Does logical thinking ever enter into your beliefs?

Question

Have you ever sat back and really thought about your acceptence that a god exists? Have you thought about it logically? About how probably it is? Have you compared your beliefs with that of a child believing in fairies?

To me, the very concept of a god is 100% improbable and illogical.

Miser67.. Any god, a god. God belief of any kind.

Common sense.

Mankind is not 'wildly different' from any other species. Our intelligence evolved through our spatial advantage, nothing else.

Lisa Godfrey.. I'd sooner have myself committed.

Answer 1

Well, I think I'm on your side and I'll congratulate you on stimulating a lot of detailed replies.

However, as so many of them claim to think logically, I'm surprised they haven't spotted the flaw in your statement of your position.

You say the very concept of a god is 100% improbable and illogical. The 'concept' is improbable and illogical? Clearly not since we are all familiar with the concept of a god and you are of course asking about belief in that very concept.

I think that you meant the existence of a god is improbable and illogical.

More a figure of speech, I know, but since we are talking about logic...100% Improbable? Wouldn't that make it impossible? Still thinking about that...

I'm not having a go at you, just trying to clarify things.

However, I must say that the believers replies were mostly bonkers. There were too many silly responses to pick up on and so I shall not bother. Suffice it to say, most of them did not make sense.

At least that is logically consistent with their erroneous belief....

Answer 2

Well, you've only shared very limited information. Ok, so you've indicated anyone who believes in God is a fool. But you never said what kind of a God? Any God? Muslim God? Chrisitian God?

You say it's 100% illogical and improbable. Great, but based on what? Explain your logic.

To some, this world makes no sense if it were all just an accident. Why did mankind evolve so wildly different from every other species on the planet? That seems illogical doesn't it?

I'm sorry, but to argue that all this is purely an act of random selection or a cosmic accident is illogical. The odds against it are astronomical. Not impossible, I'll grant you, but ludicrously improbable.

Answer 3

Hey-- I'll be the first to admit that belief in God is a big leap of faith that is completely non provable and unverifiable scientifically, but to make the audacious statement that the "concept of a god is 100% improbable and illogical" is so flagrantly arrogant and baseless that it is at LEAST comparable with one saying they are 100% SURE that God exists! Hardcore scientists and skeptics will tell you it is not possible to speak in terms of "improbability" of the existence for something we have no evidence of one way or the other. And in terms of logical-- the existence of an intelligence who created all of this is no less logical than all of this coming from nothingness for no good reason. Before you get on your pedestal and arrogantly berate people's beliefs you better damn sure know what the hell you're talking about you arrogant punk.

Answer 4

Yes, I have thought about it logically. So I traced the basic concepts back to things that can be demonstrated. First, is a nonmaterial existence possible? Apparently so. Between NDE's and OBE's, psychic phenomena which I have personally observed, and other such clues, I had to concede that SOMETHING beyond our ken is out there. From there I had to ask myself if I truly believed that I am smarter than ALL human societies that have ever existed throughout history. Remember, our basic intelligence is unchanged, as Evolution proves. ONLY our current technology sets up apart from our forefathers. I am not so proud as to believe that I am that much smarter than 100 billion people. So then it comes down to which religious system is most valuable to human development. While Buddhism can lay some claim to that post, so can true Christianity. Without that religion, science as we know it would never have been developed. Check that if you don't believe me.

I find it 100% improbable that with all the evidence around us, ANYONE can honestly believe that the universe is merely matter manipulated by chance.

Answer 5

To me the statement that God exists is no more improbable and illogical than the statement that he does not exist! ...and yes, I have sat back and thought about it many times since I first came to believe over 30 years ago. To me, the very concept that everything I see every day evolved through random mutations is far more improbable than the idea that it was created. What I see with my eyes is that, without human intervention, most things on earth naturally decay and break down in to less complex elements. The complex things I see like computers (AI), satellites, medical treatments, and more are creations of man...thus, it seems more logical to me to believe that the complexity of this world is the result of creation rather than random chance!

Answer 6

I have asked myself many questions over the years and tried many different religions in my search to find 'the truth'

I honestly feel that where there is belief there is at least morals and values. Common sense says that one religion can not suit all as ethically and culturally we are all different and in order to believe the 'story' would need to meet our expectations.

If believing in a God means that you live your life with a clear conscious , with principles, morals and values society can only benefit. If it means that you treat people well, don't steal, murder, commit adultery etc then it doesn't differ from a child who behaves because 'father Christmas' is watching or speaks to the fairies about their dreams and wishes.

It all adds sustenance to society and I think that a lot of the issues in society are as a result of less people believing or not not believing and therefore not concerned with the consequences of their actions.

Hope that all makes sense and is taken in the manner it is meant

Answer 7

Why yes, I have thought about God logically, and I continue to do this.
I agree that the Christian concept of God is 100% improbalogica-whatsis.
As Sir Thomas More said hundreds of years ago, "The trouble with God is that God is not what God is."
Didja ever think about that in your infinitely logical and 100% rational thoughts?

Answer 8

Logical thinking always enters in to my beliefs. Of course I am a neoplatonist atheist, not a theist.

We see precisely here the use of logical fallacies which dominate Christian thinking. Why do so many Christians use such obvious logical fallacies in their reasoning.

Such as false dichotomy: Gods and "Something from Nothing" form an obvious false dichotomy yet Christians use it all the time as shown by the two posters directly after mine and kittykat above mine.

Answer 9

Hi there.
As a Christian, logical thinking is inescapable - I know plenty are incapable, but sadly for me unthinking faith is impossible.
So.

The universe is infinite and infinitely unknowable, so your 100% feeling is by definition false. It is impossible for a human being with limited senses leading such a short life to get anywhere NEAR 100% sure of ANYTHING, so your own logical thinking is deeply flawed before we even start. Everything you go on to say is destroyed when you try to claim that logic can ever give you 100%, so when you claim logic you are fooling yourself - what you are describing is a sort of faith.

Coming back to me, the faith is inescapable and I am stuck with it, so i have to do my best. one side of me says, like you, that it is unlikely. But all I am being offered is random chance in its place, which logic tells me is just as unlikely and cannot be proven anyway. Inside of me I know there is a unity of creation and the universe (we are all made of stars, right?) so i am left with the logical conclusion that it is only my IDEA of God which is impossible to prove, not the concept.

A final piece of genuine logic for you, courtesy of Descartes -
"If I live my life as a good christian, and they are right, then heaven awaits me. If they are wrong, I have lost nothing". No better way of leading your life is on offer, so logic dictates that you join us in church - so how logical are you?

Cheers, Steve.
PS good question, I enjoyed that!

Answer 10

I have thought about it. As I have posted in the past I was raised atheist so I thought about it a lot. The more I thought about it the more I realized there had to be something there. The randomness and chaos of origins are so mired in controversy and difference of opinions that design makes just as much sense to me as some of the other theories. I became a theist seven years ago but I have not given up my love of learning as many atheists would believe, I just see things in many different perspectives now.