Why do you/don't you believe in God?

You've set an easy standard - it looks like I can be as vague as I like.

I DON'T believe in God because:

1) I see no reason to believe in God
2) Spiritual concepts in general make very little sense to me
3) I have never heard a convincing story of contact with God

I can give more reasons - or I can elaborate on those ones - if you like...

Seeker- I respect your right to believe in God, but if you look at your reasons with objectivity, you will find that they are totally subjective.



What does that actually mean? Feelings do not equate to objective reality. People "feel" many things, for many reasons, but that does not make the feeling real.



You are assuming that existence makes "sense". What is your definition of "sense"? Supposing that existence does make sense, for arguments sake, why would there have to be a God in the mix?



Huge groups of people have been wrong about many things in history. A sheer force of numbers is not an objective criterion for establishing the veracity of a postulate. Hey, for years most people on earth believed that the earth was flat. By your definition, those folks were right in their assumption.

IMO, people are looking for meaning in their lives. For many, the concept of a God apparently answers this very basic desire for human beings. The trouble is, that there is no resonable rationale for this belief, except that people WANT to believe.

Given what I have read here, there is no compelling reason either way.

Some people believe the scriptures...some do not
Some people have faith born out of the scriptures...some do not
Some accept that Jesus died for them...some do not
Some expect God to appear to them before they will believe...some do not
etc. etc. etc.

If someone truly believes, he/she does not have to convince others of their reasons. They only have to convince God that they are sincere.

I believe in the Easter Bunny, because:

1. I have felt him in my life.

2. I have looked at it every way I can think of and it's the only way that Easter makes sense.

3. Because of the witness of millions and millions of people.


Do you want to hear the reasons why I believe in Santa Claus now?

I don't believe that there are any gods or goddesses because no compelling case has ever been made with which i am familiar, and because a deity is not logically necessary either to understand the cosmos, nor to explain its origin.

There are many things which i take on faith--such as the general reliability of the electric power grid--without being able to decribe in detail what is happening. This is, however, a product of experience that tells me a light will come on when i flip a switch, and at least sufficient knowledge to undertand that the light's filament or phosphors have been acted upon by electrical current. No such evidence is forthcoming in the case of a deity, and unlike a matter such as electricity, there is nothing which the belief in a deity will add to either my chances for survival or the quality of my life. As far as the rapturous experience of religious joy, i've found regular bouts of hilarity and the occassional resort to illegal drugs to be more than sufficient to amuse and distract me, and avoid the messy problems of a silly theology.

I have no difficulty in people believing what they wish, so long as it does not impact on MY life. The problem is that many desire to superimpose their particular beliefs on others.

IMO, if one practices "The Golden Rule", there would be far less strife in the world.

Don't.

1. The Christian religion, as organized in its churches, has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world.
--Bertrand Russell

2. Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.
--Diderot

3. The truths of religion are never so well understood as by those who have lost the power of reasoning.
--Voltaire

I agree with those guys.

I don't know if there is a god, but I believe that we are all part of a greater being, the universe itself. Pantheistic and agnostic at the same time wow.

The bible...greatest work of fiction of all time.

I do believe in god, because...

1) I haven't defined "god" for myself as an impossibility. I think of god as the notion of everything as one, much the way Ray describes it.

2) No matter where I look I get a sense of the divine miracle. How fantastic it is that we are here at all. That is no small thing.

3) ...no third reason. Don't really need reasons.

Greyfan, sounds like you just accepted the christian explanation of god so that you get to deny it and be clever about it. The question was about god. Religion has nothing to do with that. Sadly, not many realize that, hence the confusion.

I don't believe in God because:

1.) I've never felt any supernatural presence or higher-power in my life. I don't feel void due to this, merely...rational.
2.) Science

That's all the reason I need to be content.

Cyracuz

Personal Gods who make no demands on their followers, or their enemies, are of little concern or interest to me. They might as well be, and possibly are, strictly imaginary, since their influence and power are confined to the whims of their creators.

On the other hand, the Gods of religion (Christianity and otherwise) lead to the sort of consequences my sources rightly dread.

As Institutional Gods all began as personal Gods, and all future Gods will be born in the same way, I prefer to steer clear of both varieties.

I can restate the reasons, if you like, in less clever ways; but I believe the point of this thread was to encourage multiple viewpoints rather than to debate a few.

I don't believe in God because the concept itself is illogical, irrational and preposterous.

It is a word. A three-letter combo that has no official definition. Some define it as an illogical, irrational and preposterous concept. Of these people some just accept it and believe, others can't because of their sceptisism.

Then there are those who seek to open their minds, those who read in order to expand their understanding rather than confirm their own view of things.

Hmmm I see I was to vague. Let's try again.

1) I have been moved to tears and incredible feelings by God and seen faith healings and other answers to prayers

2)Ok, if you want my views on the way the world works it's going to take a whole new thread. Forgive me for not discussing this one here!

3) Millions of people across the world who have had no contact with each other all describe the same experiences of God. You read their books or listen to them talking and you keep thinking, Yes, I know what you mean!

I don't belong to any specific religion - not arguing a case for Jesus here.

Thanks for the great response everyone!

I presume you place people in the first catagory when they agree with your point of view, and the second when they don't.

Sometimes, greyfan. But it can just as easily be the other way around. In some areas I am so good at confirming my view of things that I'm not even aware that I'm doing it. I believe it's the case with most of us at times. We do not always know our own motives.

So for me it comes down to one question. Does the way you think about the world make it a better place for you or a worse place?

I am a man of faith, but I do not wish to soil my spiritual quest by putting the label of christianity on it, thereby assosiating it with centuries of vile and selfish acts, and in so doing, adopting all of christianity's enemies to be my own. In fact, I don't see why anyone feels the need to.

I don't believe in God, however I was brought up to believe in God so I might of once said I did.

I am open to suggestions though but nothing has convinced me that there is a God.

Cyracuz-

I can appreciate deciding according to utility, but for me at least the answer is seldom clear cut. Whether or not we require a belief in God to make the world a better place is, I think, open to question. I would place a much higher emphasis on our personal ethics and moral code.

I would agree that in all cases in which we have a choice we should attempt to make the world a better place, according to our best guesses. But I also think the foundation of our choices must be reality, again according to our best guesses, whether or not that reality accords with our hopes and wishes.

Unlike many atheists, I don't believe the issue has been settled. The cases for and against God both lack empirical data. In the absence of concrete proof, some are drawn to faith; others reject it; and some refuse to be drawn into either camp. It is my opinion that an open-minded examination of the evidence (or lack of it) can lead to any of these conclusions.