Why do you believe/disbelieve in God?

[renoite]

I take nothing on faith.

'Depends. Are you a positivist?

i do because of things happend to me in my life if there was no GOD i would not be here today... getting beat and the things i was around.... all my life i would be dead or into things i shouldnt be... i had GOD heal me and so that is enough for me to say GOD IS REAL TO ME...................

So.. your god exists, and that's why you were beat and your brain doesn't work? How about 'if a god of infinite love and mercy exists, why did thee things happen to me when i cried out to him'? You're being dishonest with yourself because you find your delusions comforting

no i got slap around by someone in my family and i prayed that my grandpa would come back and take me back after my grandmother died and the next day he come walking up the the drive way well kinda it was hotel i lived at so parking lot but not talking to you anymore all you do is bash people i wont post anything more to you and my learning disabled came from brith and parentes that didnt give a crap till i was older then i went to my grandparents

 

[renoite]

I don't believe in God for a number of reasons:

#1. Life experiences. All of my life experiences suggest that if there is a supreme being, S/He/It doesn't want it to be known.

#2. I refuse to believe in anything that can't be verified through research, evidence, and logic because then I could believe in anything, whether it was true or not, and that kind of mentality wouldn't align well with reality and truth. I also refuse to belive in anything dogmatically.

#3. My learning. Too many things that I have learned, that vibe with my life experiences, that coincide or concur with other fields of study don't adhere with the teachings of any organized religion and I've studied all of them, some more than others.

#4. I refuse to be a member in an institution that refuses to see its own hypocrisies, has too many flaws, and upholds values that I don't think are moral, among other things.

I'm not offended by the question in the least bit.

some people feel that way so you have that right my uncle and most of my family feel that some people need to see with there own eyes to say thats real..... so i understand with that now with the moral thing i do think it does teach morals ect.. but thats just what I think and everyone thinks diff.....

 

[amrchaos]

Why I do not Believe?

Due to the number of fantastical stories pushed by those individuals that feels the only needed evidence is the testimony of some little known author from ancient times. I have severe deep skepticisms of events such as resurrections from a grisly Death , Cities turned to condiments found on many reastaruant tables and Massive bodies of waters shifting to allow the passage of a couple ex-slaves.

But I could follow a religion if it did not insists on magical instances and promote a philosophical understanding of man as it relates to man, community, and world. But the minute they start spreading a SANTA CLAUS Myth, and saying "You must believe this crap as if true",I am out of there!!

 

[Big Black Dog]

I believe in God because it is very foolish (in my humble opinion) to not believe in God. If that, in your opinion, makes me a fool, then so be it.

 

[We Are They]

I believe in God because it is very foolish (in my humble opinion) to not believe in God. If that, in your opinion, makes me a fool, then so be it.

So you're doing it out of fear?

 

[renoite]

I believe in God because it is very foolish (in my humble opinion) to not believe in God. If that, in your opinion, makes me a fool, then so be it.

I feel the same GOD is very real

 

[iagainsti]

First of all, no, I am definitely not offended by this question. I love talking about this crap.

I would say that I disbelieve in the personal gods of theism ... The idea that we are all the slaves of an ultimate, absolute, Big Brother, is such a repugnant idea that I can't imagine what would prompt anyone to believe it, except out of fear...

I like that answer, and it kinda sums up my reasons for not believing too.

To me, the most disenchanting aspect of Christianity and all the other Abrahamic religions is the idea of obedience to God being valued more than morality. These religions set up moral codes, but when it comes down to it, all that really matters is belief in God. In the Old Testament, it's illustrated perfectly by the story of Abraham and Isaac: Abraham passed God's test because he was willing to murder Isaac on God's command. To me, passing the test should have been refusing to kill his son no matter who told him to or why.

Does it really make sense that what happens to you after death is determined by whether or not you believe in one specific God? I can't help but wonder what kind of God would condemn so many of his own creations, whom he loves and cherishes, to an eternity of burning and torment just because they didn't come to believe in his existence when he offered them no conclusive evidence. I can't help but wonder what kind of a God (and the Bible does describe him as a jealous God) would place so much importance on belief in, obedience to, and worship of him, rather than on morality or any of the infinitely less vain and selfish criteria he could have come up with.

It makes no sense to me. I've got quite a few reasons for not believing in God, but this is the biggest thing that bothers me about Christianity. If I'm wrong and this God does exist, and his only criteria for salvation is believing in and worshipping him, then I want no part of it.

Lastly, if you weren't offended by the question, you probably weren't offended by my answer...I hope!

 

[manu1959]

based on this thread ..... seems to me that those who do not believe are on the whole more arrogant and rude than those who do believe .....

the other thing i noticed is some of those who don't believe for some reason want to paint god as a controling vindictive master manipulator .....

just because she created it and set everthing in motion doesn't mean she plays with all the parts all day every day .....

it is possible she has moved onto another project ......

as for me.....depends on the day.....

 

[iagainsti]

based on this thread ..... seems to me that those who do not believe are on the whole more arrogant and rude than those who do believe .....

I hope I'm not one of the arrogant and rude people you're referring to, because I purposely said at the end of my post that I hoped I didn't offend anyone, because that wasn't the aim of my post. The question was why you do or don't believe in God, and I simply answered honestly why I don't. If you see that as arrogant or rude...sorry.

the other thing i noticed is some of those who don't believe for some reason want to paint god as a controling vindictive master manipulator .....

That's not quite how I painted God, but either way..."for some reason"...the reason would be that from my interpretation and understanding of Christian doctrine, that's how I see God. What other reason would there be?

just because she created it and set everthing in motion doesn't mean she plays with all the parts all day every day .....

And I never suggested that God "plays with the parts all day every day," and I didn't see any other posts that suggested that either...I just expressed my dissatisfaction with the fact that salvation in the Christian religion is based on belief in God, and said that that is one of the major reasons why I don't believe. I didn't state it as fact, it's my personal opinion, and I gave the reasons why I'm of that opinion.

If you disagree with what's been said, cool...but maybe explain why you disagree instead of calling the people who said it rude, yeah? That's what this is all about.

 

[Avatar4321]

I believe in God because it is very foolish (in my humble opinion) to not believe in God. If that, in your opinion, makes me a fool, then so be it.

So you're doing it out of fear?

What brougt you to that conclusion?

 

[Avatar4321]

I believe in God because of personal experience and Divine Revelaton. When the Holy Spirit speaks you can feel the power and love of God wash over you. You feel pure intellect entering your mind. He enlightens the mind and enlarges the heart.

I've seen miracles. Ive been healed by the power of God. Ive seen people break their back and at the verge of death be healed and moving at 100% mobility a week later. Ive seen hearts and lives changed in an instant because of the influence of God. Ive seen the influence of God in my own life. Ive felt the joy of the Saints.

Ive seen people prophecy and those prophecies come true. Ive had near strangers tell me more about my own life than even my parents or even me knows.

All of this reaffirms my faith. I expect to see much more in my life time. Hopefully good things. But thats why I believe.

 

[Big Black Dog]

We Are They - Yes, I fear God. Who in their right mind wouldn't? One of the biggest problems this nation has these days is that it seems to have lost it's fear of God.

 

[Toro]

I see no downside in believing in God.

 

[renoite]

GOD IS GOD he is here rather or not you think so...... its just a choice every human has to make.... I made mine and im happy with my choice...... are you if your are then great.......

 

[amiam*]

I think the title pretty much sums up the question. One more though.

Are you offended by this question?

I would like to point out the incomplete nature of the question. There are actually three categories.....and I'm not offended by the question. The third category is to know. You will be call mad of course!

 

[Amanda]

I believe in God because I can see his work everywhere I look. I'm not offended by the question.

 

[Dr Grump]

I don't believe because it is illogical, plus a whole raft of other reasons. Why does he wished to be loved unconditionally (narcissism ??), why would he damn me in hell for the very minor non-belief if I die and it turns out I'm wrong? Not like I raped or murdered anybody. I think God was born out of the belief that 99.9 percent of humans are shit scared of dying, and most are arrogant enough to believe in the whole universe, that somehow, our creed is somehow the most important of all.

And Manu, I disagree. In my experience on messageboards, quite a few Christians are very rude and arrogant...

 

[JBeukema]

no i got slap around by someone in my family and i prayed that my grandpa would come back and take me back after my grandmother died and the next day he come walking up the the drive way well kinda it was hotel i lived at so parking lot but not talking to you anymore all you do is bash people i wont post anything more to you and my learning disabled came from brith and parentes that didnt give a crap till i was older then i went to my grandparents

So your god made you suffer so he could play the hero? That's pretty fucked up...

 

[renoite]

no i got slap around by someone in my family and i prayed that my grandpa would come back and take me back after my grandmother died and the next day he come walking up the the drive way well kinda it was hotel i lived at so parking lot but not talking to you anymore all you do is bash people i wont post anything more to you and my learning disabled came from brith and parentes that didnt give a crap till i was older then i went to my grandparents

So your god made you suffer so he could play the hero? That's pretty fucked up...

it wasnt him that made me suffer it was the sin of the world but he is there when I needed him....... everytime I needed him..... the way I was treated wasn't his fault like I said it was the sin of this world...........

 

[renoite]

I believe in God because I can see his work everywhere I look. I'm not offended by the question.

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Its cool to hear that some still do believe in GOD.... I so agree on seeing his work everywhere you look you cant help but see GOD and the work he has done......