Non-Christians...?

Question

In your mind, what makes it difficult to believe in God? I am a Christian but it's really important to me to understand what non-Christians feel/think and why y'all think we're nuts!

I have to agree with everyone about people preaching in the open air - it IS annoying and there are certain ways to do that, just not over a megaphone! But to be fair, at festivals like Newday and Soul Survivor...my sisters went to the latter and 1000 people were saved in one night!!

Pangel; how can you be a non-Christian but believe in God?? How does that work?!

Answer 1

You asked Pangel how she could be a non-christian and still believe in God, but I'm sure you are well aware that Jesus was supposed to have been a Jew, not a christian, same with all the prophets that came before him.

Now, it really isn't about what makes it difficult for me to believe in God, the real question is of all the religions on the planet, why do you choose the Roman version of the Jewish God? You are aware that the Jewish version of their god is totally different from the Roman version worshiped in the Greek & Roman religion called christianity, right? You are aware that throughout the entire OT, the word "christ" is not mentioned even once?

Christ is a Greek word, not a Jewish one, just as Jesus is a Greek name, not a Jewish one. If the stories were true, why in the world would they change his name? Do you think they call Bill Gates anything other than his name and title anywhere in the world? How about Oprah? Do you think they call her something else in other places that respect her? How about Mahatma Gandhi? Christopher Columbus? Galileo?

Think about it for just a second, if they're willing to change all of the names of the people in the book just to make it easier to speak, that should automatically let you know that the story is more important than the facts, as the facts are considered changable and inconsequential. If they didn't get the savior's name right, what makes you think they got any of it right? I'm talking about something so important that it would make the savior factually identifiable and traceable through history.

The truth is, your religion isn't concerned with the truth, just the story. As long as you believe the story, you'll encourage others to do the same. More believers, more money and political power for the religious leaders.

Now, as for why I'm not a believer, well, simply put, I've done the research and I know better. Once you learn to look objectively at something and think critically about it, you can figure out how to determine if it's true or not. After a careful review of the evidence, I find no reason to believe that any of this story is true, and plenty of reasons to believe it's fabricated.

Answer 2

First of all I don't think that christians are nuts. I'm an atheist and I believe that christianity is fundamentally wrong, but that doesn't mean that I think christians are insane, just misguided.

For me, there are two questions hidden within "What makes it difficult to believe in god?" The first is what difficulties I have with the prospect of any deity. The second is whether I have specific problems believing in the christian god.

I'll start with the latter. My difficulties with the christian god are due to the fundamental contradictions inherent in the bible and christian faith. (I've mentioned a few in my questions and answers so you can look under my profile to see them). The biggest for me is the concept of heaven and hell, and how this contradicts the idea of god loving us.
Assuming other tenets of your faith are correct - i.e. that we are all sinners (which I don't necessarily believe), I still don't see how a loving god can inflict an eternal punishment for our crimes. I'm a father and I sometimes have to tell my daughter off or otherwise punish her when she acts up. I do this out of love, because it teaches her to behave correctly. But an eternal punishment doesn't allow the 'sinner' to learn from their mistakes. They suffer for ever. I honestly can think of no moral justification for this. And yet we are supposed to pick the correct faith (out of the millions) and adhere to its rules or else we will suffer this fate!
There are many more reasons why I dislike the christian faith - enough to fill a few books. This is just one.

On the subject of god in general (rather than a specific deity) I'd just say that I've yet to hear a convincing argument or proof for the case of a god existing. I've read theologians, philosophers and the arguments of deists and I've yet to come across anything which even makes it sound probable that a god exists. Of course it is possible. It's also possible that there are teacups in orbit around the star Alpha Centauri. But that doesn't make it true or even probable. And I won't believe in either until I see convincing evidence.

Answer 3

Why do you care? You believe there is a magical being that made the world and that when you die your soul will float off to heaven to join your friends and family.

I believe the universe is an infinitely complex thing and that life and indeed intelligence on Earth took millions and millions of years to evolve and develop and that the Earth is completely insignificant compared to the vastness of space.

Your belief is easier on the 'soul' than mine. Yours is a comfort blanket that you can use when ever life gets a bit ****.

My belief is harsh and uncomfortable at first, but once you come to accept it, life becomes a very precious thing indeed and the Universe becomes far more alluring and magical than any God could ever be.

Christians are constantly trying to 'save' people. If you knew what I knew about life and the universe, you'd run a mile from your silly religion. It is you that needs saving, not the other way round.

Answer 4

It's pretty simple; when pondering the two most common explanations for the universe as it seems to be, everyone has no choice but to accept the one that seems to explain things best. To repeat, there really is no choice in the matter.

We find that the big bang, the second law of thermodynamics, and biological evolution explain things better than the other answer which, to our ears, sounds an awful lot like "magic".

We are puzzled that people can prefer the second answer over the first. But if you were to tell me that it simply "feels" right to you, I would be willing to believe that you are unable to change that by a simple act of will.

The same thing applies to us.

Answer 5

when i was a kid i used to believe in Santa Claus - but i grew up ( as people do )and put away all childish things about imaginary beings who look after you - like god . i don't need a god to be happy or moral or anything else - i am high on life and happier and more moral than most people i know - you only need a god when something is lacking in your life - so get out and enjoy yourself travel everywhere you can - meet everyone you can meet and read everything you can read - always be kind to others and love without question where you can - you don't need a god matey

Answer 6

I was brought up as a christian by my parents, and rejected it in my teens. Why? because of what the church attempted to teach me regarding the attitude of their god towards women, how they would always be inferior and must be subservient to men.That this was confirmed by the Adam and Eve story, and because Eve had sinned more than Adam then all women must be more evil than men.
Having seen how most women cared and looked after other members of the family, children, the elderly, the disabled , people with flu or measles. How my great aunt scrubbed the entire floor of her church every week on her hands and knees at the age of 75+ and how she ran a permanent 2nd hand clothes shop in her front room for starving children in Africa.
I also saw men who beat and abused their wives and children, whose weekly wage ended up in the hands of the pub or betting shop, so they had to come and ask for food "on tick" until next week, otherwise their children would go hungry. And I saw the men who ran the church who thought themselves too respectable to even speak to these women, even less to help them.
I realised that what I was being taught was all lies. To prove the point I was forced out of the choir and my mother was forced to stop playing the organ for services which she did voluntarily. This was because of the vicar's policy to have only males perform music during church services, because this was more pleasing to their ideal of god.
I decided that I did not want to know this god of theirs, and left their church and christianity for good.
That was many years ago. I found gods and goddesses who I could honour and respect and became a pagan.

Answer 7

I don't think you're all nuts, you could be right, and where would that put me? The reason I don't believe is that I feel I would be lying to myself.
I also don't find anything annoying about people preaching in the open air. It's up to them, isn't it? Live and and live, after all.
I do find it a little sad that they all take it so seriously, though. Especially when others heckle them.

Answer 8

Hi J.G.
My opinion is this; 'Something' created everything, created that which evolved, that which went 'bang', etc., and all of this was created lloooooooooooooong before any religion was organized. Long before books were written. Long before Jesus lived, long before man. That 'something is in all things. People too. As a Pagan I know this 'something' because I can feel it, hear it without ears that hear, see it without eyes that see, and I speak with it without a tongue that moves. This 'Living Presence' was known, revered, honored and loved by the first peoples of this Earth............WITHOUT any organized religion, books, etc.. It is a most natural state of being.
Due to the developing and organizing of religion this 'Living Presence' has become soooooooooo distorted, over defined, picked apart, etc. that man has forgotten about his inner urges, instincts, intuitions, etc., which IS the language of this Spirit!
So name it what ye will, claim it how ye will, talk about it how ye will, argue about it how ye will, it is still the same one that created all. And it is up to every individual to awaken, OR NOT (freedom of choice!) to their natural connection to this Living Presence.
Coming from this point of view it seems most ignorant and off purpose for religions to argue about who's right, try and force others into what they believe, blah, blah, blah, blah. This has nothing to do with the Living Presence but a lot to do with tyranny, greed, false power and represents a total disbelief in the truth.
Just my opinion
Blessed Be
With this in mind........What in the world do we have to be saved from???????????

Answer 9

Non-Christian is a person, (me) who doesn't follow the Christian beliefs, it has nothing to do with whether I believe in God or not, it has to do with what faith I follow. I'm a Wiccan, therefore, I'm non-Christian, but I do believe in a higher power, some call it God, Goddess, Creator, Devine, the All, etc. But I don't believe in the bible or the ways of the Christian faith, however, I do respect all religions and I don't think you're nuts, I think you're on the path you've choosen, who am I to judge who's right or wrong?

Answer 10

It is not difficult to believe in god, because god does not exist.
You cannot believe in something which is not there.
I don`t think you`re all `nuts,` at all. But I do think that `believers` are lacking in intelligence, or are easily susceptible to the outrageously untrue stories given in the bible. Commonsense should tell you that, for one thing, it would be impossible for anyone or anything to create a universe, including this world, in six days.
That sort of thing happens in fairy-tale books which credit the main character with whatever magical power that are needed to tell an unbelievable story.
And so on!