AIBU to ask your opinions on God?

[Violetduck]

Do you beleive there is a God? I would like to, but how can he exist alongside modern science?

Aibu to believe in something more?

@chomalungma

I wonder if this thread has had an effect on the OP?

Will they return...or are they moving in mysterious ways?

Maybe it's god doing some public opinion research😁

youvegottenminuteslynn

I don’t believe that is doctrinally correct anymore.

I've been on these type threads before, and looks like points i would have made have already been stated. These threads are somewhat predictable, with the same reasoning for and against.

Personally, I'm a Christian, trying to navigate through the world. I'm also a post-grad scientist. I don't find the two mutually exclusive at all. Often times i find bits if science that back up the Bible eg. Telmomere lengths and the old ages lived to and stated, of people who inhabited the first generations of the earth

@flaviaritt

youvegottenminuteslynn

I don’t believe that is doctrinally correct anymore.

What does that mean? Who decides that the doctrine changes?

What does that mean? Who decides that the doctrine changes?

In Catholicism, interpretations of the Bible and other important texts tend to evolve over time. The Vatican is responsible for issuing such reinterpretations.

@youvegottenminuteslynn

If a group of people in a far remote corner of the globe never had access to education, literature or other cultures, therefore no access to the concept of an organised religion, they could not 'accept Jesus' etc and therefore would go to hell when they died. No matter how good they were, how they loved one another and were kind and productive. Their free will can't extend to accepting a religion they would have no knowledge of. That doesn't make sense to me but according to my catholic school it is a fact - if you do not accept god into your heart willingly you cannot go to heaven.

That's not even close to what the Bible says. Revelations makes it clear what happens in such instances.

People trying to use these random arguments, not realising what the Bible actually says.
Another example being about good and evil in the world, it's literally written in the first book of the Bible as an explanation beyond 'the original sin'

My only issue in regards to anything is the Catholic Church as an organisation. Its a disgrace

I agree, but in fairness it's not alone; if like so many you're referring to the issue of child abuse, the CofE and numerous other religions have their own problems with this (and often, sadly, the same attitudes)

I guess it points up the difference between faith and organised religion - the latter may have started off with good intentions but got corrupted, whereas the pure faith can remain

....i will comcede organised religions are often crap at explaining this, beyond the popular stories of the nativity and feeding of the five thousand etc.
That's why I'd rather focus on what the Bible says, not muddled religions, and think as others have said, it's way more important to build a personal relationship with God

@Puzzledandpissedoff

My only issue in regards to anything is the Catholic Church as an organisation. Its a disgrace

I agree, but in fairness it's not alone; if like so many you're referring to the issue of child abuse, the CofE and numerous other religions have their own problems with this (and often, sadly, the same attitudes)

I guess it points up the difference between faith and organised religion - the latter may have started off with good intentions but got corrupted, whereas the pure faith can remain

Cross-posted, but yes agree with this and your last sentence

I'd like to believe there is a God I'm unsure. I find it hard to deny I believe in angels I don't ask for much mainly guidance and protection not in prayer just if I'm out and feel unsafe also finding things I lose everything it'll be in the oddest place and I'll find it.

@ZebraSpotts

People trying to use these random arguments, not realising what the Bible actually says.

I said clearly in my post that my catholic school stated it as fact, not that I had misinterpreted the wording of the Bible itself. And another poster then said that the interpretation of such beliefs by the Catholic Church has evolved over time.

Your tone is really unhelpful to debates like this, saying someone like me is 'trying to use these random arguments'. It's so dismissive of someone asking a question about something they genuinely can't understand the reasoning behind.

Some of the religious posters on this thread have had such an unchristian attitude to anyone asking questions or challenging things they have heard.

I thought it was important to be open to people asking questions so you can spread the word and your beliefs, not accuse people of playing 'gotcha' and calling their arguments random when they are long discussed philosophical debates.

My mum is still a christian and she is a fantastic person, she is not dismissive of people who don't share her faith. She is kind and loving. I don't believe in Christianity myself but I respect her beliefs especially as she actually follows them - love thy Neighbour is how she lives, not just a phrase she uses.

OP, I’m not sure if you’re managing to wade through all these messages but if you are, I’d take a look at the Faraday Institute. It’s part of the University of Cambridge, and has a lot of info from scientists who believe in God. Explains stuff better than I could.

www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/

I know the conversation has moved on a bit and I’ve not read it all, but I want to add to this.

I have very recently added a post in relationships about my concerns over my brother who does believe in God. I grew up in a religious household - my dad didn’t believe but my mum did and her views trumped him. We didn’t go to church, but would, from as young as I remember, be told about the end of the world and my mum took Revelations very literally. We were even Jehovah’s Witnesses for a while.

The damage that believe causes took years to undo. Even when I knew I didn’t believe (quite young), I still felt guilty if I didn’t pray to God at night to keep others safe. I developed Anxiety induced OCD and would do bizarre things like have to read words an equal amount of times in a book or something bad would happen.

As an adult, I am fine. I don’t think there’s anything right about God or the bible. God is portrayed as selfish and cruel (amongst his ‘kindness’) regularly. He’s jealous, angry and vengeful.

The belief in gods predates our Christian view by a long time - but I think back then it really was to explain the inexplicable. I also understand why people would choose God - it’s a way to counter existential dread which is scary, there’s a ‘comfort’ to some (though not to me), that something out there has got there back, there’s a feeling of belonging - and a whole host of other reasons.

But I absolutely don’t believe in God, and my MH drastically improved when I was no longer asking the ‘what if he exists’ question. I would never belittle anyone for their views and I really hate reading the ‘sky fairy’ comments - but I also hate the harm it has caused over the ages.

No, and tbh I tend to think of believers as credulous. So much cognitive dissonance involved in belief.

Yes I believe and I think science is just uncovering some of the amazing things He has created, so totally compatible with my faith.

I also am doing a bible in a year programme following a plan on the youversion bible app: the plan is called 'The Bible Project', and there are accompanying videos on YouTube, unravelling a lot of context and hidden meanings in the original language. I've been a Christian for 29 years and I've learnt so much, would recommend to anyone.

flaviaritt

But we are not all meant to live in agony from the moment of birth, which is what happens for some people, and again is not normally down to corruption or evil on the part of human beings.

Cygne
'In theological terms, before evil came into the world, nobody died. The world was a paradise and the first people were meant to live forever. So suffering is all down to the presence of evil. If there had never been evil or sin, nobody would ever have died in agony.

I am not saying I believe that, but that is the position.

And yet an omnipotent god, who could have prevented evil coming into the world, decided not to. Even if we say that the whole ridiculous Genesis story is some sort of allegory, it does still come down to god deciding that he wouldn't prevent evil (including things like dreadful genetic conditions and birth deformities) out of some sort of pique at the human race. Surely to have any sort of credibility theology has to be founded in some sort of logic?'

This is one of the things about religion I struggle with - down to Eve's action , evil came into the world.

If I was God, I would have looked at that, thought, OK, that was a mistake, first 2 people I've created have brought this thing, evil, into the world, this isn't going to pan out well - let's start again'.

If the creation story is true, what God actually did was sit back and let it all happen, watch as his creation suffered in untold ways - not my idea of a benevolent god, and not, tbh, my idea of someone I want to worship/believe in.

Yes I believe and I think science is just uncovering some of the amazing things He has created, so totally compatible with my faith

So did God create cancer?

I mean if God created life, then he created DNA. Which means that cancer is one of his as well.

unravelling a lot of context and hidden meanings in the original language

Reading the Bible, with its obscurities, contradictions and texts that need 'interpreting' to make them remotely acceptable to basic ethics, it makes one wonder why God chose to be such a poor communicator.

Yes I believe and I think science is just uncovering some of the amazing things He has created, so totally compatible with my faith.

I'm curious to know what you have in mind - what do you think has been uncovered which isn't explicable by natural processes or the product of human ingenuity?

I think God is a lawyer. Who drafted the law. And a Supreme Court Judge. So, they get to lay it all down, and then defend and absolve themselves when others suffer and die as a result of their poor draftsmanship.

A bit like how the little Trumpet thought things would be when he got to sit in the shiny chair.

@flaviaritt

What does that mean? Who decides that the doctrine changes?

In Catholicism, interpretations of the Bible and other important texts tend to evolve over time. The Vatican is responsible for issuing such reinterpretations.

So when the doctrine changes does that mean the previous Pope was wrong? I thought the Pope was infallible.

So, back to the people cut off from the rest of the world with no knowledge of God, were redeemed from after the doctrine change, or were they always God’s anyway and the previous doctrine was wrong?

I tend to lean towards being agnostic - there have been times when I would like to believe in an all powerful god but I would never set foot in a place of organised religion. Some of the posts here have reinforced this view...

@ZebraSpotts

....i will comcede organised religions are often crap at explaining this, beyond the popular stories of the nativity and feeding of the five thousand etc. That's why I'd rather focus on what the Bible says, not muddled religions, and think as others have said, it's way more important to build a personal relationship with God

Which bits of the Bible though. How do you know which bits to follow and which bits to disregard?

I believe.
My faith has developed after several life events x

Nope. Far fetched story that some people seem to really enjoy. Which is nice. If it brings people hope and makes them be a better person then I don't see anything wrong with it.