Why do you believe in God?

[sandandfoam]

I'm curious to know why other people believe in God and why they follow the path that they do.
[Please note I didn't put this in the debate thread!]

I acknowledge God because I just couldn't deny Him any longer.
The Bahai faith suits me for many reasons. The main ones are the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, the Bahai's idea of the spiritual quest, and the Bahai concept of God.

 

[BruceDLimber]

Greetings!

S>Why do you believe in God?

The short answer?

Great good fortune!

I always have and have found no reason to reject this belief, the more so as my present (well-examined) religious beliefs stipulate Him and lead to a most joyful and productive life!

Best,

Bruce

 

[Storm]

Personal experience.

 

[BucephalusBB]

the dictionary, but that's a total different belief in God

 

[Rhonan]

I'm curious to know why other people believe in God and why they follow the path that they do.
[Please note I didn't put this in the debate thread!]

I acknowledge God because I just couldn't deny Him any longer.
The Bahai faith suits me for many reasons. The main ones are the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, the Bahai's idea of the spiritual quest, and the Bahai concept of God.

My belief in God exists outside of my belief in my religion.

My belief in God in its rarest form is like a philosophy.

I believe in God, not because of feelings etc, but via reason.

I believe in God because I believe in the principle of the uncaused cause.

I believe God is the initiator of the universe: either God initiated the membranes that caused the Big Bang - assuming time existed beforehand. Or God initiated the Big Bang itself.

I believe that life - and our existence - is an indirect but intentional result of that domino effect.

I believe that mankind can not only understand God with his mind, but that God and man can commune on a spiritual level - this does not violate the laws of the universe.

I do believe that miracles occur, and that it is often a matter of mathematics. A miracle defined is an unexplained thing. Lots of things are unexplainable, even in our time.

Because I believe that man can have a relationship with God, and because I believe in miracles, I cannot be considered a Deist. Rather, I am a Theistic Evolutionist.

~

Now as for my faith and religion, I am a Protestant, non-denominational Christian. I am protestant, in the sense that I mostly agree with Protestant theology; I am non-denominational in that I do not ascribe to a certain Protestant Church.

The label Protestant, needs further defining. I am an Arminianist Protestant. I fully believe in free will. I also believe in God's sovereignty; our free will doesn't violate his sovereignty because God allows it.

I am a Christian, because I not only consider Jesus Christ to be a great man, but that I believe his soul was God's - making him the human form of God. I believe in the miracle of the virgin birth. This miracle is not beyond all scientific reasoning, as Mary could have been a hermaphrodite.

I also have another theory for this. The virgin birth could have been an act by God alone. In my mind this would be like the "Second Big-bang." God had to do something to create the universe as it did not make itself. Perhaps God intervened in this one instance to save mankind? This would be a miracle, and it would be beyond explanation. Then again science is the study of the natural laws of the universe, not the study of supernatural things.

In any case, I believe that:

God exists

I can know God

My sin, or fallen nature inhibits or prevents that relationship

Christ was the human form of God

Christ paid for my sin and his virtuous teachings showed me an alternative way of living... ergo

I can know God via Christ

Therefore...

I am a Diestic-Theistic, Protestant, Arminianist, non-denominational, Christian...

but you can just call me a Christian.

 

[Peace]

I'm curious to know why other people believe in God and why they follow the path that they do.

I believe in God because my mission in this life is to believe in Him and worship Him. I believe in Him because He is the One who created me and brought me to this life. I believe in Him because He is the One who provides for me, sustains me, protects me, supports me, heals me, soothes me, cares for me... and part of Him is within me since He breathed into me from His soul, so how can I and how dare I be unthankful and deny His right upon me which is belief? How can I meet the generosity and the endless bounties with meanness?

I follow Islam because it's the last universal revealed religion destined for all mankind. I follow it because it's a religion of moderation. I follow it because there is no mediation between me and my God and I can reach Him directly. I follow it because Islam is a religion that deals with both material and spiritual life. I follow it because it is a religon of beauty and peace. I follow it because it's inclusive and comprehensive and deals with all aspects of life. I follow it because I am a Muslim who submits to the will of God and I obey Him, and the will of God is to follow Islam the last revealed religion to humankind

 

[tomspug]

I'm curious to know why other people believe in God and why they follow the path that they do.
[Please note I didn't put this in the debate thread!]

I acknowledge God because I just couldn't deny Him any longer.
The Bahai faith suits me for many reasons. The main ones are the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, the Bahai's idea of the spiritual quest, and the Bahai concept of God.

Because the evidence that he exists is so overwhelming... I first believed through faith, though sometimes my faith is interrupted by questions, it continues to be affirmed through my experiences in life and my direct experiences with God. It would be absolutely impossible for me to stop believing in God (though my understanding of the nature of God may become more filled over time).

I have a strong love of the pursuit of truth, and a big thing I've noticed is that time and time again, the teachings of the Bible continue to bring me more peace and more understanding (not the other way around). That's also hard to ignore. The amount of truth I've discovered in the book throughout the years is so large it's very difficult for me to accept that it was written by one person with so much truth or that it was written by multiple people yet containing so much harmony between truths...

 

[rusra02]

A man walking in a desert climbed a sand dune and looked down. There was a beautiful house, stocked with fine food and drink. Each room was filled with beautiful articles of delicate design and artistic flair. Sweet music and pleasant smells filled the house. An advanced system of air conditioning kept the home comfortable, even in the desert. The cellar was filled with fuel to keep the home warm at night and cool in the day. When the man walked into the study, he saw a sign on the wall "This house had no builder".
I'm no fool, thought the man, as he removed the sign and placed it in the trash can, conveniently located outside the back door.

" what may be known about God is manifest among them, for God made it manifest to them. For his invisible [qualities] are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship, so that they are inexcusable" - Romans 1:19,20

"Of course, every house is constructed by someone, but he that constructed all things is God". - Hebrews 13:4

That is just one of many reasons I believe in God.

 

[Abracadabra]

I don't know what to believe to be perfectly honest about it.

All I know is that if there is a God surely God would want me to be honest.

So it would be dishonest of me to claim one way or the other.

The truth is that I don't know.

I just trust that if there is a God its more compassionate than me.

As long as that's true then we're all safe.

If that's false, then should I really call it a 'God'.

Where's the line between a demon and a god?

 

[Angelfire]

Because he believes in me.:angel2:

 

[Jordan St. Francis]

Credo ut intelligam-I believe so that I may understand.

That is my honest answer. I could tell you that I was rationally convinced- but I find that apart from God in some form, its difficult to become rationally convinced of anything. God seems to be the ground of reason. Reason leads us out to a place where it can go no farther, faith is asked if one is to take the next step. So, I think there is a link between reason and faith, but I do not think they are the same thing.

Rationally speaking of course, the universe has to have some cause. I'm not sure that it is demanded this cause be God in the sense of revelation. But, I think, certainly something greater than we can currently grasp and that transcends our idea of nature as we thus far understand it.

Rhonan,

I love your statement that Jesus Christ is like the Second Big Bang. A great way to think of the Virgin birth! With his origin just beyond the pale of our comprehension, is he not the New Creation personified? He is, then, that single incomprehensible point, in other words the wholly mysterious one- God himself condensed in an unimaginable way- whose Cross and Resurrection is exploding within our own world, creating all the conditions and laws and content of a new, redeemed creation.

 

[DavyCrocket2003]

Because he believes in me.:angel2:

Profound

 

[Cordoba]

Because there must be a God and a Creator for this amazing universe

He created us and sent us His Guidance, and I believe that The Qur'an is His true unchanged Guidance to humanity to live a happy life here and in the Hereafter

How can one live without God?

 

[Mind_Zenith]

I guess I don't believe in a Theistical Being as such. However, I believe in the Law, or Dharma, that underlies all things, and is what enlightenment is, and what is revealed through Nichiren as the Original Buddha of the Lotus Sutra.

I believe in the Dharma because I have practiced in it: I have felt it, and I have seen it benefit me as a person, my life in general, and those around me. More or less, I believe in my "god" because of the proof I believe I have.

-Peace and Love!

 

[ayani]

hey.

well, i guess you could say that i always believed in God. i believed in a meaningful, absolute, over-arching and unseen reality to the universe. i believed that God was real, and absolute. i believed that Something or Someone had wonderfully designed and created the universe, and life. i had a kind of panentheistic approach to God, but atheism was never an option for me.

as a Christian, i have come to believe that Jesus of Nazareth is God's unique Son, and that God wants me to follow Him, believe in Him, and live as His disciple. Jesus teaches us to call God "Father", and to pray to Him like children talking with their Daddy, with love and trust. Jesus also tells us that He Himself is God made man- if we have seen and knows Jesus, we have seen and known God. He is Immanuel, and Messiah.

the God of Christian faith is Someone with a will, a plan, and a great, personal love for each and every one of us. He is just and righteous, and He is aloso loving and forgiving. is knowable through His Son the Messiah, through the Holy Spirit, and through His Word. being a follower of Jesus is wonderful, exciting, and a great blessing.

i never, never would have imagined that i'd wind up a Christian. not in a million years. but i'm finding it to be a blessed, illuminated, unique, and joyful path. i know that my Redeemer lives, and that He cares for me. enough to come to earth and die for me, and enough to be with us everyday, until the end of the age.

 

[Enoch07]

I believe in God because at one point in my life I was absolutely at rock bottom. Had just split up with the love of my life, no home, no job, no car, only $100 to my name and I was extremely spiteful/envious of all around me. One night while I laid sobbing in bed I called out for God to just take me. I gave myself over to God completely, because I had messed up my own life so bad, I was finally willing to give control over to Him. At that moment a warmth touched my chest and I did not feel alone for the first time in my life. All my worries and fears vanished all in that moment, and I went from distraught to almost a gleeful like state. Every since then I have devoted myself to serving God in whatever capacity I am able to, and surely enough my life started turning around. I got back up on my feet had a job within a week, a car within a month, and my own apartment within a year. I owe everything to God for helping me in my most dire moment. And no one or nothing can shake my faith in Him.

 

[darkmage121]

I believe in a God and Goddess
For all you Wiccans out there, he ya go! )O(

 

[J Bryson]

Because I prefer to. However, I do reserve the right to change my mind.

 

[jaiwhowalks]

God is The Absolute Truth - The Sweet Absolute. He is from whom every other truth originates. Jesus glorified Him, Prophet Muhammed glorified Him, and He has several times made His presence know among humans. He is infinite and we are infinitesimal.

My religion is pure love of God. Faiths may change - but the 'eternal occupation of the soul' will always remain the same.

 

[zenzero]

Friend stephenw,

Why do you believe in God?

*GOD* is a concept and so it makes no difference to what each individual does with it as in reality there is no god.

god concept is not a must to be religious and each individual actually follows his/her own unique path/way/religion.
LOve & rgds