Archived: Do you believe in god?

[Syphilis]

So, simple question. Do you believe in a god? Why?

This isn't a -god doesn't exist/yes he does/prove it/your mother is fat- thread. Just want to see how many people here believe in a god, and why.

I think it's foolish to believe in something that has never been observed, and therefore can't be proven. The burden of proof is on on people who believe in a god.

[Rainycity]

I only beleive in god when im feeling down, when im angry i dont, its on and off.
I only beleive god cuz i was raised catholic, i even got my confirmation, and no i didnt get molested. But if it wasnt for that i woundt beleive in god at all.

[Other Side of the Pillow]

No, I could probably write a book on the many reasons why. I was raised christian but since I became Athiest I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. Why the hell would I want to fucking exist if it was to only please someone/thing else.

[Yggdrasil]

Originally Posted by Rainycity

I only beleive in god when im feeling down, when im angry i dont, its on and off.
I only beleive god cuz i was raised catholic, i even got my confirmation, and no i didnt get molested. But if it wasnt for that i woundt beleive in god at all.

You've got to be kidding with the grammar & spelling. So your religious beliefs are only there because of what your parents believed? Please. If that were the case with me, I'd be a nutjob who thinks Jesus was an alien from the planet Venus ( at my father). Search yourself and the world around you for what you feel is most true to you.

As for me, I can't believe in a supreme being as prescribed in the holy texts of Christianity, Islam, etc. I don't believe in an afterlife, either, though the issue of ghosts gets me caught up a bit. Meh.

EDIT: Agnostic. I don't think it's reasonable to decry any and every possible form of a supreme being. A supreme being doesn't have to be an invisible old beareded white man up in the sky.

[Rainycity]

Originally Posted by Yggdrasil

You've got to be kidding with the grammar & spelling. So your religious beliefs are only there because of what your parents believed? Please. If that were the case with me, I'd be a nutjob who thinks Jesus was an alien from the planet Venus ( at my father). Search yourself and the world around you for what you feel is most true to you.

As for me, I can't believe in a supreme being as prescribed in the holy texts of Christianity, Islam, etc. I don't believe in an afterlife, either, though the issue of ghosts gets me caught up a bit. Meh.

Hey gayface shut, I dont believe it just becuase they did, They just brought it into my life and it kinda just sticks around. No i just think God, not jesus, Trys to do whats best for everyone. and as for you gay face you beleive in allah and your gonna blow some shit up.or thor god of thunder

[george]

Originally Posted by Syphilis

So, simple question. Do you believe in a god? Why?

This isn't a -god doesn't exist/yes he does/prove it/your mother is fat- thread. Just want to see how many people here believe in a god, and why.

I think it's foolish to believe in something that has never been observed, and therefore can't be proven. The burden of proof is on on people who believe in a god.

No.

I have lived thorough enough services,

To have my own thoughts on what goes on.

[Township Rebellion]

I suppose you could say I'm agnostic, for the simple fact that I think I won't find out what happens when I die.. until I die.

Otherwise, I'm a curb stomping atheist that scorns christians. Though I was raised a Christian Scientist

Well, I don't really scorn christians. If people want to believe that shit, it's their problem. I live in Canada. Up here, most religious folks aren't going to bitch me out for not going to church. In the states, though, I found christianity is very entrenched in local thinking, and I do get appalled at their behavior.

Obviously not all americans are christian, but the ones that are seem to be wildly unpleasant.

[Deadlock]

I do, and would call myself a christian, although I tend to think that most religions hold alot of truth to them. I agree that a just god wouldn't punish people for not following a particular single path, as most people are born into a religion, thusly believing that they follow the "true" path. In short, I believe in a supreme being (although unsure as to its form), but not any "one true religion" bullshit.

I also believe that the world was created, but not in 7 days, and most likely evolution is real. Solely because the odds of there being a "big bang" that created everything are beyond astronomically high. In fact there are better chances of a tornado hitting a junkyard and a 747 flying out of the other side.

I however do not feel compelled to push my religion on anyone, and am resentful of people that do. If people want to take up a faith, they'll go and learn it for themselves. Standing on a soapbox and shouting like a raving lunatic, isn't going to "convert" anyone. I also loathe bible-black preachers who seem to think that the only part of the bible that matters is Revelation (which I put little stock in anyway). It's just doomsday cultism with a little sugar coating, if you ask me.

[000]

I guess not, but to me it just really doesn't matter. If he exists, I'd say he's a...what's it called, "initial mover" or something. Basically, the thing that says he started the universe, and is responsible for all the basic physical forces that just "are because they are", like the 4 basic forces. But he's not actually a moral force, or does anything of consequence, so there's really no point in believing in it.

[crazzyass]

Agnostic, though I lean towards humanism. If there is a spiritual world, I believe it is more like the Force; a spiritual connection resulting from life, but no entity sitting around furiously scribbling down all our wrongdoings.

[ArmsMerchant]

I have observed that many people think there are only two options--accept the mythical deity as described in the Bible or be atheist.

There are many other options. For instance, this:

http://zoklet.net/bbs/showthread.php?t=2891


and this:

http://zoklet.net/bbs/showthread.php?t=722

[Struwwelpeter]

Hey Greyfox thanks for showing us, once again, that your refusal to believe in the Christian God is simply because he is too authortarian and strict for your egotistical, narcissistic, cry-baby faggot ass, and because he is not as exotic and mystical as you woud like him to be.

If there is a God on Earth, it is Kim Jong Il. He has 24.000.000 people worshipping him right now.

[Joe]

I don't believe in a god. It's way too illogical for me to do so.

Protip: Add a poll.

[Drusus]

I'm not sure. I sort of do, though I don't seem to fit in with any religion. I like to think about it sometimes. And yes yes I know all evidence points the other way but hey. That's faith for you. Or down syndrome according to hardcore atheists, who, by the way, are equally obnoxious as hardcore christians.

Truth be told, I think there should always be some room for living spiritually in life. Soulsearching and introspection can be quite the learning experience sometimes.
Correct me if I'm wrong though, because let's face it: who the fuck am I to spout all this unfounded incoherent bullcrap?

[Fightgar]

I see it this way:


It is more likely that the universe came from something than nothing.

It is more likely that humans came to be from something rather than a puddle of ooze struck by lightning.


So if you call that something "God", or even "Jeff Hunter", it's the same to me.


However, I also believe that, if that something had some divine purpose for all of us, it would reveal itself to all of us, rather than reveal itself to some and expect them to spread the word.

So I am a non-religious creationist skeptical theist.

[george]

Originally Posted by Fightgar

I see it this way:


It is more likely that the universe came from something than nothing.

It is more likely that humans came to be from something rather than a puddle of ooze struck by lightning.


So if you call that something "God", or even "Jeff Hunter", it's the same to me.


However, I also believe that, if that something had some divine purpose for all of us, it would reveal itself to all of us, rather than reveal itself to some and expect them to spread the word.

So I am a non-religious creationist skeptical theist.

Maybe instead of thinking of something coming from nothing.

We think of it in our own way.

Maybe.

Something.

Has always been here.

[Death_Merchant]

Of course I don't. God is fictional.

[Vizier]

An old bearded invisible man looking at us from the clouds that does everything right? That is everywhere and knows everything and created US from his own image?

Man, people believe in some weird shit sometimes.

[Reality Apologist]

There's certainly a chance that God exists, but there's also a chance that the Sun will explode tomorrow. Neither is a serious enough possibility to deserve real consideration, and I live my life on the assumption that both possibilities are false.

[ArmsMerchant]

Originally Posted by Joe

I don't believe in a god. It's way too illogical for me to do so.

.

If you look at christian theology closely--and that of the other Abrahamic religions--you will see a lot of illogic. Contradictions are rife within the four canonical gospels.

However, if you take some time to read, say, The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley --probably the best book on the subject--you will see that the perennial philosophy--as propounded by mystics, saints, Sufis and so forth for some 2,500 years--is indeed logical--assuming of course,that you accept the initial premise--that the end and goal of life is to attain unitive knowledge of the divine ground of being.

[SHARP]

Nope, I don't believe in gods, I put them in the same category as elves, werewolves, fairies, gnomes, leprechauns, vampieres, unicorns, santa claus, honest politicians, and the easter bunny...

Notice how I didn't capitalize the words that should have been? Yeah, that was on purpose.

[Cytosine]

Originally Posted by Yggdrasil

You've got to be kidding with the grammar & spelling. So your religious beliefs are only there because of what your parents believed? Please. If that were the case with me, I'd be a nutjob who thinks Jesus was an alien from the planet Venus ( at my father). Search yourself and the world around you for what you feel is most true to you.

Actually, this is pretty much true of every "religious moderate" (ie. a religious person who isn't a complete nutjob, they exist outside of internet) I've ever met. The only reason they keep going to church is because they've always gone to church, and only they would really notice its absence in their lives. The child brain is programmable, and, frankly, following the default programming is what feels true to most people. Not to say that you can't change or overcome it, but most people don't. That's why the Catholics are still in business.

On that note: I work on the premise that we can't know if there is a divine force out there, but since it pretty much doesn't do anything observable in our daily lives I'd have go with it either not existing or not caring. Since it's one of those two, I just act like it doesn't exist and go about my daily life. I'm "functionally" an atheist, or perhaps what Dawkins would refer to as a moderate atheist.

And, no, I wasn't raised in any religion and didn't set foot in a church until I turned 15.

[Genesis93]

Originally Posted by Deadlock

I also believe that the world was created, but not in 7 days, and most likely evolution is real. Solely because the odds of there being a "big bang" that created everything are beyond astronomically high. In fact there are better chances of a tornado hitting a junkyard and a 747 flying out of the other side.

No...no im afraid there isn't

[Genesis93]

"If you do not listen to almighty god and follow the comandments given by moses he will strike you down and for commiting even the smalest of sins you will burn in hell fire for eternity in torture and agonising pain...But he loves you!"

i find that hard to believe, i think there is a creater but it has no conscience it just is, as random as where raindrops will fall.

[0omnidirectional]

Yes.

1. I believe in the action of Creation.

2. I believe there is some sort of All Pervasive Energy responsible for this action

3. I believe the universe is highly structured (ie. intelligent)

4. I believe there is a Totality of Being (existence)

[crimsonsmoke]

Nope. Like you say, the burden of proof lies on those who makes the claims.

I'm not saying that science can explain everything - in fact, if you want to be a dick about it, Immanuel Kant said it is not science that makes sense of things, but the human mind, since the mind makes sense of science.
Such a philosophy does incorporate religion and, indeed, a God[s]; however, as we progress in technology and understanding, more and more about the world is explained through the veil of science. Things that, up until there had been scientific theory, were left up to the hands of the faith-driven. I believe it is ignorance to blindly believe in something when there is a more rational explanation available.

If you're talking about a metaphysical God, one who is beyond our comprehension, then what does it matter anyway since you will never reach the end of that arguement?

People really can't seem to get their heads around our own insignificance. Really, if you die, beyond the few people who have ever met you, it doesn't really matter. You just fade off into blackness; if you're lucky you'll experience something akin to a DMT trip; and then, that's it, over, finished, done, nothingness. That's just consciousness or the self, though.

[Sopio]

Originally Posted by SHARP

Nope, I don't believe in gods, I put them in the same category as elves, werewolves, fairies, gnomes, leprechauns, vampieres, unicorns, santa claus, honest politicians, and the easter bunny...

Notice how I didn't capitalize the words that should have been? Yeah, that was on purpose.

You didn't capitalize Santa Clause? Damn. You're so edgy and badass.

[Young Meth]

Not at all. My reasons are really common sense.

[Reality Apologist]

Originally Posted by Greyfox

However, if you take some time to read, say, The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley --probably the best book on the subject--you will see that the perennial philosophy--as propounded by mystics, saints, Sufis and so forth for some 2,500 years--is indeed logical--assuming of course,that you accept the initial premise--that the end and goal of life is to attain unitive knowledge of the divine ground of being.

That seems a little circular to me. How are we demonstrating that 'the divine ground of being' is the sort of thing that is an appropriate target for investigation? I could generate a "philosophy" based around capturing and exploiting leprechauns that was internally consistent so long as the premise--that leprechauns exist--was taken for granted. That system still wouldn't count as logical, though, because we have absolutely no independent reason for thinking that leprechauns exist. The same, I think, can be said of divinity, spirits, souls, and other mystical mumbo-jumbo.

[The Jitterskull]

Originally Posted by 0omnidirectional

Yes.

1. I believe in the action of Creation.

2. I believe there is some sort of All Pervasive Energy responsible for this action

3. I believe the universe is highly structured (ie. intelligent)

4. I believe there is a Totality of Being (existence)

This

[Genesis93]

not this

as each day goes bye i find it harder and harder to bleive it makes no sense whatsoever, even if there was a thing that created our universe im sure its not all powerful, believing in god is as far fetched as believing that our universe is created in somebodys back yard

[0omnidirectional]

Originally Posted by Genesis93

not this

as each day goes bye i find it harder and harder to bleive it makes no sense whatsoever, even if there was a thing that created our universe im sure its not all powerful, believing in god is as far fetched as believing that our universe is created in somebodys back yard

I think one of the problems with peoples view of God (mainly non-believers) is that they think God actually does something. They think God is like an architect, the builder of the shed in your backyard. While this is partly true, being that God cannot be separate from any person or any thing, it is not entirely correct. Let me just start by saying there is no definition for God, but one flawed way of looking at is that God is the sponsoring Love (as in the unconditional kind) essence pervading All. It is not that God is controlling or damning anything. God Is. basically. The paper and the pencil. You know how when you draw something you're not thinking how every detail is going to come out, you just go with it. You are like the idea of one small piece of the larger picture. The rest of the art work depends on you, while at the same time you depend on the rest of the art work. If the idea of you were to be altered in the slightest way, so would the rest of the creation.
Here is an interesting link: http://complexity.orconhosting.net.nz/intro.html

[Zay]

The answer is in this short story:
http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html

[Syphilis]

If you believe in a god, what you're saying is that you're willing to believe in something with absolutely no evidence for.... for what? A warm fuzzy feeling inside?

[Cliche Guevara]

Originally Posted by 000

I guess not, but to me it just really doesn't matter. If he exists, I'd say he's a...what's it called, "initial mover" or something. Basically, the thing that says he started the universe, and is responsible for all the basic physical forces that just "are because they are", like the 4 basic forces. But he's not actually a moral force, or does anything of consequence, so there's really no point in believing in it.

I agree, I have come to learn that the existence of an intial or prime mover " doesn't imply anything to me", this infinite regression where the cause of the big bang was caused by something else and so on and so forth, is just some kind of logical loophole people use to "prove" the existance of God. It especially bothers me when people of specific religions try and prove God by painting this picture of some kind of prime mover as if that denotes some kind of sentient and personal God. If if that was "God" its surely impossible that it is the same God from the bible.

But then there are the rational people who believe in God as an uninvolved, non personal God or "higher order". This is only a passing thought and feel free to disagree but I think the rational people who "need" to believe in a God (religious moderates), only does so because the happenstance of our existence is "too beautiful" for it too be mere chance. They look at the world and see intelligent design, because their rationality is clouded by emotion. (which is not necessarily a bad thing). A Strictly stoic observer would only see structured fields (gravity, etc) interacting with each other.

[Xlite]

Originally Posted by Syphilis

So, simple question. Do you believe in a god? Why?

No.

The whole "created in God's image" idea is just silly.

As a human being i would want my creation to know that i exist.
And because i would, so would god,
but i fail to see any evidence.

I have more arguments, but i don't think i need more.


The closest thing we get to a godlike being is the dimensions we exist in.

They've been around since the beginning, they are our univers, the first, second and third is what makes the world as we know it, the 4th dimension is Duration/Time, the 7th dimension is Infinity etc.

The godlike being could easely be the 10th dimension or even the 11th, because as illustrated in the "Imagning the Tenth Dimension" video, the 10th dimension is everything. And its impossible for us to comprehend anything above that, so it could very well be a godlike being.

[sky173t]

Originally Posted by Syphilis

If you believe in a god, what you're saying is that you're willing to believe in something with absolutely no evidence for.... for what? A warm fuzzy feeling inside?

99% of people will beleive a lot of crap for a warm fuzzy feeling. That's what society is based on these days. I myself am a skeptical agnostic. It's statistically more likely that there is a divine being than there isnt, although saying u know anything for certain about that being is just illogical. Christianity is competely crazy since it's not that hard to envision a scenario in which free will can be preserved without life sucking so much, so if there is a god he either doesnt care about us or is an asshole.

[Reality Apologist]

Originally Posted by Xlite

No.

The whole "created in God's image" idea is just silly.

As a human being i would want my creation to know that i exist.
And because i would, so would god,
but i fail to see any evidence.

I have more arguments, but i don't think i need more.


The closest thing we get to a godlike being is the dimensions we exist in.

They've been around since the beginning, they are our univers, the first, second and third is what makes the world as we know it, the 4th dimension is Duration/Time, the 7th dimension is Infinity etc.

The godlike being could easely be the 10th dimension or even the 11th, because as illustrated in the "Imagning the Tenth Dimension" video, the 10th dimension is everything. And its impossible for us to comprehend anything above that, so it could very well be a godlike being.

If you want to actually understand what scientists are talking about when they speak of higher dimensionality, you couldn't do worse than that "imagining the 10th dimension" video. The guy who produced it (and wrote the companion book) has no background in math, science, or even philosophy--it's pure garbage. Period. Physicists that talk about high dimensional spaces aren't generally talking about possible worlds--the use of dimension is (usually) just a mathematical tool: they can be thought of as the "degrees of freedom" that a system has.

[Transparent]

No. Some of my favorite quotes:

"The difference between a cult and a religion is that the latter is old. Like, stepping into a pile of dogshit makes you curse, but stepping into a pile of dinosaur shit makes you famous. Despite both being crap."

"The idea of an omnipotent God who creates a creature capable of reason, then throws an eternal hissy fit when that creature doesn't spend all his time telling God how wonderful He is... Well it seems like rather insecure behavior for an all powerful, all loving being."

"All Gods were immortal."

"Religious wars are basically people killing each other over who has the better imaginary friend."

"The only difference between God and Adolf Hitler is that God is more proficient at genocide."


I've got a few more good ones but I don't know if anyone's interested.



tl;dr No, and amusing anti-religion quotes

[Xlite]

Originally Posted by Reality Apologist

If you want to actually understand what scientists are talking about when they speak of higher dimensionality, you couldn't do worse than that "imagining the 10th dimension" video. The guy who produced it (and wrote the companion book) has no background in math, science, or even philosophy--it's pure garbage. Period. Physicists that talk about high dimensional spaces aren't generally talking about possible worlds--the use of dimension is (usually) just a mathematical tool: they can be thought of as the "degrees of freedom" that a system has.

That might be true, but he still manage to explain how it could be, in a simple and understandable way.
Math explains dimensions in one way, the physical theories is a hole different subject.

They are not even close to eachother.