AIBU to wish I were religious?

[religiouslychallenged]

Name changed as I never thought I'd be anything other than a stoney atheist (and it's a hell of a lot of fun to come up with new names, pardon the pun).

Can't help but feel on some level desperate for religion. I poked fun at people who were heavily emotionally attached to the concept of God, mostly to do with premarital shagging. Now I wish I had something I could dedicate myself to as much as folk dedicate themselves to God and religion. Anyone else?

@Lougle, could you provide credible sources for the numerous studies that demonstrate that the patterns of sevens is unique to the Bible and cannot be replicated via algorithm? It seems like an incredibly arbitrary reason to believe.

Also, to return to an earlier post in which you talk about your daughters — when your third daughter asked whether Christians ‘believe in atoms’, she said ‘we don’t believe in evolution’. Do you personally believe in evolution?

D3 said to me "Mummy, do Christians believe in atoms?" I said "of course.... Why?" and she said "Well we don't believe in evolution, which is science...and atoms are science...."

Are you also teaching your children that the earth is flat?

All the Christians I know (and its more than a few) believe in atoms and evolution. In fact quite a large number of the congregation at my Church are doctors so they definitely believe in science!

I think it's impossible to 'prove' the truth of the Bible, through numerology or anything else. That's why it's called faith.

I'm a Christian and pro-science. Lots of scientists are Christians. I don't see a particular incomparability. In fact I think the story of Creation in Genesis is a pretty good summary of the Big Bang and evolution for something written 5000 years ago.

Well I feel I’m a believer but I don’t go to church although I used to but don’t think you have to and I think god and i have quite a nice relationship just amongst ourselves they have helped me when I’ve needed them and I’ve prayed and I do feel comfort but I don’t feel the need to involve anyone else not even my family

I don't believe the Bible because of a pattern of 7s, but I think it's pretty interesting that it's there and that attempts to replicate it have failed. I don't know how authoritative this is, but xwalk.ca/seven.html describes it and Harvard's attempts to replicate it.

I do believe that God is responsible for every word of the Bible. I don't think that's bizarre. I'm not saying that God pushed the hands that held the pen, so to speak, but certainly He inspired every word.

@Goath I believe in evolution to the extent of adaptation and environment. So, for example, it's well known that rabbits grow a winter coat in response to their exposure to cold weather, and if you keep rabbits indoors during late summer/early autumn, you can't put them outside again until spring, because they won't have grown a sufficiently thick coat. I, personally, don't believe in the 'big bang' theory and I do believe in creation.

I haven't told my daughter that 'we' believe anything. I'm very happy for my daughters to make their own decisions about what they believe. I'm fact I think it's essential that they make their own decisions about what they believe.

@wed8pril so far, this thread has been respectful on all sides. I'd like that to continue. I believe the earth is round.

Evolution is as much a fact as the shape of the earth.

I do church bell ringing but am not religious. Quite nice to have a link to a historic part of society.

Quite happy that my life has meaning though.

@religiouslychallenged

lougle what about the whole "man not sleeping with man" thing. sorry paraphrasing but that quote thats usually used by homophobic people as an example of god saying that stuff in the bible.

guess i think, and i might be totally wrong, there has to be a twisting per individual person as we're 2000 years roughly off being able to actually relate to the bible on any kinda practical level. so folk have to pick and choose what they believe or they'll be walking around in double denim with no haircuts as a small example

"lougle what about the whole "man not sleeping with man" thing. sorry paraphrasing but that quote thats usually used by homophobic people as an example of god saying that stuff in the bible."

So if someone believes in the literal bible...

not very pleasant.

Sorry 'used to intervene' means before Noah and the flood

hes never intervened...