Why do you believe in God?

[Skyles]

Its a simple question, dont ask anything about being an Atheist or anything lie that becuase this is not the right thread. All I want to know is why you choose to believe in god.

[dabbmw2002]

When I look around and observe life in all it's forms, I can't convince myself that something so beautiful came into existense through pure chance without intent from an intelligent being- whatever that may be.

[Skyles]

When I look around and observe life in all it's forms, I can't convince myself that something so beautiful came into existense through pure chance without intent from an intelligent being- whatever that may be.

What do you think when you here all this stuff in science, you think its all bs?

[dabbmw2002]

What do you think when you here all this stuff in science, you think its all bs?

I don't see a conflict between science and a belief in God.

[Klippymitch]

What do you think when you here all this stuff in science, you think its all bs?

Shut up.

You made a thread asking for beliefs. Now your questioning them.

[fenixzona]

Why ask why? How about you OP, why do you beleive or not?

[Enso]

When I look around and observe life in all it's forms, I can't convince myself that something so beautiful came into existense through pure chance without intent from an intelligent being- whatever that may be.

I feel precisely the same. For me, it is difficult to conceive the human body, and the universe in general, was formed by pure random chance.

[fenixzona]

I feel precisely the same. For me, it is difficult to conceive the human body, and the universe in general, was formed by pure random chance.

Thus, the creation of religion.

[mug]

Thus, the creation of religion.

Yep, pretty much.

[Pnigro]

Thus, the creation of religion.

/thread

[jr gong]

Thus, the creation of religion.

belief in god doesn't = religion

i know plenty of people who believe in god and aren't religious

[Barry Bonds]

but I believed in God long before.

Short version-I see the hand of a supreme being in too many things.

[Mosho]

I agree that some kind of hyper-intelligent (though not omni-potent) life form might have something to do with creation of the world as we know it, but I don't believe in all the bible stories, and praying, and all that stuff. I also think that arguing about stuff no one can prove is futile....

[AKR]

Shut up.

You made a thread asking for beliefs. Now your questioning them.

Wow, touchy are we? What did you think was going to happen, genius? Go cry in a corner if you don't want to debate religion in a discussion forum.

belief in god doesn't = religion

i know plenty of people who believe in god and aren't religious

No, you don't. Need a dictionary?

dictionary.com
re⋅li⋅gion
   /rɪˈlɪdʒən/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ri-lij-uhn] Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun

1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

but I believed in God long before.

Short version-I see the hand of a supreme being in too many things.

So, if there's a god, you automatically assume it's the Christian one?

[jf1]

i believed in god because i was taught from a young age that the god of the bible created the world.
i was told that the bible was the inspired work of god.
i learned that jesus was sent to earth to free us of sin.

then i grew up, started thinking for myself and realized it was all a hoax.

[Malodrax]

No, you don't. Need a dictionary?

dictionary.com
re⋅li⋅gion
   /rɪˈlɪdʒən/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ri-lij-uhn] Show IPA Pronunciation
?noun

1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

Deism?

[Doc_Frosty_325]

I've been studying philosophy since 01. By doing so, I've discovered that yes, there is such thing as 'Universal Truths'. That being said, the existence of God is not only logical but such existence is inevitable. Evolution teaches us that everything is no more than coincidence yet their own chaos theories cannot explain WHY there are laws of physics, time/space, etc. Because these laws are indisputable. It's very easy to draw the conclusion that yes, there is a God who exists beyond our own time/space; who set such laws.

[dabbmw2002]

Deism?

I was about to ask that. Even if you believe the organized religions are man made , that doesn't in itself mean that there is no God.

[JAGERBOY]

I've been studying philosophy since 01. By doing so, I've discovered that yes, there is such thing as 'Universal Truths'. That being said, the existence of God is not only logical but such existence is inevitable. Evolution teaches us that everything is no more than coincidence yet their own chaos theories cannot explain WHY there are laws of physics, time/space, etc. Because these laws are indisputable. It's very easy to draw the conclusion that yes, there is a God who exists beyond our own time/space; who set such laws.

How do the laws of physics prove a god exists? These "laws" are just the way it is, hindsight is 20/20. The way our current universe developed could have been different, and we'd have different "laws" and you'd be saying the same thing.

[AKR]

Deism?

....how is that not a religion or a matter of being religious?

[1_COR_16.13_old]

When I look around and observe life in all it's forms, I can't convince myself that something so beautiful came into existense through pure chance without intent from an intelligent being- whatever that may be.

Well said. I add to it that the God which created it, is the God that the Bible speaks of.

What do you think when you here all this stuff in science, you think its all bs?

Einstein once said that Religion and Science are basically worthless without each other.

[LunicaAshes]

Is your little dog adventure leaving you desperate for help from above?

No, I don't.

[mangiventofly]

How do the laws of physics prove a god exists? These "laws" are just the way it is, hindsight is 20/20. The way our current universe developed could have been different, and we'd have different "laws" and you'd be saying the same thing.

yeah, so, what's your point? there would STILL be God.

[JAGERBOY]

Einstein once said that Religion and Science are basically worthless without each other.

What do you think he meant by that?

[jr gong]

No, you don't. Need a dictionary?

dictionary.com
re⋅li⋅gion
   /rɪˈlɪdʒən/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ri-lij-uhn] Show IPA Pronunciation
?noun

1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

i don't perform any rituals and my beliefs are all over the place but i DO believe in god

i believe you just failed

[JAGERBOY]

yeah, so, what's your point? there would STILL be God.

His question was why we have these laws of physics...and the answer is, because thats the reality that are universe developed in to. In another 999 trillion years when we have another big bang event, these "laws" could be different and reality wouldn't work the same way. Laws are arbitrary, there was no intention behind them. Living organisms evolved and adapted to these laws because they had to. Again, hindsight is 20/20, if there were different laws, but still favorable conditions for life, we could say the same thing about those laws. And since we could, that lends nothing to his argument.

[AKR]

i don't perform any rituals and my beliefs are all over the place but i DO believe in god

i believe you just failed

*sigh*

Do you seriously need to see the dictionary again, this time, for the words "usually" and "set?"

Or do you just suck at reading simple sentences? Who cares if your beliefs are "all over the place." You've developed a set of beliefs.

Good god. I can't believe the people I run into online.

[Enso]

/thread

Which does not invalidate all religion...

[SilvrBckGorilla]

No.

[Bahai.Lifter]

He is God!

Why believe in Him? Because, as a spiritual being, man's "natural" inclination is to believe in God, whether or not we outwardly acknowledge it. What motivates belief in God is the love of our Heavenly Father, fear of His justice, and hope for His mercy. To know Him, our Creator, is really to know our own selves. He has given man the capacity to mirror forth His virtues and qualities, and this is the purpose of our spiritual existence. If we fail to know Him, and rise up to that for which we were created, then we have indeed erred, in my opinion. The Baha'i Writings exhort us:

"Say: O people! Withhold not from yourselves the grace of God and His mercy. Whoso withholdeth himself therefrom is indeed in grievous loss. What, O people! Do ye worship the dust, and turn away from your Lord, the Gracious, the All-Bountiful? Fear ye God, and be not of those who perish. Say: The Book of God hath been sent down in the form of this Youth. Hallowed, therefore, be God, the most excellent of makers! Take ye good heed, O peoples of the world, lest ye flee from His face. Nay, make haste to attain His presence, and be of them that have returned unto Him. Pray to be forgiven, O people, for having failed in your duty towards God, and for having trespassed against His Cause, and be not of the foolish. He it is Who hath created you; He it is Who hath nourished your souls through His Cause, and enabled you to recognize Him Who is the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the All-Knowing. . . .

"Say: So great is the glory of the Cause of God that even the blind can perceive it, how much more they whose sight is sharp, whose vision is pure. The blind, though unable to perceive the light of the sun, are, nevertheless, capable of experiencing its continual heat. . . ." (Source: Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah)

God doesn't need us; only we need Him. It is out of His mercy that He continues to send us guidance, even though we are ungrateful and mankind has long rejected His signs. Baha'u'llah (Founder of the Baha'i Faith) says:

"Consider the mercy of God and His gifts. He enjoineth upon you that which shall profit you, though He Himself can well dispense with all creatures. Your evil doings can never harm Us, neither can your good works profit Us. We summon you wholly for the sake of God. To this every man of understanding and insight will testify."

In a sense, we have to worship something. Either we worship God, or we worship the idols of our vain imaginings. Baha'u'llah states:

"Tear asunder, in My Name, the veils that have grievously blinded your vision, and, through the power born of your belief in the unity of God, scatter the idols of vain imitation. Enter, then, the holy paradise of the good-pleasure of the All-Merciful. Sanctify your souls from whatsoever is not of God, and taste ye the sweetness of rest within the pale of His vast and mighty Revelation, and beneath the shadow of His supreme and infallible authority. Suffer not yourselves to be wrapt in the dense veils of your selfish desires, inasmuch as I have perfected in every one of you My creation, so that the excellence of My handiwork may be fully revealed unto men. It follows, therefore, that every man hath been, and will continue to be, able of himself to appreciate the Beauty of God, the Glorified. Had he not been endowed with such a capacity, how could he be called to account for his failure? If, in the Day when all the peoples of the earth will be gathered together, any man should, whilst standing in the presence of God, be asked: 'Wherefore hast thou disbelieved in My Beauty and turned away from My Self,' and if such a man should reply and say: 'Inasmuch as all men have erred, and none hath been found willing to turn his face to the Truth, I, too, following their example, have grievously failed to recognize the Beauty of the Eternal,' such a plea will, assuredly, be rejected. For the faith of no man can be conditioned by any one except himself."