Are you capable of believing in God?

Page 2 of 7 [ 98 posts ] Go to page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... 7 Next

Joined: 13 Feb 2005
Age: 39
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,126
Location: On The Road...Somewhere

15 Sep 2010, 11:14 am

I believe in God. I always have and always will. People (unknowingly) do the work of satan when they go on message boards and mock those who believe. satans favorite game is to convince believers that there is no God. hes done an excellent job of that.

"Im not ashamed of The Gospel/Im not ashamed of Jesus Christ/I will stand and boldly say/this is my life" -Jeremy Camp.

Let the mockers come, i know they will, but their eyes will be opened when they stand before their Almighty Creator. Call the Bible a "fairy tale" if you want to, call God an "imaginary friend", but see how long HE puts up with it when you get to HIS Kingdom.

_________________
I don't know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future.

corroonb
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,377
Location: Ireland

15 Sep 2010, 12:29 pm

I think the concept is utter nonsense. There is nothing in my experience that resembles this "god" thing. If I encounter a thing with the attributes god is supposed to possess, then it would be insane to deny the existence of such a thing.

Dilbert
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 29 Mar 2009
Age: 52
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,728
Location: 47°36'N 122°20'W

15 Sep 2010, 12:35 pm

thechadmaster wrote:

You.....

naw this is just too easy a target. I'll let someone else.

SabbraCadabra
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 21 Apr 2008
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 7,851
Location: Michigan

15 Sep 2010, 12:36 pm

The more I learn about the Bible, the more unsure I am of whether or not I believe in the traditional Jewish God, but I find it very very difficult not to believe in a sort of generalized "Almighty Creator".

There's so many things about the way our planet works where I can't imagine how everything could have happened so perfectly just on accident...

I don't mean to get all ICP, but seriously, how do plants know how to survive?? Unless there's a lot we don't know about them, I don't understand how they've learned to become as they are. How do certain plants know how to grow delicious fruit so that animals will eat it and spread the seeds? How do maple trees know that if they grow whirlygig seeds, that they will fly away so beautifully and grow further from the parent?

How do plants know how to defend themselves?? Some plants release toxins as soon as they become attacked by insects/animals. Other plants are always toxic, or make you itchy, or have thorns all over them.

Maybe in the future we'll discover that plants are a lot more aware of their surroundings than we give them credit for...who knows?

Anyway, it's not the only reason I believe in God, just one of many. I just don't get how science is supposed to explain everything away. Even the Big Bang Theory, which was supposed to explain where the universe came from, has turned into a different theory where it actually happens over and over again, and no longer explains the very beginning. So we're back at square one.

_________________
I'll brave the storm to come, for it surely looks like rain...

Dnuos
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 26 Jul 2010
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Posts: 588

15 Sep 2010, 12:39 pm

I can understand this... in a skewed case for me. I believe in God, but for personal reasons, in my place it would seem ludicrous to not believe in God. Let's just say that... a divine being is the reason I'm still breathing. I've had a few near death experiences, and not all were unintentional. The "divine being" aligns closest to Christianity.

However, I am not capable of a lot of other religious aspects. Namely, hell. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I can't believe in a "hell". It just doesn't make sense to me. And I've tried, but can't - I find I'm not capable.

MotownDangerPants
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 13 May 2010
Age: 42
Gender: Female
Posts: 955

15 Sep 2010, 12:43 pm

Dnuos wrote:

I get this. The religion that makes the *most* sense to me is Judaism, for this reason.

There is no talk of Hell or The Devil, AFAIK they have something similar to Hell and believe in Satan, but don't use either as a scare tactic.

Last edited by MotownDangerPants on 15 Sep 2010, 12:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

techn0teen
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 14 Sep 2010
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Posts: 663

15 Sep 2010, 12:52 pm

thechadmaster wrote:

People (unknowingly) do the work of satan when they go on message boards and mock those who believe. satans favorite game is to convince believers that there is no God. hes done an excellent job of that.

I 100% agree with you that people who do not believe in God (athiests) should not belittle others who do but saying it is the work of Satan is going way too far.

bee33
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 19 Apr 2008
Age: 62
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,862

15 Sep 2010, 12:55 pm

I cannot bring myself to believe in something that I consider implausible, nor do I have any urge to do so. In some respects I agree with the OP that the concept of God is so removed from what I think is true that it's almost irrelevant to me as a topic of discussion. It would be equivalent to someone trying to engage me in a discussion of the existence of Leprechauns or the Tooth Fairy.

The reason it's not entirely irrelevant, however, is that religious belief plays such a huge role in society, and in political decisions that negatively affect millions of people. Something that does so much harm can't just be dismissed as irrelevant.

I'm willing to concede that a belief in God helps some people. When someone is badly down and out, having something to hang onto can be a comfort.

I also recognize that faith is very important to some people, so I wouldn't go out of my way to offend someone by questioning him or her about something that matters to him/her so deeply. (And I apologize if anyone takes offense to this post.)

Horus wrote:

I find the very concept of an omnipotent,omniscient and omnibenevolent personal god revolting considering the world we live in.

And yes, ultimately if I had any doubt I would look at the huge suffering endured by billions and wonder how an omnipotent God could possibly allow it or accept it.

Mark198423
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 3 Jul 2007
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,974
Location: Salford, England

15 Sep 2010, 1:46 pm

I cannot believe in it at all.

UnderINK
Blue Jay

Joined: 12 Sep 2010
Age: 36
Gender: Female
Posts: 94
Location: McAllen, TX

15 Sep 2010, 1:53 pm

MotownDangerPants wrote:

I'm not. I haven't been able to since about age seven.

I see so much talk about religion every day, I've never seen so much before I was online constantly, hooked up to social networking and everything.

The debates do get a little annoying but it's because I TRULY do not understand it. Sometimes I want to join in the debates because I do stand by my beliefs, but I'm not at all passionate about them, so I don't.

I believe in evolution because it's science, and it makes sense. Plain and simple. for this reason, I wonder if I should really think that I'm entitled to participate in any religious debates. How can I argue that my beliefs are right if I truly cannot see the other side of the argument? I understand WHY people believe in God, but I could never truly empathize with them or know what's it's like to believe in something that you can't prove, so am I really fit to argue that their views are wrong? If I can't make the connections myself, how would I know any better? I think you need to be able to truly understand both sides of an argument to male an informed decision, so my decision really isn't all that informed, it's just there.

Anyway, just a short rant, I guess. I see a lot of my good friends that I respect getting into these debates and I am like O________________O

It's a non-issue for me, I feel the same way about being an atheist that I do about not liking Cheerios.

Anyone else?

I'm with you on this. Although I'm more passionate about my Atheism, I am very pro-evolution and all that, I actually never believed in God. But I was agnostic about it until I was seven years old, after an argument with a pastor about the Old Testament, I decided that the book couldn't be trusted as historical fact and, from there, surmised that I simply could not succumb to the idea of an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient creator that, in himself, is a walking paradox. I became far more inclined toward science after that and utterly fascinated with biology.

thechadmaster
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 13 Feb 2005
Age: 39
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,126
Location: On The Road...Somewhere

15 Sep 2010, 1:58 pm

Dilbert wrote:

You.....

naw this is just too easy a target. I'll let someone else.

What? You have nothing to say? If you could muster up a response, you would have. You would have loved to take credit for attempting to discredit me. Why let "someone else" steal your thunder? If you have something to say, then say it!

_________________
I don't know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future.

Meadow
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 3 Dec 2009
Age: 66
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,067

15 Sep 2010, 2:03 pm

No, common sense rules out any propensity for me to believe in God.

hyperlexian
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 21 Jul 2010
Age: 54
Gender: Female
Posts: 22,023
Location: with bucephalus

15 Sep 2010, 2:21 pm

MotownDangerPants wrote:

bonuspoints wrote:

I haven't found myself capable, though the desire is there...

Exactly.

there have been times when I really could have benefited from religion and I do like some aspects of certain religions, a lot. I even enjoy some church services.

I've had to learn other ways of coping but I still think that I'm not as fulfilled as many religious people in some ways.

yes, i find the concept of belief and its expressions to be a beautiful thing... lovely hymns or phrases from Corinthians, whirling dervishes, the agony of a Jain who cannot step on a bug, the sound of the muslim call to prayer, the Upanishads, even the fervent need of Jehovah's Winesses to proselytize... all of these and more are beautiful to me.

but i can't suspend disbelief.

_________________
on a break, so if you need assistance please contact another moderator from this list:
viewtopic.php?t=391105

Last edited by hyperlexian on 15 Sep 2010, 2:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Mark198423
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 3 Jul 2007
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,974
Location: Salford, England

15 Sep 2010, 2:27 pm

thechadmaster wrote:

Dilbert wrote:

You.....

naw this is just too easy a target. I'll let someone else.

Why try to provoke? I too resisted the urge to respond to your post as the topic wasn't supposed to be an argument!
The fact that you say you always will believe in god, whereas many atheists here have admitted they wouldn't deny it were proof presented says it all.

Ichinin
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 3 Apr 2009
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,653
Location: A cold place with lots of blondes.

15 Sep 2010, 2:58 pm

"God" is a concept for people who are too horrified to come to terms with the reality of not existing and then slowly turning to worm food, or people who have no morals and needs to be "scared into place".

That "god" i have no problem believing in - it's just the psychotic fantasy stories i have a big problem with.

_________________
"It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring" (Carl Sagan)

bee33
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 19 Apr 2008
Age: 62
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,862

15 Sep 2010, 3:17 pm

thechadmaster wrote:

Call the Bible a "fairy tale" if you want to, call God an "imaginary friend", but see how long HE puts up with it when you get to HIS Kingdom.

Why would a benevolent and all-powerful God be so petty and spiteful?

SabbraCadabra wrote:

How do plants know how to defend themselves?? Some plants release toxins as soon as they become attacked by insects/animals. Other plants are always toxic, or make you itchy, or have thorns all over them.

Maybe in the future we'll discover that plants are a lot more aware of their surroundings than we give them credit for...who knows?

That's the same as asking how humans know to grow their fingernails or their hair. There doesn't have to be any awareness to do these things. How they happen is explained very satisfactorily and convincingly by evolution.

SabbraCadabra wrote:

Anyway, it's not the only reason I believe in God, just one of many. I just don't get how science is supposed to explain everything away. Even the Big Bang Theory, which was supposed to explain where the universe came from, has turned into a different theory where it actually happens over and over again, and no longer explains the very beginning. So we're back at square one.

Unlike evolution, which is very well understood, other theories have not been completely worked out yet. To me the discussion is not about science vs. religion it's more about reason vs. superstition.

Page 2 of 7 [ 98 posts ] Go to page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... 7 Next

Jump to:

Are you capable of believing in God? Post Reply New Topic

Are you capable of believing in God?