Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to ask your opinions on God?

999 replies

Violetduck · 04/12/2020 21:31

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?

OP posts:
youvegottenminuteslynn · 05/12/2020 22:42

@Teenageromance

There is a freedom in knowing there isn’t anyone there you know.
I feel this too. And also knowing that when I am kind, it is only because I want to be kind and genuinely enjoy other people feeling happy and safe and secure. Not because I am seeking reward or attempting to evade punishment. That's why I'm very comfortable that my children won't be forced into a religion from birth, I hope to teach them how good it is to be a kind and caring person, rather than having to dangle a carrot or threaten them into it!
ArthursRoundTable · 05/12/2020 22:44

@chomalungma "And the UK has co-opted both God and the Monarchy into our national anthem. For some reason"

Probably because the Monarch is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England?

80sForever · 05/12/2020 22:45

So where do you get your hope, strength, joy and comfort from if you don't believe? There must be a niggling hole, emptiness then surely

Teenageromance · 05/12/2020 22:45

@80sForever became a Christian in my 20s and now in my 50s. It’s all nonsense - no answered prayer, there is no one there. It’s wonderful really when you take responsibility

Teenageromance · 05/12/2020 22:46

Nope there was more of a hole when I prayed to someone who didn’t answer my prayers. They made me unhappy

FilthyforFirth · 05/12/2020 22:46

Doesnt exist and is responsible for 90% of the worlds problems.

80sForever · 05/12/2020 22:47

[quote Teenageromance]@80sForever became a Christian in my 20s and now in my 50s. It’s all nonsense - no answered prayer, there is no one there. It’s wonderful really when you take responsibility[/quote]
What do you mean by became a christian in your 20s? How did this happen? And what happened to make you stop believing?

TimeForDinnerDinnerDinner · 05/12/2020 22:47

I always find it amusing when someone says "I don't believe in God" one minute and then the next minute they're singing the national anthem "God save the Queen" with gusto
...and observing Christmas and Easter. And probably other things.
It's not to say they're hypocrites, it just means our existence is made up of many parts. It is difficult to avoid including God in our lives to a greater or lesser degree.

EileenGC · 05/12/2020 22:47

@FilthyforFirth

Doesnt exist and is responsible for 90% of the worlds problems.
I'd like to understand how someone who doesn't exist can be responsible for anything 😂
80sForever · 05/12/2020 22:48

@FilthyforFirth

Doesnt exist and is responsible for 90% of the worlds problems.
But if he doesn't exist, how can he be responsible for the world's problems?
Smellbellina · 05/12/2020 22:49

I don’t believe in God but I do believe in an interlinked energy.
I think Mary struck gold with Joseph.
I think Jesus said some good shit.
I think all religious books should be viewed as to the incentive they were written and who they were marketed by.

chomalungma · 05/12/2020 22:49

Probably because the Monarch is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England

I wonder if any of the younger Royals believe in God?
And if they believe in God, do they believe in Jesus?
And if they are Christian, are they C of E?

EileenGC · 05/12/2020 22:50

@Teenageromance

Nope there was more of a hole when I prayed to someone who didn’t answer my prayers. They made me unhappy
Didn't answer, or didn't answer like you would've liked? I honestly do get this, and I am so sorry you struggled with it too, it can be devastating. But sometimes we only decide to accept the answer that WE want. Nowhere does it say that God is here to reply positively to 100% of our requests
TheSandman · 05/12/2020 22:51

@EileenGC I don't have to prove anything. I just wish people who 'believe' totally ludicrous and unprovable things would have to 'prove' them to get the tax breaks and weird respect that they seem to get.

When only one person believes something he is called delusional. When a lot of people believe something their representatives get seats in the House of Lords and get to shape the policy of governments. When does the lone nutter become a religion?

Why should I be asked to think the Archbishop of Canterbury's opinion on anything is more important than a sad bugger on the bus who thinks Venusians poisoned his dog? Both are irrational beliefs with no foundation.

FilthyforFirth · 05/12/2020 22:51

Because of the behaviour of some of those who strongly believe he does exist. Hardly a difficult concept.

Smellbellina · 05/12/2020 22:52

God save the Queen is our national anthem, you are allowed to sing it even if you don’t believe in God, you can sing it for any reason you like, actually.
Same with Christmas, you can celebrate just because you want to.
You have a weird sense of humour.

chomalungma · 05/12/2020 22:52

and observing Christmas and Easter. And probably other things

Again - in the UK, our holiday system is based around these festivals. Many of our schools are faith based so they retell the stories. From a young age. Our bank holidays are on these days.

Christianity got a good hold in this country and still has its grip on power.

tallastrees · 05/12/2020 22:52

No, there is no god. Anyone who believes in god seriously lacks the ability to think critically.

The onus is not on atheists to prove their is no god, after all they are not making claims that something exists. The onus is on those who do believe to prove their is god. This is sometimes known as Hitchens's Razor: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitchens%27s_razor

TheSandman · 05/12/2020 22:56

But if he doesn't exist, how can he be responsible for the world's problems?

The belief in 'him' is responsible.

"My god's better than your god."
"No he's not."
"Yes he is."
"I bet my god's dad could beat your god's dad."
"Couldn't... "
"Could 'cos your god's dad's a stinky poo..."

etc. until people are using artillery and killing each other's civilians in the name of their 100% non-stinky poo god.

ArthursRoundTable · 05/12/2020 22:56

@Smellbellina

God save the Queen is our national anthem, you are allowed to sing it even if you don’t believe in God, you can sing it for any reason you like, actually. Same with Christmas, you can celebrate just because you want to. You have a weird sense of humour.
It's called a sense of irony. Pretty sure that's not a weird sense of humour; many people can comprehend irony.
Smellbellina · 05/12/2020 22:56

The onus is on those who do believe to prove their is god.
*there is a
It’s not a paper to be peer, if God is really I imagine he is perfectly able to sort this all out when we’re dead so actually the only onus is on him. When you’re dead.

LastTrainEast · 05/12/2020 22:56

ArthursRoundTable I wonder how long Pascal spent thinking that one through as it doesn't work very well does it.

Given that there are 1000s of claimed gods if you choose to believe in one there's less than 1 in 1000 chance that you picked the right one.

I could say to any god judging me "I genuinely didn't know so I waited to see" while the guy who picked the wrong god must explain why he spent his life working for the competition. Going around telling people that the wrong god had spoken to him and so on.

Then of course there is a cost to believing in a god whether he exists or not. A believer who is trying to ensure his place in heaven must be constantly alert to the possibility of making a wrong move. As a non-believer I have freedom/free will. I never have to perform an act that is immoral in my eyes to placate god.

Lastly it assumes that pretending to believe in god will get you into heaven and not a special spot in hell for (a) trying to trick god and (b) assuming he is dumb enough not to notice.

80sForever · 05/12/2020 22:57

@Teenageromance

Nope there was more of a hole when I prayed to someone who didn’t answer my prayers. They made me unhappy
I've had unanswered prayers too....i've been disappointed at how my life has turned out after serving him for years. I too left the church. I'm finding my way back to him because even though i'm disappointed, i know he is real. I've seen his power and his glory and his love for me even through life's unanswered prayers and disappointments
Smellbellina · 05/12/2020 22:57

*peer reviewed!

Teenageromance · 05/12/2020 22:58

@EileenGC the bible says if you ask anything in my name I will do it (no
Qualifications, no mental gymnastics). Saying it’s gods way of answering is just
To cope with the cognitive dissonance of not answering.
Say you pray for someone to be healed - and they aren’t - but it says in the bible
Our prayers will be answered - but they aren’t - so you go through the mental gymnastics of saying there must be some other thing god has in mind. Deary me it’s wearing