Do you believe in a god, and why?

Question

I have been pondering the question of whether or not there is a god for the past 3 or 4 years, and have not found good, solid proof one way or the other. If you have any GOOD, SOLID, INDISPUTABLE proof that there is a god, or there isn't a god, please write it here.

Answer 1

Do Buddhists believe in a creator god?

No, we do not. There are several logical reasons for this. The Buddha, like modern scientists, sociologists and psychologists, believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea have their origins in fear. The Buddha says:

"Gripped by Fear men go to sacred mountains, sacred groves, sacred trees and shrines." *Dhammpada 188

Primitive man found himself in a dangerous and hostile world, the fear of wild animals, of not being able to find enough food, of injury or disease, and of natural phenomena like thunder, lightning and volcanoes was constantly with him. Finding no security, he created the idea of god in order to give him comfort in good times, courage in times of danger and consolation when things went wrong. To this day, you will notice that people become more religious at times of crises, you will hear them say that the belief in a god gives them the strength they need to deal with life. You will hear them explain that they believe in god because they prayed in time of need and their prayer was answered. All this seems to support the Buddha’s teaching that the god-idea is a response to fear and frustration. The Buddha taught us to try to understand our fears, to lessen our desires and to calmly and courageously accept the things we cannot change. He replaced fear, not with irrational belief but with rational understanding.

The second reason the Buddha did not believe in a creator god is because there does not seem to be any evidence to support this idea. There are numerous religions, all claiming that they alone have god’s words preserved in their holy book, that they alone understand god’s nature, that their god exists and that the gods of other religions do not. Some claim that god is masculine, some that she is feminine and others that it is neuter. They are all satisfied that there is ample evidence to prove the existence of their god but they laugh in disbelief at the evidence other religions use to prove the existence of another god. It is not surprising that with so many different religions spending so many centuries trying to prove the existence of their gods that still no real, concrete, substantial or irrefutable evidence has been found. Buddhists suspend judgement until such evidence is forthcoming.

The third reason the Buddha did not believe in a creator god is that the belief is not necessary. Some claim that the belief in a god is necessary in order to explain the origin of the universe. But this is not so. Science has very convincingly explained how the universe came into being without having to introduce the god-idea. Some claim that belief in god is necessary to have a happy, meaningful life. Again we can see that this is not so. There are millions of Atheists, free-thinkers and Buddhists, who live useful, happy and meaningful lives without belief in a creator god. Some claim that belief in god’s power is necessary because humans, being weak, do not have the strength to help themselves. Once again, the evidence indicates the opposite. One often hears of people who have overcome great disabilities and handicaps, enormous odds and difficulties through their own inner resources, through their own efforts and without belief in a god. Some claim that god is necessary in order to give man salvation. But this argument only holds good if you accept the theological concept of salvation and Buddhists do not accept such a concept. Based on his own experience, the Buddha saw that each human being had the capacity to purify the mind, develop infinite love and compassion and perfect understanding. He shifted attention from the heavens to the heart and encouraged us to find solutions to our problems through self-understanding.

But if there is no creator god how did the universe get here?

All religions have myths and stories which attempt to answer this question. In ancient times, when man simply did not know, such myths were adequate, but in the 20th century, in the age of physics, astronomy and geology, such myths have been superseded by scientific fact. Science has explained the origin of the universe without recourse to the god-idea.

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Answer 2

The proof is elusive, but obtainable. This is the total truth, and you don't have to wonder any more after you understand this:

In the end of the Gospel of John chapter 15 and in the midst of the Gospel of John 16, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to those who trust Him. The Holy Spirit has an influence upon the believer to comfort and counsel those who believe that Jesus is Lord.

It's sort of the 'missing link' between the absence of Jesus here; the believer, and God.

So God holds onto the proof. He gives it out as it pleases Him. And those that do not trust Him are not going to get it. They are neither going to get it, nor are they going to know that what I am writing here is the truth. They will dismiss it as 'fairy tales' and such.

So the person who it would benefit are those that God has chosen. Those that do not benefit ( and frankly ought to stop wasting their time) , are those that have no interest in knowing God in the first place.

God chooses those He wants, and leaves those He doesn't want to live out their lives.

I believe in God because He put the desire to know Him, along with the ability to know Him in me.

If you experienced the Holy Spirit the way I did, you don't have to wonder any more.

This is another secret that I will expose for you:
What I have been referring to is what Jesus was talking about here, see if you can understand it:
13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4)

Jesus was talking about what I just explained to you.

Answer 3

I can give u the islamic proofs of God:
I'll start with his miracles and blessings for human race,
let's assume that the human race was created by chance!!!
What If the chance created us blind, would we survive?
What If the chance created us with no ears, would we survive?
What If the chance created us with no fingers or no hands or no hearts or no lungs or no tongue or with one leg or one hand or one eye!!!
well such a creation(the human being) won't ever be created without an all knowing God...
Let's move to nature,
What If the chance created no sun, would we be?
What If the chance created no moon, would we be?
What If the chance created no gravity, would we be?
What If the chance created no FRICTION, now would we be?
What If the chance created no Oxygen, or Hydrogen or so, would we be?
and so and so and so,
I can give u millions of reasons, but I guess u get my point...
imagine one thing goes wrong, we simply wouldn't be, right?!!!
but as we can see, God created us, made us the strongest species, gave us the ability to live, he knew what to create exactly to preserve our species for a very long time.
Then he deserves that u identify him as the only one God (the creator) the one who deserves to be honored more than else...
now if u still have doubts, just mail me...
I can just answer whatever u want...
May God lead u to the right way to believe in him and pay him back for what he did to make u a great, wonderful, glorious species...

Answer 4

Well I can only speak to my own experiences. I met my wife on the Internet (out of millions of people on the net that night she all of the sudden I'm me out of the clear blue sky) and I moved over 2000 miles away to marry her and we have been married for over 9yrs and counting. My life has been saved more then once from a bad car accident and my survival can not be explained except that God exists. One bad accident was when I feel a sleep and crossed all 6 lanes of the freeway in a horse shoe type spin. When I looked up there was no one there on the freeway. It is one of the busyist freeways in that area. Not one car was on that road. Now if those two things don't prove God does exist then nothing I could say even quoting scripture will be enough.

Answer 5

Yes I believe in God 110%

Answer 6

I know God exists from my own direct personal experience. I'm afraid the only proof is experiential proof...you have to experience God directly...for yourself. Many directly experience God...in various religions...perhaps you can find what we found.

~ Eric Putkonen

Answer 7

I read that when Bertrand Russell was asked what he would to say to God if he came face to face with him, he would simply say to God "not enough evidence."

Jesus loved everyone he came into contact with, despite their status in life, their wealth, you name it. But notice how people reacted to him...those with little status, wealth or power were drawn to him the closest. Those with power felt threatened by his presence to the point where they had him killed.

Why were they threatened? Because Jesus' love for us upset the balance of power that we on earth created.

If one man could generate this kind of reaction from people of the world, wouldn't his source of energy and power have to come from someplace out of this world?

If he were just an ugly man, born of man and woman like the rest of us, we'd place him at the bottom of the social ladder and move on.

Yet his influence endures. Why? Because despite what we here on earth argue about, the fact remains that his love for us endures, no matter what we do in his name, or what we don't do.

Answer 8

Worship is not about 'concrete proof', it's all about belief. Like we can't see DNA but we know that it is there because we believe the scientists that had told us.

I believe because I do. Look in yourself and you will see the 'proof' you need.

Answer 9

If I had proof, I wouldn't need to believe. And if I believe, I wouldn't need proof.

For the record, I want to believe.

Answer 10

Yes, I believe in God. . . .simply because I chose to and my faith in my choice makes me continue to believe in God. I honestly feel that I have experienced Him in my life, is that proof for you. . .no. . .I have no hands on proof to give you, I wish I did. . .but for me it is simply a choice and a matter of faith.