Do you believe in God?

[VirtualPA]

I am interested to know what the majority of people belive.

I personally believe in a Christian God, Heaven and hell etc.

I raised a strict an athiest

It's absurd to suggest that organised religion has held back scientific progress. For many centuries it was the only thing preserving knowledge and scientific progress. There is a science-denying movement within religion, but science is doing perfectly well in spite of that.

It's also ridiculous to judge the whole of human history from the perspective of contemporary values and living conditions.

No, I don't. I don't believe in the supernatural, an afterlife, a creator...nothing like that. I was raised in a non-religious household.

I think it can be quite a scary belief. That we are nothing more than clever aminal, clinging to a rock that is hurtling round a star in a corner of a galaxy. Small and ultimately insignificant.

I do wonder how the Universe came to be here. What was there before the big bang and how did it get there? I think some definition of god is a possibility, but it isn't the default answer in the absence of any other expaination. 'I don't know' is perfectly sufficient for my purposes.

Even if it was the answer, I don't believe it would be even slightly interested in us. Vaugue Deism is about as far as I can go.

Religion, being a human thing, has the potential to hugely positve force and a hugely negative one.

No.

And I HATED having to go to sunday school when I was little (we all did - military family, twas the done thing). None of the bible stories made any sense whatsoever to me so I was always rather confused and distressed beause it was being taught to me as "fact" and yet contradicted other "facts" taught to me from monday to saturday.

It was a huge weight from my shoulders when I decided it was okay to acknowledge that the whole thing was a bunch of stories with no more base in reality than the roman gods shagging each other on top of mount olympus.

I find religion an interesting construct and am interested in how it has always formed a part of human society and development. I am interested in oral tradition and how most religions, for example, have a Noah story.

I'm interested in mythologies in general, in faerie lore and in spirituality.

Tis completely made up though.

Oh, I was about 12 when I stopped worrying about it.

I am a very firm atheist.

I have never believed, and never wanted to. i don;t need to believe in heaven when i die. I am quite happy to know that when I die that will be it, and i will be food for worms. There is something so satisfying knowing that I will decompose and end up as something else elemental. How can heaven compare to that?

'""THe trouble is with the superstitious is that their argument always comes down to 'Waaah, my imaginary friend IS real, it just IS!'""

not always

Sometimes, the argument just comes down to 'I feel it is real and form me that this is the right choice'

I don't have any wish to tell otehrs how to live their lives wrt to faith; just to have the freedom to make choices for myself.

"The burden of proof surely applies to anyone with an opinion on the matter"

Not really. Burden of proof is on the person who supports a theory. Not on the others who reply "That doesn't sound right. Got proof?"

No.

Apart from anything else I couldn't believe in a God who promised his followers that if they believe they will be healed, but never appears to have healed anything except a vague sense of low self esteem or a slightly dodgy back.

No.

No.

No.
I believe in ghosts and spirits though.
I think that we can't be here on earth and nothing else happens anywhere else or else what would be the point but defo don't believe in a god.

Nor does DD (8). DS believes anything the school tells him .
I went to a c of E primary school with strong links to the church so was brought up thinking that was all true, then chose my own path. I married in a church and muffled my way thorugh the God bit (feel a bit guilty about that) but I wanted to get married there as I love the building.

I think we all know that a God couldn't have created Adam and Eve and all that malarky but I guess without religion, society would break down and for that reason, I guess it's okay to believe if you want.

which one?

i believe in many.

No, of course not. I was raised Catholic but was firmly athiest from the moment I learned to follow an argument to it's logical conclusion.

Got me in lots of trouble with the Nuns at school mind

Yes, I believe in God. I was brought up a believer and then drifted away. I started questioning things again when I had children, and decided yes, I do still believe. It can be hard to explain why, especially as its so personal to me, its difficult to expect other people to understand.

No.

No. Raised in a cheerfully non-religious family.

I believe in something. Not a God like in Christianity though.

I'm about 99.9% certain that God doesn't exist. So I guess I'm an agnostic technically (but I feel like an atheist )

I was wondering when somebody would suggest that athiests need to prove a negative.

someguy you are both right and wrong. Yes, medieval monks and islamic scholars did preserve much of the learning of the greeks. However... the medieval and post medival catholic church did it's utmost best to surpress and stop scientific progress.

Stuck - that's why I'd describe myself as an angostic rather than an atheist.

Because, just as it can't be shown that God exists, it also can't be shown conclusively that God doesn't exist.

Nope. I'm an atheist through and through. I wasn't raised with religion, so simply don't believe it. All religions sound like made up fairy stories to me (sorry if that is offensive, just trying to be honest).

I do love Catholic churches, though (my gran used to sneak me off to Mass sometimes as a child) and cathedrals. I love being inside places of worship. They have a calming effect on me. I am also very drawn to Wicca (I don't believe in it - all the Goddess stuff - but I like some of the practices and the connection with nature).

So, you are erring on the side of caution?

Look at it this way.

The bible stated the earth was created in seven days. We have disproved this.

According to the bible, the universe is around 4400 years old. This has been thrown out.

The main reason why we refer to a judeo-christian god in the way we do, was because it was once used politically by the romans.

We have traced the history of christianity back to an agricultural god.

Christainity can be disproved. Athiesm cannot be.

Oh sure, there's loads of Christianity and the Bible that can be disproved.

But I don't think it can ever be conclusively proved that there is no God. There's always the slight possibility that there might be a God lurking somewhere out there. (I think it's highly unlikely, myself, but I have to acknowledge it's a possibility).

So yep I'm erring on the side of caution!