Do you believe in GOD?

[zeon22]

Okay i know this is not a religious website but i am just curious to know if you believe in god or not!

I know i believe in god! :angelnot:

Note: Replies disabled 21/05/2011

[DKT27]

With all the pain (yes real pain) and trouble, plus scientific views in my life, I had turned into a atheist for almost 3 years, but in last a year or more I've felt that believing and praying does help. I could myself write all the theories against and with the existence of god or even certain believes about it, but I guess it's rather best not to look deep into it and take it as a support than make it your life.

[Bizarre™]

2 words: Pascal's Wager

Personally, I call it the "Ultimate Gamble".

[RadioActive]

Most definitely yes.

[Norfdas]

No, I don't believe and havent done since pre scool.

To believe in something invented in middle east more than 2000 years ago as to many people are doing is not anything for me.

[shought]

I voted No but that's just because 'I don't know' is incorrect in terms of the question. 'Do you believe in God?' --> 'I don't know.' is not a suitable answer... If the question was 'Is there a God?' then I would probably say 'I don't know'.

I find it highly unlikely that there is a God if you consider shought's Theory; if there is a God with infinite capacities (which is what Christianity claims, not sure whether Islam has the same concept) then he must be an asshole... For his capabilities allow him to stop all the harm in the world from happening, but he doesn't. However this same God is also claimed to be 'good' and I am 100% sure that allowing this much harm is not 'good'. Ergo there is no God (at least not one as claimed in the bible).

What I do know is that religion has brought the world many good things as well as many bad things and I think the good things are starting to fade away. A redefinition of all religion as a personal way of life, as a 'belief' (not as a truth) might be the only way to stop fundamentalists. Redefining religions as a 'personal way of life' would mean that we are to ban all forms of hierarchy within religion as well as claims to 'the ultimate truth'.

[Brrownie]

:rolleyes: Thank God I'm an atheist..:P

[jofre]

I believe my Dog is a good friend ...Thanks Dog !

DOG is the best man`s Friend. :P

[nuthut]

As a schizophrenic, agnostic dyslexic with insomnia. I stay up all night, arguing with myself about the possible existence of Dog.

[Thugsta]

Hell no :D

[shajt]

No way :)

Is there some "force" out there ?

Maybe.

But bible, churches, religion, heaven and hell, "guy with the beard" watching over every move we make .... pure crap.

The only purpose of churches is to take the money from naive people.

[toyo]

@shought, and shajt, and others: never, ever, confuse the principle of God with corrupt earthly institutions. Everything that has been done (or not done) has a purpose, usually clearly specified in the Bible and the Quran. Read these books (entirely), so you can understand what the monotheistic God is. Do not let yourselves be deceived by what man does in the name of God. Bible was known to have been historically modified so to serve the needs of a few corrupt individuals. Different groups in Christianity even have different Bibles (missing or added "books"; for some church they are apocrypha, for other they are canon). Take the example of the Orthodox Ethiopian Church. God has many attributes, and "good" is one of them, but He is also lawful ;)

Such important matters need lots of study before somebody can emit a documented opinion. Best source: Bible/Quran (reffering to monotheism). These books need to be read together with history manuals, otherwise you will not understand them.

If you feel you dislike these books so much you cannot touch them (but why?), then start with Mircea Eliade - "History of Religious Ideas".

My vote is Yes.

[jalaffa]

2 words: Pascal's Wager

Personally, I call it the "Ultimate Gamble".

Hmm - I recall this quote by him: "Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing."

[RadioActive]

To believe in something invented in middle east more than 2000 years ago.

"Invented in the middle east"? What kind of closed minded nonsense are you spouting? Whether you believe in God or not that's your business but your remark is absurd to say the least.

if there is a God with infinite capacities (which is what Christianity claims, not sure whether Islam has the same concept) then he must be an *******... For his capabilities allow him to stop all the harm in the world from happening, but he doesn't. However this same God is also claimed to be 'good' and I am 100% sure that allowing this much harm is not 'good'. Ergo there is no God (at least not one as claimed in the bible).

Let me get this straight, you're saying that if God exists he should stop all evil and good should always prevail regardless of anything else? What kind of idiotic thinking is that? God created us and gave us free will, what people choose to do is their own, some are good, some are evil. If we are all good (or evil for that matter) then where's the free will? We'll be mindless slaves. Throughout our lives we have free will, we face temptations and ordeals and we have to willingly choose the right path. Those who do evil deeds, will face God's wrath sooner or later. Be it in this lifetime or the next.

I believe my Dog is a good friend ...Thanks Dog !

DOG is the best man`s Friend. :P

As a schizophrenic, agnostic dyslexic with insomnia. I stay up all night, arguing with myself about the possible existence of Dog.

What kind of reply is that? I sincerely feel sorry for both you. You can believe or not (after all, you're the ones who're gonna fry in hell) but belittling the question of faith by turning it into some sort of joke is utterly unacceptable.

[shought]

To believe in something invented in middle east more than 2000 years ago.

"Invented in the middle east"? What kind of closed minded nonsense are you spouting? Whether you believe in God or not that's your business but your remark is absurd to say the least.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam have all been 'invented' in the Middle East, I think that is what he is referring to... Does not seem absurd to me ;)

if there is a God with infinite capacities (which is what Christianity claims, not sure whether Islam has the same concept) then he must be an *******... For his capabilities allow him to stop all the harm in the world from happening, but he doesn't. However this same God is also claimed to be 'good' and I am 100% sure that allowing this much harm is not 'good'. Ergo there is no God (at least not one as claimed in the bible).

Let me get this straight, you're saying that if God exists he should stop all evil and good should always prevail regardless of anything else? What kind of idiotic thinking is that? God created us and gave us free will, what people choose to do is their own, some are good, some are evil. If we are all good (or evil for that matter) then where's the free will? We'll be mindless slaves. Throughout our lives we have free will, we face temptations and ordeals and we have to willingly choose the right path. Those who do evil deeds, will face God's wrath sooner or later. Be it in this lifetime or the next.

I was very clear in what I said. I said that 'if there is a God with infinite capacities (which is what Christianity claims, not sure whether Islam has the same concept) then he must be an asshole' if this 'God' that is spoken of in the books is not 'your God' then by all means I did not call him an asshole, for he is someone I have no knowledge of. Because the God spoken of in the bible is supposed to be 'good' and I just proved that he is not; the God spoken of in the bible does not exist. (This does not exclude the possibility of another God, it just excludes the possibility of this particular 'God'.)

If you believe man has free will then you do not believe in a God with infinite capacities and as such I was not talking about 'your God'.

I believe my Dog is a good friend ...Thanks Dog !

DOG is the best man`s Friend. :P

As a schizophrenic, agnostic dyslexic with insomnia. I stay up all night, arguing with myself about the possible existence of Dog.

What kind of reply is that? I sincerely feel sorry for both you. You can believe or not (after all, you're the ones who're gonna fry in hell) but belittling the question of faith by turning it into some sort of joke is utterly unacceptable.

You are trying to tell them that they are not allowed to make a joke about religion but you are allowed to 'threaten' them using your God? I feel there's a double standard here, one person can't even tell a joke about another persons 'belief' but another person can threaten one person's life because of his 'belief'?

If God is going to punish those who do not believe then why do you bother with those people?

[shajt]

God created us and gave us free will, what people choose to do is their own, some are good, some are evil. If we are all good (or evil for that matter) then where's the free will? We'll be mindless slaves. Throughout our lives we have free will, we face temptations and ordeals and we have to willingly choose the right path. Those who do evil deeds, will face God's wrath sooner or later. Be it in this lifetime or the next.

:lol:

So ... "God" gave us free will but he then said "If you don't believe in me you will burn in hell" ..

According to that it seems like if you don't believe in him it doesn't matter whether you are good or bad , you can kill thousands of children/people and burn in hell, right ?

But you can live perfectly normal life, don't even kill an ant , but if you don't believe in him , you will burn anyway ?

Pick your poison...

[RadioActive]

Judaism, Christianity and Islam have all been 'invented' in the Middle East, I think that is what he is referring to... Does not seem absurd to me ;)

Actually it does. He makes it sound as if the belief itself is something "man-made".

I was very clear in what I said. I said that 'if there is a God with infinite capacities (which is what Christianity claims, not sure whether Islam has the same concept) then he must be an ****** if this 'God' that is spoken of in the books is not 'your God' then by all means I did not call him an asshole, for he is someone I have no knowledge of. Because the God spoken of in the bible is supposed to be 'good' and I just proved that he is not; the God spoken of in the bible does not exist. (This does not exclude the possibility of another God, it just excludes the possibility of this particular 'God'.)

If you believe man has free will then you do not believe in a God with infinite capacities and as such I was not talking about 'your God'.

There's only one God, and just because human have twisted his faith for their gain doesn't make him fictional. I'm not sure what you mean by "infinite capacities" but God is omnipotent. I can never understand the arrogance of humans who blame him for "letting" whatever evil happen. They fail to realize that whatever evil happens it IS ALWAYS an act of humans who willingly CHOOSE to do so knowing it's wrong or that people will suffer. People abuse the gift of free will.

Didn't you mean to say 'If some kind of God does exist then after all, you're the ones who're gonna fry in hell'?

You are trying to tell them that they are not allowed to make a joke about religion but you are allowed to 'threaten' them using your God? I feel there's a double standard here, one person can't even tell a joke about another persons 'belief' but another person can threaten one person's life because of his 'belief'?

If God is going to punish those who do not believe then why do you bother with those people?

Umm..what the hell are you talking about? You make no sense whatsoever.

And the reason why I bother with those "people" is because I am human, and as such I get offended, and I get angry just like everyone else. I never claimed to be some sort of saint now, did I?.

[RadioActive]

So ... God gave us free will but he then said "If you don't believe in me you will burn in hell" ..

According to that it seems like if you don't believe in him it doesn't matter whether you are good or bad , you can kill thousands of children/people and burn in hell, right ?

But you can live perfectly normal life, don't even kill an ant , but if you don't believe in him , you will burn anyway ?

Pick your poison...

God created the universe including our planet for us humans, and gave us the ability to think and the free will to choose our path not to mention an infinite number of blessings be it the ability to enjoy the smell of a flower or our sight itself. And after all that some people willingly choose to ignore all what they've been given.

And what you're saying that the ONLY choices you have are either to not believe in him, period, or not believe in him and be a mass murderer? Is that what you're trying to say?

[shought]

Judaism, Christianity and Islam have all been 'invented' in the Middle East, I think that is what he is referring to... Does not seem absurd to me ;)

Actually it does. He makes it sound as if the belief itself is something "man-made".

'Belief' is always man-made (as opposed to disbelief).

Whether 'religion' is man-made is debatable (I personally do believe religion is man-made, but I cannot prove it so it is just a belief).

I was very clear in what I said. I said that 'if there is a God with infinite capacities (which is what Christianity claims, not sure whether Islam has the same concept) then he must be an ****** if this 'God' that is spoken of in the books is not 'your God' then by all means I did not call him an asshole, for he is someone I have no knowledge of. Because the God spoken of in the bible is supposed to be 'good' and I just proved that he is not; the God spoken of in the bible does not exist. (This does not exclude the possibility of another God, it just excludes the possibility of this particular 'God'.)

If you believe man has free will then you do not believe in a God with infinite capacities and as such I was not talking about 'your God'.

There's only one God, and just because human have twisted his faith for their gain doesn't make him fictional. I'm not sure what you mean by "infinite capacities" but God is omnipotent. I can never understand the arrogance of humans who blame him for "letting" whatever evil happen. They fail to realize that whatever evil happens it IS ALWAYS an act of humans who willingly CHOOSE to do so knowing it's wrong or that people will suffer. People abuse the gift of free will.

Infinite capacities translates to roughly the same principle as omnipotence, that's correct.

If I knew 100% sure I could stop someone from killing someone else (because for instance I am 'omnipotent') and I did not do it you would probably refer to me as 'a bad person'.

However most religions (including Islam, as you just told me) state that their God is omnipotent as well as good. Now I just defined that allowing someone to kill someone else is not good. So by logical reasoning it follows that the God you speak of does not exist. It is possible that you misinterpreted the Qur'an or that it was misinterpreted in translation at some point and the God you speak of is not omnipotent (or not good) which would mean that the God you intended to speak about does exist, but is not as you expected him/her/whatever to be.

Now obviously you believe that only God knows what is good and that is why my reasoning makes no sense whatsoever (to you), but I on the other do not believe this so the above reasoning makes perfect sense to me. If you however acknowledge that 'not saving a person from certain death' is 'bad' then either your God does not exist or he/she/it is not as you expected.

Didn't you mean to say 'If some kind of God does exist then after all, you're the ones who're gonna fry in hell'?

You are trying to tell them that they are not allowed to make a joke about religion but you are allowed to 'threaten' them using your God? I feel there's a double standard here, one person can't even tell a joke about another persons 'belief' but another person can threaten one person's life because of his 'belief'?

If God is going to punish those who do not believe then why do you bother with those people?

Umm..what the hell are you talking about? You make no sense whatsoever.

And the reason why I bother with those "people" is because I am human, and as such I get offended, and I get angry just like everyone else. I never claimed to be some sort of saint now, did I?.

No really, you're applying a double standard and it makes perfect sense:

An atheist (who believes there is 'nothing else') who makes fun of a religious person (who believes there is 'something else') is not allowed (according to you), but a religious person who threatens an atheist's life is allowed? I'm pretty sure threatening someones life is more serious than making a joke, but according to you making a joke is not acceptable whereas threatening someone's life is, hence a double standard.

[Norfdas]

I'm a member on a car forum

Policy there are no religion and politics are permitted to discuss in that forum.

Always someone that take offence.

[toyo]

I think these discussions are very useful. But everybody must understand that it is a subject a little more sensitive, and we should proceed with care and politeness. We all differ in opinions, but we all are humans, never forget that the one who believe today in an idol may well be next month a monotheist, or vice-versa - these things happened in history to famous people. So treat your equals in humanity with respect...

[shajt]

God created the universe including our planet for us humans, and gave us the ability to think and the free will to choose our path not to mention an infinite number of blessings be it the ability to enjoy the smell of a flower or our sight itself. And after all that some people willingly choose to ignore all what they've been given.

And what you're saying that the ONLY choices you have are either to not believe in him, period, or not believe in him and be a mass murderer? Is that what you're trying to say?

I'm trying to say ... if there are any IF's from him/her , whatever shape 'God' is , then there is NO free will.

btw how do you KNOW that 'God' created universe and everything else ?

If you can give me ONE good explanation for that, then we can continue with this further, otherwise I don't really care ...

Please don't say ... it's written in some book 2k years ago ...

[majithia23]

my simple answer is - Yes ...

i do believe in God ,

but my definition / idol of a God doesnt pertain to a religion . or a holy leader of a particular sect .

we never know in hard fact , whether or not Religion is man made or not ,

its a matter of faith .

and faith cannot be pushed upon , forced upon or bought or sold ...

coz its faith ...

some thing which you can , or want to believe in,, or not ...

simple ....

for me my God / my Religion is -

--Speak good .

--Think Good .

-- Act Good .

i am a believer in Karma .

Karma is the God watching me ( and i believe , us all .. ) ,,

what i do today , will happen to me tomorrow or some other day .

what i give today , will come back to me tomorrow .

how i treat my fellows today , i will be treated the same way tomorrow .

what will go around me , will come back to me some day .

there is no heaven or hell in fairy tales ,

its here , right among us , on earth or where ever we live .

trick or treat ,

depends on the deeds done by us ..

we pay for what we do ,

good for good , bad for bad .

i can say i believe in Christ or Ram or Nanak or Buddha ,

making me a holy or a religious man .

but then if i kill people in the name of religion ,

i hurt people ,

i loot people ,

i speak bad of people ,

i fraud among my fellows ,

and all that ....

then what religion do i justify ?

and ,

i was taught by my ancestors ,

Humanity is the only Religion .

the Purest and the one which exists and can be seen and felt and believed .

[shought]

@shajt

Take it easy... We're talking about a 'belief' here, not a 'truth'.

There's no need for bold words or full CAPS.

[shajt]

@shought,

Fine , but I think that you are overreacting, reason that few words are bolded or capsed is because they are crucial for this conversation , at least for me.

And I'm taking it easy trust me :D

Anyhow, I don't think that anyone can give a good answer to those questions , so ... I'm out :)

Didn't mean to offend anyone , take care people :)