Why do you have to believe in something?

Question

i mean.. that's not the real question. but the claim "you have to believe in something" really grinds my gears. cause they're not talking about just believing in what we know to be true empirically. they're talking about something "divine" and then yes. why do we have to believe in something? there's a flaw in the logical thinking there. there's only the conclusion. and why does your life need a god to make sense? that's sad, cause if there's none (you gotta admit the possibility), then your life wouldn't have any sense at all. you gotta give your life sense, cause noone is gonna come and give sense to it for you.

Answer 1

I believe in something....reality.

atheist

Answer 2

There are some excellent articles cited below from "gotquestions.org" that are very complete. Please read one, two... whatever... they are very well written.

The latest surveys tell us that over 90% of people in the world today believe in the existence of God or some higher power. Yet, somehow the responsibility is placed on those who believe God does exist to somehow prove that He really does exist.

All cultures/peoples wonder the same things... what is the meaning of life? .... why are we here? ... who made us/where did we come from? etc. Religion and faith in God, god(s) or supreme being(s) are how people find the answers to those questions. Humans are spiritual beings, and these are spiritual questions. Answers to spiritual questions cannot be found empirically!

90% of the WORLD's population find "sense" in their lives by virtue of belief in God, god(s), supreme being(s). Why, then, is it so impossible to say, "you have to believe in something" when 90% of the population does? Faith is not an empirical thing (the practice of relying on observation and experiment especially in the natural sciences).

Answer 3

When you wake up in the morning, do you believe you will be able to get up and walk? Why? Oh yeah, because it happened yesterday that means it has to happen today. How many people have discovered that's not necessarily true?

When you turn the key in your car, does it start? Are you surprised when it doesn't?

Do you believe the people that raised you, that they are your actual parents? If you have a brother or sister, do you actually blindly believe they are your siblings? Why?

When you open your mouth to say something, do you believe you will actually make a sound? Why?

If my friend tells me something, do I have to look you up and report it to you? If not, then why is it that when the Holy Spirit talks to us, you demand a complete report and proof?

Answer 4

There is more to life than religion, for sure. People like these crazed evangelicals on the movie"Jesus Camp," are nuts. Dinosaurs did in fact exist but they are raising their poor children to believe they are a myth! That's too extreme, but faith can be a wonderful thing no matter the religion and I don't personally believe that science can explain everything. Whatever you believe is right for you and as long as your beliefs do not trump someone else's it's okay.

Answer 5

Why does it "grind your gears"? Don't you have a life of your own? Why are you so concerned with other people? You seem somewhat obsessed with this.
Get a hobby.

My life has sense and meaning. I think you need to grow up and then you'll figure it out. One does not HAVE to believe in something.

YOUR life is the one that needs sense and compassion and understanding for other people. I am not hurting you by believing in God.

Answer 6

You don’t have to believe in anything.

But please try to understand that some of us do believe and that this is a great joy to our lives.

The flip side of this, I used to say "There must be a logical explanation," whenever something happened that seemed to have no logical explanation. Now that seems a bit irrational to assume everything has a logical explanation without proof. I don’t even think it is very scientific to assume a logical explanation for everything without proof. Perhaps, just maybe, not everything in this world is logical.

Answer 7

Well, you have to believe something if you want to participate in R&S. You'll eventually get reported if you keep on posting "We can never know, and it is useless to try to know."

Just have some sort of opinion is all I'm saying. Those hard-core agnostics really get on my nerves. Even if it's "If there is a god, which there probably isn't we should try to live our lives morally."

Answer 8

I personally think that because humans are capable of reason, unlike animals, they require answers to questions that simply cannot be answered. Religion explains what cannot be explained, so certain "types" of people require this to feel purposeful.

While I am not religious, I do believe in some type of God, and its mainly because I choose to have hope. I miss my dead best friend. That's all.

Atheists are brave, intelligent people who are able to still feel completely happy without clinging to "hope" or "faith".

I envy them. (But I'm getting there.)

Answer 9

Everyone must believe in something. If you do not believe in something you are not a normal being. You either believe in a religion or you believe a religion is not right. either way, it is a belief. Nothing you can do can make you have no belief as long as you are sane.

Answer 10

I don't have to believe anything, but I just happened to read a LOT on science when I was a kid. I grew way past religion a long time ago.

Answer 11

Because man is created religiously. All have faith. Do you walk in your house and sit comfortably on your computer seat? Unknowlingly, you have faith that the chair wont fall apart. You would eat MacDonald without believing that they would offer you poison. So there goes belief.