This isn't really about having faith in god, is it?

Question

When you get right down to it, none of this has anything at all to do with having faith in "god". It's about having faith in human beings. Every book ever written, every story ever told, has come from human beings.

"But they were inspired by god" you say. And who told you that? A human being. And who told them that? Another human being. And so on, and so on, and so on.

Your faith is entirely in human beings. You have faith that they were not deceived. You have faith that they will not deceive you. You have faith in your own human mind to say with absolute certainty that you have been told the truth.

Therein lies the problem.

J S: Wrong. The scientific method accounts for the possibility of human error. Religion does not.

Answer 1

I agree with what you say 100 percent.

In order to follow religion, you have to ignore the notion that people are self-serving and eagerly push their own agendas. You have to naively assume that no one would use the concept of god for their own selfish purposes.

One of the other answerers mentioned something about the words of the bible being "god inspired", but that still involves believing that the writers were truthful when they said god inspired them.

Excuse me, the term was "revelation from god". Once again, that's a matter of accepting the author's words as truth at face value.

Answer 2

I have never thought about that, great observation! And I have always wondered why people abandon religions.

I just looked at the other posts and I seen one guy say there is nothing that would change his mind and he uses the bible as his source. Well I bet there are millions of Muslims that say nothing can change their mind and they use the Qur'an, what do Christians have to say about that?

Human beings have always embellished their stories and always made the fish bigger than it really was. There are some cool theories to the bible, for instance the mark of the beast actually happened, a guy would put 666 on his women. If you have seen "The Reaping" the atheist woman talks about the plagues happening and a scientific reason how. They use to call cities the world so when the "world" flooded, could it have been a city?

There are too many questions to religion that will never be answered, and then in a thousand years the religious will be laughing at the modern day Christians but then will be in a war for their religion.

Answer 3

This is an age-old argument that, unfortunately, has no hard evidence to prove or refute either side of the argument. Even if you study theology, mythology or comparative religions, you come back to the same question. How can we prove or disprove there is a God?

Nearly every religion, Christian, Muslim, Pagan, has a creation myth, a God or Gods and Goddesses that are said to have created the earth. Why is it that in the four corners of the earth you will find nearly the same story about the creation of the world and about a God who created it?

At this point there is no proof either way that God exists. But then, a few decades ago, Albert Einstein’s mathematical doodlings were disputed. Yet Einstein had a strong conviction that they were real. But where was the proof? At that time there was none. As the decades pass, we are able to prove he was right, for the most part. But is he right in the end? If he is, you and I will not live long enough to know. Did men actually see God or talk to Him? Did He tell them his wishes? Your question is can we prove it. Why isn’t the question “Can we DISPROVE it?”

There is something else regarding the creation myth that I feel I must mention. Before mankind learned to write, there were “oral traditions,” histories of the people(s) that were passed down from generation to generation. It was not like the game “Chinese gossip.” Those whose duty it was to meticulously maintain the history of the people were trained from early childhood to memorize, word for word, that history with absolutely no distortions. Later on, when we learned to put these histories into writing, oral tradition was forgotten. If you study the “creation myth” that was so meticulously carried from generation to generation you will find fault with it. But it is remarkably close to the order in which scientists say the evolution of the universe and of our planet occurred. With the technology and knowledge available to us many thousands of years later, we still cannot be certain our theories are correct. Scientists still cannot prove just what or who caused the Big Bang. How, many thousands of years ago, would a simple people be able to “guess” at this theory, when we are still trying to understand it?

Can all of these traditions be wrong? Is the faith of all peoples truly based upon some humans who just took it into their minds to come up with this fantastic idea? Or is it truth, buried in legend, turned to myth?

NOTE: BGrimey--you have confused Jesus, the son of God, with God himself.

Answer 4

I completely agree.
although I'm not in a cult that would cause this question to be focused towards me specifically.
Very well worded & thought out.

I wonder why this is so offensive to them though?
what's so wrong with believing that, along with "bad", "sin" and "imperfection"; maybe humans COULD do "good" as well? that they could be worth having faith in that isn't even related to a god or anything like that?

Blessed be.

Answer 5

You mention religion. No doubt many Christians here do practice their religion. The question remains as to whether they all practice "faith," too.

Its crazy to think that there were not mistakes made... in the Bible, in oral traditions.... and I have no doubt that there are mistakes in my faith. My faith is not perfect.

God may not make mistakes, but I don't understand how we believe that our perceptions are correct. Can we even HAVE ANY perceptions of an infinite God?

Christians, be humble before God, but also be humble with each other and all those who question and all those who don't believe. Be humble, because no one has all the answers. I can't asnwer his question. But it is a legitimate question!

Peace

Answer 6

We are all made in God's image, so what you are saying is truth within itself. Faith can be defined as a belief that is not based on proof. You can have your faith in other people but you can never really truely know what they are thinking. Same concept in God. We put our faith in him, but some can't be 100% sure. It is a leap of faith either way.

You can have faith that these people don't know what they were inspired by. It's all a matter of perspective, not truths.

Answer 7

The really sad thing is that religion could be (and claims to be) a force for good, for positive change in the world, and people just use it to accuse others, bilk them out of money, and justify their personal hatred and intolerance of something.

I'd be all for religion if it ever did what it claims to do for the world. The fact that the negative traits of humans can effect religion proves to me that it is a man-made construct.

Answer 8

I converted from atheism after having a personal experience with the Holy Ghost. My faith is directly in God, I follow after no man. You question appears as nothing more than a desperate attempt to attack other people's faith, it won't work you know. For most with faith have had a personal experience that didn't come from a book or another person.

Answer 9

yes, the Bible is the Word of God

when you are filled w/ the Holy Ghost, God speaks to you sometimes word for word.... in paragraphs... to the point you have to get a pen & paper & write it down. this i know b/c of personal experience. that is how scripture was written.

if you don't understand, it is b/c you are spiritually discerned.
i'm only tellilng you what scripture says ... (referring to those born again according to acts 2:38 & john 3) ...

"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. "

(1 cor 2:12-14)

if you want to understand the things of God, start by being born again as peter in acts 2:38 describes & jesus describes in john 3.

besides, if you are not born again, Jesus says in john 3:5, you CANNOT enter the kingdom of God unless you are born of the water AND the Spirit.

it's worth the effort ... eternity is forever.

Answer 10

I have faith there is a God - the holy spirit - and Jesus Christ. I do believe the bible, however, that is not the only reason I believe. I feel Jesus in my being and in my life. It is a personal experience that you can't understand unless you have accepted Jesus. If you deny Jesus he will not force himself upon you. You don't understand because your heart is hardened and you have not opened yourself to Him. You have not had a personal experience because you have turned him away.

Revelation 3.20:
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.