Why believe in God?

Question

Not trying to be hostile. Yes, I am an atheist. I know some of you will say I’ve rejected the “truth,” but let’s have a little intellectual honesty, all religions claim that theirs is the truth. If God exists, then he gave me a brain that values evidence over blind faith. In our society, faith is valued as a virtue above all others; I don’t see why. I’ve read the Bible and I’ve never come in contact with a being that has spoken to me the way God spoke to Abraham or Noah or St. Paul. I know that many of you think you’ve talked to God, but has he ever talked back in a way that can’t be dismissed as a “feeling” or a “coincidence.” When Abraham took Isaac to the mountain, was it because of a gut feeling? Ever prayed for an amputee to grow a limb back? It's not selfish...it would glorify God…it would undoubtedly convert many people…should be child’s play for an all powerful creator of the universe, and yet, it won't happen.

Answer 1

Consider this : An archaeologist digs deep into the desert sand and finds a piece of an old clay pot. After his investigations, this archaeologist can tell us, from this little old piece of dusty clay, so much about the civilisation that existed thousands of years ago that produced it; he can tell us about the types of ovens, temperatues, and dyes that they worked with, the raw materials that they used, and thus assess the level of their artistic skill and technological ability, etc. All this from a small piece of clay lying in the desert.

Did this archaeologist ever see the civilisation that produced this pot ?

How does he know that it ever existed ?

He knows because he saw that the piece of clay was produced by someone who designed it, and shaped it, and had the intelligence to be able to heat it and produce the pot, and not only that, they also had the ability to colour it and make it look beautiful.

Design ==> Designer.

To the archaeologist the existence and intricacy of the piece of pottery is conclusive proof of the existence, intelligence and ability of the people who made it.

Look around you: at the beautiful sunset on a summer evening, at the moon and the stars on a cloudless night, at the water that you drink, at the trees and how they grow from tiny seeds.

Think about yourself: your eyes with which you see, your ears with which you hear, your tongues with which you taste and talk, your hands and your feet, your heart and your brain.

Consider how these things are so complex in themselves and yet work together in such perfect harmony.

From the movement of the galaxies to the complexities of the interaction of molecules, from the dynamics of eco-systems to the intricacies of DNA, all lead to the obvious fact of the existence of the great Wisdom, Knowledge and Power that allows our Universe to exist and function.

To any perceptive person the existence and intricacy of creation is conclusive proof of the Existence, Knowledge and Wisdom of the One who creates, organises and sustains it.

Most people naturally recognise the existence of the Creator, and we find reference to the Creator in all cultures and religions. Even the atheists, communists and (disbelieving) scientists cannot avoid this reality, but avoid the term 'creator', for phrases like 'Mother Nature' and 'the amazing way nature has designed...'

How strange in the face of this, that many today reject the belief in the existence of the Creator. Perhaps this is due more to fashion and the desire to justify a materialistic attitude to life rather than real observation and comprehension of reality.

Something stranger still, and perhaps another reason for the trend to deny the Creator, are those who claim that a man, or men, who walked on the earth, breathed air, who had bodies and souls subject to the Laws of the Universe, are the Creator, or manifestations of the Self-Subsistent One.

This is of course a complete contradiction in terms. Something cannot be the Creator and created at the same time, needing air, food and drink and being self-sufficient, being temporary and eternal!

If you are one of those who believe that a man such as Buddha, or Krishna, or Jesus is the Creator and Controller, then think again.

We were created from a drop of despised fluid, in which was a microscopic sperm, which in turn fertilised a microscopic egg and we grew in our mother's womb in stages predetermined, over which we had no control. We came from our mother's womb, urinating and defecating, needing constant attention and care. Without food we will die, without air we will die ... and then such a one is God?

Indeed any intelligent person would recognise exactly how dependant life, the universe and everything is on its Creator. Our dire need for His help makes itself plain in times of great distress.

Imagine yourself in an aeroplane and you know it is going to crash...

Who do you turn to for help then ?

Or on a ship in the sea, thrown helplessly up and down by towering waves ...

There will have been a situation at one time or the other in your life when you called upon your Creator alone, forgetting everyone and everything else, hoping, trusting, wishing that the Being you know in your heart and soul that has power and control over all things would help you. The only One you know can save you!

O creature of God, contemplate upon these verses:

Behold! In the creation of the Heavens and the Earth; In the alternation of the night and day; In the sailing of the ships through the Oceans for the profit of mankind; In the rain which God sends down from the skies, and the life that He therewith to an earth that is dead; In the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the Earth; In the change of the winds, and the clouds which they trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth -Indeed these are signs for a people that are wise." [The Qur'aan 2:164]
"It is He who has made the sun a shining glory and the moon a light of beauty and has measured out their stages, that you might know the number of years and their reckoning.Allah did not create this but in Truth. He explains His signs in detail for people who understand." [The Qur'aan 10:5]

"He has created the heavens and the earth with Truth. Far is He above having the partners that they ascribe to him. He has created mankind from a sperm drop; and behold this (same) man becomes anopen disputer! And the cattle, He has created them for you; in them is warmth (warm clothing) and numerous benefits, and of them you eat." [The Qur'aan 16:3-5]

"Blessed be He who sent down the Criterion to His servant that it may be an admonition to all creatures. To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; no son has he begotten, nor has He any partner in His dominion; It is He who created all things and gave them their due proportions.Yet they have taken besides Him gods that can create nothing but are themselves created; that have no control of hurt or good to themselves; nor do they control life nor death nor Resurrection." [The Qur'aan 25:1-3]

"Were they created by nothing or did they create themselves? Or did they create the heavens and the earth ? No, they have no firm belief." [The Qur'aan 52:36]

"He it is who enables you to travel through land and sea, until, when you are in the ships and they sail with a favourable wind and you are glad about that. Then comes a stormy wind and the waves come to you from all sides and when you think that you are encircled by them, you call upon God making your faith pure for Him alone saying :'If You deliver us from this we shall truly be grateful.' But when He delivers you, behold! you rebel in the earth wrongfully. O mankind, your rebellion against God is only against your own selves - a brief enjoyment of this wordly life, then in the end unto Us is your return We shall inform you of that which you used to do." [The Qur'aan 10:22-23]

Answer 2

I have actually heard God's voice before when I was praying for something. I was by myself in my room praying for an answer. I was a new Christian and did not know how to tell if God was showing me to do something or not. I was praying and specifically asked God for the answer and I heard his voice loud and clear. For those who ask, 'How do you know it was God and not someone else?' I don't know who else it could have been, as I was home by myself. As far as limbs are concerned, when my youth pastor was born, his legs were not straight at all. I am talking like frog legs bent! The doctor said as he grows, they will straighten out. By the age of 6 he still could not walk by himself and had to wear leg braces. Also, one of his legs was much shorter that the other. The doctor's did many tests, but could no longer help him. His parents took him to a prayer meeting, laid him on the altar at age 6 and they began to pray. He got scared lying there and hopped up by himself and began to run to the bathroom to hide in a stall because he was so frightened at what the people around him were doing. His parents even had a hard time believing what had just happened, but nevertheless, they accepted God's miracle and praised him for it. They took him to the doctor the very next day and his legs were exactly the same length and straight as a board! The doctor said that this was impossible and had to have been a miracle. Perhaps there have been people who have had a limb miracle. Just because you haven't heard about it or read it doesn't mean it never happened. Good luck in your search for fullfillment. God Bless you!

Answer 3

Faith is evidenced through revelation of God. If converting people was the sole purpose of God then faith would be of no importance as God is capable of making himself known to all. God's miracles are for more than the flesh as the flesh does perish and God is an eternal being the miracles that are revealed to us all have always had spiritual significance. Those who think God considers things in the way of a temporary fleshly being have not yet understood God is eternal and the temporary is not the point he is trying to make no that there is more than the physical and eternal things are beyond the life and world we see.

Answer 4

In response to the amputee part, I'll tell you this. Yes, God is the all-powerful creator of the universe, and yes, it would be child's play for him. But God also is a firm believer in free will. My youth pastor says that if God did stuff like that, people would have no choice but to believe in him. In addition, God has a plan for everybody's life, even yours. "All things work together for good to those who love God, and are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28. God pulls together the good and the bad to shape and mold us into what he wants us to become and to fulfill the plan he has for us. Take my uncle for example. He's an amputee and has a prosthetic leg. But he also builds them as part of his job. I'm pretty sure that God put him there in that situation to have an influence on the lives of others and to minister to them. I'm not quite sure what my purpose is yet, but I pray that with the help of God, I may come to know it and fulfill it.

Answer 5

Very soon you will understand why believe in God? God tells us that one third of the people in this nation will very soon die from hunger and diseases. He also tells us that the German's and nine other nations from europe will come here and take us out killing another third, after we have become weaken from the above. This nation is not the richest nation in the world, We are the greatest debtor nation in the world. We are now enterning a recession, which will become a depression. A depression greater than the great depression. There a few in this nation prepaired for it. God has predicted that Canada, England, South Arfica, and Australia will meet the same fate. Very soon you will become very hungry. That is from God's word. Federal debt stands at $8,893,459,601,893. The public and other debt is about 5.5 times that. U.S. unfunded liabilities which will require payment are now at 75.2 trillion.

Answer 6

I'm an agnostic. I neither believe nor disbelieve in God, and I therefore know I am not in error. Let's be good people regardless. And that obviously has nothing to do with going to church, which would still be a waste of time even if God did exist.

Answer 7

Umm properly i've got faith interior the lifeless of night God and Goddess, they dont extremely care if I make blunders....as long as I dont reason injury to nature, which i might on no account do because of the fact i'm vegetarian and that i like the Earth =)

Answer 8

Well, if you have a God, a heaven and a hell, then you can ask God to send your enemies to hell and your friends to heaven. Nobody can prove or disprove heaven or hell, so it makes people feel good thinking they'll see their friends again in heaven and all those bad people will be suffering eternally.

Then they convince themselves that God really loves them and if their prayers aren't answered it's because God knows what's good for them. So God won't heal amputees because he wanted them to be like that or he wouldn't have let it happen.

Crazy thinking.

Answer 9

God does restore life and limbs. He restores marriages and set the captives free to them who are bound. He retores sight to the blind and makes paupers kings. He is everywhere at all times and he knows your deepest hurts and your hearts desires. He wants to show you unconditional love but sin blinds and separates all from Him that is why in His love he sent us his Son so that we could know Him, talk with Him and enter into his presense. He loves you...More than you will ever know..

Answer 10

According to Islam, it is only faith or belief in God that puts oneself on the way to spiritual (and moral) progress.

One may have good moral values but that does not guarentee that one is progressing.

Answer 11

It gives people an explanation. Since they were infants, they are told God exists. Since they are brought up believing those are the foundations of life, of course they believe.
If you were told Orange is Purple since you were an infant, you'd "know" orange to be purple. It's all about what you are told.