Why do you believe what you believe?

Question

I am interested in your answers whether or not you have a religious faith. Are your beliefs supported by testable evidence? If not, why do you hold them?

If your answer is something like 'because I have faith', please try to explain WHY you have faith.

Answer 1

I am godless.

As I see it, my belief that there isn't any supernatural anything is NOT supported by testable evidence. So, why do I believe as I do?

Take, for instance, the concept of god. I find it a wacky concept. So, to believe it requires some reason or evidence that there is such a thing.

Lacking that, I don't see why I should accept the wackitude.

If, to take a particular sect of a particular religion, putting prayers on cloth, and letting that cloth flap in the breeze puts the prayers out into the world in a way that actually effects things -- if that were true, why is there no evidence of this? It sounds implausible; there's no evidence; thus, I reject it.

And so it goes, through ghosts, and telekinesis, and all the other woo-woo stuff.

Some things don't make sense, and there's no evidence for them, therefore, there's no reason to believe in them. It's not that my lack of belief in woo-woo is supported by testable evidence, it's that the things I don't believe in are NOT so supported.

The only time evidence comes in is when people say "this world, and our very existence are evidence for the existence of god." I say, "No, we don't need to believe we were created by an intelligent being, as we have an alternative explanation, that doesn't require the woo-woo." That's when I bring in the various strands of evidence and reasons, such as fossils, and evidence of the age of the Earth, and DNA in common with other life, and poor design, and improbable things having a lot of time to happen, and all the rest.

I've found that when a line of thinking is supported by a wide variety of KINDS of evidence, from a variety of fields, that's compelling reason to accept it as true.

So my stance on religion doesn't have evidence supporting it; my alternative explanation does.

Answer 2

I would have to say the reason it is called a belief is because the evidence is not always necessarily there or clear to everyone, but the individual partaking of it. Belief, or interchangeably, faith, is a deeply personal issue. I am a christian and I am so because this is what fulfills that innate need within me to connect with the spiritual, supernatural and supreme being, as well as to make sense of my existence.
I briefly considered Islam, Buddhism and even Hinduism and I cannot relate, though some of the teachings do make sense. Christianity has that link I'm looking for or should I say, I experienced God's visitation in this form.

In any case, I can't imagine being anything other than a christian.

One thing I believe is that whether we humans want to accept it or not, we are constantly looking for something to fill that void within us. This is why I don't think there is a true atheist out there. The vacuum will always be filled with something, be it religion, alcohol, drugs and other habits. An introspection may be in order here.

I hope in all my saying here, I managed to convey something sensible.....

Answer 3

Testable evidence......First I guess you have to understand faith....You have to have faith that your spouse will be true to you..You have to have faith that your child will come home to you every day after school safe and sound...You have to have faith that you will wake up in the morning after a nights sleep...none of these or any of the millions of other beliefs are testable... Why must all things be testable...My faith in God grows everyday in me through my savior Jesus Christ...You only have to let your "testable evidence "guard down a little for the light to show through.. God bless you

Answer 4

Why does "evidence" seem so important to everyone? If I lived my life only by testable evidence, I might be in trouble, at some point you have to believe in something. For example, everyone knows that smoking increases your chances for lung cancer. A lot of studies have been done...I haven't done any personally...but I believe that they have been done. If I live by evidence only, well then I MUST believe there is no connection in smoking and lung cancer because I know many smokers...and none have lung cancer yet. So should I go out and smoke because my personal evidence does not show that smoking is hazardous? This is obviously ridiculous. I put my faith in a lot of things that I believe, my belief in God is just one of them.

Answer 5

Honestly, I have the beliefs that I do because they help ME (and probably only me) make sense of the universe. I developed them through my life experiences. I am sure they will flux and change through the years. They are not scientifically proven, but I don't care. No one has to accept my beliefs but me. I feel like I have been called and pulled by my heart on a certain path. In my life it is the only thing that has seemed secure, steady, right for me.

Answer 6

I believe in God because I have faith. What Faith means is to believe in something even if you can't see it. I have grown up with the word of God all around me. But I believe I would still believe in God because its a scary thought that we are alone and no one's watching over us.

Answer 7

well for one im atheist.
so i believe that there is no god.
not because of worldly events, but because of biblical, heavenly, and so called "devine" events.
im not christain partailly cause thats what i was, and i dont like the religious crusades. im not catholic because even though their kind can be nice, they are kinda silly. im soooo not a sciantologist (for obvious reasons). im definantly not a jehovas witness(if halloween is a sin, i cant be one) they are both creepy, and they damn more people to hell than even a super christain! im not buddist (chubby fat guy with many arms seems kinda silly to rule my life)
the funny thing is i dont believe in the big bang or evolution, i just believe what is, is, we dont need to be created, why cant we just have a life? i love my life, i have so much to lose in death, my farm, all the animals, family, alll my friends, all around the world(step dad is in air force) the yummy alcohol! (not an alcoholic, just like to drink every now and then) ill lose Texas for good(i miss living there) plus i wont e able to finish my book! and theres so much more, but i wont mention it all here.

Answer 8

I believe what I believe (atheism) because it makes the most sense to me.

As far as testing - It is difficult to prove this kind of thing but I consider prayer to be good evidence that there is no god. Consider - If the prayer works people say there is a god. If the prayer doesn't work people say that there is a god. It seems logical to me to assume that something is vastly wrong with this.

Answer 9

I am an atheist because it is the most logical and fact-based answer one is likely to find. Science can not answer every question at this point but it can answer some and God and religion can answer absolutely none.

Anyone who chooses a religion has to ignore a thousand years of science and facts and base their beliefs on superstitions from thousands of years ago. No religious holy book can stand up to scientific scrutiny so one must wrap oneself in a cloak of ignorance to believe.

-S-

Answer 10

I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that He died and rose again, so that whoever believes in Him will be saved-- have eternal life. I believe we are all sinners as Romans 3:23 says and that we all will die in our sins if we do not repent and put our trust in Jesus Christ ( see Romans 6:23 and Ezekial 18, Romans 5:8-9)
I believe this with all my heart and it is because of GOD! It is because His precious Holy Spirit has revealed the truth to me through the hearing of His gospel message....He opened my eyes to His truth. It became ALIVE in me! His word! Just as Hebrews 4 says....only God can open the eyes of sinners- as John 6:44 says only He can draw us to Him. I not only believe that Jesus Christ is the only way, truth and life ( John 14:6) But I KNOW He is! And that is because of God, and His wonderful, marvelous grace whom he bestows upon those who are willing to receive it. It is by HIS grace we are saved... (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Thank you Lord!