Okay... don't hate me because of this because I'm just curious about other people's opinions on this... so...
Do you believe in God? Why?
Do you not believe in God? Why?
Do you believe in another person? Why?
Is God just a part of the human brain that makes us want to do good?
Is the devil a way to scare humans into doing good and being a good person?
All opinions are welcome!
2006-09-03 05:41:29 · 39 answers · asked by misery 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Whoa... this is good stuff... I have an open opinion on this whole thing... I'm Muslim (born into it) but surrounded in a Christian society... I pray at times just to make myself feel better, to feel that there IS a higher power up there, looking down at me. At other times, I dunno... I'm more into the whole karma thing and that people are in control of their own lives.
2006-09-03 05:53:47 · update #1
No,I don't believe in god. I don't because there isn't any proof of it's existence. The bible is not proof, as it was written by man. And, the fact that there are so many different gods, from different societies, leads me to believe that it was a conjured by man to suit our needs by explaining away the unexplainable. God's purpose now is mainly ceremonial - we've pretty much explained away most of the unexplained. Except for the Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese sandwich.. that's pretty mysterious (sarcasm).
Do I believe in another person? I believe we exist. I don't worship anyone.
God is a figment of our imaginations, not a part of our brain.
The devil is an excuse by many fundies to explain all the bad that's happened in this world. They don't want to take responsibility for it - no accountability.
You can pray for me if you like - it'll fall on deaf ears.
2006-09-03 05:50:20 · answer #1 · answered by umwut? 6 · 2⤊ 5⤋
I believe in God. The key word is "believe."
No one will ever prove or disprove God's existence, so there will always be doubt about it. At the same time, I know that I might be worshiping a figment of my imagination. I'm cool with that. Believing in God gives me comfort.
I don't believe that I'll be damned eternally for my doubts. I was raised to think that was possible, but that's a risk I'm willing to take. I choose to believe because I like thinking there's a benevolent power bigger than humans that's in control of us and the rest of the universe.
I think it's possible that God is just a part of the human brain that makes us want to do good. I was first exposed to that belief by The Road Less Traveled, a book by M. Scott Peck. That was one of the few really life-changing books I've read. Using examples drawn from his psychotherapy practice, Peck, a Christian, decided that God was the subconscious mind.
He also wrote about evil. I don't believe in the devil, but I do believe in evil. I don't think there's one source of it, and I do think the devil is a convenient way to scare people to do good.
It's taken me a long time to decide what God is to me, but I've finally arrived. (I say "arrived," but my views may change again as I grow up more.) It's a good feeling being confident about my beliefs. They feel so true, and I don't care what others think about them.
2006-09-03 06:14:15 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't believe in God. I guess this is because I have no need or want for a supernatural explanation of the world around me. Can we, humans, explain everything in our world? Of course not. Is this a valid reason to believe a supernatural force is at work? Not in my opinion. Science will continue to discover and explain previously unexplained phenomena, this is an ongoing process. History can attest to that.
God and religion are concepts that fill a profound need for meaning in most people. It's not until you discover that there is no such meaning in life that you can abandon these ideas. Asking "why" the world is how it is, in my view is pointless because there is no intention in nature, only causality. This is not very comfortable to contemplate, so, many people don't even want to envision that possibility.
As for God being a part of the human brain that makes us want to do good: it's not any God -- it's a human trait that we feel satisfaction when treating others in a way that makes them happy (sociopaths, etc. excepted of course. Exceptions can exist without invalidating the model -- just like some people are born without toes, some people can be born without that trait).
And the Devil? Yep, a concept of the religious authorities used to scare humans into doing what their religion considers "good".
Just my 0.02$
PS: A good read: http://tinyurl.com/r9btf
2006-09-03 06:14:28 · answer #3 · answered by Kerans 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes I believe in God, because I'm good at maths, and I see order when things are put into complex mathematical equations. Too many coincidences for me, it's just too perfect for it to be a chance happening.
I believe in you, so yes I believe in another person.
God is not part of the brain, our Soul is a part of God.
The Devil existed, there was a fallen angel, but do not worry about that because no Man that is born, is born of the Devil, all births into this world are controlled by God. (Even Hitler)
2006-09-03 06:09:53 · answer #4 · answered by true_searcher 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1) and 2): No. There's no evidence of the existence of any supernatural entity.
3) I believe in everything and everyone that's real. The only thing I don't believe in is nothing, and god is nothing.
4) The desire to behave properly and at times altruistically seems to be innate in nearly all humans. At least that's what psychological studies suggest.
"God" is the reason that some people came up with to answer all the questions for which they had no answers at the time.
5) All religions that I know of do indeed use threats of the devil and eternal damnation in order to keep their followers in line, and on the "right" side of that line.
2006-09-03 05:52:50 · answer #5 · answered by ? 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes, I believe there is a higher being ... and there is no need to call it anything other than "The Creator".
I don't believe all things created or happened "by accident".
And I think the Big Bang theory is nothing more than Man understanding how The Creator made everything.
2006-09-03 15:19:04 · answer #6 · answered by LibraHorse 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The complexity, diversity, and intricacy of creation, testify to the existence of a Supreme Creative Intelligence. I could imagine no possible way that all things just somehow came into being on their own. Seeing that there undoubtedly is a Supreme Benevolent Creator, indeed there must also be an ultimate force of malevolence as well. The depraved condition of human nature testifies to this.
2006-09-03 05:54:22 · answer #7 · answered by oceansoflight777 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I don't believe in god, because I feel certain that man created the concept of a creator. Why? To explain things that they could not understand, and later to control vast numbers of people. A sort of brain washing.
I believe in people who believe in themselves, and strive to be the best that they can. I pity the people who are unable to do this, and I try to help them whenever possible.
God was created as a means of control, and some have used religion to do good things, while others have used it for terror, mayhem and death.
The devil exists only as a means of scaring people into following the teachings of their chosen religion.
2006-09-03 05:48:11 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
That is an ambiguous question because you need to ask which god people believe in. There are several different ones, in case you haven't noticed. I don't believe in the Christian, Islam or Jewish god, but I do believe that there is a source for all that is but it is not possible for us to truly know what that is. Maybe we are not meant to know. If there truly is a god, I like to think that it does not judge us and loves us unconditionally all the time, no matter what.
2006-09-03 05:48:56 · answer #9 · answered by tomleah_06 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
No, I do not believe in God. The world that the Bible describes is not the world that we live in. There are some factual accounts, but then there are also a lot that has been shown to not have happened. Pseudo science will try to show that the Bible is inline with the real world, but upon further evaluation they are stretching the truth so far that it becomes a lie.
Conclusion:
There are many contradictions in the Bible that not only contradict itself, but contradict reality.
2006-09-03 05:46:03 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Well I think the problem I have no other choice but to believe, because If I see what the afterlife is like, and then find out there was a God, I will be burning forever, forever. No ending. I really really want to see what the afterlife is like.
2006-09-03 05:55:57 · answer #11 · answered by Jabaris H 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋