can anyone tell me one reason to believe in a GOD

[burnt]

to me agnostic= atheist, nobody can prove that there is no superpower sitting somewhere watching us. but I don't believe that the God that the Christianity/Judaism refer to exist.

 

I was raised a Muslim and was a very firm believer for a long time. Then came the doubts.

I tried to force myself to believe in Christianity and Judaism--all failed clearly since all three religions were rooted from the same origin. Then I believed for a while that I was an atheist, which was shattered as soon as I realized that

"I believe there is NO God" is just as equally meaningful/meaningless as

"I believe there IS a God". Both are equally based on believing in something to be true.

 

So, then I realized that the ONLY thing I can be sure of believing in is that I am NOT sure of what to believe in.

 

Hence, Agnostic/Skeptic. So I formulate my faith as:

I don't know what to believe in--I have doubts about everything. I do not claim to know what the truth is. I do not claim that I am on the right path, since I don't know what the right path is; in fact, I'm not even sure there is such a thing as a 'right' path; maybe each 'path' is just a path, without any judgmental attribute 'right' or 'wrong'.

[Keats]

Religion is ludicrous.

 

You have to believe in a thing you cannot see.

 

By this logic aliens and zombies and all manner of things we look down on as nothing real is all in and acceptable to believe in.

 

The rest of religion is great soceity management. That is all.

 

A good thing to study is why psychologicly people must believe in a higher unseen power.

 

 

As a religious perosn myself I find it dangerous to believe in a human being as opposed to a higher power.

first of all, you have the best profile picture ever

 

I agree, all human did was attributing everything thin they didn't understand to a god,

 

 

believe or not, all religion are trying to adjust to not look too ludicrous

[Keats]

The right path is to be a good human being and uphold justice.

 

This is how all religions have started off but in due time have become something other.

 

Sometimes non religious people I see are better people than religious ones. I see faith in them and it improves my faith.

 

I was raised a Muslim and was a very firm believer for a long time. Then came the doubts.

I tried to force myself to believe in Christianity and Judaism--all failed clearly since all three religions were rooted from the same origin. Then I believed for a while that I was an atheist, which was shattered as soon as I realized that

"I believe there is NO God" is just as equally meaningful/meaningless as

"I believe there IS a God". Both are equally based on believing in something to be true.

 

So, then I realized that the ONLY thing I can be sure of believing in is that I am NOT sure of what to believe in.

 

Hence, Agnostic/Skeptic. So I formulate my faith as:

I don't know what to believe in--I have doubts about everything. I do not claim to know what the truth is. I do not claim that I am on the right path, since I don't know what the right path is; in fact, I'm not even sure there is such a thing as a 'right' path; maybe each 'path' is just a path, without any judgmental attribute 'right' or 'wrong'.

[burnt]

can anyone tell me one reason to believe in a GOD

 

All I'm asking for is a sign that any God exists, can anybody here show me one?

 

I see those two as two different questions.

 

I don't see any sign/proof for the existence of God. Maybe there is a sign, but I'm not seeing anything as a sign.

 

But I can give you one good reason to believe in a God.

 

I used to be a believer. I remember, as a kid, right before/during a test, I would pray VERY hard to the God to help me out in the test; "Please help me pass, and I promise I'll be really good from here on and say my daily prayers." And what do you know, I passed my tests. In my mind, this PROVED to me that God helped me out and I felt this incredible sense of 'safety'--that somebody up there was looking out for me and helped me out when in need. It felt wonderful to BELIEVE and feel that at a time of trouble there was someone out there for me.

 

Now, (as an agnostic), when things get tough, when life feels hard, I WISH I could believe in a God to feel the comfort. But I can't force myself to believe in something I have doubts about.

 

It's kind of like, as a child you were told "a little birdie brought you to this world", and you believed it with all your heart and soul, and then you learn about intercourse, and there dies the birdie--good luck in resuscitating that.

[burnt]

The right path is to be a good human being and uphold justice.

 

This is how all religions have started off but in due time have become something other.

 

Sometimes non religious people I see are better people than religious ones. I see faith in them and it improves my faith.

 

And there lies the problem: in creating 'words' with certain assumed definitions. Such as 'good'; what does good mean? What does 'justice' mean? Yes, we all seem to hold a certain understanding of what they mean, but those meanings are ALL tinted and tainted by cultural framework.

 

In certain countries/religions, TODAY, adultery is a sin (opposite of 'good'), and 'justice' is to 'punish' the sin by stoning the person to death. The people who do the stoning would say they are on the 'right path' because they obey the 'good' and uphold 'justice'.

 

Philosopher Bruno, long before all others, did something 'sinful'--to claim that the world was not the center of the universe. To 'uphold justice', the 'good' citizens burned him ALIVE for Heresy.

 

My point is: question the meaning of these words with loaded assumptions. Allow for the possibility that you could be wrong about what you were lead to believe.

[Keats]

I dont need to read beyond your very first sentence. Because I know what your saying exactly.

 

Because it is a major problem.

 

The definiton of good, wrong and justice in religion in my view is very skewered. And had becomes less about a real sense of right, wrong, justice. But more about not following societal rules. Or some other rule.

 

But as a human you can still figure out the basics of what these words mean. That is what I really meant to say

 

And there lies the problem: in creating 'words' with certain assumed definitions. Such as 'good'; what does good mean? What does 'justice' mean? Yes, we all seem to hold a certain understanding of what they mean, but those meanings are ALL tinted and tainted by cultural framework.

 

In certain countries/religions, TODAY, adultery is a sin (opposite of 'good'), and 'justice' is to 'punish' the sin by stoning the person to death. The people who do the stoning would say they are on the 'right path' because they obey the 'good' and uphold 'justice'.

 

Philosopher Bruno, long before all others, did something 'sinful'--to claim that the world was not the center of the universe. To 'uphold justice', the 'good' citizens burned him ALIVE for Heresy.

 

My point is: question the meaning of these words with loaded assumptions. Allow for the possibility that you could be wrong about what you were lead to believe.

[BC1980]

exactly, like laughing at how the Aztecs worshiped volcanoes then blindly believe that Noah's ark had all the species in it

 

Basically. Of course, you can believe that a story like Noah's ark is an allegory, which is what I believe. An awful lot of Christians do believe that the Bible is made up of many different genres of literature, which, honestly, I'm not sure how anyone could deny that fact. Something like Noah's ark, Jonah and the whale, the Tower of Babel, and the creation myth in Genesis would be good examples of stories that are clearly allegorical. So there are many Christians that are do not believe the Bible is meant to inform science or even history.

 

I always think of the story in Matthew when Jesus forces the swine to run off the edge of a cliff and die because they are possessed by demons. I always felt bad for the poor pigs in that story because they couldn't help it if they were possessed. It sounds ludicrous even typing it Anyway, the idea of a person or animal being possessed by demons would get you a trip to the psychiatrist in this day and age. But clearly, many are willing to believe that demons actually possessed those poor pigs 2000 years ago. I think the easiest way out of that is to argue that the Gospel writers weren't privy to modern medicine and, like most people did 2000 years ago, they attributed mental illness to demon possession or a punishment from a deity.

 

I don't think I really helped you to answer any of your initial questions, but the reality is I don't have any answers. I get where you are though. I wish it were all true because I could better go to sleep at night. I do pray sometimes, but I usually wonder if anyone is listening. I do go to church, but it's more for community.

[BC1980]

exactly, like laughing at how the Aztecs worshiped volcanoes then blindly believe that Noah's ark had all the species in it

 

Also, the fact that we grow up with a particular religion normalizes the supernatural aspect of it. I grew up a Christian, so, emotionally, it seems reasonable to believe that a man rose from the dead. Logically, that is nonsense, and I would be committed to a psych ward if I told someone that today. Still, emotionally, I feel a pull to my church and the religion. Think about Joan of Arc. We laud her as a heroine today, but she was burned at the stake in her time.

[qubist]

I was raised a Muslim and was a very firm believer for a long time. Then came the doubts.

I tried to force myself to believe in Christianity and Judaism--all failed clearly since all three religions were rooted from the same origin. Then I believed for a while that I was an atheist, which was shattered as soon as I realized that

"I believe there is NO God" is just as equally meaningful/meaningless as

"I believe there IS a God". Both are equally based on believing in something to be true.

 

So, then I realized that the ONLY thing I can be sure of believing in is that I am NOT sure of what to believe in.

 

Hence, Agnostic/Skeptic. So I formulate my faith as:

I don't know what to believe in--I have doubts about everything. I do not claim to know what the truth is. I do not claim that I am on the right path, since I don't know what the right path is; in fact, I'm not even sure there is such a thing as a 'right' path; maybe each 'path' is just a path, without any judgmental attribute 'right' or 'wrong'.

WOW a Muslim becoming an atheist!! you must be brave. I know the rejection withing the Muslim society toward anyone that change a religion> how did you manage to convince your family?

[qubist]

A good thing to study is why psychologicly people must believe in a higher unseen power.

Richard Dawkins has some interesting views that answer this question in his book : The God Delusion

[qubist]

Basically. Of course, you can believe that a story like Noah's ark is an allegory, which is what I believe. An awful lot of Christians do believe that the Bible is made up of many different genres of literature, which, honestly, I'm not sure how anyone could deny that fact. Something like Noah's ark, Jonah and the whale, the Tower of Babel, and the creation myth in Genesis would be good examples of stories that are clearly allegorical. So there are many Christians that are do not believe the Bible is meant to inform science or even history.

 

I always think of the story in Matthew when Jesus forces the swine to run off the edge of a cliff and die because they are possessed by demons. I always felt bad for the poor pigs in that story because they couldn't help it if they were possessed. It sounds ludicrous even typing it Anyway, the idea of a person or animal being possessed by demons would get you a trip to the psychiatrist in this day and age. But clearly, many are willing to believe that demons actually possessed those poor pigs 2000 years ago. I think the easiest way out of that is to argue that the Gospel writers weren't privy to modern medicine and, like most people did 2000 years ago, they attributed mental illness to demon possession or a punishment from a deity.

 

I don't think I really helped you to answer any of your initial questions, but the reality is I don't have any answers. I get where you are though. I wish it were all true because I could better go to sleep at night. I do pray sometimes, but I usually wonder if anyone is listening. I do go to church, but it's more for community.

I believe if the bible writers lived in this time they would be put under therapy for severe hallucination

[BC1980]

I believe if the bible writers lived in this time they would be put under therapy for severe hallucination

 

Think about Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism. I've heard some Christian friends laugh and say how crazy he was to write about dream visions, prophecies, ect. But how is that any different than the Gospels or the book of Revalation? Why is Joseph Smith crazy for what he wrote? How is it any worse than something like transubstantiation? The belief that wine and bread LITERALLY turn into Jesus when a priest prays over it? That is the official Catholic doctrine.

[TheFinalWord]

Think about Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism. I've heard some Christian friends laugh and say how crazy he was to write about dream visions, prophecies, ect. But how is that any different than the Gospels or the book of Revalation? Why is Joseph Smith crazy for what he wrote? How is it any worse than something like transubstantiation? The belief that wine and bread LITERALLY turn into Jesus when a priest prays over it? That is the official Catholic doctrine.

 

Whether Mormonism is true or not is more of an internal theological debate (though one could examine archaeological claims made in book of Mormon such as the city of Zarahemla). I've said in other threads that one should examine each religion not only externally, but also internally. I don't think anyone should laugh or say it is crazy (seems a bit immature, like saying someone needs to be examined for hallucination). I'm not sure how serious this thread is (seems like a round about way to mock Christians), but see Galatians 1. Mormonism also claims Jesus preached to Native Americans, when the context of the passage is very clearly talking about the gospel spreading to gentiles, which is also affirmed by the book of Acts.

[TheFinalWord]

How is it any worse than something like transubstantiation? The belief that wine and bread LITERALLY turn into Jesus when a priest prays over it? That is the official Catholic doctrine.

 

I suppose that is a somewhat relative question, however, Catholicism accepts both apostolic tradition and scripture. I agree, transubstantiation is not biblical, but I am protestant, so I justify that on the fact there is no hint of this notion in scripture. A premise of Protestant theology is the idea of sola scriptura, or scripture alone is authoritative. What this means is scripture alone is the final authority, not tradition. In fact, I would argue the opposite, scripture repudiates the notion of transubstantiation: The first communion was held while Christ was present with the disciples, before the crucifixion.

[qubist]

I'm not sure how serious this thread is (seems like a round about way to mock Christians.

Firs of all let me clarify something, this thread is not to mock anybody at all. I did not post it to make fun of any religion. I really hope I'm not offending anybody that is definitely not my intention. I'm not even looking to challenge any belief, I'm just wondering if I was missing anything when it comes to believing in a god without specifying any religion or any faith. but reality is you can't talk about faith without involving a discussion about religions, and when we talks about religion Christianity comes in mind first because where we live it is the number 1 religion.

[qubist]

Whether Mormonism is true or not is more of an internal theological debate (though one could examine archaeological claims made in book of Mormon such as the city of Zarahemla). I've said in other threads that one should examine each religion not only externally, but also internally. I don't think anyone should laugh or say it is crazy (seems a bit immature, like saying someone needs to be examined for hallucination). I'm not sure how serious this thread is (seems like a round about way to mock Christians), but see Galatians 1. Mormonism also claims Jesus preached to Native Americans, when the context of the passage is very clearly talking about the gospel spreading to gentiles, which is also affirmed by the book of Acts.

BC1980 is not defending Mormon beliefs he is just referring to the double standard of some Christians who laugh at Joseph Smith prophecies then loose their logic when it comes to things like transubstunation

[TheFinalWord]

Firs of all let me clarify something, this thread is not to mock anybody at all. I did not post it to make fun of any religion. I really hope I'm not offending anybody that is definitely not my intention. I'm not even looking to challenge any belief, I'm just wondering if I was missing anything when it comes to believing in a god without specifying any religion or any faith. but reality is you can't talk about faith without involving a discussion about religions, and when we talks about religion Christianity comes in mind first because where we live it is the number 1 religion.

 

That's good to know. I'm not offended, I guess just interpreted this the wrong way...

 

I believe if the bible writers lived in this time they would be put under therapy for severe hallucination

 

Many of the gospels show evidence of using historical genre of writing, so they are not necessarily hallucinating (you may be thinking of the prophetic genre). The gospel of Luke for example was attempting to records eye witness testimony or provide historical narrative.

 

If you look at the case for the historical Jesus, the documentation that is used is primarily the gospels. So even those that reject the claims of Christianity use the gospels as at least a source of historical data (called historicity). I say all this to say, the bible should not be rejected outright as the writings of madmen.

 

That being said, it is going to be difficult to convince you that God exists. Convincing is often relative, because we tend to use rubber rulers in terms of what counts as "sufficient." Someone else mentioned we tend to use lower standards of evidence when it comes to religion. Not necessarily, the problem is we tend to operate with confirmation bias. In my own discussions with atheists, I find this works in both directions. Its a human issue, morose than a strictly religions vs. non-religious issue.

[endlessabyss]

Reasons for God:

 

 

The symbiosis of the Universe.

 

 

A remarkable feature of the universe is it's emptiness; stars are extraordinarily distant from one another. However, were it not for the vast reaches of empty space, violent collisions between stars would be so frequent as to render the universe uninhabitable. The yet frequent near misses would detach the planets from orbit and their suns, flinging them off into interstellar space where they would quickly cool to hundreds of degrees below zero.

 

 

Life requires chemical elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, both for biochemical reasons and because hydrogen and helium are incapable of forming solids an liquids. These crucial elements are synthesized by nuclear reactions in the cores of stars. For years it was recognized that there was a roadblock standing in the way of these reactions, and it was not known how nature finds it way around this roadblock. Eventually it was discovered that the synthesis proceeds by virtue of two separate resonances between nuclei in the core of red giant stars; the situation is somewhat analogous to finding a double resonance linking a car, a bicycle, and a truck. Were it not for this coincidence of this double matching, the cosmos would sustain solely hydrogen and helium and could not support life.

 

 

The charges of electrons and protons have been measured in the laboratory and have been found to be precisely equal and opposite. Were it not for this fact, the resulting charge imbalance would force every object in the universe- our bodies, trees plants, suns, to explode violently. The cosmos would consist solely of a uniform and tenuous mixture not so very different from air.

 

 

Water has a number of striking and unusual properties not shared by any other liquid, properties that make it indispensable to every organism known to science. It's ability to dissolve and transport substances is anomalously great, it plays an essential role in photosynthesis, which in turn is the ultimate source of all food upon the earth. It is the source of all the oxygen in the atmosphere; it's unusually high heat of vaporization enables mammals to regulate their own body temperatures by means such as sweating; it's ability to store great amounts of heat while undergoing only slight increases in temperature keeps the climate from being bitterly severe, and its peculiar expansion upon freezing is all that prevents most of it from permanently freezing solid.

 

 

To be continued....

Edited November 20, 2015 by endlessabyss

[T-16bullseyeWompRat]

All i can offer is this... A truly just and all loving god isnt going to judge you based on your beliefs, rather how you lived your life. I dont think a just and fair and loving god would damn a Buddhist who has never been exposed to believe anything else when say the Christian god is the true one. Or whatever. I dont think a just and fair god would judge you based on your personal beliefs. And if he did, its not someone i want to worship anyway.

 

 

On the subject of worship, i also believe this is dumb. Do you want your kids to worship you? Do you want anyone to worship you? Kind of narcissistic really. I dont believe a god would want anyone to worship him.

 

Also i dont believe a god wants to control anyone or anything on earth. I mean, who would want to be such a control freak? And who would want to worship one? If you dont do as he says he will punish you for eternity? Doesnt sound very just and fair and loving to me. Sounds like something a little kid would do.

 

 

Lastly as far as the so called involement from the bible days. If you were an eternal being, how long do you imagine 5000 years feels like if you have already lived millions years? Probably a blink of an eye.

 

One thing i do find strange i will say is that if we are eternal beings and have a soul that will move on after this life, did it really start here? On this planet? Reincarnation just seems more likely to me then the earth being some kind of soul factory for the universe.

 

Im agnostic btw... Pointless question regardless of the answer. Just live life and be the best you can be, that is all. I like this line from a modest mouse song that describes a lot of people i know ...

 

"We've listened more to life's end gong then the sound of life's sweet bells"

 

which to me means stop focusing on what is going to happen when you die and living your life with the focus being on your death and the afterlife. Instead live the life you have and enjoy all it throws at you, dont even think about death and the afterlife, just love and cherish the opportunity of having this life.

[qubist]

Reasons for God:

 

 

The symbiosis of the Universe.

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued....

 

everything you wrote here give some explanation to our existence but does not confirm or deny the existence of a GOD

[qubist]

All i can offer is this... A truly just and all loving god isnt going to judge you based on your beliefs, rather how you lived your life. I dont think a just and fair and loving god would damn a Buddhist who has never been exposed to believe anything else when say the Christian god is the true one. Or whatever. I dont think a just and fair god would judge you based on your personal beliefs. And if he did, its not someone i want to worship anyway.

 

 

On the subject of worship, i also believe this is dumb. Do you want your kids to worship you? Do you want anyone to worship you? Kind of narcissistic really. I dont believe a god would want anyone to worship him.

 

Also i dont believe a god wants to control anyone or anything on earth. I mean, who would want to be such a control freak? And who would want to worship one? If you dont do as he says he will punish you for eternity? Doesnt sound very just and fair and loving to me. Sounds like something a little kid would do.

I agree 100% that's why religions do not make any sense to me. if you I was born in Arabia I will most likely be a Muslim, I f I was born in the mountains of Nepal I would be A Buddhist and so on.. few of us convert to different religion. plus all religions were spread by force, empires and imperialism played big role in that. when Europeans discovered America for example the natives had no idea who Jesus, Allah, Jehovah.... were

Lastly as far as the so called involement from the bible days. If you were an eternal being, how long do you imagine 5000 years feels like if you have already lived millions years? Probably a blink of an eye.

.

that still doesn't not make sense. Human have on earth for more than 5000 years, God only chose a very short time and place to reveal himself, splitting seas,flooding, sending his own son, sending messengers then all of the sudden he decided it was enough involvement. so for tens of thousands years before and 2000 years after God has been silent.

[BC1980]

that still doesn't not make sense. Human have on earth for more than 5000 years, God only chose a very short time and place to reveal himself, splitting seas,flooding, sending his own son, sending messengers then all of the sudden he decided it was enough involvement. so for tens of thousands years before and 2000 years after God has been silent.

 

The logical answer is that human beings had evolved to the point of being able to ask questions like "where did we come from"? "Why do we suffer"? "What happens when we die"? All religions try to offer answers to those types of questions. Maybe we have gotten too smart for our own good.

 

Another question that Christians are unable to answer. Why don't we see supernatural miracles today? I know your initial question was about God, in general, but that question is just the tip of the iceberg.

[schiller]

You are alive and have just made this thread. No science or anything in the universe is capable of just doing that. God exists. And that's y you exist.

 

"You're alive because of God, that's proof of God".

 

Yeah ok.

 

That's about the best answer anyone can give as to the existence of a God, which is nothing more than creative imagination that has spawned books and churches.

 

Utter nonsense. The same argument could be made about the existence of Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.

[qubist]

Another question that Christians are unable to answer. Why don't we see supernatural miracles today? I know your initial question was about God, in general, but that question is just the tip of the iceberg.

 

not just Christians, Jewes, Muslims and all other religions, none of them can't answer that

[BC1980]

not just Christians, Jewes, Muslims and all other religions, none of them can't answer that

 

Yup. You're right. I've heard severel explanations that make no sense. The most common are:

 

1. We are supposed to have faith without miracles.

 

2. We don't have enough faith in miracles anymore. In other words, our lack of faith renders miracles unable to happen. As if they happen outside of God's control and are dependent upon our levels of faith.