I have been seeing a growing trend in people not believing in God simply because they cannot see Him. My question is, if there is a God, is he required to reveal himself to us physically for us to believe that he is real?
I have been studying biology lately, and it just blows my mind on the complexity of one cell. All the chemical reactions and processes that are going on.....its really amazing, we still don't know half of what is going on! And that is only one cell. The human body as a whole is much much more complex. And yet, there are all these explanations about how it happened over billions of years. Given enough time and chance, anything is possible right?
But does anyone stop and think about it? Think about how we have the ability to think! Think about how there is no comparison between humans and any other animal in terms of intellectual power. So I ask again, does God need to reveal himself physically? Or is he doing it all the time, and we just don't want to notice?
2007-02-09 11:58:54 · 27 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Faith is not Knowledge
Certainty is 100%. Belief is always less than certainty. We start inquiring about the existence of something with a percentage of belief and a percentage of doubt. As we gather information and knowledge, we may achieve more belief or more doubt. What we really want is certainty, not belief nor doubt.
Most people who say they believe in God, they have a mixture of belief and doubt. Since they cannot prove the existence of God, they strongly rely on faith, which is not knowledge of God, but a sentiment, a feeling of desire that has to be constantly renewed with a support system (religious services, prayer meetings, mantras, meditations, affirmations, etc.).
Those who say that they do not believe in the existence of God weigh the odds of probability. There is no sensory evidence that God exists, and logic does not support the hypothesis that in nature there can be something that violates its own laws with magic powers. Thus they put the probability of the existence of God at a very low percentage, very near 0%. This makes it absolutely useless for them to waste their time in religious services, prayers or invocations. They simply realize that the practical thing to do in life is to live according to a moral code based on rational thinking. If one concentrates on living morally, one has a chance to avoid conflict, foster peace, justice and happiness.
As long as we believe MILDLY in the supernatural and don't really do anything PRACTICAL with faith, we can play with beliefs and content ourselves without doing too much harm (even though I think the teaching of faith to children is harmful to their reasoning ability).
But faith cannot prevent violence or injustice because faith is not the source of morality, reason is. Can you imagine if you were accused of stealing because someone said that God told him? Only reason can do justice among people. One can never be wrong if he is an extremist of reason, that is, if he reasons too much, but there can be a lot wrong with a religious extremist, someone who believes too much and is prepared to put his strong beliefs into practice!
The argument that even one cell is very complex and our knowledge is limited does not give us the license to believe in the supernatural. Prehistoric people had no idea what a cell was. They had no idea what lightening was or did, either. Anything they could not explain was supernatural to them. Well, we don't know much, but we have uncovered quite a few things since prehistory. Which would you choose to live then, in a cave and hunt and gather your food every day, or live today and go to the supermarket? There is a big difference and that is due to reason and knowledge. No thanks to faith for the way we live today! So what is practical about faith?
2007-02-09 12:19:00 · answer #1 · answered by DrEvol 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
god isnt required to show him self becuz he requires us to believe without seeing so we can pass the test to have an ever lasting life. if we can believe n do what he says is right then we okey when we die
in other words something a priest made up on the spot some hundred thousad years ago to protect him self when ppl started asking questions he culdnt answer
u c theres science then theres the bible
what one is more realistic
science says these bones are dino's so they must of been here for a coupe of million years
bible says some guy hu is gods son and god himslf wrote some letters n finishd it with amen
and also
if god needed to reveal himself that wuld mean that man is in charge of god no god being incharge of us like the bible states
2007-02-09 12:10:43 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh my gosh, someone who sees things the way I do! : ) Yes, 100%, the world is SO complex, not only human's body processes, but the human brain. Sight, sound, smell. And then there's the earth, which is also extremely complex.
I think that God reveals himself to us all the time, and many just don't notice.
** God bless **
2007-02-09 12:06:22 · answer #3 · answered by Chrissy 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Actually, many of the atheists I know really wanted to notice God and God never showed.
I am not an atheist, but that's because I think God (or some higher power, I don't claim to know his/her/it's name) helped me at one time, when I couldn't help myself anymore. If I had been forced to go through everything in my life without help, as many of my friends have, then I would probably be an atheist too.
2007-02-09 12:07:00 · answer #4 · answered by Esma 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It was scientists who found out every single thing we know about cells, and even that there are such things. Why did this God, in the Bible, tell us that disease is caused by demons, instead of telling us that tiny animalcules were responsible? So either there is no God, or he isn't very nice. I'd rather live in a universe where God doesn't exist than to live in a universe controlled by an evil God.
2007-02-09 12:06:56 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Well, I suppose that depends on your perception of God and what kind of proof the individual needs to decide whether or not he believes in God. Personally, I'm of the opinion that God is the natural universe, so I do feel I have enough evidence for myself to believe. However, I would never expect anyone to believe as I do. We all need our own experiences and evidence. Some people need hard scientific fact, others rely on faith. So for me - no. God isn't required to show itself to me because of my personal perception of deity.
2007-02-09 12:07:48 · answer #6 · answered by swordarkeereon 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
God revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. All of God is wrapped up in Jesus. His whole character can be found in Jesus.
No one has ever seen gravity or air. We experience them every second of our lives. Because we don't see them do we stop believing in them?
Today He reveals Himself through nature and creation.
2007-02-09 12:27:03 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is not a growing trend!
Do you see any ancient culture busting God's door down to believe in him? No, the BIG MONEY was in temples built for idols for about, say, 5000 years or so.
Believers have always been in the minority.
2007-02-09 12:05:22 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I think God should reveal himself if he wants us to believe in him. It would be quite evil of him to not show himself and then condemn otherwise good people to hell just because they're using common sense and not believing something without evidence.
By the way, what does the complexity of a cell have to do with God revealing himself?
2007-02-09 12:04:31 · answer #9 · answered by Incoherent Fool 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
No, of course not. Required by whom?
However, all of nature speaks of God's greatness. From the micro to the macro.
Doesn't really look like we're an accident, does it?
2007-02-09 12:08:26 · answer #10 · answered by TiM 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋