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.....

On the humanoid thing I thinker are a bit of a fluke on the whole keyboard and Mumsnetting thing. When all your needs are met you can be creative. If you look at people living in places where their daily needs are a struggle they aren't that far off of a ape cousins in life style except they are more intelligent for can use fire, make, refine and keep tools. Think of some of the more untouched tribes, yeah some have Nike t shirts but they were given them, they didn't develop them because they have bigger problems.

I can kinda get on board with the Prometheus thing because I can image humans pulling that kind of thing when we figure out proper space travel. Let's dump some monkeys on that planet and see what happens.

Those children I'm sure have active imaginations and more understanding the we give them credit for.

I don't any more and for me Stephen fry sums it up better than i can. But god in whatever form isn't for me!

That last post was for sleep

Actually I am genuinely fascinated when people say they have a personal relationship with God. I can't even imagine what that could be like and what someone believes it is like, if that makes sense.

SummerBloom People with IQs double that of mine have been trying to figure that out for decades!

For what it's worth, I kind of understand what people mean when they say they don't understand how some people don't believe in a higher power. I mean, the universe is just inconceivably big. And we don't know what is beyond what we can see. My brain struggles to comprehend the gravity of that, the size and scale and history and future of it all. I get that. I get that some people need a simple explanation for something so complex.

But I know that the science exists, because it is based on robust theories that stand up to scrutiny over many years, backed by evidence provided by highly educated men and women who have dedicated their lives to finding answers to questions the rest of us didn't even know needed asking.

Aren't the majority of people religious because they were raised in a household/country that is part of that?

I mean, I doubt many Christians would be Christian if they were born and raised in Muslim households in Muslim countries.

No I don't believe ,show me proof and I will listen to you .Organized religion is full of corrupt ,abusive ,narcissistic people.

No I don't believe in God, I believe religion was created to strike fear and gain control of people.

I do believe that there is other life in the Universe and life after death. But it's not down to a God.

I realise there's no point being offended by the idea that atheists are not caring....but it still stuns me. My food bank donations are organised by atheists (I don't have a care so there's a thing where people share the driving, collecting, loading etc), I've done volunteer work for years now at weekends.

Basic human kindness is not connected with theism.

I also find it bizarre that some people lose faith because something bad happened to them....like it's fine for it to happen to others?!

I don't believe in any of the traditional religions. They teach that there is an all knowing, all powerful, all loving God. Natural disasters, sickness, eye worms, abuse of children prove that this is not the case, if there is a god either it doesn't see these things, can't prevent them or doesn't care.

I strongly reject the notion that innocent children have original sin, I find it disgusting to suggest it.

I do believe there is an essential essence of life in living beings, a soul is as good a word as any. I believe that essence continues on when the body fails and I'm am interested in the adventure of finding out what comes next.

I don't believe in heaven with pearly gates, and a wise old man sat there, that sounds like a fairy tale to me.

I think people that proclaim the bible a marvellous book actually haven't read it properly. It is a book of its time, written by misogynistic men with a small amount of knowledge aiming to control the ill educated masses. The teachings are refined over time because it is impossible to continue to argue positively for slavery, wife beating, child marriages etc. as the world becomes more enlightened. Eventually everyone will look at these books and realise that it no longer fits the vision of morality that we have come to accept.

Once we reach that day I think the world will be a kinder and more tolerant place.

I wholeheartedly believe in God. I believe and have faith. My feelings are that my path is already mapped out for my by God and that everything that happens is for a reason and it will eventually all become clear why, even if it is not clear or I don't understand why at the time. In my mind God is a higher being not specifically a person or anything like that. I do believe in heaven and hell. I also believe that good people and do bad things and bad people can do good things, I also think that no one is beyond redemption (this is one of the hardest things I had to get my head round but I think I am there). The questioning is part of my faith. It is what makes my faith stronger.

Have nothing against anyone with any other opinion - this one is neither right or wrong, just my own!

We are told we come from a "big bang", and everything came into being in that one instance that gave us what we have today. But if nothing existed before the big bang then the big bang couldn't physically happen. Something can't come from nothing....and for the sun and moon to be so perfectly aligned to our planet to sustain life, and all the intricacies of nature, to have happened by chance .....the odds are so high as to be impossible. It can't be random. We have been created without a shadow of a doubt in my mind.

madame I agree with him whole heartedly

hermione that's what I said, they just inherited it

I don't believe.

If you look at the events that kicked off the Abrahamic religions, were they to happen today far from starting a religion they'd be thrown in a mental hospital.

It all started when Abraham heard voices in his head, then he cut his own foreskin off and tried to kill his son acting upon these voices. The followers of Abrahamic religions dont think is crazy......!

If someone did that today they'd probably be assessed in a mental hospital for the possibility of schizophrenia and most likely sectioned.

It is full of contradictions. The 10 commandments being the biggest. The first two are injunctions and remind you that you shall have no other gods before me and forbid graven images.

Moses was also told though shalt not kill. And yet, almost immediately after the delivery of this commandment at Mount Sinai, Moses ordered all his supporters to kill all their friends and brothers for their profanity with the golden calf.

I wont go through them all but there are enough discrepancies just in the decalogue to show that if god exists he is jealous, short of temper, inconsistent, etc.

unless of course man created god and man is jealous, short of temper, inconsistent...

No doubt in my mind which is true.

How anyone could believe in it is beyond me

I'd like to pose a question, of we all (every single person) followed Jesus' philosophy and teachings, don't you think the world would be a better place?

But to flip that around, what about people who do live in a Jesus-esque way, or at least are kind, generous, selfless, forgiving, spend their lives helping others...but happen to be Buddhist/ Muslim/ Hindu/ Atheist? According to the Bible, it's not enough to be a good person, you have to believe in 'no other God but me' OR ELSE. I can't respect that.

That's true Olderthanyouthink but ALL humans have the same learning capacity and are the only animals at that level, we have no peers. There has to be a reason for that.

Also prepared to accept the past lives stuff is bunkum but I do enjoy wondering about it nevertheless.

And that's a good point Hermione. If your parents continued the facade of Santa, Tooth Fairy etc into adulthood, you may never have the independent thought to question if it's real or not. It's only because at some point someone tells you they are not real that you accept it is not real and move on.

It would be the same with religion if that was the societal norm - you believe until you're a certain age, then your parents say "actually no it's not real" and then you stop. I challenge the idea that a belief in religion is something inherent inside yourself, unavoidable and with no choice from yourself. If that's the case is it hereditary? Because a shockingly high number of people will feel this deep and unavoidable belief in the exact same thing as their parents, who happened to raise them in the 'correct' faith. Funny that?

Sorry older - didn't see your post until now! I agree with you 100% though.

Most religion is cultural/inherited.

I dont believe but i would like too i like the idea of the good people in heaven the bad in hell for the rest of eternity but then who judges the bad yes murders and paedophiles but where is the line drawn do tax dodgers go to hell or people who have killed peolme accidentally?? Who makes the decision of whos bad and whos good ive done some bad things and ive also done alot of good things but would i get judged on the bad things and get sent too hell.... Ohh so complicated

But why is the Big Bang happening out of nothing any more implausible than God happening out of nothing? It's all a tiny, tiny chance. When people stay stuff about how perfect biological design is, it's only 'perfect' against an abstract sense of what biological design should be. In fact humans (to take but one animal) have lots of design flaws - development of larynx making choking more likely, spine not really up to walking on two legs, babies' heads too big to get out of pelvis comfortably, heavy head on rather delicate neck.... By what measure is this perfect?

Hate the idea of anyone in hell.

Oh and sleep AFAIK the electrical signals in our brain turn in to heat when our brain stops working and then that heat dissipates into the atmosphere. Energy is not lost it is transferred.

Like using up the energy in a battery to run a lightbulb.

I do and second what Footballmum says. It something I can explain but I know He is always with me and as one of my favourite hymns says. "Guiding thy steps as may best for thee be." And as a PP said, the earth is too perfect not to have had a creator. Flowers have no purpose but are given to us as an added extra.

And all the other energy in us is converted to food for worms or heat energy in flames.

I don't believe in god.

How can you believe in something/one that decrees that to reach heaven/salvation you have to die and for billions the act of dying is terrifying, painful, undignified, criminal? Why does the path have to be so hideous? Why do we have to die at all? If god created the universe he created the laws of physics. Why not make it a bit kinder?

I will never be able to believe any of it.