Ok... can someone please, just once, give a legitimate argument towards religion and theism?

Question

As someone who used to be a theist and decided that it wasn't right for me, I still sort of wonder why people believe in theism. I'm not saying it's wrong to believe in God, jsut wondering why you do.


A while ago I asked this question sort of out of hostility, but this time, make no mistake, this is NOT patronizing you're faith, simply asking you why you believe in it.

The one thing I don't want is people to defend God rather than explain the reason for believing in him. There is a difference, and a lot of the hardcore religious people don't seem to understand that.


If you suddenly feel as if you have to defend you're beliefs, just don't bother, becasue you aren't answering the question and I'll jsut get it deleted and report you for abuse for spamming the question.

Ok, well umm... thanks to everyone so far, mostly solidly good answers, I think I already saw one that is likely the "best answer", and I know you all are jsut dying for that sort of random 10 point bonus from getting an answre picked as the best one (sarcasm).

Ok accept that of all the long answers, I sort of had a problem with Armygal 20112's response. See, the problem with believing in a religion jsut to be safe is that you are going the right thing for the wrong reasons. That isn't REALLY doing good deeds if it's only to up you're chance of getting into heaven. Also, what if, say, Islam is the "correct" religion? Then we both are in trouble. For me though, if there is no God or heaven, then I lived life how I wanted rather than how some book wanted me to. So yeah, that sort of was disappointing. From all the other longer answers, good job. In less another one came up while i was typing this, then potentially not all fo them are good.

Oh, and people who argue that there where to many coincidences are most, to me, invalid. Isn't life in general just a long string of coincidences? And also, over the course of a billions and billions of years, that does not constitute as a bizzare sequence of unlikely events, just a few naturally occuring surprises that occured in the history of the universe. Someone brought up the comlexity of DNA. Even if we ignore how ignorant he sounded, we can see that DNA could very easily form all on it's own. All things adapt to their environment. So DNA adapted. You could argue God helped DNA adapt, or that God sut makes everything adapt awhere it would not otherwise, but to say that God obviously is the only explanation for the creation of DNA is a vast overstatement.

Sorry if this is sort of bashing on theism, again, thanks to most of you who really ave put out solid answers. It's really refreshing to here such sane conversation on such a typically insane topic.

Umm... well, I love the hate mail I got. Yeha... umm... Bono's Bug whatever, you seriously need to get out more.

Answer 1

I see people committing deeds of atrocity all of the time. I see people living a life of greed and walking over anyone to get what they want. I refuse to give up my ethics and my honor for any reason.

It gives me a reason to strive towards perfection and kindness in a world of cruelty where it would be much easier to use my abilities for self gain.

I guess that my reason for believing in God would really be that even if he is not real, I am a better person for my belief and it gives me reason to help those around me.

As for organized religion, I feel it is there not only to discuss philosophy and help teach, but to reach out to those in need with community arms in a way that individuals are incapable of doing by themselves (even if though these communities are often abused by those in power).

Answer 2

The "why" part of why we believe what we do is actually a very good question. Personally, I believe in God because I have a testimony or conviction that He exists. I believe this conviction comes from the Holy Spirit bearing witness to my mind and my heart that what I believe is in fact true. In addition to this, I have had many personal experiences that have strengthened this conviction. That's why I have faith in what I do.

As a respecter of science, I understand this reasoning lacks empirical evidence and support; and I know that teleologically it does not make much sense. Nonetheless, it is why I believe what I believe. Unfortunately, feelings, commitments and devotions can not be shared with others quite so easily as facts and reason. This is because they come from within, they come by experience. Also, and partly because of this, they can not be refuted so easily by others. Someone can not say, "You do not feel that way, or you have never felt that." Because the person knows, better than anyone else, what he/she has felt. I believe this is why the Apostle Paul said, when describing the fruits, or feelings, of the Spirit, "against such there is no law." (Gal 5:23)

Of course interpretation of those feelings is still open. Someone may say the reason I felt such a way is not because of the spirit, but rather something else. And, well... when it comes to this, good luck trying to convince either side, the believer or the refuter, they are wrong.

Answer 3

The laws of probabilty makes it impossible to believe D.N.A., cell structure, laws of thermodynamics, laws of gravity, were able to not only happen by accident, but to create functioning self-aware organisms, from a premordial ooze.

The likelyhood that a sulfuric environment could NOT ONLY possibly host the proper chemicals needed to construct DNA, but also string them together in the proper sequence to create life. All this gigantic genetic code was accidently constructed in an environment that was not Ph level too acidic or too alkaline is crazy. How many times would DNA be almost constructed by impossible means in which the environment destroyed it and then accidently started the same exact sequencing again and again to get it right?

Until recently, we haven't even had the ability to map DNA, yet somehow, in a non-lab environment, it all happened by accident, over billions of years. Mmmm, no.

It is strange, that living organisms ALSO created themselves to work with other organisms to create a functioning closed-loop circuit called a biosphere......all by accident.

Why does radom DNA and a planet hurddling through space follow any natural laws at all? Why is there laws of gravity? Why can nature be explained by an intricate system of mathamatics, and physics?

Evolutionists can't explain anything with concrete assurances. That is why it is called a "theory."

It does no harm to have billions of people believe in a religous system that regulates their behavior in which no harm comes to themselves and others, in fact, it benefits everyone. However, if it was found that God doesn't exist, it would throw the world into chaos in which religious constraints would be lifted, and people would act as evil as they wanted to. No thanks, I will support religion for a while longer.

UPDATE:

DNA is NOT randomly forming. No where can you witness DNA forming in nature from nothing, on its own. No where can you witness evolution. If we evolved from monkeys and apes, how come we still have monkeys and apes?

Here is your DNA analogy you dunce: Take 1 die and try to roll a "6" a trillion times in a row. It may take you billions and billions of years, but you COULD do it theoretically. You also are not creating life, which is even more complex. Are you really this non-introspective?

Answer 4

Fascination. It's like people who look for the Loch Ness monster. They are so invested in this myth that they don't want to live in a universe without the Loch Ness monster. As for religion, it tells the ultimate fantasy of a savior, of the supernatural. Too make a long story short, life can be unbearably mediocre and boring without devotion. Religion is single-handedly the most available form of devotion.

(Who cares if we're wrong? Absolute bliss is empty. The journey to Heaven seems far more rewarding than actually going to Heaven.)

Answer 5

Simple, because of the overwhelming evidence. What options are out there besides Special Creation as recorded in the book of Genesis of the Bible? Evolution? They don't have any explanation for why no fossils have ever been found beneath the so called Cambrian Layer -supposed to be the oldest layer according to evolutionary, geological charts. Life just suddenly appears, just as the Bible states. There is much evidence in support of the Bible; its doctrines, its accuracy and its validity. The Bible itself commands us to examine and test all things. This is obviously not a blind faith, it is a faith supported by evidence. My question is, are you an honest seeker of the truth? Are you willing to at least look at and consider the available evidence? If not I'm wasting your time and mine. If so, click on my name and I'll be glad to list some resources you can investigate yourself at you own leisure.

Answer 6

even as it comes ideal each of ways all the way down to it, the really information that any faith has that it truly is powerful, and all diverse religions are incorrect are what it says some e book, and the understanding of yet another those who study that e book and placed on humorous clothing. inspite of in case you insist that the information of the universe round us demands that there be a author (i do now not agree, yet it truly is yet another argument), there is truthfully NO information by any potential that the author is the really that takes position to be worshipped by way of X faith. So no, Pascal's wager, the watch interior the woods, etc. can really as easily be used as information for Scientologists, Raelians, Norse mythology, or that Raven made the Earth from turtles and airborne dirt and mud as they could to assist the Christian Genesis fantasy.

Answer 7

You want a legitimate argument as to why you should worship and believe in the God of the Bible?

Simple: What if you're wrong? If I, as a Bible Christian who does her best to live the 10 commandments, die and find out that ALL paths lead to Heaven, I'm still in because I've lead a good life.

But what about you? What if you're wrong, and Christianity is right, and letting Jesus Christ be the Lord of your life is the only way to get to Heaven?

Well, I still get to Heaven, but you don't. So what have you got to lose? Your soul of course...

Answer 8

i believe in god not because i do not beleive in evolution or the big bang thoery but that i dont belive that we were that lucky to have several numerous incidents of fortunate events to lead to life itself for the big bang theory to have happened scientists and our great mathematicains have found that if the condition for the big bang and for the univers to continue expanding the tempetaure would not have been able to have been off by the sligthest degree also the very necessary conditions for life itself include the fact that the conditions for this planet we currently dwell in also had to be certain and could not have varied in the slightest so its hard to believe as scientists say the existence of life is due to several numerous lucky accidents. so until scientists can completly disprove the exsitence of god as well im not just going to jump to the conclusion he doesnt exist even if that is there hypothosis and i believe in their other hypothosis as well not because their fact but they can be proven

Answer 9

Goedel's Ontological Proof.

Answer 10

It works. That's it.