Does It Matter If God Exists?

[rrobs]

I would think that if it mattered to a god if we think it exists or not, it would have done a better job in letting us know that it exists.

Well, God did let at least 2.5 billion folks know he exists. Not sure what's up with the rest.

 

[rrobs]

There are lots of threads floating around the forums these days arguing for and against God's existence.

God has not made her presence known to me in my life. I see no reason to need to believe in her in order to be happy, to reason, to behave ethically, or to understand how things work.

Perhaps God judges our fate in the afterlife? If there is some life beyond death in which she will judge me, I have no control over my fate, as I don't even know what the nature of such an afterlife would be, or by what criteria I'll be judged. Humans offer lots of opinions on that subject, but none has presented a convincing argument that demonstrates they are any more in the know on the subject than I am. So I have no reason to live my life any differently based on what may or may not happen beyond death.

In short, even if God does exist...does it matter?

Sounds like you want to know, but don't know where to turn. If you are really interested, God will show you the truth.

 

[Left Coast]

If God exists I have a hope, if not I don't. That's a big deal to me.

Let me ask you this: do you need the hope you have? Or would you still be able to have a happy life if you let that hope go?

 

[Left Coast]

Sounds like you want to know, but don't know where to turn. If you are really interested, God will show you the truth.

Actually no, I think that misses the point. My question here is that even if I knew God existed, what difference would it make to my life?

 

[Vee]

Let me ask you this: do you need the hope you have? Or would you still be able to love a happy life if you let that hope go?

I have the hope that one day the earth will be completely clean, free of all kinds of evil, and that humans will finally be able to become the kind of people I believe we were created to be.
Would I still be able to be happy without that hope? I honestly don't know. I hope I would still be strong enough to do my best regardless, but I doubt I would have the same mindset. The fact that I see the future in a positive way definitely makes it easier to go through any hard times. The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is very motivating.

 

[Samael_Khan]

Well, God did let at least 2.5 billion folks know he exists. Not sure what's up with the rest.

I would actually use those 2.5 billion people to prove my point. They are split into denominations and cults that disagree with what God says he expects from us, who he supports and who he speaks through. So evidently one God isn't speaking through all of them unless God sows confusion amongst his people. And when asking these people why they believe in the God they worship, they cannot provide evidence that others can examine to prove their case. In addition there are other religions that claim that their deity/s exist which is even more proof that God hasn't spoken to everybody in the world.

So what I mean is, if God wanted people to know that he exists, then everybody would know the same God, in the same way that people know that the sun exists.

 

[Left Coast]

I have the hope that one day the earth will be completely clean, free of all kinds of evil, and that humans will finally be able to become the kind of people I believe we were created to be.
Would I still be able to be happy without that hope? I honestly don't know. I hope I would still be strong enough to do my best regardless, but I doubt I would have the same mindset. The fact that I see the future in a positive way definitely makes it easier to go through any hard times. The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is very motivating.

I can certainly see how that hope would be encouraging and motivating in a way. I question, though, if that hope actually keeps us from fully recognizing and living in this moment, now, with no expectation for what may or may not happen next - to simply experience what is.

Hope exists in a kind of duality with fear. I may make a separate thread about this specifically.

 

[Samael_Khan]

If God exists I have a hope, if not I don't. That's a big deal to me.

I think that providing hope, especially hope that we survive after death, is the essential purpose of religion. Belief helps people to perform feats and overcome adversities that someone absent of belief and faith could not accomplish. That is why people are emotionally attached to their religion and why many believe despite evidence against their faith. So it doesn't necessarily matter whether God actually exists but rather that one believes that God exists in order for belief and faith to benefit them. So you have a point, whether God exists to you as a believer who benefits from the power of belief, the existence of God does matter.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

In short, even if God does exist...does it matter?

That is an excellent question. I do not have an excellent answer.

 

[Vee]

I question, though, if that hope actually keeps us from fully recognizing and living in this moment, now, with no expectation for what may or may not happen next - to simply experience what is.
.

Very good question. I think it depends a lot on your personal values. I believe we should always do the best we can and enjoy every good moment we have.
The Bible says that faith without actions is dead, so it's very important to keep active. I don't think that crossing our arms and waiting for the future would be very Christian. Having a hope shouldn't be an excuse to do nothing now, and it shouldn't stop us from being grateful or happy with the positive things we may have in the present.

 

[Tambourine]

No.

 

[PureX]

... Matters to whom? Us, or to God?

It's impossible for us to know what would matter to "God", as we are not gods, and are not even close to being equipped to prognosticate on the question.

As for us, "God" certainly does exist, but mostly as a mystery. The resolution of which is currently impossible. So that for us, it's a matter of faith, not of knowledge. And faith works for us even when the objective of that faith is not currently extant. And may never be extant. Faith in God changes lives, whether God exists beyond our conceptions of it, or not.

 

[Quintessence]

Actually no, I think that misses the point. My question here is that even if I knew God existed, what difference would it make to my life?

Exploring the answer to that question and finding it is one of the major points of theistic religions. It's something answered by experience as you walk that way of life. The answer is necessarily personal in nature, isn't it?

 

[Left Coast]

Exploring the answer to that question and finding it is one of the major points of theistic religions. It's something answered by experience as you walk that way of life. The answer is necessarily personal in nature, isn't it?

I would imagine so. Which is why I'm asking other people what their personal answers are.

 

[Jesster]

I don't see how a god could exist within the universe I live in unless they never interacted with it.

If there is a god, but it does not interact with the universe I live in, it doesn't matter to me. It may as well not exist, which is how I see things now anyway.

 

[halbhh]

There are lots of threads floating around the forums these days arguing for and against God's existence.

God has not made her presence known to me in my life. I see no reason to need to believe in her in order to be happy, to reason, to behave ethically, or to understand how things work.

Perhaps God judges our fate in the afterlife? If there is some life beyond death in which she will judge me, I have no control over my fate, as I don't even know what the nature of such an afterlife would be, or by what criteria I'll be judged. Humans offer lots of opinions on that subject, but none has presented a convincing argument that demonstrates they are any more in the know on the subject than I am. So I have no reason to live my life any differently based on what may or may not happen beyond death.

In short, even if God does exist...does it matter?

I think that's a really great question.

I began wide ranging explorations of the great thinkers/teachers/traditions/ways to live to find possible insights ways to live a full and wonderful life. Here and now.

To really live, instead of only half way.

So I read very widely, such as Lao Tzu, Emerson, and many others, and tried many ways people have developed to be more fully alive, from meditation to dance to sweat lodges to yoga to Hindu chanting, and on and on.

Of course, that included in time the words of the very famous teacher Jesus (as in the gospels accounts of his sayings).

Maybe there are 3 really compelling reasons some might want to find out whether God exists.

(And actually an way to find God has been given and makes total sense too:
Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
-- a kind of all-in with the heart and soul, a total...act of trust, which is 'faith'.
Now to search I'd start by listening to someone that knows of God better than others, so that would be Jesus, right off the bat, as you notice when you begin to read what He said, that he's the kind of person that would know.)

 

[rrobs]

Actually no, I think that misses the point. My question here is that even if I knew God existed, what difference would it make to my life?

How could I (or anybody else for that matter), not knowing anything at all about your current situation, possibly know what difference it would make?

I would think you yourself would have to believe God existed and then you'd know the difference, if any. It's a question you have to answer for yourself.

Take care.

 

[Left Coast]

How could I (or anybody else for that matter), not knowing anything at all about your current situation, possibly know what difference it would make?

I would think you yourself would have to believe God existed and then you'd know the difference, if any. It's a question you have to answer for yourself.

Take care.

So I would have to believe it before I would know if it matters? I'm unable to imagine why it would matter if it were true, without actually believing it?

 

[rrobs]

I would actually use those 2.5 billion people to prove my point. They are split into denominations and cults that disagree with what God says he expects from us, who he supports and who he speaks through. So evidently one God isn't speaking through all of them unless God sows confusion amongst his people. And when asking these people why they believe in the God they worship, they cannot provide evidence that others can examine to prove their case. In addition there are other religions that claim that their deity/s exist which is even more proof that God hasn't spoken to everybody in the world.

If you read 1 Corinthians chapters 1 and 2 you will see quite clearly that the divisions are caused by people not following the scriptures.

If disagreement about something means that the something does not exist, we don't have a constitution in the US because not everybody agrees with what it says.

On the other hand, while divisions do exist, agreement is far more prevalent.

So what I mean is, if God wanted people to know that he exists, then everybody would know the same God, in the same way that people know that the sun exists.

Nor really. I tell people something about me all the time, and it would be hard pressed to find two people that would understand exactly what I said. But I still exist!

It's just nature that different people perceive the same thing in different ways.

Take care.

 

[rrobs]

So I would have to believe it before I would know if it matters? I'm unable to imagine why it would matter if it were true, without actually believing it?

Precisely. It's shouldn't be surprising that you can't imagine how life would be with a belief in God if you've not actually believed in God.

I could try to imagine what it would be like to skydive for example, but I'd never know how it is for certain until I jump out of an airplane. I could try to imagine how a T-bone steak tastes, but I won't know for sure until I eat it. It's not at all odd that one can not know how anything is until one tries it out.

If you're not willing to give it a try, I'd just forget the whole thing and stop trying to imagine what it would be like. You'll not get anywhere like that.