of years. Who is to say God didn't create the BIG BANG that started the universe? It's all about perspective. Okay, I'm done. ^^

Edited January 18, 2009 by Zeyomie (see edit history)

[andresf91 0]

Forget about believing in God or not. That's not the point I think. You don't believe in God, you're part of a movement. Call it religion, or deism (that is, there's an external force that created everything and then had fun leaving the humanity their free will) or energy. It's not only you who believes it, there are lots of people around, organized or not, that do as well. When someone believes in something that is different from everybody else on this world, he or she is called crazy, heretic, subversive, etc.... you know, rhetorically denigrated. Until... someone believes you, and you convince people to your movement."Truth shall make you free" said Jesus. He started a silent revolution, he lighted up the fire, he liked the poors, the ones who had their social status were deep down... and you know how he died.Science has studied religions and as you may know, not everyone are the same. Some of them had many gods, other didn't even had gods but "figures", etc. Christianity, Jewish and Islam have only one god, called God each one. This info may not sound useful, but it show us how religions have developed through time.So, unless you really believe that God came and told Moses or the other prophets things, some of them, their key for their survival in the desert (e.g. health rules like circumcision), you can understand that religion is part of each culture.Each society makes their culture, each man produces not only goods, but all around his life and his work. As he believes in something, he helps it to be there, part of the culture.So, religion is produced by men and women, by the society. Just like many other ideas, myths, science, art. Abstract entities.God, as part of the religion, was created by people. It's just an idea. It feels good to have someone around to pray to when you need something or when you feel terrible; some people, despite development of societies, can't stand not having that idea-entity around, called God, to ask for their self-contentment.To sum up, yes. God exists. We created it, it's not the first word that represents something non-factual, or beyond the proof of existence.So, another question: we made it, are we ready to kill it? When will truth make us really free? When will we stop consuming this opium?

[Baniboy 3]

Well, I don't want to make anybody mad but, this is my idea and some really hard questions (if anybody is gonna say that I take this too far just stop, cuz I'll ignore your post):God created world and mankind?Well was he bored? Or perhaps this all is a great videogame of god?So why he created mankind to worship him? If god is so perfect why did he need someone to worship him?And then "sent" Jesus down to earth " son, I'm sending you to earth for a suicide mission and you'll die but you won't actually die because you're actually me"?Now, if you ask me, every single religion is made to explain the things that people couldn't explain in that time when that particular religion was created.After it is created, someone has toke it over and turned it into a way to manipulate massive amount of people. Jesus, Muhammed and others might have ment good by telling "white lies" to people to make them good. But you can't create a real moral only based on religion, if the only thing between "nice version of you" and you murdering people, is god, then at least I would stay the hell out of your way! That doesn't sound like free will at all, it's about your acts and the concequences. If there would be a real "free will" people would think from the other perspective before they do harm to others, like real ethics! not "if you're a naughty boy you'll get your punishment"!Other thing, if god created earth then where god came from? I know all the religious people here will answer "he just was here and always will be" so save that for some other time. And how can god be a "he" when it's not any kind of creature we know?What god gets of prizing people that have lived a good religious life by putting them into paradise? Or what does he get of putting people in hell, when the everlasting fire will burn them. What do people learn from this thing? "If you're good you go to paradise, if you're bad you'll go to hell" So people won't do harm to others if they fear the "mighty God". That means if you don't believe in god you'll go to hell anyway so make all the harm you can while you're alive?If god just created humankind like it is now, how the evolution then came up? I truly believe in evolution theory, I think everyone will after they take a trip to the galapagos islands. If you're against it and you haven't been there then you really stop speaking. You can see by your own eyes how evolution is happening.I heard there has just been created a new specie by sea-iguana and land-iguana mating.

Edited January 18, 2009 by baniboy (see edit history)

[truefusion 3]

I came to believe due to sound answers given to me for my questions. Everyone has questions about my religion, Christianity; once answered properly the doubts are removed—assuming you're reasonable. Since i had, therefore, nothing left to ask against Christianity, all that was left was to accept or be apathetic and walk in ignorance. After hearing the Gospel preached to me, it moved me enough to repent and accept Christ Jesus as my Lord. So one night i had done so before i went to bed. The next day i woke up and didn't really feel any different. At this point a lot of atheists (or unbelievers) who have done similar would quit and say, "Ah, as i thought—nothing." However, that wasn't the case with me. I said to myself, "Perhaps i didn't do it correctly?" So that night i humbled myself more than the previous night and prayed again before i went to sleep. The next day when i woke up i felt different—completely different. I was filled with pure, indescribable and indestructible joy—nothing could put out that joy. Everything was different, the way i perceived things. This was (and still is) my absolute proof; it was unexplainable (and yes, a few thoughts went through my head on what else it could have been, but none of those "alternatives" fit). That amount of joy lasted for the whole day.

This rebirth caused me to get into the Bible and Christianity more. I'm not sure how long it was, but it was a pretty long time before i ran into certain verses in the Bible that got to me. I had never read or heard of these before; it was the first time bearing knowledge of it. The verses were 1 Peter 1:8 and Ephesians 1:13-14. Wow! That was written? Who needs to ask for proof when it is more than given? Nevertheless, many who have been given their proof still continue asking for it. Yet when things undesirable happen, many start to doubt—some even get angry at God, like as if it's His fault. "God should be intervening; where is He?" they say. Troubling times causes us to be irrational, mostly due to emotions. It promotes forgetfulness—they forget one known fact: God is a Fortress; though there are troubling times, it won't affect those who have and live by faith. Some people even blame God for all things undesirable, like as if it's always Him. But it doesn't follow that all things undesirable are not beneficial. Some people blame God because they see themselves as good people; "Bad things shouldn't happen to good people," though one that needs to repent is obviously not a good person, but they assert that God is unjust anyway. Some people are "microwave" people, wanting things to happen instantly, and when things don't, they start to doubt. And there are some that are only in this for material gain.

One of the things that keeps my faith going is logic. I can see some people being stumped or confused by that. Through logic i realize that if morality was brought up through logic, morality would therefore be made up. Nevertheless, people need some kind of reasoning to act. Ironically, even if reason is provided, many still don't act. Though we claim to be logical beings, we are more illogical than logical. Through logic i realize that without God, there cannot be absolute morality. Through logic i realize that because we find actions of a follower or followers of a religion bad or unwanted, it does not follow that the religion is therefore false. Through logic i realize that just 'cause we don't like something, doesn't mean God doesn't exist—that would be an appeal to consequences. After all, things that happen today can be observed in the Bible, yet you don't see the Bible claiming that God doesn't exist. Through logic i realize that just because certain religions have similar events, it does not follow that they are all therefore untrue.

Another thing that keeps my faith going is knowledge. Through knowledge i understand God is never-changing and doesn't lie. Because of this knowledge, it follows that God would not cause into existence more than one religion that contradict each other (all for the sake of worship). Through knowledge i understand that God is a god of order and that the universe is full of order. Through knowledge i realize that omnipotence means that which there is nothing greater. Through knowledge i understand that things outside this universe does not require a beginning. Through knowledge i understand that things in this universe have a cause.

I believe because i can't deny the evidence and because of personal experiences.

[Tramposch 1]

Other thing, if god created earth then where god came from? I know all the religious people here will answer "he just was here and always will be" so save that for some other time.
If god just created humankind like it is now, how the evolution then came up? I truly believe in evolution theory, I think everyone will after they take a trip to the galapagos islands.
If you're against it and you haven't been there then you really stop speaking. You can see by your own eyes how evolution is happening.
I heard there has just been created a new specie by sea-iguana and land-iguana mating.

That is one thing that is consistent in science and religion; something was there before everything. So you could call "god" the big bang, then go from there. But either way I don't think any person will every be able to fully understand it. No human can wrap their minds around something was always there.

Also, with evolution, it is so evident that every species of everything evolves. All the way from Archea bacteria. If you honestly believe god put dinosaurs in the ground to test us, you must be mentally retarded. I don't mean to offend anybody with that, but it truly is ridiculous to believe that.

[triplebtalk 0]

Well I do not believe at all. My whole family believe, except me and it is definitely a conscious decision. My issue is that, try as I might, I cannot "believe", befor writing this, I did what I did five or six years ago, I sat down, reading a book about science and I thought to myself "if a "God" does exist, why is there no proof, why can no one say this definitely?" Another good reason NOT to believe in a "God" is all the pain, suffering and violence it has caused, look at the Middle-East, what are these men doing in the name of youe "loving" God. Look at the Middle-Ages, the Christians "reclaiming" the holy lands. If a "God" does exist, then why did he cause these bloody uprisings. A lot of religious people will say that it is not God's fault for this happening, but these people who have caused violence in the name of "God" will always claim to have recieved a message from "God". What about the story of Noah, wasn't the cause of that flood, people being careless or "evil", another one of "God's" acts of kindness.I would say that the Bible is basically a fairytale in which we can draw some interesting yet completely ficticious stories. Yes, they may have some good morals, but I would definitely not claim anything to be true. I have excerpted some information from the famous biologist Richard Dawkins, where he basically says that God is an imaginary friend. I think that this sums it up, it really does just spell out the facts. If God did exist, why can no one find any proof? If God is all around why do people look up when they pray. I would say that even the smallest thinngs like this, shows that there is a sort of "insecurity" even amongst the people who believe.

[andresf91 0]

I would say that the Bible is basically a fairytale in which we can draw some interesting yet completely ficticious stories. Yes, they may have some good morals, but I would definitely not claim anything to be true. I have excerpted some information from the famous biologist Richard Dawkins, where he basically says that God is an imaginary friend. I think that this sums it up, it really does just spell out the facts. If God did exist, why can no one find any proof? If God is all around why do people look up when they pray. I would say that even the smallest thinngs like this, shows that there is a sort of "insecurity" even amongst the people who believe.

I'm a dialectical materialist, and I think that religion is the opium of the people, as Marx once wrote. But I can't really say that the Bible is basically a fairytale. Really.
It's an historical document. It's the book that dominated Europeans life during Middle Ages, and it is still important to lots of people as a reference for their ethics and behaviour. But let's go back 2000 years, or whatever time we can say... As I wrote in the previous post, the "circumcision for everybody" may so ugly right now, because we all have water in our houses. But then, in the desert, it was much difficult to clean. It's pretty easy for a man to get an infection if he doesn't clean properly. Circumcision was a public health measure for a nation ruled by religious laws. The bill wasn't passed by the Congress, but by God, or we may say, a bunch of old Rabbis who later added it to the Old Testament (I really don't know much about Judaism, so if I'm saying something really stupid about the Rabbis adding that, sorry).

Also, the story about Jesus, can't be taken today only as the son of God, and blah blah blah... We're in the XXI century, right? Let's see newer points of view. Religion is part of most, if not all societies. It's part of their cultures, no matter if you're Islamic , Christian, Jew, Buddhist, etc.., even atheist or deist. I bet your society has one or more religions. Why a society needs culture? Because it needs ethics, authorities, rules, customs that make people survive, adapt themselves to their surroundings, and set classes of individuals. These things always happen, and have happened. They can't be denied, unless you really want to be blind.
Today, the Bible shouldn't be read as "this is how you must behave", stick to the rules "God" set, pray every night. Religions have evolved through time, along societies changes. This means that people makes the religions, according to their needs, new ones prevailing. We created God, the idea, and keep creating it. God only exists as long as we believe in him/her (why can't someone believe in Goddess, uh?), as long as we need her/him.

I don't believe in God, because I don't need it. Lots of people still do, to feel some support, to find love and hope, to wake up feeling "filled with pure, indescribable and indestructible joynothing could put out that joy", as truefusion said. But also, and this is part of last decades of Latin American history, believing in God can be a liberation theology. If Jesus lived today, he would be in Chiapas along Sub-commander Marcos. You can bet that. He was next to poor people, not the way Catholic Church does, but like lots of catholic fathers in Latin America, struggling against misery, for poor rights in the streets, and sometimes with the guerrilla. This is the world we live in today, and religions aren't left behind, though it's not the Pope's official point of view who still talks against condoms and abortion.

But, like I said, it's XXI century. Who can say if they're wrong or right? They may be both, but the fact is that, times keep changing for people, so do their creations. I think still God exists, because the human being created and perfected it to our needs. Now, we need to liberate ourselves from our chains of oppression. Will God be up to these circumstances, or like I quoted above, religion is the opium of the people?

(For more info about Liberation Theology, Wikipedia.)

[dre 0]

The primary reason I believe is because of the evidence for the resurrection.

[novic_1223 0]

well...to me i think that what makes us all belize is that we all require a very simple reality which is hope.we all hope for something better or something worst which will make us feel better inside.must of us belive in somehting becasue of us wanting somehting more...we always want something bigger and more better and never satisfied with what we already have(although it is a good thing to want more but always wanting so much can neverbe a good thing). we have made ourselves currupt into belieivng all our lies about religious belive and all the bull**** we have been feeeding each other about religion.we have made ourselves belive in such nonsense and go to far extents just to make someone else belive so that you can feel better about yourself...making you the selfish person who claims to want everyone to feel better but you only want to feel good about urself.so in my conclusion i state that" all beliefs are based on lies therefore what makes us belifeve is all the lies that we have all made up.