Why you do or don't believe in God?

[summerbloom]

Interested to hear people's views on why they do believe in God or on why you don't believe in God.....

I find the view that something can't exist unless it's seen, heard, smelt, touched or tasted a bit limited.

Well, obviously, but there's usually some sort of evidence. You can't do any of those things with gravity, but I completely believe that it exists.

all things sharing a consciousness, I think when your body dies you still continue to exist but as part of this universe. I think when your body dies you become all-knowing because you become part of everything. I can't really explain it properly but I feel we are all connected to all things, rocks, trees, animals. I believe death is the greatest adventure that we'll never find the answer to until we ourselves die. I don't know who or what has created this life, this universe, I agree. People have to search and find the path. Does no good showing them where the path is. Guides can help you once you reach it though. Then if something clicks in you, you can find some of the answers to the questions.

Scruffbags, because most Christians don't interpret the bible as the literal word of God. There is a bit in the Old Testament about a boy that gets eaten by a bear for disrespecting a prophet!

The bible is not an instruction manual. It contains laws that were written three thousand years ago for a specific group of people in a specific place, poems, personal prayers, oral history that's nearly three thousand years old. The New Testament is different again. Five books reminiscing on the life of Jesus, written fifty to a hundred years later iirc. A bunch of letters from a couple of influential Christians to other groups of early Christians.

It is not an instruction manual, it's a source of reflection, inspiration, challenge.

I did once, I don't now.

Faith transcends evidence.

I don't believe...but I'm thankful so many do, otherwise we wouldn't have Christmas! and this hypocrite absolutely looooves Christmas! Is it bad form to mention Christmas in March? If so, I don't care, because I love it!

It is not an instruction manual, it's a source of reflection, inspiration, challenge

Like lots of books. But with chapters about the same person that contradict each other. But that people defend and kill for. It's not innocuous or harmless or contemplative.

It is an instruction manual. I'm amazed at the arrogance of people who cherry pick and expect their ' faith' to be taken seriously or/and be free from criticism or ridicule. As long as you are happy to accept being ridiculed or offended then fine. I respect people, I won't respect your faith. Because. Charlie Hebdo.

I don't believe...but I'm thankful so many do, otherwise we wouldn't have Christmas! and this hypocrite absolutely looooves Christmas! Is it bad form to mention Christmas in March? If so, I don't care, because I love it!

• the story of Baby Jesus is Christian
• Santa Claus is a commercial amalgamation of St Nicholas and Wodan.
• Christmas trees are Pagan

Not much is Christian about Christmas other than the story of the birth of Jesus. It makes the term Christmas somewhat ironic.

I stand by my assertion that when looking at the arguments for God or his non existence a person draws from many disciplines, as we do for other beliefs. The person is free to study the arguments and challenge areas they don't feel hold up. Also of course this is the general argument for the existence of a First Cause outside time and space who created the universe.

What I don't understand is why, if god exists, he makes it necessary for believers to tie themselves in knots like this when he could produce the odd bit of hard evidence occasionally, in the same manner as he was allegedly prepared to do in Biblical times. If he was prepared to produce the odd bit of evidence then in the shape of, for instance, a miracle-performing son who could die and come back to life, why not now?

I know believers tend to respond to that sort of question by talking about the nature of faith etc, but really if god was prepared to offer hard evidence back in more credulous times, why not now? Surely it couldn't be to do with the fact that it would be much more rigorously tested?

Maybe the people in heaven would find it unbelievable that there was a life here on earth where there are wars, disease, famines, much sadness etc. Maybe when we die we forget all about the turmoil of earth, but some might remember. They could be the ones ridiculed for believing in something so ridiculous and demands of proof would be made to them. How de we know. What makes the next life any more unbelievable than this life. There is so much we don't know, not just what we see.

Moocahnt, suppose I can't accept your atheism and ridicule it because 'yorkshire ripper'.

Why do you get to tell me what the bible means? And ridicule me because I do not believe that when you don't believe it either? That's a bit of an odd argument.

I'm not cherry picking, I'm following the understanding I've gained after studying it at Uni, studying it at church, reading scholars' commentaries on it, learning NT Greek to translate bits of it, discussing it with people with a wide range of opinions...

OK though, if you'd prefer to believe I've cherry picked the bits I like out of an instruction manual you don't believe in then that is your prerogative. Don't expect me to take your opinion seriously though, as it is in no way based on reality.

So which bit of heaven would that be dawn ? The bit with the jews in or the bit with the christians or the bit with the muslims?

There wont be religions up there, all memory of them will be forgotten, we'll live in perfect peace and harmony. Won't that be nice.

Will there be cake?

But it doesn't require much evidence to believe you love your mum. I've seen lots of people be kind to their mum. I've never seen a god though so I need more evidence for such a massive claim.

I do, I always have.

Just faith I suppose. One of the famous retorts is "God allows murder/rape/3rd world famine, accidents and cancer"

Well actually no, man does all this - man commits murder/rape, the West keeps the East poor and so on. God doesn't say you won't die in this life.

Hard to explain I suppose, but I just do.

Maybe upperlimit.

Gods given us a beautiful planet with everything in it we need. If it gets fucked up it's definitely because of man. God must despair of us.

There wont be religions up there, all memory of them will be forgotten, we'll live in perfect peace and harmony. Won't that be nice.

So why does the criteria for entry vary so much, is god taking the piss?

And what is heaven for some people might not be the same as for others i.e. if people have been promised virgins to shag and they aren't there, they are going to be mightily pissed off as are jews who can't get in any more since they don't believe that jesus was their savior so how are they going to meet up with their old family who got in before god moved the goal posts? Or what if the jews were right and all the christians have been wasting their time?

If there won't be religions in heaven, why are there religions on earth?

If one of my children was raping another one of my children and I didn't intervene I would be a monster. When we see people suffer/in danger we are moved to act. God isn't. I can't get excited about a god who I am kinder than.

I can imagine the existence of a life force that is greater and more mind boggling than we can ever make sense of. I don't over analyse it and my belief ebbs and flows as I go through life.

Even at the lowest points in my life, I have always come back to the belief that we have a purpose for being here that goes beyond the immediate.

That's about as good as I need to get for my simple brain

and secretly I want to float around pointing my finger and taking the right royal piss out of my late DH who was a humanist and go NerNerDe NerNer told you so at him

I think when we're dead that it, nothing. And religion brings comfort as no one really likes the thought of there being nothing after death.

Gods given us a beautiful planet with everything in it we need. If it gets fucked up it's definitely because of man. God must despair of us.

You lock your kids in the car when you go to Tesco's and they start hurting each other. Are you without blame if you knew they would do that.

beautiful planet

Which involves parasites, germs and bacteria that kill humans.

If there won't be religions in heaven, why are there religions on earth?
Religions are man made.

boolifooli Is God supposed to intervene in every single atrocity, i mean where would he draw the line. What about the 6 million jews murdered by the nazis for instance.