Why don't we just believe in God, and ignore all the unnecessary nonsense that the religions have made up?

Question

You are free to pray to God, without having some clergyman hold your hand, and add a lot of mumbo jumbo to your faith!

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

Because without religion, men would have to find other ways to control other men. We've tried communism, and fascism, but religion seems to work the best, so far. Somehow the amorphous threat of "hell" is more effective than prisons or concentration camps. Go figure.

However, without religions, those of us with no supernatural beliefs might finally be left in peace. Nice idea.

Answer 3

Why don't we just not believe in any God or Gods, and ignore all the unnecessary nonsense that the religions have made up?

Answer 4

I went from thinking i replaced into an atheist to believing in a GOD, to subscribing to faith, to interpreting the Bible, to looking faith fully insane, to interpreting the bible some greater and looking out out the way it replaced into sturdy by religious ability-moguls, to believing in God. i've got faith that God IS beforehand atoms, beforehand clouds of gasoline, beforehand 'enormous bang' - and after. then lower back, I even have faith that there isn't any 'beforehand and after' in/of God, as eternity won't be able to have well timed parameters. i've got faith that each and every physique be counted, from the quark to the mountain, to the human, to the fly, is an emanation and manifestation of the "God" potential. i've got faith that what's EVERYWHEN is likewise everywhere - or quite, that 'while and the place' do not exist yet basically in the realm of be counted, that's a type of 'image' of the 'genuine occasion'. to be sure a image of a birthday party and be sure from that the character and lives of anybody in the image is an prolonged shot, and yet it does supply a glimpse of a frozen 2d. no one could desire to accurately 'be conscious of' all there is to be conscious of relating to the people, the occasion, the motives, effects, etc., from a snap shot. Likewise, GOD won't be in a position to be usual from something we are in a position to be sure, pay attention, or 'be conscious of' by our getting to understand. to assert that GOD could be defined in a e book (the bible) is fully ludicrous. each little thing is GOD - and not something is GOD. sure, i could agree that each and every physique-THAT-is purely exists and does not intervene with what we do with our minds (and bodies) - or with people's minds and bodies. the outcomes we get (what we acquire) isn't punishment from GOD, yet quite an undemanding and logical GIGO theory that all of us be conscious of from pc programming. sure, i've got faith in GOD - by using fact the singular potential from which each little thing emanates. An potential that is present day in the two be counted and non-be counted. a resourceful potential, a loving potential. An potential that is 'embraceable' by the determination of suggestions to incorporate it. An potential that embraces ME no be counted if or not i am going with to incorporate it. An potential that has no determination, no 'chosen people', no 'chosen faith', that is ALL.

Answer 5

Because for many, being able to love god isnt feasible with out religion. you have to think about somthing that even the first writers of the bible knew, most people are sheep (not my words, but stated repeatedly in the bible) and as we all know, Sheep must be herded. Religions have been "herding the sheep" using there own faith againts them for thousands of years. people have become so "placated" by religion, that most people dont stop to think for themselves anymore.

Answer 6

Because the belief in God is unnecessary nonsense as well.

Answer 7

That is precisely why there are churches that believe in a restoration of shedding off things that are unbiblical. Do a search for the restoration movement. Christian Church\Church of Christ is part of such a movement.

Answer 8

As the detectives like to say: Follow the money.

Where people believe something, they can be persuaded to act in certain ways _because_ of what they believe. Inevitably, someone will come along to take advantage of that.

Hence: religion. Astrology. "Healing" crystals. Voodoo. You name it.

Answer 9

I sure would like to know what unnecessary nonsense you are talking about...You mean like Jesus is our Savior and God incarnate? All religions do not pray to the same God, you know. They claim they do, but they don't.

Answer 10

OR we could just give up on believing in an imaginary friend in the sky altogether and grow up.