Do you believe in God/a higher power?

[CuriousAboutWhatYouThink]

Not religion. I have no time for organised religion and the associated man made rules.

But do you believe in 'something'?

For context, my grandad was a CofE vicar but my parent rebelled against it and we were brought up broadly l in the religion (eg we celebrated main religious festivals like Easter and Christmas) but not as practising Christians and without a particular belief in God.

As an adult, I have friends of different faiths and none and it's something we have discussed from time to time. It's also something I used to discuss with my grandma who had a very strong belief in God but also believed the Bible until she became older when she still had a strong faith but admitted she thought the Bible was largely nonsense!

I suppose I've always felt that there is 'something' but I refer to it as the universe. I don't know, I always feel that there has been 'something' looking out for me.

That doesn't mean bad things have never happened because they have and religion/belief doesn't protect anyone from that. And it doesn't mean my life is anywhere near perfect because it's not. But the universe has always seemed to 'step in' when needed.

I don't know. I'm going through a tough time at the moment but I have a feeling everything will turn out to be OK because it always does.

do the laws of physics need to ‘come’ from anywhere? I think the language we use (laws, rules) falsely implies they’re a created system.

‘explaining’ the laws of physics by postulating something more complicated (a god, with intelligence’, infinite power etc) makes no sense at all. Where does this god come from? chance?

No. The earth and everything on it is serendipity.

I'm an atheist as are most of the people I know, none of us are voids or husks. We're all well rounded people who help each other out in many ways, we have joy in our lives, we aren't in anyway lost.
The notion that people are out there worshipping the NHS is quite frankly bonkers.

No and it blows my mind that in 2025 so many people still believe in heaven and god. Totally understandable 200 years ago but knowing what we know now of how the world works and the scientific advances, I do find it scary how people continue to follow the religion they’ve been brought to with.

It seems to me it’s generally very decisive and causes more problems than not. The wars currently going on due to different faiths and beliefs and previous wars such as Northern Ireland. It’s across different regions in different countries, but the common denominator is different religious views and an inability to live in peace and then all of the killings of innocent people because they hold different religious views. It’s horrific.

You could make up any scenario that’s unlikely to happen, such as flying unicorns that live in the clouds, garden gnome holding parliamentary talks in garden
and any other unlikely scenario that my brain can’t make up at 8.50am but you get my gist. It’s like me arguing that my scenarios are right unless you can prove them to be wrong… 🙄 The argument is so tedious. Everyone is free to chose their beliefs and opinions but where the line is crossed is where their religious beliefs encroach in political situations and laws. Religion has no place in either of those two areas.

You just have to watch a David Attenborough documentary about evolution to see that the concept of a god is impossible as he gives examples of evolution.
I mean the Dinosaurs, millions of years ago would go against what religion says but we can physically see the bones… So I find it fascinating and scary in equal measures.

Yes, of course you may be right.
I'm not pronouncing on anything but I often wonder.

You could but honestly you’d be wrong. All sorts of things crystallise, it’s just physics.
(I used to be a crystallographer. I bloody love crystals, and that we can use them to work out the three dimensional structure of molecules, use them to advance our understanding of science. Growing crystals is all about finding the right conditions and letting physics do its thing).

@Pricelessadvice

For polytheists, pagans and occultists (all three are my communities) we typically believe based upon our own experiences (which we interpret to be with deities) and the reported experiences of our fellows.

No. I believe in consciousness but nothing more than that. Completely happy for other people to believe what they want, as long as it doesn't impinge on my freedom.

Can I ask to those of us who have said we do have why are the questions directed at us hostile? I don’t have any hostility towards other faiths or atheists.

Many gods that real people genuinely believed in are now demoted to “myth” status - Roman, Greek, Norse, Ancient Egyptian etc.

Can only imagine (and hope) that today’s “gods” will suffer the same fate in a few centuries.

Nope, I'm an atheist. I'm happy to change my view in light of scientific evidence, but I've never seen anything convincing.

Very arrogant to suggest that I’m just a an empty ‘husk’!

So what’s the alternative? Is there a man up there cutting them out?!

The fact that you have to ‘believe in’ any god or fairy does not sit right with me. I prefer to look at the actual evidence.

Yes, very much a believer here. I’m a Christian.

Being with someone when they die has a way of showing there’s more to us than just our human bodies. There’s usually a clear moment where the person ‘goes’ and it’s like their body just caves in. Where do they go?

Yes, this idea just seems a bit soulless, which of course it is!

I don't see how established religion, or belief could exist without complex language. There was a time when we didn't have complex language, so an age old spirituality of any kind seems impossible to me.

No. And I’ve yet to be proved wrong.

You find it arrogant that people take comfort from their faith and feel safer thinking that something is looking out for them? Is it harming anyone for people to believe this?

I used to be à very devout atheist but then had an experience of God and very reluctantly became a Christian. I say reluctantly because my experience of Christians was awful. But this experience made me look into the evidence of the existence of Jesus (who 99% of historians agree existed) and how his disciples were killed for saying that they saw him rise from the dead (if it wasn't true why would they die horrible deaths for insisting that it was?) and the facts convinced me enough to take a tentative step of faith. What I have experienced since then leaves me with a very secure faith.

Interestingly, Jesus himself was very anti-religion. He was furious with the religious leaders of his day and how they treated people in the name of God. That's ultimately why they killed him.

Very intrigued by your suggestion that the body ‘goes’ somewhere. Do you have further evidence??

In their actions, most atheists we know are a lot more “Christian” than a lot of Christian’s we’ve known over the years …

It’s like before were born though isn’t it. It’s not something we are aware of, we don’t have a memory of it because we simply didn’t exist. It will be the same when we die. Once our brain stops working (our brain is basically who we are) we cease to exist and that’s it.

Nope. How can there be any type of 'God' when innocent people are hurt constantly, yet people that don't deserve to be here are happily going about their lives!!

I used to. Now I'm not sure. I've been through so much. I can't see how a loving god would allow the suffering I've seen. Is god cruel? Just indifferent? I know all the explanations for why evil exists in the world according to Christianity, but a god who has the power to step in and stop some of the things I've seen and doesn't isn't loving to me. I'd love to be wrong and maybe one day I'll find out I was. Either that or I'll be oblivious after death and it won't matter as I won't have a consciousness.