Do you believe ?

Question

If I was able to hold up a pretty good argument claiming religion is just a farce would anyone set out to kill me , I just dont believe in god, I dont mean to offend anyone , but why be stuck with all these rules and regulations that create boundaries between people and promote hatred between groups , does anyone else believe that religion was something created by mankind in order to enforce rules upon people, I'm looking for intelligent answers , on ewho could give the best debate gets ten points, no idiots please.

Answer 1

You sound sincere, and if you don't believe in God, no true believer would want to kill you for that!

I read a wonderful quote a long time ago, and I apologize up front for not reciting it exactly and I don't know the author...but it applies to your question.

Someone once said something to this effect...
I would rather live my live as if there WAS a God and find out at the end there wasn't, than live my life as if there was no God, and in the end find out there WAS!

Don't get caught in the trap of relating mistake-prone, imperfect humans to God, whom we believers very poorly represent. I hope you don't give up on your search for real truth, but please, keep an open mind. Most of us started where you are now...

Answer 2

Ok, here goes. I don't like any organized religion, or should I say sect, denomination, either Protestant or Catholic or Muslim or Buddist or whatever. The preists, preachers, shamans, etc. have too much influence over individuals. I think everyone should follow their own beliefs and leave others to theirs. I consider myself a Christian, albeit a pretty bad one. I don't see how any human being could live up to and follow the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount. Ever since Constantine the "church" has been a political organization used to control the population, that is a well established and well documented theory by many scholars. I tend to shy away from or stand in defence when someone starts trying to force their view on me. I don't attack people for their beliefs nor do I want to be attacked for mine. And I have been on Answers more than once, just for doing what the person asked, giving my opinion. Anyway, I have trouble with many Christian teachings, the Trinity for one. It comes from the Nicene Council in about 320 A.D. or so, that's when the higher ups got together to decide if the Trinity was true or not, among many other things. The Goths fought vigorously against Trinity teachings to the extant of war. Tell a barbarian that a son is his father and a ghost, it's kinda like rednecks saying they are their own granddads. Then there are those folk with The Rapture which isn't even in the Bible, came out of England in the 19th century. I also have a problem with God saying no one can know his name, then he is Elohim in some parts of the Bible and Yahweh in others, which is it? When it comes to religion I can't believe in what men have constructed, I have to go by what I see and feel. Maybe I believe out of my southernboy-manlyman-fire and brimestone upbringing, sort of nostalgic; but I do believe. That has never changed throughout the years. I also think college messed my religious beliefs up, enlightenment also meant questioning and looking for answers. I hope that helps. If anything is misspelled, spell check is having problems.

Answer 3

Do I believe? yes. and I feel you do as well. Maybe not in God, as of yet, but you do believe.

You are intelligent enough to know that creating boundaries and promoting hatred between people is wrong. I gather you would promote love between all people, which is what religion was initially designed to do. But certain unscrupulous peoples have manipulated and twisted religion to meet their own needs.

We have rules and regulations everywhere on this earth. But you still have the free will to choose which ones you will abide by.

Is religion a farce? I believe rather certain people have abused and mis used religion to create the perception of it being farcical.

I myself have only just started to read the bible. I was told that it was full of prophesies of which I am greatly interested in. But equally if you have a yearning for love and peace and perhaps a sense of curiosity on why "things are" there could be something in the bible that may grab your interest.
Seek and you will find, ask and you will recieve.

Answer 4

When man became self-aware he realized his own mortality. Since it is impossible to imagine eternal nothing man created a place where people go after they die. Simpletons believed that it was just a better place because no one wanted to believe in going someplace worse than where they are now for all eternity.
The more intelligent people created a "positive/negative" approach. Be good now, be happy eternally. Be bad now, suffer eternally.
These simple beliefs evolved over eons and became more complex. Even the unwashed masses were curious about the "here after" and wanted answers. The intelligentia created God to solve the question.
Then realizing the power their God had over the peons, they introduced two of the most powerfull motivators ever known: guilt and fear. With these two emotional motivators the aristocracy was (and still is!) manipulating mankind to their own purposes.

Answer 5

I think man definitely created religion. Starting back to the Egyptians, it was used as a tool for power and to explain the unexplainable. As time went on it evolved into a way to override the Kings of Europe, because even though Royalty was the last word, they still answered to the Church. Now today it is just a shell of what it once was, but the thing that I believe is that if religion works for someone, great, good for them. If it helps someone lead a better life, even better. It just isnt something that I can believe in, too farsical.

Answer 6

It depends on your perception of God. What is God to you?

It depends if you know why you even thought to ask this question.

If you are ready to reject God what method will you use to find inner peace? The short answer is, any method you find from the religions man has developed will lead you to God, you simply can't avoid it. If you have the desire to know yourself God will be waiting there to show you your path.

Are you conscious? (many are not) If you are what are you conscious of? What is the truth you feel? How do you know what is right and what is wrong? Experience… NO, where does the truth inside you come from? IT COMES FROM THE SOURCE, THE ROOT, THE BEGINNING, AND THE ONE I AM. There are some basic questions the conscious mind / soul asks, yours is a primary one.

That you want to reject GOD? Then eventually you will have no alternative but to ultimately reject yourself, that rejection ends in death. A tree will not survive without the root. You are just a leaf ready to fall, some become the seed but I’m telling you all now become the tree.

I will reject you because you reject yourself.

So look deeply into your mind / soul AND SHOW YOU GOD IT WILL!. Blessed are those who see this.

You still fear yourself... but I love you.

Answer 7

Aside from Judaism, religions are man-made attempts at living a "good life". They all involve what we must/should do in this life to "be moral" or "earn God's favor". I don't think the intent of these religions is really about "enforcing rules"...it's more about how we should define what constitutes morality.

Christianity is different from other beliefs in that it is not about religion. Rather, it is about what God has already done for us in Jesus Christ. In the Christian faith, it is recognized that religion doesn't make anyone "right with God"...only Jesus can do that. Religion is simply a response to what God has done for us.

Therefore, "good works" come naturally...as a response from our faith. Unfortunately, some people seem to forget that and get hung up on "rules & requirements". The New Testament talks about those who wish to be "religious" by saying:

"pure religion is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." (James 1:27).

Finally, I know that many people blame religion as a source of conflict in this world. While I understand why someone would say that, I think the root of the problem doesn't lay with religion...rather, it lays within man's nature (our capacity for evil). Religion can be used as an excuse or tool for evil (by those with evil hearts), but it is not the cause.

Answer 8

I do believe that religion was created by man. Of course it was. Religion is a way for man to explain the great mysteries of the world. Human beings have gazed up at the stars and wondered what is life all about since the beginning. It is human nature. We crave answers so we come up with them. It is comforting to feel that you know why you are here and you know where you are going. It isn't a bad thing to truly believe that. In fact, I envy those believe in their religion with unwavering faith. I would feel so much more at ease feeling that I have all the answers. But, I can't lie to myself and accept what others have told me to be true without any true evidence to support it. People often say that that's where faith comes in. Faith is just something that allows them to believe, so that they can be comforted. The basic intent of religion I believe is good. Setting out for answers and looking for a spiritual connection with something higher than ourselves. We all have feelings of some higher power when we attempt to grasp the vastness of the universe or the miracle of life. To believe only one outlook on those things though is narrow minded. If we really want peace in the world we have to look past what a certain book or preacher tells us and speak about what we feel, and accept all ideas. Anyones guess is a good as anothers. As long as there will be great story tellers there will be religion, and as long as there is religion, there will be people wo follow their certain faiths blindly because anything that contradicts their truth is uncomforting.

Answer 9

When I was born I was not christianed or baptised or any of the above simply because my mother would not allow it.She wanted me to have the right of choosing my own path in life. Over the years I have studied many amazing religions,finding christianity to be the most enforcing over all. You hardly find other religions forcing and threatening people to convert in order to be saved. I believe it is wrong to follow a faith in which you fear your divine creator("If you step out of line he'll strike you down" or "you will be sent straight to hell")Pathetic really and a complete waste of time.People will fall if they live in fear.I must say that I completely agree with you when you say "religion was something created by mankind in order to enforce rules upon people"Just take a good look at the ten commandments,they're just there to keep eveyone in line...or else. Since the day I learned to speak I have asked questions...many of them un-answered but that hasn't stopped me from asking, I have always been on a constant quest to discover the truth.No offense taken when you say that you don't believe in god..Who is god anyway?Is he some powerful "male" figure that we've been told to fear yet respect?Why? I have never set out to "convert" anyone to anything...I have my own life to live,yet when a debate arises I will make my point and give people the opppurtunity to open their minds and take a look at the big picture if they wish to do so.My argument is...Why is it that everything to do with everyday life is about christianity?Not every person on this planet follows the christian faith and a lot of people are getting tired of the worn-out stories of how "if you want to be saved you should convert to christianity and believe in the one and only god...our god" What is that? Don't get me wrong...I do believe there is a divine being out there...or maybe even amoungst us...But i do not believe God is a scary,powerful,strike-you-down-dead christian. Remember christianity is not the first faith...before it was created ther was, and still is, paganism where they worshiped mother earth(nature) and every living creature...Not some golden idol on a cross who paid for our sins...Who asked him to?I know i didn't.People should start getting their heads straight and stop blindly walking the earth playing follow the leader. You should be the leader of your own heart and your own mind. I appologise if I have offended anyone in anyway, i still respect people who follow their own faith, whatever faith it is, but i am only speaking my mind...freedom of speech.
All the best,keep speaking your mind...always voice your opinion and you have my word that I will not set out to kill you.
You are a free spirit and the world needs more people like us to keep it real!

Answer 10

I am a believer, Is why I go by the law and commandment, or at least do the best I can. It also make me feel better about myself and I am a better person going by the bible then I was when I didn't. If we didn't have law and commandment, think of the killing ect.. The world would be even more out of control, we have to have laws and rules..


but I will give you credit for being mature and not being rude and hateful with your question, like a lot of other non believers are..