I cannot fathom belief in God.

[flobadob]

I claim to be an atheist, however I don't say it to be cool or modern. Since I was a teenager I've felt this way. Basically I can't see how there is some sort of overseeing entity watching over all we do, something that created us and whom we will meet at the end of our lives. Having been raised Catholic I find it hard to totally disregard the thought of a God as those first 13/14 years are very formative to one's persona in life. Perhaps I would even like someone to say something that would help me to accept the belief in God so I could just get on with things like everyone else, but I find no arguments to my beliefs forthcoming. Do you think that anyone can change peoples' views and/or can you change mine.

Can I just say, if anyone wishes to answer this, could they please put forward their thoughts to any points raised as I find generally people who have a belief in God just do so because it is how they have been brought up and if I make points contrary to their beliefs their only comeback is basically "well that's what I believe" and I feel most people don't really think about it, they just accept what they've been told since childhood.

[puzzfuzz]

You will always get the atheistic view point on this site flobadob. Just think of this earth and how amazing it is who knows what is out there. We are the equivallent size of a golf ball in comparison to some of the other planets. How amazing is that there is life on our planet. Why have other planets not formed too? with life on them. We are exactly at the right position in relation to the sun etc for this to happen surely this is no accident?. God in my eyes is some sort of force that has created all this in the first place.

I think that believing in 'God' makes happier beings and then if we die and there is nothing then we won't be conscious of it anyway will we?.

The world is so full of love and hate yes, but untimately love. Scientists are always trying to disprove the bible and religion. How can we have all evolved out of a speck of dust for amaple and then evolved and evolved. Look at all the animals on this planet and how complex we all are. Timescales in the bible could be wrong as the Hebrew word for days means a period of time.

Scientists say we have been on this earth millions of years but how can they prove that??? thay can't really they can only assume. One of my best friends is a chemist and he whole heartedly believes in God.

[Old_Geezer]

A recent place to start may be to understand that not everyone's concept of God is the same. So problems believing that a God would or wouldn't do this or that, won't be an argument against the existence of a God.

Maybe one thing to consider is the concept of a first cause for everything. For example, why maths ? And if you feel there has to be a reason for something to be, then you can label that "God" and then afterwards work out what sort of God you think it must be.

As for formal religions, it is worth considering that when trying to find a theoretical explanation of things, the possibilities that spring to mind are often interpreted as being divinely inspired; even if that is impossible to show. But if you don't take a favourite theory and run with it then you sit there with nothing for ever. You need something on the blank slate to refine and improve on.

[naomi24]

puzzfuzz, //Why have other planets not formed too? with life on them.//

How do you know they haven't? There are billions of planets in the universe many of which, it's thought, may well sustain life. We haven't discovered other life yet because technologically we are still infants, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist, and so it's rather naive to assume that we're unique and therefore God must have dunnit.

http://www.timesonlin...ce/article5739563.ece

[beso]

puzzfuzz.:

There are more stars in the Universe than grains of sand on all the beaches in the whole Earth. We have visited the none of the planets orbiting these stars. Indeed we are still struggling to determine if life could exist on Mars.

Belief in God makes some happy but condems others to a life of guilt and isolation. Only the mindless find comfort in religion while the church promotes mindlessness. The church owes it very existence to this symbiosis.

Ultimately love??? According to the Bible love will prevail but only after God destroys all the non-believers. This kind of philosophy is blatant fascism. For now the believers are responsible for much of the hate and intolerance in the world.

Scientists do not assume anything. The age of the Earth and indeed the Universe is arrived by the convergence of many thousands of established facts. Those who attempt to discredit science are invariably subscribers to inane doctrine.

So what if your friend is a chemist and believes in God? People often compartmentalise their irrational beliefs. It is a common response to the conflict between thought and doctrine. Their position demonstrates a profound lack of intellect.

[naomi24]

Puzzfuzz// Scientists say we have been on this earth millions of years but how can they prove that? //

You accept God's existence without any proof whatsoever, and yet you want even more proof from science than it's already given. That makes no sense.

[RATTER15]

Hey Flobadob, a favourite subject of mine :) but you sound more of an agnostic than atheist, I see god as most harmfull and controlling belief system on this planet, How many Jews did Hitler kill? well he was a timid little pussy cat compared to this so called god!!!

Lets look at a few quotes from the bible :)

"When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be punished; for the slave is his money."
..........Exodus 21:20

"Bid slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect..."
..........Titus 2:9

"Do you think I have to come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother- in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in- law.
..........Luke 12:51

"I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire will be for your husband."
..........Genesis 3:16

This so called God is unforgiving, he is genicidal, racist, sexist and the most controling belief system on the planet.

[RATTER15]

Ask yourself this question, has your children at any point in their lives disrespected you? if the answer to that is yes! then according to god you should immediately take them outside the city walls and stone them to death! were any of you females "not" virgins when you got married? if the answer is no, then you should have been taken by your husband to your fathers house and stoned to death, god also condones the beating of a slave and as long as he/she doesnt die within 3 days then all is well.

The problem with all this is people say they only believe certain parts of the bible, Why? if you believe in a god that is based on the writings in the bible, then believe the bible!!

Bsically this God is saying, follow me and my Son Jesus or you will all die and be sent to hell and burn for eternity, dont do anything I disaprove of or you will all die and be sent to hell and burn for eternity.

I read recently that God is alive and well but working on a far less ambitious project!!

[RATTER15]

I beg to differ Scorpio, intelligence tells me that there is no God, I know that catigorically, I have no doubts at all. Its actually just common sense!!

"Therefore fathers shall eat their sons in the midst of you and sons shall eat their fathers...I will send famine and wild beasts against you and they shall rob you of your children; pestilence and blood shall pass through you; and I will bring a sword upon you. I, the Lord, have spoken."
..........Ezekiel 5:10, 5:17

[jno]

so you think Ronald McDonald doesn't exist, wyzard?

http://www.whitepages...&name=mcdonald&where=

I'll leave you to look up God.

[naomi24]

If the people who claim to believe in God 'looked him up', they'd find he's not the character they think he is.

[chakka35]

scorpio, no-one knows either whether there are fairies at the bottom of my garden, angels who watch over me at night or invisible men who fly alongside airliners.

Fortunately, evolution has given our species the intellects to make judgements on such things based on probababilty. So we can confidently dismiss such absurdities, including the belief in all those gods, as so improbable as to be not worth considering - unless, of course, someone produces evidence, which in the case of gods no-one ever has.

[naomi24]

Chakka, Ask any religious person if they believe in Zeus or Thor, and they'll say no, so bearing in mind the absence of evidence for the existence of any of them, how do they differentiate between what they deem to be mythological gods and 'God'?

[beso]

There IS a god but not a god of creation and control of the universe

This god lives in the minds of thousands of millions of men and women across the planet. His power is exerted through them. These devotees are hell bent on fulfilling the prophecies of the their respective holy books in order to prove His existence and power. However their vision of the untimate utiopia where their kind reigns supreme over the planet and all others die are mutually exclusive.

This is a dangerous god and unless we can divert the march of His zombie worshippers we will all suffer the fate of their precious Armageddon.

The religious apologists accuse athiests of being anit-religious rather than promoting an alternative. I make no apology for being anti-religious.

Abrahamic faiths are fundametally totalitarian fascist in nature. What do you think would have happened if we decided not to be anti-Hitler and just offer an alternative philosophy?

[RATTER15]

We are all Atheists, its just that some of us believe in one God less than most of the others.

[naomi24]

Ratter, have you been reading Sam Harris by any chance?

[RATTER15]

Naomi, I have no idea who who Sam Harris is but I have listened and watched many interviews and read a lot of stuff on religeon (including the bible) and atheism, I like to get my knowledge from difference sources and see different aspects and hear many opinions. Maybe I have read Sam Harris, I dont know.

[naomi24]

Ratter, if they're of any interest to you:

Sam Harris:

Letter to a Christian Nation

The End of Faith

And you'll find some interesting lectures on YouTube.