How could anybody believe in God

@thegerg: "Religion is simply a set of beliefs about the cause, nature and purpose of the universe" That's just a basic part of religion. The most significant and major part of it is the belief in God and thus committing yourself to follow his words that go to influence and dictate all aspects of one's life, including the world views you mentioned. Regardless this is beside the point of my post. I'm starting to believe that you misinterpret my posts on purpose. Where did I say that atheists cannot have beliefs about the universe and life? Point this little nugget out and I'll continue to engage you on this topic.

@th3warr1or: You have to keep your eyes open, you'd be surprise of the things you can see lol

@thegerg: Oh boy, you're mind numbing.

You remind me so much of another user. I believe this would be his second alt.

Most likely because they were raised to believe in God or because they have faced some kind of hardship where belief in god makes facing said hardship easier. I don't particularly care if someone believes or not, and I am not one to think that it is 100% certain that God does not exist, but it annoys me when believers act like belief in God is completely sensible, but belief in other mythological or mystical things is ridiculous (ie. there is as much evidence supporting the existence of the Greek pantheon as there is big "G" God (read: none)).

I don't like religion because people base decisions and laws on it. Most religions are thousands of years old, the laws of that time do not apply.

Things didn't just create themselves, we are infinite consciousness, we are all apart of God we are all connected, we are one. Too bad evil beings have took control and are manipulating us.

Im so tired of the athiests trying to bash religion. Just leave it be.

You saying "How could anyone believe in God" is just like a KKK member saying "How could anyone be friends with a black person" or "How could anyone be gay"

The best people in religion and the best people out of religion don't try to drag other people down who don't go along with their beliefs. Grow up.

Thank you.

goD? you mean like those characters I read about in Greek mythology?

2much edgyness in this thread 4 me

You will eventually draw your last breath, and then you will find out if God exists or not.

It's the dead's greatest kept secret. Don't spoil it for me, old sport.

@thegerg: after you die you're dead is the point what's his name was making. Based on his beliefs

Just be careful with what you say. Criticising and offending a whole segment of people in regards to faith/race and disability is still considered against ToU.

We can happily discuss these issues without offending people.

Some can.....some can't.

There's a problem with the heaven concept. My mom is christian, so she will go to heaven. I am atheist so I will go to hell. My mom would be very sad if I wasn't be with her in heaven, that would be a hard punishment for her.

If she is in heaven and really sad, it wouldn't be heaven.

If she is in heaven and happy, it wouldn't be my mom.

No sadness or pain in heaven......

People, people, there's already a place for this kind of crap on the Internet. It's called Yahoo Answer's Religion and Spirituality section.

Hahahaha that is an interesting way to look at it.

I don't know, I still think heaven as we all know it, is a place we aspire to be. I think regardless of faith (with the exception of one) if we live a good honest life, and live by rightful moral codes it would welcome them, despite being athiest or christian etc

@TheFlush said:

There's a problem with the heaven concept. My mom is christian, so she will go to heaven. I am atheist so I will go to hell. My mom would be very sad if I wasn't be with her in heaven, that would be a hard punishment for her.

If she is in heaven and really sad, it wouldn't be heaven.

If she is in heaven and happy, it wouldn't be my mom.

Pain is a construct that God himself created, he can manipulate it in any way he sees fit. The entirety of the human psyche is a construct of God's creation so God can alter it, change it or just make it cease to exist altogether.

and here I thought it was just a bunch of neurons firing

So in heaven god makes it so that mothers no longer care that their children are being tortured for an eternity in hell? That sounds pretty horrific.

Claim A: I think that god is an unsound and illogical concept, and I don't understand how rational people could believe it.

Claim B: Black people are inferior, and I don't understand how any white man could be friends with them.

Those statements are nothing alike. You're embarrassing yourself.

Unfortunately, in religion, unlike in science, most people imitate rather than investigate what they perceive to be the truth

If you want my personal reason, it turned me from a depressed, assholish teenaged atheist into an accepting, quiet-about-it Christian.

At its simplest, I was drawn to my church because the people there are genuinely better people than the people I grew up with out of church. Where the members of my church accepted an a somewhat-standoffish atheist into their congregation with open arms and patience, my "friends" at school instantly abandoned me the instant I mentioned I went to church on Sunday. Where my reverend says we should be accepting of everyone's beliefs, whether quiet or loud, some atheists I personally knew would mock anyone who said "bless you" out of habit when someone sneezed (and this is really strange because I live in a very rural area. My school district doesn't really fit the stereotype). The worst Christians I can list were the Jehovah's witnesses that showed up at our house from time to time, but while pushy and annoying, they were at least courteous and pleasant people.

Now, anyone could argue that this is just my experience, and that there are plenty of people within the non-theistic community who behave in the same fashion as my congregation, and that is correct, but that is just what attracted me to the church. In the end, after all of the complicated explaining and personal discoveries I could list, it boils down to me finding a purpose in my life again after realizing that others appreciate a pat on the back or helpful hand every now and again. While I still believe in a higher power of some kind, believing in a god has become less about fearing and worshiping an omnipotent being and more about living out the ideals of your chosen faith. It's about believing in the messages of your god, to be a better person by example. It's comforting to believe that my efforts to be a better person might be rewarded after my life has ended, and if it's not, at least I made the lives of other people a bit better.

To me, it doesn't matter in the end if God is real or not, it's the lessons of equality, acceptance, and patience I learned through my faith that truly matter in life.

Now, if you want to know, beyond ideals, why I believe in an all-powerful creator god, it's just a choice I've made. There is nothing I can say to sway non-believers and nothing I can say that fellow believers don't know when it comes to the simple question "do you believe in a higher power?". There is no evidence that brought me to this conclusion, no miracles that made me switch on sight, nothing. It's a moral choice, that's it.

I think you people don't understand the difference between being a religious fanatic and believing in god.

The creation of the world hasn't been fully explained by science yet.But even if it were,it doesn't rule out the existence of a god.

And a god doesn't have to be an omnipotent,omniscient being who just existed since the beginning of time.It could be a technologically advanced alien civilization who is able to manipulate the foundamental laws of the universe and create matter,or even a new universe.

Whoever says that people who believe in god are of low IQ and weak,is probably terribly insecure and close-minded.

People who say that if you are an atheist you will go to hell are naive and evil though(in short,fundamentals),or are mentally ill.

I get why people do; usually because they were raised that way and aren't logical thinkers.

For others it's because it's a major source of happiness or a comping method/outlet for difficulties in life.

Often it's just a cultural/conformist thing.

Agreed. I don't really get the argument that if evolution exists, that means god does not. If there is a god, I'm sure it could invent evolution (for the fun of it, because... why not?)

The one simple fact is that in some way or another SOMETHING has existed for an eternity. Whether that's gods, aliens, or particles, or even a combination of all three.. who knows

If one doesn't believe in an external God one believes oneself is God by default. The serpent did say knowledge of good and evil makes a human god-like.

No one is suggesting that...but it does mean, for example, the god of the bible is clearly non existent or a complete bumbling buffoon.

No it means our understanding of evolution is merely the steps his creations took.....

He sucks at his job then and clearly doesnt care about you.

You are so so edgy....

There are some atheists who do, as well as some religious folks (maybe not on this forum). Either way, I agree with what you're sayin'

Care to explain why such a loving and perfect being is so inefficient at his job and terrible at 'design'?

@wis3boi step back a little. As i said before treat religion as you would Race, Sex or Disability. Discuss it without being offensive to the faith or the people within it. I know this subject brings a fair amount of emotion and 'logical' thoughts but be considerate.

location location location

Sorry, asking questions is not offensive. If they find it so, they should ask themselves why that is. Hint: It's because they have no answer. Religion is not special and will not be treated as such.

Religious or not, I think you'd be pitiful as **** to think that the complexity of our minds and emotions is just the result of chemistry or "neurons firing".

@mjf249:

Your answer on how you could possibly believe in God would be "by having faith". For the people that do believe in God it's not about seeing him in a magazine or on T.V.

Also to ask that is to ask how many top scientist become more religious after trying to disprove God exist, I think in that sense it comes down to what made the atoms and the cells and the big bang... One would say it has to start somewhere. Find that place and you've found God.

@wis3boi:

This idiot and others like him are why I barely come to OT. Just bash religion is all these fools do. Can't mods mod a little better in here? I mean damn.

I like wis3boi what are you talking about :v

well that seems to be pretty much what it is, but it's how these things interact that form the complexity of our minds

Wonders never cease.....I agree with Gaza. Well said....

Sometimes I miss the old ToU....