Why do you think some people are skeptical....???

Question

...about the existence of God? And why are others so certain He does not exist.

Tell me your thoughts.

Answer 1

skepticism is good, as long as people go around trying to manipulate other people into doing what they want them to do, it's always wise to consider the source and identify the person's hidden agenda before accepting what they're trying to tell you.

Answer 2

Some people are skeptical about the existence of God and are certain He does not exist for several reasons.

[1] Lack of humility. Since God revealed Himself to us and in a way that we can know Him (the Incarnation), then we have to accept this method and its expression through Scripture, Tradition, and Sacraments. Each of these are not an invention by man, but a project between God and man to make Himself known to them and later generations. This is the means and is how to know of His existence.
And so, a lack of humlility to accept what is given and the means that it was given in is one reason why some are skeptical or do not accpet His existence.

[2] Since the time of the Enlightenment Movement (1800-1900's) science became popular and did change a lot of how people believed the Scriptures. For example, the universe is Heliocentric (proved by science) instead of Geocentric (as described in the bible). Because this was proven it was a small step to make generalizations about Scripture that it was all false. All the while they never bothered to study the literary methods, cultures, and historical circumstances that shaped its writing.
Because of this it was deemed that science is the Mother of all methods to test if a thing is true or not. And it still seems so today. Yet, science can only explain the "how" of a thing and not the "why" of a thing. And so, to think that science is the only means to prove the existence of God is foolishness. After all most of science can only work with physical or empirical evidence. God is beyond time and space and therefore beyond empirical evidence. So, would science be the best method to use to prove His existence? Obvioulsy not, so what would?
Philosophy and Theology for they are appropo to the object of their study, which is God and their methodology does not rely on empirical evidence. Ergo, it is wider in scope and can encompass the possibility of realities both visible and invisible.
And so, this long standing tradition of relying too much on science and believing it can still work properly beyond its borders, is why some remain skeptical or certain God does not exist.

[3] Another reason is more personal and individual and I cannot make much of a statement on it. It is pretty much a case by case thing. Yet, for some God does not fit THEIR expectations and because of their disillusionment, they drop the notion of God all too soon [in most cases this is due to some tragedy in their lives and not being able to cope and live with the mystery of suffering and evil].
That is as much as I can figure out why. Hope it was helpful and shapes how you speak of God to them. May the Lord bless and keep you. May He let the light of His face shine upon you.
God's and your beast of burden
Fr. john

Answer 3

People are skeptical of gods existing because there is no evidence that there are any.

People believe gods exist mostly because they were indoctrinated by their parents. There is also a strong bias in people to have answers, even if the answers are made up. Most arguments for the existence of a god are emotional arguments. They play on people's emotions. This is a very convincing because humans have been emotional far longer than they have been rational. Therefore, a person wanting to believe there is a god will do so, even in the absense of evidence.

Answer 4

Some people are just skeptical by nature-not that is a bad thing entirely-but believing in the existence of God requires faith, and to some that is just not possible. Some require physical evidence of E V E R Y T H I N G in order to believe. While I have seen things occur in my life that simply cannot be explained by anything other than God at work in my life, those things are evident only to me. I am not making claims of seeing angels or having visions, I just know that there have been circumstances in my life that there is no other way they would have worked out without God working in my life. And even when I tell people of those things, with specific details, it isn't enough proof.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

Answer 5

Because there is no evidence that god exists. Skepticism is good thing. The only way to get to the truth is to be skeptical and keep asking questions.

Answer 6

Well... let's see... some reasons to be skeptical are:

*  a universe in which all that exists are the earth and heaven
*  solid 'firmament' structure (the sky) separating the earth from heaven (terrarium earth)
*  talking snakes (with legs) and donkeys
*  shepherd staff turning into an asp
*  demons chased out of people and into pigs
*  friendly spirits
*  evil spirits
*  walking on water
*  multiplying loaves and fishes
*  food falling from the sky
*  conception by a ghost
*  people raising from the dead
*  the sun stopping in its tracks
*  parting seas
*  people being bodily sucked up into heaven (which, by the way, lies on the 'other side' of the sky)
*  world-wide flood that drowned the earth to a depth of 40 feet above the tallest mountain
*  creating people from dust bunnies and ribs
*  magical tree of knowledge
*  god speaking from a burning bush
*  ritual cannibalism, by eating god in the form of a cracker

Answer 7

I'm asking this question in a very objective manner...why are you so certain about the existence of God? You have your reasons and probably feel strongly about them. Others have their reasons to NOT believe (personal life experiences, beliefs, the way in which they were brought up, etc...these sorts of things are difficult to change) and they probably feel just as strong about their reasons.

Answer 8

It's easy to be skeptical because there's a lot of things about god that make no sense.

Answer 9

People are skeptical because there is no proof of it, and also because they are smart. People are convinced about gods existence because they have been brainwashed since they were born, or they are complete idiots who cant think for themseves so they turn to religion to make decisions for them.

Answer 10

It is reason. If there is no proof of him then he does not exist. And the bible is not proof. It is a bunch of made up stories with some good lessons in them.

And it is hard to take a leap of faith, you have to be ready and for some that might take a lifetime.