Do You Know Why You Don't Believe?

[Poisonshady313]

Super Universe... do you believe in Vishnu? Do you believe in Zeus? Do you believe in Osiris? Do you believe in Odin? Do you believe in Quetzalcoatl?

Do you know why you don't believe?

 

[Destry]

I never realy understood the concept of religion. I was raised my entire life to be a christian and it never sat right with me, and now I dont want to believe in god because the idea seems silly. But whenever I try not to, I feel like I'm missing a safety blanket. I am starting to see every religion as a crutch to society, being the main cause of problems all over the world. In my search to understand these so called "Religions" I have dwindled down to one saying we all know of. If your friends told you to jump off of a cliff, would you?

 

[Magic Man]

I never realy understood the concept of religion. I was raised my entire life to be a christian and it never sat right with me, and now I dont want to believe in god because the idea seems silly. But whenever I try not to, I feel like I'm missing a safety blanket. I am starting to see every religion as a crutch to society, being the main cause of problems all over the world. In my search to understand these so called "Religions" I have dwindled down to one saying we all know of. If your friends told you to jump off of a cliff, would you?

I encourage you to keep looking. There are several of us here who are Christian-turned-atheists. There is a lot more to religion than you might think, and this is a perfect place to get an education. I have learned a lot since coming here. I urge you to jump right in here, and keep an open mind. I think you'll be surprised at the things you learn. I have been.

 

[darkendless]

I encourage you to keep looking. There are several of us here who are Christian-turned-atheists. There is a lot more to religion than you might think, and this is a perfect place to get an education. I have learned a lot since coming here. I urge you to jump right in here, and keep an open mind. I think you'll be surprised at the things you learn. I have been.

Well said, if anything this site promotes tolerance towards thing's you may or may not agree with.
A lot of people have complicated reasons for not believeing, bad experiences and so on.
One problem i have with those who do believe in God is their inability to accept any reason not to believe in God (personal experience i mean, people on here are far more mature about religion). It turns me further from religion as i feel if i were to join these people, i would be controlled, told what to think, to do. I don't know, its just me, maybe im just a bit weird?:rainbow1:

 

[BucephalusBB]

maybe im just a bit weird?:rainbow1:

Yeah you are, but you'll notice soon enough that nobody here is normal

Except for Sunstone then, he's too normal :slap:

 

[Storm]

Well said, if anything this site promotes tolerance towards thing's you may or may not agree with.
A lot of people have complicated reasons for not believeing, bad experiences and so on.
One problem i have with those who do believe in God is their inability to accept any reason not to believe in God (personal experience i mean, people on here are far more mature about religion). It turns me further from religion as i feel if i were to join these people, i would be controlled, told what to think, to do. I don't know, its just me, maybe im just a bit weird?:rainbow1:

You don't consider personal experience a valid reason for belief? Or am I misreading you?

 

[McBell]

One problem i have with those who do believe in God is their inability to accept any reason not to believe in God (personal experience i mean, people on here are far more mature about religion).

You don't consider personal experience a valid reason for belief? Or am I misreading you?

I read it as it is his personal experience that those who believe in God have some inability to accept any reason given to them by those who who do not believe in God.

 

[Destry]

Religion just complicates things, for every one. Not personaly but because we all cant agree on one basic beliefe. I believe that there is no correct religion left in the world. Just like stories change by word of mouth, so did the very first religion over the many years humans have been exsistent. The religions we have today are very similar we just dont realize it, and there cant be a completely correct religion because there is no whay of knowing the very first one, which could in all reality have been false any way. So basicly, no person has any idea what the heak is going on.

 

[darkendless]

You don't consider personal experience a valid reason for belief? Or am I misreading you?

Sorry, to clarify i mean personal experience may be a reason not to believe in God. As you know some churches are out there to make money, its kind of sad to see but is a reason to turn away from religion.
Also Mestemia, thats exactly what i feel sometimes, spot on.

 

[gnostic]

Not personaly but because we all cant agree on one basic beliefe. I believe that there is no correct religion left in the world. Just like stories change by word of mouth, so did the very first religion over the many years humans have been exsistent. The religions we have today are very similar we just dont realize it, and there cant be a completely correct religion because there is no whay of knowing the very first one, which could in all reality have been false any way. So basicly, no person has any idea what the heak is going on.

True, in many cases. If Jesus was around now, I don't think he would have recognize what he taught and did in his time to what the various Christian sects of today are doing.

 

[Destry]

I often find mysele thinking that God can exsist for those who believe in the cconcept. Because I think the mind has enough power to make anything a reality, and if you believe in god he(or she) is real. By chosing not to believe he(or she) wouldnt be. Our thoughts become reality and percieve reality in the way we want or choose. So choose wisely.

 

[entity.unknown]

When given evidence that refers to the bible, many christians say that they have the wrong interpretation. My belief is that Christians as a whole are twisting the bible's words to fit with our modern knowledge.

For instance, when nonbelievers say that the heavens and the earth could not have been created in a day, some retort that it was not a literal day, that it did not mean 24 hours. I think that thousands of years ago, when we did not have this knowledge, christians would readily believe that it was built in a literal day. Many now say that the bible is not meant to be interpreted literally. Why would God write such a controversial book? If it is not to be taken literally, then what IS god's word?

Almost any prophecy can now be true. All you would have to do is twist the words around. When trying to interpret a prophecy, people tend to make connections to things that may have been purely coincidential. Instead of interpreting a prophecy, you're more like looking for one.

Another thing i have a problem with is how god is holy and almighty, how jesus never sinned, was a perfect son. I personally believe that there is not such thing as perfection, only near perfection. You can find imperfections in everything that is 'perfect'. Even if you do describe something as perfect, it's only in your perspective.

 

[rasor]

Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day.
Give him a religion, and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish.
--Timothy Jones

 

[anders]

What is the reason you don't believe in God? Or the reason you're not absolutely positively sure God exists?

I'd guess the number one reason is because people see bad things happening all around them and can't understand why God would allow it to happen.

How would you rate the other reasons not to believe?

Now the key question, where would you rate your own ego as a reason and do you realize it's the main reason?

My leaving the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden to declare that I'm an atheist had nothing whatsoever to do with the PoE (Problem of Evil).

Starting with my interest in languages, I got interested in South Asia and its religions. I soon rejected them: I couldn't accept the existence of gods leaving their supposed heavenly abodes to appear in flesh on Earth (Vishnu avatars), or any future lives for man (reincarnation, rebIrth, metempsychosis or whatever).

When I took up Religious studies at the local university I had to argue for and defend my views. I very soon realized that all those facets that I rejected in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and/or Jainism were present in my world view so far (1/3 of my previous God was right down here walking among people, and I should hope for at least one more life ...), I had to reject all religions, to be consistent.

 

[Ben Masada]

What is the reason you don't believe in God? Or the reason you're not absolutely positively sure God exists?

I'd guess the number one reason is because people see bad things happening all around them and can't understand why God would allow it to happen.

How would you rate the other reasons not to believe?

Now the key question, where would you rate your own ego as a reason and do you realize it's the main reason?

I think that the main reason why some people choose not to believe in God is the fallacious supposition that they have
to account for their actions before God someday here or in the afterlife. Regarding bad things happening around,
God has nothing to do with them. Even if bad things result from natural occurrences, God is still not the address for complaints.
We are the only ones to blame for either being victims to ourselves, or for being on the wrong place at the wrong time.
I believe we have evolved enough to be able to know what places on earth is safe or not to dwell.

Ben :sorry1:

 

[Caladan]

What is the reason you don't believe in God? Or the reason you're not absolutely positively sure God exists?

I'd guess the number one reason is because people see bad things happening all around them and can't understand why God would allow it to happen.

How would you rate the other reasons not to believe?

Now the key question, where would you rate your own ego as a reason and do you realize it's the main reason?

There reason I don't believe, is because I don't need 'God' or 'a god' in order to explain reality or life, in fact it just seems like a shallow explanation that denies objective research and appreciation of nature and the universe.
The number one reason is certainly not because of bad things happening.
A good reason not to believe is because it takes the beauty out of life to attribute divinity as the cause(s) behind the spectacular phenomenas in life.
Let me quote a passage from Dune Messiah:
"If you need something to worship, then worship life — all life, every last crawling bit of it! We're all in this beauty together!"

My ego is probably rated high in the reason for not being a 'believer', I want to survive and do good for myself, and being a 'believer' will hold back my creativity and potential, I don't need a god in my mind, there is only place for myself. for me being a 'believer' seems like social suicide.

 

[Ben Masada]

There reason I don't believe, is because I don't need 'God' or 'a god' in order to explain reality or life, in fact it just seems like a shallow explanation that denies objective research and appreciation of nature and the universe.
The number one reason is certainly not because of bad things happening.
A good reason not to believe is because it takes the beauty out of life to attribute divinity as the cause(s) behind the spectacular phenomenas in life.
Let me quote a passage from Dune Messiah:
"If you need something to worship, then worship life — all life, every last crawling bit of it! We're all in this beauty together!"

My ego is probably rated high in the reason for not being a 'believer', I want to survive and do good for myself, and being a 'believer' will hold back my creativity and potential, I don't need a god in my mind, there is only place for myself. for me being a 'believer' seems like social suicide.

It's okay not to need God. That's according to God's plan anyway. According to the allegory of Creation, when the time came for man to fend for himself,
he had to go from the Garden of Eden because he no longer was supposed to need God. And I don't believe God's job is to explain the reality of life to man.
That's something we are supposed to find out as we live.


I agree with you that to invite or to think that God's interference in our lives is a must, only takes the beauty out of life. Something else, God does not need
our worshipping Him. This is for the faithful who find harder to walk the road of knowledge. That's what we are required: To eat more and more of the tree
of knowledge.To be a religious believer, one needs faith; and where faith begins, knowledge ends. And for lack of knowledge people perish. That's in Hosea 4:6,
but just to confirm what is practical in my life.

Ben

 

[Nade]

I don't think god is important enough to bother questioning his existence/nonexistence in the first place.

 

[Serenade]

What is the reason you don't believe in God? Or the reason you're not absolutely positively sure God exists?

I'd guess the number one reason is because people see bad things happening all around them and can't understand why God would allow it to happen.

How would you rate the other reasons not to believe?

Now the key question, where would you rate your own ego as a reason and do you realize it's the main reason?

For me it was a slow, evolutionary process. As I began to explore other religions and mythologies I began to see several common threads that ran through them. It wasn't long before "my" god didn't look anymore unbelievable than all the others. And for the record, I don't claim to be sure of anything, I just have to go with what sits right with me.

I never really went through a period of "but there are all these bad things...." or an "angry at god" time. My faith just didn't stand up to the questioning I put to it.

I'm not sure how one would "rate" other people's reasons. We all come to our own conclusions in our own ways. I do tend to think that if one has to actively disbelieve that perhaps they don't really disbelieve at all.

As for the last question, If you're meaning the ego as the personal manifestation of my own sense of self, then of course that would be the reason. If you mean it in a "I'm too good for god" way of thinking, then no, that really has nothing to do with it.

 

[logician]

1.What is the reason you don't believe in God? Or the reason you're not absolutely positively sure God exists?

2.I'd guess the number one reason is because people see bad things happening all around them and can't understand why God would allow it to happen.

3.How would you rate the other reasons not to believe?

4.Now the key question, where would you rate your own ego as a reason and do you realize it's the main reason?

1. Logically there are many reasons a god cannot exist. I've seen no evidence to contradict these logical arguments.

2. Actually not a logical reason, as a supposed god need not be benevolent.

3. What other reasons?

4. My ego is not a factor, and no, it's not the main reason.