I'm interested in the reasons behind peoples' beliefs concerning their religion of choice, or lack of belief. Keep replies short and concise. Just the few major reasons why you believe will be fine. Maybe try to keep it to your top 5 reasons: Example: I believe in ..... because: 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Also please give a fair few people time to write the reasons for their beliefs before being critical of them. I would really like to see if there is a pattern in the reasons given. Thanks, I think there are going to be some interesting replies.
I do not believe in God because: 1. God is silent, unreactive, and unresponsive. The most simplest personal requests from me were turned down thousands of times. The most basic and last straw was asking God to let me feel its presence at church that day. It stood me up. I took the attitude that I was going over to a friends house for dinner. I expected God, just like I thought I had felt it many times before. 2. It is too difficult to pinpoint who or what God is. There is too much controversy, and people you trust to know more than you about God can and will fail you at some point. 3. It is less painful to not believe because the Bible demands that you believe in God to be saved. It does not give quarter to people who were raised and born with the predisposition to question everything. It is painful to force yourself to believe something you have no reason to believe.
I believe in myself. I am totally responsible for my actions not someone or something else. I won't believe that a supernatural , invisible being controls my actions. I accept that others have the right to believe in God just as I have the right not to.
strangely enough, if you drew up an exact opposite to everything posted here, you would have a pretty good run down on why I believe in god Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I believe in God because: 1. I am proud, defiant and ambitious: I absolutely resent to think that what fire and brimstone Christians and atheists say about God should be the final truth about God. 2. The alternative to believing in God is to believe there is no God and thus to believe that first there was nothing, then this nothing somehow, for no reason at all, exploded into something, which then slowly, again for no reason, became dinosaurs. Thinking like this makes no sense to me. 3. Because to believe there is no God is to believe that life is ultimately all for nothing. Nobody can really believe this for a long time, and nihilists eventually get bored too.
Integration of Scientific and Religious Experience Science is developing rational and analytic experience of the world. Religion is developing synthetic and conscious experience of the world. Science and religion have in common “the observer”. In science observer is observing and being conscious about scientific models of the world created by the scientific mind, he is observing experiment which proves or disproves a model. In religion the same observer is observing and being conscious about religious dogmas, rules and convictions; in religion observer is searching for inner experience of god, of sacredness of the world. The observer is the integrator of science and religion. Beside observing and being conscious of the outer material world and inner psychological world observer has ability to observe and experience him/herself. Self-experience is creating the realized human being in which are integrated scientific analytic and religious synthetic experiences of the world. Realized human being is the ground for peace and harmonious living between different races, religions and nations, for cohabitation of man and nature. Introduction The process of scientific experience of the world is following: world – perception – mind processing in a concept of linear time – experience Common scientific experience is in time. We experience the world in a perspective of inner time “past-present-future” (1). Scientific experience is analytic; it divides world in a separate entities. With practicing observation (watching, witnessing) the way scientific mind works one can become aware of inner time and experience world without time interfering. This experience without time has an intrinsic dimension of sacredness. God is timeless. In religious experienced we experience the world in a perspective of “everlasting present moment”, of “eternal now”. God is now in this present moment. Timelessness of religious experience is common in all different religions. The process of religious experience is following: world – perception – experience In religious experience observer is experiencing the world without mind processing in time. Religious experience is synthetic; it reaches beyond division “subject – object”. Religious experience integrates “observer” and “observed” into “Oneness”. In this Oneness all separations between different religions, races and nations are becoming nonessential, secondary; experience of Oneness itself is primary. Timeless Experience of Oneness is Common in all Religions Timeless experience of Oneness (TEO) is reaching beyond mental sphere of man into core of its being that is the same in all human beings. We can call it “God”, “Soul”, “consciousness” or use other words. TEO has to be seen from scientific perspective as a common ground for integration between different religions. Science can show that religious paths are different, religious “forms” are different, and the goal is the same timeless experience of Oneness (TEO). In order to integrate different religions we have to be focused on the goal, not on the path. Science is playing here decisive role with right understanding of time and integration of timeless experience in scientific experience of the world. In timeless experience scientist drop his/her analytic approach and consciously activate synthetic approach to life. He/she becomes fully aware of how analytical mind distorts experience of the world. Timeless experience is direct without mind processing and unit observer and observed into organic Oneness: division “material-spiritual” is only of the mind. There is no god behind the universe. Universe is got itself. Recently proposed Interpretation of Time in Physics integrates Scientific and Religious Experience Back in 1949 Kurt Gödel proposed that fourth coordinate of space-time is spatial too, means space itself is timeless. Recent research confirms his thesis: physical time is run of clocks in timeless space. Speed of clocks depends on the strength of gravitational field in a given volume of timeless space; stronger is field slower is speed of clocks. There is no physical time existing behind run of clocks. Universe is a timeless phenomenon. Events in the world have no duration on its own. Duration of an event is result of its measurement with clocks (2). We experience in science change in timeless world through the concept of inner linear time “past-present-future”, which has its physical origins in neuronal activity of the brain. “The brain is the ‘local’ creator of time, space and space-time as our special maps of reality we ‘observe’ and participate in”(3). “Time is a fundamental dimension of life. It is crucial for decisions about quantity, speed of movement and rate of return, as well as for motor control in walking, speech, playing or appreciating music, and participating in sports. Traditionally, the way in which time is perceived, represented and estimated has been explained using a pacemaker–accumulator model that is not only straightforward, but also surprisingly powerful in explaining behavioural and biological data. However, recent advances have challenged this traditional view. It is now proposed that the brain represents time in a distributed manner and tells the time by detecting the coincidental activation of different neural populations (4). Scientific experience of the world is indirect in time. Religious experience of the world is direct and without time. Right understanding of physical time as a run of clocks in timeless space is a bridge between scientific experience in time and timeless religious experience. Unconscious observer is imprisoned in inner time. He experiences timeless world through inner time as a present moment. He experiences that changes in the world are happening in present moments that are following one after other. With observing (watching, witnessing) the way scientific mind works observer becomes aware and so free of inner time. He/she experiences changes are happening in present moment that is always the same, eternal. Eternity is not infinitely back into past and not infinitely forward into future, eternity is now in this present moment. Experiment for Self-Experience of the Observer Mind is creating thoughts and feelings, observer is watching them. You sit in a front of moving pendulum and observe it for a while. After 10 minutes you close your eyes and observe imagine of the pendulum moving in you inner vision. You will discover that material pendulum and imagination pendulum are moving into the same timeless space. It is the same observer watching outer and inner pendulum. Now you point your attention from the pendulum on the process of observation: Who is observing? You will discover your ability to observe and experience yourself. Observer and Consciousness Some recent research pointed out that observer is consciousness itself. Consciousness is not result of neuronal processes of the brain as linear time is; consciousness is the basic frequency of timeless cosmic space (5). Human brain has ability to tune with consciousness. In all human beings it is the same consciousness observing, witnessing mind. Consciousness is common to the all human beings regardless to religion, race or nation. In this way discovery of consciousness i.e. self-experience of the observer is integrating scientific and religious experience. World Cultural Integration Systematic development of consciousness and synthetic experience in schools in all counties of the world will have a result new generation of people that will put his/her religious and national origin on the second place; first will be identification with European civilization as a part of planetary civilization. European integration is the fundament of planetary integration. Synthetic experience of living on the same planet will spread over the globe. Conclusions Peace in the world can be reached with timeless experience of Oneness (TEO) by each individual. By educating people world-vide to reach into experience of TEO we will create peaceful planetary society that will live in harmony with the nature and the universe. In this process plays decisive role integration of scientific and religious experience which will have as an outcome theoretical knowledge and practical experience of timeless-divine nature of the world we live into. References: 1. Amrit S. Sorli, Davide Fiscaletti, Dusan Klinar, Time is a measuring System derived from Light Speed, Physics Essays, Vol 23. Num 2. (2010) http://www.physicsessays.com/ 2. Amrit S. Sorli (2010). Original Solution of Gravity is without Gravitational Waves, The Icfai University Press, Journal of Physics, Vol. 3, Num. 2, http://www.iupindia.org/Physics.asp 3.Hitchcock. C. M. (2003).T-computers and the Origins of the Time in Brain, NeuroQuantology 4: 393-403 https://www.msu.edu/~hitchco4/Smh9.pdf 4. Catalin V. Buhusi, Warren H. Meck (2005). What makes us thick?, Functional and neural mechanisms of interval timing, Nature reviews, Volume 6, October 2005 http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v6/n10/abs/nrn1764.html 5. Fiscaletti D., Sorli A. (2007). Basic Frequency of A-Temporal Physical Space As A Driving Force of The Evolution, Scientific Inquiry, Vol 8. Num 1. pp 29-34 http://www.iigss.net/Scientific-Inquiry/June07/2-Fiscaletti.pdf
I believe in God because: 1: I have been always convinced that there is a great power behind all that can be sensed in this world. However, I did not take the possibility of God Almighty seriously. Then it was God's will to make me feel the security and calm of resting belief in Him. He just made belief beautiful in my eyes. 2: I don't believe that we could have came into existence by nothing. I see the beauty of the creator in all that has been created. In the colors, shapes and world languages. I consider the wide range of emotions that we have. It is clear that those were implanted by a wonderful God. I find it amusing to bring forward deep feelings by just remembering certain past happenings. Just think how our lives would have been without emotions. 3: There is the positivity, compassion and the hope. I really cannot see how these could have evolved. It is God's will that they should exist. 4: My belief in God gives greater meaning to all that happens. 5: I believe in God because it leaves the option of ultimate justice for all creation open. 6. I believe in Him because I know He makes wonders. 7. I believe in Him because I want the kingdom of the after life. 8. I cannot imagine my life without Him anymore. 9. He is merciful. He is loving. He listens to my prayers. 10. I do exist, I can see, think, hear and talk ... It was His will for me. I have to secure a place for Him at my heart. I am thankful. Those are some of the reasons why I believe in Him. Here is a reason that God Almighty provides in one verse of the Holy Quran: "O ye who believe! fear God and believe in his apostle: two portions of his mercy will He give you. He will bestow on you light to walk in, and He will forgive you: for God is Forgiving, Merciful;" Revealed text in Arabic: يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَءَامِنُوا۟ بِرَسُولِهِۦ يُؤْتِكُمْ كِفْلَيْنِ مِن رَّحْمَتِهِۦ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ نُورًۭا تَمْشُونَ بِهِۦ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ Source: Holy Quran: The Iron 57:28
To believe is not a certainty.It is an axiom for the believer. I believe:If God exists then it is one. God has no religion.
Thanks for the replies guys. And thanks for keeping them nice and concise (with the obvious exception of Zweistein post... :bugeye: ) Anyway I suppose I should write down my reasons as well. I don't believe in God because: 1: I spent 21 years of my life as a Christian, and never ever saw any justification for the belief in god. 2: I went to church every week and believed what they taught. However when I went to Bible college to become a pastor I had to study the bible critically, and lets just say that if you actually study the bible it is very hard to believe it is the word of god. 3: The actual teachings of the bible are absolutely horrible. Really really frighteningly evil. They teach that King David was the most righteous man to ever be, but he raped a woman, killed her husband, and then god who is supposed to be good and just, kills the woman's child to punish the guy that raped her! Then you've got other parts of the bible telling guys that if they suspect their wives are cheating on them, get the priest to make up a mixture of barely, dust, and water, and then feed it to her and if her stomach bloats bash her face in with rocks until she dies! If you really study the bible, and not just the sunday school crap they teach you in church and preach on, then you see all these horrible things that god does and teaches. 4: Spiritual war, demons, etc... is an absolute load of bull. I had the church exorcist tell me I had demons in me, so I gave her the chance to do an exorcism with the help of other church members. And they were speaking in tongues and calling out demons and all that stuff... and you know what happened... nothing! 5: There is no need for a god in my life. Absolutely no need. Since I became an athiest I haven't lost anything. In fact I'm happier than ever before. Life is better. I'm a better person, I'm doing more, contributing more, helping others more. 6: There is no need for god in the universe. Life can be explained through natural mechanisms. Which is a much more parsimonious explantion in comparison to supernatural mechanisms. Furthermore arguing that god created everything because the universe couldn't come from nothing, is pointless, because to say god created everything is to say that god came from nothing, so both sides have the same problem! 7: Some of the most devout christians I have met are horrible people. 8: Religion makes ignorant people feel like they know something, which causes unjustified arrogance. 9: Religion encourages prejudice. 10: Religion is corrupt, but not just a little corrupt, but fuc*ing little kids corrupt. 11: Religion gives violent people an excuse to be violent, and encourages non-violent people to join in. 12: Religion encourages people to ignore their logic. 13: Religion takes advantage of people. Little kids are indoctrinated by their parents so that they are effectively forced to believe. 14: Religion devides families, in some cases totally splitting them apart, and it also devides countries. 15: I could go on but I don't want to be too hypocritical about keeping it short and concise. Anyway thanks again for the reasons people have posted up. Hopefully we'll get some more people posting up their reasons soon.
I am a practitioner of Wicca and a hard polytheist. Since "belief" in this case pertains more to the latter than the former, as Wicca is an orthopraxy rather than an orthodoxy, I will address that part. I believe in the hard polytheist model of theology partly because of my own personal experiences. For various reasons, I am not comfortable talking about them here; I'm not sure I could even put them into words that others have not already used more eloquently. Which leads to reason two: Of all the experiences of other people that I have studied and read about, hard polytheism seems to be what most of them point to; after looking for something in common between them, it is what I found. I probably couldn't describe these all in detail, as it has been a while since I looked over a few; but I've found them all over the internet and in several books I have read on the subject of polytheism and modern paganism. They're probably easy to find if anyone here is curious.
When I answered, I listed just the top reasons for me. You listed the same reasons I have. For the applicable reasons you listed, there are scriptural examples. I can confirm this finding in the people I have met as well: Some of the most devout christians I have met are horrible people. By "horrible" I mean immoral, either in deed or belief. But, what makes them truly horrible is their ignorance of the hurt they inflict upon others either by word or by action. And they justify everything by a weak arugment based on a scripture verse. And as a Christian, you can't tell them they are wrong without first proving you are right. But, scriptures must be interpretted, and there are too few Christians who take the time to do this as a group. So you can't say with full confidence that they are wrong in good conscience. And by the time you find the truth, the destruction has already passed. I have yet to see a church teach using deductive reasoning. Normally, the lesson is planned from the perspective that the teacher has correctly interpretted the scriptures. In the most liberal chruches, the students may question the interpretation, and the teacher will correct according to their interpretation. But, the lesson usually is not validated before being taught. This is what breeds this particular type of human among Christians (certainly not all of them): these horrible devout Christians. Even if there are only 3 of these in the whole world among all the Christians. How can they be so devoted to God in their words and actions and yet be so evil if God is good? Just one example of one of these is my former Pastor's wife.
As requested by jayleew, I decided to post exactly what I do believe... I'm also quoting myself from another thread to give a little bit more detail. First the quote... Now as to exactly what I believe and why.... My belief: I believe there is a higher power. Again as stated in the quote, I don't know what that higher power is exactly, nor do I particularly care. Why I believe this: There are certain things in my life that have occured that lead me to believe this. One example out of the thousands is this... Ex: My grandmother told me throughout my entire life that if I didn't smoke, drink or do drugs that she would buy me a brand new car on my 18th birthday. She passed away when I was 13 years old. A few months later when I was 14, I smoked my first cigarette. 2 days after that, my mother got into a really bad car accident where she was t-boned by a semi-truck going about 55mpg, thus totalling the car but miraculously leaving my mom with only minor cuts and bruises. Coincidence? Maybe. But I don't think so because my life is filled with such events. So I think if there is an afterlife, there's probably a god. ---------------------------------------- My belief: I don't believe in Heaven or Hell but I don't rule out the possibility either. Why I believe this: I was raised Episcopalian. We are taught from a very early age that there is a Heaven and Hell. Heaven is good for people that repent. Hell is bad for those that don't. Now, aside from that, I've also studied many other religions, most of the major ones in fact. And most have a recurring theme of Heaven and Hell. I don't think there is but I also won't bet my life on it. I just don't know. Personal logic and history tells me it's just a tactic used by ancient churches to instill good morals, but again... who knows. Whether there is or isn't a Heaven, my goal is to just live my life as best as I can, not for God's satisfaction, but for my own and others in this life. ---------------------------------------- My belief: Someone is right, but no one knows who. Of all the beliefs and belief systems on this planet, someones probably got it right, if not close. But because we "don't find out until we die", no one except for the dead know who and what is "right". And like I said before, we may never find out. I'm not going to explain the logic for this one.... moving on... ---------------------------------------- My belief: There is an afterlife (not necessarily Heaven or Hell). Why I believe this: Despite what anyone says here or elsewhere, I truly belief I've had my fairshare of "paranormal" experiences througout my life. Whether they are ghosts or spirits or whatever, I am not 100% sure nor would I say for fact. But I am definately leaning toward that theory. Maybe there is a logical scientific explination for paranormal activity. I am sure there is. It's just a matter of time before we understand it. Some say ghosts and an afterlife do exist; I'm one of them based on my personal experience. But I also leave other possibilities open for explination. Maybe I'm crazy? Dillusional? I don't know. I don't like to think so. But I know that judging purely by what I do know, there is definately something fishy going on here, atleast in my own mind. lol Again, as with every other belief of mine, I might be wrong or I might be right. Who knows? And that, my good friends, is why even though I do take a personal stock in my own spirituality, I also accept the facts that a) I might be wrong, b) there are beliefs other than my own that are substanially different and c) No one knows who's right and who's wrong and therefore it really isn't that important in the (or my) grand scheme of things. I don't ritualize my beliefs (other than acts of kindness) into my every day life because I have no need to. I don't worship a god I know very little about. I don't go to a church that supports one doctrine over another. I'm all about self/personal developement and understanding our hearts and minds as well as those of others. Religion/spirituality is a personal thing and should not be imposed on others. It's OK to be different. Let people take thier own gambles in life. Some MIGHT win, some MIGHT lose. Hell, (no pun intended), we all might win or lose. But again, no one knows therefore even though religion can help us personally to develop into better, kinder beings, it really has little value in our every day world because no matter what anyone says, no one knows the truth. There is no guarantee of an afterlife, God, or eternal happiness. There is no guarantee of Hell and eternal suffering. All we have is what we have now... our current lives and the people in it. So, my personal advice to the world is to not preoccupy your time planning for something that might happen down the road. Instead, occupy your time with what is happening right now this very second... LIFE!
Yeah, I will here in a few hours or tomorrow at latest. I gotta get off of here (heading home from work lol)
I'm a convinced and convicted atheist because.................. [1] My intellect and five senses are the sole means of my knowing anything and these are precluded from "knowing" the supernatural due to the rules as laid down by those who practise and hold beliefs in the supernatural. [2] Relying thusly I place ultimate reliance on the deliberations of science and its method as the only means of our knowing anything. [3] An inevitable conclusion to be drawn from this is that the supernatural in all its forms and permutations is an iniquitous corollary of a constructive imagination. The former is exploitative and used to control minds to gain and hold power, the latter is constrained only by logic and reason and is driven by inspirational inference. [4] A second inevitable conclusion to be drawn from this is that the supernatural exists only in the minds of humans on planet Earth. The entire Universe, except for here, has nothing of the supernatural, knows nothing of the supernatural and is or will be defined in rational scientific terms. [5] Our genetic diversity is not infinite. We are an ephemeral feature of the Universe and made of the same stuff as the Universe. The science and the mathematics is unequivocal and irrefutable. Recognising the above, I conclude this is the only life that I will ever have as me defined by the identity I am accorded by my family and friends. For this reason I take every opportunity to live my life to its ultimate as a sentient being. (a) Being compassionate toward my fellow humans makes us both feel good. (b) As a mature adult, I am solely in charge of myself. (c) From an early age I recognised the value of the Golden Rule and the reciprocity necessary for its governing behaviour. (d) Life is a special condition of existence which recognises itself and has an imperative to procreate. Consciousness of self is a special condition of life. (e) Consciousness enables us to know that we know. (f) We can't know if we will know everything but we must pursue knowledge on the presumption that at some time in the future we will [providing our genetic diversity is not a limiting factor]. Biggles, Prime
Since there is yet no confirmation of any supernatural claim it makes no sense to assert that such things are possible, or are indeed not possible. A naturalistic worldview is the only meaningful and rational position until or if we see something else, and that ALL religious perspectives can only be regarded as speculative at best for now. Even within a naturalistic framework there are still a vast array of variables in the universe that we do not understand or likely have yet to discover, that assertions of certainty should also be considered questionable. I believe there is yet much to learn about life and the universe(s) in which we live and it seems very premature and naive at this point to express certainties from our vantage point of a minuscule spec of dust in a vast galaxy that is itself such a tiny spec in a vast ocean of trillions more galaxies.
because of miracles 2)believers can speak a perfect foreign language(tongues) that they do not know or been taught 3)creation perfection 4)numbers came from letters, words, the real science(grammar, definitions, context) a=1, 5)visions
Aside from number 3,5, and maybe the first, these are the worst reasons I have seen to believe in a god. I feel bad for you because you can be deceived so easily. http://www.tbm.org/tongues.htm
I believe in God due to: - the existence of a contingent universe - the origin of the universe out of nothing - the fine tuning of the universe for intelligent life - our intrinsic moral values - the resurrection and radical claims of Jesus - and the immediate personal experience of God Himself through my own life experiences Now, are any of those irrefutable evidences for God's existence? Of course not. But I think when taken together they are hard to ignore, and are perfectly good grounds for Gods existence. As well, there’s no reason to think that if God exists, He would give more than that.
