"Why believe in God"? Hmmm.... A Rant.

[KemetBast]

Theirs all these Forums with people saying "Why should I believe in God?"

Well, it depends what you think God is, their are MANY ways of seeing this. Why don't people just say "Why believe in the Abrahamic view of God?" Just a rant

 

[Scuba Pete]

I think they have just asked just that... and they wonder about the other "gods" as well.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

*waves happily*

Take a close look at our forum. I think you'll find that there's a lot of people who are questioning their own beliefs, even more so than other's beliefs.

NetDoc is one of the sterling examples of the many Christians/ people of Judeo- Christian belief that are members here who are happy to accept the idea that others believe in gods other than their own.

So are you questioning those people asking the question, or are you questioning Christians?

 

[KemetBast]

Just a rant, heh.

 

[MrMorden]

to sum it up:

i believe in god because there is no viable alternative that makes sense

i believe in the christian god because there is no other god that makes sense

 

[Anti-World]

Beleive in God because, if you don't, you might go to Hell. There's also the whole spreading fulfillment and happiness thing...

 

[Nein]

"believe in the christian god because there is no other god that makes sense"-MrMordon wrote.

Can I ask, this..

Do you percieve the christian God As an individual or do you see him as a representation of other Gods identities and structured into one said being?

 

[logician]

What does belief in god get you?

 

[BFD_Zayl]

to sum it up:

i believe in god because there is no viable alternative that makes sense

i believe in the christian god because there is no other god that makes sense

Aye, and i believe in my gods because i cannot identify with any other gods. (or God)

 

[UnTheist]

They believe in Gods because they want to. If they didn't want to, they wouldn't believe

 

[Papersock]

I do not believe in any gods because I do not see any evidence that they exist.

 

[joeboonda]

I believe in the Christian God as the one true God for many reasons but one I will share: In all the writings of all the other religions, no other book contains thousands of fulfilled, precise, exact prophecies regarding the future but the Bible. Not anywhere in the writings of BUddha, Confucius or Lao-tse will you find a single example of predicted prophesy. The Koran contains one, but it is self-fulfilling in that Mohammad said He would return to Mecca. Quite different from the prophecy of Jesus who said he would return from the grave. One is easy to fulfill, one impossiblet o any human being. (See "Why I Believe by James D. Kennedy p.2).
I am one who demands proof, and the prophecies, if examined closely, to me are proof enough, considering all the psycics and predictions that are 99% of the time way off the mark, and the extreme accuracy, 100% fulfilled prophecies of the God of the BIble. (except those yet to be fulfilled, but BECAUSE these others WERE fulfilled so well, I trust the rest will be, no problem.)

 

[sojourner]

I don't see any empirical, objective evidence that love exists, yet I believe in love.

 

[Papersock]

Love is a name we gave to an emotion we feel that makes us care for others. There is evidence that people care for each other.
And is not Jesus' prophecy fulfilled in the same book in which he made the prophecy?

 

[love]

One day shortly after a big bang, I think it was on a Thursday, a nucleus was flying around and this electron started going around it in circles. This really upset the nucleus but the electron was very determined to stay in place. They soon became friends and this attracted other electrons to join in. It got very growded and was a mess so they they got together and decided there has to be some order to this, so they started grouping in patterns. After a few million years they realized they could be stronger grouped together in different patterns. Some were not as wise as others and became water but the rock was much harder and held together very strongly. But it wasn't many million years later that water realized it had properties that the rock didn't have. To make a long story short water settled on the third rock from the sun and tried to make a go of it. It settled in and soon realized it had three different states in which to operate in, hard like a rock, fluid with mobility, and vapor that it could touch everything on the surface of this big rock. Water soon began to diversify and through evolution became alive with it's own powers and man was it's crowning glory. But it wasn't too long before man thought he was more powerful than water and began to destroy things.
Is this somewhat the thoughts of an atheist? That things had the power in and of themselves to evolve into a structured universe. This is not even mentioning feelings of love and hate, good and evil, life and death.

 

[sojourner]

Love is a name we gave to an emotion we feel that makes us care for others. There is evidence that people care for each other.
And is not Jesus' prophecy fulfilled in the same book in which he made the prophecy?

Prove that love makes us care for others. Maybe the impetus for our care is selfish...

Jesus' prophecies are fulfilled through humanity.

 

[UnTheist]

I don't see any empirical, objective evidence that love exists, yet I believe in love.

Everybody believes in love. It's obvious that it's an emotion, just like anger, or joy

 

[Halcyon]

Theirs all these Forums with people saying "Why should I believe in God?"

Well, it depends what you think God is, their are MANY ways of seeing this. Why don't people just say "Why believe in the Abrahamic view of God?" Just a rant

I get your rant, and think i'll join you.

It's one of my pet peeves too. You'll come across someone, here or in real life (my brother is a good example) who will tell you they don't believe in God and when you ask them why, they'll string off a list of reasons (evolution, big bang, lack of evidence, OT/NT inconsistencies etc) for rejecting the typical Judeo-Christian God - that immediately springs to mind to people living in the Western world when they hear the word God.

When you tell them that you agree with their list, and that those reasons are why you don't believe in that God too, it throws them. Their argument flies out the window because it's based on a single, highly mythological, view of God. That's when, in my experience, they give you a funny look and change the subject.

I think most of the atheists i know (in physical life, not on here) are atheist because they see God as being this Judeo-Christian God we were all brought up with - they reject this God and so become atheist without ever researching other theological and cosmological outlooks.

 

[Papersock]

Prove that love makes us care for others. Maybe the impetus for our care is selfish...

Maybe it is.
Though it seems to me that you would do more for someone out of love than for purely selfish reasons. Or maybe it is all for selfish reasons and there is no such thing as love.

Jesus' prophecies are fulfilled through humanity.

Which ones, exactly?

I think most of the atheists i know (in physical life, not on here) are atheist because they see God as being this Judeo-Christian God we were all brought up with - they reject this God and so become atheist without ever researching other theological and cosmological outlooks.

You're probably right.
I am of the opinion that we should learn all about other beliefs and study all sides of an issue. How can you be certain that what you believe is true if you don't know anything about other beliefs?
I said this in a Christian chat but those Christians seemed to disagree with me. I was asked told there was no reason to study other religions when you already know yours is the true one.

 

[MdmSzdWhtGuy]

One day shortly after a big bang, I think it was on a Thursday, a nucleus was flying around and this electron started going around it in circles. This really upset the nucleus but the electron was very determined to stay in place. They soon became friends and this attracted other electrons to join in. It got very growded and was a mess so they they got together and decided there has to be some order to this, so they started grouping in patterns. After a few million years they realized they could be stronger grouped together in different patterns. Some were not as wise as others and became water but the rock was much harder and held together very strongly. But it wasn't many million years later that water realized it had properties that the rock didn't have. To make a long story short water settled on the third rock from the sun and tried to make a go of it. It settled in and soon realized it had three different states in which to operate in, hard like a rock, fluid with mobility, and vapor that it could touch everything on the surface of this big rock. Water soon began to diversify and through evolution became alive with it's own powers and man was it's crowning glory. But it wasn't too long before man thought he was more powerful than water and began to destroy things.
Is this somewhat the thoughts of an atheist? That things had the power in and of themselves to evolve into a structured universe. This is not even mentioning feelings of love and hate, good and evil, life and death.

Uh, no, that is not what I think. I don't think that inanimate objects think, make decisions, or take conscious actions. I sincerely hope you were attempting in some way to make a joke with the above.

B.