Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Philosophy/religion

Join our Philosophy forum to discuss religion and spirituality.

Do you believe in god?

1000 replies

Unicorndreams24 · 04/01/2026 23:14

i have recently been thinking a lot about religion and wondering how many believe in god and also what made you come to the decision of believing?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
28
ByLovingTraybake · 06/01/2026 21:21

RedTagAlan · 06/01/2026 17:10

And that is totally fair enough.

It would be nice though if other people of faith could keep it to themselves. Might be a bit less death and destruction.

Hopefully people can kindly answer the OP’s post on whether they believe in God and why; I think that was the genesis of the first question of the original post. I am really interested to hear about different faiths too and their reason for belief!

cupfinalchaos · 06/01/2026 21:59

ByLovingTraybake · 06/01/2026 21:15

I’m really sorry. I can understand that — the reality of evil is deeply troubling and painful. From a Christian perspective, I personally find Scripture is very honest about it. For me, the Christian hope isn’t that suffering is explained away, but that God enters into it through Christ and promises restoration, even when much remains hard to make sense of. Christianity doesn’t pretend these things are easy to explain or quickly resolved. Instead, it points to a God who enters into our suffering through Christ, who grieves what is broken, and who promises that evil will not have the final word. For me, comfort is found in fixing my eyes on the future that God will one day make things right — restoring what has been damaged, wiping away injustice and pain — even when much of this life remains hard to understand. The psalms are great comfort in times of distress or when I ponder the sin and suffering around. But of course, I appreciate the personal nature of what brings comfort in turmoil.

That’s a lovely and interesting explanation, and definitely food for thought even not being a Christian.

LeaningOnTheEverlastingArms · 06/01/2026 22:36

ByLovingTraybake · 06/01/2026 21:06

I really enjoyed reading these — thank you for sharing them. I’ve long appreciated John Lennox’s debates and conversations with people like Dawkins, not least for the way he models engaging in apologetics with both grace and respect. I’ve always found it compelling how he holds science and faith not as opposites, but as complementary, with science pointing to the beauty and order of God’s work — something he expresses far more eloquently than I ever could.

i do enjoy Lennox’s mixture of warmth, wit and energetic intellectual vigour. He seems to be a genuinely joyful and pleasant man.

I’m glad these snippets were of interest- so often the impression is given that to be a serious scientist rules out the possibility of belief in God. It’s good to redress the balance!

I noticed someone mentioned Darwin and it reminded me of a letter he wrote when, whilst struggling with agnosticism and some of the same misconceptions about the nature of suffering we’ve seen from others here, he had the insight to write,

”The impossibility of conceiving that this grand and wondrous universe, with our conscious selves, arose through chance, seems to me the chief argument for the existence of God”.

GentleSheep · 06/01/2026 22:49

LeaningOnTheEverlastingArms · 06/01/2026 22:36

i do enjoy Lennox’s mixture of warmth, wit and energetic intellectual vigour. He seems to be a genuinely joyful and pleasant man.

I’m glad these snippets were of interest- so often the impression is given that to be a serious scientist rules out the possibility of belief in God. It’s good to redress the balance!

I noticed someone mentioned Darwin and it reminded me of a letter he wrote when, whilst struggling with agnosticism and some of the same misconceptions about the nature of suffering we’ve seen from others here, he had the insight to write,

”The impossibility of conceiving that this grand and wondrous universe, with our conscious selves, arose through chance, seems to me the chief argument for the existence of God”.

I too love John Lennox! Did you know he's the uncle of song writer and singer Kristyn Getty, who has a beautiful voice and sings Christian worship songs backed by her husband and band?

I can recommend the book 'In Six Days' by John Ashton, why 50 scientists believe in the Creation.

ProblematicallyPorus · 06/01/2026 23:04

Sorry OP, I missed that you'd asked why. I'm happy to answer but I ask that it is treated with respect. It's my personal experience and it is very precious to me.

I believe in God because I have experienced Him and seen Him in the life of others.

As I've grown closer to Him my life has transformed. I went through a very hard time in my life, at one stage. People I loved died, some of them suddenly and traumatically. It was devastating. I was lonely and lost and addicted.

After years of trying to do it my own way I turned back what I knew of Jesus from my childhood. I went to an Alpha course and asked questions (I can't remember them now!) and heard what they had to say. I turned my life over to Jesus and sought to follow Him.

Since then there have been hard times and good times, but I have seen phenomenal restoration. I am a different person, I have a different life.

I find my faith a great comfort, and experience Him as the Prince of Peace. Knowing He is with me in the hard times is like a child climbing into their parents bed at night, it is still dark and scary at times, but I am not alone. He is with me.

I feel His presence when I talk to Him. It's hard to explain but I am connecting with Him, it doesn't feel like talking into an empty room. His voice is a small and quiet and I often have to still myself to hear it, but I hear it often, through sculpture, through an internal knowing or awareness, through circumstances.

I have first hand accounts from several people of the death of someone I love deeply. He had been immobile and unable to speak for days, but right before he passed away he sat upright, opened his eyes and started praising God. Then he passed.

As I said in one of my earliest posts, God is a being orders of magnitudes greater than humankind. It makes sense to me that we don't fully understand everything about Him, I don't think our minds can. In the same way that an animal can't fully understand us. I have an acceptance that some questions will potentially go unanswered and that God is seeing a bigger picture than I am.

I sometimes get curious about some of the questions that have been asked in this thread, specifics about creation etc. But tbh it doesn't really change much for me. In the same way that I get in my car and drive it about and so I have faith that cars can transport me places, I don't need to understand the mechanics of the car or how an engine works, I know because I see it, I experience it.
At the same time I have a lot of respect for the people with more inquisitive minds than mine who seek these answers, i just don't have that "engineers" mindset, if that makes sense? But i applaud those who do!

ByLovingTraybake · 06/01/2026 23:05

GentleSheep · 06/01/2026 22:49

I too love John Lennox! Did you know he's the uncle of song writer and singer Kristyn Getty, who has a beautiful voice and sings Christian worship songs backed by her husband and band?

I can recommend the book 'In Six Days' by John Ashton, why 50 scientists believe in the Creation.

I have often thought that a family meal at their house must be incredible with all those talents! They’re both phenomenally impressive in their respective fields.

Pillypolly · 06/01/2026 23:07

I don’t believe in God anymore than I believe in Father Christmas. I also do not understand how anyone can believe in God, but I accept that I just don’t understand it. It genuinely puzzles me.

ByLovingTraybake · 06/01/2026 23:07

ProblematicallyPorus · 06/01/2026 23:04

Sorry OP, I missed that you'd asked why. I'm happy to answer but I ask that it is treated with respect. It's my personal experience and it is very precious to me.

I believe in God because I have experienced Him and seen Him in the life of others.

As I've grown closer to Him my life has transformed. I went through a very hard time in my life, at one stage. People I loved died, some of them suddenly and traumatically. It was devastating. I was lonely and lost and addicted.

After years of trying to do it my own way I turned back what I knew of Jesus from my childhood. I went to an Alpha course and asked questions (I can't remember them now!) and heard what they had to say. I turned my life over to Jesus and sought to follow Him.

Since then there have been hard times and good times, but I have seen phenomenal restoration. I am a different person, I have a different life.

I find my faith a great comfort, and experience Him as the Prince of Peace. Knowing He is with me in the hard times is like a child climbing into their parents bed at night, it is still dark and scary at times, but I am not alone. He is with me.

I feel His presence when I talk to Him. It's hard to explain but I am connecting with Him, it doesn't feel like talking into an empty room. His voice is a small and quiet and I often have to still myself to hear it, but I hear it often, through sculpture, through an internal knowing or awareness, through circumstances.

I have first hand accounts from several people of the death of someone I love deeply. He had been immobile and unable to speak for days, but right before he passed away he sat upright, opened his eyes and started praising God. Then he passed.

As I said in one of my earliest posts, God is a being orders of magnitudes greater than humankind. It makes sense to me that we don't fully understand everything about Him, I don't think our minds can. In the same way that an animal can't fully understand us. I have an acceptance that some questions will potentially go unanswered and that God is seeing a bigger picture than I am.

I sometimes get curious about some of the questions that have been asked in this thread, specifics about creation etc. But tbh it doesn't really change much for me. In the same way that I get in my car and drive it about and so I have faith that cars can transport me places, I don't need to understand the mechanics of the car or how an engine works, I know because I see it, I experience it.
At the same time I have a lot of respect for the people with more inquisitive minds than mine who seek these answers, i just don't have that "engineers" mindset, if that makes sense? But i applaud those who do!

Edited

This is beautiful; thank you so much for sharing a moving and incredible testimony. I am sorry for the suffering and difficulties you have faced, but hear the comfort in your story that you have felt.

ByLovingTraybake · 06/01/2026 23:14

Pillypolly · 06/01/2026 23:07

I don’t believe in God anymore than I believe in Father Christmas. I also do not understand how anyone can believe in God, but I accept that I just don’t understand it. It genuinely puzzles me.

Perhaps both sides can share something there — genuinely puzzled by the other side’s perspective! I like how you phrased that so well; sometimes we can also accept that we don’t understand the other side. I also love that the OP has invited people to share different perspectives and it has been fascinating reading these.

Parker231 · 06/01/2026 23:37

Pillypolly · 06/01/2026 23:07

I don’t believe in God anymore than I believe in Father Christmas. I also do not understand how anyone can believe in God, but I accept that I just don’t understand it. It genuinely puzzles me.

Same here. I also don’t understand how some people believe their lives are better for having a faith - sounds a nightmare having to worship and obey for nothing.

GentleSheep · 06/01/2026 23:38

ByLovingTraybake · 06/01/2026 23:14

Perhaps both sides can share something there — genuinely puzzled by the other side’s perspective! I like how you phrased that so well; sometimes we can also accept that we don’t understand the other side. I also love that the OP has invited people to share different perspectives and it has been fascinating reading these.

Yes that's a good idea. I've always believed in God so can't really grasp how others do not. I can however understand how someone could lose their faith after facing difficult, traumatic circumstances or seen much in life that is harsh. I'd also love to hear from those of different faith backgrounds.

TheMerryJoker · 06/01/2026 23:51

GentleSheep · 06/01/2026 23:38

Yes that's a good idea. I've always believed in God so can't really grasp how others do not. I can however understand how someone could lose their faith after facing difficult, traumatic circumstances or seen much in life that is harsh. I'd also love to hear from those of different faith backgrounds.

i belive there may be a being but when you know how manilpulative humanity can be why then would i trust anything human written given how humans have wrote all religious texts,

if its the words of god then humans should never have edited it etc so overall anything written by humans is already tainted by the devil because its human written

GentleSheep · 06/01/2026 23:55

TheMerryJoker · 06/01/2026 23:51

i belive there may be a being but when you know how manilpulative humanity can be why then would i trust anything human written given how humans have wrote all religious texts,

if its the words of god then humans should never have edited it etc so overall anything written by humans is already tainted by the devil because its human written

If you believe in the devil as a supernatural being, so why not believe in God as well? I can't see how there would be one without the other.

TheMerryJoker · 06/01/2026 23:57

GentleSheep · 06/01/2026 23:55

If you believe in the devil as a supernatural being, so why not believe in God as well? I can't see how there would be one without the other.

i belive there may be a god or supreme being, but i just dont trust anything human written. if that makes sense,

GentleSheep · 07/01/2026 00:00

TheMerryJoker · 06/01/2026 23:57

i belive there may be a god or supreme being, but i just dont trust anything human written. if that makes sense,

Yes I get it, seeing what humans are like (which is pretty sad really).

TheMerryJoker · 07/01/2026 00:01

GentleSheep · 07/01/2026 00:00

Yes I get it, seeing what humans are like (which is pretty sad really).

as nice as some of the texts are that humans have written, id rather be toe to toe with god

YourWinter · 07/01/2026 00:23

I tried, for decades, but no, I don’t.

batsh1ttery · 07/01/2026 00:34

No. I’ve never believed. It’s ridiculous in this day and age too. No one who carries on with religion up to death is in any way better off than anyone who doesn’t. Life is cruel. There’s no way of getting around it. If anything has to be there I’d prefer to hope to find my relatives in some other plane. But at the end of the day we’ll all find out, or not, regardless of what we believe. Not that we can tell anyone else. I hope it’s not just a massive black out, quick done and gone. I’d even prefer the brain full on firing before it shuts down and gone. But religion shouldn’t even come into it. We’re all alone as we die no matter who’s sitting with us. How many souls have communicated that they’re safe in the arms of Jesus after popping off. None. No one knows until we go through it but religion is a fools game and the only fool in those last few seconds is you.

RedTagAlan · 07/01/2026 00:36

ByLovingTraybake · 06/01/2026 21:21

Hopefully people can kindly answer the OP’s post on whether they believe in God and why; I think that was the genesis of the first question of the original post. I am really interested to hear about different faiths too and their reason for belief!

Of course they can. Do you see anyone challenging anyone who says yes ?

Nah.

But when folk use the Bible to make claims, should those claims not be challenged, especially given overwhelming evidence that the Bible is all man written and invented ?

If I was posting about how fantastic Satan is, and encouraging people to read Satanist books, would you just skip over it ?

batsh1ttery · 07/01/2026 00:41

MrsSkylerWhite · 04/01/2026 23:41

How did it all begin?
Earth began about 4.6 billion years ago from a swirling cloud of dust and gas (the solar nebula) that collapsed under gravity, forming the Sun at its center and a flat, spinning disk of leftover material that clumped together, growing into the rocky Earth and other planets through collisions, eventually cooling enough for a crust to form, oceans to appear, and the Moon to form from a massive impact.

HTH.

Then, evolution.

This.

StrikeForever · 07/01/2026 00:45

No, God the creator makes as much sense as the tooth fairy

batsh1ttery · 07/01/2026 00:52

TheMerryJoker · 06/01/2026 23:51

i belive there may be a being but when you know how manilpulative humanity can be why then would i trust anything human written given how humans have wrote all religious texts,

if its the words of god then humans should never have edited it etc so overall anything written by humans is already tainted by the devil because its human written

Tainted by the devil! I’m sure if there was a devil there’d be much more open cruelty at play than what happens daily to “god fearing people”. Y'know like all the real life shit that people go through with babies dying but put it down to “gods plan”. And why the fuck would anyone have to be “god fearing” anyway?! Devil fearing would be more apt.
In fact I’d love to see “the devil” have a proper go at humanity because there would be clear targets to hone in on rather than everything so awful that happens to people who believe in god and believe that they suffer because that’s how it’s meant to be. In 2026, do show me where the devil has had a hand in things. Trump might like his little red hat supporters but they don’t seem to feature horns, just worn by god fearing idiots supporting a fellow idiot 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’d be willing to bet real money that if there was not only a god, but Satan at play too these batshit people would have lessons to learn for eternity 🤷🏻‍♀️

TheMerryJoker · 07/01/2026 01:04

batsh1ttery · 07/01/2026 00:52

Tainted by the devil! I’m sure if there was a devil there’d be much more open cruelty at play than what happens daily to “god fearing people”. Y'know like all the real life shit that people go through with babies dying but put it down to “gods plan”. And why the fuck would anyone have to be “god fearing” anyway?! Devil fearing would be more apt.
In fact I’d love to see “the devil” have a proper go at humanity because there would be clear targets to hone in on rather than everything so awful that happens to people who believe in god and believe that they suffer because that’s how it’s meant to be. In 2026, do show me where the devil has had a hand in things. Trump might like his little red hat supporters but they don’t seem to feature horns, just worn by god fearing idiots supporting a fellow idiot 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’d be willing to bet real money that if there was not only a god, but Satan at play too these batshit people would have lessons to learn for eternity 🤷🏻‍♀️

or humans following what other humans wrote and what they think its the devils doing is other humans mistaken beliefs that its the work of god or the devil etc

TheMerryJoker · 07/01/2026 01:05

besides can we truly say we know god or the devils views or points or philosophy and the answer is 100 percent no and thats because its all human written and twisted and rewritten etc

ByLovingTraybake · 07/01/2026 06:30

Parker231 · 06/01/2026 23:37

Same here. I also don’t understand how some people believe their lives are better for having a faith - sounds a nightmare having to worship and obey for nothing.

I suppose I see it differently — faith has brought me joy and meaning, not burden. I’d struggle more with having nothing beyond myself to worship or hope in. I imagine it is how the previous poster captured it so well: we accept that we might never understand the opposite perspective.

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is not accepting new messages.
Swipe left for the next trending thread